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Term (and the learning) is over, and so is LIBR534 – our course on ‘Health information sources and services’. In our last class, the student health librarians formed small groups and brainstormed what they will ‘take away’ from the 13-week course on health librarianship. We asked them to consider core issues related to the new pedagogies we used in LIBR534, including what worked well – and what didn’t. What did they found most memorable? How many want to be health librarians?

Now, we are in the throes of assessing term papers, search assignments and participation. To encourage connectedness, we used a blended ‘social learning’ approach of in-class discussions and online sharing of ideas and information via Vista, a Blackboard-like content management system. All of the connections that were made reminded me that the work we do using educational technologies belongs to an emerging pedagogy called connectivism.

This 5-minute video provides a good introduction to George Siemen’s connectivist ideas. Take a good look and let me know your thoughts…~Dean

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Mike LeBeau of Google mobile gives an overview of the new Google Mobile App for iPhone. The App lets you speak your queries without having to push any keys, and also lets you do local searches without specifying your location. Voice search – how cool is that?

What are the implications of this new search technology for physicians?

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For an upcoming UBC Library forum, I was asked to present my view of some of the more important developments at Google in 2008. However, I’ll be on a much-needed holiday for the entire month of December – and, I am taking a month-long break from blogging, too. When I reviewed the ten (10) most-popular posts on this blog in 2008, here’s what I came up with:

Top Ten (10) Google Posts – Google Scholar blog, 2008

1. <a href=”http://migrator.rab.olt.ubc.ca/googlescholar/2008/08/What-is-Google-doing-in-health-circa-mid-2008?/”>What is Google Doing in Health Mid-2008? (August 2008)

2. Google Gets Its ‘Chrome’ – A New Browser for Googlers (September 2008)

3. <a href=”http://migrator.rab.olt.ubc.ca/googlescholar/2008/09/Scholarly-Papers-&-Metadata-Now-in-Mother-Google/”>Scholarly Papers & Metadata Now in Mother Google

4. <a href=”http://migrator.rab.olt.ubc.ca/googlescholar/2008/10/Why-Hakia’s-Request-is-a-‘Google-Deja-Vu’/”>Why Hakia’s Request is a ‘Google Deja Vu’

5. <a href=”http://migrator.rab.olt.ubc.ca/googlescholar/2008/07/Knol-Will-Be-An-‘In-Between-Source’-of-Information/”>[Google’s] Knol Will Be An ‘In-Between Source’ of Information (July 2008)

6. Google Crawls One (1) Trillion Pages (What about Google scholar?)

7. <a href=”http://migrator.rab.olt.ubc.ca/googlescholar/2008/07/Try-Out-Google’s-‘Immersive-World’—Introducing-Lively/”>Try Out Google’s ‘Immersive World’ – Introducing Lively (July 2008)
Update: Google shutting down virtual world ‘Lively’ – by December 2008

8. <a href=”http://migrator.rab.olt.ubc.ca/googlescholar/2008/06/Google-Is-‘Rewiring’-Us-Alright/”>Google Is ‘Rewiring’ Us Alright (June 2008)

9. Do (Aussie) Doctors Google? Yes, For Patients Mostly…

10. Libraries Can Beat Google at Its Own Game (March 2008)

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One critical issue I did not blog about is Google’s $125 million dollar agreement to continue its Google Print project. I’ll watch how that issue plays out in 2009. ~Dean

Mothers are so right. My mother’s voice continually rings in my ears and admonishes me to take care of myself. She would have loved this funny even joyful slideshare. You enjoy it too, and have a good weekend. ~Dean

I have been watching the Twitter feeds, reading comments on the blogosphere, but the reports from the web 2.0 summit in Los Angeles have been curiously lacking in any linkage to pressing issues of our time; global warming, the war on terror and the collapsing global economy. What’s the connection between these disparate issues? Does web 2.0 have any role in bringing resources, communities and people together?

In his keynote at the summit, Al Gore said he sees a lot of promise in what he calls “World 2.0”. What is World 2.0? Simply, using the Internet and web 2.0 technologies for social betterment.

Gore said: “.. we have..had great leaps forward [with] new information ecoysystems [making] it possible for individuals who are thinking and processing information and who have aspirations and hopes … to connect easily with voters around core ideas”.

Gore points to the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press five centuries ago and its role in democratization as an example of the pivotal role of technology and information dissemination. I pointed out to my LIBR500 students in my presentation last week the same thing: that the Internet is an important force in globalization and in promoting global collaboration.

Librarians can be a part of that global collaboration.

Web 2.0 leading to ‘information overload’. Oh, OK, didn’t I say that last year and take a lot of flak for it? I’m not gloating (not me) just wondering…..Dean

Barsky E., & Giustini D. Web 2.0 in Physical Therapy: A Practical Overview. Physiotherapy Canada, 2008; 60(3): 207-215. Available from: http://utpjournals.metapress.com/content/

Two years ago, one of the blogosphere’s superstars, Robert Scoble, was dealing with the death of his mother. I was very moved by his exploration of feelings and issues as they pertain to loved ones (such as when a parent dies) and his brave use of blogging to do so in 2006. Ironically, like my mother Margaret Giustini, Scoble’s mother died at 66. With only editorial changes, as many of the issues are germane to life and health for me now, here is my revamped post of that period. ~Dean

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From 2006:

“Academic tertiary care hospitals are exciting, cutting-edge places. Health care is, for all its waiting lists and fiscal problems, a challenging, rewarding sector to work within – and it is critical that we do as much as we can as a community to ensure that everyone has access to it throughout the lifespan. [2008: It is not dificult to see why healthcare is such an important issue in the US election campaign.]

One aspect of working in healthcare is dealing with the issues around disease and illness, and mortality. From a caregiver-family perspective, Robert Scoble, Microsoft’s Techno-Evangelist, has been blogging about the passing of his mother in recent weeks, and his family’s experience dealing with the health care system. Read some of his posts, they (and the responses) are illuminating reading for all librarians and physicians.

On the passing of his mother, Scoble muses on the meaning and questions of life:

“What do I want to do career wise? I’ve had opportunities thrown at me recently. Should I consider them? For what reason? What’s the value I add to the world? Can I do more? In five years, where do I want to be? Who do I want to be? What kind of father should I be?”
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I would only add the question: what can the death of a loved one teach us about life? I am reminded of my mother’s feelings about life, and what an extraordinary miracle it is….

To see the full obituary for Margaret Hope Lowe, please go here: https://blogs.ubc.ca/dean/2008/10/searching-for-mum-margaret-hope-lowe-giustini-1942-2008/

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