New IT Interest Group Meeting Notes – June 23, 2011

Ahh, summertime in Madison... The GLS Conference and the NMC Conference were held recently and they sounded fascinating. Several of our members attended. ALA is coming up and other conferences are on the way too...

Tom C. started our discussion this month. He is interested in maybe planning and developing a game focused on encouraging more extensive use of Music Library resources. He became interested this topic after listening to the OCLC/Library Journal “Play, Learn, Innovate” online symposium: http://www.oclc.org/innovation/ Tom heard Kurt Squire and Erika Halverson discuss educational games, and he had also heard about the ARIS platform, and wondered about how he could use this to help music students. Ian brought up the excellent point that game building is a skill and an art, and good educational games are successful because of the game mechanics. Great data alone won’t make a great game. There is a “meta-skill-set” that is very beneficial for a game designer to have when creating a new game. The GLS group meets about every month to discuss new educational games. Game fun-ness is very important! Joe furthered Ian’s point by showing a great video from the Escapist Magazine about “Gamifying Education” The group then discussed a number of examples of useful educational games. Anna mentioned a “mini golf” style game/tour in libraries that has also been used as a fund raiser. Joe mentioned that many summer reading programs are presented as games in that the reading challenge is accumulative and frequently based on “levels.” Joe also mentioned that Steve B is building a game to encourage citation comprehension. Tom C. further explained that in the study of Music, the community tends to be split between academic researchers and instrumentalists. He is looking for a way to “cross-train” the students so that they will be familiar with the research resources that are available to both tracks. Kathleen mentioned that she has frequently used card sorts as a way of organizing her ideas for future projects. Ian followed up with an explanation of an interesting-sounding game that was played at the GLS conference: each attendee was issued a set of topic cards that were used to frame debate and discussion on a variety of points. As people met, they would deploy their cards to create a discussion. Whoever “won” the discussion collected all the cards. The debates continued in pyramidial elimination until only two debaters remained. They debated using all of the collected cards. Ian also described the “hall of failure” (look near the bottom of the list) where people would describe projects that failed and explain why they failed and what they learned. Kathleen mentioned Elliot Masie’s rule for presenters that the only get one slide per presentation. Kathleen also mentioned that Masie had done some work on mind-mapping tools. Ian mentioned that at the NMC conference, Jared Lanier had spoken about three books that looked interesting: 1) What Technology Wants, by Kevin Kelley; 2) You Are Not a Gadget, by Jaron Lanier; 3) Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age, by Douglas Rushkoff. Looks like some very interesting summer reading! Both Joe and Ian expanded on the discussion by pointing out that Jared Lanier was concerned about the cyclical recycling/repetition of culture online without new creativity added, and the detrimental aspects of free (non-paid for) information for creative people who are trying to make a living off of their creativity.

The group then switched gears and began to look at some tools...

Anna showed us the fantastic Bubble https://bubbl.us/ mind mapping tool. Very easy and intuitive to use! Anna also showed us the site that explains the revolutionary Lytro Light Field Camera http://www.lytro.com/ that allows you to refocus the image after you have taken the picture! Anna mentioned the Forsquare app Checkmate https://foursquare.com/app/checkmate that allows you to auto-check-in to your favorite venues as you arrive without having to do anything. And finally, the Fodey “newspaper clipping generator” http://www.fodey.com/generators/newspaper/snippet.asp that allows you to create your own news clippings (for “entertainment purposes only” of course, as they used to say). Whew! Thank you Anna!

Kathleen asked the group for reflection regarding her work on ISIS documentation. She has used Captivate and Word documents as a way to capture the many “how-to” tutorials she has created. The group also recommended DoIT’s KB tool and Confluence Wiki subscriptions as alternate possibilities.

Tom D. finished up the hour by mentioning the Hidden Mac app http://hiddenapp.com/ that allows you to monitor your laptop if it is stolen, including using the built in camera. One recent story of MacBook retrieval was chronicled in the http://thisguyhasmymacbook.tumblr.com blog.

See you all next month! Good Luck Katy!

New IT Interest Group Meeting Notes – May 26, 2011

Back in Madison for our May meeting! Nice.

Katy started us off by showing MERIT’s newest hardware acquisition: a very cool, compact camcorder from Samsung (I believe it is the Samsung SMX-C10 Touch of Color Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom). Katy explained that the School of Education students need to complete Field Practicum type experiences which must also be recorded and presented for class. MERIT had existing camcorders that recorded onto DV Tape but that format was unwieldy, and the camcorder to computer upload times were excessively long (files were uncompressed AVI). After researching a variety of products, they decided on the Samsung recorder because they use removable flash memory and they record in AVCHD format, which uses the non-proprietary MPEG-4 AVC video coding. MERIT invested in reasonably large memory cards (16GB) and those will store about 380 minutes of video. The rechargeable batteries are easily removable (160 minute life before recharge), and the button controls are logical. Using the recorder with a PC is simple and USB based, and the recorder comes with its own internal video editing software that installs easily. For students who wish to edit more extensively, MERIT has been recommending students do their main editing with either Windows Movie Maker, or iMovie depending on what they have access to. As for how MERIT did their research, Katy said they read A LOT of reviews.

