« January 2007 | Main | March 2007 »
February 28, 2007
eLearning Blogs
Is e-learning an important part of your institution's strategic plans? It's certainly a big, fairly new puzzle piece in the infrastructure for schools, colleges and universities. Sometimes it's the primary mode as with certain types of distance education and other times it is used in a blended manner.
Anyway, here's a few useful lists:
Top 10 elearning blogs (Really 14 if you're counting)
Clive on Learning
Corporate eLearning Strategies and Development
e-Clippings (Learning As Art)
eLearning Technology
elearnspace
Harold Jarche
The Learning Circuits Blog
Informal Learning Blog
Learning Matters!
Learnlets
Stephen's Web ~ OLDaily
Big Dog, Little Dog
e-Training in the Trenches
In the Middle of the Curve
Tony Karrer's eLearning Technology
Harold Jarche
Kevin Kruse's E-Learning Guru
Learning TRENDS by Elliott Masie
Internet Time Blog
Dave Mozealous
elearningpost
Online Learning Update
George Siemens' elearnspace
Connectivism Blog
Breakthrough eLearning
Jenna Sweeney's Corporate Training & e-Learning Blog
Robin Good's MasterViews International
Mobilemind
Indezine PowerPoint Blog
Learning Circuits Blog
Corporate eLearning Development
E-Learning Queen
Stephen's Web
Either way, a link to these blogs or an aggregated blog feed on a library page might help position you as a great partner for learning site development.
Here's some ideas (managing your RSS feeds) for that.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:57 AM | Comments (1)
Empowering the K-12 Classroom
Here's the most articulate and succinct posting I've seen to date about allowing social tols, the webb and other 2.0 type stuff in schools.
It starts with a story and then uses a clear metaphor.
Read it here.
"A hammer can kill someone but it can also build a house.
A nail can be driven through a hand but it can also hold the roof over your head.
A fist can hit but a fist can also be clasped in your hand in love.
We do not outlaw hammers, nails, or fists -- we teach people to use them properly."
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:26 AM | Comments (0)
Top 25 Web 2.0 Search Engines
Here's another fun bookmark to fill those quiet moments in the day. I knew some of these but it's amazing the creativity being applied to search results. Remember the focus now isn't on search so much as results display or on searching non-traditional content.
Top 25 Web 2.0 Search Engines
from OEdb (Online Education Database)
"Online search is now a multi-billion dollar industry, with Google alone grossing over $3.5 billion in profits last year. It's no wonder why so many newcomers are hopping on the search bandwagon, hoping to become the next Google. And those new search engines that may stand the best chance to become the next Google all share one common element — the use of Web 2.0 technology that they hope will increase search result relevance.
Here are 25 such engines. Some offer functionality that's slowly making its way into traditional search engines. Others further the attempt to traverse the invisible Web and index other previously unsearchable research sources."
Fun.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:21 AM | Comments (0)
February 27, 2007
From Paperless to Softwareless
Are we ready for library PCs and patrons who don't want our software but do want to use the web based software from anywhere. It appears that the potential for a softwareless PC will precede the paperless office! Check out this posting here at Duct Tape Marketing.
Here's a teaser of the types of software available without needing to lock and load:
GMail
IceMail
WebMail
Hotmail
Calendar
Google Calendar
Phone systems
Skype
GotVMail
CRM
SageCRM
Salesforce.com
Zoho CRM
File storage and transfer
Drop Send
Xdrive
Box.net
Documents
Google Docs
Zoho Writer
Spreadsheets
Zoho Sheet
Google Spreadsheets
Database and Forms
Zoho Creator
WuFoo
DabbleDB
Design
Formatpixel
SiteKreator
Homestead
Project management
Basecamp
Collanos Workplace
Presentations
WebEx
GoToMeeting
Accounting & Billing
QuickBooks Online
FreshBooks
Collaboration
HyperOffice
Zimbra
Office Suites
Zoho Virtual Office
Google Apps
Office Live
NetSuite
WebOffice
You might know of more apps and categories (certainly I would add blogs, IM and wikis). Tell us in the comments. The above list is linked on the original post.
So, for those libraries who can't afford to offer office suite apps on your end user stations, here's your chance to serve the real digital divide!
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 2:35 PM | Comments (2)
Social SPAM
OK, this is interesting. You can buy Facebook and MySpace fake friends for 99 cents a month.
Who would want fake friends enough to pay for them? I think this goes beyond the professional paid mourners of olden times. I think it's a way to make a site look credible quickly and build virtual ssocial equity to market, sell and spoam the social spaces.
Then again, maybe it's just for lonely folks getting a virtual life.
Something to watch.
Stephen.
Posted by stephen at 2:28 PM | Comments (1)
Facebook Growth
Some interesting Facebook stats:
"Users have grown by nearly 300 percent to 18.5 million since last July. Half those users log in every day--making Facebook about eight times better read than the New York Times. There are more than one billion [no typo] photos on the Facebook site."
"600 million searches each month using a 200-gigabyte search index, featuring real time updates."
You can find out more here and here.
I have to say that I am finding my Facebook presence to be an interesting and intense learning experience.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 2:24 PM | Comments (1)
February 26, 2007
Internet Scrapbooking and new Tools
Here's some new (or fairly new) stuff to play with.
A virtual office application suite.
Zotero [zoh-TAIR-oh] is a free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite your research sources. It lives right where you do your work — in the web browser itself. It works like a scrapbook and lets you collect information and sites you find along your research trail. Citation capture and note taking are sure to be hits.
This one takes channel surfing to another level and provides recommendations as you surf. Imagine this when it goes on to scholarly steroids.
Anyway, I think these three are worth playing with for a while. It's only learning. And it gives a peak at what's beyond del.icio.us and Flickr.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:25 AM | Comments (1)
Mash Ups and Yahoo Pipes
Mashups are one of the more interesting things on the web at the moment. All very 2.0. It started to get big in music and video but it's hitting programmers big time as an opportunity to innovate and make stuff quick.
