dukedom large enough

The State of Digital Education - infographic

2011-08-19T09:04:00.000+01:00

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

The New Next: 2011 Tech Influencers Predictions by TrendsSpotting

2011-07-26T15:30:00.000+01:00

Tech Influencers predictions in 140 characters exploring emerging themes and patterns in technology, social media and mobile communications. The slides include ideas such as the 'the internet of cars'- we spend a long time in them - perhaps they should be connected, smart homes and screens everywhere - The internet of the bed - we spend a long time in bed - if we are lucky and maybe these should be connected, other areas covered - real time geo updates which are accurate and credible, the growth of app stores for our software, tablets replacing laptops, gamification -pervasive gaming - not just for games, price war on ebooks, adoption of social and context aware analyst tools, video ubiquity - 'every company is a media company', cloudy later - more clouds -outstripping institutional delivery, alternatively cloud bursts - the cloud slowing down -

The New Next: 2011 Tech Influencers Predictions by TrendsSpotting

View more presentations from Taly Weiss

Libraries

2011-05-08T20:53:00.000+01:00

We didn't answer the question 'The 21st Century Library: A Physical or Virtual Place?' at the University of Manchester on 5/5/11 Part of the HEDQF dialogue series on the Higher Education sector - its both by the way - just as it always has been.
But we did hear ideas from across the sector and beyond and from librarians, educators, architects and estate and facilities managers. I really enjoy these debates, I think its thrilling that we can fill a lecture theatre and talk about libraries - their function, their design, their symbolic importance, their continued relevance - or irrelevance - the idea of a library was important for everyone in the room. Libraries are very difficult to describe though aren't they? The moment you think you have captured the essence, or distilled it - it evaporates, it shifts and morphs into something else - this I believe is because libraries are about the art of the possible. Alberto Manguel describes libraries as 'pleasantly mad places' and I think this is as good a description as we can hope for. The whole ecosystem is changing, the recent trend for learning commons complements and reflects social media phenomena, new libraries are not built for administrative simplicity but to foster human to human interaction, communication and knowledge syndication. The new library is a social interface as much as Facebook, its a physical community space. I agree with Churchill who said that 'we shape our buildings, thereafter they shape us' that what libraries do and will continue to do.
Take a look at Fred Garnett's (@fredgarnett) slides from his encyclopedic romp'Putting Context into Knowledge; Future of Libraries as post-Enlightenment projects' http://slidesha.re/lyHwwJ it was great to see him as it always is and also to have the event chaired by the great, insightful & irrepressible John Dolan (@johnrdolan)

Digitally attending JISC and SXSW

2011-03-15T11:40:00.000Z

Switching from JISC conference http://bit.ly/fnxPO1 to SXSW http://sxsw.com/ when the opportunity arises -
The JISC conference appears to be a sombre reflection of the times we are in - the financial futures and survival of HE in the UK - the SXWS is as ever a celebration of innovation - a festival of fizz about possibilities. Its quite grounding getting snatches of them both

Apps as business systems?

2011-01-30T22:39:00.000Z

with the App store from Apple for desktops etc. And Jolicloud as an OS using apps could it be the beginning of the end for huge administrative business systems? As we move more and more to using the web for our computing needs; word processing, data, email, collaboration, media will we shift from over engineered proprietary software which require lots of computing power, frequent cumbersome updates, whole new versions, requiring teams of people to rebuild systems and roll out updates or can lightweight nimble web apps provide much of our IT needs?
I'm certain that for most users this is entirely a possible, desirable and likely solution.

Open-Source Lecture Capture - Inside Higher Ed

2010-10-19T20:48:00.000+01:00

Open-Source Lecture Capture - Inside Higher Ed

Interesting development here for the potential to mainstream lecture capture. I've heard mixed reports about low uptake of use but having ubiquitous access to capture could help drive the cultural change required for widespread adoption, that and cuts in funding,

The Library in Your Pocket: Mobile Trends for Libraries

2010-05-09T19:40:00.001+01:00

Great presentation from Meredith Farkas

The Library in Your Pocket: Mobile Trends for Libraries

View more presentations from Meredith Farkas.

