How to Manage Social Media in Higher Education
"Managing Social Media in Higher Education is no easy task. There is a lot of pressure to stay on top of current trends and strategies, maintain consistency in many channels, and ultimately build genuine digital relationships with our students that result in brand loyalty. Liz Gross, author of “How to Manage Social Media in Higher Education: A Guide for Campus Administrators”, joins us to give insight and tips on how to succeed in the fast-paced world of social media management." -- Amy Jorgensen, Higher Ed Live, 12/11/14
#TAGS New Homepage for Twitter Archiving Google Sheet
"Here at ProfHacker we’ve written quite a bit about Twitter over the years (as our archive of posts with the twitter tag reveals). One Twitter topic that we’ve addressed often is how best to maintain an archive of Tweets, whether your own or those associated with a particular hashtag. In two different posts, Mark introduced readers to what is, arguably, the best free solution for this: Martin Hawksey’s TAGS, “a free Google Sheet template which lets you setup and run automated collection of search results from Twitter.” -- George Williams, ProfHacker, 12/11/14 *
* Note: there's a great comment on this article with links to using IFTTT for this purpose.
BookCon To Partner With We Need Diverse Books For 2015 Conference
"BookCon and We Need Diverse Books are teaming up in 2015 for two panels highlighting diversity in literature. The panels, organized by ReedPop, the producer of BookCon, in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, will include prominent authors of color such as Jacqueline Woodson and Sherman Alexie. One of the panels will focus on children’s literature, while another will center on diversity in science fiction and fantasy." -- Claire Fallon, HuffPost Books, 12/11/14
Twitter 2014 Year in Review
"It was a big year for Twitter in 2014. Their first year after going public, people expected them to make the news on the regular—which they did. From a brand new look to being banned in Turkey, Twitter was a regular feature in the headlines.Here is a brief review of the year that was for Twitter." -- Evan LePage, Hootsuite, 12/8/14
New YouTube Tool Tells You If Your Video's Song Is Copyrighted
"Music copyright issues often get YouTube videos muted or even blocked. Now the service launched a new feature that lets video creators check those song rights before uploading, the company announced in a blog post on Monday." -- Stephanie Chan, ReadWrite, 12/9/14
Acing the Interview
"Job market candidates can spend months preparing written materials such as research statements and teaching philosophies, but invitations to interview usually leave candidates with only weeks or even days to prepare. What are the most important things to do before and during an interview? " -- Melissa Dennihy, Inside HigherEd | Career Advice, 12/3/14
Friday, December 12, 2014
Friday, December 05, 2014
Weekly Reader
The Pain of the Watermelon Joke
"AS a child in South Carolina, I spent summers like so many children — sitting on my grandparents’ back porch with my siblings, spitting watermelon seeds into the garden or, even worse, swallowing them and trembling as my older brother and sister spoke of the vine that was probably already growing in my belly.It was the late ’60s and early ’70s, and even though Jim Crow was supposed to be far behind us, we spent our days in the all-black community called Nicholtown in a still segregated South." - Jacqueline Wilson, New York Times Op Ed, 11/28/14
Is it Time to Get Rid of Grades?
"In the past few years since teachers and their principals have been reduced to numbers on a their yearly evaluations there have been many discussions revolving around the idea that educators are more than numbers. It doesn't feel good to get one number that is supposed to represent all of our hard work throughout a year. It feels disingenuous and arbitrary. Unfortunately, for many years before accountability and mandates, students were reduced to numbers and we did not do a lot about it. That is most likely due to the fact that we were reduced to numbers when we were students in school. Numbers have been a part of schooling for many decades." -- Peter DeWitt, Finding Common Ground | Education Week, 12/2/14
Five Reasons to Allow Digital Devices in Your Classroom
"Amidst reports of Steve Jobs and other Silicon Valley CEOs imposing extremely strict technology rules on their children, the debate around technology use in the classroom has caught fire once again. One of the strongest arguments for banning technology in the classroom came earlier this fall, from media pundit Clay Shirky in a piece titled “Why I Just Asked My Students To Put Their Laptops Away.” -- Natascha Chtena, GradHacker | Inside Higher Ed, 11/30/14
Who Will Log You Out When You're Gone?
"I long ago exceeded my capacity to remember passwords, especially for my institutional accounts which require password changes at regular intervals. As a result, I use a password manager to keep up with all my passwords. As it happens, I use 1Password, which syncs everywhere, generates and keeps track of preposterously complex passwords, and keeps other kinds of information, such as credit card numbers, passport information, and more secure yet available. It’s a neat thing." -- Jason B. Jones, ProfHacker | Chronicle, 12/1/14
"AS a child in South Carolina, I spent summers like so many children — sitting on my grandparents’ back porch with my siblings, spitting watermelon seeds into the garden or, even worse, swallowing them and trembling as my older brother and sister spoke of the vine that was probably already growing in my belly.It was the late ’60s and early ’70s, and even though Jim Crow was supposed to be far behind us, we spent our days in the all-black community called Nicholtown in a still segregated South." - Jacqueline Wilson, New York Times Op Ed, 11/28/14
Is it Time to Get Rid of Grades?
"In the past few years since teachers and their principals have been reduced to numbers on a their yearly evaluations there have been many discussions revolving around the idea that educators are more than numbers. It doesn't feel good to get one number that is supposed to represent all of our hard work throughout a year. It feels disingenuous and arbitrary. Unfortunately, for many years before accountability and mandates, students were reduced to numbers and we did not do a lot about it. That is most likely due to the fact that we were reduced to numbers when we were students in school. Numbers have been a part of schooling for many decades." -- Peter DeWitt, Finding Common Ground | Education Week, 12/2/14
Five Reasons to Allow Digital Devices in Your Classroom
"Amidst reports of Steve Jobs and other Silicon Valley CEOs imposing extremely strict technology rules on their children, the debate around technology use in the classroom has caught fire once again. One of the strongest arguments for banning technology in the classroom came earlier this fall, from media pundit Clay Shirky in a piece titled “Why I Just Asked My Students To Put Their Laptops Away.” -- Natascha Chtena, GradHacker | Inside Higher Ed, 11/30/14
Who Will Log You Out When You're Gone?
"I long ago exceeded my capacity to remember passwords, especially for my institutional accounts which require password changes at regular intervals. As a result, I use a password manager to keep up with all my passwords. As it happens, I use 1Password, which syncs everywhere, generates and keeps track of preposterously complex passwords, and keeps other kinds of information, such as credit card numbers, passport information, and more secure yet available. It’s a neat thing." -- Jason B. Jones, ProfHacker | Chronicle, 12/1/14
Friday, November 21, 2014
Weekly Reader
School Library Journal Best Books 2014
"In 2014, more than 250 titles received an SLJ star; after much passionate discussion, the following titles were selected by the review editors as the very best of the best. These 70 books distinguish themselves with excellence in writing, art, design, storytelling, originality, and appeal. From raucous read-alouds to off-the-wall adventure, there is something for everyone on this list; dig in and happy reading." -- School Library Journal, 11/20/14
"We're Replacing Pedagogy"
"Academic libraries can help promote the adoption of open educational resources, but ultimately the push for open content has to be about more than textbooks, advocates said this week during the Open Ed Conference. The conference, which concludes today, comes on the heels of two reports suggesting that adoption of OER has the potential to grow dramatically in the next three years -- if faculty members are able to discover the resources they need." -- Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed, 11/21/14
What's Missing from the Industrial Internet of Things Conversation? Software
"These days, you can hardly have a technology conversation without talking about the Internet of Things (IoT). And when that conversation shifts its focus to the industrial sector, including energy, Oil & Gas, Power & Utilities, and petrochemicals, among others, the discussion changes to what is being called the “Industrial Internet of Things” (IIoT)." -- Matt Cicciari, Meridium, Wired, 11/20/14
Who's in Charge Here?
"I have often wondered about the way librarians use the word “library.” Sometimes we are referring to a building (“the library will be open until 2 a.m. during finals”), but more often we use it as if it’s a collective being that has agency. The library is offering a new program. The library has to cancel more journals. The library has started a strategic planning process. Actually, librarians and library staff are doing those things." -- Barbara Fister, Inside Higher Ed, 11/20/14
"In 2014, more than 250 titles received an SLJ star; after much passionate discussion, the following titles were selected by the review editors as the very best of the best. These 70 books distinguish themselves with excellence in writing, art, design, storytelling, originality, and appeal. From raucous read-alouds to off-the-wall adventure, there is something for everyone on this list; dig in and happy reading." -- School Library Journal, 11/20/14
"We're Replacing Pedagogy"
"Academic libraries can help promote the adoption of open educational resources, but ultimately the push for open content has to be about more than textbooks, advocates said this week during the Open Ed Conference. The conference, which concludes today, comes on the heels of two reports suggesting that adoption of OER has the potential to grow dramatically in the next three years -- if faculty members are able to discover the resources they need." -- Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed, 11/21/14
What's Missing from the Industrial Internet of Things Conversation? Software
"These days, you can hardly have a technology conversation without talking about the Internet of Things (IoT). And when that conversation shifts its focus to the industrial sector, including energy, Oil & Gas, Power & Utilities, and petrochemicals, among others, the discussion changes to what is being called the “Industrial Internet of Things” (IIoT)." -- Matt Cicciari, Meridium, Wired, 11/20/14
Who's in Charge Here?
