Tuesday, July 30, 2013

(Dated) Weekly Reader

A Printable Guide to Creative Commons
"Something you probably see a lot of these days as you browse the internet is Creative Commons licensing. You’ll see many graphics that say something like ‘shared under a Creative Commons license’, or you’ll see a little rectangular graphic with some signs in them. Since we live in an age where most of our information comes from the internet in some way or another, its useful to know when and how it is ok to use something that you've found." -- Kati Lepi, Edudemic, 7/4/13

Best Web Sites for Teaching & Learning 2013
"Here in Chicago, AASL’s Best Websites for Teaching & Learning Committee just released its standards-aligned 2013 list. Sites and tools are selected because they engage users through innovation, creativity, active participation, and collaboration. Honored websites, tools, and resources will provide exceptional value to inquiry-based teaching and learning." -- Joyce Valenza, Never Ending Search SLJ, 6/29/13

Tacit Knowledge and the Student Researcher
"I’m old enough that the annual Beloit Mindset List (created to help instructors avoid making what they think are contemporary cultural references that are actually historical to their students) is full of references to things that I never got around to knowing before they became passé." -- Barbara Fister, Library Babel Fish, 6/25/13

What it Takes to be a Boss Everyone Loves
"Being a successful leader means being good at what you do and possessing integrity. But more than anything, it's about your ability to build healthy relationships with others -- particularly those who work for you."-- Mark Sanborn, Entrepreneur, 6/25/13

Monday, July 29, 2013

ALAO 2013: Conference App


Have you downloaded the ALAO 2013 conference app? It's free and filled with useful - and timely - information.  Learn more about our Keynote speaker Nancy Fried Foster, submit your proposal online (posters, lightning talk, and discussion table submissions are open!), consider applying for a student or support staff ALAO presenter grant, and follow the official ALAO Twitter account ALAOorg and the conference hashtag #ALAO2013.


Interested? Here's how it works:
  1. Download YappBox to your mobile device (phone or tablet), it's free from the iTunes Store and Google Play.
  2. Install the ALAO Conference app by visiting this page, http://my.yapp.us/3CCFY9 via your device.
  3. OR - use the "Add a Yapp" function in YappBox and enter the code: 3CCFY9
  4. OR - follow this link to send the link to your mobile device.
  5. OR - Scan the QR Code

Once loaded on your device, updates will be automatically offered each time the app is accessed.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Weekly Reader

Who is Driving the Online Locomotive?
"Proponents of online learning often use train metaphors to describe its growing impact on the educational landscape. Those of us who teach at two-year colleges, especially, are constantly encouraged, prodded, hectored, cajoled—and sometimes even ordered—to get on board. Otherwise, we're told, we're likely to be run over." - Rob Jenkins, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 7/26/13

Web-Hosting Project Hopes to Help Students Reclaim Digital Destinies
"Jim Groom and Tim Owens believe that college students are not being adequately prepared to be good “digital citizens” of the 21st century. Partly to blame, they say, is the prebuilt and prepackaged software that many use to create digital identities or to curate their interests online." -- Sara Grossman, Wired Campus, 7/25/13

How to Answer "so you need a degree to do that?"
"This oft encountered, teeth grinding question is something of a rite of passage for every one who joins the librarian field and was part of Tumblr post that came across my feed. I’ll even admit it makes my eye twitch as I summon up the willpower to provide a rationale and polite answer to this query." -- Andy Woodworth, Agnostic, Maybe,  7/24/13

Welcome to the Palace of Ambiguity
"Funny how sometimes you read an article and it feels like a smack on the forehead. Of course! Why didn’t I think of that before? Usually that means you had thought of it before, in vague, inchoate terms, but somebody else has put it into words. Bam." -- Barbara Fister, Library Babel Fish, 7/18/13

Monday, July 15, 2013

ALAO 2013: Posters, Lightning Talks, Discussion Tables


ALAO 39th Annual Conference 
University Center Kent State University at Stark North Canton, Ohio 
October 25, 2013

The ALAO 2013 Conference Planning Committee invites you to submit proposals for Poster Sessions, Lightning Talks, and Round Table Discussions. Applicants are encouraged to develop creative proposals that show thoughtful exploration of this year’s conference theme: The Changing Faces of Academic Libraries: Transforming, Reorganizing, Re‐imagining.

