SCILS598 Announce

Almost done/Is it just me?...

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 19:01:00 +0000

Almost done grading the final projects...what I don't finish today I will finish tomorrow and will post all grades to the registrar's site by Tuesday. If anyone has questions or comments please let me know...except for little things here and there the finals have been very good and I'm very happy that you all have absorbed this content as well as you have.

One note...I find it very interesting in a class based on collaboration that there was very little collaboration on the final...so far I've had 1 group, next time I teach this I'm gonna have to work on this.

Thank you to all for a great class. It was fantastic getting to know all of you and seeing/hearing the fantastic work that you all did.

Have a great holiday and my best wishes for your future success, Steve

Home Stretch

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 13:53:00 +0000

Almost there...

Welcome to the final week of new content. I always like to try to end this class with a little "fun", hence these last two weeks on gaming environments.

This week is all about immersive "gaming" and virtual worlds. Although you can only get so immersed in a week, I'd like you all to give it a try and see what it's all about.

Don't forget to spend a bit of time on that Final, you don't want to get behind and the 18th is coming up soon.

If you have any questions, please let me know, Steve

Wow it's hard to start again...

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:06:00 +0000

But at least this week we'll be in gaming!!

For those of you who haven't put too much thought into your final...this would be a good time to start thinking about it...you do NOT want to wait to the last minute to discover the service you want to use is having problems, etc., besides this Final should be involved enough that you can't really do it in a day.

Enjoy gaming and welcome back, Steve

Final - Proposal/Needs Assessment

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:20:00 +0000

Several people have asked me for a good example of a Proposal/Needs Assessment for the final project.

I thought I'd provide you all with the best one that's ever come in:
http://fflgaming.pbwiki.com/

Note that Aaron was a student during the summer, so he didn't have video/vodcasting or screencasting as part of his class, just wanted to point that out before anyone asked me about it.

Steve

Into the Home Stretch...

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 19:24:00 +0000

Three weeks left...Social Networking, Gaming and, Immersive Gaming/Environments. (Basically, FUN)

First, I'm sorry to hear that some of you had difficulties with Jing, but I'm very glad to hear that many of you took the initiative to try Camtasia or another product to get the job done. I will be asking everyone to use screencasts/video/podcasts over the next few weeks as I do want to turn this class over to you all a bit and have you teach me and each other some things using screencasts and/or other media (gotta use it to know it...)

Just to confirm our schedule
11.17-11.24 will be Social Networking
11.24-12.1 will be Thanksgiving Break (take the time...rest up, if you have to work, work on the final)
12.1-12.8 will be Gaming
12.8-12.15 will be Immersive Gaming/Environments
Final is due on 12.18 by Noon

This coming weekend I'll be away on the 21st-23rd, but I have no doubts that Social Networking will be anything but easy. I know a lot of you are already MySpace/Facebook users (yes you need to make a new account for class), besides, now that you are twitter, IM, and screencast pros you should have no problem working out any issues.

Quick note: I'm not taking any more "lil green patch" requests...I've got plants up to my ears :-)

You all make grading hard...

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:01:00 +0000

Very cool videos...funny how education and entertainment can merge..I've enjoyed all that I've seen so far and look forward to viewing even more.

This coming week on Screencasting is going to be a little "easier" than I planned..why? Well TechSmith decided to release v.6 of the Camtasia program that I teach on FRIDAY...they changed way too much for me to be able to redo the class (they even changed some behind the scenes stuff)...therefore we'll focus on the much easier to use Jing product (which is Windows/Mac friendly).

If you have any questions this week please let me know...one good incentive to learn Jing well is that for the rest of the class you'll be doing some screencasting...

Steve

VOTE on 11.4 (Tuesday)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:46:00 +0000

I know we all get busy with class, work, family, etc.

Just a reminder from me to please take the time to get out and vote.

For polling places, times, locations, ballot info, etc. - http://www.lwv.org/Election2008/index.html

Hey Podcasters...on to Video...

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:16:00 +0000

Hi Podcasters,

I know it's early in the weekend, but I wanted to say nice job to those who've already been posting their recordings, some great stories so far.

This week we move in to video...we're not going to do any high-end video production work, this week is far more about being able to capture/create simple video and publish it for the world to see. This is another one of those areas that is far more fun than scary. Bonus about this week on video is that if you get this, next week's class on screencasting will be even easier.

One quick note about grading this week. As you all know I usually grade on Monday. This Tuesday, I'm facilitating a workshop (yet another new one) that I've never done before, so to give myself enough time to prep, I'm going to hold Monday night for that. I will be grading on Tuesday or Wednesday night (Thursday latest).

Great Pictures, hello to Podcasting

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:24:00 +0000

Just took what I thought would be 10 minutes to check in on everyone's Flickr progress...well, let's just say that I was there longer than that :-). Nice job, and it's great to get to know you all a little better via your photos.

In this week we podcast...Yes, you can podcast. It's not as difficult as it may seem and once you get the general concepts down (and learn to accept your voice) you'll see just how easy it is. The thing you'll find the most interesting? Hearing whether or not someone's voice matches what you think their voice would sound like.

