I have moved...

I have started a new blog at http://librarian.justbeth.info and will no longer be updating Project Play Reflections. Please visit my new blog and let me know what you think!

Blog Action Day 2008

Join other bloggers on October 15th and discuss the topic of poverty in your posts.

Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world's bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.

Check out this video promoting the event and consider signing up today.


Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Identity 2.0

I can't remember how I first came across this video, but I'm fascinated by it and thought I'd share it here. It comes from Dick Hardt, founder and CEO of Sxip Identity and is his keynote from the O'Reilly Open Source Convention. Here's the description from YouTube:

Watch Dick deliver a compelling and dynamic introduction on Identity 2.0 and how the concept of digital identity is evolving.

Watching this is not only a verbal, visual, deluge on the topic of Identity, but an example of a dynamic presentation done in a way that not only explains a complex topic and makes it easy, but is the example I will strive toward if/when I do presentations in the future. That may be a bar a bit too high to reach, but it's good to have goals!

Here's the video. See what you think.

Wordl

I've been itching to play with Wordl ever since I heard about it a while back now. So I took a minute to do one of my del.icio.us tags. Here's what it came up with:



Pretty cool to see very quickly and visually what my interests seem to be these days!

Next Play Date

From the Project Play blog:

Our next Play Date is scheduled for Friday, July 25th at 10 a.m. online in OPAL. The topic will be “More on Google Apps.” Since this is a continuation of an earlier topic, be sure to do Week 2 of Semester 2 so you’re up to speed on the topic before the OPAL session. If you’d like to attend the online Play Date please register on the SCLS web site, so we’ll know how many people to expect. If you can’t make it to the Play Date, the content will be posted here on the blog so you’ll be able to go through it at your leisure.

“See” you on the 25th!

Sign up today!

Screencasts

In Week 8, Semester 2 of Project Play, Stef talked about screencasts, and we tried out a free tool called Screencast-O-Matic. I recently returned to screencasts as part of my work on an LSTA grant received by OWLS this year and have spent the last 3 days learning Camtasia and creating screencasts for new InfoSoup features.

It has been a fun process - I love learning new things - and I'm convinced more than ever that libraries should be creating screencasts as help tools for their patrons. They're easy to create (especially with the help of awesome software) and not only give help, but shows your patrons you're moving ahead with technology in order to provide point-of-need service.

Try it, you might like it!

A little off topic

This post may be a little off topic for Project Play, but maybe not... I watched a video last night entitled "If you're not gaming you're losing!" It's a 40 minute documentary about gaming and libraries and was created by Erik Boekesteijn and Jaap van de Geer of the DOK Library Concept Center in the Netherlands. I thought the video was fascinating and very well done, which is why I'm sharing it here. They share some insights into potential benefits of gaming for libraries through interviews with library bloggers and library staff in the States. If you're on the fence about whether or not your library should offer gaming opportunities, this video might help you decide once and for all. Check it out!


If you're not gaming you're losing! from Jaap van de Geer on Vimeo.

(Found via Librarian In Black's blog)

Play Dates

Our first Play Date last Friday was great fun! A small group of 10 people gathered online in OPAL for "Do More With Del.icio.us." There was good discussion of how to use some more advanced features of this social bookmarking tool, and I'm happy to say that Joy has done a wonderful job of getting all of the content from the Play Date onto the Project Play blog. Take a look if you couldn't join us for the OPAL session and see what you missed!

Play Dates

The first PP Play Date is tomorrow morning! I'm supposed to moderate the OPAL session for Joy, who will be presenting, which makes me a little nervous since I haven't had to do that before (I've attended OPAL sessions, but never moderated). The good news is that I have reserved a good portion of the day to figure all that out.

I'm happy that Project Play is continuing in a new format and hope that the momentum and excitement we gained in the first two semesters will continue. See ya online tomorrow!

Social Media in Plain English

Common Craft has done it again! Another great video making somewhat complicated topics easy to understand. Take a look at Social Media in Plain English:

Project Play lives!

I'm so glad Project Play is going to continue! And I'm so glad that such a huge majority of participants (94%) wanted it to keep going. To me, that indicates the success of the Project, and I'm thrilled to keep sharing new tools and how they might help solve problems we encounter in the library world.

Today I stumbled on some videos from the Web 2.0 Expo in California. (Thanks, Librarian in Black!) There are some fabulous clips at blip.tv from the expo featuring a plethora of leaders from the web 2.0 world. Here's a sample, but be sure to visit the site to see some of the others, as well.

