open letter to Steve

What an amazing class.
Things I would change....

First, speaking as one seemingly fused to my desk chair, the final project HAS to go.

Second, more discussion. Although I am beyond grateful that I wasn't obligated to comment more, there were so many comments I had in my head as I read incredibly well written and/or laugh aloud funny blog posts that I just didn't take the time to make because I didn't have to. On the other hand, I had some pretty involved discussions via IM about specific topics and tools we used, which gave me another perspective, reinforcing what I was thinking or made me take a second look at something I'd too easily or quickly dismissed (many blog posts did this too). So, with my apologies to future sections of this class, there needs to be more discussion....whether that's accomplished via chat rooms, SL, whatever shiny new SS resource turns up next week. You could maybe kill one of the weekly blog posts to free up some time.

Third, excellent readings; the fact that my copies are not already listed at half.com makes them the exception to the rule. Really enjoyed Everything Bad (it's a keeper), Feed -if I hadn't borrowed it from the library, I would have handed it over to my daughter (but, for lack of a better description, it got into my head; I would have kept it also), Farkas was good and more than justified, but I don't know that Brown & Duguid was worth the investment in terms of the time or expense for the point(s) made. IMHO.

so, that's it. Nothing huge and certainly nothing that's going to change the very positive buzz about the course or dissuade anyone from taking it. :)

if everything bad IS good for you....

what does the future hold for libraries and educational organizations?

well....for one, higher expectations on the part of patrons/users/learners for more interesting, creative, customizable, thoughtful, engaging presentation and ways to interact with the product whether that product is information or learning opportunities, but for the reason those expectations are higher is the same reason fulfilling them is possible. The technology is within reach, the tools (as I think we demonstrated over the past 15 weeks) are relatively easy to manipulate, but the challenge of putting them into use can be daunting.

I have to admit I have mixed feelings when I hear or read the complaints that it's no longer good enough to just teach; educators resent the pressure to create a learning environment that must entertain in order to be able to fulfill their real role. I do agree that not everything has to be fun, but I do not think that learning has to be a miserable experience to be considered successful (see above comment about the past 15 weeks).

more snapshots in world

This was the best merry-go-round I've (n)ever been on.
Located on Imagination Island, got to the ride by that transport bubble on the right......
and when I got tired of riding on killer whales, I found a well right out of Alice in Wonderland, one touch later and I was underwater with turtles and seahorses.

2nd life

I could not have been more surprised by this experience. Initially, it was pretty much what I expected: a waste of time, annoying and frustrating...yet another variation on the emperor's new clothes theme; it left me (or actually, I left it) wondering what exactly all the fuss is about, but then, once I'd worked out some of the perspective issues (with the help of a librarian of all people), got better at navigating and felt less awkward, the conversations began. I chatted with a number of people about why they were in world (lots of students exploring 2nd life for a class), and wandered through areas filled with people there to share. In the image, I am at China Cafe, enjoying the beautiful setting and discussing chinese icons/artwork.
I think this is one of those things that has to actually be experienced to get any substantive sense of what it's about and how it works, and fortunately or not, the awkwardness makes it a more authentic.
I don't know for certain if I'll go back after this week, but I think I will.

sophisticated delivery of stupidity

Johnson makes a pretty convincing argument that the content of tv, games, et al. have actually become more engaging. Many forms of popular culture have evolved past entertainment as something that just washes over us, the outcome of games and even television programs are controlled by our input. Although I don't know whether it actually matters that we as an audience are there, have an opinion, vote, buy into good old-fashioned voyeurism repackaged as reality - we believe it matters which makes it real enough.
While it is true that the delivery has grown more sophisticated, I think the content is at least keeping pace.

choosing a gaming console

Since this is uncharted territory for me, I would start with research and evaluations online so I could get a basic understanding and working knowledge/vocabulary to be able to compare the differences, benefits, predictions about the useful lifespan for the console and the particular platform.
I would go to the websites of public libraries with similar demographics to see if they were promoting a particular system, I would without hesitation contact staff at other libraries to see if they had any experience or advice to share.
I would take a look at the circulation stats for the games available from the library, see whether there's some sort of discernible pattern, which among the selection of xbox 360, ps3 or wii games seem to be the ones circulating the most, and speak with the circ staff to see if they have a feel for why one platform is more popular than another. If the ps3 games are getting the least play, it may be that too few of our patrons have the players, but the circ staff talks to patrons up to 12 hours every day, I would ask them what the people borrowing the games are saying.
I would survey patrons, online, on paper and in person.

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what would I buy?
wii, I think. Based on my readings and just a surface understanding of the differences and benefits, the wii is the most bang for the buck. The console itself is not terribly expensive and the games seem to be more reasonable.
for what it's worth, the library system I work in just bought ps3's for each location, but I don't know how much of this was fueled by the largish collections of blu-ray's that were perhaps a bit premature since they seem to be spending more time on the shelves than actually circulating.

screencast best practices

• unplug the phone
• leave enough time, trying to do screencasts at the last minute will invariably produce poor results
• invest in a good headset
• do a couple of dry runs to make sure the screen capture encompasses everything it should and any other necessary pages are tabbed and ready to go
• warn those with whom you share living space that interruptions will not get a warm reception
• expect that they will get better and easier with time and practice