"I have often wondered about the way librarians use the word “library.” Sometimes we are referring to a building (“the library will be open until 2 a.m. during finals”), but more often we use it as if it’s a collective being that has agency. The library is offering a new program. The library has to cancel more journals. The library has started a strategic planning process. Actually, librarians and library staff are doing those things." -- Barbara Fister, Inside Higher Ed, 11/20/14
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Weekly Reader
24 Examples of Using Hashtags for Teaching and Learning
"So Many Hashtag Ideas and so Little Time! The “hashtag” ( “#”) has become the go-to hot key for trending topics and Twitter discussions. They’re prevalent on Twitter (where they got their start), but they have also seeped into Instagram, Google+, Vine, Tumblr, Pinterest, Facebook, Tagboard and even come up in Google searches and Google alerts." -- Stephanie Echeveste, Emerging EdTech, 11/9/14
Six Questions You Need to Ask Before Taking a Job
"After hours spent meticulously fine-tuning your cover letter and resume, you’ve finally scored an elusive interview with the employer of your dreams.At least, that’s what you think. In our eagerness to impress hiring managers and potential future bosses, many of us come fully prepared to sell ourselves in a job interview—but neglect to ask key questions of our own. You know, the kind that can help reveal if it really is a dream to work at a given company."-- Meghan Rabitt of LearnVest, The Muse, 11/6/14
Making Screencasts, The Talking Head
"Here is the second video in the three-part series that I did for the An Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching on Coursera. This is one gets under the hood about how I make the videos I call “talking head” videos — where it’s just a voiceover and some lecture slides running. The talking head video is very similar to a traditional lecture or a conference talk, so for those instructors out there who are looking to transition to a flipped learning model, or make additional video content available to students and are looking for the simplest place to start, this would probably be it." -- Robert Talbert, Casting Out the Nines, 11/11/14
"So Many Hashtag Ideas and so Little Time! The “hashtag” ( “#”) has become the go-to hot key for trending topics and Twitter discussions. They’re prevalent on Twitter (where they got their start), but they have also seeped into Instagram, Google+, Vine, Tumblr, Pinterest, Facebook, Tagboard and even come up in Google searches and Google alerts." -- Stephanie Echeveste, Emerging EdTech, 11/9/14
Six Questions You Need to Ask Before Taking a Job
"After hours spent meticulously fine-tuning your cover letter and resume, you’ve finally scored an elusive interview with the employer of your dreams.At least, that’s what you think. In our eagerness to impress hiring managers and potential future bosses, many of us come fully prepared to sell ourselves in a job interview—but neglect to ask key questions of our own. You know, the kind that can help reveal if it really is a dream to work at a given company."-- Meghan Rabitt of LearnVest, The Muse, 11/6/14
Making Screencasts, The Talking Head
"Here is the second video in the three-part series that I did for the An Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate STEM Teaching on Coursera. This is one gets under the hood about how I make the videos I call “talking head” videos — where it’s just a voiceover and some lecture slides running. The talking head video is very similar to a traditional lecture or a conference talk, so for those instructors out there who are looking to transition to a flipped learning model, or make additional video content available to students and are looking for the simplest place to start, this would probably be it." -- Robert Talbert, Casting Out the Nines, 11/11/14
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Weekly Reader
Why Your Whole Staff Should Be on Twitter
"Twitter in Elementary school started for me five years ago during my time as an Elementary Assistant Principal. Our goal was to bring our school community closer together and open up classroom doors to develop stronger relationships. We had great success and feedback from our school community, and when I became Principal three years ago I knew we could do it bigger and better!" - Adam Welcome, Finding Common Ground, 10/12/14
Not Just Another Notes App: Why You Should Use Google Keep
"When Google Keep launched, it never got the fanfare it deserved. The people that did review it compared it to all the wrong apps, like Evernote or Microsoft OneNote. That's a shame, because a surprisingly good note taking app went under the radar, underrated for coming up short against contenders it wasn't designed to face. It's about time to give Google Keep a fair shake, see where it shines, and how it fits in with the competition." -- Alan Henry, LifeHacker, 5/22/13
Have Some Serious Classroom Fun With the ChatterPix App
"ChatterPix may be a very simple app but I can guarantee it will have you and your students rolling around on the floor in hysterics. The tagline for the app is: Chatterpix can make anything talk — pets, friends, doodles, and more; and it’s desperately amazing just how much fun making things talk can be. By using the app with any picture or photo you have, it’s as simple as drawing a line where you want the mouth and then recording your voice. ChatterPix will do the rest!"-- Nick Grantham, Fractus Learning, 10/23/14
"She Didn't Teach. We Had to Learn it Ourselves"
"Yesterday I got an email from a faculty member who had just received her spring semester student ratings (yes, in August, but that’s a topic for another post). She’d gotten one of those blistering student comments. “This teacher should not be paid. We had to teach ourselves in this course.” I remember another faculty member telling me about similar feedback, which was followed later with a comment about how the course “really made me think.” -- Maryellen Weimer, Teaching Professor Blog, 9/10/14
"Twitter in Elementary school started for me five years ago during my time as an Elementary Assistant Principal. Our goal was to bring our school community closer together and open up classroom doors to develop stronger relationships. We had great success and feedback from our school community, and when I became Principal three years ago I knew we could do it bigger and better!" - Adam Welcome, Finding Common Ground, 10/12/14
Not Just Another Notes App: Why You Should Use Google Keep
"When Google Keep launched, it never got the fanfare it deserved. The people that did review it compared it to all the wrong apps, like Evernote or Microsoft OneNote. That's a shame, because a surprisingly good note taking app went under the radar, underrated for coming up short against contenders it wasn't designed to face. It's about time to give Google Keep a fair shake, see where it shines, and how it fits in with the competition." -- Alan Henry, LifeHacker, 5/22/13
Have Some Serious Classroom Fun With the ChatterPix App
"ChatterPix may be a very simple app but I can guarantee it will have you and your students rolling around on the floor in hysterics. The tagline for the app is: Chatterpix can make anything talk — pets, friends, doodles, and more; and it’s desperately amazing just how much fun making things talk can be. By using the app with any picture or photo you have, it’s as simple as drawing a line where you want the mouth and then recording your voice. ChatterPix will do the rest!"-- Nick Grantham, Fractus Learning, 10/23/14
"She Didn't Teach. We Had to Learn it Ourselves"
"Yesterday I got an email from a faculty member who had just received her spring semester student ratings (yes, in August, but that’s a topic for another post). She’d gotten one of those blistering student comments. “This teacher should not be paid. We had to teach ourselves in this course.” I remember another faculty member telling me about similar feedback, which was followed later with a comment about how the course “really made me think.” -- Maryellen Weimer, Teaching Professor Blog, 9/10/14
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Weekly Reader
On the Internet, Nobody Knows You're the 'Wrong' Professor
"I—November 29, 2011: At 7:30 on a Tuesday, right after supper, Karen McArthur had just started to wind down for the night. Her three kids were in their pajamas, reading in front of the fireplace, and her husband Jim was cleaning up the kitchen.McArthur, an adjunct professor of art history at Austin Peay State University, flipped open her laptop to see if any students had questions about their class assignments. Instead, she was shocked by an email from Alexandra Blau, a colleague she’d never met." -- Stacey Patton, Chronicle Vitae, 10/2/14
The Relationship Between Participation and Discussion
"My interest in participation and discussion continues. How do we use them so that they more effectively promote engagement and learning? A couple of colleagues and I have been working on a paper that deals with how we define participation and discussion. (Side note: If you want to challenge your thinking about an aspect of teaching and learning, consider focused conversations with colleagues and the purposefulness of a writing project. I have said it before and will likely say it again: We have so much to learn from and with each other.) One of the new insights that has come to me out of this collaboration involves the relationship between participation and discussion. I used to think of them as being related, but I didn’t see them as interrelated." -- MaryEllen Weimer, Teaching Professor Blog, 10/22/14
Incorporating Active Learning into the Online Classroom
"Gary Ackerman, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Mount Wachusett Community College, works with faculty to incorporate active learning into their online and face-to-face courses, and while there are differences in these learning environments, active learning can be implemented just as well online as face-to-face. Ackerman encourages faculty members to use the following active learning approaches in their online (as well as face-to-face) courses." -- Rob Kelly, Faculty Focus | Online Education, 10/21/14
Library Advocacy Done Wrong
"Despite their good intentions, there are some people who maybe shouldn’t advocate for change in libraries. For example, the generally awful Huffington Post is hosting a blog post that grated on my nerves the entire time I was reading it. It’s advocating making a change to the Woodstock Library. I’m assuming that’s Woodstock, NY, although the state is never specified and since the Huffington Post isn’t a local news site a guess based on context clues is all we have. We can’t say for certain that she’s not writing about the Woodstock in Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, or Vermont." -- The Annoyed Librarian, Library Journal, 10/27/14
"I—November 29, 2011: At 7:30 on a Tuesday, right after supper, Karen McArthur had just started to wind down for the night. Her three kids were in their pajamas, reading in front of the fireplace, and her husband Jim was cleaning up the kitchen.McArthur, an adjunct professor of art history at Austin Peay State University, flipped open her laptop to see if any students had questions about their class assignments. Instead, she was shocked by an email from Alexandra Blau, a colleague she’d never met." -- Stacey Patton, Chronicle Vitae, 10/2/14
The Relationship Between Participation and Discussion
"My interest in participation and discussion continues. How do we use them so that they more effectively promote engagement and learning? A couple of colleagues and I have been working on a paper that deals with how we define participation and discussion. (Side note: If you want to challenge your thinking about an aspect of teaching and learning, consider focused conversations with colleagues and the purposefulness of a writing project. I have said it before and will likely say it again: We have so much to learn from and with each other.) One of the new insights that has come to me out of this collaboration involves the relationship between participation and discussion. I used to think of them as being related, but I didn’t see them as interrelated." -- MaryEllen Weimer, Teaching Professor Blog, 10/22/14
Incorporating Active Learning into the Online Classroom
"Gary Ackerman, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Mount Wachusett Community College, works with faculty to incorporate active learning into their online and face-to-face courses, and while there are differences in these learning environments, active learning can be implemented just as well online as face-to-face. Ackerman encourages faculty members to use the following active learning approaches in their online (as well as face-to-face) courses." -- Rob Kelly, Faculty Focus | Online Education, 10/21/14
Library Advocacy Done Wrong
"Despite their good intentions, there are some people who maybe shouldn’t advocate for change in libraries. For example, the generally awful Huffington Post is hosting a blog post that grated on my nerves the entire time I was reading it. It’s advocating making a change to the Woodstock Library. I’m assuming that’s Woodstock, NY, although the state is never specified and since the Huffington Post isn’t a local news site a guess based on context clues is all we have. We can’t say for certain that she’s not writing about the Woodstock in Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, or Vermont." -- The Annoyed Librarian, Library Journal, 10/27/14
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
New Pinterest Layout?