Manifesto for Higher Education

2010-04-21T09:09:00.000+01:00

Universities UK Manifesto for HE
http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/ParliamentaryActivities/GeneralElection/Pages/default.aspx

Universities week 14-21 June

2010-04-21T08:46:00.000+01:00

Universities UK is working with the higher education sector to co-ordinate 'Universities Week' aims to engage with the public about the future of UK higher education, culminating in a Universities Week from 14-21 June 2010. The campaign will challenge a number of popular misconceptions, by telling the hidden stories from people working in our universities as well as those people whose lives have been influenced by our universities.

Technopolis - the World Box

2010-04-14T18:14:00.000+01:00

Rereading Technopolis by Nigel Calder written in 1969. Calder writes of a 'World Box'- a 'total information system' capable of delivering millions of words and pictures into the living room. 'The work of commercial and professional organisations will be transformed. There may be no very clear distinction between authors, scholars, publishers, librarians, television producers or anyone else who can be called an information mediator - but it will be their task to save mankind from drowning in its own information' ..'the rate at which the human being can assimilate information via his senses and his brain is strictly limited, the result of an overload of information is confusion, distraction and eclipse of thought; alternatively information presented as painlessly and agreeably as possible could become a kind of drug'. Calder discusses the social, legal and governmental issues of interaction, control and legislation. Very prescient, very interesting.

DIY U Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation…

2010-04-07T09:58:00.000+01:00

Blogged and reviewed by Norm Friesen - A new book by Anya KamenatzDIY U Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation…

The book examinesthe crises (rising tuition, falling standards) and opportunities (cc content, blended learning) that institutions of higher learning are confronting.DIY education will grow, learners will have “personal learning paths” as central to DIY in higher ed. Rather than threaten institutions they will augment

'The future lies in personal learning networks and paths, learning that blends experiential and digital approaches, and free and open-source educational models. Increasingly, you will decide what, when, where, and with whom you want to learn, and you will learn by doing. The university is the cathedral of modernity and rationality, and with our whole civilization in crisis, we are poised on the brink of a new Reformation'

Young lady balances 15 books on her head While reciting Pi to the 100th digit and solving a Rubik's cube

2010-03-25T15:17:00.000Z

Spotted on Nothing to do with Arbroath

The tipping point for digital reading is 18 months away

2010-03-24T11:38:00.000Z

Bookseller article by Liz Bury 23.3.10.The tipping point for digital reading is 18 months away and publishers should prepare by starting a parallel business to their print one - quoting Media Futurist Gerd Leonhard. Digital books first then print. The tipping point for the paperless office still remains elusive.

Samsung ereader

2010-03-11T12:41:00.000Z

Samsung officially unveil an (a?) eReader the E6,costs $300, avaialble spring. Has WiFi no 3G.Includes MP3 player, speakers and wireless headphones. Supports EPub, PDF and TXT files.

http://ow.ly/1gZex

Google Public Data Explorer

2010-03-09T12:31:00.000Z

Google Launches Public Data Explorer Tool from the ITProPortal Staff

Google launch Public Data Explorer, a new experimental application via Google Labs that could help everyone, from students to policy makers, in preparing informative charts using public data.

future global cultural relations

2010-03-08T12:54:00.002Z

http://www.counterpoint-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/CloudCultureCharlesLeadbeater.pdf

The internet, our relationship with it, and our culture is about to undergo a change as profound and unsettling as the development of Web 2.0 in the last decade, which saw Google and YouTube, Facebook and Twitter become mass, world-wide phenomena. Over the next ten years, the rise of cloud computing will not only accelerate the global battle for control of the digital landscape, but will almost certainly recast the very ways in which we exercise our creativity and forge relationships across the world’s cultures.

http://www.counterpoint-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/CloudCultureCharlesLeadbeater.pdf

Educause report Information Literacy -from engaged and curious to frustrated and overwhelmed

2010-03-07T22:31:00.000Z

Information Literacy: A Neglected Core Competency
Led to this from Martin Hughes

    * College students think of information seeking as a rote process and tend to use the same small set of information resources no matter their question.
    * Information literacy is essential for lifelong learning and empowers individuals and societies.
    * Our educational system should expose students to information literacy from elementary school through postsecondary education so that it is a habit of mind they can call upon throughout their lives.
    * Collaborative efforts between faculty, librarians, technology professionals, and others can develop students who graduate with information literacy competency.