Poster Sessions, Lightning Rounds, & Round Table Discussions
Accepting Proposals July 15 - August 16, 2013

Poster: Presentations should graphically represent a topic and include text, tables, and images. Handouts are welcome and encouraged. Presenters will share their ideas with attendees during a designated time slot of the conference.

Lightning Talk: Designed to be fast-paced, thought provoking, and energizing. Lightning Talk presenters will have 7 minutes to deliver their practical or conceptual topics. There will not be scheduled time for Q & A; however, presenters may use part of their 7 minutes for this purpose.

Round-tables Discussion: This format is structured for small, informal group discussions to facilitate networking and information exchange. Discussion leaders should identify and develop a topic that will allow participants to discuss how they are dealing with specific issues at their libraries. Please include 2-3 questions to be addressed during the discussion in the proposal.

Guidelines and the proposal submission form may be found here:
Submit your proposal to ALAO 2013 CPC

Students wishing to submit proposals should do so here:
Submit your proposal to ALAO 2013 CPC

If you are a support staff member or student, don't forget presenter grant opportunities are available.



Monday, July 08, 2013

Pinterest: Number of pins (short)

While updating IRC Pinterest boards this morning I noticed a new feature; the number of pins an individual  board contains is now available.  I initially thought it was limited to site owners (quick visual), but signed out of Pinterest and the number remained view-able.  It is interesting and made it glaringly obvious I should develop more Voki tours.

I am not so sure I like it added to my board cover real estate.

Monday, July 01, 2013

Multi-weekly reader

New Research Effort Aims to Examine Effectiveness of MOOCs
"As more and more colleges experiment with massive open online courses, or MOOCs, a new project hopes to cut through the hype and gauge the effectiveness of the courses.The MOOC Research Initiative, financed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will award grants of $10,000 to $25,000 to researchers seeking to explore issues such as student experiences in MOOCs and the free courses’ systemic impact." -- Sara Grossman, Wired Campus, 6/10/13

Reflections on Teaching: Learning from Our Stories
"Here’s a great story. A graduate student is attending a lecture being given by one of her intellectual heroes, the Brazilian educator and theorist Paulo Freire. She takes notes furiously, trying to capture as many of his words as possible. Seeing that she is keenly interested in what Freire had to say, his translator asks if she would like to meet him. Of course! She is introduced and he begins by inquiring about her work. Then he graciously agrees to respond to a set of questions she and her colleagues hoped they would get the chance to ask him. She is impressed beyond belief, but time prevents her from asking one last, difficult question."-- , Teaching Professor Blog, 6/12/13

Pinterest, One Man's Surprising Journey
"Pinterest is one of the most popular social media networks on the planet, yet for many men it remains a profound mystery. So I decided it was time to see what was really going on over there." -- Brian S. Hall, RWW, 6/13/13

10 Ways to use IFTTT to Automate Your Social Media Branding
"IFFT is a new service that stands for If This, Then That. It’s an incredibly easy to use website that lets you set up or copy recipes for automating just about anything. I’ve written about this handy tool before, however in a nutshell it works with 60 different applications including most of the major social media channels, and necessitates filling out simple online forms." -- Ellyssa Kroski, OEDB, 5/24/13

Embedded Librarians 101: How to Get Started
"As librarians, we can’t wait for students to ask us questions. We know that! That’s why we’ve had “virtual” reference services since the early 2000′s. But it’s simply not enough to have an online presence. The key is being online where the students are. For most universities, this means the learning management system (Moodle, Blackboard, D2L, etc…). It’s where students spend their academic time. It’s where librarians need to be. It’s embedded librarianship." -- Joe Hardenbrook, Mr. Library Dude, 6/17/13

A Developmental View of Information Literacy
"How do students become information literate? That’s a question I have asked myself many times. I’m particularly interested in the relationship between cognitive development and information literacy learning." -- Amanda Hovious, Designer Librarian, 6/14/13

The Evolving Use of Badges in Education
"Today’s schools commonly use grade-based evaluations where students get rewarded for the knowledge they gain. Students are evaluated and rewarded with grades and sometimes other types of rewards, for tasks such as projects, behavior, skills, and taking tests. Evaluations are one way to reward learning. The rewards may come in the form of a grade (number, letter), words, badges, stickers, certificates, medals, trophies, money, or prizes. The rewards may be determined by peer, self, or teacher-based assessments. Rewards are a way to motivate students to learn." -- Nellie Deutsch, Emerging EdTech, 6/12/13