LIBR559M Module III January 2013/Giustini

Learning objectives (January 28th — February 11th 2013)

Discuss the role of collaboration for information professionals in the digital age

Define collaboration and its role in building communities and social networks

List ways collaboration is enabled (online/offline) in archives & libraries

Discuss social, intellectual & economic impact of online collaboration

Definition(s) of collaboration

Collaboration is: "…to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor” — Merriam-Webster Dictionary

"Collaboration within and among members of a community brings social and economic benefits...[it] is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together in

an intersection of common goals — for example, an intellectual endeavor that is creative in nature —by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus. ..” — Wikipedia

LIBR559M Module III January 2013/Giustini

What is collaboration?

Collaboration refers to an alliance or group of individuals who are ideally motivated to come together as a community of learners to achieve mutually-desirable and achievable goals. It must be emphasized that a community or social network’s goals may be social-psychological, economic or cultural in origin.

In the digital age, social media can, when allied to the right project, move members towards better synchronous collaboration (via social calendaring, online meeting & IM) or asynchronous collaboration practices (shared workspaces & annotation tools).

Because of the power of algorithms (such as PageRank), new social forms of information seeking have been coined such as collaborative information seeking.

In Wikipedia, collaborative information seeking is defined as "... a field of research that involves studying situations, motivations, and methods for people working in collaborative groups for information seeking projects, as well as building systems for supporting… collaborative information synthesis and collaborative sense-making."

The role of responsibility for collaborating with others in archives and libraries

In the context of archives and libraries… from a sole source of responsibility emerges a shared (as in partnering) type of collaboration where leaders take on collaborative roles (as needed)

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Module III activities

Look at and listen to: instructor’s slides re: collaboration Watch & comment on this brief video:

o “Facebook group as collaborative research log” (teens’ views of collaboration on Facebook and Moodle — notice how, at various points, students' social media use overlaps with ordinary web use and information literacy)

Read and summarize one of the following papers: o Forte A, Lampe C. Defining, understanding and supporting open collaboration:

lessons from the literature. Am Behav Sci. 2013;1. o Turban E, Liang T, Wu S. A framework for adopting collaboration 2.0 tools for

virtual group decision making. Group Decis Negot. 2011;20(2):137-154.

Open Collaboration Encyclopedia http://pioneerimprints.com/Pioneer/Open_Collaboration_Freemium.html

A free comprehensive, open-sourced encyclopedia of collaborative models and networks… filled with what you needto know about emerging non-hierarchical, participatory open collaborations – facilitation

methods, community building strategies, project management tips, new organizational ideas and systems…this freemium-model book examines open collaboration projects such as Burning Man, open

source, couchsurfing.com, Open Space Technology, participatory urban planning, ecovillages and Iroquois gift economies…[a real eye-opener ~ Dean]

LIBR559M Module III January 2013/Giustini

More on module III

This module provides opportunities to examine a pillar of the social web: collaboration. Collaboration is an important concept in the digital age. The question that I want you to consider in this module is how are social networks (and tools) implicated in the global trend towards online collaboration (or e-collaboration)?

The use of information is an artifact and tool in all organizations. Think of information practices in organizations in which you’ve worked and workers’ attitudes around communication and tools such as e-mail, listservs, telephone, teleconferencing, etc. Are they considered useful? Yes or no? How efficient are you at managing these tools? Every organization creates its own culture and, even if you decide not to use a communication tool, there may be some information professionals who will use it slavishly.

Work cultures depend on information especially where it is used in decision-making and effective communication. Within library and archival cultures (most work cultures actually), information is critical in reaching institutional goals. The function of any work or professional culture is thus reliant on information and its flow across workspaces.

In what ways, do you think, could social media be used to increase flow of information?

“Social collaboration is a blending of community – Flash-mob cataloguing”

Related concepts in collaboration

Augmented intelligence, distributed cognition, crowdsourcing

Collaborative librarianship

Collaborative innovation network

Flash-mob cataloguing

Massive open online courses (MOOCs)

Smart mobs & Wisdom of the crowd

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For most knowledge workers today, collaboration is essential for achieving personal and professional goals. Social networks created through collaboration – where professionals rely on each other – set many of their own rules of engagement but nonetheless present enormous potential for organizations. Some cultures in archives and libraries now depend on social media to tell their stories and get their messages across. In a traditional sense, social media are useful supplements for creating good work relationships. When two or more people (organizations, even) form mutually-beneficial relationships and share ideas, they are working well together. In a broader sense, collaboration in the information economy is a part of a larger social imperative and neither copyright or legal barriers seem to prevent people from collaborating online.

