Bad is Good

Johnson argues that everything bad for us, especially TV, video games and pop culture, is actually good for us and essentially making us smarter. Johnson believes that the video game form, rather than content actually stimulates the brain, and in the end will make the player smarter. Further, Johnson believes that today's television shows and movies have gotten so complex that viewer stimulation and involvement has drastically increased in the past 20 years. TV shows and movies are asking our emotional intelligence to work harder and process the information we see on screen. So what does this mean for today's libraries?

I agree with Johnson somewhat. I believe that TV, movies, video games and pop culture can make us think more as a society. Further, these formats connect users to each other in a way that books can't. I think libraries have had to adapt to include these formats in their collections. DVD, VHS, Cd's and now video game systems are all a part of most library's collections. I see no problem with libraries changing to better meet user needs by accepting that some "bad" things may indeed be good. Libraries are there to provide information, without choosing or providing any bias to the information. However, libraries can always connect users back to books. For instance, you can create a display that says "You like this TV show, then you should try these books". I think adapting rather than completely ruling out anything "bad" will help libraries survive in this ever-changing climate.

Class Review

During a previous summer class my professor suggested that everyone in the library program should take the social software class before they graduate; boy was she right! Being as I am not a technology person, and have been slightly hesitant towards social software/networking sites I almost dropped this course. I am so happy I decided to stay. I feel like this class has opened me up to a whole new world. Even the most simple sites, such as blogger and twitter, I was afraid to try. Now, I couldn't be happier to have this experience under my belt. Also, learning to create wikis, podcast, screencast and vodcast has definitely improved my skills. It's amazing how these tools are out there, but people are so hesitant to use them. I have thoroughly enjoyed this class and recommend it highly to other SCILS students. There were a few minor drawbacks:

• information overload: I think signing up for 3 email accounts in the beginning of class is unnecessary. After the first two weeks I stopped checking the yahoo and AOL accounts. I think students should sign up for just a GMail account, since GMail is linked to other sites such as blogger.
• information overload, part 2: I had a hard time keeping up with updates. Between twitter, facebook, myspace and the class wiki, I felt like I missed several updates or comments from classmates. I found the best method for communicating was twitter.

I feel I have taken away so much valuable information from this course and there isn't much I would change. I will say that this course has totally converted me into a twitter user! Before this class I could not and would not understand the appeal of twitter; I found it to be the downfall of society. Now that class is almost over, I love twitter. It's an absolutely wonderful method to share information with classmates and the professor, especially when you need your questions answered. I don't know that I would use twitter to update my everyday activities, but I think it's a great tool for coursework.

My Second Life Experience

I find that this picture sums up my second life experience pretty well. It's usually just me standing in a totally empty area trying to figure out what's going on. This was taken in the Art Library (Museum?) on Info Island. It took me about 10 minutes just to navigate into the building. Although I can see how Second Life may be fun for some people, I haven't really enjoyed my experience. So far I've had no contact with other users, probably because I don't usually know where I am or how to go somewhere else. I don't find Second Life to be very user intuitive, although I'm also horrible at moving/navigating in most video games. Additionally, my computer is pretty old so Second Life slows everything down and certainly makes the experience less enjoyable. I think with a LOT more practice, I could get used to Second Life but since it's not really my cup of tea, I don't think I'll be spending much time there.

Everything Bad Is Good for You

We've been hearing for quite a while now that video games, TV, and pop culture in general offer no educational value. Steve Johnson, however, would argue that TV and video games are actually making us smarter. Johnson thinks it's not the content but the format that asks users to think. He says that video games stimulate the reward center of the brain. Players are not necessarily interested in the story of the video game but succeeding at a completing the challenge.

I tend to agree that video games can make us smarter. Video games ask players to use skills that aren't required from other, more passive activities. For instance you can improve hand eye coordination, develop problem solving skills, and learning to think outside the box. Also, several educational and interactive video games have been developed. Although, I think there are a number of games that don't provide players with any education, such as Grand Theft Auto.

Because video games are so popular today and reach a huge audience, they have the ability to really impact how the players think and learn. As long as form and content continue to provide players with some education, I think video games have the ability to make us smarter.

