Library Voice

This is all kinds of wrong, but a hoot nonetheless.

• Dress up Barack
• Dress up Hillary

You can even share your outfit code with others. Have fun.

Business week offers several suggestions for making a good first impression:

Rule #1: Respond within 24 Hours
Rule #2: Greet People with Enthusiasm
Rule #3: Make Eye Contact
Rule #4: Leave Smart Voice Messages
Rule #5: Respect Contacts
Rule #6: Mind Your E-Mail
Rule #7: Remember Small Touches

Murder on Grimm Isle:  The Design of a Game-Based Learning Environment

Michele Dickey, Associate Professor / Miami University

What to borrow from game desing
Why borrow from game design
Challenges of

What to borrow from game design

• Perspective

• God’s eye vs. first person

• The quest–framework

• spatial vs. linear

Why Borrow form game desing

•  design of experiential environments

• first person vs.third person (Winn 2002)

• mulitple perspectives

• cognitive framework for problem-solving
• design heuristics for educational games

• small quests
• types of knowledge:  declarative, procedural,

Challenges of integrating game elements

• instructional designers and K-12 educators

• limiited resources

• time, skill, talent

Overview Murder on Grimm Isle

•  Game-based learning environment
• adventure style game
• purpoes:  foster argumentation writing skills for grades 9-12 and first year college

• experiential learning–artifacts not just text
• spatial narratie–cognitive framework  (Henry Jenkins)

Game
Setting:  Grimm Isle
Scenario:  Robson Wolf has been found murdered on his estate
Factors:  Impending hurrican (Island evacuated)
Learner:  Investigator

Characters
Robson Wolfe

Challenges:  Narrative

• intersecting evidence

• motives (love and money)

• opportunity

Challenges of design

•     Environment design
•     2D too restrictive vs 3D too open

Uses ActiveWorlds

•  pros:  no programming, growing resources
• cons:  subscription, file conversion, object and image file sizes

Outcome:  Formulative Evaluation

• if it is there, it must be part of the story
• choice needs to be part of the environment

Resources
Game Engines and Virtual Worlds
Active Worlds (cheap)
Ogre (open source)
Panda 3D (free)
Second LIfe (various price models)

Need to see handout for 3D modelers

Business 2.0 has a list of last year’s 101 Dumbest Moments in Business.  The list looks “at the year in bungled layoffs, customer-service snafus, executive follies, and other madness.” Some highlights from the list:

In June, research firm VisitorVille Intelligence reveals that two out of every three Microsoft employees it tracked use Google, not MSN, when conducting searches on the Internet.

In August, McDonald’s runs a promotional contest in Japan in which it gives away 10,000 Mickey D’s-branded MP3 players.

The gadgets come preloaded with 10 songs - and, in some cases, a version of the QQPass family of Trojan horse viruses, which, when uploaded to a PC, seeks to capture passwords, user names, and other data and then forward them to hackers.

On the morning of April 3, Amazon.com sends an e-mail headed “UCLA Wins!” to virtually everyone to whom it has ever sold a sports-related item, attempting to hawk a cap celebrating the Bruins’ stirring victory in college basketball’s championship game.

Just one problem:

The game isn’t scheduled to be played until later that night. When it is, UCLA is trounced by Florida, 73-57.

I got tagged by David Lee King some time ago for the five things meme.  I’ve been  a little covered up with work, the holidays, and family, so I’m a little behind.  If you’re still interested, here you go:

1. The “F” in my name is for Forrest.  No, Life is not like a box of chocolates. 
2. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful wife, Candace, and two beautiful sons, Clay Fielding and Cole Fulton.  My wife  daily gives me the desire to be a better man.  My boys give me immense pride and happiness, a willingness to constantly explore and learn, and the occasional runny nose.
3. A friend and I once tried to use our parkas like a parachutes to slow ourselves down on our  skateboards.   My friend still has the  scars on his knees that prove our thesis wrong.  Apparently unzipping your coat and holding it open while going down hill does little to slow you down.  I would later learn this in physics class, but I’ve always been a hands-on learner. 
4. I grew up being a REM freak.  So much so that in 10th grade, I translated “Stand” into Latin.  Yep, I was a dork.  In case you are interested, sta in loco ubi es.
5. If you ever hear me speak, you’ll quickly figure out that I’m not from Ohio.  I was born and raised in Tennessee.    Don’t worry, my oldest son can already say “Go Vols” and “Touchdown, Big Orange,” so there’s little chance he’ll grow up favoring the Buckeyes.

So there’s my five.  I’d love to tag some folks, but this meme has gotten really cold by now.  Perhaps on the next go-around I’ll be a little more timely. 

Second Life Library 2.0

Lori Bell, Michael Sauers, and Tom Peters

Begin the session by showing a 3 minute video tour of Info Island
available on Youtube–search for SL Library

SL Library is truly a collaborative effort
every continent is represented except for Antartica and Africa

currently over a million residents in SL
It’s really important that libraries be there

the crowd is laughing,
Lori says you can do anything in SL.  “If you want to gamble, you can gampble.  If you want to have sex, you can have sex.”

Most employers don’t quite understand it yet, so most are doing it on their own time.

