As a part of learning HTML in my LIS753 class, each person was suppose to create a mock-up webpage and show it to the class. I decided to create a fictious medical university library website.
So here's the address for Peaceful Planet Medical University Library, I hope you enjoy it.
http://domin.dom.edu/students/khunmali/LIS753/PPMU-Library-Main.html
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Blog Post #5: Is One of the Ten Tech Trends for Librarians 2007, doomed to Mediocrity by the U.S. Cellular Industry?
In reading my teacher, Michael Stephens’s blog Tame the Web, he posted Ten Tech Trends for Librarians 2007.
It was mentioned that one of the Ten Tech Trends was the idea of Convergence.
---------------------------
“Convergence describes a process rather than an endpoint. More than just technological consolidation, the process of convergence is distinguished by changing consumer flows through the media landscape. It represents a tectonic shift that has altered the relationship between existing technologies, industries, markets, genres and audiences.
This altered relationship privileges 'expressions' over 'impressions'; engaged consumers draw together information across multiple media experiences creating new touchpoints for your brands. Convergence culture calls for a re-negotiation of the expectations of media content producers and advertisers, of media producers and audiences”
-----------------------------
Professor Stephens uses the iPhone to illutrate the possibilties of convergence in libraries.
Quote:
“The iPod on some level changed the world.
The iPhone will as well: user interface, ease of use, pulling together a seamless experience of voice, data, Web. Watch closely.
How does this impact libraries? A thread running through all of these trends is the idea that the general public to some degree has adopted tools and technologies that allow them to interact with media.
This will not stop as prices fall and more folks move to one device for access to information, the collection of data and communication with the world. How will librarians and their services position themselves in this world? Trust me, it won't be by taping a sign on the door of the library!
I'd urge some libraries to get an iPhone and experiment. Use the phone. use it in your library. What do your Web services look like? The catalog? Report out to the rest of us.”
-------------------------------
I agree in principle about the trying to realize the greatness convergence could bring and its potential promises.
However I the wireless carriers in the U.S. are thwarting the promises of convergence.
What do I base my thoughts on?
Take a listen to the podcast or view the transcripts of
Mobile Malcontent: http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2007/03/02/04
-----------------------------
Sample excerpt:
BROOKE GLADSTONE: In the U.S. today there are two hundred million cell phone subscribers. The wireless industry has grown up in the last decade, so it’s a good time to ask, how’s it doing? Columbia law professor Tim Wu says, not so good. Yes, we have service at competitive prices, but we could have so much more.
We don’t, says Wu, because the big wireless carriers, Verizon, Cingular, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile have a stranglehold on product design. In a paper he presented to the Federal Trade Commission, Wu details many of the improvements we could enjoy if the wireless carriers let us.
For example, we could more easily transfer photos or browse the Net, or even keep track of how much we talk. We can’t, because the carriers are engaged in what Wu calls “feature crippling.”
--------------------------------
After listening to the this segment of On the Media, I felt cheated about how US Cellular companies are confining cellular users in the United States and the phone manufacturers to mediocrity.
I felt myself agreeing with points Professor Wu (a Columbia law professor) was making- that we are being short changed by the cellular companies!
Conversely, I felt Chris Guttman McCabe (the vice-president of regulatory affairs for CTIA, The Wireless Association.) was making poor excuses for the wireless industry's business practices.
Well, Mr. McCabe if you or anybody in from the wireless companies is listening then:
"Please, don’t stop progress by giving us mediocrity."
I hope that Convergence does happen. I hope that libraries will get to realize greatness through Convergence.
It was mentioned that one of the Ten Tech Trends was the idea of Convergence.
---------------------------
“Convergence describes a process rather than an endpoint. More than just technological consolidation, the process of convergence is distinguished by changing consumer flows through the media landscape. It represents a tectonic shift that has altered the relationship between existing technologies, industries, markets, genres and audiences.
This altered relationship privileges 'expressions' over 'impressions'; engaged consumers draw together information across multiple media experiences creating new touchpoints for your brands. Convergence culture calls for a re-negotiation of the expectations of media content producers and advertisers, of media producers and audiences”
-----------------------------
Professor Stephens uses the iPhone to illutrate the possibilties of convergence in libraries.
Quote:
“The iPod on some level changed the world.
The iPhone will as well: user interface, ease of use, pulling together a seamless experience of voice, data, Web. Watch closely.
How does this impact libraries? A thread running through all of these trends is the idea that the general public to some degree has adopted tools and technologies that allow them to interact with media.
This will not stop as prices fall and more folks move to one device for access to information, the collection of data and communication with the world. How will librarians and their services position themselves in this world? Trust me, it won't be by taping a sign on the door of the library!
I'd urge some libraries to get an iPhone and experiment. Use the phone. use it in your library. What do your Web services look like? The catalog? Report out to the rest of us.”
