Archive for wiki
January 9, 2008 at 10:49 · Filed under 2.0, blogs, librarians, libraries, web, wiki
I recently sent this email to a library looking for some gentle 2.0 explanations. Of course Common Craft came to mind instantly. What would you add to the list? I tried to make it a universal set, so please feel free to use these at your next meeting.
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There is a wonderful website called Common Craft that I have found invaluable when explaining all of this wacky 2.0 stuff. You can find their quick (around 4 minutes for the longest one) videos here: http://www.commoncraft.com/
Here are some discussion questions you may want to use after watching each video.
Blogs – http://www.commoncraft.com/blogs
- What would you, or the library do with a blog?
- Do you think your / the library’s blog would inspire patron comments? If not, what would you do to create the inspiration? (sometimes a simple criticism will inspire months of conversation. see http://www.libraryforlife.org/blogs/lifeline/?p=2752)
- How would you answer Lee’s (the guy narrating) questions?
Wikis – http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english
- Can you think of a time when a wiki would have been useful for a committee, family trip, etc.?
- Do you still think wikis are scary? Will you try it anyway?
RSS – http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english
- How many sites do you visit daily using the “old, slow way”?
- Are you already using RSS? Which reader do you use?
Social Networking – http://www.commoncraft.com/video-social-networking
- Do you belong to any social networks?
- Do you think they’re just a way to clog patron computers?
- Have you visited any of the sites mentioned in the video? Were they useful?
Social Bookmarking – http://www.commoncraft.com/bookmarking-plain-english
- How long is your bookmarks list on desk?
- Can you see a collaborative use for this kind of bookmarking?
- Is this just another 2.0 thing that you won’t really use? (this one seems to have a bit more trouble with buy in.)
July 4, 2007 at 11:24 · Filed under gaming, humor, randomosity, sewing, wiki
The bunnies are boxed up and will be in the mail tomorrow. They’re just too neat not to send. I hope they are enjoyed. In related bunny news, I had a bid of a bad wardrobe day at work on Monday. In the morning I spilled coffee all over myself. Went home and changed at lunch. On desk, I somehow found the sharpest point of the “world’s largest reference desk” and ripped a giant hole in pants. BUT! Since the fabric is still in good shape, I now have visions of smaller pin striped bunnies. Who wants one? I’ve got the urge to craft today.
In comedy, I’ve been reading xkcd. If you’re not familiar with it, and you like geeky random math references along with decent social commentary, I suggest you check it out. Today’s comic should garner a chuckle out of most of you.
In gaming, we played a little bit of Super Mario World last night (courtesy of Virtual Console. Even though sales are slowing down, this is still genius on Nintendo’s part). I say a little bit because after an hour of trying to beat a board, we realized we’d already beaten that one, and so moved on to the next. However, we didn’t fare to well on that one either. I guess we’ve past our platformer prime? After giving up we downloaded Toe Jam and Earl. Man, that game is still as awesome as it ever was. Seriously.
Lately, we’ve taken to playing Clubhouse Games while at restaurants. It passes the time nicely and I can now destroy Corey at Rummy. This is one of those “must have” games for the DS. It’s wi-fi enabled, so you can play with friends or strangers, though I hear strangers only like to play darts. You can also set up a local wireless with up to 8 other DSs, making it a great party/waiting at the airport game. I’ll end my commercial now.
In bizzaro DS news, Japan does it again with Face Training. While yes, this will be a niche game, the noteworthy aspect is the camera.
Otona No DS Kao Training, or Face Training, includes a camera that plugs into the Game Boy Advance slot on the Nintendo DS and videos your face as you play the game. [game|life]
So now we have a cute, tiny, ultraportable device that is wi-fi capable, voice chat capable, and video capable. Man, I hope someone runs with this one, and soon! Pokemon cell phone now includes video chat? How neat would that be?!?
October 25, 2006 at 16:15 · Filed under 2.0, conference speaking, gaming, il2006, librarians, wiki
This morning I was part of a fab wiki panel discussion. Sarah has a comprehensive write up. It was a pretty amazing session and I’m sure lots of heads are swimming witih wiki. But that can be a good thing. Look what happened to SJCPL. 
For those that are interested in my slides, here is the IL2006 version, and here is a longer, more screen shot filled version.
Lunch was provided by the vendors. Hurrah! In thanks, I spent most of the time with the awesome Library Man! Then it was on to Stephen Cohen’s A to Z of “What’s Hot in Social Softwr.” List of interesting/sights I want to remember:
Wow, what a conference! The closing key was excellent. Liz Lawley (aka Galataea) spoke about gaming and how it is one of those experiences that you remember more often than the everyday conference conversation. I have to say that I agree. It put a very nice finish on an amazing 3 days. Yes, I have many ideas to throw on top of the ones I already started on before coming out here, but that’s a good thing. But now it is time for food! Hurrah!
