meet Alex what is Research 2.0 ?

A.K.A. dr. Research 2.0

Alex works here …

and here …

and here …

she loves teaching and researching about it … she is passionate about …

Alex does her research here …

and quite a bit here …

but , mostly it is done here …

these are Alex’s students … they are collaborating on her R.I.T. project …

her Research Partners are here …

so Alex has to find ways of working in a global research community, in different time zone's with her colleagues, students and people she has never met …

this is one of Alex’s Research Partners …

Alex subscribes to his blog via an RSS feed She feels like she knows him really well, and always knows what he’s thinking and where his research is heading. she’s never met her research partner in person

her colleagues subscribe to it via an RSS feed her students subscribe to it via an RSS feed 126 people she doesn’t know subscribe to it via an RSS feed they all feel like they know her and her research really well Alex also has a research blog

Alex uses Netvibes to keep up-to-date with current research …

she also uses Connotea to store her research references … she stores references for books , journals and websites to share with team members online she is able to assign tags to references for easy search & retrieval Alex can see what other references people have added online

… and BaseCamp to manage her research project … she assigns tasks & deadlines to team members online team members communicate & check off tasks online Alex monitor’s progress and workload online

Alex likes tools like Netvibes, Connotea and BaseCamp because they are lightweight , easy to use and quick … oh and they have RSS … No training needed for new team members – just sign up and go!

Alex uses the University wiki … a lot the wiki is accessible and editable by everyone at the University

to create their own academic papers & articles she encourages her students and colleagues to use the University wiki …

that’s less work for Alex … … and empowerment for the users collaborative documentation …

Alex stores & tags all her bookmarks on Delicious … everyone can see them … and she can see everyone else’s

her tags highlight her interests & stuff she’s keeping an eye on she can see who else is interested in the same things by exploring tags

Alex’s research partners & students use the same Social Bookmarking application … … they subscribe to each others tag feeds via RSS

Alex stores & tags all her pictures on Flickr … again everyone can see them … and she can see everyone else’s , again it’s via RSS

this is Bill Alex’s colleague & mentor

Bill normally has lots to say … so he creates audio podcasts which are aggregated throughout the University

when a new podcast is available from Bill’s blog ... Alex is notified by Netvibes via RSS

… she then downloads, listens & syndicates the podcast on her own blog

… Alex networks at a conference once a year.

if she is lucky , her network might be …

Now , she has a LinkedIn profile……

… so does her research partner

… and most of Alex’s other partners

… in fact, that’s how she got the job at the University. Using a Social Network to find contacts and opportunities .

you see … … social networking is not just for kids !

from her tags , her blog , her wiki entries and her LinkedIn profile … people often contact Alex from different departments and even countries …

… just to say Hi … or to say, hey, I work on a similar project, how can we collaborate…? it’s about collaboration

now her network is …

In this online community she’s … a respected leader … and a dedicated follower.

18 months ago Alex was using these tools … all on her desktop …

today Alex uses these tools … all through her browser …

and these devices … to communicate , collaborate & create content …

… ask Alex what Research 2.0 is …?

… she’d say she hates buzz words …

... but it’s most definately Social Software that promotes collaboration & dissemination …

blogs wiki’s podcasts social networking online collaboration tagging social bookmarking

… If you ask Alex what she wants to change at work she’ll say …

… she wants to connect and collaborate with colleagues , students and research partners …

… at anytime …

… from anywhere !