kkscils598x08

Game playing

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:57:00 +0000

I am just not cut out for the whole online game playing thimg. I played poker against strangers who all seemed to know each other. There was a text dialogue going on during the game but it was distracting to me because I am a really bad poker player. I didnt participate in the discussion at all because I had no idea what they were talking about. The game was okay but playing in AC is much more fun! It was fun to try but I think I will stick to real thing.

second life

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:45:00 +0000

I DON'T GET IT!!!!!!! I am lost with anything after atari. You want to play river raid then I'm there but this I don't get. I can't even walk or fly. I have no idea how I got to be a dragon. Did I pick that??? I keep getting my head stuck inside of things. I haven't seen another person and I have no idea what I am supposed to do other than walk around. I got to the library so now what? I can't seem to figure how to do anything that's in there.
Even my mother plays bejeweled but I am just not a game girl. We've had every game system in our house at one time. My husband and son play City of Heros. Aside from me helping to pick out capes and names, I am done with it all! I can handle Wii even though I am really bad at it.
I don't like this secondlife deal at all. If I could figure out what to do then maybe it would be better but right now it is too frustrating to even walk and that is really boring and a complete waste of time. Games are supposed to fun. This was not fun. I am thinking about the laundry and my final!

Ning

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:39:00 +0000

That was so much fun! I had no expectations of what it was going to be like. It was really easy to use. I have been sharing all of this information with my mother for her school. She is not techie at all and I think she could even use this service. It's easier to maintain than writing code, that's for sure.
I love all this stuff for libraries, I just don't want to be the one in charge. I am not a big fan of writing code. Especially in my school, I teach prek-8, i don't really have the time to keep a website update. Ning was so quick and I think it looks more like a myspace page (which it's supposed to) It has a younger appeal than a regular website. I chose a paper and pencil background and even with this calmer theme it still looked really hip! This would also be a great way to get my middle schooler involved in something. They come to me weekly and really don't want to be in the library. What an exciting project for them to work on. Now if only I had more than 3 computers, but that is a problem for another day.
My only problem in a school might be accessibility. Most social networking sites are filtered. It must be an older system because there are some that get through for a time anyway. Flickr worked for a while but it must figure it out at some point because now it's blocked. I digress! Anyway, Ning is a great tool to reach a younger audience and even get them involved with the content.

Boyd Reading

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:09:00 +0000

I think the thing that the Boyd readings point out so well, is that SNS are a huge part of our culture. They are here to stay and are as integral to the people using them as cellphones and the like. You are essentially alienating an entire demographic if a library chooses not to participate. Librarians are always concerned with connecting with younger patrons as well as becoming obsolete. The way to alleviate this is to go to where the patrons are. The library needs to be many things for many groups of people. It would be irresponsible to leave out one group simply because they communicate in a different way.
Many teen authors have seen this trend and have Myspace pages. We've seen the success that bands have had finding a new audience with this technology. Imagine the possibilities for librarians to have access to so many teens and young adults. We as librarians need to embrace this technology and use it to our advantage. So what if we can't get the kids into the physical library, bring them into a virtual one.

How does good/bad relate to the library?

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:10:00 +0000

The Johnson book talks about games,television and film but I was wondering if the same principals apply to books. I love to read but I usually am not reading anything deep or thought provoking so I do not have a lot of concrete examples. I think that Harry Potter may sum it up perfectly. There are so many levels and nuances to this series of books that it takes multiple readings to undercover all its mysteries and this book was intended for children. These books have the same water cooler effect as many tv shows. But again we are back to the question of how it relates to the library.
In my school library I am required to turn in lesson plans with higher order thinking questions included. How do we get students to the next level of deeper thinking? In a world where students are always immersed in this higher order thinking, I think it may be harder for the adults rather than the children. In the school library its not just about the books. Immersing the students in the functions of the library are a big part of my job. If I were able to collaborate with teachers instead of teaching lessons in isolation, I would be able to get the students to the next level of thinking. Right now my particular group of students are not there but that is due more to where I am working.
So what I am trying to say is that today's kids are immersed in this type of thinking all the time. They do not reflect on it because it has always been so for them. It is up to us as librarians to harness this great new way of thinking and get these kids into the library!!!

response to Johnson reading

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:02:00 +0000

The question is whether or not mass media is trying to sophisticatedly deliver stupidity. I think that the answer may actually lie in the question. Today's mass media is certainly more sophisticated than earlier generations, but Is it the same level of stupidity? Don't we get more brain function from 24 than from the Love Boat. Don't get me wrong, it was a big deal to stay up late to watch Donny and Marie and the Love Boat. It was purely entertainment. Today's viewers get entertainment and brain activity.There is a level of involvement that was previously missing. Not only do we participate during the viewing but the participation continues long after the show. Blog, web polls, betting all revolving around who is going to win or who are the others. Everything about the 21st century requires a higher level of thinking even if we don't realize it. So tv may still be strictly a form of entertainment but there is definitely something not "stupid" about it.