Pinterest has been busy as of late with promoted pins, privacy updates, and custom search options.
A recent 'redesign' adjusted the general layout significantly as well.
Earlier today while updating the #IRCshelfies board on Pinterest, I was surprised by another layout update. This time the profile had been updated to oddly resemble Tumblr.
After making a few adjustments to the display (the word 'library' was no longer visible), I logged out to check my personal site. Why? Often Pinterest changes and updates are done on a trial basis and only one site reflects a pending update. My personal site reflected the same layout update. However, when moving back to the IRC site it returned to the previous profile display.
My instructional technology classes recently completed their Pinterest assignment. Yesterday, I finished project evaluation for both sections. I am oddly relieved by the timing of this site redesign. Changes are to be expected and students are made aware of how using free resources can impact lessons, but it would have been somewhat stressful.
Even more so as the update has once again reverted back to the 'old' design layout.
- Get A Little News With Your Notifications
- Some Ways We'll Be Making Promoted Pins More Relevant
- Pinterest Is Testing a News Section in iOS
- Promoted Pins and Pinterest's New Privacy Policy
- Pinterest Search Users Thoughts on Guided Directions
A recent 'redesign' adjusted the general layout significantly as well.
Earlier today while updating the #IRCshelfies board on Pinterest, I was surprised by another layout update. This time the profile had been updated to oddly resemble Tumblr.
After making a few adjustments to the display (the word 'library' was no longer visible), I logged out to check my personal site. Why? Often Pinterest changes and updates are done on a trial basis and only one site reflects a pending update. My personal site reflected the same layout update. However, when moving back to the IRC site it returned to the previous profile display.
In the time it took me to log in to @ircaulibrary to grab a link for my pin description and upload the #IRCshelfie pin ...
My instructional technology classes recently completed their Pinterest assignment. Yesterday, I finished project evaluation for both sections. I am oddly relieved by the timing of this site redesign. Changes are to be expected and students are made aware of how using free resources can impact lessons, but it would have been somewhat stressful.
Even more so as the update has once again reverted back to the 'old' design layout.
Monday, October 13, 2014
ALAO 2014: Registration Ends Soon
November 14, 2014
Pre-conference November 13, 2014
The Kalahari Resorts • 7000 Kalahari Drive
Sandusky, Ohio 44870
Head Librarian and Professor of Women's Studies at Penn State Greater Allegheny
"Diversity, Professional Development & Participation: How Academic Libraries Empower Communities"
Preliminary Program available online.
Conference Website: http://www.alaoweb.org/conference
Register: http://www.alaoweb.org/event-830948
Pre-conference Speaker: Char Booth
Director of Research, Teaching, and Learning Services at the Claremont Colleges Library
"Who Gives? Advocacy & Outreach That Make Things Matter"
Pre-conference Website: http://alaoweb.org/page-1820075
Pre-conference Registration: http://alaoweb.org/page-1820074
Registration Closes: October 22, 2014
No Refunds after October 22, 2014
Questions about conference registration? Please contact Judy Cerqua, Registration Coordinator, cerqua.1 at osu.edu.
For information on lodging, please visit the conference website.
Follow the conference with the official Twitter hashtag #ALAO2014
Monday, September 29, 2014
Weekly Reader, Monday edition
Hello? No, Ello
"As if we at Tenured Radical did not spend enough time on Facebook, Twitter, Google Hangouts, Skype and blogging, now there is this Ello thing. Ello? Ello is a new social networking site that advertises itself as “totally ad-free. Ello does not sell data about you to third parties, including advertisers and data brokers,” they promise."-- Claire Potter, Tenured Radical, 9/25/14
What You Need to Know About Yik Yak, an App Causing Trouble on Campuses
"Anonymous posts on a smartphone application called Yik Yak are facilitating conversations on college campuses, but the dialogue is not always fit for the classroom. Discussions on the app sometimes dredge up racist, sexist, and other degrading content, and students at multiple colleges have been arrested for using Yik Yak to post threats to campus safety." -- Rebecca Koenig, Chronicle | Technology, 9/26/14
An Informal Study: Do Book Challenges Suppress Diversity?
"What is the overlap between challenged books and books by diverse authors? Inspired by the recent flurry of challenges to titles with diverse characters or by minorities or LGBTQ writers, young adult author and Diversity in YA co-founder Malinda Lo conducted an informal study to see whether there is a correlation between challenged books and diverse content." -- Shelly Diaz, School Library Journal, 9/25/14
"As if we at Tenured Radical did not spend enough time on Facebook, Twitter, Google Hangouts, Skype and blogging, now there is this Ello thing. Ello? Ello is a new social networking site that advertises itself as “totally ad-free. Ello does not sell data about you to third parties, including advertisers and data brokers,” they promise."-- Claire Potter, Tenured Radical, 9/25/14
What You Need to Know About Yik Yak, an App Causing Trouble on Campuses
"Anonymous posts on a smartphone application called Yik Yak are facilitating conversations on college campuses, but the dialogue is not always fit for the classroom. Discussions on the app sometimes dredge up racist, sexist, and other degrading content, and students at multiple colleges have been arrested for using Yik Yak to post threats to campus safety." -- Rebecca Koenig, Chronicle | Technology, 9/26/14
An Informal Study: Do Book Challenges Suppress Diversity?
"What is the overlap between challenged books and books by diverse authors? Inspired by the recent flurry of challenges to titles with diverse characters or by minorities or LGBTQ writers, young adult author and Diversity in YA co-founder Malinda Lo conducted an informal study to see whether there is a correlation between challenged books and diverse content." -- Shelly Diaz, School Library Journal, 9/25/14
Friday, September 26, 2014
ALAO 2014: Conference Schedule
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40th Annual ALAO Conference
November 14, 2014The Kalahari Resorts • 7000 Kalahari Drive
Sandusky, OH 44870
The preliminary conference schedule and session abstracts (new) are now available on the ALAO 2014 Conference web site.
• More about the conference •
Keynote Speaker: Courtney Young, ALA President
Keynote Address: Diversity, Professional Development & Participation: How Academic Libraries Empower Communities
Conference Website: http://www.alaoweb.org/conference
Register: http://www.alaoweb.org/event-830948
Follow the conference with the official Twitter hashtag #ALAO2014
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
ready to #tweetalao
Time is drawing near for the 40th annual ALAO conference. I'm excited to be presenting Engaging Tweets: Twitter as Personal Learning Network with Kaylin @theleastshrew. If you are attending the conference, consider joining us to #tweetalao.
#tweetalao Tweets
We are curating interesting articles and infographics on Pinterest.
Follow Diane's board ALAO 2014: #tweetalao on Pinterest.
And have set up our hash tag with Twubs (though the embed function seems iffy).
Twitter is a fun, casual, and powerful tool for connecting with the global library community. In this interactive session, we will explore the use of Twitter as a communication resource for library professionals, a back channel tool for collaborating with students and faculty, and demonstrate ways to empower your personal learning network.#TweetALAO
We are curating interesting articles and infographics on Pinterest.
And have set up our hash tag with Twubs (though the embed function seems iffy).
Friday, September 19, 2014
Weekly Reader
Yik Yak is an Anagram for Hot Mess
"When I first heard about Yik Yak, it was being referenced in an article about cyberbullying at Chicago high schools. Recognizing that anonymous posts via the mobile app were hurting students via threats and intimidation, Yik Yak blocked access within defined electronic geo-fences. It was actually a classy maneuver." -- Eric Stoller, Student Affairs & Technology, 9/18/14
What Makes a Good Course?
