Technically Random

The latest in the Educause “7 Things You Should Know About… ” series.

7 Things You Should Know About Zotero

Zotero is a research tool, developed by the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, that provides users with automated access to bibliographic information for online resources. Zotero “senses” bibliographic information contained in a web page and—when the user clicks an icon—gathers that information and places it in the user’s library of sources, where users can manage and search those sources. By automating the tasks of gathering, managing, and citing online references, Zotero facilitates a more efficient research process.

The “7 Things You Should Know About…” series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning technologies. Each brief focuses on a single technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use these briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.

Wawrzaszek, Susan, and David G. Wedaman. “The Academic Library in a 2.0 World” (Research Bulletin, Issue 19). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008

“This ECAR research bulletin provides a context for the current state of academic libraries and the issues they face in a Web 2.0 world. The literature suggests that library services in higher education will continue to be crucial to the core processes of learning, teaching, and research as long key library structures, processes, services, and staff roles evolve to accommodate the epochal changes occurring in publishing and communications. The bulletin discusses how disintermediation is affecting the academic library in higher education and the toll it is taking on traditional library collections, operations, and librarians themselves.”

You may need to register to get to the report.

The latest in the Educause “7 Things You Should Know About … ” series.

7 Things You Should Know About Second Life

Second Life is a virtual world with tens of millions of square meters
of virtual lands, more than 13 million “residents,” and a thriving
economy. Large numbers of colleges and universities—or, in some cases,
individual departments or faculty—are active in Second Life, not only
for academic purposes but also for campus visits, recruiting activities
for prospective students, and fundraising. Second Life lets educators
easily build and modify learning spaces to test how different
strategies for a physical space affect learning, and a similar approach
can be taken toward educational activities in those spaces.

I have an account in SL and spent way too much time trying to make my avatar look even remotely like me (although for some people, maybe that’s not the goal). I haven’t explored very much but I do know there is a Second Life Library Project. Right now my first life is leaving me barely enough time for sleep and a small guilty dosage of bad television.

The latest in the Educause “7 Things You Should Know About…” series.

7 Things You Should Know About Multi-Touch Interfaces

Multi-touch interfaces are input devices that recognize two or more simultaneous touches, allowing one or more users to interact with computer applications through various gestures created by fingers on a surface. Some devices also recognize differences in pressure and temperature. Multi-touch technology introduces users to swipes, pinches, rotations, and other actions that allow for richer, more immediate interaction with digital content. Multi-touch devices and supporting applications offer diverse ways of visualizing information to improve understanding, and they facilitate new ways to foster collaborative creation, permitting several users to work simultaneously on a single screen.

Bringing it back home, how about a multi-touch catalog app that uses the two-finger motion that you use to flip through catalog cards in a drawer.

The latest in the Educause “7 Things You Should Know About …” series.

7 Things You Should Know About Ning

Ning is an online service that allows users to create their own social networks and join and participate in other networks. No technical skill is required to set up a social network, and there are no limits to the number of networks a user can join. Users of Ning social networks have access to functionality similar to that of more well-known social networks, such as Facebook and MySpace. Various features allow users to read news or learn about related events, join groups, read and comment on blog entries, view photos and videos, and other activities as set up by the network creator. RSS feeds let users subscribe to updates from specific parts of the social network.

I’ve played around on Ning a little and joined the Library2.0 Ning group/network.  Seems like it could be an effective way to set up micro-issue social networks or a single use network for a project.

- Corey

The latest in the “7 Things You Should Know About… ” series from Educause.

 7 Things You Should Know About Google Apps

Google Apps is a collection of web-based programs and file storage that run in a web browser. The applications include communication tools (Gmail, Google Talk, and Google Calendar), productivity tools (Google Docs: text files, spreadsheets, and presentations), a customizable start page (iGoogle), and Google Sites (to develop web pages).

-Corey

The latest in the Educause “7 Things You Should Know About …” series:

7 Things You Should Know About Lulu

Lulu is a web-based self-publishing service, providing online access to the tools an individual needs to design, publish, and print original material, including books, brochures, reports, calendars, and posters. Self-publishing offers an alternative to traditional publishing by allowing authors and creators of content to decide what gets published and in what form, allowing anyone to publish a book inexpensively and much more quickly than with traditional publishing. Faculty can use the service to publish more timely textbooks and other material for courses, and by having access to the tools of production, students can see and understand the processes involved.

I’m just now going through my notes from EDUCAUSE 2007 (it’s been almost 2 months since the conference - yikes!). One of the best sessions I attended was a presentation from 2 librarians, Kim Duckett and Tito Sierra (see his article on  in the new code4lib journal), at NC State University, called “Course Views: A Scalable Project to Connect Students to Library Resources“. They described a project in which they created customized content and tools for individual classes at the university. Somewhat like an iGoogle or Dashboard view, widgets were created for individual “pieces” of course/subject guides, Course Reserves, and contact information, and customized at the course level. I have to admit that I missed half of the presentation after getting a bit lost on my way there, but I’m glad to see that their presentation is available as a ppt on the page above. Take a look - I especially like the diagrams on slides 79-81!

7 Things You Should Know About Skype

The latest in the “7 Things You Should Know About …” series from Educause.

“Skype is a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) application that lets users make free phone calls between Skype-equipped computers and inexpensive calls between Skype computers and landline or cell phones.”