Have you heard about Yahoo Pipes. It is fairly new technology that Yahoo developed for the Web. Here is the website. It's all about the mashup!
Also follow these blogs:
Mashable
Mashable via Progammable Web
There are often Google Mashups on the various official and unofficial Google blogs. You can do this mashup thing with Ask and MSN and Yahoo! too.
Lastly, Darlene Fichter's SirsiDynix Institute program about "Mashups : A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That" on March 06, 2007 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Eastern promises to be a great overview. So, if you want to understand Mashups and the New Information Ecosystem you can register here. It's free, as usual.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:00 AM | Comments (1)
Lee Rainie's Presentation at SirsiDynix SuperConference
Lee Rainie from the Pew Internet and American Life Project is always the hit of the executive program at the SirsiDynix Institute SuperConference. Communities, learning, and the internet
He lead a discussion of Pew Internet Project findings about how the internet has changed communities and the general learning environment of users. it was presented to library executives.
Thanks Lee. You're a star!
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)
Teens and Social Networks
The recent presentation on Teens and social netowrking and safety from the Pew Internet and American Life Project is here.
In less than 15 slides it summarizes the basics you need to know about where things are right now. This doesn't mean it won't change radically and quickly but it's a start.
How do teens protect themselves online? What do parents do to protect them? What are the implications for protecting teens from objectionable materials online in an age of user-generated content and convergence? What are social networks and how are teens really using them?
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:49 AM | Comments (1)
The 8 Experience Steps
I think that this posting of the 8 steps to a better experience is good. Watch the slide show and think about your library or website. Does it respect the steps?
The 8 steps to better experiences by Stephanie Weaver are:
1. Invitation
2. Welcome
3. Orientation:
4. Comfort
5. Communication
6. Sensation
7. Common sense
8. Finale
They're more detailed in the posting.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:42 AM | Comments (1)
Second Life and Libraries
Here's a link to a thoughtful Infoblog posting about Second Life and libraries.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:33 AM | Comments (1)
ELearning Tools
Are you looking at course authoring and elearning tool satisfaction? This is a growing area in almost all types of libraries and affects our relatioinships with major user groups and influential funders and key client group leaders.
The eLearning Guild publishes a great deal on this topic. You can also find more here at this blog.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:07 AM | Comments (0)
Elevator Pitches
Need some tips on improving your elevator pitch?
Check out Paul at Idea Sandbox and his latest article here. Clear and succinct!
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:04 AM | Comments (1)
Why Should Libraries Blog?
Sharyn of Libraries and Librarians Rock has a good list at her blog here and a pretty neat comic too.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)
What are the 10 largest databases
What are the 10 largest databases in the world? According to Business Intelligence Lowdown, there they are:
Top 10 Largest Databases in the World
10. Library of Congress
9. Central Intelligence Agency
8. Amazon
7. YouTube
6. ChoicePoint
5. Sprint
4. Google
3. AT&T
2. National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center
1. World Data Centre for Climate
and others . . .
Myspace
United States Customs
HPSS
You can find more details here.
It seems a little U.S.-centric but it's still an interesting list. Why does Google hit #4 and Yahoo, Ask and MSN not make the list? Are there no huge UK, Russian, Chinese, EU databases? It appears that they don't include too many private ones - NASA, Dialog, LexisNexis, etc.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:45 AM | Comments (0)
Human Lobotomy
Here's another Quicktime video on net neutrality called Human Lobotomy. It is also on YouTube here.
I know I am late in posting this but I wanted to make sure it got the widest distribution. An informed librarian is an angry librarian.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:37 AM | Comments (0)
Net Neutrality
Having trouble understanding net neutrality and how we might think about it in libraryland?
This incredible 4 minute video is by SaveTheInternet.com is a pretty lucid explanation.
It's worth viewing and deciding how our library associatrions might participate in educating our governments about the role equal access plays in libraries, education, R&D, etc.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:29 AM | Comments (0)
Information Commons
Jennifer has put together a great webliiography on Information Commons resources.
You can find it here.
This is one of those structural strategies that are paying off in many libraries. Investing in simplifying user access to library services is an idea whose time has come. Users shouldn't ave to know how we're organized before getting service. Whether you're doing the computer commons, information commons, reference commons or learning commons strategies, there's a lot to learn and read here.
It missed Don Beagle's new book, The Information Commons Handbook, but it's new and you can find it here. It's excellent.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:21 AM | Comments (0)
Wireless Use Growing
A new report from PEW Internet in American Life tells us that wireless use is growing and I think it's bigger than I suspected ...
"Some 34% of internet users have logged onto the internet using a wireless connection
either around the house, at their workplace, or some place else. In other words, one-third
of internet users, either with a laptop computer, a handheld personal digital assistant
(PDA), or cell phone, have surfed the internet or checked email using means such as
WiFi broadband or cell phone networks."
"Users of wireless access show deeper engagement with cyberspace – at least when
focusing on two basic online activities, email and news. Among the 34% of internet users
who have gone online wirelessly:
72% of wireless users check email on the typical day, compared to 63% of home broadband users and 54% of all internet users.
46% get news online on the typical day, compared to 38% of home broadband users and 31% of all internet users.
The differences between wireless and home broadband users are statistically significant and notable because most wireless users (80%) have broadband connections at home. The findings suggest that the “relentless connectivity” afforded by wireless access represents a different quality in online behavior.1 It is possible – even likely – that lifestyle circumstances such as one’s job may require lots of email connectivity and associated wireless access. But the boundaries between checking email on a portable device for work or personal purposes can be very blurry; having such work-driven access may foster greater frequency of personal emailing or other kinds of online activities.
Half of wireless users (57%) access the Internet outside of home/work environments. This would include hotels, coffee shops and other service environments, libraries, and the growing number of municipal wireless regions.
So, I and SD see opportunities here. During the next period of maybe a decade when wireless access points will be spotty, libraries have a great opportunity to connect users with information. You could even make the wireless hotspot homepage your library homepage - especially designed for wireless users.