Gaming

If I were a teen librarian and in charge of buying a new gaming system for the public library, I would definitely need to do research beforehand because I know nothing about gaming systems. I would begin by doing some research on the Internet, peruse a few Internet forums to see what other people like. Then I would look for video game magazines to read a few reviews. Third, I would ask the library patrons, probably using comment cards, which system they would like to see in the library and why. Finally, I would compare prices and see what the library could afford. Overall, I would try and match the system that the patrons most wanted, if it could fit with the budget.

The gaming system I would choose, and the I've played the most, is the Wii. The Wii system is great because it's so interactive and you can have multiple players. The library could have Wii nights every so often and let a bunch of patrons participate at once.

screencasting best practices

Now that I've completed a few screencasts I think there are a few important to things to remember:

• It's ok to use the mouse as a pointer, but try to move it around the screen too much; I found myself often partially covering words or links b/c I was involving the mouse too much
• Pausing the screencast recording while waiting for pages to load; that way you don't have to fill too much space with talking
• Have an idea of what you want to say but also try and be natural (definitely not easy!)
• Have your computer all set for the screencast; don't have unnecessary windows or tabs open and have links or files easily accessible
  

Game Screencast

My gaming screencast. I don't usually play games online, so I found this one randomly. It's a famous faces trivia game-you match the picture to the person. I only played at the "very easy" level which in fact was very easy. I imagine the game is more fun at the harder level.

Facebook Screencast

My Facebook screencast: How to Create an Event

boyd Reading

Examining how class affects social networking is quite interesting. Boyd's reading says that teenagers are more likely to use Facebook or more likely to use Myspace based on their social class; since Facebook is more geared towards college students. I remember when I first join Facebook and it was strictly limited to college students, kind of felt like some special club. The main lesson I took away from Boyd's reading was, libraries should be aware of their user population and how they would use social networking sites. If a library is trying to attract new users or seeking more involvement from exiting users, it would be pointless to use a site that is unfamiliar and rarely used by their target population. Similar to other library services, the social networking sites used by the library should be enticing and accessible to the user population.

Ning

Ning is a social networking site that allows user to create their own online social networks. Ning reminded me of other social networking sites, such as Facebook.

Ning advantages:
-members can create their own profile, friend and interact with other users
-members can add photos, videos and audio
-members can join groups, have blogs, contribute to forums
-can share news and links with other users

Overall Ning allows users in the same community, such as RU SCILS, to connect and socialize outside the classroom.

Ning disadvantages:
-must be a registered user to access news, forums, blogs, etc.
-can replace face-to-face interaction
-social networking sites can be "sticky"

I could easily see Ning being used in a work environment. Employees could share news and events and also have their questions answered in the forum. Additionally it could be a shared workspace where several employees could contribute to one project. Ning could replace company emails, newsletters and chat devices.

"sticky"

As someone who started using Facebook (though never MySpace)four years ago I can personally attest to just how much time can be wasted on this type of social networking site. These sites are "sticky" or keep users returning because of the service they offer. Social networking sites allow you to connect and interact with friends, family, co-workers and even strangers anytime of day right from your own computer. Additionally, you can reconnect with old friends and receive up to date news on friends you don't see very often. Also, it's quite amazing just how much information people are willing to freely include on these sites. Want to know where you old college roommate is working or if someone from high school got married? Social networking sites can often provide this information in just a few clicks. Finally, the sheer amount of content and services offered by these sites can keep users busy for hours. Perhaps you log on just to check for updates...but then you see so-and-so uploaded new pictures, so-and-so sent you a happy hour drink, so-and-so challenged you to a trivia game...and before you know hours have passed. These sites are highly entertaining and offer amazing social networking capabilities that can keep users occupied for hours.

