Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Thing #19: 'Friend' Someone on a Web 2.0 Service

Description:

"Social" software cannot be social until you have some way to create a network. That's why I'm asking you to "friend" someone using a service. You choose the service.

"Friending" is just a way of noting that you have common interests on a web tool.

Some websites that offer "friending":

  • Linked-In is a professional networking site (ie for jobs).
  • Facebook is a social networking software originally designed for college students.
  • delicious offers a "network" tool that is pretty good for anonymity.
  • flickr has "contacts" which is that same as "friends."
  • LibraryThing has a networking tool as well.

Hints:

  • I realize identity/privacy etc. is important to many of you. Use a "nickname" for your identity for this "thing" please.
  • You can friend me if you like:
    • http://del.icio.us/Greebie on del.icio.us
    • Ryan Deschamps on facebook and linked in.
    • http://www.flickr.com/photos/greebie/ on flickr.
  • You can friend some library accounts around:
    • http://www.twitter.com/hpllearning
    • http://del.icio.us/hplinfodesk
  • You could friend a co-worker if you like and they could friend you as a pay-back.
  • I'll accept "tried and failed" on this one as well.
Resources:

2 comments:

BreakoutBoxHPL said...

Some of you may have heard that Ryerson in Toronto is very close to expelling at least one student for studying. Via Facebook.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/03/11/facebook-cheating.html

We talk about privacy issues with our info floating around in cyberspace, and a number of my friends have suffered from inappropriate postings on their Walls. But does the does a public archive of study notes and discourse really constitute cheating? I think yes, but discuss.

Ryan Deschamps said...

My personal view on the issue is that students are coming to learn that they've been cheating all along and did not realize it.

Study groups for a typical physics problem is pretty much cheating. The answers are cut-and-dry, so if one person gets the answer, everyone else gets to share. Not fair for the people who put their nose to the grind to learn for themselves.

That said, I have never been in a math/physics-ish class where these sorts of study group didn't exist. Also, in the "real world," solving problems in groups/with help is the norm.