Wrapping Up

It's hard to believe Project Play is coming to an end! It's a bit of a let-down, as it has been one of the most fun projects I've had on my list for a while. I'm so proud of everyone who played along and hope that you'll all remain open to new technologies even after the Project ends. I've especially enjoyed reading your blogs and want to share some of your closing comments here:

Bugg said:

"I enjoyed doing Project play and learning most of the tools that are available. I was recently asked to help set up a church library, so now I'm especially glad I learned what I did (esp. on how they related to libraries!) - and that I overcame my fear of the dreaded unknown of the internet. I will be more open to using and sharing what I've learned, and learning more as necessary. Thanks for making project play available to us!"

JusVal said:

"Project Play....played into the curiosity I have about the Internet and computers. Each week, I would look forward to a new tool, or maybe a known tool that I had forgotten about! During each assignment or 'fun extra' another wave of curiosity would take over, that would lead me down other paths of enlightenment, the web is paradise to the curious! When is Semester 3 starting?"

Kathy B. posted:

"Thanks to Beth and the rest of the ProjectPlay staff for this opportunity! It has been fun and enlightening. I have done things that I never would have otherwise. Some things I might never use again and others I will but I do believe if you stop learning, you stop living."

Kathy Dreyer said:

"I do think however that Project Play has helped me become more curious. It has taught me so many things. One day my husband wondered how he could do something on the computer and I said you could do it by husing mash-ups. My kids could not believe that I had a blog. Maybe I am more trainable than I thought."

Terry Dawson posted:

"What I love about Project Play is that it encourages us to develop our own natural curiosity and mess around with some technological toys and tools to think up -- and discuss -- new ways to deliver services. The world keeps changing: we need all our curiosity to keep learning and all the worthwhile tools we can find to keep our libraries changing with community needs."

And be sure to read Miss Melanie's post on Curiosity. She shares a story called "The Little Boy" by Helen Buckley - a great example of how curiosity and the desire to learn new things can be squashed early in life.

Thanks again to everyone who played along and remember to keep playing more, learning more, and fearing less!

PLA & Denver Public Library

I attended a PLA session today entitled, "Take Your Online Services to the Next Level: Audio, Video, and More!" which was presented by Michelle Jeske of the Denver Public Library. She did a great job sharing examples of what her library and other public libraries have done with media on the web. (I'll link to her presentation once it's posted on the PLA conference web site.)

Anyway, one of the things she mentioned really stuck in my mind. She was talking about the different kinds of videos they had created, some instructional related to their online resources, and others simply fun and kooky promoting summer library programs or other things going on at the library. She said that the instructional ones aren't viewed very often, but the fun ones have been viewed tons.

I think this goes to what I heard in another session this morning - that we need to tell our users about what they want to hear rather than what we want them to hear. There is a place for fun in what we do, and online audio and video offers a new way to play with the information we share with patrons.

Imagine this: Someone in your community is online poking around in YouTube and stumbles across a video your library posted that is promoting an upcoming program in a clever, fun way. The person thinks, "Hey! That's cool. I didn't know the library was a hip and fun place with loads of fascinating programs going on!" Okay, that's a bit thick, but you get my point. Putting our stuff out there in a fun way where new people can find us is a great way to change the stereotypes of libraries and encourage them to come in and give us a try.

I feel like I'm rambling a bit, but it's been a long day. Just wanted to get down a few thoughts before I forgot these points. I think Project Play has done a pretty good job exposing some new ideas and technologies to those playing along, and I'm proud to have been a part of it!

National Library Week

National Library Week (April 13-19) is coming soon! Take a look at this video (Found on The Shifted Librarian) which pays homage to reference librarians everywhere:



What a fun way to celebrate libraries!

Mashups

I had a lot of fun writing up this week's Project Play post on mashups. I'd like to play some more with some of the tools I discovered, but have too much on my to do list at the moment. Nice to have something to look forward to down the road when I have a quiet moment (if that day ever comes!).

Maps were the easiest to start playing with, so I used a wonderful site called mapbuilder.net to build a couple of pages for OWLS stuff. Take a look at: Map of OWLS Member Library Locations and InfoSoup Libraries Map. Pretty basic, but potentially very helpful.

Fun with YouTube

This week's Project Play topic is YouTube, and I think Joy did a great job of collecting some great examples of what's out there, especially what libraries have been doing. My favorite examples include Tour the Harper College Library and Calgary Public Library Story Time. I was incredibly impressed with Allen County Public Library's YouTube channel and plan to go back there again sometime to view more of what they post!