Economics of LMS in HE

2010-03-03T22:33:00.000Z

Soaring costs, no developent since 2004 - landmark study as reported by the Nose. Old post but just discovered "The Economics of Learning Management Systems in Higher Education"
Landmark study as reported by the Nose

One digital year at Ghent University Library - infographic

2010-02-24T10:39:00.000Z

http://bit.ly/bYB32x from Patrick Hochstenbach

Search is the worst usability problem on the Web

2010-02-19T14:34:00.000Z

Search Patterns - new book and website from Peter Morville, author of 'Ambient Findability'. "This provocative and inspiring book explores design patterns that apply across the categories of web, e-commerce, enterprise, desktop, mobile, social, and real time search and discovery."

Search Patterns: Design for Discovery

View more presentations from Peter Morville.

Research into the Challenges, Usage and Benefits of social media in Higher Education Institutions:

2010-02-09T23:03:00.000Z

The importance of social media is rising up the strategic agenda for management and users at UK UniversitiesSocial Media is growing in its adoption across all areas of society, including Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). To gain a current picture of this rapidly developing area within UK Higher Education Institutions, research has recently been conducted into the Challenges, Usage and Benefits of Social Media within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

http://www.jadu.co.uk/heisurvey

Pew Survey says Teens Love Facebook, Hate Blogging, Are Always Online, and Don't Use Twitter

2010-02-06T19:56:00.000Z

So there..http://bit.ly/cGgv6u

Survey of Higher Education Faculty: Use of Educational Technology

2010-01-29T17:09:00.000Z

Faculty views of the usefulness of college library technology centres and other forms of educational technology such as course management systems, clickers, document cameras, electronic and interactive whiteboards, in-class use of video and internet access, PowerPoint and other technologies. The 135 pages, surveying 550 higher education faculty in the United States and Canada.

More than a third of faculty in the sample said that in using their college’s course management system they were either “pretty much lost” or that they “know a little, a few basics.”

34.83% of the faculty in the sample have ever used electronic whiteboards.

In-class internet access had strong support among faculty. Less than 8% thought it harmful or worthless. See www.PrimaryResearch.com costs $89.50, print copy avaialable Feb 19th.

Skills IT will need in the future - 20/01/2010 - Computer Weekly

2010-01-29T13:48:00.000Z

A story on the Gartner report on evolving roles in IT. Describes four new roles which sound uncannily like the roles librarians perform. The four roles are

Litigation Support Manager - to "execute discovery exercises for regulators, and mediate between legal and IT departments" this sounds like the skills of a librarian would be useful, copyright expertise, legal issues around data protection etc, mediation are part and parcel of the librarian role.
Digital Archivist - 'specialist expertise to access, appraise and preserve' - sounds familiar again
Business Information Manager - this speaks for itself
Enterprise Information Architect - 'create taxonomies, document templates and data models'

This thinking is interesting - IT in an age where increasingly we can outsource to the 'cloud' and in an age where libraries might be whatever device you hold in your hand (iPad if you're lucky) there is a new facet of the librarian emerging which provides both service and systems support to IT, to the business and to end users.

Or has it always been thus?..

Disrupting Libraries: Potential For New Services

2010-01-12T13:48:00.000Z

ebook readers, ubiquitous wireless, open access, smartbooks, netbooks, touch technology challenges for all libraries - Ken Chad provide plenty of food for thought in Firenze - Ok it was last april but I've only just come across it

Ifla Satelliet Florence09 Disrupting Libraries Potential For New Services

View more documents from Ken Chad.

ecommodity fetishism

2010-01-05T13:40:00.000Z

Reports coming in from all over on the Skiff reader launch today - among a plethora of devices launched to coincide with the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) the huge ecommodity fetishist conference and exhibition show in Las Vegas. The Skiff is an A4, flexible, hi resolution device - designed for newspaper and magazine reading with 3G connectivity and indeed looks like a very desireable object - however as with lots of these new mobile connected devices there is no UK release date.
Smartbooks will also be released from a number of vendors at CES - smartbooks are cross between mobile phones and netbooks and a phenomenon waiting to explode. Google launch their Nexus One phone too today which will provide users with a full google experience from the phone. One observation - we are exhausting the ability of the language to gracefully describe these devices - Netbooks, ebooks, ereaders, smartbooks, smartphones all sound so awful. No news yet of the Apple islate or tablet though which promises to be the ultimate gadget fetish at least for now.