One of the benefits of online collaboration is fluidity... ideas can be turned into knowledge objects, documents can be created, shared and they might even be stored in the cloud. Collaborative tools such as wikis, word processing tools such as Google Docs or document-sharing on Scribd and Slideshare are enormously helpful

Humans beings engage in three main communication practices: conversation, non-verbal and collaborative interactions. Social tools such as email, instant messaging and chat make communication possible for people on the go. However, let’s not confuse online collaboration as an equivalent to classic collaboration (ie., meetings face-to-face).

Classic collaboration – why collaborate in the first place?

Some organizations aim to utilize free (as in freedom) forms of collaboration to streamline their communication practices i.e., reducing email overload, for example, and to find more regular and cost-effective ways to communicate.

In the digital age, classic forms of collaboration can be supported through a proper information infrastructure and a comprehensive view of how information is handled within the organization.

Research and interviews done with large collaborative networks and organizations make it clear that there are some common steps in developing and implementing a collaborative strategy.

At a conceptual level, collaboration may typically involve: o Awareness — individuals know they are part of entity sharing common purpose o Engagement — individuals engage rather than wait and see o Motivation — individuals aim for consensus in problem-solving o Participation — individuals participate and expect others to participate o Mediation — individuals negotiate, collaborate and find common ground o Reciprocity — individual members share and expect reciprocal engagement o Reflection — individuals (re)consider and reflect on what they are doing

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Beaver D. Reflections on scientific collaboration (and its study): past, present and future. Scientometrics. 2001;52(3):365-377.

In his 2001 article, Beaver outlines 18 reasons for collaboration:

To access expertise, people, resources, “stuff” To find funds, obtain prestige or visibility To be more efficient; multiplies hands/minds To make progress; tackle “big” problems (important, difficult, global) To learn and enhance productivity To get to know people, create networks, like “the invisible college” To retool, learn new skills, break into new field, solve problems To satisfy curiosity, intellectual interest To share excitement of something with others To find flaws, reduce errors and mistakes To keep one focused because others are counting on you To reduce isolation, recharge one’s energy To educate (students, graduate students, or oneself)

Ten (10) further questions about collaboration

1. Does collaboration matter to you? 2. What are the pros and cons / value and risks of collaboration? 3. What kinds of projects are suited to electronic “e”-collaboration? 4. How can you identify potential collaborators? Can social media be used? 5. Can you share how you collaborate? 6. What are the characteristics of collaboration? 7. How do you sustain a good collaboration? e.g., information sharing 8. How can you use social media to promote a collaborative attitude? 9. What sorts of institutional support should be in place for collaboration? 10. Can we measure the success of collaborative projects?

LIBR559M Module III January 2013/Giustini

Some excellent collaborative tools to look at…

Basecamp web-based text documents, file sharing, time tracking and messaging systems CommonsInABox where members can discuss issues, collaborate on projects and share Drupal an open source suite of tools to support blogs and community-driven websites

Edublogs a free blog hosting site for multiple users Elgg an open source social networking tool designed to help people connect and share Moodle a course management system (CMS) and free open source tool designed around

pedagogical principles to help educators create learning communities on the web SocialText a proprietary tool to enable idea-sharing and collaboration in organizations TakingITGlobal.org a Canadian online community that connects youth to find inspiration,

access to information, and take action in their local and global communities Worldbridges a community of communities that uses 'homegrown webcasting' and

other new media technologies to help people learn Zoho projects a web-based online office suite with word processing, spreadsheets,

presentations, databases, note-taking, wikis and other applications

Project and time management

How are collaborative projects transformed through tools such as Zoho or Drupal? Do these tools reflect and/or trigger work and organizational change? How are distributed knowledge-sharing environments changing academia? How do concept maps, collaborative mind-mapping, data visualization, and similar

environments affect the way people communicate? (i.e. sense.us)

Social media evaluation

As you examine social media, reflect on how you might evaluate a project. Most social media generate data about the digital habits and behaviours of users. In fact, platforms such as Twitter and Facebook aggregate information about all kinds of social habits. Some tools monitor the real-time impact of our social activity. With all the data generated, the social media ecosystem is ripe for research. All kinds of tools are available to determine impact, reach and

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value of these tools. To read more about how social media can be used to measure scholarly impact, see the wiki entry on altmetrics and social networking analysis.

http://hlwiki.slais.ubc.ca/index.php/Altmetrics

Some final reflections

Collaboration is an action-oriented activity, and should result in action

Something must happen ie., work must get done in an action-oriented activity

To collaborate is to act together…the combined actions of a team

Collaboration is goal-driven as we work together to achieve something

There should be a purpose behind collaboration: to create a web site, build a learning object, support each other through hardship and so on