I kow of at least one library that has users piled up on their stoop and parked in the lot - when they're closed - connecting to the library wireless!
This cohort is too big to ignore.
Stephen
* Horrigan, John. “Wireless Internet Access.” Reports: Internet Evolution. 25 Feb 2007. PEW Internet in American Life Project. 26 Feb 2007 <http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/203/report_display.asp>.
Posted by stephen at 9:04 AM | Comments (1)
Pew and the NextGens
I think I neglected to point to this when it was released. That was wrong since this is a good one (Thanks Judy).
FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY JANUARY 9, 2007 2:00 PM
How Young People View Their Lives, Futures and Politics
A PORTRAIT OF “GENERATION NEXT”
A Survey Conducted in Association with:
The Generation Next Initiative and Documentary produced by MacNeil/Lehrer Productions
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Pew Research Center For The People & The Press
1615 L Street, N.W., Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20036
Tel (202) 419-4350
Fax (202) 419-4399
www.people-press.org
If a significant part of your user population is, or is going to be in this 18-25 year old cohort, it's worth reading with an open mind.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:56 AM | Comments (0)
I'm back!
OK, I know I haven't posted in a while. It's been very busy, to say the least.
The SirsiDynix SuperConference was great. I love seeing and talking to customers and SirsiDynix Institute executive program was a lot of fun. Some of our new owners were there and customers got to talk to them.
During the week my son got into grad school (yay!!!) and my MRI's came back negative which is great. All and all, despite some changes at the office, it wasn't a bad week in the bigger perspective.
On Wednesday I head out for a week at the Northern Exposure to Leadership Institute at Emerald Lake Lodge in Yoho National Park on the BC/Alberta border. I've done this 5 times and it's one of the most excellent experiences of my life. I can't wait but it likely means light postings for a while.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:50 AM | Comments (0)
February 15, 2007
How Big is Second Life?
Linden Labs is quite open about their census of residents. You can find the latest metrics here, State of the Virtual World – Key Metrics, January 2007.
TechCrunch (recommended non-libray blog by uber-blogger Michael Arrington) offers these two stat-bites:
"Total registered users now number 3.1 million, up from 124,000 a year ago. A more conservative measurement of users that removes duplicate credit card and email information shows 2 million users, up from 95,000 a year ago. At any given time, ten to thirty thousand of those users are online and logged in to the world."
"The total size of Second Life is growing briskly as well. The company reports a two week backlog in getting land up and running (this is effectively a hosting business, land=servers). There are 258 islands generating between $200-$300 per month each in revenue for the company, as well as another 103 square kilometers of mainland real estate, which costs $3-$10 per square meter. Based on straightline averages, this implies about $670,000/month in hosting revenue for the company."
Growth was 23% from Dec 2006 to Jan. 2007.
Read the spreadsheet and get some insights into this newish world. You can find stats from the beginning about User Hours, Land Size, L$ Supply and User to User Transactions, LindeX Transactions, Population, Premium Residents, By Country, By Age , By Gender.
SL seems to be making a sincere effort at transparency on their user populations.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:53 AM | Comments (1)
Content Industry Outlook 2007: Reality Checks
John Blossom, a respected industry consultant and observer who blogs at ContentBlogger, has offered his annual review of the content industry for free. You can register and receive the PDF here.
"In Outlook 2007 Shore focuses on seven key "A"s for the new year: Answers, Audience, Aggregation, APIs, Alternatives, Acceleration and Asia. This complimentary ShoreViews report provides an overview of Shore’s major themes for the content industry in 2007."
It is refreshing to see A's instead of C's (Content, Community, Context, Connection, Copyright, cccc)
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:46 AM | Comments (1)
Who is in Second Life as a Business?
Linden Labs (Owners of Second Life) keep a short list of commercial types in SL. Here's the list:
Adidas
Major League Baseball
Aloft Hotel Suites
Make Magazine
American Apparel
NOAA
Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH)
Reebok
BBC Radio 1
Reuters
Channel 10 (Microsoft, an extension of their Chalnnel 9)
Scion
CNET Second Lives, a video series for England's Channel
Dell
Sun Microsystems
Duran Duran
Text 100
Global Kids - Teen Grid Only
Telus
Global Kids - Main Grid Vivos
IBM Warner Bros Music - Regina Spektor loft
Infinite Mind NPR Warner Bros Music - Talib
Kweli's Brownstone
Leo Burnett
SirsiDynix
Talis
TechSoup
WindUp Records
Wired Magazine Headquarters
It's interesting and sure to grow. The list of libraries (state, national, public, consortia, special, acacdemic...) seems to grow daily and I've found a number of associations (Like ALA) there.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:39 AM | Comments (1)
Academic Brown Bagger Article
Here's an interesting article from EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 42, no. 1 (January/February 2007): 6–7. I think it's a quick read and would make a nice lunch time or staff day discussion. How many soundbites can you create?
If the Academic Library Ceased to Exist, Would We Have to Invent It?
Lynn Scott Cochrane
It's an engaging technique to use a negative scenario to focus thinking. If we didn't exist what would the world look like? Are things better? Is what replaces our legacy ways better or worse?
Have fun,
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:33 AM | Comments (0)
Flying Librarians of Oz
OK, here's a great use of Slideshare.net (just because I am interested in the topic). Kathryn Greenhill (blogging here) did a presentation to the National Library of Australia yesterday on Secondlife titled, Flying Librarians of Oz: What's all the fuss about Second Life and what's it got to do with libraries? You can see it here.
Don't forget the SirsiDynix Institute session on April 3rd: The Info Island Project on Second Life with Michael Sauers.
Register here.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:16 AM | Comments (0)
2007 Horizon Report: Academic Tech Trends
No not SirsiDynix Horizon, the other one. This is an annual read and very impressive.
"The 2007 Horizon Report is now available. The 2007 edition is a collaboration between The New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI), an EDUCAUSE program.