-------------------------------
I agree in principle about the trying to realize the greatness convergence could bring and its potential promises.
However I the wireless carriers in the U.S. are thwarting the promises of convergence.
What do I base my thoughts on?
Take a listen to the podcast or view the transcripts of
Mobile Malcontent: http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2007/03/02/04
-----------------------------
Sample excerpt:
BROOKE GLADSTONE: In the U.S. today there are two hundred million cell phone subscribers. The wireless industry has grown up in the last decade, so it’s a good time to ask, how’s it doing? Columbia law professor Tim Wu says, not so good. Yes, we have service at competitive prices, but we could have so much more.
We don’t, says Wu, because the big wireless carriers, Verizon, Cingular, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile have a stranglehold on product design. In a paper he presented to the Federal Trade Commission, Wu details many of the improvements we could enjoy if the wireless carriers let us.
For example, we could more easily transfer photos or browse the Net, or even keep track of how much we talk. We can’t, because the carriers are engaged in what Wu calls “feature crippling.”
--------------------------------
After listening to the this segment of On the Media, I felt cheated about how US Cellular companies are confining cellular users in the United States and the phone manufacturers to mediocrity.
I felt myself agreeing with points Professor Wu (a Columbia law professor) was making- that we are being short changed by the cellular companies!
Conversely, I felt Chris Guttman McCabe (the vice-president of regulatory affairs for CTIA, The Wireless Association.) was making poor excuses for the wireless industry's business practices.
Well, Mr. McCabe if you or anybody in from the wireless companies is listening then:
"Please, don’t stop progress by giving us mediocrity."
I hope that Convergence does happen. I hope that libraries will get to realize greatness through Convergence.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Blog Post #4: New test shows shortcomings in students' cyber literacy
In section 1 page 6 of the Sunday Chicgao Tribune (2/18/2007) there is an article entitled "New tests finds students' cyber aptitude wanting." about the ICT Literacy Assessment – Information and Communication Technology Literacy,
According to the ICT Literacy Assessment Website:
“The ICT Literacy Assessment is a comprehensive test of Information and Communication Technology proficiency that uses scenario-based tasks to measure both cognitive and technical skills. The assessment provides support for institutional ICT literacy initiatives, guides curricula innovations, informs articulation and progress standings, and assesses individual student proficiency.”
The Tribune article says the piloting testing of 6,300 students in high schools and colleges across the U.S. produced mediocre scores.
“Today’s youths aren’t as tech savvy as they appear", according to the article.
I couldn’t find an online version of the Tribune article the Dominican database (Which hasn’t been working well at home or work, lately. It’s been giving me “This program cannot display the webpage” messages.”), or on the internet. However I found the original article --"New test shows shortcomings in students' cyber literacy.”--the Tribune reprinted in Sunday’s paper, to quote from.
-------------------------
New test shows shortcomings in students' cyber literacy
By KELLY HEYBOER — Monday February 12, 2007c.2007 Newhouse News Service(UNDATED) Sure, today's students can download songs to their iPods, text message their friends and update their MySpace pages in a flash.But can they use a search engine to find reliable information to help them choose a new car? Can they determine if health information on a Web site is bogus or legit? Can they compose a decent e-mail?
As technology becomes an integral part of everyday life, schools and businesses have started looking for a way to assess the tech savviness of their students and applicants. The Educational Testing Service — author of the SAT and AP exams — has developed a test designed to grade students' knowledge of the cyber world.
The Information and Communication Technology Literacy Assessment, or ICT, is an online exam that gives test takers a series of tasks to see how they would use the Internet and computer programs in the real world. The tasks include sorting an e-mail inbox, using a search engine to write a report and creating a spreadsheet.
ETS recently piloted the new exam at high schools and colleges across the country. The scores of the first 6,300 students who took the test were surprisingly mediocre.Today's youth, it turns out, are not as tech savvy as they appear.
"We were quite surprised,'' said Mary Ann Zaborowski, executive director of product management at ETS. "It was shocking to us that students did not perform well.''
Just 52 percent of test takers could correctly judge the objectivity of a Web site and only 65 percent assessed the site's authoritativeness. When asked to use a search engine to look for information on the Web, only 40 percent entered multiple search terms to narrow the results.Test takers also had trouble figuring out when it's ethical to use information they find on the Internet in their own work and how to rewrite the facts they find on the Web for a new audience.
"The preliminary results do raise for us a warning flag ... and a cry for action,'' Zaborowski said. "These skills are not intuitive. They have to be learned.''
ETS officials say the scores from the pilot test are a snapshot and may not represent the technological skills of the entire American student population.
But teachers and librarians say the numbers confirm what they've suspected for years: Being able to use Google and Wikipedia doesn't mean a student knows how to do college-level research.
