Six Essential Social Technologies for Health Sciences Faculty Gillian Mayman, MLS; Whitney Townsend, MLIS; Mark MacEachern, MLIS; Marisa Conte, MLIS University of Michigan Health Sciences Libraries http://www.lib.umich.edu/hsl 2 Collaborative writing tools allow users to create documents and resources collectively rather than individually. Wikis are collections of web pages that are easy to update and allow for anyone to update or add content. Collaborative online document tools like Google Docs and Zoho allow users to create, upload, edit, share, and access documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Collaborative Writing for Health Sciences Faculty Create a wiki to collect instruction materials and information on a class or topic; invite students or colleagues to contribute content (ex. EBM Librarian, Ganfyd) Work on writing projects with colleagues using Google Docs to chat and discuss the work in real time Give slide presentations online, complete with chat discussion, questions, and a shareable URL Quickly and easily publish documents and wikis on the web for professional exposure and student access Allow students to collaborate easily on group projects and papers Collaborative Writing 1 3 4 5 6 Social Networking MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites allow users to quickly create personal web pages with links to a wide variety of media and applications. The goal of these sites is to connect users with others through shared interests, message boards, and regularly updated information. Social Networking for Health Sciences Faculty Create a Facebook Group or Page with course information including links to PowerPoint slides, class notes, assignments, readings, and related web sites Send course announcements directly to students’ Facebook accounts when they join a course’s Facebook Group or Page Help students create and share class notes with Facebook applications such as NoteCentric Use LinkedIn, a professional networking web site, to connect graduating students with professional contacts Blogging Blogging software, like Blogger and Wordpress, give individuals the ability to quickly and cheaply create web content. Blogs consist of a series of dated entries and often include interactive commenting features that help individuals connect with and share information. Blogging for Health Sciences Faculty Create blogs to share thoughts or distribute information about research and the profession Connect with other Health Sciences professionals with similar research interests through blog comments and blogrolls Stay up-to-date by subscribing to the RSS feeds of various news agency, association, and physician/faculty blogs Facilitate student interaction by putting course content (i.e., readings, lectures) on a course blog Use blogs to make aspects of the profession more transparent Real Time Communication Instant messaging and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) allow people to communicate in real time via typed text or voice. Applications include AOL instant messaging, Meebo, Skype, and Gizmo. Social networking sites such as Facebook are beginning to offer chat features. Real Time Communication for Health Sciences Faculty Provide virtual office hours through instant messaging or chat services Use Skype to deliver instruction remotely, or to include guest presenters in your lecture Never attend another boring meeting! Be there virtually instead! Use Skype or Google Talk to help students study together in real-time, from different physical locations Student organizations on different campuses can collaborate in real-time using Skype to talk, chat and share files Multimedia Sharing Web sites such as YouTube, Flickr, iTunes, and SlideShare are used to share videos, photos, audio files, and slide presentations with others. The resources can then be commented on, tagged, shared, and embedded in web sites and social networking pages. Multimedia Sharing for Health Sciences Faculty Post classroom videos to YouTube, including guest lectures and student presentations Find videos on YouTube in order to illustrate a point made in a lecture Post photos to Flickr of class projects, special events, and even of notes taken on white boards Search Flickr for Creative Commons-licensed images that can be used in PowerPoint presentations Post podcasts of lectures to iTunes Upload PowerPoint presentations to SlideShare to share with both students and other faculty members Social bookmarking websites, like Del.icio.us, Connotea, and Citeulike, allow users to bookmark, store, personalize, and organize webpages. Through the use of tags, bookmarks can be shared and searched by other users of such sites. Social Bookmarking for Health Sciences Faculty Help students better retain information by encouraging them to personalize the web-based material they encounter Explore tags to connect with faculty who have similar research interests Find relevant resources that you may have missed via traditional research methods Use tags to categorize, index, and manage your web-based research materials Share your bookmarks with your colleagues Social Bookmarking

Collaborative writing tools allow users to create documents and resources collectively rather than individually. Wikis are collections of web pages that are easy to update and allow for anyone to update or add content. Collaborative online document tools like Google Docs and Zoho allow users to create, upload, edit, share, and access documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

Collaborative Writing for Health Sciences Faculty

Create a wiki to collect instruction materials and information on a class or topic; invite students or colleagues to contribute content (ex. EBM Librarian, Ganfyd)

Work on writing projects with colleagues using Google Docs to chat and discuss the work in real time

Give slide presentations online, complete with chat discussion, questions, and a shareable URL

Quickly and easily publish documents and wikis on the web for professional exposure and student access

Allow students to collaborate easily on group projects and papers

MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites allow users to quickly create personal web pages with links to a wide variety of media and applications. The goal of these sites is to connect users with others through shared interests, message boards, and regularly updated information.

Social Networking for Health Sciences Faculty

Create a Facebook Group or Page with course information including links to PowerPoint slides, class notes, assignments, readings, and related web sites

Send course announcements directly to students’ Facebook accounts when they join a course’s Facebook Group or Page

Help students create and share class notes with Facebook applications such as NoteCentric

Use LinkedIn, a professional networking web site, to connect graduating students with professional contacts

Blogging software, like Blogger and Wordpress, give individuals the ability to quickly and cheaply create web content. Blogs consist of a series of dated entries and often include interactive commenting features that help individuals connect with and share information.

Blogging for Health Sciences Faculty

Create blogs to share thoughts or distribute information about research and the profession

Connect with other Health Sciences professionals with similar research interests through blog comments and blogrolls

Stay up-to-date by subscribing to the RSS feeds of various news agency, association, and physician/faculty blogs

Facilitate student interaction by putting course content (i.e., readings, lectures) on a course blog

Use blogs to make aspects of the profession more transparent

Instant messaging and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) allow people to communicate in real time via typed text or voice. Applications include AOL instant messaging, Meebo, Skype, and Gizmo. Social networking sites such as Facebook are beginning to offer chat features.

Real Time Communication for Health Sciences Faculty

Provide virtual office hours through instant messaging or chat services

Use Skype to deliver instruction remotely, or to include guest presenters in your lecture

Never attend another boring meeting! Be there virtually instead!

Use Skype or Google Talk to help students study together in real-time, from different physical locations

Student organizations on different campuses can collaborate in real-time using Skype to talk, chat and share files

Web sites such as YouTube, Flickr, iTunes, and SlideShare are used to share videos, photos, audio files, and slide presentations with others. The resources can then be commented on, tagged, shared, and embedded in web sites and social networking pages.

Multimedia Sharing for Health Sciences Faculty

Post classroom videos to YouTube, including guest lectures and student presentations

Find videos on YouTube in order to illustrate a point made in a lecture

Post photos to Flickr of class projects, special events, and even of notes taken on white boards

Search Flickr for Creative Commons-licensed images that can be used in PowerPoint presentations

Post podcasts of lectures to iTunes

Upload PowerPoint presentations to SlideShare to share with both students and other faculty members

Social bookmarking websites, like Del.icio.us, Connotea, and Citeulike, allow users to bookmark, store, personalize, and organize webpages. Through the use of tags, bookmarks can be shared and searched by other users of such sites.

Social Bookmarking for Health Sciences Faculty

Help students better retain information by encouraging them to personalize the web-based material they encounter

Explore tags to connect with faculty who have similar research interests

Find relevant resources that you may have missed via traditional research methods

Use tags to categorize, index, and manage your web-based research materials

Share your bookmarks with your colleagues