If I were Steve....

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:09:00 +0000

If I were Steve what would I do? I would try to remember that people have jobs and children and lives and that watching a video about gaming for an hour may not be so realistic. I think it is A LOT of material to cover in six weeks. Although, the work itself is not difficult when you include all the readings and podcasts it adds up to an incredible amount of work to accomplish in six weeks.
Having said that, the class was great now that I can reflect back on it. The six weeks flew by and the work did get done some way some how. The content is so interesting and it has been one of the more practical classes that I have taken. I don't care so much for the gaming week but we all must grow.
Thanks for the great experience!

Which game for me?

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:48:00 +0000

Of course as good librarian I would do tons of research about which game is best for the library. I become quite obsessed with a purchase like this when I am starting from scratch. I would read, read, read as much as I could on the internet from magazines, customer reviews and such. After I had a better idea of what's out there I would at least take an informal poll of the kids coming into the library to see what they would like. It also depends on the end goal of the library. For what purpose are we buying the game system in the first place and who is our target audience? There is no way I could justify this for my school library but a public library is a different story. Having game nights would certainly bring more kids into the library and they need someone to drive them. Maybe we could snag some new parents too.
I think from personal experience, we have Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, I would choose the Wii. It has a more universal appeal. I have no desire to play Madden football with my kids , but Wii ski is soooo cool. We have our friends over for family game night and we have kids of all ages. Even my thirteen year old will play with us. If you could have that in the library it would be awesome. You could turn it into a running competition to keep the families coming in every few weeks. Just think of the possibilities!

What's the deal with Myspace?

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:25:00 +0000

I do not get this whole Myspace thing yet I keep going back to it. What is it that makes these type of sites so sticky. I am an almost 40 mother of three with absolutely no free time to speak of and I am drawn back to my page. I must have checked it 20 times the first day.
I love to see who is my friend and I have been obsessed since we started blogging with seeing everyone's comments. I discovered that my brother has a myspace page and he had all this stuff on i that i didn't know about. When my husband gets home we are going to look for people we went to highschool with. Then I'll be obsessed if anyone gets back to me.
I'm trying not to trick out my page because i know i will never leave in that case. Your page is almost an extension of your personality. Especially for younger generations, I think how people perceive your page is really important. You are putting your whole life out there for people to see. It is a part of the culture. Just as aside, it is also becoming a part of the bigger digital divide. The kids in my school don't have computers and the school computers filter all social networking sites.

podcasts vs. text based blogging

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:46:00 +0000

I loved podcasting! It was so much fun and much more freeing! My brain usually works a million times faster than my hands so it's easier to speak than type. If you are blogging for fun, podcasting is the way to go. I think if I were to use blogging for my school library a combination of both might be more beneficial. Sometimes it's useful to have things in writing, especially if you want to have the ability to refer back to it. That would be difficult unless someone took notes while listening to the podcast.
I would love to use a combination to teach my kids more about using the library. My middle schoolers are definintely not listening to a word that I am saying. The blog would be useful to the kids who really do want to learn!

My Story: How I got my job

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:08:00 +0000

People always think that I am crazy when I tell them that I work in Newark. Now you'll know why!

The long tail of library collections

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:00:00 +0000

The long tail of library collections raises a lot of issues. I remember a professor telling me that in a library she had worked in, if a book had not been checked out in a year the book was weeded. Essentially, weeding would wipe out the long tail. It also refers back to hit and misses. Once the book has passed its prime, does it become a miss and need to be weeded or does it become part of the long tail?
Storage is potentially a problem. My own town library is in an historic church and space is at a premium. If I want a blockbuster book, I have to get onto a waiting with everyone else in the county system. The same could be said for books in the long tail except I would have that book in a day or two if I was the only one who wanted it. This is where the consortium and county systems can really benefit from each other. What if they consulted with each other before materials were weeded so that one copy of "misses" still remained in the sytem. Cheapies like me prefer the library. I would like to know that I can find what I want no matter how obscure it might be.

Google Analytics

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:46:00 +0000

An overwhelming 82.2% of readers of my Blog are using Firefox. What I thought was really interesting was a tie between cable and DSL, at 42.22%

I think this whole thing is just cool!