Modern life causes brain overload, study finds - Telegraph

2009-12-13T11:36:00.000Z

Modern life causes brain overload -
wealth of media in modern life means the average person is bombarded with enough information every day to overload a laptop computer

Book Case

2009-12-11T08:51:00.000Z

Great review of Darton's 'The Case for Books' in THES this week by Andreas Hess. "Books will remain the most important storage container of the written word...the new reading toys are not sand-,water-or wine resistant (traditional books don't like those three elements either, but may survive exposure to them)."

Savvy Citizens: 80% of Brits are not ‘information savvy citizens’

2009-12-10T10:23:00.000Z

80% of Brits are not ‘information savvy citizens’ from the Information World Review

"Only 20% of Britons are information “savvy citizens” – citizens who not only know how to access information but also know how to use information and information technology to their advantage"

The Chartered Institute for IT, the BCS, commissioned the research and have created a new web microsite - Savvycitizens.bcs.org, "It is hoped people will contribute to the site and share their knowledge."

As well as the micro-site, there is also a Twitter stream @SavvyCitizens [http://www.twitter.com/savvycitizens], and a quiz at: http://apps.facebook.com/savvycitizensquiz/.

Eyes on the Horizon

2009-11-30T13:01:00.000Z

I've been contributing to thework on Horizon Report 2010, its due for publication in January but there is a preview available.

The report highlights adoption of emerging technologies and trends..

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less

Mobile Computing
Open Content
Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years
Electronic Books
Simple Augmented Reality
Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years
Gesture-Based Computing
Visual Data Analysis

Digital Media Literacy is seen as a critical challenge with the gap beween faculty and students widening.

Learning’s online fate

2009-11-22T22:05:00.000Z

Learning’s online fate - The digital age challenges teachers, teaching & books
A Harvard University panel “No More Teachers? No More Books?" (Alice Cooper has several honorary degrees). The panel comprised Harry Lewis of “Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness After the Digital Explosion” (2008)
David Weinberger of “Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder” (2007), Robert Darnton “The Case for Books: Past, Present, and Future” (2009), Craig Silverstein - Google's Director of Technology and Sherry Turkle Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT & author of "Simulation and Its Discontents" (2009).
The conversation:

Ubiquitous info, new social forces,
books "a disconnected medium" (what about book clubs, librarything?),
readers decide where topics and themes end
experts filter and choose, the Internet is a challenge to authority.
Universities will remain places — physical entities — in the digital age.
The book is not dead - a million new titles a year worldwide, Not all knowledge can be captured in bytes, not all knowledge was ever captured in books,
Survival in the workplace requires not just technical skills, but “awareness of the environment you are in.”
the digital age is changing the way that people think, read, and learn in a university environment

Follow the links above and try to guess which panelists said what?

We could be Script Building - when we could be diving for perls

2009-10-21T23:19:00.000+01:00

Came across this on Andrew Careaga's Higher Education Blog - this incredible counter shows live data of the staggering activity in Social Media. Created by Gary Hayes from Personalizemedia, he has made the embeddable code available .

Your mountains so lofty, Your treetops so tall, Finland, Finland, Finland. Finland has it all

2009-10-14T19:54:00.000+01:00

Finland makes Broadband access a legal right - Business Week and Guardian

One day a wave is gonna come...

2009-10-13T20:30:00.000+01:00

Invite arrived waiting for people to wave with. Watched the video - read the guides.
Its IM, its realtime email, kind of facebook, a simple wiki, you can add gadgets, its like a desktop, you can upload documents and photos, its a browser. Its got loads of potential for unified comms.

An Exaltation of links and a Parliament of URLS

2009-10-12T19:32:00.000+01:00

Not that new but essential reading - some papers and blog posts....

New Millennium Learners in Higher Education: Evidence and Policy Implications
Finds that students in HE are heavy users of digital media and value its use in "improving access, convenience and productivity" but it is not transforming the way in which they learn. The report recommends more empirical research.
Educating the Net Generation: A Handbook of Findings for Practice and Policy
Outcome of the Educating the Net Generation project from the University of Melbourne, provides a set of practice and policy guidelines developed from the project findings.

