Online Information Services
Instructor: Muh-Chyun Tang
muhchyun.tang@gmail.com (TEL) 33662967

Course description

For a discipline such as LIS, the study of the newest trends in online information service carries a special sense of urgency as it has rapidly become the main venues where information is consumed and exchanged. This class aims to introduce first and second year LIS students the latest development in online information services. It will explore theoretical and practical implications of Internet technologies on the provision and access of information. Issues related to electronic publishing, social media, and e-books will be discussed. Students will have first-hand experience in using, evaluating, and designing online information services.  The impacts of networked technology on scholarly communication and dissemination of knowledge will be also discussed.

Specifically, students will acquire a basic understanding of 
1. The production and marketing of information goods
2. The impact of digitization and electronic publishing on the provision of information
3. The new possibilities brought about by social media on information seeking and access
4. A framework to evaluate the value, effectiveness, and user experience of various emerging online information services.

Course Schedule

1. Final exam  30%
2.  Homeworks (individual) 30%
    a.  Information services evaluation
    b. (Google search exercise)

3 . Group projects 40%
There will be two group projects, see detailed instructions below. 
On top of your group report, each member will turn in a half-page personal report that explain what you have learned and contributed in each group project.
 
    3.1 Wikimedia group project  10%
For the wiki project, students will form into group of 2 to 3 to create and edit an wiki entry for a core concept or theory on the class wikimedia site.  
This assignment will include the following components:
1. Creating an wiki entry on the class wikimedia site. Make sure you cite credible souces and provide extra links for users who want to know more on the topic.
First post your topic on the class discussion forum to claim your topic, then write a 2 - 4 pages explanatory texts that explain the defination, origin, and history of the concept. All the information you include in the entry has to be attributable to reliable sources. You MUST make reference to as least one authoritative source such as "The Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology," or "Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science". Also make sure you make proper citations to your source, see How to cite sources.
2. One page summary of your search strategies
3. Give a short (less than 5 minutes) talk on your entry. In your talk, focus less on the content than on the search strategies and references used in preparing the entry. 

    3.2 Podcasting group project  30%  (  example)
For the podcasting project, students will form into groups of 2 or 3 to conduct a team project that involves creating a podcasting service for a topic of your choice.
This assignment will include the following components:
1. A web page that includes:
a. An introduction (one to two paragraphs) that clearly states the aim and scope of the site.
b. At least two episodes of podcasts available to download, each about 5-10 minutes in length.
2. A written report that includes
a. 1-3 pages that explains the web site's
intended user communities and their information needs.
b . The XML codes for your RSS.
3. A presentation of the project to the class.
a . Demonstrate that a user will be able to subscribe to your podcast using one of the aggregations/RSS readers.
b. Play the MP3 files of your production.

References