"They were raised using computers,'' said Sonia Gonsalves, a psychology professor at Richard Stockton College in Pomona, N.J. "Students were very technologically competent, but not necessarily proficient at using information.''
Stockton was among the first schools to test the new ICT exam. The majority of the 260 students who took the basic and advanced versions of the test did well, but not great, said Gonsalves, who serves as the director of Stockton's Institute for Faculty Development.
The school, which plans to give the test to another 270 students this year, is developing a two-semester course to improve students' computer and Internet knowledge. In the future, students who score poorly on the ICT exam may be steered into the new elective.
The test currently costs between $27 and $33 per person, slightly less than the SAT fee of $41.50. Test takers sit at a computer, though they never really log on to the Internet. Instead, they perform a series of tasks in a "simulated'' online world using the "Search-a-rama'' search engine and other mock Web sites and databases.
The computer keeps track of how the students navigate the tasks during the 75-minute exam. They are given a score ranging from 400 to 700, with the average student scoring a 550 last year.
A similar exam designed for businesses to test the tech knowledge of their employees is set to be piloted later this year. One of the first customers for the new exam will be a health care company that wants to identify tech-illiterate employees for extra training before it launches a new computer system, ETS officials said.
For now, the student version of the test is being used, mostly as an experiment, at about 80 institutions.
Finding ways to teach students the intangible skill of navigating the Internet and distinguishing shady Web sites from reliable pages may be tough, said Norbert Elliot, a veteran New Jersey Institute of TEchnology English professor who studies how to assess students' skills."It's not writing down equations. It's not identifying a grammatical error in a sentence,'' Elliot said. "A lot of this is experience.''
NJIT is also working on ways to weave better Internet and computer literacy training into its courses after giving the ICT test to 353 students on its Newark campus last year, he said. Having an exam to test students' tech knowledge is the first step in what may become a whole new field of teaching.
"We really are in new territory here,'' Elliot said.
A demonstration of the new ICT Tech Literacy Exam with sample questions is available on the ETS Web site, http://www.ets.org/ictliteracy/demo.html.
(Kelly Heyboer covers higher education for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. She can be contacted at kheyboer(at)starledger.com.) "
---------------------------
I would say that this article paints quite a contrast and counterpoint to my Blog Post #2: What I learned about Net Gen Students at the Third Annual ARL Leadership Institute., the topic of which presents a tech savvy image of high and college students. This new article seems to show otherwise.
Let’s take a look at some of point made in this new article on cyber literacy:
1-“Just 52 percent of test takers could correctly judge the objectivity of a Web site and only 65 percent assessed the site's authoritativeness. When asked to use a search engine to look for information on the Web, only 40 percent entered multiple search terms to narrow the results.”
Comment: 52% and 65% doesn’t sound too bad to me. I wonder how well adults would do. I suspect they wouldn’t be too much better. Why do I say that? Well, I have seen my fair share of adults to poorly in judging health information from the internet.
2-“ ETS officials say the scores from the pilot test are a snapshot and may not represent the technological skills of the entire American student population.”
Comment: I am intrigued about what the trend will be when more tests are done. However, the ICT test needs to and will probablyl gain more validly and reliability as time goes by.
3-“But teachers and librarians say the numbers confirm what they've suspected for years: Being able to use Google and Wikipedia doesn't mean a student knows how to do college-level research.”
Comment: Despite my comments above, I would have to concur will this point. It is something I have suspected too. I hope there will be more research into this topic and that the ICT will help improve information literacy.
4-“ Finding ways to teach students the intangible skill of navigating the Internet and distinguishing shady Web sites from reliable pages may be tough, said Norbert Elliot, a veteran New Jersey Institute of TEchnology English professor who studies how to assess students' skills."It's not writing down equations. It's not identifying a grammatical error in a sentence,'' Elliot said. "A lot of this is experience.''
NJIT is also working on ways to weave better Internet and computer literacy training into its courses after giving the ICT test to 353 students on its Newark campus last year, he said. Having an exam to test students' tech knowledge is the first step in what may become a whole new field of teaching.
"We really are in new territory here,'' Elliot said.”
Comment: When I look at how I learned to use and be literate with the internet, I see that I mostly did it on my own and taught myself. So it seems ironic that we need classes to do something that in the early days of the internet we had to learn out of necessity. Fend for ourselves and learn as you go was the only way available. Now learning about the internet can be done in formal classes with standards.
My sense is that about the 65% and 52% of students was due to the attitude and aptitude of each student, their reasoning ability, powers of intuition, and critical thinking, which are due to in part to personality, upbringing, biology, and schooling. So it is a combination of nature and nurture.
On a related side note--
I ask one of my previous library teachers about why Dominican University doesn’t have a specific information literacy class for the new incoming GLIS students. It was the instructor’s contention that the graduate program will provide the information literacy via the individual courses that students will be taking as he/she goes through the program.
