thscils598f08

Second Life?

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:52:00 +0000

here is a link to a screencast I made of my second life foray:

My experience has been frustrating and bemusing with second life. As I mention in my screencast, I have enough trouble with my first life, i cant see having a second life. All the exploring, taking time to get one's bearings, and it would occassionally run slow on my computer..I get it, I have friends who are really into it, but I can't muster up the enthusiasm myself. I'd rather play on the Wii with my daughter.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:04:00 +0000

I dont know that much needs to be changed to tell you the truth. The layout of the class is quite simple, the camtasia captures are straightforward and easy to follow, the Itunes podcasts are great..ironically, the last two weeks, which I figured would be the fun weeks, were the weeks I found myself saying, "i'm not sure this is necessary"...the immersive worlds are just really not my cup of tea as of yet! But I really enjoyed this class and have learned a lot, and I hope to actually use my final project at work!

It's ALL good for you

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:28:00 +0000

OK, if everything bad is good for you, whither libraries and educational organizations? Well, they won't be going anywhere, but they are going to have to change the way they do business by incorporating items and ideas that may have been anthema in the past. Did someone say video games? Why not? Johnson talks about the benefits of many games, benefits that clearly exist. Games that exercise the brain, games the exercise the body...these are things libraries are going to have to consider. Popular culture has long been embraced ib the form of movie collections in libraries, and more and more DVD's of television shows are showing up in collections. Family Guy? The Simpsons? Hey, libraries are not the ultimate arbiters of taste, but if people like those shows, why shouldnt they be available? Libraries should be a reflection of the communities and times they exist in, and that means being all inclusive and being representative of popular culture. In order to do so, we need to embrace technologies, medias and entertainment that come from the community and times.

Yahoo Towers

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 03:19:00 +0000

Not much for playing games online, and this clips will show why!!

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:20:00 +0000

Johnson and Popular Culture

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 01:39:00 +0000

I loved this book and agree with a lot of it, mostly because I am most definitely a child of popular culture. I see evidence of the Sleeper Curve in the same places Johnson sees it: video games, television, movies, etc....many people may not like the tv show LOST, but I love it, and you HAVE to pay attention, use your brain, and try to figure things out, or you will never get it. You have to work at it. SO many role playing and strategy games are like that also...it takes immense brainpower to make it thru successfully. I defy anyone to tell me that BRAIN AGE is not a mental workout..that game is fun and CHALLENGING. I defy George Will to try it!

Screencasting Tips

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:46:00 +0000

There are two things that clearly come to mind when thinking about screencasting, which I have grown to really enjoy. First of all, as simple as it sounds, having a clear idea of WHAT you want to say is imperative. I dont necessarily mean having a script written down, although that would certainly work. But having a clear idea of what it is you are trying to impart. I actually enjoy the informal nature of screencasting, that people arent giving a lecture per se, and they can make mistakes or verbal flubs and it is ok.

That brings me to my other point: with screencasting, DO NOT WORRY ABOUT PERFECTION. One could easily get caught up in trying to do everything exactly right and redoing things a dozen times over, and it is just not worth. As I said above, part of the charm and appeal of screencasting is knowing that I can cough or say UM or lose my place for a second, and its ok as long as I am clearly driving my point home. So don't worry, it doesnt have to be the Gettysburg Address!

Consoles for Libraries

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:34:00 +0000

I think I have a fair handle on consoles and gaming in general. Not that I do a lot of it myself, but I know SO many people who do that I have gotten plenty of opinions on many different consoles. If I had to choose one, I would most definitely choose the Wii, because I think its game selection does the best job of covering a large age group, and the motion sensor clearly gives an opportunity for people to move around. There are senior citizen centers that have Wii bowling leagues, which gives seniors active exercise instead of them being passive users. You can adapt the Wii to many different activities and age groups quite easily. Since I feel it is the console which would have the farthest reach among my library users, it would clearly be my choice.

