New IT Interest Group Meeting Notes – September 22, 2011

The group discussed Google+ https://plus.google.com/ General open membership for Google+ has opened up, and its popularity has grown significantly. However, the group also noted that it is still a long way from overtaking Facebook.

The group discussed MPL and their use of Overdrive http://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/databases/overdrive Nancy directed us to their explanatory page, and as the MPL site explains, it is “a library-purchased subscription to eBook, audiobook, music and video content. Madison Public Library, as part of the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium, has access to this shared collection. Using your library card, you can browse for titles to download to your computer or a variety of portable devices including MP3 players, iPods, iPads, and smartphones. OverDrive content does not yet work with Kindle, but is expected to in the fall of 2011.”

The group discussed the recent changes to Facebook http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20110755-17/facebook-changes-creeping-out-some-customers/ Ian pointed out that the FaceBook product “is you.”

Tom mentioned the recently upgraded Google language tools http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en , which now include diacritic keyboard support and audio pronunciation enhancements.

Ian told us about the fascinating FoldIt game http://fold.it/portal/ that researchers at the University of Washington designed which used gamers to solve problems with protein molecular structure research. HIV researchers were having difficulties while trying to “decipher the structure of a protein called retroviral protease, an enzyme that is key to the way HIV multiplies” and gamers were able to figure out the protein structure in 10 days. http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-20108365-247/foldit-game-leads-to-aids-research-breakthrough/

Jim reported in about the success of the Mini Golf event at the Party at Helen C. Sounds like it was a lot of fun! http://www.college.library.wisc.edu/party/

Ian mentioned to the group that he is interested in collecting a list of “Librarian Recommended Apps.” Dave L. might then post the list to the LWS. These apps would include anything (like barcode readers) that our users might find useful in the course of their university work and library research. Please forward your ideas to Ian.

See you all next month!

Measuring Broadband America

http://www.fcc.gov/measuring-broadband-america

I thought that these specific sections were interesting:

1) Actual Versus Advertised Speeds

2) Performance Variation by Service Tier

3) Summary of Findings

New IT Interest Group Meeting Notes – July 28, 2011

Jim started out our meeting by showing us the interesting TodaysMeet http://todaysmeet.com/ as the site states, it “helps you embrace the backchannel and connect with your audience in realtime. Encourage the room to use the live stream to make comments, ask questions, and use that feedback to tailor your presentation, sharpen your points, and address audience needs.” Essentially, this tool can be used to create an “official” backchannel for classes or discussions, similar to the way that Twitter and texting are already used. The tool creates an auto-generated URL for sharing, and will send out a final transcript when you are done. It is completely free to sign up and create an account.

Ian then introduced us to the similarly “low startup hurdle” tool called Doodle: http://doodle.com/ it allows you to create a “poll” for determining the best times that a group of people are available to meet. The system creates a matrix of self-reported availability. As we all know, the meting time finder in WiscCal is frustrating and unwieldy. This useful tool might help! (The single drawback, noted by Lee, is that if it becomes popular and if you receive many Doodle requests it can get confusing.)

Ian then mentioned the helpful Screencast-O-Matic tool: http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/ This tool is similar to Jing. Though it lacks some of Jing’s helpful features, it does not require downloading a client application. It is web-based, so there are no permissions to worry about when using a public computer.

The group then turned its attention to the Meebo tool: http://www.meebo.com/ This now-classic IM/chat aggregator works as a handy web-based and smart-phone based application. It also works on the iPad!

Jim mentioned the very cool JayCut tool: http://jaycut.com/ The site allows you to upload and edit video for free. The interface is similar to iMovie in layout and functionality. Fortunately for the JayCut company, but maybe unfortunately for users looking for a new free account, JayCut was purchased this summer by ResearchInMotion [Blackberry]. The site is no longer registering new users. We are all wondering what the future of JayCut will be. Good luck to the JayCut team and ResearchInMotion.

Ian showed us the useful ScreenChomp app for the iPhone/iPad: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/screenchomp/id442415881?mt=8 It allows a user to make simple drawings and handwritten text then share it with another iPad/iPhone user. Cool!

Tom introduced the group to the Zinio site: http://www.zinio.com/ This site posts digital versions of print magazines online for use via iPad or smartphone. The interesting thing about this site is that it preserves the original text, images and exact page layout of the original print edition. It is not clear what the file format is for the content, as it is protected by DRM. The site has a search feature and a fairly substantial variety of primarily popular magazines in their catalog. It is possible to obtain both back issues and subscriptions for new issues, but the back issues do not go back very far.

The group then discussed Google+ https://plus.google.com/ for a few minutes: Ian noted that the “Circles” functionality was an interesting innovation on the primary friending utility of social networks. It allows you to specify categories or circles of contacts. It will be interesting to see where Google+ goes in the next year.

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!)