The 2007 Horizon Report, just as has been the case with previous editions of the report, highlights six technologies that the underlying research suggests will become very important to higher education over the next one to five years.
A central focus of the discussion of each technology is its relevance for teaching, learning, and creative expression. Live weblinks to example applications are provided in each section, as well as to additional readings.
Download the 2007 Horizon Report (285K, 32 pp).
The 2007 Horizon Report has been released with a Creative Commons License and may be freely replicated and distributed for noncommercial purposes provided that it is distributed only in its entirety."
One of their innovations this year is that they have exposed their decision wiki to the world here. Now you can see the short list and some of the ideas. Cool.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:09 AM | Comments (0)
Top 25 Web 2.0 Search Engines
Here's an interesting list of stuff to play with. OEDB (Online Education Database) blog has a posting of the Top 25 Web 2.0 Search Engines.
Enjoy,
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:06 AM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2007
See you in Colorado Springs
Well we head out to the SirsiDynix SuperConference in Colorado Springs on Saturday. It's always great fun to meet so many customers at once. For an extreme extrovert like me it's calming. I am especially excited by te SirsiDynix Institute Executive Track sessions. We've got a bunch of thought leaders and a cool audience to interact with. Cool. It'll be nice to have a new facility to discover. After more than three trips to Opry Land I was still getting confused.
I'll be heading there from the Online Northwest conference in Eugene Oregon. I think that'll be fun too.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:50 AM | Comments (1)
Another Cool Training Video
Just to make sure you have seen this training video when the book was introduced. The change resistance is interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRjVeRbhtRU
Do you think this “book” thing will catch on?
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:38 AM | Comments (0)
February 9, 2007
Ten Stupid Things
The Top Ten Stupid Ways to Hinder Market Adoption by GuyKawasaki
Check out the full posting but Guy's list of stuff that enterprises do to annoy their users and customers. It rattled a few chairs in my attic.
1. Enforced immediate registration.
2. The long URL.
3. Windows that don't genberate URL's.
4. The unsearchable web site.
5. Sites without Digg, del.icio.us, and Fark bookmarks.
6. Limiting contact to email.
7. Lack of feeds and email lists.
8. Requirement to re-type email addresses.
9. User names cannot contain the “@” character.
10. Case sensitive user names and passwords.
11. Friction-full commenting.
12. Unreadable confirmation codes.
13. Emails without signatures.
14. Supporting only Windows Internet Explorer.
Yes Guy's posting says "Top 10" and the list is 14 items long. It's the web version of a baker's dozen, I guess. Delight the reader.
Can't say I agree with all of them though, but . . .
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:27 PM | Comments (1)
School Leadership
There's a new meme streaking through the blogosphere. What makes a school leader?
Here's some teasers (more detail and deeper thinking in the postings):
Effective school leaders can energize and motivate staff to accomplish great things.
Effective school leaders are able to successfully handle complexity.
Effective school leaders are data-driven.
Effective school leaders are responsive to the demands of the new millennium.
Effective leaders understand the power, potential, and challenges of digital technologies.
Effective school leaders can reside at any level of a school organization.
Effective school leaders are, at all times and in all ways, oriented first and foremost toward the needs of students.
And in a different vein:
The kids are cooler than the teacher.
I want to be the dullest crayon in the box.
Everything is possible.
Nothing we can't figure out together.
Looking someone in the eye always counts.
Looking them in the eye when you're listening counts even more.
"Everyone that comes my way is my teacher."
The ability to see patterns forming rather than to get bogged down in linear silos.
Interesting. I look forward to reading more. I think that leading schools is one of the most difficult things to do. Greatness exists there.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:06 PM | Comments (1)
CNW seminar series Social Media (Web 2.0): Are you in?)
This webcast is archived here.
It's an overview of social media but primarily focuses on reputation management. It started me wondering about whether libraries care about their reputations as much as they could? Do we assume that we're liked enough not to have damage done to our reputations out of neglect, unawareness or malice. I've experienced this recently through some of my volunteer work.
Anyway, the webcast is just a quick listen or just forward through the PPT slides. Then ask yourself:
1. When was the last time I checked my library's entry on Wikipedia? My company, my name, my town, my institution? Is it OK?
2. When was the last time I did the same search on MySpace, Facebook, Google, MSN Live Search, Ask, Yahoo!? Is it OK, too?
3. When was the last time I checked our reputation out in the blogosphere (Technorati, Google Blogsearch, etc.)? What are they saying about us? Is it usable as a testimonial?
The web, and our reputation there, our image, is like our credit rating in the financial world. not really real but real enough...
Also, simply, if I saw my website as an outsider, would I want to have a relationship with me or my enterprise?
Will this affect our reputation? Will it hurt or enhance our ability to recruit employees, students, users? Raise funds, get grants?
Do we look like the kind of place that people will flock to? Respect? Spread positive word of mouth?
Love? Happy Valentine's Day!
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:53 PM | Comments (1)
Have Hellfires stopped burning?
OK, the world just gets weirder.
Bill Gates announces that Microsoft will support OpenID logons.
Steve Jobs makes a speech supporting the removal of DRM from all music. (Yes the same Steve Jobs whose iPods won't play many audiobooks). He settles a decade long tardemark suit with the Beatles Apple Corp.
And George W. Bush is worried about the polar bears...
Is the end of the world nigh? What's the next shift?
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:32 PM | Comments (0)
Skills for a Participatory Culture:
Check out this blog posting titled "What skills are needed to engage in a "participatory culture" ? over at the Blue Skunk blog.
It is a comment on Oct. 2006 MacArthur Foundation report: Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. it's popular in the edublog world and some library commentators. It's worth a read. I've just scanned it (only 72 pages). Note to self: Read deeper later.
Here's a teaser from Blue Skunk:
"The majority of the report addressess 11 "new skills" students need to be fully successful in the social networking environment:
Play — the capacity to experiment with one’s surroundings as a form of problem-solving
Performance — the ability to adopt alternative identities for the purpose of improvisation and discovery
Simulation — the ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real-world processes
Appropriation — the ability to meaningfully sample and remix media content
Multitasking — the ability to scan one’s environment and shift focus as needed to salient details.
