Thing 7: Communication Tools

I am a big fan of email. It is great communication tool; I use it throughout the day, every day, at work. I think it is the best way to communicate with someone during the work day without having to interrupt the work they are currently doing.

I am not a big fan of IM. It reminds me of Orwellian Newspeak. Why do they have to make acronyms for everything? Does it really save that much time? I think an IM conversation takes away from an individual's natural voice and character. However, I do see the usefulness of IM; it is a great way to communicate with someone live (as long as the conversation is not a bunch of acronyms). I found it amusing when the article said that a common question during an IM conversation with an online librarian was, "Are you real or are you a robot?"

I am even less of a fan of SMS. The article mentioned that libraries need to adapt to SMS users, but I don't completely agree. Librarians do not have to learn a bunch of acronyms in order to more effectively do their job. As a librarian, if I ever receive a text message reference question, I may ask "Are you real or are you a robot?"

I think web conferencing is a great tool for learning. It combines audio and visual in an online presentation, and can be viewed repeatedly. The learner can go over certain parts of the presentation that they didn't understand clearly the first time through. I attended a Minitex webinar on Library 2.0. The past few years I've completed university coursework in which the lectures were performed through webinars. The biggest drawback to webinars is that the communication is one-way. It is a much different type of learning environment than a traditional classroom because there is no (or very little) dialogue with the speaker. The learner must have an interest in the subject, and must have a good background knowledge of the subject, or they will quickly lose interest. Also, the speaker must be effective. However, webinars are a great tool for distance education, and the technology is sure to improve.