Week 9 Wikis and Rollyo

Wikis look like one of the most useful applications for our enterprises. Fortuitously for this exercise our IT department is considering the purchase of Confluence http://www.atlassian.com/software/confluence/wiki.jsp that would allow each hospital department - plus of course the library - to have their own wiki to advertise services, provide training information and keep abreast of developments etc.
I also set up a Rollyo account and built my search roll. I based it on the movies of Powell and Pressburger (who created one of my favourites "I Know Where I'm Going") and it proved pretty good at bringing up the required info. I could see this app. being useful for specific subjects and interests but again there is always the question of maitenance and vigilance so that the websites included remain relevant and up-to-date.

Week 8 Del.icio.us

I've set up my account and had a bit of a look around this service. It is very useful having the ability to look at your bookmarks on any computer. I also like the ability to create own tags and see what other people consider the best synopsis of what a text etc. is about. Tag clouds are favourite in providing a visual cue to scope and relevance. I imagine the networking of particular groups of bookmarks on particular subjects to interested parties could prove very useful. For example a group of people wanting to travel could share a cache of helpful websites or in libraries if students are undertaking a particular project. Again maintaining these services takes time/effort and would require the dedication of resources (time/personnel) to keep the service effective.

Week 7 iGoogle

I've had an iGoogle account for quite a while. My artist theme is "Chalermchai Kositpipat (เฉลิมชัย โฆษิตพิพัฒน์) A native of Chiang Rai province in Northern Thailand, Chalermchai is most widely known for his intricate murals combining traditional Thai art with modern images and style." It changes colour as the day wears on. I also have the moon phase gadget, horoscope and currency converter. All these are extremely easy to add and there are a plethora of others that you could add also - including one to a library comic strip called "unshelved" will see how that goes in providing amusement.

Week 6 More Google Applications

I also had a look at Google docs. I created a document for my study and could see the benefit if it was a collaborative assignment. I also liked the readability index you could run your carefully crafted prose through to make sure you were reaching your target audience. Book search could come in handy I suppose if you were looking for related texts and reviews. I looked up Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow" and could see books of literary criticism of the text also listed. (Just wish I had time to peruse further - Harold Bloom's contribution looked especially intriguing).

Week 6 Google Maps

Had a look at Google Maps Could see it could be really useful if I had a phone that connected to the Internet or if I was prepared to check location before heading off. Otherwise you could always just ask someone in the neighbourhood.
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