Why are SL avatars are pursuing info-related activities
“many are tired of the sex and gambling” in SL
Increasingly used by univeristies

Amazon has a full time presence there.

Doing lots of experimentation
what kinds of collections will they have, what kind of services will they offer

Lori says they are opening a fourth island that she “is going to leave us in suspense over”

Instead of everyone building their own library, she suggests that folks need to collaborate to save time.

————–
Michael Sauers

wants to give a reality check

Tech specs:  Minimum vs. Recommended requirements to

Reality check #1
you do need a nice machine

Reality check #2
if you can’t follow several conversations and are easily annoyed by typos

Reality check #3
You don’t have to spend real money, but it helps

Reality check #4
The more people at an event/location, the greater the lag will be

Reality check #5
Your boss and co-workers will probably not view this as work

Reality check #6
The more fun you’re having, the more time you’ll watnt to spend on the grid

Reality check #7
People are generally polite but they still fall on your head

Reality check #8
Don’t keep track of who’s who based on appearances

Reality check #9
Updates, updates, updates

Reality check #10
Grey goo
purchased items disappearing
system promblems

Reality check #11
Sometimes it just doesn’t work

SL is cool, but sometimes is does not work like it’s supposed to.

———————-
Tom Peters

avatars often say they are so glad that the library does not have sex and gambling

What are we learning:
will they have collections
what services will they have
events are big draws
exhibits are pretty interesting

SL has been a release of pent-up librarian created energy

What types of library services do SL avatars want, need, and expect?
What types of library buildings and locations are needed?
Are collections needed?

They are finding people like to be outdoors
You only have inclement weather if someone wills it

Challenges
self-inflicted burnout
external funding
expertise funding
Implementing Library 2.0 concepts
Rapidly evolving environment and human understanding of that environment

Predictions
Library services to avatars will thrive
architecture will evolve away from real-world architecture
libraries will include elements from museums, them parks
exhibits and events will be more useful than traditional collections
immersive, experiential learning experiences

Librarians have fun in SL

Technorati Tag: IL2006

My parents and teachers taught me a lot of things, and probably the most important thing is to share with others. I suppose that’s what I love most about my job, as libraries are all about sharing and providing access to information. I’ve been accepted as a presenter for the 5 Weeks to a Social Library program, and I am very excited about presenting and sharing. I am also elated that the drive to share motivated the organizers to create such an event. This is sharing at its best, and I cannot wait to see the final product.

Since writing about our Academic Search Premier tutorial a few weeks ago, I have received a number of questions and comments about the tutorial. Many wondered if it was okay if another library used our idea for the tutorial. Steven Bell went one step further and asked if I’d be willing to share the source file for the tutorial. I had not thought about doing this, but I am really glad that Steven mentioned it.

It really makes a lot of sense that we share. My library has benefited a great deal from a number of open source applications. We use open source applications for blogs, wikis, podcasts, videos, tutorials, surveys, and other purposes. We have applied open source software to enhance services, access to sources, and library instruction initiatives. It is our hope that by making the source files for our tutorials available, we will be giving back to the open source community in some small way.

It took me about 20 hours to create the Academic Search Premier tutorial. This is a considerable amount of time, and fortunately I was able to devote a couple of weeks to the project this summer. Not all librarians have this much time, so I hope the source file will allow others to create similar tutorials and save time in the process. The source file for the tutorial can be from our Tutorial Source Files page. We have created this page as a repository for source files for future tutorials. We have a few projects in the pipeline, and as they are completed, the source files will be shared on the Tutorial Source File page. Each source file will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License, so you are free to modify and distribute the tutorials, just make sure you give attribution and share with others.

Are other libraries/librarians interested in sharing source files? Are there repositories for source files that can be modified and customized by other libraries? What are your thoughts on sharing? Please feel free to post a comment if you’d like to share with others.

I’m amazed that even with all of the Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis, forums, surveys, feedback forms, discussion lists, MySpace, flickr, Facebook, and more…..

…..some people still choose to share their ideas with a Sharpie marker on the wall of a bathroom stall.

Would it deter people from writing on the walls if we gave them something to read? Oh wait, we’re in a library, so there’s bound to be a book around here somewhere.
My little rant on a rainy Wednesday morning.

Business Week Online offers Eight Tips For Better Brainstorming:

1. Use brainstorming to combine and extend ideas, not just to harvest ideas.
2. Don’t bother if people live in fear.
3. Do individual brainstorming before and after group sessions.
4. Brainstorming sessions are worthless unless they are woven with other work practices.
5. Brainstorming requires skill and experience both to do and, especially, to facilitate.
6. A good brainstorming session is competitive—in the right way.
7. Use brainstorming sessions for more than just generating good ideas.
8. Follow the rules, or don’t call it a brainstorm.

I’ll admit that I’ve been a little quiet here for a while, but life has been a little busy. (And occasionally a little loud). This picture was taken during one of the quiet times that make the loud ones so worthwhile.

Cole Fulton Boeninger

Born May 22, 2006
8lb 15.4 oz, 22 inches

Both baby and mom are doing great, and we are all getting settled (sort of) into a new routine of being a typical family with two kids, a dog, a minivan, a mortgage, and no sleep.