"I’m teaching a one-credit class this semester in the Preparing Future Faculty program called College Teaching. In it, we are talking about, well, unsurprisingly, college teaching. Last week was our first class and we started by discussing what makes a good professor or teacher. The students had read the first chapter of The Courage to Teach, and they wrote about an experience or person who shaped their attitude towards education. We were in the right mind-space for talking about good teachers." -- Lee Skallerup Bessette, College Ready Writing, 9/18/14
Why Do People Who Love Libraries Love Libraries
"Why do people who love libraries love libraries? This has been on my mind a lot lately. Whenever I find a patron who is passionate about their library I try to decode those tangible and intangible qualities that made the experience so powerful for them." -- Brian Matthews, Ubiquitous Librarian, 9/19/14
Ed Tech's Next Wave Rolls into View
"In my 25-plus years as an early-stage venture capitalist investing in education technology, I have been fortunate to fund several successful and important companies. This experience has given me a unique perch from which to notice emerging patterns in the ed-tech world. While pattern recognition is imprecise at best, I subscribe to the analysis made in the Malcolm Gladwell book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking: You know it when you see it. I think we are about to embark on the third, and probably most transformative, wave of ed-tech companies and new learning technologies." -- Roger Novac, The Chronicle, 9/15/14
Why I Don’t Talk Much about Gender or Race & Why I Support the Ada Initiative
"I rarely talk about gender or race issues. Not because I am not interested but because I am afraid that I may say things that are viewed negatively by a socially acceptable norm. As a person who grew up in one country with one culture (the Confusian culture that is notoriously preferential to men to boot) and then moved to, live, and now work in another country with a completely different culture (just as discriminatory to women and minorities I am afraid) and who often has opinions that are different from those held by the majorities in both societies, I am acutely aware of various disadvantages, backlashes, and penalties that can result as a consequence of a minor slip and the pervasive social norm of inequality applied to women and racial/ethnic/gender minorities reinforced in everyday life." -- Bohyun Kim, Library Hat, 9/10/14
"When I first heard about Yik Yak, it was being referenced in an article about cyberbullying at Chicago high schools. Recognizing that anonymous posts via the mobile app were hurting students via threats and intimidation, Yik Yak blocked access within defined electronic geo-fences. It was actually a classy maneuver." -- Eric Stoller, Student Affairs & Technology, 9/18/14
What Makes a Good Course?
"I’m teaching a one-credit class this semester in the Preparing Future Faculty program called College Teaching. In it, we are talking about, well, unsurprisingly, college teaching. Last week was our first class and we started by discussing what makes a good professor or teacher. The students had read the first chapter of The Courage to Teach, and they wrote about an experience or person who shaped their attitude towards education. We were in the right mind-space for talking about good teachers." -- Lee Skallerup Bessette, College Ready Writing, 9/18/14
Why Do People Who Love Libraries Love Libraries
"Why do people who love libraries love libraries? This has been on my mind a lot lately. Whenever I find a patron who is passionate about their library I try to decode those tangible and intangible qualities that made the experience so powerful for them." -- Brian Matthews, Ubiquitous Librarian, 9/19/14
Ed Tech's Next Wave Rolls into View
"In my 25-plus years as an early-stage venture capitalist investing in education technology, I have been fortunate to fund several successful and important companies. This experience has given me a unique perch from which to notice emerging patterns in the ed-tech world. While pattern recognition is imprecise at best, I subscribe to the analysis made in the Malcolm Gladwell book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking: You know it when you see it. I think we are about to embark on the third, and probably most transformative, wave of ed-tech companies and new learning technologies." -- Roger Novac, The Chronicle, 9/15/14
Why I Don’t Talk Much about Gender or Race & Why I Support the Ada Initiative
"I rarely talk about gender or race issues. Not because I am not interested but because I am afraid that I may say things that are viewed negatively by a socially acceptable norm. As a person who grew up in one country with one culture (the Confusian culture that is notoriously preferential to men to boot) and then moved to, live, and now work in another country with a completely different culture (just as discriminatory to women and minorities I am afraid) and who often has opinions that are different from those held by the majorities in both societies, I am acutely aware of various disadvantages, backlashes, and penalties that can result as a consequence of a minor slip and the pervasive social norm of inequality applied to women and racial/ethnic/gender minorities reinforced in everyday life." -- Bohyun Kim, Library Hat, 9/10/14
Friday, September 12, 2014
Ready for Banned Books Week?
For some reason, I often 'miss' Banned Books week. Maybe it is because Banned Books week is scheduled for September, this year it is September 21 - 27, and I am focused on getting the term off to a good start and training new student workers. Regardless, I find myself playing catch-up posting relevant information for students. Last year I created a Banned Books Week IRC Pinterest board.
Follow IRC's board Banned Books Week on Pinterest.
I updated last week and moved it to the top row (I routinely rotate boards to the top two rows to keep the page fresh). The free graphics for this year's BBW are clever; they make interesting visual presentation perfect for Pinterest and connect with college students. Who hasn't seen a tear-off sign on campus? With the images in mind, I decided it was time for a Banned Books Week LibGuide.
Blog posts are scheduled for late next week (IRC News Blog) and the first day of Banned books week (AU Library blog). I'm considering promotion using the IRC Twitter account and ALA's #bannedbooksweek tag. Time will tell. At least this year, I am ready for Banned Books Week.
I updated last week and moved it to the top row (I routinely rotate boards to the top two rows to keep the page fresh). The free graphics for this year's BBW are clever; they make interesting visual presentation perfect for Pinterest and connect with college students. Who hasn't seen a tear-off sign on campus? With the images in mind, I decided it was time for a Banned Books Week LibGuide.
"Interested in learning more about Banned Books Week? There's a Banned Books Week LibGuide for that! The library guide presents an overview of Banned Books Week history and challenged books, Library Resources and Internet Resources for celebrating Banned Books Week, links to frequently banned and challenged books for the last ten years - and - challenged classics, an interactive timeline highlighting 30 Years of Challenged Literature, and the IRC Pinterest site." -- IRC News Blog
Blog posts are scheduled for late next week (IRC News Blog) and the first day of Banned books week (AU Library blog). I'm considering promotion using the IRC Twitter account and ALA's #bannedbooksweek tag. Time will tell. At least this year, I am ready for Banned Books Week.
Friday, September 05, 2014
Mock Caldecott: Fall Edition
It's that time again! Mock Caldecott panels were held earlier this week with Dr. Mary Rycik's EDEC 323 Tradebooks and Technology with Literature class. I had an opportunity to meet with this class last week to help set up blogs and Pinterest sites used during the term. Their in-depth exploration of children's literature includes classics, poetry, folklore, fantasy, historical fiction, realistic fiction, award books, and a comprehensive author study.
... and their updated course LibGuide v2 is up to the challenge.
Prior to our session, students are introduced to elements of picture book art and illustration covering concepts of layout, design, form and function, balance, use of space, and the importance of art telling the story. Artistic mediums and styles, as well as parts of a picture book, are discussed. We met in the IRC to review and evaluate picture books; titles selected for the panel session meet criteria established by the Association for Library Services for Children, American Library Association Medal committee.
Twenty picture books considered are recent additions to the AU library juvenile collection. The selection included well known and award-winning illustrators as well as those new to picture book art. A variety of artistic mediums were represented such as collage, gauche, painted oils, pencil, watercolors, and mixed media. Students narrowed the field to four and voted for their winner. The Mock Caldecott winner, an overwhelming choice with 17 of 19 votes was Baby Bear, by author and illustrator Kadir Nelson. Honor book distinction was given to Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems, illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Interested in the books we used, check out the IRC Mock Caldecott Pinterest board.
* This post was originally published on the IRC News & Information Blog, 9/2/14
... and their updated course LibGuide v2 is up to the challenge.
Prior to our session, students are introduced to elements of picture book art and illustration covering concepts of layout, design, form and function, balance, use of space, and the importance of art telling the story. Artistic mediums and styles, as well as parts of a picture book, are discussed. We met in the IRC to review and evaluate picture books; titles selected for the panel session meet criteria established by the Association for Library Services for Children, American Library Association Medal committee.
* This post was originally published on the IRC News & Information Blog, 9/2/14
Thursday, September 04, 2014
Sharing your Dream
Here's another great video from the people at Soul Pancake. I wonder how this would look standing outside our Library?
"We all have goals and dreams that we want to accomplish in life, but sometimes we’re reluctant to put them out into the world for fear of judgment or failure. So we decided to build a giant megaphone and invite passersby to step up, and shout them out." 9/2/14
Wednesday, September 03, 2014
ALAO Early Bird Registration
40th Annual ALAO Conference
November 14, 2014
The Kalahari Resorts • 7000 Kalahari Drive • Sandusky, Ohio 44870
Keynote address: Diversity, Professional Development & Participation: How Academic Libraries Empower Communities By: Courtney Young, ALA President and Head Librarian and Professor of Women's Studies at Penn State Greater Allegheny.
New! Are you interested in the conference? A preliminary program is now available on the conference web site.
There is still time to take advantage of our early bird rates:
- Early Bird Registration ends September 19, 2014
- Registration Closes: October 22, 2014 No Refunds after October 22, 2014
Pre-conference: Who Gives? Advocacy & Outreach That Make Things Matter By: Char Booth, Director of Research, Teaching, and Learning Services at the Claremont Colleges Library, and is on the faculty of the ACRL Information Literacy Immersion Institute.
Follow the conference with the official Twitter hashtag #ALAO2014
Questions about conference registration? Please contact Judy Cerqua, Registration Coordinator, at cerqua.1 at osu.edu or 614-247-2725.
If you have questions about the 40th Annual ALAO Conference, please contact Eboni Johnson at eboni.johnson at oberlin.edu.
Tuesday, September 02, 2014
LibGuides (v2) Summer
"What did you do this summer?"
The perennial inquiry from returning students - and student workers - has a different flavor this year. Prior to their May departure preliminary second floor moves and collection weeding led to reorganization of activity books, curriculum text books, big books, book kits, and award book areas. Next in the grand plan was back-shifting the juvenile collection into a full row of newly empty shelves. It was on my summer 'to do' list. However as LibGuides administrator, my time and efforts were focused mainly on the project. Instead of floor moves, summer moves were of the digital variety. We migrated and went live with LibGuides v2 and E-Reserves to start the new academic year (woot!).
A new platform is a great opportunity to re-brand our guides and feature what they offer to faculty. Effort by our web services team, marketing, and information technology department helped us seamlessly integrate LibGuides v2 with our existing library and IRC web sites. Initial marketing of the updated resource includes information posted on the IRC and Library blog, accompanying tweets and Facebook posts, and will be followed by a short video overview of what LibGuides can provide for course support, instruction, research, and general library resources. The video will post this week, as soon as I decide which to use.