Distributed Cognition — the ability to interact meaningfully with tools that expand mental capacities
Collective Intelligence — the ability to pool knowledge and compare notes with others toward a common goal
Judgment — the ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information sources
Transmedia Navigation — the ability to follow the flow of stories and information across multiple modalities
Networking — the ability to search for, synthesize, and disseminate information
Negotiation — the ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative norms."
Sounds like a modern librarian to me!
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:24 PM | Comments (0)
KM on YouTube
OK - so it's YouTube night. It's Friday anyway.
It's called "Discover What You Know (and what you don't)"
And yes it is an ad from Lotus but it has a good message - especially for intranet pros and specialized librarians. Notice how it focuses on the enterprise strategic concerns and benefits rather than the technology.
See it here.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:22 PM | Comments (0)
March of the Librarians
Like "March of the Penguins"? It was my favourite documentary last year. I even own a copy!
Well you have to see March of the Librarians.
Filmed at ALA Seattle midwinter meeting . . .
It captures us.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:20 PM | Comments (0)
February 8, 2007
What Kills Innovation?
Hmmm. Good question.
Jeffrey Phillips at the Innovation on Purpose blog has ths good posting. OK, go read it.
Waiting . . .
Now does that ring true in libraryland?
Here are some things that I hear kill innovation and newborn ideas out there (and everywhere):
1. Training and conference budgets that go only to senior staff who and nothing is left for the new library staff who will be replacing them quickly. How do you ring new ideas back from conferences and workshops if the only people there share older ideas?
2. Many younger staff are on 'contract' for up to a decade. That shows no commitment to the next gen of libraries ... and they're not 'at the table' with their ideas if they're on contract. They often don't qualify for training.
3. Strategic planning that involves the senior team alone and is a 'black box' - so fiats come down from on high without any context. The grapevine adds flavour to this. Why can't we allow to staff provide creative input?
4. Innovative thinking or brainstorming is crushed with "We don't do it that way here" type comments by experienced staff. Rarely are reasons given even when asked for so the planning process is opaque and runs the risk of being disrespected. How do we allow input when people act like they aren't open to new ideas?
5. Young staff (even in their 30's) are treated like the older staff's children rather than as colleagues. ("My daughter thinks that way too" type comments.) A reciprocal mentoring system would appear necessary.
6. IT staff get listened to and their comments are allowed to trump staff with front line customer experience. Why? And vice versa.
7. How do I get senior staff to understand my new skills? Many haven't been near a library school in decades but they still have firmly held opinions about the courses there and the quality of the grads (even if they haven't hired many in over a decade!) Is this just prejudice or fear? I have a lot to learn in this field but seem to be digging myself out of a hole and threatening experienced librarians at the same time!"
Do our management processes require every idea to be fully formed. Do we have difficulty with new ideas and pilots and experiments. Do new ideas get crushed under the weight of a single user's negative feedback...?
Maybe, maybe not.
It's just worth being aware of.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:03 PM | Comments (2)
Public Library Usability Study
We thought that it might be interesting to release one of our usability studies with public library end users. This one is available for download from our website as a PDF.
Executive Summary
In terms of finding the best sources for information, the library is an
indispensable aid. In terms of meeting users virtually in a manner in which
the Internet has by default trained them on how to behave and what to
expect in their interactions, there is room for improvement.
The SirsiDynix EPS/Rooms product was designed to assist libraries in
reaching their communities in the era of the nearly ubiquitous Google
search. In a time where users want information and are accustomed to
getting it within a few seconds, driving to a library for a book may not
even be on the radar. Thus, the need to reach out to them in a way in
which they are comfortable and to show them that there are far more
sources to utilize than just the open Web becomes the goal. For the
current library user as well as the prospective ones, streamlining their
access to resources and giving them an experience that takes their library
interaction to the next level becomes the goal.
In an effort to measure our success towards this goal, we have conducted
an initial usability study of the product.
The purpose and objective of the SirsiDynix Corporation usability testing
project was to observe and evaluate the user experience as it related to
the navigation, information architecture, design, layout, structure, and
content presentation across the newly designed and integrated SirsiDynix
EPS/Rooms Web site product. Testing was conducted at the Madison
branch of the Huntsville Public Library in Huntsville, Alabama. Forty-nine
participants were tested.
After completing a background questionnaire, participants were given
a task list of eight questions to answer using the Rooms/EPS Web site.
Each participant was observed by a member of the Usability Team. While
completing the eight questions, each participant was asked to employ the
“think-aloud” method, concurrently, and verbalize his/her thoughts for
the observer. Upon completion of the task list, the participants were then
asked to complete a satisfaction survey rating his/her level of satisfaction
on nine aspects of the Rooms/EPS application.
Participants were very positive with their ratings of the application: 88%
were satisfied or very satisfied with the site, and 94% felt it was easy to
learn or very easy to learn. While there were specific issues (for example,
hard to find the ‘Home’ button), most were minor and easily correctable.
The overall perception of the Rooms platform was extremely favorable.
This follows on the major Kent State University study we released at ALA Midwinter in Seattle. It covers usability research for the K-12 user. You can read that PDF here. It's one of the only major public studies done about kids.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:38 PM | Comments (1)
Second Life Libraries
"There are now around 400 librarians working on virtual library services over 9 islands in Second Life. Info Island, the focal island, attracts 4000 visitors a day. Cybrary City, where the Australian Libraries Building is located, has 1000 visits per day." from here.
Invent the future...
This is turning into a library megaproject!
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:12 PM | Comments (1)
Second Life at University and College
It's great to see two of our higher ed clients in Second Life. McMaster University hired a new chief librarian, Jeff Trzeciak, last year and he's shaking the place up. I visited their Second Life Library after midnight last night! And they're hiring a gaming librarian but with a more politically correct title. Jeff's blog is chronicling their transformation. Nearby Mohawk College is building a Second life presence as well.