Wow, that strikes me as an apriori assumption. I hope my instructor is right, do I respect her and plan on taking more classes with her.
It seems odd to me that one of the assumptions or hallmark of being a librarian:
That we as Librarians, are suppose to know about information literacy, and can make good decision about information
, is not a fundamental principle/goal/topic that has been determined or chosen by the library program, to be consciously and overtly disseminated to and nurtured in its library students.
I looked over the GLIS Bulletin 2005-2006, and could not find anything about information literacy.
It feels like it is an implied understanding that students will naturally aquire by the time they graduate.
I do believe my own information literacy has improved since I started school and has been an evolving process. Yet information literacy doesn’t feel like a conscious effort, it feels more by happenstance and being in the right place at the right time (i.e. being in the right class or talking to the right classmate or teacher).
It is similar to what a very knowledgeable lecturer once told me about the connection between enlightenment and mediation; enlightenment occurs in a manner like having an accident, meditation increases your chances of having that accident.
I guess as I hang around library school long enough, my information literacy will improve as by-product my attending classes, and the interaction with classmates and teachers, more so than as a deliberate goal, objective, or action of the library program.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Blog Post #3-My Interview with Jaap and Erik, and Library Gaming.
The Saturday of our second weekend class (LIS 752: Intenet Fundamentals and Design-February 10-11), we had visitors from the Netherlands, Jaap and Erik. They associated with a library in their homeland http://www.dok.info/ (the site is in Dutch). They were at Dominican University as a part of touring the libraries in the Illinois area. After their presentation, students had chance to be videotaped for an interview. Students, such as me, could speak on any topic he or she wished.
Since they mentioned gaming in libraries, I decided to talk about gaming in libraries. I told them about my experiences growing up with videos games when I was younger, starting. I had played video games from elementary school to about college age. So I was playing from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. I eventually grew away from video games, and became more interested in other pursuits and pastimes.
Now that I am in library school, video games have come back into my life, in of all things, as a learning tool in libraries. Both Jaap and Erik were enthused about gaming in libraries. At the same time they did not know how this trend will exactly play out. It seemed that they got involved as an exploration; because gaming is there, so why not play with it.
The interview brought something that I have been feeling about the subject; despite growing up with video games, I feel ambivalent about the subject. I am trying to figure out what is it about a gaming at a library that would make it a uniquely beneficial experience. I do have open and accepting attitude towards to gaming phenomena. I don’t oppose it. But what is it about a library gaming that makes it different and special from a video arcade or playing it at home? Or even just offering a room for game clubs--not affiliated with libraries—for their own use?
Sometimes I wonder if my age and generation is at play in my feelings.
Maybe, what is important is so long as the betterment of library patron is achieved, even with gaming, then it is my duty to do so using this way.
Here are some resources I found for further reading on the subject:
http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Gaming
http://libgaming.blogspot.com/
http://bibliogaming.blogspot.com/
http://www.techsource.ala.org/blog/2005/12/at-the-top-of-its-game-the-mls-symposium.html
http://gaminginlibraries.org/
When I was searching for the resources in Dominican’s Database and Google, I noticed a pattern. Many of the places where gaming in libraries, or library gaming were taking place, happened to be in the U.S. Midwest. I saw Illinois, Indiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Michigan. Of course there were other states like California, New York, and Massachusetts.
Being from the Midwest, I thought that was cool and something to be proud of.
I wonder why the Midwest is so prominent in the library gaming field.
Since they mentioned gaming in libraries, I decided to talk about gaming in libraries. I told them about my experiences growing up with videos games when I was younger, starting. I had played video games from elementary school to about college age. So I was playing from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. I eventually grew away from video games, and became more interested in other pursuits and pastimes.
Now that I am in library school, video games have come back into my life, in of all things, as a learning tool in libraries. Both Jaap and Erik were enthused about gaming in libraries. At the same time they did not know how this trend will exactly play out. It seemed that they got involved as an exploration; because gaming is there, so why not play with it.
The interview brought something that I have been feeling about the subject; despite growing up with video games, I feel ambivalent about the subject. I am trying to figure out what is it about a gaming at a library that would make it a uniquely beneficial experience. I do have open and accepting attitude towards to gaming phenomena. I don’t oppose it. But what is it about a library gaming that makes it different and special from a video arcade or playing it at home? Or even just offering a room for game clubs--not affiliated with libraries—for their own use?
Sometimes I wonder if my age and generation is at play in my feelings.
Maybe, what is important is so long as the betterment of library patron is achieved, even with gaming, then it is my duty to do so using this way.