SCILS

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:37:00 +0000

This is my second time around for SCILS. My undergraduate degree is in communications. I have one more class to take in the fall to graduate and I have really enjoyed my time at Rutgers. I've had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people that I hope to keep in touch with personally and professionally. It's really something when you can consider some of your professors as your friends and colleagues. Although, I love coming to campus for the face to face interaction, my life has certainly gotten a little easier since I have switched to online. I will miss SCILS when I am done!
From: Flickr

Also found in Ed Experience

Reflections on "The Long Tail"

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:33:00 +0000

I think there is a monetary issue here that no one has touched upon yet. Companies such as Amazon and itunes benefit from the long tail because at some point they will make a profit. There is no physical space for them to occupy and pay for. This is not the same in the library. A physical space is still needed. Although, libraries need to continue growing in this wave of new technologies such as offering ebooks of obscure titles (their part of the long tail) what they really need to do is figure out to use this to their advantage in a physical space. Libraries are not going away. Libraries are so much more than the books on the shelf. They are about community, customer service, informing the public. It is not always about offering the latest and greatest but it can be about helping people find it. It is not always our job to have the information, we as a profession just need to know how to find it.

This is where the consortiums come in. Just like the used book sellers. Libraries pooling resources lets patrons have access to much more. This part is nothing new. Adding digital capabilities will grow this service. Libraries and patrons could also benefit from amazon type reviews and Netflix type reccommendations. Libraries need to find a way to mix the old and the new so as not to leave out any of their patrons. They are in the unique position of trying to be everything for everyone and do it for no money.

Reflections on Brown and Duguid

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:27:00 +0000

What implications do knowledge and learning have on the educational system in the US?

In this age of information overload, how do we get to the point of our children having knowledge and not a glut of information? Teachers today are faced with the challenges of finding innovative ways to make sure that the knowledge sticks. According to the book “We learn how by practice”. The best classes are a combination of receiving information and then actually being able it to use it in practice.

As a first year teacher-librarian, I am using more skills learned from my practical experience rather than the information gathered from my MLIS degree. Studying the theory of information, although interesting, doesn’t help me in my classroom. The other teachers and librarians that I come in contact with give me the support and guidance that is only learned from a social experience, not a textbook. Even the class we are participating in would have no relevance without the hands on of the projects.

Teachers must therefore, make sure that the information the students are receiving in any form is turned into knowledge. It is an awesome responsibility to undertake as it is changing the face of the current educational system. The best teachers are able to turn a hands on experience with practical information into concrete lessons. In this information age, students and teacher both must rise to the challenge to stay competitive in the 21^st century.

My Gang

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 23:12:00 +0000

FROM:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27706844@N02/

PBwiki vs. Wetpaint

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:52:00 +0000

This whole blogging thing in new to me so I tried to look at the sites from two different views. One as a common user and the other as an educator. With this approach I came to two different conclusions.

Both services were very user friendly, especially for a high strung newbie. Both services also offered upgrades for a fee. These upgrades allow for more control which might be an added bonus if using with students. Although, wetpaint offered a wizard designed for teacher and classroom use, I would be uncomfortable with the featured ads. I like that PBwiki is adfree. PBwiki definitely has cleaner, less cluttered feeling than wetpaint. This is also another bonus if used for a classroom. I would want the students to concentrate on the content, rather the presentation.

On the hand, personally I would choose wetpaint. The site features were a lot more fun than PBwiki. Wetpaint offers a variety of templates to suit any style. The site offers a lot more creativity. I also like the advanced features of the photo gallery and "to do" list.

Each has some unique features to offer. It just depends on what your goal of the blog will be and who will be creating it.

Librarything

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:57:00 +0000

I chose Librarything because one of the schools in my district is using the service instead of an automated system. I wanted to check it out for myself. Being a librarian, I am a big fan of borrowing books not buying them. My husband on the other hand, just discovered books 2years ago and now has a massive collection. He was a comic book guy but found Harry Potter. It was love at first read. His books are taking over my house. This would be a great way to have a little organization.

The service is exceptionally user friendly. The sign up was as simple as a login and password and you are on your way. I grabbed one of the few adult books laying around in my classroom, James Patteson’s Cross to get started. It allowed me to search using “Cross” That resulted in way too many results so I add “James Patterson” and found the book with the cover right away. You can even have your lists just show the cover. It was so pretty! If you never touch any of the extended services, just from an organizational standpoint, this is worth the effort.

The site also offers talk topics which is a message board. The groups are more specific topics. You can find others with similar reading interests and share a message board with them. This is also available in RSS. There is a blog feature. I think the coolest part is the local tab. This allows you to pinpoint users in your geographic area.