For now, here's my contribution to YouTube week:

Screencasts vs. vodcasts

There was a great question on the Project Play blog this week:

Would you YouTube videos be considered screencasts?

This is the answer I came up with, and I thought I'd post it here, too, in case some of you are reading this blog and are missing the comments on the PP site.

Screencasts simply record actions taking place on your screen. Some screencasts might be made available on YouTube, but not all videos available on YouTube should be considered screencasts.

What?! I consider most of what is available on YouTube to be “vodcasts.” (We’ll take more about that next week here on the PP blog.) They go beyond recording screen actions and include video of people, places, things, activities, etc.

I hope that explanation helps!

I created a screencast for Week 10 of Project Play, which will be about mashups. I thought Screencast-o-Matic was easy to use and pretty fun. I'll be playing with Camtasia Studio 5 while I prep the 'casting kit for the LSTA grant we were awarded. It'll be fun to compare the two products and see which one I like the best. If you're curious about the 'casting grant, visit 'Casting @ OWLS for more information!

Making choices

I've been noticing a trend when reading all of the Project Player blogs in Semester 2. It seems like there is an assumption that the PP instructors expect you to love all of the tools we are sharing in the blog posts simply because we are writing about them.

Well, I'm here to tell you, that's just not the case.

Sure we love a lot of the tools that we're teaching you about, but that doesn't mean we believe they should be received the same by everyone else participating in Project Play. There's no need to apologize if you don't like something or can't see how you would use it in your daily life. C'est la vie!

The point is to be open to exploring things you might think have no application at your library, to be aware of what's out there, and not be afraid to try new things. We all have to make choices about which tools to use, what we have time for, and what we can maintain in the long run.

The other thing I want to ask you all to keep in mind is that the point of a lot of the tools we're sharing is collaboration. Sure, Remember the Milk might not be something you would use personally - paper and pen might be your preference - but if you were working with a group, it might be ideal because it affords the ability to keep one central task list that anyone in the group can edit. I wonder if there just aren't as many people collaborating on projects in our libraries as I would have thought? If there's no opportunity provided to work in this way, I guess I can see why viewing these tools in that light would be difficult.

One last thing... Some of the tools are also about putting library services out where people are online rather than expecting them to come to you (or your library's web site). That's why RSS is so important - your content is automatically delivered to people instead of them having to come and check your site for what's new. It's also why sites like MySpace and Facebook should at least be considered - yes, the pages are usually ugly, but it would put your information out where thousands of people are interacting rather than assuming they'll find your web site if they're online.

I'm hoping that Project Play will help us all adopt a more 2.0 way of thinking. We're used to waiting for people to walk in our doors with some encouragement through traditional means. But that's just not the way the world is anymore. We can't wait. Some people might never walk through our doors, but they might be able to use our services externally and become library supporters because of it. That means we need to be out where they are, so happenstance can bring the library and new users together. Sure all of this has implications on service and the choices we make will become more and more difficult, but that's the way of the world these days, no?

Podcast addict

Yes, it's true. I am a podcast addict! If I'm in my car or on our treadmill or on a walk, I'm usually listening to a podcast. I love my iPod and the ability to take tons of music and broadcasting content wherever I go. If you're not very familiar with podcasts, I hope this week's Project Play post will help you learn more about this wonderful format.

I've been working on the "Enhancing Library Services via Podcasts, Screencasts, and Vodcasts" LSTA grant we were awarded this year. The grant will enable us to purchase the equipment and software needed to create podcasts, screencasts, and vodcasts. We will use this equipment and software to create instructional resources for patrons on how to use InfoSoup and its associated resources. In addition, we will provide training and support for OWLS member libraries to create their own online resources to share with their patrons. We'll have a "casting station" at OWLS in our meeting room, and a traveling "casting kit" that will be loaned to our member libraries for their use.

It's so exciting to think about all of the possibilities this grant will open up for us! I've been purchasing equipment and software this week and can't wait to get it all here, so I can start learning how to use it all and prep training for all of you. Stay tuned, 'cuz there's lots more to come!

Blogger hacks

Hey all you Project Players who want to do more with your blog! Take a look at these Top 10 Blogger Hacks and Tips and see if you find anything interesting. (Originally found on iLibrarian.)

Laugh out loud

I came across the video below when reading Project Player Katie S's blog. It's a humorous take on social networking from Demetri Martin. I couldn't resist posting it here. Thanks for finding it, Katie! :)

Social networks? Not so sure. But avatars rock!