Here are some resources I found for further reading on the subject:
http://www.libsuccess.org/index.php?title=Gaming
http://libgaming.blogspot.com/
http://bibliogaming.blogspot.com/
http://www.techsource.ala.org/blog/2005/12/at-the-top-of-its-game-the-mls-symposium.html
http://gaminginlibraries.org/
When I was searching for the resources in Dominican’s Database and Google, I noticed a pattern. Many of the places where gaming in libraries, or library gaming were taking place, happened to be in the U.S. Midwest. I saw Illinois, Indiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Michigan. Of course there were other states like California, New York, and Massachusetts.
Being from the Midwest, I thought that was cool and something to be proud of.
I wonder why the Midwest is so prominent in the library gaming field.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Free File Conversions
For our LIS 753 class we need to make a PDF file. The Adobe site requires you to sign up and login to do online file conversion. I found this site http://zamzar.com/ that does free file conversions without the need to sign up or login.
Michael Stephens asked me to make it available to all my classmates. I haven't used this service yet, but hopefully it will work out well.
It does other formats in addition to PDF, so it seems to be very versatile.
If anyone uses Zamzar, let me know how well it works.
Friday, February 9, 2007
HeldUp:The easiest way to stop windows from disappearing behind other programs.
Here's a neat little program if you are coding a webpage and need to look at the results of your work. It called Held-Up. Now you don't have to switch back and forth between windows. Just use the program and you can have two windows on the same screen.
http://www.johnmacintyre.ca/HeldUp.asp
According to John Macintyre there are other benefits to the program:
"Examples of where HeldUp might be useful
Keep a calculator program on top, while preparing an invoice.
Keep the Windows CharMap utility on top, while writing a foreign language document.
Hold up Notepad to make notes while you browse the internet or read technical documents.
Keeping directory software on top while you manually enter data from it.
Keep online streaming video on top while you do work in the background.
Keep your to do list visible so you don't lose track of your priorities.
You could even keep pictures of your kids visible at all times."
The program is has 20 day trial, and is free if you register it.
I've used HeldUp and find it handy.
http://www.johnmacintyre.ca/HeldUp.asp
According to John Macintyre there are other benefits to the program:
"Examples of where HeldUp might be useful
Keep a calculator program on top, while preparing an invoice.
Keep the Windows CharMap utility on top, while writing a foreign language document.
Hold up Notepad to make notes while you browse the internet or read technical documents.
Keeping directory software on top while you manually enter data from it.
Keep online streaming video on top while you do work in the background.
Keep your to do list visible so you don't lose track of your priorities.
You could even keep pictures of your kids visible at all times."
The program is has 20 day trial, and is free if you register it.
I've used HeldUp and find it handy.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Web Browsers I Like.
Web Browsers-What I like and use in a Windows Environment.
My favorite and preferred browser is Maxthon (1.59).
http://www.maxthon.com/index.htm
http://www.maxthon.com/index.htm
I love it for its:
-Lower memory use compared to Internet Explorer and Firefox.
-Tabs Browsing. Every browser has this feature now, but Maxthon’s is intuitive and fun to use.
-Mouse Gestures. This feature lets you use the mouse to navigate a web without the need to click on the navigation buttons.
-Super-Drag-and-Drop. You can do keyword searches by highlighting any word(s), clicking on the highlighted term, dragging it and dropping (i.e. letting go of the mouse button). The browser will then search for the word in the search engine of your choice.
-Plug-Ins. You can customize Maxthon with a variety of features, anyway you want.
-Ad-Hunter. Which kills and reduces annoying ads and pop ups. However, sometimes the site won’t function as smooths, but it is usually due to the ads.
-Favorites Bar. This is a handy feature to look for bookmarks.
-Multiple search engines. Pretty handy if you need to use different searches.
-The online community is very robust and active in the development and support of Maxthon.
My second preferred is Opera.
http://www.opera.com/
I love it for its:
-Speed. Webpages load fast.
-As a test browser in case I am having problems with the Internet or Maxthon (which is not often).
-It has some of the above features found in Maxthon. However it is not as intuitive to use as Maxthon.
Give it a try. Your browsing experience may be greatly improved, and be taken to the next level.
My favorite and preferred browser is Maxthon (1.59).
http://www.maxthon.com/index.htm
http://www.maxthon.com/index.htm
I love it for its:
-Lower memory use compared to Internet Explorer and Firefox.
-Tabs Browsing. Every browser has this feature now, but Maxthon’s is intuitive and fun to use.
-Mouse Gestures. This feature lets you use the mouse to navigate a web without the need to click on the navigation buttons.
-Super-Drag-and-Drop. You can do keyword searches by highlighting any word(s), clicking on the highlighted term, dragging it and dropping (i.e. letting go of the mouse button). The browser will then search for the word in the search engine of your choice.
-Plug-Ins. You can customize Maxthon with a variety of features, anyway you want.
-Ad-Hunter. Which kills and reduces annoying ads and pop ups. However, sometimes the site won’t function as smooths, but it is usually due to the ads.
-Favorites Bar. This is a handy feature to look for bookmarks.