Youtube Videos

I thought everyone did a great job on their videos; very creative. My favorite would have to be SL's "Meet the Lewis Family". I thought the music, the font, everything just went really well together and it looked great! You can view it here.

screencast

I decided to give a brief introduction to livejournal for my screencast. Livejournal is pretty easy to use but I figured it would be a good introduction to screencasting. Trying to fit the page in the recommended window size was a bit of a struggle.




screencast

Educational Videos

When I think of educational videos, the first thing that pops into my mind are the cheesy videos we used to watch in health class. With that being said I think education videos can still be relevant today. Successful education videos should have the same elements as entertainment videos: a good presentation (editing, filming, acting, etc) and interesting subject matter. Video format has the ability to grab the user's attention and almost provide hands-on instruction by showing, rather than through text. I love watching the food network, which is entertainment but also provides lots of instruction.

Educational videos can also provide the audience information in a fun and exciting format. I remember when "Planet Earth" first aired on Discovery Channel. Several of my friends, who would NEVER read a nature documentary book, loved the series. Educational videos can survive by providing information but also mixing in a little quality entertainment.

Flickr

In the SCILS-edexperience group I notice lots of similarities. For instance, many of us seem to include our computer and desk area in our education experience, certainly a huge part of this class. It's interesting to see the different libraries where people work. Although most of us are attending the same university, we each have unique view on the SCILS educational experience.

In the SCILS group I see lots of pets, places, art and events.

Youtube Video

For my entertainment video I decided to make a movie trailer. The footage is taken from the Prelinger Archive, which has a bunch of old commercials and educational videos. All the footage in the Archive is public domain and people are encouraged to use the it for their own projects. The music/sound was already in iMovie.




Youtube Link

Education Video-blip.tv

I work in an academic library and tons of undergraduates come in with no idea how to read a call number; I made a video with them in mind.

Click To Play

Blip.tv Link

story

I couldn't think of a story to tell, so I read the story of Little Red Riding Hood, with a slight change on the ending. I never imagined making a podcast could be so difficult! I had to keep re-recording to get the volume settings correct. Little Red Riding Hood

podcasts vs. text blogging

Podcasting has both advantages and disadvantages to text blogging.

Advantages:
-easier access for commuters; I know tons of people who download podcasts to listen to while driving or taking the train. It's a great way to reach people and share information while people are on the go and can't read text.
-podcasts can be wonderful for expressing emotion and feeling, hearing some one's voice, rather than reading connects you more
-they're great for adding sound effects and music to stories, news, etc.
-spontaneity, people just saying what they feel
-you can listen to podcast while completing other tasks

Disadvantages:
-can require special media players, like itunes
-fail to hold sometimes attention the same way reading text does

I love listening to podcasts at work or when I'm driving. Its a great way to discover new music, films, etc or just hearing some one's opinion.

Long Tail

Libraries/librarians have the ability to bring new materials, markets and tastes to their readers. Libraries bring new books and materials into their library as budget allows, usually these materials are highlighted in a "new releases" section. Additionally, libraries can highlight old materials and make them new again by creating displays, programs and book displays. While reading The Long Tail, I thought about how libraries can work in the same way as Amazon. Suggesting books to readers based on material they've already read. While doing readers advisory, librarians also have the opportunity to share something new readers, they have the ability to create whole new markets. Libraries have the ability to open readers to tons of new materials, markets and tastes simply with the services and collections they provide.

SCILS Experience

My education experience at SCILS has flown by, I can hardly believe in just 3 months I'll be graduating. Beginning at SCILS wasn't too much of a transition, since I had completed my undergrad degree at Rutgers, as well. Most of my classes at SCILS have been a great learning experience, I've learned new skills, theories and some of the inter-workings of libraries. What I've enjoyed most at SCILS have been class discussions, learning from both the professors and fellow classmates. I love being in a class and hearing someone ele's opinion and realizing, "wow, I never would've thought of that". My experience at SCILS, coupled with work experience, has helped prepare me to become a librarian and allowed me to meet lots of great people along the way. I remember during my first semester I was so happy that I had decided on library school and knew this was what I wanted for my future. I'm sad and a little scared that my time at SCILS is ending but I'm also excited to be finished with school and hopefully beginning a career as a librarian.





My SCILS Experience
Group SCILS Experience

Stats

According to Google Analytics, 4 browsers have been used by visitors to my blog: Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Chrome. Firefox is by far the most popular at 65%.

4 connection speeds have also been used: Cable, DSL, T1 and Unknown. Cable had the most with 14 visits and all the rest were tied at 6 visits.