Katy then brought up the really fantastic, free, web-based video editing tool JayCut http://jaycut.com/ She mentioned that lately MERIT had been recommending this tool over Windows Movie Maker or iMovie because JayCut it is web and cloud-based, so students do not need to have any special editing software. It is important for students to begin using this application from the beginning of the editing process, starting from the upload of the raw video (because it does not accept half edited files from other applications.) The tool can accept still images to be worked into videos, and can capture directly from your webcam too. The actual editing is reminiscent of iMovie, and offers standard tools like title text, subtitling, clip transitions and effects. (Music clips can be edited into your videos too, but we did not play with that part.) The editing appears to be pretty logical and easy.

Jim introduced us to the Grovo http://www.grovo.com/ video-based tutorials site. It looks great! The site hosts a fairly long list of nicely put together video tutorials on a variety of IT topics, many related to social media/tools. You can sign up for an account for free.

Jim then also showed us the MakeUseOf http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/ site which includes a fairly long list of PDF-based guides for a wide variety of IT topics like popular computing, hardware, and social media. It looks really helpful!

On the topic of cloud based applications, Jim told us about a fantastic trial deal from Amazon. It is called the Amazon Cloud Player. For certain audio purchases, Amazon would give you a free account (with 20G of storage!) for uploading music. The account stays free for a year, after which you have to pay $20/year. Jim has found that while using his Android, he prefers the Amazon MP3 music service (“MP3 Downloads” when searching Amazon), and that it is better than iTunes for his purposes. Purchasing additional music from Amazon does not use up space in your 20G (space is added). Syncing the stored/purchased music with your device is really simple: you just scan in the QR code on the Amazon webpage after you have logged in. Cool.

Tom jumped in to tell us about a few things he has seen: the Unsubscribe site http://www.unsubscribe.com/ which you can use to hopefully tame your many email list subscriptions. “With the click of a button, users instantly send unwanted mailing lists to Unsubscribe.com for safe removal.” And then he described the Pico Pocket Projector PK101 which looks pretty cool. This extremely tiny (1.97 in wide x .59 in high x 4.06 in deep) LCD projector is LED illuminated and USB powered. It can also run off of a battery. This projector is designed to interact with an iPhone or other mobile device, and it is not really ideally created for use with a laptop computer. However, you can use it with a laptop if you also get a VGA to S-Video converter box. Tom also mentioned ValleyWag... http://gawker.com/valleywag/ which you can explore on your own.

New IT Interest Group Meeting Notes – April 28, 2011 (at WAAL!)

Hey IT Interested! This month we met at WAAL to hold an IT Interest Group Meeting as a session. Due to the amazing and fascinating participation of many people, the session was FANTASTIC! So, here we go: after emerging from a cloud of smoke and pyrotechnics, we all got down to business...

Ian, Jim and Tom began with a discussion of the principles of the group:
1) The first rule is that we stick to discussing "technology" issues.
2) We all explore as newbies.
3) We stay focused on the goal of "producing creative thought."
4) People show up as their time and interest dictates.

Though we want the group to have as few rules as possible, these rules for the group have helped to keep the group going over a period of several years (since 2007!). Please see the handout about the principals here. And the handout about the group resources is here.

After our overview, we discussed a series of very interesting new tools and ideas:

Ian got us all started by discussing the very exciting ARIS game design platform for mobile devices. http://arisgames.org/ We watched a short video http://arisgames.org/demo/, and then Ian designed a simple game right before our very eyes. (I am really hoping we can eventually get that can of soda, as I am very thirsty.) Ian described the Global Game Jam http://arisgames.org/global-game-jam-2011/ that ARIS held this spring (April 18-20). Cool.

Next, Joe jumped right up to the podium to describe Compfight (http://compfight.com/ ), a very good way to search Flickr for images and then filter for “Creative Commons.” It works really well, and very fast!

Then Jennifer told us about the useful Evernote iPad app http://www.evernote.com/about/download/ipad.php, that assists you with note taking. It has the ability to sync between the desktop and the cloud. (Hope I got that right!) A similar version exists for smartphones like the iPhone. Found to be very helpful!

Louise told us about the very cool NetGalley http://www.netgalley.com/ site that provides you with free “galley” versions of upcoming books (especially novels) for FREE! You can add the galleys to your Kindle, Nook, or iPad. Louise notes that the publishers represented are not the biggest multi-nationals, but the texts are usually quality, and she has read a variety of good books at this site.

Tomissa introduced us to the fascinating and useful Shelfari http://www.shelfari.com/. The site offers a variety of functions, including the ability for users to “build a virtual bookshelf” to share with friends or the general public. One of the ways for users to share a bookshelf is to create embeddable widgets that display side scrolling visual booklists. (The images come from Amazon.) This could be a great way to promote collections and new acquisitions!

Jodi demonstrated the Mobile Me site http://www.me.com/ which provides a way to track and manage mobile devices. Jodi was using it to track and remotely wipe iPads that her library circulates to users. This could be very helpful in cases of theft or “reluctant tech return syndrome.” Jodi mentioned that there is a similar tool for Android called Lookout http://www.mylookout.com/.