-Multiple search engines. Pretty handy if you need to use different searches.
-The online community is very robust and active in the development and support of Maxthon.
My second preferred is Opera.
http://www.opera.com/
I love it for its:
-Speed. Webpages load fast.
-As a test browser in case I am having problems with the Internet or Maxthon (which is not often).
-It has some of the above features found in Maxthon. However it is not as intuitive to use as Maxthon.
Give it a try. Your browsing experience may be greatly improved, and be taken to the next level.
The Best Web 2.0 Software of 2005 and 2006
If you want a pretty good overview of Web 2.0 software that’s available, check out the articles by Dion Hinhcliff.
The Best Web 2.0 Software of 2006
http://web2.wsj2.com/the_best_web_20_software_of_2006.htm
The Best Web 2.0 Software of 2005
http://web2.wsj2.com/the_best_web_20_software_of_2005.htm
I have used Zoho Writer, YouTube, and MySpace.
Fortunately, most are free to the public, like us students at Dominican University.
Now if I can only find time to play and explore some of the services listed in the article.
The Best Web 2.0 Software of 2006
http://web2.wsj2.com/the_best_web_20_software_of_2006.htm
The Best Web 2.0 Software of 2005
http://web2.wsj2.com/the_best_web_20_software_of_2005.htm
I have used Zoho Writer, YouTube, and MySpace.
Fortunately, most are free to the public, like us students at Dominican University.
Now if I can only find time to play and explore some of the services listed in the article.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Blog Post #2: What I learned about Net Gen Students at the Third Annual ARL Leadership Institute.
I finally have time to write down my thoughts about this lecture I attended at the ARL Institute, on January 17-21 in Seattle, Washington. The talk was given by Joan K. Lippincott, Coalition for Networked Information; it was entitled Net Gen Students: Learning, Technology and Libraries.
The focus was on educating librarians working in academic/research libraries on the population called Net Gen Students. According to Lippincott they will the next upcoming demographic population that will be encountered by librarians, especially those who work with students in the future.
According to the handout I got from the lecture, Net Gen Students have the following characteristics:
-Born 1982-1991.
-Grew up with computers and other media at home and in school form earliest ages.
-Never were tether to communications in a place.
Other names for Net Gens: Millennials, Digital Native, Gen Y, DotNets (Pew Internet and American Life).
Characteristics of Net Gen Students:
-Always connected, multi-tasking.
-Oriented to working in groups.
-Experiential learners.
-Visual.
-Producers as well as consumers.
-Students are disproportionately likely to be (Internet) content creators (Content Creation Online, 2004, Pew Internet and American Life).
As I thought about how did Net Gen Students come to have all those features that, I realized that the lecture didn’t go into depth about the origins of the Net Gens. Therefore I decided to look further the subject.
I started with Joan’s link at: http://www.educause.edu/NetGenerationStudentsandLibraries/6067.
Which lead to the ebook Educating the Net Generation, available at:
http://www.educause.edu/LibraryDetailPage/666&ID=pub7101. I found this to be a neat resource on Net Gen Students. I skimmed Joan’s article, and found that it added details of the lecture she did ARL Institute.
If you want to look at Joan’s Power Point Lecture then try the following address:
http://www.cni.org/staff/joan-pres/2006/umd0603.Lippincott.pdf
However, this Power point was from a different lecture she gave at January ARL 2007. The information is essentially the same.
One thing that stuck out for me was how different and similar the Net Gen profile was from a person like me. I use computers everyday in my life some of the technology like Net Gen do.
However, I don’t use the greater amount and variety that they do. I don’t IM, my MySpace account has been unused for years, and I have been considering what WEB 2.0 tool I would like to try.
It seems that a Net Gen type person has a different view on internet and tech life. Both aspects seem pervasive and are naturally integrated into everyday life. For myself it is not as pervasive or as naturally integrated.
There is a good article by Diana Oblinger (EDUCAUSE) and James Oblinger (North Carolina State University) entitled Is It Age or IT: First Steps Toward Understanding the Net Generation, available at-
http://www.educause.edu/IsItAgeorIT%3AFirstStepsTowardUnderstandingtheNetGeneration/6058
I highly recommend it for an overview on topic!
In the article they have a chart of the different generations. I myself am a Gen X person.
"Generation X
Born 1965–1982
Description-Latchkey generation
Likes-Independent, Skeptical, Freedom, Multitasking, Work-life balance
Dislikes-Red tape, Hype.
Net Generation
Born 1982–1991
Description-Millennials Hopeful, Determined
Likes-Public activism, Latest technology, Parents
Dislikes-Anything slow, Negativity.
Few generalizations are entirely correct. However, generalizations—such as those about generations—highlight trends. Today's generations can be described as follows.39
Other attributes show generational trends as well (for example, attitude toward changing jobs or locus of community). One of the most striking attributes is the attitude toward the Internet. For the Net Gen, the Internet is like oxygen; they can't imagine being able to live without it.40"
I can see why there would be a difference. If Net Gen supposedly views the Internet as can’t image being without it, I can go days without the Internet and not feel deprived.