Library and IRC blog posts are planned to feature information about E-Reserves, A to Z Databases, LibGuides and library instruction, IRC LibGuides, and course support guides. I have already created two new library guides to support education course assignments and the response has been very favorable. It has also been a stark reminder that I need to consistently promote what these guides offer beyond traditional instruction resources.
The perennial inquiry from returning students - and student workers - has a different flavor this year. Prior to their May departure preliminary second floor moves and collection weeding led to reorganization of activity books, curriculum text books, big books, book kits, and award book areas. Next in the grand plan was back-shifting the juvenile collection into a full row of newly empty shelves. It was on my summer 'to do' list. However as LibGuides administrator, my time and efforts were focused mainly on the project. Instead of floor moves, summer moves were of the digital variety. We migrated and went live with LibGuides v2 and E-Reserves to start the new academic year (woot!).
A new platform is a great opportunity to re-brand our guides and feature what they offer to faculty. Effort by our web services team, marketing, and information technology department helped us seamlessly integrate LibGuides v2 with our existing library and IRC web sites. Initial marketing of the updated resource includes information posted on the IRC and Library blog, accompanying tweets and Facebook posts, and will be followed by a short video overview of what LibGuides can provide for course support, instruction, research, and general library resources. The video will post this week, as soon as I decide which to use.
Library and IRC blog posts are planned to feature information about E-Reserves, A to Z Databases, LibGuides and library instruction, IRC LibGuides, and course support guides. I have already created two new library guides to support education course assignments and the response has been very favorable. It has also been a stark reminder that I need to consistently promote what these guides offer beyond traditional instruction resources.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Weekly Reader
Do You Need a Social Media Detox?
"We all know that social media can be a great tool for teachers, both in the classroom and for professional development purposes. Here at Edudemic, we encourage you to do things like use Twitter to build your PLN, connect with other educators on Facebook, pin great ideas on Pinterest, and more. But just as we often criticize our students for being unable to disconnect from their devices and actually look up at the world every now and again, we often suffer from the same affliction. So how do you know if you’re just ‘into it’ or if you’re overdoing it?" -- Jeff Dunn, Edudemic, 8/25/14
How Streaming Media Could Threaten the Mission of Libraries
"Digital music has made it easier to buy and share recordings. But try telling that to librarians.In March 2011, the University of Washington’s library tried to get a copy of a new recording of the Los Angeles Philharmonic playing a piece by Gustavo Dudamel, a popular composer, that the library could lend to students. But the recording was available only as a digital download, and Amazon and iTunes forbid renting out digital files." - Steve Kolowich, Wired Campus, 8/22/14
A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats: Raising, Communicating, and Enforcing Expectations in Online Courses
"As an instructor new to the online environment, I carefully reviewed the syllabus and the requirements for the course discussions and assignments and incorporated the following ideas from Myers-Wylie, Mangieri & Hardy: a “what you need to know” document that includes policies about late work, formatting, source citations, grading and feedback, and the dangers of plagiarism; a separate “assignments at a glance” calendar that details due dates and submission instructions; a “frequently asked questions” thread in the discussion forum; detailed scoring rubrics for each assignment, and example assignments" --Marie A. Revak, PhD, Faculty Focus, 8/22/14
Twitter Demystified: How To RT, MT, #FF And Fave Like A Pro
"Twitter has a problem: New users just don't know how to use it. To help newbies sign up and start tweeting, the company has made a number of recent changes. Redesigned profiles, a giant World Cup marketing push, and rejiggering the Home timeline are just part of Twitter's many attempts to make it friendlier for first-time users." -- Selena Larson, Read Write, 8/21/14
Why I'm Asking You Not to Use Laptops
"At a teaching workshop last week, a new faculty member asked me how I felt about students using laptops in the classroom. I replied, “I ask students not to use laptops in my classroom—unless a student tells me they need or strongly prefer a laptop to take notes (for any reason), in which case we make that work.” She looked relieved to have this endorsement of a learning zone with fewer electronic distractions." -- Anne Curzon, Lingua Franca, 8/25/14
"We all know that social media can be a great tool for teachers, both in the classroom and for professional development purposes. Here at Edudemic, we encourage you to do things like use Twitter to build your PLN, connect with other educators on Facebook, pin great ideas on Pinterest, and more. But just as we often criticize our students for being unable to disconnect from their devices and actually look up at the world every now and again, we often suffer from the same affliction. So how do you know if you’re just ‘into it’ or if you’re overdoing it?" -- Jeff Dunn, Edudemic, 8/25/14
How Streaming Media Could Threaten the Mission of Libraries
"Digital music has made it easier to buy and share recordings. But try telling that to librarians.In March 2011, the University of Washington’s library tried to get a copy of a new recording of the Los Angeles Philharmonic playing a piece by Gustavo Dudamel, a popular composer, that the library could lend to students. But the recording was available only as a digital download, and Amazon and iTunes forbid renting out digital files." - Steve Kolowich, Wired Campus, 8/22/14
A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats: Raising, Communicating, and Enforcing Expectations in Online Courses
"As an instructor new to the online environment, I carefully reviewed the syllabus and the requirements for the course discussions and assignments and incorporated the following ideas from Myers-Wylie, Mangieri & Hardy: a “what you need to know” document that includes policies about late work, formatting, source citations, grading and feedback, and the dangers of plagiarism; a separate “assignments at a glance” calendar that details due dates and submission instructions; a “frequently asked questions” thread in the discussion forum; detailed scoring rubrics for each assignment, and example assignments" --Marie A. Revak, PhD, Faculty Focus, 8/22/14
Twitter Demystified: How To RT, MT, #FF And Fave Like A Pro
"Twitter has a problem: New users just don't know how to use it. To help newbies sign up and start tweeting, the company has made a number of recent changes. Redesigned profiles, a giant World Cup marketing push, and rejiggering the Home timeline are just part of Twitter's many attempts to make it friendlier for first-time users." -- Selena Larson, Read Write, 8/21/14
Why I'm Asking You Not to Use Laptops
"At a teaching workshop last week, a new faculty member asked me how I felt about students using laptops in the classroom. I replied, “I ask students not to use laptops in my classroom—unless a student tells me they need or strongly prefer a laptop to take notes (for any reason), in which case we make that work.” She looked relieved to have this endorsement of a learning zone with fewer electronic distractions." -- Anne Curzon, Lingua Franca, 8/25/14
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Friday, August 22, 2014
Weekly Reader
What the "death of the library" Means to the Future of Books
"Forbes contributor Tim Worstall wants us to close public libraries and buy everyone an Amazon Kindle with an unlimited subscription. "Why wouldn't we simply junk the physical libraries and purchase an Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription for the entire country?" he asks. Worstall points to substantial savings on public funds, arguing that people would have access to a much larger collection of books through a Kindle Unlimited subscription than they could get through any public library and that the government would spend far less on a bulk subscription for all residents than it ever would on funding libraries." -- S.E. Smith, The Daily Dot, 8/18/14
How Teaching Online Made Me a Better Face-to-Face Instructor
"I have been teaching online courses for more than eight years now. I was one of the first at my previous institution to transition a face-to-face (F2F) course to a 100% online course and now, in addition to my F2F courses, I also teach for two fully online institutions. However, I still find many of my F2F colleagues reluctant to make that transition." --Tiffany M. Reiss, PhD, Faculty Focus, 8/15/14
That’s Not #Funny: Higher Ed’s Least Clever Twitter Accounts
"Earlier this month, a puckish Twitter user going by the handle @ProfJeffJarvis managed to provoke two actual professors into fits of outrage.Rurick Bradbury, the technology entrepreneur who runs the account, has been sending up the jargon of contemporary “thinkfluencers” since 2012, amassing 11,000 followers. He named the account after Jeff Jarvis, a writer and professor at the City University of New York’s journalism school, although the object of Mr. Bradbury’s satire is not necessarily Mr. Jarvis but a wider culture of new-media seers." -- Steve Kolowich, Wired Campus, 8/20/14
On Politeness as a Strategy
"Despite its fondness for elaborate rituals, higher education really isn’t all that polite. Every campus has its faculty or staff member(s) who are notoriously fractious and hard to work with, and, more generally, higher education doesn’t really select for “playing well with others.” (Indeed, if you Google “academic decorum,” a result on the first page includes musings on whether creativity and collegiality are truly compatible.) Higher education’s traditional employment practices can mean that people have the opportunity to nurse grudges over extended periods of time." -- Jason B. Jones , ProfHacker, 8/18/14
"Forbes contributor Tim Worstall wants us to close public libraries and buy everyone an Amazon Kindle with an unlimited subscription. "Why wouldn't we simply junk the physical libraries and purchase an Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription for the entire country?" he asks. Worstall points to substantial savings on public funds, arguing that people would have access to a much larger collection of books through a Kindle Unlimited subscription than they could get through any public library and that the government would spend far less on a bulk subscription for all residents than it ever would on funding libraries." -- S.E. Smith, The Daily Dot, 8/18/14
