Twitter in the Library and the Classroom

I joined Twitter a few months ago. I have around 200 "tweets." Yes, I know. Active Twitter users are calling me pathetic as they read this. However, I remember someone tweeting about teaching law faculty about Twitter. I thought that was interesting, but moved on with my day. On Monday, we had a faculty retreat and a professor came and talked to us and he told us that twitter is his preferred means of communication and he encourages students to use it and other web 2.0 technologies while in his class.

Okay, now I am thinking - how can you use Twitter in the classroom or in the library? Is it really a good idea? So, I did what any self-respecting librarian does. I googled "Twitter in the cl-" before I could finish Twitter in the classroom came up as an option.

We know that libraries are using Twitter to announce new books and programs, but here are some other ways to use Twitter.

Reference Questions - Limiting someone to 140 characters could be good or bad
Discussion Forums - Patrons can have a public discussion on a topic
Twitter Polls - Find and graph opinions
Twiddeo - Share video with patrons

Potential Downsides
Searching
Archiving
Text Message Fees
Time Spent Staffing/Managing the Twitter Account

So, while I support Libraries being on Twitter, I am still uncertain about the benefit to using it in the classroom. Please leave your comments about your experiences with Twitter in libraries or in the classroom.

Links to Articles Consulted
Twitter in the Classroom
http://web20primer.wetpaint.com/page/Twitter+in+the+Classroom

Libraries on Twitter
http://p8g.tw/?aOI

50 ways to use Twitter in the College Classroom
http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2009/06/08/50-ways-to-use-twitter-in-the-college-classroom/

A Professor's Tips for using Twitter in the Classroom
http://chronicle.com/blogPost/A-Professor-s-Tips-for-Using/3643

Are Universities Wasting Their Time Communicating to Students via Twitter
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/law_librarian_blog/2009/08/are-universities-wasting-their-time-communicating-to-students-via-twitter.html

How one Teacher uses Twitter in the Classroom
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_one_teacher_uses_twitter_in_the_classroom.php

25 Interesting Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom
http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhn2vcv5_118cfb8msf8

Twitter for Academia
http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia/

Westlaw Law School Exchange

One of the products that impressed me most this year was Westlaw's Law School Exchange. It seemed to address a lot of the gripes that I had about online text books, and it has some other useful features. This product is for passwords with faculty status.

West has divided its marketing of Law School Exchange into three categories: Share, Publish, and Collaborate.

Share
You can upload PDFs, Photos, PowerPoints, Word Documents and Mutlimedia files. This is a good way to share articles and syllabi with colleagues. You can easily share documents under the Materials tab.

Publish
This feature has the ability to integrate with TWEN and allows distribution of course materials. Don't forget to mindful of copyright! West Academic Publishing and Foundation Press materials are available. Text books can be viewed in a document viewer. This is the feature that I saw that impressed me. You could highlight portions of the text as well as annotate. From what I was told, this feature would come for a fee to students.

Collaborate
You can join groups and add colleagues. This allows you to reach beyond your school for guidance and provides networking opportunities.

Other things to note
There are tabs for Collections and Blogs that are in development. Also, the version I saw at AALL seems to be a bit different, so it took some getting use to. Additionally, you have to log in with your unique Westlaw password.


To join Law School Exchange go to http://exchange.westlaw.com/ and click on create an account. You will need your Westlaw password (the unique numeric-alpha password, not your custom password). Next, you select the areas you teach in, you also have the option of adding areas that you are interested in. You then must agree to the terms of use and then you can register.

Free Court Dockets Web Site

Today, I took a look at the Free Court Dockets site. To retrieve docket information (with the exception of US Supreme Court information), you have to request an invitation code from the site. (Click here if you would like to go through the process).

I did not request an invitation code, so I looked at one of the "Hot Docket" cases, GERONIMO v. OBAMA - 09cv00303. The first page, the case summary, gives you the standard plantiff and defendant information, as well as info on their attorneys.

The second page gives you docket information along with the date each document was filed/action taken.

You can download/print/save this information. You can also view when the docket was last updated by the site, and also refresh the docket information.

However, if you want to get a motion, for example, the site redirects you to Pacer, at least it does for the case that I looked at. It also warns that you must have a Pacer account and fees may be assessed.

This site is good if you need basic information, or you want to see the docket, but it appears that you will still need to use Pacer (or Westlaw or Lexis if you want to retrieve docket documents through one of those services) if you need to see the actual motion/document.

Article on Clickers from RIPS

Yasmin Alexander wrote a Blog post about Audience Response Systems (clickers). To ready the post click here. To read the Perspectives article click here.

I haven't ever used clickers in the classroom, but I have used them during meetings with fellow librarians. Some people do not like having to use the clickers, but I found that it helps you get a sense of what everyone is thinking, whether or not they spoke on the topic.

Want to Improve Pacer? Sign the petition so your voice will be heard.

There is a petition going around that supports improvements to Pacer. For more information about the petiton and to sign it if you are interested, click here.

Guide to Better Google Searches

We may want to resist it, but our patrons love to research on Google. With that said, it doesn't mean we can't teach them to use Google more efficiently. Here is a Guide to Better Searches on Google created by Google. The guide provides and defines modifiers to help you make a stronger Google search.

Do you get what you pay for? Evaluation of Free Case Law Sites

A colleague sent me a link to an article that evaluates 10 free legal case law sites. The article appeared on the Law Technology News site and was written by Robert J. Ambrogi. This article is great for a quick description and comparison and can help you point your patrons in the direction best for them.

The following sites were evaluated:
AltLaw
Casemaker
Fastcase
FindACase
FindLaw
Justia
Legal Information Institute (LII)
LexisONE
PreCYdent
Public Library of Law (PLOL)
Public.Resource.Org

Will Bing Rule the World?

Currently, there is a LOT of fuss about Bing. At work, all of the homepages for the public computers have been set to Bing. Also, my home page for my cell phone was set to Bing (without my doing). It seems to be that Bing is taking over, so I wanted to experience Bing for myself.

I found some information on Law Librarian Blog that lead me here. PC World compared Bing, Google, and Yahoo. The comparison is complete with screen shots.

I decided to do my own comparison between Google, my preferred search engine, and Bing. I looked for my apartment complex. I have to say I like that Google gave me a map of the location, but other than that, the info was pretty much the same. Bing keeps the left side of the page clean where Google has ads. Bing also keeps track of your search history on the right side of the screen and has related search options. Google also does this if you click "Show Options".

I don't think that I am ready to switch to Bing full time as of yet, but I definitely think it is a viable search engine.

PowerPoint How Tos - Office 2007

I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of PowerPoint 2007, but I am warming up to it. I feel like some of the functionality that I had in the 2003 version is gone. However, all is not lost. I found a 'PowerPoint How Tos 2007" guide created by Microsoft. If you like to give your PowerPoint presentations that extra zing, this is the guide for you.

To access the 'PowerPoint How Tos 2007" guide click here.

SERU

As a member of the CRIV committee, I developed a proposal for the DC conference on Shared Electronic Resources Understanding (SERU). Unfortunately, the program was not accepted, but we were able to get a grant and turn the program into a webinar! You can find more information about the webinar below. The program is called The Shared Electornic Resource Understanding (SERU): Can it work in my Library? and will be held Tuesday June 9 from 1p-2p. The program is sponsored by NELLLCO and co-sponsored by CRIV. For more information, click here.