The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age
focus on the potential for shared and interactive learning made possible by the Internet. They argue that the single most important characteristic of the Internet is its capacity for world-wide community and the limitless exchange of ideas. The Internet brings about a way of learning that is not new or revolutionary but is now the norm for today’s graduating high school and college classes.
And from Online School a superb list of 100 Must-Read Blog Posts on the Future of Learning

A lesson from Journalism for Education?

2009-10-04T19:04:00.000+01:00

Nic Newman is BBC Controller for Future Media and Technology, a former Journalist Fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Writes a compelling piece on Reuters Great Debate today.

Newman makes 5 key points about Social Media and why it is here to stay

"1. Ignore the sceptics. Social media is real and it is here to stay. Social Networking and UGC have become mainstream activities, accounting for almost 20 percent of internet time in the UK.
2. Social media is relevant to journalism - witness protests over the election in Iran and the death of Michael Jackson. News organisations are already abandoning attempts to be first for breaking news, focusing instead on being the best at verifying and curating it.
3. Twitter, Blogs and Facebook are used , but very much on their own terms. “Same values, new tools” sums up the approach in most mainstream organisations as they try to marry the culture of the web with their own organisational norms. Will they succeed?
4. Social media, blogs and UGC are not replacing journalism, but they are creating an important extra layer of information and diverse opinion. Most people are still happy to rely on mainstream news organisations to sort fact from fiction and serve up a filtered view, but they are increasingly engaged by this information, particularly when it comes from a friend or another trusted source.
5. Social recommendation is playing an increasingly significant role in driving traffic to traditional news content. Most mainstream news organisations are devoting extra resources to exploit social networks like Facebook, You Tube and Twitter. Over time, social media sites could become as important as search engines as a driver of traffic and revenue."
Newman concludes that organisations which fail to embrace the power of the network will struggle to survive.
Could the same apply to Education and HEI's. We need to embrace and adapt our tools and approach to online learning just as the world of journalsim is changing so too is ours.

Presidential Proclamation - National Information Literacy Awareness Month

2009-10-04T18:11:00.000+01:00

President Obama has named October 2009 National Information Literacy Awareness Month - 'highlighting the importance of ensuring all Americans have the skills necessary to effectively navigate the Information Age' reports the American Library Association (ALA).
Statement from Obama at Whitehouse.gov

2009-09-15T12:34:00.002+01:00

Just tried Google Fast Flip. A new news website from Google Labs, it pulls content from about 40 publishers and aims to make reading articles online a more "engaging" experience. Rather like flicking through magazines etc. This has potential I'm already wondering what a mashup of this and an academic journal site might look like. Academic journals online are overall a pretty awful experience - this could change that. If we could mash our URL resolvers such as SFX etc with this....

What did you do in the ebook wars?

2009-08-27T12:54:00.003+01:00

Amazon to launch Kindle in the UK next week? The Bookseller reports on a Stuff.TV story today that Amazon are going to launch Kindle in Europe next week, its not available for pre order on Amazon UK yet though. It looks as though Amazon are keen to pre-empt the launch of Sony's Daily Edition device. The Kindle apparently has room for a SIM card - allowing Amazon to cut a deal with a UK wireless carrier.

The Wi Fi Sony Daily Edition device will launch in the US in Dec though it will be sometime before it is available in the UK - allowing Amazon to get a foothold in the meantime. In the UK Sony have released a new version of its Sony Reader which allows for annotation. Also available in the UK is the Cool-ER. The really interesting development for libraries is mentioned by the wonderful Gizmodo here

"My favorite part of Sony's Reader announcement was probably Library Finder, powered by OverDrive, which lets you check out eBooks from your local library—and "thousands" have signed up—for free, direct to your reader. But there's a catch.

There aren't an unlimited number of ebooks—each library has an actual "stock" of ebooks (because the library had to pay for each copy). So, if they have a stock of 5 books, and they're all checked out, you have to wait in a queue for somebody else's book to expire when they hit the 21-day mark (when they automatically expire). When it's available, you get an email, and then you can check it out. You also need a valid library card, BTW, so you (theoretically) can't check out books from the New York Public Library—who's launching their stuff with the service today—if you live in Montana.

But overall, it's pretty great if it works as advertised—free books from your library for your ebook reader."

How long before we see this in the UK?