How Teaching Online Made Me a Better Face-to-Face Instructor
"I have been teaching online courses for more than eight years now. I was one of the first at my previous institution to transition a face-to-face (F2F) course to a 100% online course and now, in addition to my F2F courses, I also teach for two fully online institutions. However, I still find many of my F2F colleagues reluctant to make that transition." --Tiffany M. Reiss, PhD, Faculty Focus, 8/15/14
That’s Not #Funny: Higher Ed’s Least Clever Twitter Accounts
"Earlier this month, a puckish Twitter user going by the handle @ProfJeffJarvis managed to provoke two actual professors into fits of outrage.Rurick Bradbury, the technology entrepreneur who runs the account, has been sending up the jargon of contemporary “thinkfluencers” since 2012, amassing 11,000 followers. He named the account after Jeff Jarvis, a writer and professor at the City University of New York’s journalism school, although the object of Mr. Bradbury’s satire is not necessarily Mr. Jarvis but a wider culture of new-media seers." -- Steve Kolowich, Wired Campus, 8/20/14
On Politeness as a Strategy
"Despite its fondness for elaborate rituals, higher education really isn’t all that polite. Every campus has its faculty or staff member(s) who are notoriously fractious and hard to work with, and, more generally, higher education doesn’t really select for “playing well with others.” (Indeed, if you Google “academic decorum,” a result on the first page includes musings on whether creativity and collegiality are truly compatible.) Higher education’s traditional employment practices can mean that people have the opportunity to nurse grudges over extended periods of time." -- Jason B. Jones , ProfHacker, 8/18/14
Friday, August 15, 2014
Weekly Reader
5 Things You Can do to Prepare for The New Semester
"A couple of weeks ago, Natalie wrote a post about wrapping up the summer. I know, I know. Say it isn’t so! Well, today I’d like move from summer to fall by point you to a handful of posts I wrote in the early ProfHacker days about getting ready for a new term. Not everyone is going to find all of this advice helpful, obviously, but we hope that there are at least a few things in these posts that can be of use to you." -- George Williams, ProfHacker, 8/13/14
Know the Vital Players in Your Career: You
"In more than 20 years of working in academe, I have seen innumerable people sabotage their own careers through terrible mistakes. A bad outcome is sometimes due to chance or forces beyond your control, but the single most important factor determining whether you achieve your career goals, including tenure and promotion, is you." -- David D. Perlmutter, Chronicle | Advice, 8/11/14
Google Rolls Out Free LMS Apps for Education
"Google's free learning management system, Google Classroom, is now in full release and is being made available today to all Apps for Education customers.The service had been in limited preview since May. During that time, according to Google Apps for Education Product Manager Zach Yeskel, more than 100,000 educators applied to be a part of the preview, and "tens of thousands" of those educations — from K-12 schools, colleges and universities — actually participated." -- David Nagel, Campus Technology, 8/12/14
"A couple of weeks ago, Natalie wrote a post about wrapping up the summer. I know, I know. Say it isn’t so! Well, today I’d like move from summer to fall by point you to a handful of posts I wrote in the early ProfHacker days about getting ready for a new term. Not everyone is going to find all of this advice helpful, obviously, but we hope that there are at least a few things in these posts that can be of use to you." -- George Williams, ProfHacker, 8/13/14
Know the Vital Players in Your Career: You
"In more than 20 years of working in academe, I have seen innumerable people sabotage their own careers through terrible mistakes. A bad outcome is sometimes due to chance or forces beyond your control, but the single most important factor determining whether you achieve your career goals, including tenure and promotion, is you." -- David D. Perlmutter, Chronicle | Advice, 8/11/14
Google Rolls Out Free LMS Apps for Education
"Google's free learning management system, Google Classroom, is now in full release and is being made available today to all Apps for Education customers.The service had been in limited preview since May. During that time, according to Google Apps for Education Product Manager Zach Yeskel, more than 100,000 educators applied to be a part of the preview, and "tens of thousands" of those educations — from K-12 schools, colleges and universities — actually participated." -- David Nagel, Campus Technology, 8/12/14
Friday, July 25, 2014
Weekly Reader
5 Tips for Librarians Using Web Metrics
"The library and information community have often been at the forefront of adopting new web technologies, but generally less thought is given to measuring how these technologies are being used. An annual report may mention the number of followers the library's Twitter account has accumulated, or the number of article downloads from its institutional repository, but such a light-touch approach to web metrics neither recognizes its full potential nor acknowledges its limitations." -- Ed Patrick, CILIP, 7/15/14
A Liaison for a Classroom Building? Curating a Learning ecosystem.
"It is very common for librarians to serve as liaisons to academic departments. They teach classes, purchase materials, answer reference questions, assist with research endeavors, and generally get involved with the odds-and-ends of those units. Some librarians also liaise with defined user communities such as first-year students, international students, or students associated with particular residence halls."-- Brian Matthews, The Ubiquitous Librarian, 7/17/14
6 Tips for Managing your Professional Online Profile
"Professional online profiles are part of the toolkit of everyday life. You may have one (or more) and your services users may have one too. Here are six tips distilled from Matt Holland’s experience of creating and maintaining a number of profiles over time." -- Cat Cooper, CILIP, 7/22/14
Conflict in Academe
"All workplaces entail conflicts, of varying scales and of varying levels of importance or unimportance. One significant factor in the quality of our work lives is not so much whether conflict exists, but how it is handled within our departments and institutions. There are some situations in which we can merely avoid conflict, and it is by far the more prudent course of action to do so. Conflicts of any variety should not be courted, nor pursued unnecessarily." -- Nate Kreute, Tyro Tracts | Insider Higer Ed, 7/23/14
"The library and information community have often been at the forefront of adopting new web technologies, but generally less thought is given to measuring how these technologies are being used. An annual report may mention the number of followers the library's Twitter account has accumulated, or the number of article downloads from its institutional repository, but such a light-touch approach to web metrics neither recognizes its full potential nor acknowledges its limitations." -- Ed Patrick, CILIP, 7/15/14
A Liaison for a Classroom Building? Curating a Learning ecosystem.
"It is very common for librarians to serve as liaisons to academic departments. They teach classes, purchase materials, answer reference questions, assist with research endeavors, and generally get involved with the odds-and-ends of those units. Some librarians also liaise with defined user communities such as first-year students, international students, or students associated with particular residence halls."-- Brian Matthews, The Ubiquitous Librarian, 7/17/14
6 Tips for Managing your Professional Online Profile
"Professional online profiles are part of the toolkit of everyday life. You may have one (or more) and your services users may have one too. Here are six tips distilled from Matt Holland’s experience of creating and maintaining a number of profiles over time." -- Cat Cooper, CILIP, 7/22/14
Conflict in Academe
"All workplaces entail conflicts, of varying scales and of varying levels of importance or unimportance. One significant factor in the quality of our work lives is not so much whether conflict exists, but how it is handled within our departments and institutions. There are some situations in which we can merely avoid conflict, and it is by far the more prudent course of action to do so. Conflicts of any variety should not be courted, nor pursued unnecessarily." -- Nate Kreute, Tyro Tracts | Insider Higer Ed, 7/23/14
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Dr. Suess + Twitter = Fun
I have begun compiling - or gathering - a variety of Twitter resources, curating on Pinterest and using our session hashtag #tweetalao, for a presentation / workshop at the ALAO Conference later this fall. I found this fun infographic, from Hootsuite via the Daily Genius. What fun!
"Dr. Seuss, the writer and illustrator behind children’s classics The Cat in the Hat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and The Lorax, would have turned 110 on March 2nd. We think that if he were alive today, he would have been a social media master. So to honor his wit and wisdom, here’s our interpretation of the Seuss guide to Twitter." - Evan LePage
Monday, July 21, 2014
ALAO 2014: Posters, Discussion Tables &Tech Tables
The Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) Conference Planning Committee is now accepting proposals for Poster Sessions, Tech Tables and Discussion Table topics for the 40th Annual ALAO Conference, which will take place on November 13-14, 2014 at the Kalahari Resort & Convention Center in Sandusky, OH.
Applicants are encouraged to develop sessions that show thoughtful consideration of this year’s conference theme, “Engagement, advocacy and outreach: Empowering our communities,” which seeks to explore how academic libraries and librarians empower our communities in all the ways that we do. We would love to learn about your ideas, experiences, solutions, and best practices – even those that yielded results that were different than expected! For this round of proposals, sessions take the form of:
Submit your proposal online @ http://bit.ly/1oi4zS6
Questions? Contact Shelly Miller, ALAO CPC via email: shellym at ohionet.org
Submission deadline for proposals is August 1, 2014.
- Posters: Graphically represent a topic with text, tables, and images and chat informally with poster session attendees about your material
- Discussion Tables: Lead a small, informal group discussion to facilitate networking and information exchange about a specific issue that librarians face
- Tech Tables: Demonstrate a technology resource being used in your library.