Oh, anyone up for some Tombstone Hold’em on Halloween?
October 4, 2006 at 09:21 · Filed under conference speaking, wiki
Wiki Basics – ILF District 1 Conference 3 October 2006
Sites Featured:
Wiki Software:
- MediaWiki – the software behind Wikipedia and SJCPL’s Subject Guides. Hosted by you, or someone you pay.
- PBWiki – as easy as making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Offers free hosting.
- Seed Wiki – offers a variety of hosting options.
- Wikispaces – offers a variety of hosting options. Clean layout.
- Wetpaint – free wiki based websites with visible ads.
Keys to wiki success:
- Remember that you cannot break it
- Play and experimentation are the best teachers
- Talk to your coworkers about what they’re trying
- Cheer cheer cheer!
Wiki Basics Presentation Slides
October 2, 2006 at 08:35 · Filed under blogs, conference speaking, wiki
at the Century Center in South Bend, IN for the ILF District 1 conference (pdf). I’ll be presenting on blogs and wikis. (a surprise, I know. )
September 9, 2006 at 19:16 · Filed under blogs, conference speaking, librarians, libraries, wiki
On Friday I was one of 3 lucky guest speakers at Jasper County’s Staff Day. What a great bunch! You can’t help but feel comfortable when you’re around professionals that know how to laugh. This is a library system that is in touch with their community and with library trends. They’re hip ladies with wifi know how.
I spent the first half of my talk on SJCPL’s wikis and how wikis in general rock. Then I shifted to blogs, and how they rock. I had such a blast! Everyone was genuinely interested and had great questions.
As promised, here are links to some of the sites and services I mentioned:
Thank you again Kris for inviting me to your library!
September 6, 2006 at 16:54 · Filed under 2.0, web, wiki
Google publicly launched its News Archive search today. First impressions: it’s about as useful as Google Scholar. You’ll get hits that you have to pay for to see. Not too useful in my opinion, but that may be because I work in a public library.
In open source goodness news, a couple of days ago, Forever Geek mentioned this article on using wiki style text books to aid poorer nations. How cool is that?? And rather than type this, I’ll just quote J. Angelo Racoma:
Even without online access (say, even before the $100 laptops get produced and distributed), the wiki-textbooks can ideally be downloaded and printed for local distribution. Now that’s cheap, open-source courseware!
May 31, 2006 at 15:05 · Filed under conference speaking, wiki
Sessions D301 & D302 — Wikis for Libraries
Wednesday, October 25
10:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Meredith Farkas, Norwich University
Nicole Engard, Web Manager, Jenkins Law Library
Mary Carmen Chimato, Head, Access Services, &
Darren Chase, Informatics Librarian, Health Sciences Center Library, Stony Brook University
Marianne Kruppa, St. Joseph County Public Library
Chad Boeninger, Ohio University Libraries
This jampacked information session begins with a look at wiki applications and an overview of software used to build them. It then illustrates the use of wikis in several library applications, including a law library, internal use in an academic library, subject guides in a public library, and communicating with clients.
I’m officially one of the cool kids! Eep! I hope I don’t go over my allotted time. I <3 our Subject Guides and really can just go on and on about them. So come out to Internet Librarian and I’ll tell you all about ‘em! Monterey is lovely that time of year!
May 4, 2006 at 10:04 · Filed under gaming, wiki
Our wiki got a little sick. Actually it wasn’t just the wiki. We had the equivalent of an IT cold going on. Fortunately we found all of the affected areas on multiple machines and seem to have a clean bill of health. Of course all of this starting happening the moment I decide to grab screen shots for my presentation on the 19th. Moral of the story: BACKUP EVERYTHING. Frequently!
In other news, our Summer Smash series has started and is off to an amazing start. We have a new set up and I really need to take pictures. I’m pretty proud of us for coming up with it. It’s a 5 station lay out that utilizes the full space. We have two Smash stations, a Double Dash station with 6 tvs, a Pokémon station projected on the back wall, and DDR as the centerpiece projected on the front wall.
Another addition for Summer Smash (other than DDR) is the GameBoard – for when the blog just isn’t enough. The blog will still be the main source for information, but the board allows for more discussion generated by the kids and hey, it’s a gamer culture mainstay. You should have seen Pedro when he saw it. GLEE! Oh, and if you’re curious, it’s a phpBB. Also, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about the blog too much since there are comments on the post about the board.
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