I've been looking at social networking sites for quite a while now. I even went so far as to create a Facebook account, but haven't done much with it. I like the idea of using it to connect with old school- or college-mates or with other library colleagues in Wisconsin or elsewhere or even my nephews who are graduating from college this spring. But I'm also an introvert and a pretty private person, and I wouldn't necessarily share the same things between any of those groups I just listed. So I'm still on the fence... I thought the Meredith Farkas article did a great job of listing the pros and cons, though, so be sure to give that a read.

Here's my South Park character, created in honor of the freezing cold temps we're having at the moment. I also played briefly with the Yahoo! avatar tools, but had to make too many decisions about my hair and clothes. Fun, fun, fun!

InfoSoup YouTube Contest

This morning the InfoSoup PR Committee met to select the winners of our InfoSoup YouTube Contest. It was a blast to see what people had come up with, and I'm so happy with the videos we selected for 1st and 2nd place! Take a look at our winners:

1st place


2nd place


Other entries can be viewed on the contest page at http://info.infosoup.org/youtube/. This was a great experiment. I hope you'll consider embedding the 1st place video on your web site - it's a great advertisement for InfoSoup!

To do lists

I admit to being a to do list junkie. Mainly because if I don't write something down, it's out of my head 2 minutes later. Remember the Milk is something that I love playing with, but when it comes down to it, I really prefer putting paper to pen. That way I can add my own doodles. I think RTM would be great, though, if you were working on something collaboratively and needed a list that could be accessed by multiple people. I love how it interacts with other tools!

Jott is one of my favorite tools of all time. I'm often out running errands or going somewhere with just my cell phone on me. It's so easy and convenient to be able to call Jott if I think of something I don't want to forget and get that wonderful email reminding me later. I'm a mumbler by trade, so it took me a while to speak loudly enough and clearly enough to get a good transcript of my speech, but over time I figured it out and can usually decipher what I meant. :)

All tools won't work for all people, and I think one of the things we're trying to get across in Project Play is that a lot of these tools are for collaborating, for communicating, and for connecting. Yes, you might not use them on your own, but think of how they might be handy at your library to work with staff, volunteer groups, reading groups, or other colleagues who might not be in the same library, city, or state.

Google Docs

I'm not sure if this was mentioned in this week's Project Play post, but it's something I found particularly helpful this morning - Google Docs can be used cross platform! I'm at home this morning because my son is sick, and I was trying to get some work done. There were several things I thought I could get done, but I needed to be able to do them on my laptop so I can work near Joey -- my laptop is an Apple PowerBook, not a PC like I work on at OWLS. 

Google Docs to the rescue! I have created several g-docs this morning that I know I'll be able to access at work easily even though they were created on an Apple instead of a PC. Now that's flexible and easy! Just think - you can work on a document from multiple locations without worrying about the platform the document was originally created in. This is great when working with groups of people, too - no worries about anyone having difficulty opening or editing a document you're sharing.

Cool beans.

(I've been coughed and sneezed on multiple times this morning. If I'm not around in a few days, you'll know why!)

IMs up the wazoo

I have been having a great time responding to all of the Project Play IMs I'm getting via my meebo me widget! Fun to experience people's first attempts at using IM and seeing how easy it really is, not to mention, great to be able to help on the spot.

I've commented on a lot of your blogs, but just wanted to mention some advice I'm giving pretty consistently. Think of IM like office hours. Maybe you won't be setting specific hours you want to be available via IM, but you could. Mainly, I mean that you can make choices about when you're available for IM messages. Log in to your IM account when it's a time you won't be irritated by interruptions. If you're concentrating on a tough project that requires focused thought, stay offline and respond to messages later. IM doesn't require that you suddenly become available to everyone every time you're at your computer.

Gearing up for round 2

The Project Play instructors are gearing up for Semester 2 of Project Play! I must admit, I've kind of missed all of the excitement over the last few weeks between semesters. I've really enjoyed the process and working with all of the Project Players. So it's a good thing we're starting up again on Monday!

Just wanted to also post that Stef Morrill and I will be doing a half-day workshop at OWLS entitled "Making Choices In a Web 2.0 World" in February. Here's the plug:

All of the Web 2.0 tools available these days provide endless opportunities for projects and services your library could offer. How do you decide what you should use and what you shouldn’t? The presenters will share their ideas about making choices in a Web 2.0 world, along with tips on overcoming barriers to using these tools at your library and how to keep up-to-date without going crazy.

It'll be a good one for Project Players to attend to help put everything we've been learning in perspective, so sign up on OWLSweb and plan to attend!