PBwiki vs. Wetpaint

PBwiki is a site used to design and create your own wiki and can be utilized for business, personal or academic use. Wetpaint is a site that lets you build an online community combining features from wikis, blogs, forums and social networking sites. Both PBwiki and Wetpaint can be used as collaboration tools, allowing several users access and edit an account. PBwiki and Wetpaint are quite similar in the features they offer: both sites allow you to invite others to participate, create privacy settings on each page, add tags, videos, photos, and other links/attachments, and send email and rss notifications.

When using the two sites I didn't find many differences between them. I thought the overall look of PBwiki was more of a traditional wiki, while Wetpaint looked more like a regular website or fansite. Both sites were quite easy to use and navigate and both sites offered some soft of "basic" package that was free to use. Wetpaint advertised one of their site as a community, whereas PBwiki seems to be more of an information provider. The main difference that struck me was the appearance and layout of the two sites. PBwiki was much more professional and Wetpaint had more of a fan community look. If I needed a site to use in a professional or academic setting I would rely on PBwiki, however if I were creating a personal site I might use Wetpaint. Because they layout and look of PBwiki appealed to me much more, possibly because I've used it for other classes, that's the site I would stick with if I were creating a collaborative document.

Delicious Introduction

Although I had never used Delicious before this class, I think it's a really neat site. While it was hard to find just 10 bookmarks that really said more about me, I think I found 10 that at least said something about me. I was definitely interested to see the sites bookmarked by classmates and to see if there was any overlap between them and myself. Although the 10 sites I chose may not say everything about me, I chose 10 sites that I visit almost daily. I think Delicious would be a wonderful way to introduce students to each other and to social software. I found Delicious super easy to use and navigate, with virtually no previous social bookmarking experience. Delicious is also an easy way to introduce students to the use of "tagging", which is found on so many sites today. Delicious is a great way to introduce students to some of the social software that's available today. Delicious is fun to use and an easy way to discover new sites. Using Delicious may spark students' interest in other social software. I would definitely recommend the use of Delicious in other classes, especially as an introduction.

Google Docs

Google docs is an excellent tool for sharing work with others. I think this type of program would work either in an online or in-person class setting. What makes Google docs great for group work is that each group member can have access to the editing process. Rather than having to email attachments between group members to make changes, each individual can easily access and edit the document. Using Google docs eliminates the extra steps needed for emailing attachments or using other various software for group projects.

I definitely think this type of document would be welcomed by faculty. From my experience most professors in the MLIS program encourage the use of collaborative software such as Google docs for group projects. I think one concern may be the amount of work put in by each student. Google docs allows you to see which student last edited the document, but not the number or amount of changes made. Additionally, Google docs does not allow you to see all the previous edits, so its possible that one student may contribute to the document and then another student contributes without the professor noticing the first edit. Despite this I still think man professors would be open to using this type of document. It allows the students to collaborate but also allows the professor to observe the progress over time and even make suggestions/edit the document (as long as permission has been given from the students). I think Google docs, like wikis, is a great tool for collaboration.

SCILS or SCI

When I first heard the proposed name change, from SCILS to SCI, I thought what a horrible idea. As I've thought more and more about it, I still can't get on board with the name change. Although I agree that information specialist can accurately reflect the job of a librarian, I would still prefer to be called librarian. I think libraries are more than just places of information, there a place for community gathering, for learning, and for sharing. Since I've started the MLIS program I can't tell you how many people have said, "why do you need a masters for that?" or "anyone can do that job". Several times I felt that people don't understand the value of libraries or librarians, they don't understand that being a librarian involves more than checking out books. In many ways I feel the name change further devalues the role of a librarian. The name SCILS has worked for quite a long time, and as the saying goes if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

When the name change first came about we discussed in my management class and I must say all of the students in class opposed the name change.