Enjoy, Steve

Welcome to Media/Grading this week

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:02:00 +0000

Hello all,

Great job this week with Wikis and Google docs, those that I've seen so far have been really, really good.

I hope you had fun with the project AND learned how valuable online documents and wikis can be. I really enjoyed watching a few of you coordinating via Twitter and I do hope you all had a positive experience with your groupmates.

(It was also nice to see on Twitter that many of you were enjoying VoiceThread).

This coming week we start with media...Images this week, then into audio, video, and then screencasting. This is often the part of class that "scares" people the most as this is often new territory, don't let it scare you, this content is extremely valuable and if you pace yourself you'll be just fine.

One quick note about grading this week. As you all know I usually grade on Monday. This Tuesday, I'm facilitating a workshop that I've never done before, so to give myself enough time to prep, I'm going to hold Monday night for that. I will be grading on Tuesday or Wednesday night (Thursday latest).

Please let me know if you have any questions.

The Collaboration "intensifies" (don't wait till next Sunday)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:03:00 +0000

This last week we did a, hopefully fun, collaborative project using del.icio.us and got to learn more about each other. We worked individually, but by using a common tag and common service we were able to create a body of information that tells each of us (and the outside world) more about each of us/all of us.

(Side note: do we all see that the bookmarks with personal descriptions are even more helpful in the process of learning more about each other?)

This week I'm going to have you all work with Google Documents and a Wiki to create a collaborative group project that will be more "real world" oriented. Once in a library/info service, you will eventually create a User Guide ... this week we create a User Guide using Google Documents and a wiki.

The project isn't difficult, but will require coordination of ideas, time, work flow etc. I encourage you to do this as virtually as possible and put you into groups of 3 so that the phone would be less attractive as a communication tool.

One thing I STRONGLY encourage you to do this week is to NOT wait till Sunday night to START this project...doesn't entirely matter WHEN you do your individual work, but you should coordinate earlier in the week so you have a plan.

Note that being able to work with wikis and Google Documents is a valuable asset. More and more libraries are using tools like this and being able to indicate that you're already able will help you in any type of job searching you may do (or will help you to be even more productive at the job you have).

Enjoy, Steve

Video Oops...

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:36:00 +0000

Hi All,

Don't know how I did it, but it looks like I used the same video for:

Making a del.icio.us bookmark
and
Subscribe to a del.icio.us User/Tag

When I get home this evening I'll fix the entry and update the feed

Steve

Week #6 - Enter Sharing & Collaboration

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 17:02:00 +0000

First...what the heck is going on this semester...I think just about every service has had some type of aesthetic/functional change. I apologize for any confusion this may be causing anyone, but do remember that you can contact me if the confusion gets to be too much. Thank you all for hanging in there and making the extra effort to deal with this fluid environment.

Ahhh, week #6...Social Bookmarking, one of my favorite web2.0 utilities. I love this technology, I'd like to see some minor tweaks (like better sorting), but the ability to collaboratively bookmark with people is just an awesome thing.

Enjoy

New Blog for Michelle

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:30:00 +0000

Because of an errant blog violation that just wouldn't go away, Michelle W. needed to get a new blog.

I'd like to ask everyone to subscribe to her blog feed at:
http://www.mdwscils598f08.blogspot.com/

TY, Steve

Week #4 - Let the subscriptions begin...

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:19:00 +0000

Hello all

Glad to see that you all are surviving the week on RSS and I hope you're all looking forward to using RSS in different ways next week.

As class goes on we'll be subscribing to all kinds of things... del.icio.us tags, flickr pools, YouTube channels, podcasts, vodcasts, etc.

Many folks have said that that rss is "the glue" that holds web2.0 together...although I think that it's actually xml (rss is written in xml), what is true is that the "subscribability" of services is a very very important element that makes web2.0 tools useful and fun.

Hang on, it's just going to get more fun from here.

End of Week #3 /Entering new territory

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:58:00 +0000

As IM accounts, blogs and twitter accounts are now set up...we have our communication infrastructure up and running. Each will have its purpose and I do want you to be mindful of what we use each tool for.

From experience I've found twitter to be a great place to ask for help and also to generally socialize with classmates...beware though, it can be a fantastic location for "time suck" as you read, follow, post, check back, post, check back, wander, check back, etc.

The lesson I've best learned when using twitter is that you can't be afraid to miss something. In general if I have something important to post to the whole class I'll do it via the announcement blog (that you'll all subscribe to in week #4), but I'll be watching twitter as much as I can as well. Just a note, don't be afraid to try to help someone, I'd rather see you try to help then let someone struggle if you've figured something out (note: Twitter is also a great place to share alternative ways to do things)

I'm looking forward to reading ALL :-) your posts on the readings and blog service comparisons, but for now I'm off to enjoy a little bit of my Sunday.

As always, if you have questions, just let me know. Steve

All things change...

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:27:00 +0000

Interestingly it looks like twitter changed their interface somewhat DURING the week that we're working with twitter.

Nobody panic...things don't look different enough to make any real difference, just some improvements to the interface.