Boyd Reading

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:14:00 +0000

Clearly the point I take away from the Boyd reading is the fact that social networks like My Space and Facebook are reflections and mirrors of society in general. The Boyd reading clearly marks out the class distinction that is involved in these two social networks, and I clearly see what she is talking about at my library, as immigrant and low income kids can be seen using My Space and the private school kids clearly gravitate towards FaceBook. However, as Boyd points out, social networks are not responsible for these class issues, they merely draw them out for the entire world to see.

NING

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:09:00 +0000

What I like about the Ning concept is the complete control you have over who is allowed into the social network. YOU can start your own social network, and YOU can decide who gets in. Thats appealing on some level. It is also very easy to create and ultra specific social network. The level of control seems to be the enticing aspect of a Ning.

SuperPoke!

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 04:46:00 +0000

SuperPoke is one of my favorite timewasters on Facebook. I show you how to do it right here. SuperPoke can be disturbing, stupid, and completely ridiculous, all at once. I love it!

MySpace and FaceBook

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 21:13:00 +0000

I have and currently use both of these social networking sites. I have gravitated far more to Facebook in the last year, almost to the exclusion of MySpace. Why? Well, one practical reason is that as more of my friends started exploring social networking, they seemed to naturally steer towards FaceBook. The reason for that in my experience is this: MySpace seems to be where one goes to find new friends, while FaceBook seems to be the place one goes to find and reconnect to old friends. FaceBook also, at the risk of offending some people, seems to attract a user base with a higher level of education. They can both be sticky, and there are two different reasons I think this is true: with MySpace, there can be a "meat market" feel...it often feels like people are online solely for the reason of "hooking up", and that has always been a drawback. The MySpace music section is however a very important feature, and has grown into a powerful force in the music business.

FaceBook offers the chance to relive some awkward moments from one's youth, like receiving a friend request from someone you hated 20 years ago! Or being friend's with one person from back in the day, but not another one....old resentments are more likely to rear their ugly heads on Facebook. My favorite part of FaceBook is the amazing amount of applications one can waste entire week's of time on!

Pandora via screencast

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:53:00 +0000

Here is my first crack at Jing..I really like how easy Jing is to use. For practical purposes, I can already see how I can use Jing to help my daughter navigate some websites when she is at her mom's house..record a quick Jing gile for her, get a url, and email it to her. She was excited by this idea! I recorded this after a week of stress and sleep deprivation from coaching her all star soccer team in a tournament this weekend and having practice every nite, so if its not the greatest demo you've ever seen, thats why!

http://www.screencast.com/t/m36jKf0M

My favorite Scils video

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:34:00 +0000

I love Steve Caruso's video about his iphone watch fob. It's very clever and really shows Steve's dry sense of humor. The outfit, not showing the face, it all really worked! And the fast forward digression made me laugh out loud.

My commercial

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 04:44:00 +0000

OK, this is more educational...this was my first commercial this past summer for our Prime Time Reading program, introducing families with literacy issues to library services. View it below or click here

click to play

Flickr Groups

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 03:53:00 +0000

Books and pets seem to be common themes for a lot of us in these flickr groups! Lots of outdoor pics also, and more than a few winter scenes. Implications of caffeine and sugar abuse popped up in several pictures. The differences speak to the individuality of everyone involved, some people took some really interesting point of view and perspective pictures, and others like myself took straight forward shots that I hope conveyed a good sense of my experiences. I look at these pics a few times a week, so they have definitely struck a chord!

Thats Entertainment!!

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 03:38:00 +0000

I had a gig saturday nite. God forbid I should have bring the camera with me! So all you get is me playing some harp. You can click here or just watch below!