Delicious vs. Furl

Delicious and Furl are two social bookmarking sites. When browsing both of these sites I found them to be fairly similar in the services they provided however I preferred Delicious for a few reasons:

-I had better search results when I used Delicious. For example, on both sites I wanted to add BBCNews as one of my bookmarks. When I searched on Delicious the results was the BBCNews Front Page, or main news site. On Furl the search results were all individual news stories on the BBC page. Although when I searched for CNN on Furl the first result was the main CNN page, so perhaps it was just something with BBCNews?
-All the most popular bookmarks on the Furl main page were from the New York Times, on Delicious there was much more of a variety
-Furl offered users Furl Groups, on Delicious this was considered your network.
-Delicious allowed users to add tags to bookmarks and also search for bookmarks by specific tags. I couldn't find any tags on Furl.
-I liked the look of Delicious, it was more user-friendly than Furl and much easier to search
-Furl had advertising! I kept accidentally clicking on the "Add URL" Google Ad, it was distracting and frustrating

I will definitely continue to use Delicious for social bookmarking, as I was not very impressed with Furl.

Digg

Several people I know often read Digg or share something they've read on Digg, so I decided to finally check the site out for myself. Digg is a site that allows users to share content-news, blogs,videos,images-taken from anywhere on the web with other users. Once something has been submitted, other users can "digg" it and the most popular submissions will placed on the front page. Users can also discuss any topic they'd like.

Digg struck me as sort of a one-stop shop for interesting tidbits found on the web, sort of like Boing Boing. Signing up for Digg was free and quite easy. Adding "diggs" was extremely easy and took effect immediately. Overall I think Digg is an interesting site for finding information, however I felt like I was suffering from information overload. I think with bloglines, delicious and other sites I check on a daily basis I'm already getting tons of information in a day and its information I personally find more interesting. For me, I'd rather not peruse Digg to try and find something that sparks my interest. I love the interaction of Digg though. I think its great that users control everything on the site, you're getting information that other people find interesting, not an editor. I think Digg is a great site for interested users, just not my cup of tea.

Information Overload

Prior to this class I had never used an rss/rss aggregator such as bloglines. When I first started using bloglines I was amazed, all the information I wanted could be found in one place. After a few uses I began to feel a bit of information overload. I wondered why I really needed library blogs, national and local news, online magazines and entertainment news in one sitting. I started to miss visiting the individual sites one at a time. As I've continued to use bloglines the site has really grown on me. I love that it's a one-stop shop for everything I'm interested in reading. RSS is definitely a mitigator of information overload. With bloglines all the information is presented in a organized manner that's easy to use and follow. Additionally users can always choose to ignore feeds, so they don't suffer from an overload, while being sure to not miss any information.

TinyChat

TinyChat is a free service that allows individuals to create chat rooms and then invite others to join the chat. TinyChat is similar to group chat on various instant messaging services, except TinyChat works right in your browser and there's no need to download software. Anyone with browser access can be invited to join the chat and once you're finished chatting all chat data is removed.

I've never heard of this service before and randomly found it on delicious. I've previously used group chat on AIM and wondered why gchat didn't offer a similar service (unless they do and I've just completely missed it). I've found group chat to be a great way to communicate with a bunch of people at once, especially if you're trying to make plans. I remember using group chat throughout college to keep in touch with friends back home. It's a fun way to communicate with a group.

I can imagine group chat being utilized in a library or learning environment. This service could be used by libraries to create virtual book clubs or provide chat reference to patrons. What impressed me about this site was how easy it was to use. I remember trying to show my mom how to use AOL instant messenger a few years ago and it was quite a process. With TinyChat there's no downloading required and the person can type right in their browser once they've been sent a link. I like the ease of accessibility with TinyChat and I'd be interested to see if this service could be used by libraries.

Save NJ Libraries

Some or most of you in NJ have probably already seen this but since I posted in it my personal blog and emailed friends and family, I figured I would post it here as well. The New Jersey League of Municipalities is trying to cut the funding (from taxes) for NJ libraries in half! I don't work in a public library myself but all of my classmates who do say that public libraries are being used now more than ever. With the recent increase in job losses and downturn of the economy people are using their local library for a number of services. It's crazy that as the use of libraries increases, the funding decreases. Here's an article explaining the situation. And here's a site provided by NJLA where you can contact your assemblyman. All you have to do is provide your zip code and the site takes care of the rest. I've already hassled everyone I know in NJ to do it and I urge you to do the same!

