Live Help

Number of Calls: 2 (1 Meebo, 1 RAKIM)

Issues today: none

This is my final shift. Wow it seems that it was just yesterday that I started. It has been an education to work with the University of Winnipeg Library. Than you for the opportunity.

A highlight of the experience was the adoption of the Meebo service. As the library contemplates whether to drop RAKIM and continue only with Meebo I strongly encourage them to do so. Meebo offers so much more than RAKIM. The coversation is much more fluid in Meebo and the service is not plagued with the technical problems RAKIM experiences.

For one Meebo users can see when you are in the middle of typing and you them. This takes a little of the mystery out of the conversation (are they still there - are they getting my messages).

Often in RAKIM what you type does not seem to show up and the responses of the patrons too. There is nothing to prompt you to click on the patron's tab to see those comments. RAKIM also needs a dedicated browser for its ringer to work - tabbed browsing is a powerful tool when working with multiple patrons and sources.

Another feature in Meebo is the availability of emoticons. Sure you can use the colon bracket method :) but does every student or faculty member asking questions even know what that means. How about :/ or :p ;) ;( The ability to express emotions in a text based conversation is important.

Meebo also allows you to see multiple conversations at once. Conversations are not hidden behind tabs.

I've suggested to several students to use our Meebo service when conversations have begun to break down in the RAKIM interface. Each time students have expressed how much easier and better Meebo is. So hooray for Meebo - keep it going and get rid of the dinosaur RAKIM - it was a good start but its time to move on.

Another final suggestion - why not use a wiki for the IRG. This would allow for so more collaboration on the project and the ability to add to it on a consistent basis. Tips and tricks in online research are often changing, A guide that has the same ability is a necessity if you wish it to be a useful and dynamic resource.

Thanks again for the opportunity and experience. I have to admit I'll be glad to have my weekend back :)

James

Posted by James at 5:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Calls today: 4 (1 meebo, 3 RAKIM)

Issues: none today.

Projects I am working on: "I Have to Write A Literature Review" for the IRG

One shift left - bitter sweet really.

Bye till next week

James

Posted by James at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi Everyone,

Number of Calls: 6 (5 IM; 1 RAKIM)

Issues: No issues today. Almost all the calls were about searching articles for papers.

Project: I was working on “I have to write a Topic Research Paper…”. I completed “How do I find...” session, and part of “How do I cite my sources (References, Works Cited, Bibliographies, In-text Citations)” session.

Thank you,

Rachel

Posted by Rachel at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi Everyone,

Number of Calls: 3 (1 IM; 2 RAKIM)

Issues: No issues today.

Project: I am working on “I have to write a Topic Research Paper…” and finished “Where do I start?” session and part of “How do I find...” session.

Thank you,

Rachel

Posted by Rachel at 5:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Calls today - 3 Meebo calls

Issues: I got the email about the library assignment too late - I spent a while with one student looking for those articles - over an hour - I'd have found them if I wasn't showing the student the library ropes :) and he/she didn't have to run to work.

Personally I think they were using work as an excuse to not learn anything more about finding articles in the library. Ah well - He is all the brighter now for sticking with me that long.

Projects: I worked on the section for searching the Deep Web for the IRG and using web 2.0 features to enhance your research - I've emailed those sections to CJ.

It's Saint Patrick's Day. Lets all celebrate the coming of Christianity to Ireland by getting completely sloshed.... seems a little at odds with the message but perhaps not in a historical context Christmas has always been notorious for that.

I understand the use of the three leaf clover as an analogy for the Trinity - but what happens to that analogy when you find a lucky four leaf clover. Who might be represented by that fourth leaf? And why so lucky?

I'm not wearing green - but thats no excuse to keep pinching me :)

James

Posted by James at 5:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Number of calls - 3 in Meebo I think

Issues: I posted this already but it somehow got lost in the 0s and 1s of computer land. I wrote the end of shift report and published it but somehow its no longer there. It not among the unpublished entries either. So it is now Wednesday evening and I am writing this report.

Projects: Do you honestly expect me to remember what I worked on on Satruday? I can't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning. Well I'm sure I worked on something... I'm working on the IRG section for finding resources online and in the deep web - you'll get then this coming Saturday CJ.

Alright I'm out

James

Posted by James at 7:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi Everyone,

Number of Calls: 4 (2 IM; 2 RAKIM)

Issues: No issues today.

Project: I am working on “I have to write a Topic Research Paper…”. This one looks big. It may take me a couple of shifts.
.

Thank you,

Rachel

Posted by Rachel at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi Everyone,

Number of Calls: 4 (2 IM; 2 RAKIM)

Issues: No issues today.

Project: I was working on “I have to choose a topic for a research paper”. I did not do “How do I learn more about my topic?” part because I put ideas about it into “What is an appropriate topic?” part.

Thank you,

Rachel

Posted by Rachel at 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hi Everyone,

Number of Calls: 6 (3 IM; 3 RAKIM)

Issues: No issues today.

Students were asking more research related questions, such as how to search for a topic and how to cite sources.

Project: I am still working on tips and tricks for doing library research. I planned to finish it tonight, but was not able to with 6 calls.

CJ, I have a question regarding this section. What would you like to put in “Leaving library research too late?” If a student left the library research too late, what can they do? I am having hard time with this. Could you please give me some clue?

Thank you,

Rachel

Posted by Rachel at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hi Everyone,

Number of calls: 4 (3 RAKIM, 1 Meebo)

Issues: I’m not sure if I should call this issue. But it might be helpful to others if I mentioned it here. A student was trying to access RefWorks off campus and he needed the group code. I believe that the group code is necessary for accessing RefWorks off campus. Am I right? If so, probably the reference staff needs to be aware of it.

Project: I was working on “Tips and tricks for doing library research” section.

Thank you,
Rachel

Posted by Rachel at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Calls Today 6 or 7 - (4 Rakim 2 or 3 Meebo)

Issues: I had some browser problems this afternoon - Firefox went on the fritz - kept freezing up on me. I managed to work it out though eventually.

Projects: between the calls and my computer problems I didn't manage much today in the way of projects.

My eyes hurt from staring at this screen too long - think I'll go home and watch tv - does that make any sense...

James "clueless in Alberta*

Posted by James at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hi James/Rachel,

It's been interesting trying to work with staff who are all using different computers, in terms of using Rakim and meebo. It seems that when someone experiences a problem, it works fine for other people. In the end though, the problems are mainly related to plugins (e.g. QuickTime or Flash) in that they need to be updated.

The other problem has been features of browsers, such as the ability to use tabs and open up everything in new tabs. However, Rakim has to be open in a new window, otherwise the sound will not be heard, while meebo can be in an unactive tab and you'll still hear the sound. We had 34 dropped calls in February, basically because of the use of tabs.

In terms of your work on the IRG, feel free to make changes to the sections, the document I sent is only a guideline, but as needed you can add/combine/change/delete sections. Whatever you think is most beneficial to the students.

Thanks!
~CJ

Posted by CJ de Jong at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)