Submit your proposal online @ http://bit.ly/1oi4zS6
Questions? Contact Shelly Miller, ALAO CPC via email: shellym at ohionet.org
Friday, July 18, 2014
Weekly Reader
At Sea in a Deluge of Data
"This spring, more college students than ever received baccalaureate degrees, and their career prospects are brighter than they were for last year’s graduates. Employers responding to this year’s National Association of Colleges and Employers’ "Job Outlook 2014 Survey" said they planned to increase entry-level hiring by almost 8 percent. But what they may not realize is that these seemingly techno-savvy new hires could be missing some basic yet vital research skills." -- Alison J. Head and John Wihbey, Chronicle | Commentary, 7/7/14
A Question of Quality
"If students in a face-to-face course emailed their provost with concerns that their professor had stopped lecturing, chances are that someone -- a department head or an administrator -- would intervene. But what if the students were scattered across different countries and time zones in a not-for-credit massive open online course?" -- Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed, 7/15/14
What Academic Librarians Need to Learn About the Common Core
"Today’s post is partly inspired by Steven Bell’s recent op-ed piece on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Library Journal. Bell gives an overview of CCSS and highlights its impact on libraries, not only K-12, but higher education as well. I’m very familiar with the standards, so today’s post will delve into the specifics of how CCSS will impact academic librarians, as well as information literacy programs. I will also give you some ideas about how you can support CCSS locally."-- Amanda Hovious, Designer Librarian, 7/15/14
33 Ethicists Defend Facebook’s Controversial Mood Study
"A group of bioethicists wrote in a column published on Wednesday that Facebook’s controversial study of mood manipulation was not unethical, and harsh criticism of it risks putting a chill on future research. The article was written by six ethicists, joined by 27 others."-- Andy Thomason, Chronicle | The Ticker, 7/16/14
Lessons Learned from the Facebook Study
"By now, anyone who is remotely interested knows that the Facebook data-science team, in collaboration with some researchers at Cornell University, recently published a paper reporting “experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks.” If you’ve heard about this study, you probably also know that many people are upset about it. Even the journal that published it, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has issued an “editorial expression of concern” about potential violations of ethical standards."-- Duncan J. Watts, The Chronicle | Conversations, 7/9/14
Misjudgements will drive social trials underground
"Some bioethicists have said that Facebook’s recent study of user behaviour is “scandalous”, “violates accepted research ethics” and “should never have been performed.” I write with 5 co-authors, on behalf of 27 other ethicists, to disagree with these sweeping condemnations (see go.nature.com/XI7szI). We are making this stand because the vitriolic criticism of this study could have a chilling effect on valuable research. Worse, it perpetuates the presumption that research is dangerous." -- Michelle N. Meyer, Nature | World View, 7/16/14
Random Reflections on Getting Published
"In my last article, I provided a handful of obvious tips for junior scholars on getting journal articles published. My aim wasn’t to provide a comprehensive guide to publication, but instead to highlight common (and easily rectified) issues that I see regularly as an associate editor of an academic journal. But there’s more to say. So as a follow-up, I thought I’d offer a few random reflections informed by my work as an editor and my experiences as an author." -- Kirsten Bell, Chronicle Vitae, 7/14/14
"This spring, more college students than ever received baccalaureate degrees, and their career prospects are brighter than they were for last year’s graduates. Employers responding to this year’s National Association of Colleges and Employers’ "Job Outlook 2014 Survey" said they planned to increase entry-level hiring by almost 8 percent. But what they may not realize is that these seemingly techno-savvy new hires could be missing some basic yet vital research skills." -- Alison J. Head and John Wihbey, Chronicle | Commentary, 7/7/14
A Question of Quality
"If students in a face-to-face course emailed their provost with concerns that their professor had stopped lecturing, chances are that someone -- a department head or an administrator -- would intervene. But what if the students were scattered across different countries and time zones in a not-for-credit massive open online course?" -- Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed, 7/15/14
What Academic Librarians Need to Learn About the Common Core
"Today’s post is partly inspired by Steven Bell’s recent op-ed piece on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Library Journal. Bell gives an overview of CCSS and highlights its impact on libraries, not only K-12, but higher education as well. I’m very familiar with the standards, so today’s post will delve into the specifics of how CCSS will impact academic librarians, as well as information literacy programs. I will also give you some ideas about how you can support CCSS locally."-- Amanda Hovious, Designer Librarian, 7/15/14
33 Ethicists Defend Facebook’s Controversial Mood Study
"A group of bioethicists wrote in a column published on Wednesday that Facebook’s controversial study of mood manipulation was not unethical, and harsh criticism of it risks putting a chill on future research. The article was written by six ethicists, joined by 27 others."-- Andy Thomason, Chronicle | The Ticker, 7/16/14
Lessons Learned from the Facebook Study
"By now, anyone who is remotely interested knows that the Facebook data-science team, in collaboration with some researchers at Cornell University, recently published a paper reporting “experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks.” If you’ve heard about this study, you probably also know that many people are upset about it. Even the journal that published it, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has issued an “editorial expression of concern” about potential violations of ethical standards."-- Duncan J. Watts, The Chronicle | Conversations, 7/9/14
Misjudgements will drive social trials underground
"Some bioethicists have said that Facebook’s recent study of user behaviour is “scandalous”, “violates accepted research ethics” and “should never have been performed.” I write with 5 co-authors, on behalf of 27 other ethicists, to disagree with these sweeping condemnations (see go.nature.com/XI7szI). We are making this stand because the vitriolic criticism of this study could have a chilling effect on valuable research. Worse, it perpetuates the presumption that research is dangerous." -- Michelle N. Meyer, Nature | World View, 7/16/14
Random Reflections on Getting Published
"In my last article, I provided a handful of obvious tips for junior scholars on getting journal articles published. My aim wasn’t to provide a comprehensive guide to publication, but instead to highlight common (and easily rectified) issues that I see regularly as an associate editor of an academic journal. But there’s more to say. So as a follow-up, I thought I’d offer a few random reflections informed by my work as an editor and my experiences as an author." -- Kirsten Bell, Chronicle Vitae, 7/14/14
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
ALAO 2014: Registration Open
Annual Conference: November 14, 2014
40th Annual Academic Library Association of Ohio Conference
The Kalahari Resorts • 7000 Kalahari Drive • Sandusky, Ohio 44870
Keynote Speaker: Courtney Young, ALA President
Head Librarian and Professor of Women's Studies Penn State Greater Allegheny
Keynote Address: Diversity, Professional Development & Participation: How Academic Libraries Empower Communities
Conference Website: http://www.alaoweb.org/conference
Register: http://www.alaoweb.org/event-830948
Pre-conference November 13, 2014
Pre-conference Speaker: Char Booth
Director of Research, Teaching, and Learning Services at the Claremont Colleges Library
ACRL Information Literacy Immersion Institute faculty
Pre-conference address: Who Gives? Advocacy & Outreach That Make Things Matter
Pre-conference Website: http://alaoweb.org/page-1820075
Pre-conference Registration: http://alaoweb.org/page-1820074
About ALAO Conference Registration:
Early Bird Registration ends September 19, 2014
Registration Closes: October 22, 2014
No Refunds after October 22, 2014
For information on lodging, please visit the conference website.
Questions about conference registration? Please contact Judy Cerqua, Registration Coordinator, at cerqua.1 at osu.edu
Questions about the 40th Annual ALAO Conference? Please contact ALAO President, Eboni Johnson at eboni.johnson at oberlin.edu.
Connect With Us!Follow the conference with the official Twitter hashtag #ALAO2014
Thursday, July 10, 2014
More about #IRCshelfies
Marketing the IRC is an ongoing project; planning a semester long marketing and collection awareness strategy in late summer allows me to do a 'beta test' of sorts prior to the start of the fall term. That said, this is the second week of my #IRCshelfie project.
#IRCshelfie Tweets
All of the supporting pieces are in place. I took 'shelfies' of twenty four different collection areas in the IRC, library second floor; enough for weekly tweets from July 8th to December 16th - end of the fall term. Using the online photo editor PicMonkey, I applied a Polaroid style frame to each image (oh, the irony), detailed the collection type, and added the #IRCshelfie label. After finishing the images, I used TweetDeck to schedule weekly Tuesday tweets.
Why Tuesday? We have a number of Monday holidays during the term; Tuesday generally means students will be on campus and/or in class. I also scheduled them during the afternoon. If classes are using Twitter for back-channel conversations, there is an increased chance for viewing.
Why not Instagram? I considered the popular platform to use instead of a photo editor. At this point, featuring Twitter and Pinterest in conjunction with the IRC news and information blog works. Developing relevant content for Instagram beyond the shelfies is something to consider at a later date.
The IRC Pinterest site now includes an #IRCshelfie board. Each Wednesday after the tweet, #IRCshelfie images are uploaded to Pinterest. Mock Caldecott panels and IRC scavenger hunts are traditionally scheduled at the start of each term; both activities feature the IRC Pinterest site during the activity and on corresponding LibGuides. This will help me to promote collections as well.
Follow IRC's board #IRCshelfie on Pinterest.
The final step is crafting a blog post marketing the endeavor. It is simple enough to describe the process, but I hope to create a video to make it more engaging. I've successfully used Animoto and Tellagami for marketing and information. Yesterday a tweet from Heather Moorefield shared an animated video created using Explee.
And, there are always the button makers I have on order to consider.
All of the supporting pieces are in place. I took 'shelfies' of twenty four different collection areas in the IRC, library second floor; enough for weekly tweets from July 8th to December 16th - end of the fall term. Using the online photo editor PicMonkey, I applied a Polaroid style frame to each image (oh, the irony), detailed the collection type, and added the #IRCshelfie label. After finishing the images, I used TweetDeck to schedule weekly Tuesday tweets.
Why Tuesday? We have a number of Monday holidays during the term; Tuesday generally means students will be on campus and/or in class. I also scheduled them during the afternoon. If classes are using Twitter for back-channel conversations, there is an increased chance for viewing.
Why not Instagram? I considered the popular platform to use instead of a photo editor. At this point, featuring Twitter and Pinterest in conjunction with the IRC news and information blog works. Developing relevant content for Instagram beyond the shelfies is something to consider at a later date.
The IRC Pinterest site now includes an #IRCshelfie board. Each Wednesday after the tweet, #IRCshelfie images are uploaded to Pinterest. Mock Caldecott panels and IRC scavenger hunts are traditionally scheduled at the start of each term; both activities feature the IRC Pinterest site during the activity and on corresponding LibGuides. This will help me to promote collections as well.
The final step is crafting a blog post marketing the endeavor. It is simple enough to describe the process, but I hope to create a video to make it more engaging. I've successfully used Animoto and Tellagami for marketing and information. Yesterday a tweet from Heather Moorefield shared an animated video created using Explee.
And, there are always the button makers I have on order to consider.