Revolution

2009-08-18T12:29:00.006+01:00

Academic libraries are undergoing a quiet revolution - article in the Guardian today

"Being a librarian these days is all about technology and customer service; no time to stick your nose in a book"

Even the Guardian couldn't resist using 'quiet' in a Library story. It is or should be a far from 'quiet' revolution - it is about challenges, debate, being heard, learning, change, - about skills and culture, technology, service transformation, social movement, collaboration, conversation and passion

Bokode or RFID?

2009-07-27T17:44:00.003+01:00

Barcodes 2.0 - No not QR codes - Bokodes just 3mm across these can hold thousands of times more information than barcodes and can be read by a standard mobile phone camera.

The BBC reports today on Bokodes, a new 'barcode'. MITMedia Lab plan to unveil what is described as 'an LED, covered with a tiny mask and a lens' at the Siggraph, conference next week.

The BBC quotes Dr Ankit Mohan, author of this paper and one of the MIT team, "Let's say you're standing in a library with 20 shelves in front of you and thousands of books.""You could take a picture and you'd immediately know where the book you're looking for is."

Bokodes can be read from a distance of up to 4m (12ft), or potentially as much as 20m (60ft). They cost about £3 each to produce - but could these eventually challenge RFID as the ID of choice for libraires in the future? RFID is widely adopted now but there is vulnerability with tag collision and interference and of course RFID provides little information for the customer unless they have a specialist RFID reader, Bokodes could provide much more utility and information for any user with a mobile phone camera.

See a video from MIT on Bokodes here

Vivienne Westwood on happiness and libraries

2009-07-19T17:32:00.002+01:00

Quoted in todays Observer

On happiness

'Wandering around the shelves [of a library] from Aldous Huxley to Flagellation, Coco Chanel to Tourette's Syndrome'

Mash the System

2009-07-14T19:08:00.004+01:00

Here is a podcast on Mashups from Richard Wallis' Library 2.0 Gang (The Library 2.0 Gang is a regular monthly round-table podcast hosted by Richard Wallis of Talis)

Inspired by the inspirational mashed library 2009 unconference'Mashed Oop North' which I was gutted to miss last week. –

"Tallin Bingham, Marshall Breeding, Nicole Engard, and Frances Haugen - in discussion "mashups depend on data being reliably available from within the library system and other external services in a form that is easy to understand and consume. The mashup phenomena has spread so quickly because they are so easy to produce and the library world needs to follow that trend by agreeing some conventions for the exposure of data - biblographic, usage, statistical, etc. – in a way that it easy for others to consume."
Library Mashups 07/08 [00:52m]:Download

Talis have adopted a very open approach to web 2.0 in libraries and are engaged in lots of interesting initiatives -take a look at their Panlibus blog

Free is a business strategy

2009-07-08T19:50:00.003+01:00

There is so much to blog about today from news of Google Chrome OS to the news that 'home' based Students fees may be waived. This though grabs my attention too - Chris Anderson, the editor of WIRED and author of the Long Tail has made his latest 288-page book, Free, available on Scribd. (Librarian alert - how would we catalogue a book on scribd?, why would we? should we acquistion this?, should we catalogue it?- give it a marc record?)

“In his revolutionary bestseller, THE LONG TAIL, Chris Anderson demonstrated how the online marketplace creates niche markets, allowing products and consumers to connect in a way that has never been possible before. Now, in FREE he makes the compelling case that in many instances businesses can profit more from giving things away than they can by charging for them. Far more than a promotional gimmick, FREE is a business strategy that may well be essential to a company’s survival.”

FREE (full book) by Chris Anderson

"Libraries and Museums, Galleries and Bars"

2009-07-08T13:12:00.004+01:00

Museums' future lies on the internet, say Serota and MacGregor -

An article in the Guardian today - Internet predicted to transform museums. Well it has certainly transformed and terraformed libraries...
"Two titans of the British museum world, Sir Nicholas Serota and Neil MacGregor, last night sketched out their visions for the museum of the future. Both said that the relationship between institutions and their audiences would be transformed by the internet. Museums, they said, would become more like multimedia organisations." I know this is shorthand but what organisation isn't multimedia these days?