Both have been picked up in the local Hamilton paper. Read more here.
The area seems to be a hotbed of innovation. You might remember that Hamilton Public Library won one of the SirsiDynix Building Better Commmunity Awards last year for their MyHamilton.ca innocations.
Cool.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 12:32 PM | Comments (0)
OK - I am de-cloaking
I've been in most of these places for a while but thought I might as well as be needy. Will you be my friend?
Stephen Abram on Facebook
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?
Search for "Stephen Abram"
Stephen Abram on MySpace
My URL: http://www.myspace.com/155998996
Stephen Abram in Second Life
I am "Squid Cagney"
We learn more by being there rather than reading articles (although article and books help). It always amazes me that some people have firmly held opinions about some of these '2.0' technologies and worlds even though these opinions are so often based in prejudgment and opinion and not in their own experience - and the experiences are so easy to have! I just love an informed opnion. I think that's a foundation of great librarianship. I don't care if it agrees with mine or not. The debate is healthy as long as it's not just uninformed or reactionary.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:37 AM | Comments (4)
February 7, 2007
Library Tattoos
OK, I have to admit that I headed right to Archie McPhee's store the last time I was in Seattle. They're the folks who created the librarian action figure and the store is a hoot. I had a shopping bag full of fun crap by the time I left.
Anyway, Jessamyn (again) points out that they now have a bunch of tempoarry tattoos for librarians. Cool!!! My tattoos are boring compared to these.
The Illustrated Librarian Temporary Tattoos
"Librarian stereotypes are as old and outdated as microfiche. Nowadays you're just as likely to see your local librarian driving a Harley as a Honda Accord. This 3-1/2" x 4-1/2" hard-cover book contains twelve non-toxic temporary tattoos ranging in size from 1-1/2" to 3-1/4". Put one in a prominent place to prove once and for all that "smart" and "cool" are not mutually exclusive! Also great for bibliophiles and bookworms. All colors follow FDA cosmetic regulations."
The Illustrated Librarian Temporary Tattoos are only $7.95 ea. set of 12.
Hey - this could be a recruiting technique... smile
Of course, if you're a truly committed librarian you have the real deal - bookworms, skulls on stacks of books, books with Harley Wings, glasses and buns, grinning...
Maybe we need bigger ones - 'BIBLIOPHILE' in large gothic letters above my pants line. 'Libraries Rock' in script suitable for my clavicle area. Hmmmm.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:04 AM | Comments (1)
Cool Library Tag Cloud
Thanks to Jessamyn for pointing to this:
Popular topics in LibraryLand over the last 48 hours, the tag cloud.
Library Zeitgeist . . .?
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:01 AM | Comments (0)
iTunes and Learning
I've been having a great time downloading stuff (podcasts, music, etc.) from iTiunes. Mostly I stick to stuff that is free. Therefore I was interested in iTunes U:
"iTunes U is a free, hosted service for colleges and universities that provides easy access to their educational content, including lectures and interviews"
From this larger article about how colleges and increasing using MP3s for teaching:
"Publishers cater to growing use of MP3s for schoolwork"
Worth thinking about.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 9:52 AM | Comments (0)
February 6, 2007
Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us
OK - some folks have a visceral reaction to 2.0. I still find it useful. There's a must see video on YouTube right now that is evolving. It's cleverly called "Web 2.0... the Machine is Us/ing Us." i find it thought rpovoking and it would make a good vido for a staff day or brown bag lunch. The creator is Michael Wesch, an assistant Cultural Anthropology Professor at Kansas State University. He's built an icon of cultural ethnography that spans text through the connectness of the web and people. He tries to explain in music, animation, graphics and text the story and potential vision of Web 2.0.
It's optimistic and what's wrong with that?
Spend 5 minutes on something positive today - Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us
Web 2.0 in just under 5 minutes.
Enjoy.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:09 PM | Comments (1)
Monitoring Your Reputation
I wrote this article on egofeeds a while ago. You can read it here.
Now there's this great posting called:
"31 Places to Monitor Your Reputation Online" by Li Evans
It's just a simple categorized list of the sites we can monitor to survey our employers, our brands, our products, our associations and any person.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)
Building Better Communities Awards Program Goes International in 2007
We enter our second year of these awards that highlight role models for us all. It's also great fun to present some cash to deserving libraries.
Building Better Communities Awards Program Goes International in 2007
Feb. 1: SirsiDynix’s Building Better Communities Awards program for 2007 is now accepting nominations. After an enthusiastic response with 130 nominations last year, SirsiDynix has expanded the program to include six client library organization recipients that will receive US$10,000 each based on creativity and accomplishments in serving their communities.
For the program's first year, nominations were accepted for libraries from anywhere in North America. This year, however, the program has expanded to accept nominations for SirsiDynix libraries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia and Pacific regions, as well as the Americas. In response to the larger number of eligible institutions, SirsiDynix has expanded the number of awards to six.
Award recipients will be announced at the American Library Association Annual Conference in June. An independent panel of library leaders from around the world will select award recipients and finalists. Any SirsiDynix library worldwide whose technology leadership has distinguished it in service to its user communities is eligible.
To participate in the nomination process, visit the Building Better Communities page and complete the nomination form by Monday, April 16, 2007.
Nominate yourself. Nominate another. It's a nice thing to do.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)
Building Better Communities Awards Program Goes International in 2007
We enter our second year of these awards that highlight role modedls for us all.
Building Better Communities Awards Program Goes International in 2007
Feb. 1: SirsiDynix’s Building Better Communities Awards program for 2007 is now accepting nominations. After an enthusiastic response with 130 nominations last year, SirsiDynix has expanded the program to include six client library organization recipients that will receive US$10,000 each based on creativity and accomplishments in serving their communities.
