Social Software
Description
Social software encompasses various methods for communicating the ideas of an individual or group with other individuals or members of a group. Social software includes weblogs, wikis, synchronous and asynchronous discussion groups, social bookmarking, and social networking services (e.g. Facebook). ET staff continue to investigate many aspects of social software, particularly those that involve Web 2.0-type applications. ET's current focus will be on how to use existing application programming interfaces (APIs) for various Web 2.0 services and applications and integrate them with existing Penn State applications, authentication, authorization, and services. The common term for this type of "loose integration" across platfoms is a "mash-up."
Publications
When the Web Talks Back, M. Earnest, C. Riddle, M. Berube, and J. Leous, Web 2005, University Park, June 14, 2005.
Why Wikis are Wacky, Why Wikis Work Well, Leous, James, ITS All-Staff Meeting, University Park, May 24, 2005.
(Web 2.0 in the Higher Education Enterprise) 2.0, Cole Camplese and Jim Leous, 2007 Penn State Web Conference, June 11, 2007.
Resources
Blogs and Politics
What is Wiki (Introduction to Wikis)
Penn
State Social Bookmarking Service
Primary ET Contact
Jim Leous, leous@psu.edu
Collaborators
Education Technology Services (ETS) and Applied Information Technologies (AIT), both units of ITS.
Expected Deliverable(s)
* Prototype social software applications, e.g. wikis, blogs, and social bookmarking.
* Integration/"mash-ups" with existing Penn State Web based applications.
* Demonstration code of mash-ups using the APIs of existing Web 2.0 services.
Level of ET Involvement
ET will investigate open source, commercial, and service-oriented solutions and work with other areas of IT at Penn State to incorporate social software and Web 2.0 capabilities into their research and instructional services. ET tasks include protoypting, demonstrations, integration, and evangelization of social software services and applications.
Initiative Start Date
April 2003