If you want to see more of what's been changed:
http://blog.twitter.com/2008/09/changes-afoot.html

Grand High Lord of the Library

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 23:57:00 +0000

Now when you have a tough day at work there's nothing like being called the Grand High Lord of the Library :-) Nice job TH and TK.

Good job all around to everyone...some of you really did an excellent job on the two IM discussions and I've heard some good background info that many of you had good experiences IM'ing with someone new in general. One of the side lessons to having you all share your "discussions"on the wiki is that the world now has some good information on IM that came about not from a ton of work by just a few, but by a smaller bit of work by many...welcome to group projects web2.0 style...

Week #2 Finale - synchronous can suck!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 16:34:00 +0000

Hello all,

I do hope that you all enjoyed the week on IM and picked up some new skills and ideas (both regarding IM and IM in the library/work world).

In my new job I've been using IM quite a bit...thing I find most funny is the person that I IM the most is the person who's the physically closest to me, but I will say that it's been a very effective medium to communicate in a work environment with multiple buildings, multiple floors, multiple work teams, etc.

The one thing I know that some of you found "difficult" was coordinating with your partner to have a discussion...as we move on through the class we'll be working with more asynchronous tools, but please don't forget IM...it's a quick, easy, heavily used tool that is fantastic for communication.

Additionally, some of you may have noticed that meebo can be a bit buggy (people who are on appearing as off and vice-versa). Welcome to the world of "free" software. Some things will work just fine, others won't. For me meebo works about 95% of the time and it's interesting how fast you adjust to the faults of the system rather than finding a system that's robust enough to handle all user behaviors (but more about this as we go through class).

Example blogs

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:38:00 +0000

The following are some example blogs from former offerings of this class (remember no plagiarism..too much of that in the blogging world). I wanted to share them with you to show you some examples of posts and styles that I like...just enough w/out being too much, great use of titles/headings/bold&italics, etc.

Peter Green

http://pgscils598x08.blogspot.com/

Julina Lee

http://jlscils598x08.blogspot.com/

Kelly Staley

http://ksscils598s08.blogspot.com/

NYT Article - I"'T Article - I"'wrap upm So Totally, Digitally Close to You

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:20:00 +0000

Hi all,

I know it's Sunday afternoon and not necessarily the end of the Social Software week, but as I take some time to upload vids and get next week's content set, I just wanted to put out a quick "wrap up" message.

Very nice job in the Discussion this week, you all raised some great issues and fleshed out a lot of topics and sub-topics in the web2 and lib2 areas. As we go through a lot of the individual tools in future weeks I'd like to ask that you remember those things that were covered in the Discussion. It's very easy to fall in "techno-love" with the technology and forget the purpose. The main reason I like to start with the readings I chose and the Discussion was to get some initial grounding before we move on.

The next few weeks of class are about setting up our communication channels...IM'ing, blogging, microblogging, rss/feeds, etc. are going to get us communicating with these tools rather than "old school" email and, god forbid, phone and allow us to work with each other more easily. Additionally, I do want you to consider the advantages/disadvantages inherent with each medium of communication and how/why you might or might not use them in the future.

Do hope you all "enjoy" the class and get a lot from it.

NYT Article - I"'T Article - I"'wrap upm So Totally, Digitally Close to You

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 12:26:00 +0000

I haven't finished reading it yet (and this is non-obligatory for class), but a former Social Software student recommended it and so far it's really good and a nice follow up to the reading I asked you to do this week:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awareness-t.html

PROBLEM #1

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:35:00 +0000

Again I apologize for the caps, but until I know you look up here first, I gotta use them.

Two videos seem to be having issue:

1. Syllabus Review
2. Quick Wiki/eCollege Tour

The time elapsed seems to be going a bit haywire and the videos are getting cut off at the end

When I get home from work today I'll "fix" them (so about 7/7:30pm EST on 9.2 they should be working the right way)

A joyous start to the semester...welcome to Social Software :-)

READ ME FIRST!! Welcome to Class

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:27:00 +0000

Sorry 'bout the caps...needed to make sure you saw this message :-)

(yes you can use slang and smileys in this class)

Just wanted to greet everyone with a blog post that might address some FAQ type questions:

1. You can call me Steve. I don't mind Professor (I'm not a Dr.), but you're not obligated

2. If you need to reach me, email will be best for now - librarysteve@yahoo.com, but review the class b4 you send questions

3. Class generally runs Monday-Monday, then we start a new set of topics...I grade the previous week's homework on Monday/Tuesday night and usually do final prep for the coming week on Sundays

4. I'll expect you to work hard in this class...I'll expect this class will take a good amount of time per week...please don't think this is going to be easy even if the content is enjoyable

5. Ask for help when you need it, help others when you can

"See" you "in" class, Steve

It truly is Independence Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:02:00 +0000

Assignments have been reviewed, Comments are on eCollege and Final grades have been submitted to the registrar (at least for you RU people (I sent grade notices to the SCILS Wise coordinators for you other folks)).

Thank you all for your hard work, dedication, late nights, long weekends, flexibility, etc. etc. etc. I wish you all the success possible in the future, carry that Social Software banner with you as you go forth and conquer the library world.

Steve