A Vision of Students Today

2009-07-01T10:30:00.001+01:00

The Fierce Urgency of Now

2009-06-30T14:33:00.000+01:00

The Fierce Urgency of Now: A Proactive, Pervasive Content Awareness Tool

A new searching tool - Information awareness is distinct from explicit information seeking, such as searching. The authors discuss an information awareness tool that supports text composition by providing awareness of relevant content and references proactively and non-intrusively. As a user composes text, the tool automatically searches multiple sources, retrieves results, and displays links to the results. A working prototype of the tool has been implemented using Web 2.0 and Digital Library 2.0 technologies, and is flexible and highly configurable for both Web search engines and deep web targets. Interesting...

Five Esential Reads

2009-06-29T21:33:00.004+01:00

The Power of One, thePower of Many by Jo Bibby, Helen Bevan, Elizabeth Carter, Paul Bate, Glenn Robert, with a foreword by Helen Bevan - Chief of Service Transformation, NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement Evidence from social sciences suggest that other perspectives may compliment improvement thinking and practice in order to drive and sustain change through engaging with the individuals’ core values and mobilising their own internal energies and drivers for change. This guide aims to provide knowledge and demonstrate how ‘social movement’ approaches have been used to deliver improvement at previously unseen levels of depth and scale - which can be utilised and adapted in order to unleash the energy in your organisation.
Informing Innovation Tracking Student Interest in Emerging Library Technologies - Char Booth “Informing Innovation” examines one institution’s efforts to move away from “technolust” and toward a culture of assessment in developing and implementing technology initiatives. Booth presents findings from a study conducted at Ohio University investigating the convergence of students and libraries with emerging information, communication and academic tools. The study uses survey data to test generational and demographic assumptions that often guide technology development in academic libraries.
The Edgeless University Peter Bradwell DEMOS Technology is changing universities as they become just one source among many for ideas, knowledge and innovation. But online tools and open access also offer the means for their survival. Their expertise and value is needed more than ever to validate and support learning and research. Through their institutional capital, universities can use technology to offer more flexible provision and open more equal routes to higher education and learning.
Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World - The Committee of Inquiry into the Changing Learner Experience By the time they reach university more than 75 per cent of students have a profile on at least one social networking site and typically spend four hours a day online, according to a new report by an independent committee of inquiry examining how students’ widespread use of social networking impacts on higher education (HE). The report finds that universities and colleges are generally falling behind their students in the use of these technologies and challenges them, and the major educational agencies, to take account of, and capitalise on, these trends.
The New Socialism: Global Collectivist Society Is Coming Online WIRED MAGAZINE: 17.06 The frantic global rush to connect everyone to everyone, all the time, is quietly giving rise to a revised version of socialism.

Universities and Social Networking

2009-06-26T08:19:00.001+01:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Universities and Social Networking

View more presentations from Chris Sparshott.

A Workshop Talents wordle from our librarians, IT Staff, technicians and Web Staff

2009-06-17T14:49:00.002+01:00

TED Blog: Erin McKean launches Wordnik -- the revolutionary online dictionary

2009-06-09T21:53:00.001+01:00

Wordnik - a very interesting dictionary

2009-06-08T22:54:00.001+01:00

25 Tools: A Toolbox for Learning Professionals 2009

View more OpenOffice presentations from Jane Hart.

General Mot(ion control) - BBC NEWS | Technology | Sony joins new 'controller wars'

2009-06-03T16:36:00.001+01:00

Great potential for classroom and lab applications. Picking up a book, using technology in libraries etc.

Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride - YouTube - Electric Works, Sheffield - Look North 25/02/2009

2009-06-02T19:47:00.001+01:00

Information and Learning Commons are looking a little bit identikit - the business incubator at the Electric Works might show what a library could look like in a few years - helter skelter

YouTube - Syracuse University Library - Learning Commons

2009-06-02T19:08:00.001+01:00

Bing Sings and Wolfram Disnae

2009-06-01T08:32:00.002+01:00

Two new search engines Wolfram Alpha and Bing. Wolfram is a knowledge based, computational search engine - which is 'learning'and 'growing' - its not the place to find anything and everything yet but is interesting - its not Google and isn't trying to be. Bing is Microsoft's new search and is trying to be Google, nice interface and images, no adverts and related searches suggestions are useful.

It's like asking an engineer to buy a calculator

2009-05-22T14:00:00.007+01:00

An article from the Independent today - Friday, 22 May 2009 - concerning iPhones at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Students are being asked to buy iPhones for use in their learning. "It's like asking an engineer to buy a calculator," said Brian Brooks, associate dean for undergraduate studies.

