AIM
From LIS 460 Summer 2007
Contents |
What is AIM
"AOL® Instant Messenger™ (AIM) is a free online service that lets you communicate in real time. Using the AIM® Buddy List® window, you can see when your buddies are online and chat with them." [AIM FAQ Page]
Terms:
Screen Name: It's a name that your friends will choose to be known by online. For example Susan will show up on your computer as Sue5671 instead of just Susan.
Buddies: This is what AIM calls the people you know online. You'll know these people by their screen names. A buddy can be someone you know in your daily life, someone you have met online, or even someone you have talked to in any form. A buddy can be anyone because people who are on your buddy list are not told that they have been added to your list. So no one knows who is keeping track of their screen name. Putting buddies on your list is a choice that you alone make, names do not just appear and people that you have added will not be notified that they are on your list.
Buddy List: This is a list of buddies (screen names) that appears when you start up AIM. This list tells you when your friends are online, if they are away, or if they are available to talk with.
Away Messages: This is a note that appears when someone is instant messaged and they are not at their computer. The buddy creates the message or uses one already programed into the AIM system.
What does AIM have to offer?
- Mobile AIM: users can add friend's mobile numbers into their buddy list allowing them to text their friends from the AIM screen
- Buddy Info Images: pictures can be added to a friend's screenname in your buddy list easily..."A picture is worth a thousand words!"
- Offline IM's: The latest version of AIM (version 6.1) allows a user to retrieve IM's that they have missed while logged off the program.
- IM Logging: There is an option on an instant message screen to 'log' a conversation that users have had during their instant message. The conversation is saved to a file on the user's computer allowing the user to then access the conversation later or keep a conversation for record of something.
- Picture Sharing: A "drag and drop interface" allows users to place pictures into their IM conversations.
- PC to PC Chat: This feature allows users to have or continue conversations using AIM® Phoneline. To use this feature a user needs to sign up with AIM® Phoneline and receive a free local phone number.
- Wallmations: The latest version of AIM has interactive wall papers.
- AIM Pages: This is a page sort of like Myspace or Facebook. A user begins by listing basic information (gender, birth date, if they are in a relationship or who they are looking for in a relationship, and their hometown and where they currently reside). From here a user can list more personal information, add a picture or website, and also set restrictions for who can view the page and how much viewers are allowed to comment on the user's site.
Using AIM in a School Library
I think that AIM could be very useful in a school setting. Using just the basic AIM communication between students and teacher and the library could be improved. In a school where there is a computer in every classroom (or at least many classrooms) hooked up to the internet then AIM could run all day on the computer's desktop. Each classroom could have their own screen name (perhaps the name of the room's teacher, or the classroom number if teachers share rooms) and then the librarian could have their own screen name. This way if a teacher or student had a question during the day to ask the librarian communication could be open. If AIM was left open on the librarian's desk top as well then with regular checking questions could be answered in a prompt manner. Students could receive real time help dealing with technology questions, research questions, ect. without having to leave their classroom or work area.
The library could also keep their screen name up at all times. It would mean that a computer would have to stay on somewhere for at least a decent part of the day and night, but this could give students and their parents access to what the library has to offer beyond school hours. In the Information section for the library's name there could be updates about what is going on in the library such as new books both fiction and non, along with any special classes or seminars the library is hosting. Plus there could be links to new web resources that the students might find helpful for school work, or just interesting to peruse in their free time. It would be best for something like this to be updated on a weekly to monthly basis. Weekly would be really cool and probably keep students interests up the best, but at least monthly so that all links work and new stuff for the library listed really is still new.