Click to play

Educational Vs Entertainment videos

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 03:24:00 +0000

It is all in the presentation folks! Any educational video can be engaging and compelling if presented properly, and any entertainment video can bite if the producer of that video is a moron (see 75% of youtube). Kidding aside, Youtube is clearly a forum for intelligent educational videos, and there are plenty of people seeking out this kind of material. My public library is one of the few that I know of where non-fiction books (read that educational) have a higher circulation than fiction (entertainment). The thirst for knowledge and learning is there, and now that the producers of this content are using the tools that allow them to reach the masses, it should be easier to quench.

Smiles

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 01:51:00 +0000

Ok, so I'm pushing the limits of "educational video"right here......I'm educating you about me, and this little windows movie maker masterpiece explains my motivation for everything I do in my life.
It's all in there.

Twitter and the Election

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:09:00 +0000

Hey everybody, interesting article from msnbc about Twitter:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27455868/

VOTE. As my friend Seth Cohen used to say when he was our building rep to the college student legislature, "If you don't vote, ya can't bitch!"

Long Tail Utilization

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 02:43:00 +0000

I know I am repeating myself, but it seems to me the ILL is the best way for libraries to effectively utilize the Long Tail. Since libraries are still for the most part brick and mortar, shelf space is limited, but ILL serves to dramatically expand the reach of our collections. I think beyond this, it depends on what kinds of technologies that vendors begin using as to how further to exploit the long tail. If library DVD and audio book vendors begin providing something akin to video/audio on demand for library users, accessible through a library website with a valid library card, at a cost comparable or cheaper than libraries buying dvds direct, then we might be onto something. It seems to be that while the technology is there, the business model for providing that kind of service to libraries is not in place yet. Surely if libraries can by licenses to subscription databases, a similar service for video and audio can't be far off. A vendor such as The Teaching Company, which produces educational videos, offers audio downloads on their websites. As this practice becomes more common, they will produce less physical dvds, save the cost involved with that production, be able to record more lectures for less money, and be able to pass on those savings to libraries and make it cost effective for libraries to provide a Netflix type access to The Teaching Company catalog. Seems to me a certain future trend, how soon depends on the economics.

Little Tommy's First Pod Cast

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:00:00 +0000

This is a true story about Tony Randall being refused a library card.

http://www.switchpod.com/users/thscils598f08/tonyrandall2.mp3

New Producers,New Markets, New Tastemakers, Oh My!

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:34:00 +0000

How do libraries/librarians fill these roles? Well, first of all, they give ANYONE access to the tools to be producers. At the Princeton Public Library we have a great tech lab where anyone can learn to how to build websites, use digital video cameras and any tools that our web 2.0 world can come up with. Public libraries in particular play an important role by making sure everyone can have this access. Librarians also create New Markets and can be Tastemakers with creative and effective use of technologies like blogging and wikis, creating that word of mouth and buzz that Anderson talks about. Tools like podcasting also extend a library's reach far beyond the folks who physically come to a particular program. Its easy to spread the virus. It all goes back to the democratization of the web that Anderson explains so clearly...libraries play a big role in that by providing all that access and education.

Analytics stats

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:49:00 +0000

Interesting stats! 79% of the folks coming to see me use Firefox. 15% use Internet Explorer, and heck there is even a Chrome user! As far as the connection speed, 62% use a cable connection, and only 3% use a DSL line, 17% are checking in from work on a T1 connection.

Flickr

tomhammel50@hotmail.com (Tom H) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:09:00 +0000

Why this picture? Because this is how SCILS makes me feel sometimes. Usually its my own damn fault. Most of the time I was overthinking something, or psyching myself into believing an assignment was much harder than it was. When I took 550 with Steve, he talked me off the ledge several times by saying, "Calm down doofus." He was like Cher in Moonstruck, slapping Nicholas Cage and saying, "Snap out of it!". Somtimes, it was simply the volume of work, which can be A LOT. My set is simple and to the point, these pics are how I get by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tommyhnj/sets/72157608404042709/

Here is what the whole class would show you: http://www.flickr.com/groups/scils598f08-edexperience/pool/ All in all, SCILS is worth every trip to my back yard port a potty!!!!