Or an art student a brush? ...Actually take a look at Stef Kardos' brilliant iphone paintings.

2009-05-22T08:04:00.003+01:00

Space has always been an issue in Libraries but until recently usually concerned with assets - books, journals , and the space required to keep them, now the debate is about people & users and how creativity and learning is facilitated in these 'spaces' - now that we are removing hard copy and print title backruns...

12 Keys to Library Design: Improving the Academic Experience

By Thomas Sens, AIA, LEED AP, BHDP Architecture -- Library Journal, 5/15/2009

The academic library has evolved into a forum for students to collaborate, enjoy fellowship, engage in healthy debate, create and challenge ideas, and experience learning and discovery in a multitude of meaningful ways. Good design supports these activities. The following 12 keys to designing an academic library will deliver great experiences for its patrons and ensure the library's central role in academic life.

la bibliothèque et la révolution

2009-05-14T19:33:00.001+01:00

Future of Scholarly Publishing?

2009-05-13T19:41:00.002+01:00

Well not yet - but just imagine if the digital library - books or journals could be accessed in this way...NY Times 2.0 Reader
No Shelf Required A moderated discussion blog covering eBooks, for librarians and publishers points to the NY Times 2.0 Reader today (its powered by Adobe Air) . No Shelf Required blogger and Head of Reference at Wright State University Sue Polanka, writes -
"The NY Times released it’s 2.0 Reader today, powered by Adobe Air.
The basics:
• works on Windows, MAC, linux
• updates every 5 minutes
• stories run in multiple sections of the paper
• news feed for breaking news
• read off-line
• 7 day archive
• even has the crossword
• all for $3.95 a week"
There is a short flash clip here http://www.nytimes.com/marketing/timesreader/nytreader.html
and Sue points to this NY Times article for more information

Guru Library Thang

2009-05-11T21:58:00.002+01:00

Here is a new (to me) library type app - GuruLib. GuruLib is a privately owned website, started in April 2006 by two University of Missouri students. It aims to help catalog, connect and share books, movies, music and games between home libraries. Much like Library Thing "an impressive cataloging app that feels like del.icio.us for books." according to Lifehacker and "both entrancing and evil" according to anomilygrace! Anyway it looks interesting, it also has a touchscreen version and and Itunes type flow interface. Are we going to incorporate into our catalogues as we have done with the L thing - see Dave pattern's excellent slideshare on OPAC 2.0 about how we might 'pimp' our catalogues....

OPAC 2.0: Supporting library users

View more presentations from Scottish Libraries.

Social Movements

2009-05-06T10:51:00.003+01:00

Reading a great little new handbook - from the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement. This was circulated to conference attendees recently and I noticed it sticking from a pile of literature as the 'attendee' returned home from the event.
The Handbook entitled 'The Power of One, The Power of Many - Bringing Social Movement Thinking to Health and Healthcare Improvement' caught my eye immediately - perhaps it was the word 'social' and the association I automatically make with technology these days - social networking/technologies are about communities, Leadbeater's We Think, Clay Shirky, mass creativity etc. Anyway it is a very interesting and thought provoking read. Not knowing much about Social Movements (The institute has helpfully published a literature review) I've started following this up with some vigour.
"This new guide provides knowledge on, and demonstrates how ‘social movement’ approaches have been used to deliver improvement at previously unseen levels and how it can contribute toward creating the levels of engagement as required by the goals as set out in the NHS Plan"

Social movements are being studied as a model for driving change within the NHS. This study has four main objectives:
- to explore 'social movements' as a new way of thinking about large-scale systems change
- to assess the potential contribution of applying this new perspective to NHS improvement
- to enrich and extend NHS thinking in relation to large-scale, system-wide change
- to begin to establish a research and evidence base to support the emergence of an improvement movement in the NHS.
It just might help as we struggle with the change agenda in Libraries and Universities and it does sound like the language we are using in our social networking deliberations. A combination of the two deserves some further exploration ... more on this to come!
See - Helen Bevan, Director of Service Transformation at the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement on Social Movement Thinking

Google makes it easy to run its Apps on Blackberry devices

2009-05-06T10:04:00.002+01:00

Google makes it easy to run its Apps on Blackberry devices

Posted using ShareThis