Alice in InfoLand - Techno-glitzBloghttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/2010-04-13T15:24:29ZSquarespaceMy favorite podcastshttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/my-favorite-podcasts.htmlAlice2008-08-01T00:16:27Z2008-08-01T00:16:27ZI am addicted to *TEDtalks*. TED (for Technology, Entertainment, Design) began in 1984 as a way to bring people from those three industries together to exchange ideas. Since then the annual TED conference has expanded to include coverage of ‘science, business, the arts, and global issues facing our world,’ as 1000 attendees gather in Long Beach CA for four days to see/hear “the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers…give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.” There’s no way I could ever afford to attend the actual conference (tickets sell out a year in advance), but now many of the presentations are available online in both audio and video formats. If you’re new to TEDtalks, start by downloading the *top 10 TED talks highlights video*, to get a sense of the variety of subjects available. You can search for talks by theme, topic, or speaker, or just subscribe to the audio or video podcasts via iTunes.
I listen to the audio versions while driving, and lately I’ve been downloading the videos to show/share with the residents of my mother’s nursing home. 20 minutes is just enough for these 90-year-olds’ attention spans, and it’s certainly a change from daytime television!

]]>Life, rewiredhttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/life-rewired.htmlAlice2008-07-29T05:47:01Z2008-07-29T05:47:01Z
  • Tickets ordered via Telecharge for the wonderful revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center.
  • From NJ, we took the NJ Turnpike to the Holland Tunnel (inbound traffic checked via webcam on my Palm Centro), to pick up our son in the East Village.
  • He'd already made reservations for dinner at Il Violino after checking their menu online.
  • His wife took the subway crosstown to meet us at the restaurant, after emailing her menu selection to his phone in case she was late.
  • On the drive home, my husband and I compared this production to our memories of the original show and movie. We couldn't remember who played Bloody Mary, so I checked the Internet Broadway DataBase -- it was Juanita Hall, the first African-American to win a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress.
And thanks to Youtube, I was able to share some of the highlights of the show with my elderly mom the next day. NONE of those cyber-connections were possible just five years ago!!

Meredith Farkas posted recently about the impact the Web has had on her life.
Well, I'm old enough to be Meredith's mother, and Oh, the Changes I Have Seen... and enjoyed!!

]]>SLJ's Learning 2.0 programhttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/sljs-learning-20-program.htmlAlice2008-07-21T15:49:33Z2008-07-21T15:49:33ZCheck out All Together Now: Learning 2.0, led by Michael Stephens and sponsored by SLJ. It’s an opportunity to work with SLs all over the world, as we — jointly — explore 12 “Read/Write” web tools and figure out how to use them with(in) our library communities.
I’m signing up: I may be retired, but I’m never too old to learn…and play with some new toys!

]]>Did YOU back up your work today?http://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/did-you-back-up-your-work-today.htmlAlice2007-08-06T00:43:16Z2007-08-06T00:43:16Z*Breaking News: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash* — a news report from The Onion.
(found via The Committed Sardine)

]]>Afterthoughts from CIL/ISEhttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/afterthoughts-from-cilise.htmlAlice2006-04-04T20:57:05Z2006-04-04T20:57:05ZWhat did I learn at the Computers in Libraries / Internet@Schools East conference on March 22-24?
I’ve been mulling the notes I took and the impressions floating in my head, the CIL-tagged posts in the biblioblogosphere, comments sent to me by other ISE attendees, and the assorted handouts and publications provided at and after the events.

I go to professional conferences for three reasons:
  1. Information: What are the new concepts/resources/techniques I need to know about?
  2. Application: How can I use these new ideas and strategies in my own programs & services?
  3. Discussion: Who will I get a chance to talk with, for both personal and professional connections?

According to Information Today, Inc., the conference sponsor, this is ‘the most comprehensive North American conference and exhibition on all aspects of library & information delivery technology.’
I tried to attend programs in both the CIL and ISE tracks (Actually, ISE wasn’t even considered a track, just a "co-located" sub-conference under the CIL umbrella).
So what did I discover?