Overall, really cool site!

delicious "virtual introduction"

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:34:00 +0000

I think you have to give a really good explanation of what delicious is before you can use this as a "virtual introduction". I think it is really cool to see what everyone is into especially since we will never meet but for the delicious newbie, it might be really overwhelming. It is so much at once. I wouldn't have had a clue what I was looking at without all the prerequisite podcasts and playing around. So just keep in mind, we are not all techies, even if this is the third taking having ProfG!

The Long Tail/Does the Library benefit?

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:49:00 +0000

This is a tough question! First, I would like to say that I am loving the Anderson book. It kind of mushes all of my past lives together into something interesting to read. I am going to research the history of the supermarket. I think the first one was a Piggly Wiggly!
Anyway, I could be swayed to other position when I read some of the class blogs but I think that the Long Tail will actually hurt a library. The same thing that happened with music could happen with literature. At the very least libraries cannot compete with selection available on the internet. I'm sure there are exception of very large libraries, like a superstore but the average, anytown USA library has a limited space and a limited budget. Especially for patrons who like to read from one genre, there is a finite supply of books. The long tail would give patrons the chance to experience lesser known authors with more variety.
I'm not saying that it is the death of libraries. There are still us cheapies who like to borrow rather than purchase books. If there were some way to combine the infinite playlists of itunes with the library I would be sold!

RSS and Information Overload

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:59:00 +0000

I have said many time that the information age is just information overload, especially for students who don't know any other way. RSS adds an interesting dimension to this 21st century phenomenon. This could be the miracle I was looking for. As I said earlier, I don't quite get this blog thing or even surfing the net, for surfing sake. I never know what I'm looking for, but to have the information come to me is an entirely different thing.

I am at the very least interested in the news. With 3 kids I don't always have time to stay in contact with the human world. This is better than having a newspaper delivered that I know I'm never going to read. To be able to tailor the feed to exactly what I need and want is cutting out all the garbage. RSS absolutely mitigates some of the effects of too much information. Too much is just paralyzing. I won't read anything at all. Now I know it doesn't have to be that way. This is the ultimate prize for a self proclaimed lazy person!

Feed by MT Anderson

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:42:00 +0000

Is this book social commentary or an over active imagination? Is this the way of the future or a look into Anderson’s creative mind? I hope that it is truly fictional in nature and not a look into our bleak futures. There are so many things that I take issue with.

· Talk about information overload. No one needs to be connected ALL of the time. Some of the greatest ideas come from daydreaming. You don’t need to have your thoughts interrupted 24/7.

· I have seen the digital divide first hand, working in the inner city. This takes that issue to the extreme. The people with feeds live their lives completely different from the ones who don’t.

· This was capitalism running wild. The kids spent with reckless abandon to have the latest and greatest. It was just so over the top.

· I can’t fathom society not being able to write. These kids were shallow and stupid. How does society move into placing no importance on academia?

I did however find this book enjoyable. I have recommended it to several of my students for summer reading.

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 22:40:00 +0000

Brown and Duguid reading

This reading gave you a lot to think about. First, as a technology user, I never think about the people behind the scenes until I have a problem that they can’t fix. We take technology for granted until it fails us (with my wi-fi, that’s quite often) We have tunnel vision of getting what we need and not how we get it. Technology is supposed to make our lives easier but when it fails, we are thrown into an absolute tailspin. Something as simple as Tivo not taping our favorite show is a breakdown of technology.

Technology can take away the social aspect that human beings crave. Although, working from home or accessing the library at home can have positive ramifications sometimes you need that human element in your life. Libraries should be wary of new technologies that will alienate patrons. New tech is great for expanding patronage and library use but it needs to be done in such a way that enlightens not alienates.

New to me

kkscils598x08@yahoo.com — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:05:00 +0000

The whole social software scene is new to me. Do soccer moms blog? I honestly do not have one mommy friend or school colleague who knows anything about social software. I'm finding the whole culture intriguing but I am questioning its relevance to me.
As a school media specialist I love the idea of having my kids create blogs and wiki's. I see all my students grades 6-8 every week. We have a very small library and I am running out of things to do with them. This would be a great way to collaborate with other teachers. I am looking to take my lessons out of isolation. This would also be a great way to bring my inner city students into the 21st century. So, as an educator, my interest is definitely piqued.
Personally, I am not sure how I will incorporate all of this into my life. I don't have that much free time and I'm usually not spending it on the computer. I do love to read but prefer a book to the computer any day. I think the novelty of reading blogs that share my other interests would wear off very quickly. My family loves all things Disney. I am sure there are tons of blogs on this subject, but I don't care too much what other people have to say on the subject.
I do care about what is happening in libraries but again I don't know that I want to get all of my information from someone's blog. I think there may be better sources for the limited amount of time that I have available. Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking this really cool technology. I just think it is not the end all and the be all for me.