I am sure there are more comparisons. What do you think?
The focus was on educating librarians working in academic/research libraries on the population called Net Gen Students. According to Lippincott they will the next upcoming demographic population that will be encountered by librarians, especially those who work with students in the future.
According to the handout I got from the lecture, Net Gen Students have the following characteristics:
-Born 1982-1991.
-Grew up with computers and other media at home and in school form earliest ages.
-Never were tether to communications in a place.
Other names for Net Gens: Millennials, Digital Native, Gen Y, DotNets (Pew Internet and American Life).
Characteristics of Net Gen Students:
-Always connected, multi-tasking.
-Oriented to working in groups.
-Experiential learners.
-Visual.
-Producers as well as consumers.
-Students are disproportionately likely to be (Internet) content creators (Content Creation Online, 2004, Pew Internet and American Life).
As I thought about how did Net Gen Students come to have all those features that, I realized that the lecture didn’t go into depth about the origins of the Net Gens. Therefore I decided to look further the subject.
I started with Joan’s link at: http://www.educause.edu/NetGenerationStudentsandLibraries/6067.
Which lead to the ebook Educating the Net Generation, available at:
http://www.educause.edu/LibraryDetailPage/666&ID=pub7101. I found this to be a neat resource on Net Gen Students. I skimmed Joan’s article, and found that it added details of the lecture she did ARL Institute.
If you want to look at Joan’s Power Point Lecture then try the following address:
http://www.cni.org/staff/joan-pres/2006/umd0603.Lippincott.pdf
However, this Power point was from a different lecture she gave at January ARL 2007. The information is essentially the same.
One thing that stuck out for me was how different and similar the Net Gen profile was from a person like me. I use computers everyday in my life some of the technology like Net Gen do.
However, I don’t use the greater amount and variety that they do. I don’t IM, my MySpace account has been unused for years, and I have been considering what WEB 2.0 tool I would like to try.
It seems that a Net Gen type person has a different view on internet and tech life. Both aspects seem pervasive and are naturally integrated into everyday life. For myself it is not as pervasive or as naturally integrated.
There is a good article by Diana Oblinger (EDUCAUSE) and James Oblinger (North Carolina State University) entitled Is It Age or IT: First Steps Toward Understanding the Net Generation, available at-
http://www.educause.edu/IsItAgeorIT%3AFirstStepsTowardUnderstandingtheNetGeneration/6058
I highly recommend it for an overview on topic!
In the article they have a chart of the different generations. I myself am a Gen X person.
"Generation X
Born 1965–1982
Description-Latchkey generation
Likes-Independent, Skeptical, Freedom, Multitasking, Work-life balance
Dislikes-Red tape, Hype.
Net Generation
Born 1982–1991
Description-Millennials Hopeful, Determined
Likes-Public activism, Latest technology, Parents
Dislikes-Anything slow, Negativity.
Few generalizations are entirely correct. However, generalizations—such as those about generations—highlight trends. Today's generations can be described as follows.39
Other attributes show generational trends as well (for example, attitude toward changing jobs or locus of community). One of the most striking attributes is the attitude toward the Internet. For the Net Gen, the Internet is like oxygen; they can't imagine being able to live without it.40"
I can see why there would be a difference. If Net Gen supposedly views the Internet as can’t image being without it, I can go days without the Internet and not feel deprived.
I am sure there are more comparisons. What do you think?
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Blog Post #1:Understanding Library 2.0 and Web 2.0, and my way of using WikiPedia.
In general, Wikipedia has been a useful tool in helping me understand a topic. Typically one or more of the following situations occurs when I use it: 1) if I need an introduction to an unfamiliar topic. I find it useful to get an overview of the subject a hand. Often I get enjoy the multiple perspectives I receive on a particular entries. 2) I need a source to refer a person to or have it as a referral link to (e.g. from a post in electronic forum or an email). 3) As a way to refresh my memory on a topic. 4) To get an understanding of how a subject would look to a beginner or laymen, when I am knowledgeable on that particular Wiki entry.
I decided to look Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 again to refresh my memory, because the my first session weekend class of LIS 753 Internet Fundamentals touched upon it to a great degree (i.e. doing mainly for reason #3). I understand some of the concerns and criticisms of WikiPedia I have heard in library school (e.g. LIS 703) or NPR-> Wikipedia Wins Users and Critics.