Jim demoed the unbelievable and amazing tool Topicmarks http://topicmarks.com/. It is very hard to describe how mind-boggling this tool is without visually showing it, but here goes: The site allows you to upload PDFs of readings and articles. The site then runs a variety of algorithms on the PDF to analyze the text in order to 1) index the article, 2) auto-generate a summary of the article, 3) list the important facts stated in the article, 4) build a keyword list to describe the article, and 5) summarize facts about the article. Wow! This could be an amazing study aid for anyone.

Anna showed us the very interesting “micro-blogging” tool Yammer http://www.yammer.com/. It has functions similar to Twitter, but is built to be based on a social network created from a local email domain. In their words, it “brings together all of a company’s employees inside a private and secure enterprise social network.” So, basically it offers the benefits of Twitter while offering some control to the network admin over who sees what, and who can post. (I think we will see more of this kind of useful innovation within organizations.)

Dorothea finished off the session by reminding us all of the critical importance of good security. Accounts with simple passwords get hacked. Posted passwords http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Security-by-PostIt.aspx are always a bad idea. Dorothea recommends reading the “Usability of Passwords” http://www.baekdal.com/tips/password-security-usability article by Thomas Baekdal. A three word passphrase separated by hyphens may make a good password.

I want to thank everyone who came and listened, and I want to especially thank everyone who participated by sharing their ideas and discoveries! Amazing! We hope to see you all again in the future! (Please comment!)

New Facebook Group!

Hey Again!
Courtesy of Jim, we have a Facebook Group. Huzzah!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_201584779860211

New Twitter Account!

Hey IT!
Courtesy of Ian, we have a Twitter account. Hooray!
http://twitter.com/#!/Lib_IT_Interest

April Meeting? Come Join us at WAAL!

The April meeting will be at WAAL! Come on! Join Us!
IT Interested? Encouraging IT Experimentation in the Library http://www.wla.lib.wi.us/waal/conferences/2011/programs.html#thursday "Come join UW-Madison librarians to learn about a fun way to encourage library staff experimentation and interest in new technology." Jim "The Media Master," Ian "The IT Kid," and Tom "The Notetaker" will converge on WAAL this year to host a gen-u-ine It Interest Meeting.

New IT Interest Group Meeting Notes – March 24, 2011

We had several new members attend this month. Excellent!

Lia started us off by demonstrating and telling us about http://vyou.com/ a very interesting video-based question answering system. Users can set up an account to accept questions from the public. Later the user can compose their video reply to answer the question. Cool! The group noted that it would be best for user accessibility if the system has the ability to add captions like YouTube, or accept and properly display pre-captioned videos.

Ian continued the conversation by drawing attention to a new email list administered by University Communications that is focused on social media. Ian recommends that if you wish to join the list, send an email to the following address: join[dash]social[dash]media[at]lists[dot]wisc[dot]edu Ian notes that the list is very active!

Joe let us know that the ARIS Global Game Jam is coming up: April 18-20th. http://arisgames.org/global-game-jam-2011/ The event will include people all over the world coming together (online and in person) focus on ways to use the ARIS engine for creating games and mobile media. The engine can be used to create mobile scavenger hunt or tour games that can also interact with QR codes. Many other games and uses are also possible. If you would like a better idea of what ARIS is, take a look at this demo video: http://arisgames.org/demo/

Joe also mentioned that the Madison Public Libraries http://dbooks.wplc.info/ had begun loaning e-books for iPhones and iPads. (No Kindle compatible versions.) Joe notes that the DRM as applied limits use to 7 days. It seems to be a popular service already! The group then discussed e-books and patron-driven acquisitions in general. Ian noted that College Library has a program that allows users to check out Kindles and iPads. https://www.college.library.wisc.edu/ereaders/#overview Part of the program also allows users to choose the e-books that are accessible on the readers.

Barbara showed the group some of the work that Laura S. and others at Steenbock Library put into getting some of their library instruction sessions recorded and online in YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/user/SteenbockLibrarians Barbara said that the project started when the snow day interfered with some students ability to attend their required library instruction session. Laura recorded the sessions for the students to catch up on their work. They used iMovie http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/ to edit the videos for uploading. Apparently, YouTube includes a captioning tool (based on a text file attachment) that allowed Laura to make the videos more accessible. Barbara mentioned that getting the several videos recorded, edited, and uploaded took about a week (from beginning to end) but less than that amount of time for the actual work to be completed. Ian mentioned that idwog is looking at options for library video production, and best practices. Lee mentioned that the library web site has to conform to accessibility standards, so captioning would be required for any video solution. Lia wondered about how rights in YouTube would work because of the EULA/TOS that YouTube requires http://www.youtube.com/t/terms Lee mentioned that as university employees, the YouTube TOS versus university copyright ownership issue is unclear, because it is likely that employees do not have the legal ability to give away university rights.

For our next meeting, the group wants to look at Google Apps! SEE YOU ALL NEXT TIME!