For the program's first year, nominations were accepted for libraries from anywhere in North America. This year, however, the program has expanded to accept nominations for SirsiDynix libraries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia and Pacific regions, as well as the Americas. In response to the larger number of eligible institutions, SirsiDynix has expanded the number of awards to six.
Award recipients will be announced at the American Library Association Annual Conference in June. An independent panel of library leaders from around the world will select award recipients and finalists. Any SirsiDynix library worldwide whose technology leadership has distinguished it in service to its user communities is eligible.
To participate in the nomination process, visit the Building Better Communities page and complete the nomination form by Monday, April 16, 2007.
Nominate yourself. Nominate another. It's a nice thing to do.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)
Second Life Article in Latest OneSource
OK - as promised - here's my article on Second Life in the latest SirsiDynix OneSource.
Rev Up Your Avatars - Future Libraries' Third Presence in Second Life
My name is Squid Cagney in SL. I try to visit the InfoIsland areas once a week, although I admit it's in off hours. Life is fun again!
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:47 PM | Comments (0)
February 5, 2007
Computers In Libraries Article: Learning 2.0
OK - so many must reads this month! Everyone is waking up for the New Year.
CIL's February issue feature article on Learning 2.0:
The C’s of Our Sea Change: Plans for Training Staff, from Core Competencies to LEARNING 2.0
by Helene Blowers and Lori Reed
You can read it here.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:40 PM | Comments (1)
Evolving Past PowerPoint?
Paul Pival, The Distant Librarian, points us to a list of dozens of PowerPoint alternatives. See it here.
Also, Google is rumoured to be near ready to launch the next module of it's Google "Office" line along with Google Docs and Spreadsheets, Google Calendar, GMail, etc. It's called Google Presently for now.
So, we're heading for another great debate of what works for us.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:26 PM | Comments (0)
Usability Website
Usability is a lot harder than it looks . . .
The University of Michigan Library has a web site dedicated to information about usability - "Usability in the Library".
"The goal of this website is to provide open access to our reports and working documents in order to share our findings with the University of Michigan libraries as well as the community-at-large. We hope that sharing our findings will benefit and inform others in their research."
For an example of odd usability, take a look at this website in both MSIE and Firefox. The main page drop downs are usable in Firefox and aren't really working well in MSIE - clear layovers, text over text.
It's all fine to design first in Firefox but you need to test in all the major browsers and versions.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 5:16 PM | Comments (0)
Teleconference on Learning Faster
I am doing a teleconference for the Education Institute in Canada (A collaborative of Canada's library associations) this week. It's part of their "STRATEGIC CONVERSATIONS WITH LEADERS" series.
TITLE: 15 Minutes a Day! All It Takes to Keep Up in a 2.0 World with Stephen Abram
Audio Conference: One Hour
Thursday, FEB 08
2 PM ET 11 AM PT
Member: $54.00 + GST
Non-Member: $74.00 + GST
Keeping up with innovation, change, and what's happening in the information world is hard. As VP of Innovation for SirsiDynix, Stephen must keep his personal scan on everything that might affect libraries - technology, social, economic, etc. His capacity for keeping important trends on the radar is amazing. Stephen shares his techniques and tips for keeping up and increasing the capacity of library staff to add tools, resources, learning and insights. Learn about 2.0 and add tricks to your kitbag of processes and techniques for keeping up with important changes and opportunities.
The Benefits:
Learn:
- Tips & techniques for keeping up with the tsunami of information
- Tools for enhancing capacity to sort through information
- Pointers for determining which trends and pieces of information are important for the library world
- Some of the top trends that our speaker is watching
Who Should Participate?
This session is aimed at anyone in the library world (librarians, information professionals, vendors, library technicians, trustees, managers, and more) who want to learn more about keeping up with the vast amount of information and change in our 2.0 world.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)
February 4, 2007
Technology Evangelists
Via GuyKawasaki
Frederic Lucas-Conwell conducted a study of Silicon Valley technical evangelists called “Technology Evangelists: A Leadership Survey.”
You can get the PDF here.
Here is the abstract:
"The purpose of this study was to gain a clearer understanding of the relatively new phenomenon known as the “technology evangelist.” By our exploration, we aim to help readers improve their management functions, and to understand how best to integrate “evangelists” within their organizations.
In order to do so, we analyzed the roles of those who hold this position and leadership styles. Our research included surveying and interviewing twenty-nine technical evangelists worldwide from a variety of cultures and organizations. Some general tendencies regarding the role did, indeed, emerge. However, we also discovered variable character, or personality, patterns among the participants. Therefore, we proceeded to examine the gap, between the role of the technology evangelist and the subject’s personal character.
We contrasted individual competencies with these character patterns, and created a grid to analyze their qualities of leadership. This paper includes our recommendations for recruiting, integrating, developing and managing the technology evangelists."
It's interesting on its own, but it does provide some insights into some of the behaviors that might be needed to lead technological change in enterprises and communities. Hmmmm.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:58 PM | Comments (0)
Article Recommendation
The January 2007 issue of Computers in Libraries has this feature:
Building a Library Web Site on the Pillars of Web 2.0
by Karen A. Coombs
Her list of the top 6 strategies is the best:
"1. Radical decentralization
2. Small pieces loosely joined
3. Perpetual beta
4. Remixable content
5. User as contributor
6. Rich user experience"
Read it.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:40 PM | Comments (0)
Is there a common ground for IT and Libraries
Here's a fun 42 seconds for you. It's a YouTube video that tries to answer the eternal question:
"Is there a common ground between IT and librarians?"
View it here.
It's safe the office....
Thanks Michael,
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:30 PM | Comments (0)
Is TV getting more social?
I've covered magazines and newspapers before. I wondered if TV was getting more social too (or 2.0). Here's the chart from the Bivings Report here:
Guess so...! Clearly the mainsteam content media - print, music, video, movies, TV, etc. is getting more socially 'aware' and enabled. I am glad to see quite a few pilots and experiments in libraryland too.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:27 PM | Comments (0)
Getting to Passion
Do you want to solicit stories that tie your users to their passion for your library's services?