However I have developed for a protocol for using Wikipedia. When I use a Wiki, I read an entry for the essences of the topic. I then look for specific details that I can search for to back up the claim. As I am doing this try to keeping in mind if there are any reasons for the entries to be true or false. Specifically I look for terms in the documents, links to other sites, and citations at the references at the end of the article. I try to click on links that interest me and read the references at the end. I also search for terms that appear in Wiki entry via a search engine (e.g. Yahoo, Google, or what ever my browser is set to). By doing this I feel that I can be informed to know what is decent information on a topic and where else to look for more understanding. Therefore I use Wikis as a starting point and as sort of a Cliff’s Note on a topic.
Which brings me back to why I used WikiPedia to look up Library 2.0 and Web 2.0, I felt, “What better way is there to experience a Web.2.0 tool, than to use to look up the subject of Library 2.0. and Web 2.0.?”
So what I found and learned by looking at Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 in Wikipedia, now that I finished my first session of class in LIS 753 with Michael Stephens?
-The Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 seems to be discussed in the terms of tools (i.e. software and internet) and the philosophy/model/principles behind them.
-Library 2.0 doesn’t necessarily a derivative of Web 2.0.
-In general there is a debate between those who favor those who advocate the Library and Web 2.0 and the critics/skeptics of it.
-The contention is focused on the terminology, definition, image, market, and seemingly hyped nature of the field. I found it to be mildly annoying to focus energy on the peripheral issues that surround the 2.0s. I to me it seems more sensible to discuss what is actually going on with users (e.g. are they really using and benefiting from it?), how are they making an impact (e,g. business and are paying attention for example to YouTube because of its popularity), what they are concerned about, and what aspect of Library and Web 2.0 is will be important to them-I leave this as an open question to be explored later.
-Even if Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 hype and fluff according to the critics or the next big thing according to advocates, how either make a difference? Do they a difference to the population at large? Most of the people I know don’t even realize what these things are.
-My teacher—Michael Stephens—is well known in the Library 2.0 field. Before I took his class, I knew of him from the reading his blogs at tametheweb.com, references in the Library 2.0 Wiki, and being cited in articles. However, I didn’t make the connection he was my teacher until the end of my first class; I made the connection when I reread the Wiki and explored the links in the entry. How cool is that!
I decided to look Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 again to refresh my memory, because the my first session weekend class of LIS 753 Internet Fundamentals touched upon it to a great degree (i.e. doing mainly for reason #3). I understand some of the concerns and criticisms of WikiPedia I have heard in library school (e.g. LIS 703) or NPR-> Wikipedia Wins Users and Critics.
However I have developed for a protocol for using Wikipedia. When I use a Wiki, I read an entry for the essences of the topic. I then look for specific details that I can search for to back up the claim. As I am doing this try to keeping in mind if there are any reasons for the entries to be true or false. Specifically I look for terms in the documents, links to other sites, and citations at the references at the end of the article. I try to click on links that interest me and read the references at the end. I also search for terms that appear in Wiki entry via a search engine (e.g. Yahoo, Google, or what ever my browser is set to). By doing this I feel that I can be informed to know what is decent information on a topic and where else to look for more understanding. Therefore I use Wikis as a starting point and as sort of a Cliff’s Note on a topic.
Which brings me back to why I used WikiPedia to look up Library 2.0 and Web 2.0, I felt, “What better way is there to experience a Web.2.0 tool, than to use to look up the subject of Library 2.0. and Web 2.0.?”
So what I found and learned by looking at Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 in Wikipedia, now that I finished my first session of class in LIS 753 with Michael Stephens?
-The Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 seems to be discussed in the terms of tools (i.e. software and internet) and the philosophy/model/principles behind them.
-Library 2.0 doesn’t necessarily a derivative of Web 2.0.
-In general there is a debate between those who favor those who advocate the Library and Web 2.0 and the critics/skeptics of it.
-The contention is focused on the terminology, definition, image, market, and seemingly hyped nature of the field. I found it to be mildly annoying to focus energy on the peripheral issues that surround the 2.0s. I to me it seems more sensible to discuss what is actually going on with users (e.g. are they really using and benefiting from it?), how are they making an impact (e,g. business and are paying attention for example to YouTube because of its popularity), what they are concerned about, and what aspect of Library and Web 2.0 is will be important to them-I leave this as an open question to be explored later.
-Even if Library 2.0 and Web 2.0 hype and fluff according to the critics or the next big thing according to advocates, how either make a difference? Do they a difference to the population at large? Most of the people I know don’t even realize what these things are.
-My teacher—Michael Stephens—is well known in the Library 2.0 field. Before I took his class, I knew of him from the reading his blogs at tametheweb.com, references in the Library 2.0 Wiki, and being cited in articles. However, I didn’t make the connection he was my teacher until the end of my first class; I made the connection when I reread the Wiki and explored the links in the entry. How cool is that!
Sunday, January 14, 2007
One Foot Step (i.e. post) Starts the Journey-My First Class Post.
I am a student at Dominican University, and this blog is a part of my classwork for GLIS LIS 753. Thanks for viewing this post.
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