Individuals may have a personal motivation but team collaboration is shared

Collaboration is group-oriented and members may be geographically dispersed, and have some sense of being part of something larger

Collaboration is coordinated where members work together; typically unhierarchical

Collaboration may follow formal methods but can be implicit, informal Well-coordinated collaboration requires a sense of a sequence of actions, allocation of

tasks and a way to combine contributions of different members Why is collaboration important in the information professions? Why do we need to collaborate? Is e-mail sufficient for you? Is collaboration something we can do fully and openly as archivists and librarians? Do you believe social media has a role in providing services to user groups? Where is open source software implicated in this discourse? Think of a recent collaboration you know of that relied on social media; blog about it

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References

Benkler J. The wealth of networks: how social production transforms markets and freedom. New Haven: Yale University Press; 2006.

Blansit BD. Free/Open Source Software Licenses. J Electron Resour Med Libr. 2009;6;4:362.

Bogoch II, Frost DW, Bridge S, Lee TC, Gold WL. Morning report blog: a web-based tool to enhance case-based learning. Teach Learn Med. 2012;24(3):238-41.

Budhathoki N, Haythornthwaite C. Motivation for open collaboration: crowd and community models and the case of OpenStreetMap. American Behavioral Scientist. December 2012.

Coleman D, Levine S. Collaboration 2.0 technology and best practices for successful collaboration in a web 2.0 world. Cupertino, CA; 2008.

Dye J. Collaboration 2.0: make the web your workspace. EContent. 2008;30:32–36. Eysenbach G. Medicine 2.0: social networking, collaboration, participation,

apomediation and openness. J Med Internet Res. 2008;10(3):e22. Forte A, Lampe C. Defining, understanding and supporting open collaboration: lessons

from the literature. Am Behav Sci. 2013;1 Hastings R. Collaboration 2.0. Libr Tech Rep. 2009;45(4):16-18. Hastings R. Collaboration tools, 2.0 style. Libr Tech Rep. 2009;45(4):19-27. Hallyburton A, Kolenbrander N, Robertson C. College health professionals and academic

librarians: collaboration for student health. J Am Coll Health. 2008;56(4):395-400. Haythornthwaite C. Learning in the age of web 2.0. Leverhulme Trust Public Lecture,

London Knowledge Lab, London, UK, 2009. Paper: http://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/14868. Slides at: http://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/14869

McAfee AP. Enterprise 2.0: new collaborative tools for your organization's toughest challenges. Harvard Business Press; 2009.

McAfee AP. Enterprise 2.0: the dawn of emergent collaboration. Sloan Manage Rev. 2006;47(3):21–28.

MacMillan D. Mendeley: teaching scholarly communication and collaboration through social networking. Library Management. 2012;33(8/9):561-569.

Morris MR, Teevan J. Collaborative web search: who, what, where, when and why. Morgan and Claypool Publishers, 2009.

O'Dell S. Opportunities and obligations for libraries in a social networking age: a survey of web 2.0 and networking sites. J Libr Admin. 2010;50(3):237–51.

Pickard KT. Impact of open access and social media on scientific research. J Participat Med. 2012 Jul 18;4:e15.

Roberts S, Hunter D. New library, new librarian, new student: using LibGuides to reach the virtual student. J Libr Inform Serv Dist Learn. 2011;5(1-2):67-75.

Turban E, Liang T, Wu S. A framework for adopting collaboration 2.0 tools for virtual group decision making. Group Decis Negot. 2011;20(2):137-154.

Wenger E. Digital habitats: stewarding technology for communities. Portland, OR: CPsquare, 2009.

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West JA, West ML. Using wikis for online collaboration: the power of the read-write web. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 2009.

Wijayasundara WD. Faculty-librarian collaboration: a model for University of Colombo. Int Inform Libr Rev. 2008;40:188–98.

Wilson LA. Collaborate or die: designing library space. ARL: A Bimonthly Report on Research Library Issues and Activities. 2002:1–2.

Wriggers W, Olson WK, Dos Remedios CG. Computational opportunities for remote collaboration and capacity building afforded by web 2.0 and cloud computing. Biophys Rev. 2012 Sep 1;4(3):153-160.

Yang SQ. Subject guide 2.0: a dream or reality? J Libr Info Sci. 2009;35(1):90-98.

The open source way opens doors

and offers new perspectives on the world — open not closed — collaboration not isolation

http://opensource.com/

How is open source software implicated in the discourse of social media?