Computers in Libraries 2

I was too ambitious to think that I would be able to share everything in one posting.

Highlights from other workshops:

Screencasting
The presenter for this workshop simply pressed "play" and walked away from the podium while the flash movie ran on the screen, introducing us to the concept of creating flash movies for tutorial purposes. He mentioned programs like Jing, with which we're familiar, as well as Camtasia (for a fee) and meebo. The advice he gave is to keep the screencasts short, and to find a good hosting service. He suggested blip.tv, YouTube (well, Teacher Tube would be better for us), freescreencast.com, screencastomatic. The entire presentation is available at http://screencasting.pbwiki.com.

Bookmapping
This presentation explored the use of interactive map technology to bring a geographical perspective to books. Sites that help make this possible include Google Earth, http://gutenkarte.org/, and Google Lit Trips.

Second Life
I'm still not convinced of the worth of creating a second life for libraries--don't we have enough to do with our first one!!!--but there are avid followers who create virtual worlds for all kinds of functions, including answering questions via an avatar at a reference desk. Visit http://secondlife.com and see what you think.

Teaching Books
I had a fresh look at this program and I have to confess I was much more impressed with it than I've been in the past. We still have access through Nassau BOCES. I recommend you take a look the next time you introduce a new author. There's a lot of highly usable, quality and original material that you could use.

Fish4Info is an example of an open source catalog. It's a great solution for libraries who have yet to automate. I definitely liked the "Amazon" feel to it which makes it intuitive for the novice.

Are you interested in a global project? Check out http://primarysource.org/.

I attended a workshop, Gaming Your Library, that emphasized Johnny Chung Lee's position that students have an organic information need that relates to their own lives. Students need someone to meet them where they are to take them where they need to go. Hence the idea of applying gaming strategies to the learning environment. Recommended title: Marc Prensky's Don't Bother Me, Mom, I'm Learning. I'm putting it on our next order.

Loved what I saw from the Cleveland Museum of Art's videoconferencing presentation. One was featured that combined art and wellness through a study of self-portraits. The question was asked: What do artists reveal? Lots of food for thought. Definitely check it out.

The librarian from the Frank Sinatra Performing Arts High School showed us how she had the students use a variety of online programs to create pathfinders on various topics. The collaborated in Google docs, shared and discussed on Wikispaces as they reflected on their sources through a Read/Write/Think 3-2-1 strategy: What did you discover? What did you find interesting? What is one question you still have? Peer editors completed a reflection: I read...I noticed...I wondered...The final rubric asked the students to contribute what they could teach others, what they still need to learn, what they need to get better at, and what they would like to see done differently.

At the copyright workshop, I was reminded of the "poor man's copyright" strategy. Mail your original work in a sealed envelope to yourself. Don't open it. If you want to do some reading on the subject, there's actually a graphic book called Bound by Law. With so much original work being posted online, it is incumbent upon the "poster" to make sure he or she has permission.