Is delving that deeply scary? I think it's worth a try. The following is quite R&D and institutionally focussed but there's room for invention here in the community area.
The Anecdote blog suggests that you ask open-ended questions that elicit stories using questions like these:
"Tell me about a time when . . . tell me about a moment when:
you or your project faced a dilemma in a project
you or your team experienced a significant turning point
you dealt with a real crisis on a project. What happened before, during and after it?
you felt really proud to be part of something
you took a real risk and it paid off or didn’t pay off
you were really inspired by what was going on around you
you encountered an obstacle and overcome it
you saw (one of your organisation’s values) really brought to life/being acted out
your partnerships were working really well
you saw positive changes happen as a result of your work"
This week in this posting, we were encouraged to use word with a high degree of emotion to elicit stories:
"angry
proud
torn
change
delight
success
conviction
strong stand"
Sometimes I feel myself avoiding these words when logically, at least to me, it seems that I'll find some pretty powerful stories and insights if I stretch myself more and use the words.
I'm going to try.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 8:12 PM | Comments (0)
Absurd Self Promotion
OK, this is semi-old news and I've been shy/loathe/embarrassed to post this. Then again, I am always preaching that we have to tell the world more about librarians and libraries... so here goes:
Our book, Out Front With Stephen Abram is out. It was released at ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle and was, I am told, the bestselling book in the ALA Store! I gave away a few copies as prizes in the SirsiDynix Institute sessions at ALA too. It was actually quite exciting for me.
Anyway, if I have the picture feature working again (the Moveable Type hotline tells us this is not possible), here's the cover:
I was helped by (indeed it was actually all done by) Judith Seiss and Jonathan Lorig. I am eternally grateful to them for their work. I am especially thrilled that Judith persisted in talking me into allowing this work to be created.
If you're interested in purchasing a copy:
1. It's on Amazon. You can find it here. Amazon.ca has it here.
Feel free to write a review and rate us. It's $40.00 on Amazon althrough there's a few used editions for more!
2. It's available through ALA Editions. You can order it here. It's only $36.00 for ALA members.
3. I hear it will be on Google BookSearch soon too.
4. I'll be signing copies at the SirsiDynix Super Conference in Colorado Springs on Sunday Feb. 18th at 7 pm.
5. Canadians can, of course, buy this through CLA. http://www.cla.ca
6. We're doing signings, we hope, at Canadian LA, SLA, and ALA too! Maybe a few more.
I hope you enjoy it.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 7:50 PM | Comments (1)
February 1, 2007
Shout Out to Australia and Beyond
The SirsiDynix Institute is doing its first international (or at least outside of North America) program and it's coming from Australia! (Actually I can hardly wait to return to this beautiful country.)
Here’s the link to the event –
http://www.sirsidynixinstitute.com/seminar_page.php?sid=75
Hopping into Library 2.0 : Experiencing Lifelong Learning
Date : Feb 05, 2007
Start Time : 8 p.m. Eastern
Length : 01:00:00
Please note that if you live in Australia, the date is February 6, 2007 at 12:30 p.m. DST
Yarra Plenty Regional Library in Melbourne Australia enthusiastically took up the fabulous PLCMC 23 Things program in October, and our staff has engaged with alacrity and creativity. We know that libraries have to change, and we are opening up possibilities for our staff and our users.
We will talk about why we decided to implement Learning 2.0, how our staff experienced it, and how this has equipped us to get bold in our thinking about social networking. We'll discuss the 4 themes for our Library worker 2.0 staff development program in 2007 - getting information, enabling learning, creating content and celebrating culture; and how we are encouraging an environment of lifelong learning within the organization.
Great speakers with on the ground experience! . . .
Lynette Lewis —Co-ordinator Online Services, Yarra Plenty Regional Library
Dip Lib, Cert IV Assessment & workplace training, AALIA Co-ordinator Online Services at YPRL.
I have been at YPRL for 15 years, previously worked at Penrith City Libraries and Keon Park Technical School. My journey at YPRL began as the Extended Information Librarian where my job included cutting newspapers up for the vertical file.
Technology has enabled me to be part of the introduction of the Internet, cataloguing of internet resources, introduction of online databases and web catalogue, and more recently the introduction of web 2.0 technologies at YPRL. I am also part of the National AskNow chat team answering reference questions in real time.
Christine Mackenzie —Chief Executive Officer, Yarra Plenty Regional Library
BA, Grad Dip Lib, Grad Dip Mgt, AALIA
CEO at YPRL for 3 years, and the previous Manager of Library Services at Brisbane City Council. Best professional experience - being a member of the Bertelsmann Foundation's International Network of Public Libraries which has brought me into contact with the best public librarians in the world. Best professional fun - finding out about Library 2.0 and seeing how the library staff is totally enjoying it. Most eminent thing - being president of ALIA (Australian Library & Information Association.)
Denise McLarty —Resource Discovery Officer, Yarra Plenty Regional Library
Associate Diploma in Library Studies
Train the Trainer and various Library related courses, seminars, workshops, conferences.
Certificate in Tour Guiding
YPRL long standing staff member, I started off typing catalogue cards, adapted to the new technologies of paper tape machines and worked for many years as a cataloguer.
In 1995 I saw the Internet on the horizon and I paddled out to it!.... We have been together ever since. (Information junkie finds her Nirvana!) The role of Resource Discovery Officer has enabled me to further explore, promote and implement the latest developments Online.
Staff/public mentor, trainer, motivator and Learning 2.0 coordinator
In my spare time! I work as a tourism volunteer sharing my passion for promoting Australia as a desirable destination. I have visited the USA 5 times for long periods and am proud to say I bought back the first rolling mouse to YPRL in 1997!
We already have a good number of attendees from around the world and Oz (Maybe North America will clamour for more evening events from Australia just to hear the melodious accents!). It's great to have this extension to the SDI where we can hear folks in real time from 'down under'. It will be archived on the website and iTunes too.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at 11:02 PM | Comments (0)