Computers in Libraries attendees:
* 2500+, mostly from academic/college or special/corporate libraries; lots of laptops and handhelds used for note-taking, blogging, etc.
* library clientele preselected by user choice (enrollment, profession, etc.)
* funding for new technologies and resources not a big issue
* looking for new digital resources and applications to use, to expand services to clients
* obstacles to implementation of new technologies: reluctant staff, lack of client interest
* enthralled by the ‘millenials’: ooh, a new species requiring new/different handling.
* geek-factor: use of social-networking software: variable
* see social networking sites like myspace, etc. as possible venues for connecting with clients.
* acknowledgement of K-12 issues and concerns: none
* awareness, interest in ISE programs/topics: little or none
* interaction with ISE attendees: little to none

Internet @ Schools attendees:
* less than 100 total; mostly paper-based note-taking, almost no blogging
* library clientele preselected by geographic proximity (students, teachers)
* funding for basic library programs & services a major issue; just keeping the job is a big concern !
* looking for ways to maintain and enrich current programs & services, to validate library/librarian as part of educational infrastructure
* obstacles to implementation of new technologies: administrative attitudes, lack of support staff, lack of time, lack of funding, lack of training opportunities
* about those ‘millenials’: we’ve been watching these kids evolve for years now. We’ve been adapting to their needs all along.
* geek-factor: use of social-networking software: minimal
* do not see social networking sites as where we need to be; our role is as adult/authority, not friend
* acknowledgement of broader library/educational/practical concerns: lots
* awareness, interest in CIL programs/topics: some
* interaction with CIL attendees: moderate

While I appreciated the opportunity to see/hear CIL’s array of pundits present their visions of what is and what should be, I was disheartened by how many of the CIL presenters totally ignored any impact that K-12 school libraries and librarians might have on the larger issues of lifetime learning and library use. I heard lots of talk about integration and collaboration, but I didn’t see a whole lot of it among the different audiences here.

Some valuable "takeaways" (info/ideas I could USE, rather than just descriptions of what other folks have done):
* We need to be available where our users are; school libraries can no longer be defined by our physical collections and boundaries. Online connections can be used to HELP our clientele at point of need. (email, etc. after school hours)
* We need to find ways to make it EASIER for our clientele to use our resources. (Federated searching? why are we asking our users to search multiple databases, one at a time?)
* Library websites need to offer both access to resources AND instructions (intervention?) on how to best use those resources.
* Blogs can be used for book discussion groups. Wikis can be used for group projects, to collect resource links and develop co-constructed knowledge. Wikis can also be used as internal info-sharing formats, eliminating some of the email overload.
* Look at new ways to use technology to promote the library programs & services, both overtly and through guerrilla marketing techniques.
* Today’s kids are visual learners. For some wonderful examples of ways to combine technology and imagination, see Johanna Riddle’s article on Visual Literacy applications.

Some onsite issues that really irked me:
  1. Conference organizers need to pay more attention to room set-up. Podiums should be next to the screens, not at the opposite end of the dais. I want to be able to look at the speaker and the visuals without having to scan across other, irrelevant objects in between the two.
  2. Presenters at this kind of conference should know — and be able to define — any terminology they use. Presenters who don’t know what ICT or Web 2.0 means immediately lose their credibility.
  3. Infotoday’s own conference blog had NO coverage of any of the ISE programs. If the program’s sponsor doesn’t even notice the K-12 presence, what does that say to those attendees?
Bottom line: would I go to this conference again? Probably not, based on the ROI.
Our state conferences usually cost less to attend, have better exhibits and offer many more programs that address the full range of our professional needs and responsibilities.
My suggestion to Infotoday: sponsor presentations by your big thinkers at the already-established conferences for school librarians, rather than expect us to attend yours.

tags:

]]>F2F vs Virtual conference-goinghttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/f2f-vs-virtual-conference-going.htmlAlice2006-03-21T12:40:48Z2006-03-21T12:40:48Z Oh, the choices…
Why would I want to , when there are so many other wonderful speakers there?

Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet and American Life Project will be giving his keynote speech about The Internet: Enhancing Digital Work & Play, in the International Ballroom at 9am on Friday, March 24,
at the very same time that I’m scheduled to present
Using RSS for Really Savvy “Resourcery,” or How Bloglines Made Me Look Brilliant in the Lincoln West room.

I suppose it’s too late (and too tacky) to put together/set up a video of my presentation so that I can see/hear Lee Rainie instead?

Still, I will get to see — and maybe even meet — some of the big names in the biblioblogosphere (see the list at CIL2006 Conference Wiki . FWIW, I’m only at the top of that list of bloggers because it’s alphabetical!).

Meanwhile, I’ll be able to read all the blog-reports from the Public Library Association’s conference in Boston, after I get home from DC on Saturday.

tags: CIL2006 , ISE2006 , biblioblogosphere , edubiblioblogosphere

]]>Medium AND Messagehttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/medium-and-message.htmlAlice2006-03-14T02:08:43Z2006-03-14T02:08:43ZFor my upcoming presentations and hands-on workshops on “how to use Bloglines to look brilliant to your faculty” I’ve put together a set of instructions… using the create a blog capabilities of Bloglines itself.

These are only introductory instructions; I cover more details and advanced strategies during the actual workshops.
The demo blog is at http://www.bloglines.com/blog/Aliceinfoshow2rss

Comments and suggestions gratefully accepted here, since the Bloglines blog doesn’t have any comments capability.

I’m still gathering examples of school library bloggers. Check out an extended list on the TeacherLibrarianWiki that Joyce Valenza has created for us to use as a collaborative courtyard.

tags: RSS, web 2.0, school library, teacher-librarian, CIL2006, ISE2006

]]>Bloglines vortex: 'blortex'?http://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/bloglines-vortex-blortex.htmlAlice2006-03-07T00:42:57Z2006-03-07T00:42:57Z conference on Mar 24 on
Really Savvy reSourcery, aka How Bloglines Make Me Look Brilliant To My Faculty, I’ve been scanning the blogosphere for examples of school and/or library-related blogs to include in my presentation blogroll.

Since my personal Bloglines subscription already has over 150 feeds, I’m struggling to stay afloat in a swirl of information flotsam and jetsam.

Now I truly understand the 6th grader who — in the midst of a oceanography research project — discovered the word vortex: noun. A whirling current, usually spiraling in toward a center and tending to drag things with it.
“That’s what this feels like!” he exclaimed. “I’m caught in an information vortex with all these things to take notes from. Quick, Mrs. Y — grab me and pull me out to safety.”

tags:
]]>Laziness, personifiedhttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/laziness-personified.htmlAlice2006-02-22T14:25:30Z2006-02-22T14:25:30Z OK, this is the perfect example of technology-gone-bad:

the Hog Wild Motorized Ice Cream Cone (in your choice of dishwasher-safe plastic colors, yet) for the sloth who’s worried about getting a charliehorse in their tongue.
Ye. Gods.

(found via Popgadget)

]]>School-library blogginghttp://www.aliceinfo.org/blog/school-library-blogging.htmlAlice2006-02-09T15:52:00Z2006-02-09T15:52:00ZJudith Siess is the One Person Library (aka OPL) guru.

Her latest blog post addresses the Not Enough Time to Blog comments I hear too often from school librarians.  Here are some of her compelling reasons why you should have a library blog:

If your customers (or potential customers) include young people, what is called the millennial generation, you need to reach out to them in a way that they are comfortable with—and they definitely are into blogging.

There are a couple of compelling professional needs: the need to stay abreast of new trends and technologies (to avoid obsolescence) and the need to attract new customers—customers that might not be reached any other way.

Unless your web site is very hip and “with it,” I doubt that it “does the job,” especially with the younger crowd.

A librarian’s blog should be … another educational and public relations vehicle for the library.

The reason blogs are so valuable is that they are not traditional, not print, and not likely to be dismissed by the younger generation.

You can use Blogger or another similar blogger site to host your blog and you will not need tech support—it is that easy.

Even if you do have some ‘help,’ you’ll find Judith Siess’ books, newsletter, and blog worthwhile reading.
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