Bloglines vs. Google Reader

As someone who's been using Gmail for a few years now (and loving it), I expected to prefer Google Reader over Bloglines. However, I found good and bad things about both. I found Bloglines to have a better layout, it was cleaner and more organized. I also found the side menu of blog feeds easier and more intuitive to use. Overall Bloglines was more user friendly and had a better look. What I liked about Google Reader was that I could sign into one account and check my subscriptions but also my Google email and calendar.

As far as subscriptions it was easy to add a specific URL to both, however I had trouble adding the "Bloglines Quick Picks" to my account, I kept receiving an error message. Adding "feed bundles" worked better on Google Reader. Eventually I was able to add the Quick Picks I wanted, I just had to do it one subscription at a time. If I had to pick just one service to continue using I would go with Bloglines, since the services are virtually the same and I much prefer the look of Bloglines.

LibraryThing

Believe it or not a social software site that I have never used is LibraryThing. LT is a site that some of my fellow students have casually mentioned in class but because it sounded so similar to NoveList, I never bothered to check it out. LibraryThing allows users to create "library-quality catalog of their books". Once users create their library they can rate and review books as well as add tags. LibraryThing connects you with other users by allowing you to see who else has the book in their library. LT will also recommend other, similar books that you might be interested in reading.

Like I said I've never used LibraryThing but I have used NoveList. What I like about this site, and other similar sites, is the access to book recommendations. A large portion of the books I read for pleasure are books recommended by others. In fact, most of the books and/or authors that I've loved have been recommendations. Browsng a site like LibraryThing can also turn users onto books they may never have heard of or thought to read otherwise. I think it's great that users can create their own library. Best of all, LibraryThing is free!

In the future I hope to work in a public library and provide users with reader's advisory. So far I've only done reader's advisory on a personal basis, haven't had the need while working in an academic library. Just recently I was trying to help my mom find books for my dad. My dad is a fairly picky reader AND he's at an age where he needs large print books. My mom was having a hard time finding new books for him, so I helped her out using Amazon and NoveList. LibraryThing is another site that can be extremely useful in reader's advisory. This site might also be great to encourage teens and young adults to read. The social aspect might appeal to your teen patrons and the library can encourage these users to have fun by creating their own library and hopefully reading more books in the process.

I've previously used LiveJournal for both personal use and for past classes, however I'm totally new when it comes to using Blogger. I've noticed a number of similarities between the two and a few minor differences.

• Both LiveJournal and Blogger allow you to create a user profile and upload a user picture or icon
• Both sites let you insert images or video into your post
• Both sites allow you to link to other blogs. On LJ these are considered "Friends", on Blogger you can "Follow" other blogs. I like the friends set-up on LJ better, seems more organized and more easily accessible.
• The actual journal and blog layouts are quite similar, and on both sites you can customize your layout
• Both LJ and Blogger let the poster diable or disallow comments
• LJ allows you to make your posts "Friends Only", "Private" or "Public" and create custom friend groups. I haven't seen anything similar on Blogger. Definitely an advantage of using LJ
• LJ lets you join various LiveJournal communities- another huge plus for LJ
  

Overall, I found these two services to be very similar. I think LJ has a few bonus features that aren't available on Blogger. Generally I prefer using LJ over Blogger, however in a professional or library setting I would use Blogger. I find the appearance of Blogger to be more professional than LJ (I think b/c I've also used LJ for personal use in the past, I have a hard time imagining using it in a library).

Best of Blogs

I'm not one to frequent many library blogs but one blog I do enjoy reading is the Highland Park teen librarian's blog:

http://hpplteenblog.blogspot.com/

My major reason for liking this blog is the sense of community it creates. I think this blog touches on the basics- book reviews, film reviews, interesting tidbits and library events- but also adds a more personalized touch. One of the reasons I would love to work in a public library is to really be a part of a community. A blog similar to this one is a great way to interact with your patrons and share personal information. Library patrons can get a feeling for who you are and what you contribute to the library. I like that this blog creates a direct connection between the librarian and the teen patrons (although it would certainly be nice to see more participation from the teens, most posts have no comments).