Wednesday, July 09, 2014
Another Weekly Reader
U. of Zurich Says Professor Deleted MOOC to Raise Student Engagement
"The University of Zurich says it has cleared up the bizarre case of the MOOC that went missing. But the university is offering few clarifying details to the public, which has been left to piece together theories from the university’s statements and from cryptic tweets by the course’s professor about an unspecified experiment he might have been trying to conduct." -- Steve Kolowich, Wired Campus, 7/8/14
How to Use Twitter for Prospecting
"Twitter has over 255 million active users a month – it is a massive database, buzzing with real-time information about individuals and communities around the world. Twitter is therefore a valuable source of information for online sales and digital content teams, as well as professional bloggers, who can benefit greatly from easy, personalised communication with prospects, as well as readers and consumers." -- Sophie Turton, The Blog Herald, 7/7/14
Room for Creativity
"I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: academic Twitter can be incredible. Natalie Dorfeld emailed me after the column featuring Jessica Lawless and Miranda Merklein ran and asked what she could do to help. Noting the “kick ass work” these columns have been doing — why thank you, Natalie — she volunteered to participate. After learning about some of her professional experiences and interests, I did what any academic connected to social media would do: I crowdsourced to find a partner for an adjunct interested in ESL pedagogy, creative writing, narrative theory, contemporary poetry, and contingent labor issues." -- Joseph Fruscione, Inside Higher Ed | Career Advice, 7/9/14
Stephen Krashen to LA School Board: Invest in Libraries
"The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) recently approved a new 6.6 billion budget for the strained school system, where 80 percent of attending students live in poverty. Earlier this year, literacy expert Stephen Krashen, professor emeritus at the University of Southern California Los Angeles, delivered a powerful, five-minute presentation to the LAUSD board, “Why Invest in Libraries.” His remarks addressed the stubborn intersection of poverty, poor literacy, and limited book access." -- SLJ, School Library Journal, 7/7/14
"The University of Zurich says it has cleared up the bizarre case of the MOOC that went missing. But the university is offering few clarifying details to the public, which has been left to piece together theories from the university’s statements and from cryptic tweets by the course’s professor about an unspecified experiment he might have been trying to conduct." -- Steve Kolowich, Wired Campus, 7/8/14
How to Use Twitter for Prospecting
"Twitter has over 255 million active users a month – it is a massive database, buzzing with real-time information about individuals and communities around the world. Twitter is therefore a valuable source of information for online sales and digital content teams, as well as professional bloggers, who can benefit greatly from easy, personalised communication with prospects, as well as readers and consumers." -- Sophie Turton, The Blog Herald, 7/7/14
Room for Creativity
"I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: academic Twitter can be incredible. Natalie Dorfeld emailed me after the column featuring Jessica Lawless and Miranda Merklein ran and asked what she could do to help. Noting the “kick ass work” these columns have been doing — why thank you, Natalie — she volunteered to participate. After learning about some of her professional experiences and interests, I did what any academic connected to social media would do: I crowdsourced to find a partner for an adjunct interested in ESL pedagogy, creative writing, narrative theory, contemporary poetry, and contingent labor issues." -- Joseph Fruscione, Inside Higher Ed | Career Advice, 7/9/14
Stephen Krashen to LA School Board: Invest in Libraries
"The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) recently approved a new 6.6 billion budget for the strained school system, where 80 percent of attending students live in poverty. Earlier this year, literacy expert Stephen Krashen, professor emeritus at the University of Southern California Los Angeles, delivered a powerful, five-minute presentation to the LAUSD board, “Why Invest in Libraries.” His remarks addressed the stubborn intersection of poverty, poor literacy, and limited book access." -- SLJ, School Library Journal, 7/7/14
Tuesday, July 08, 2014
Early Weekly Reader
Caldecott 2014: The Year in Pictures
"Welcome to Las Vegas! City of lights, city of sin; of excess, exploitation, and glitter. It may be an unlikely spot for a library conference, but its unofficial slogan makes it an apt one: what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. I’m referring here not to mayhem and debauchery (although…feel free) but to the famed secrecy surrounding the deliberations of ALA’s Medal committees, which always seems to provoke a storm of speculation, second-guessing, and Monday-morning quarterbacking." -- Martha V. Parravano, The Horn Book, 7/7/14
How to Make the Most of Your Library Career
"Many thoughts percolated in my brain the day I started a new library position. I considered the new technologies, theories, and trends that I had encountered in graduate school, in journal articles, at workshops, and at conferences. I wondered how I could implement some of those ideas in my new position. I wanted to make my mark and show everyone what I was capable of accomplishing. I wondered, “How can I make everyone notice me as a leader and an agent of change and acknowledge what I can do? What changes can I put in place to make that happen?” -- Katherine Farmer, American Libraries Magazine, 7/7/14
The Shape of Higher Ed Yet to Come
"What might higher education look like a decade from now? Will it be pretty much as it is today? Or will cost pressures, debt burdens, shifting student demographics, and demands for accountability, affordability, and access produce fundamental transformations in how higher education is structured and delivered?I am a historian, and my hindsight is far sharper than my foresight. But as a thought experiment, let me speculate." -- Steven Mintz, Higher Ed Beta, 7/7/14
The Mystery of the Missing Mooc
"A massive open online course instructor was removed from his own course last week -- or was he? As confusion brews among students in the half-finished, suspended MOOC, some observers are asking if the instructor orchestrated a social experiment without permission -- or a farce." -- Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed Technology, 7/8/14
In a MOOC Mystery, A Course Suddenly Vanishes
"A massive open online course on making sense of massive open online courses caused massive confusion when the course content was suddenly deleted and the professor started writing cryptic things on Twitter." -- Steve Kolowich, Wired Campus, 7/8/14
Top Tips from Experts on What Makes a Great Infographic
"Over the last few months we have received a huge amount of questions as to what makes a great infographic and how you can stand out from the crowd. We did some research and found a great article by Eloqua that collected some expert opinions on the topic that we just loved, we also sprinkled in advice we found elsewhere that should serve you well." -- Easel.ly Blog, 7/7/14
Playing with the Possibilities
"Summer is a time many academics pause to consider professional possibilities. Should I go on the job market again this year? Do I really want to be a professor? What else is out there? How could I supplement my income this year? As a former tenured professor who left the academy to start a business, the summer is when my phone rings off the hook with people wanting to know: How did you go from Ph.D. to CEO?" -- Kerry Ann Rockquemore, Inside Higher Ed, 7/7/14
"Welcome to Las Vegas! City of lights, city of sin; of excess, exploitation, and glitter. It may be an unlikely spot for a library conference, but its unofficial slogan makes it an apt one: what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. I’m referring here not to mayhem and debauchery (although…feel free) but to the famed secrecy surrounding the deliberations of ALA’s Medal committees, which always seems to provoke a storm of speculation, second-guessing, and Monday-morning quarterbacking." -- Martha V. Parravano, The Horn Book, 7/7/14
How to Make the Most of Your Library Career
"Many thoughts percolated in my brain the day I started a new library position. I considered the new technologies, theories, and trends that I had encountered in graduate school, in journal articles, at workshops, and at conferences. I wondered how I could implement some of those ideas in my new position. I wanted to make my mark and show everyone what I was capable of accomplishing. I wondered, “How can I make everyone notice me as a leader and an agent of change and acknowledge what I can do? What changes can I put in place to make that happen?” -- Katherine Farmer, American Libraries Magazine, 7/7/14
The Shape of Higher Ed Yet to Come
"What might higher education look like a decade from now? Will it be pretty much as it is today? Or will cost pressures, debt burdens, shifting student demographics, and demands for accountability, affordability, and access produce fundamental transformations in how higher education is structured and delivered?I am a historian, and my hindsight is far sharper than my foresight. But as a thought experiment, let me speculate." -- Steven Mintz, Higher Ed Beta, 7/7/14
The Mystery of the Missing Mooc
"A massive open online course instructor was removed from his own course last week -- or was he? As confusion brews among students in the half-finished, suspended MOOC, some observers are asking if the instructor orchestrated a social experiment without permission -- or a farce." -- Carl Straumsheim, Inside Higher Ed Technology, 7/8/14
In a MOOC Mystery, A Course Suddenly Vanishes
"A massive open online course on making sense of massive open online courses caused massive confusion when the course content was suddenly deleted and the professor started writing cryptic things on Twitter." -- Steve Kolowich, Wired Campus, 7/8/14
Top Tips from Experts on What Makes a Great Infographic
"Over the last few months we have received a huge amount of questions as to what makes a great infographic and how you can stand out from the crowd. We did some research and found a great article by Eloqua that collected some expert opinions on the topic that we just loved, we also sprinkled in advice we found elsewhere that should serve you well." -- Easel.ly Blog, 7/7/14
Playing with the Possibilities
"Summer is a time many academics pause to consider professional possibilities. Should I go on the job market again this year? Do I really want to be a professor? What else is out there? How could I supplement my income this year? As a former tenured professor who left the academy to start a business, the summer is when my phone rings off the hook with people wanting to know: How did you go from Ph.D. to CEO?" -- Kerry Ann Rockquemore, Inside Higher Ed, 7/7/14
Monday, July 07, 2014
TweetDeck newbie
I use Twitter regularly for professional development and particularly enjoy weekly #libchat and #inaljchat sessions, webinar and conference back channel conversations, and connecting with other Pittsburgh sports fans. More often than not, I use the mobile app for convenience as it allows me to multitask online viewing with tweeting on another device. Oddly enough, Twitter has become part of my daily social media routine and helped me connect to a wide variety of educators and information professionals. It is not the result I imagined when signing up for an account prior to presenting at the 2011 ACRL conference.
I started using Twitter for the Instructional Resource Center in November 2011, revisited the idea in early 2012, and again later that spring. It remained a bit of a struggle remembering to post relevant content. Last fall I started using IFTTT in conjunction with IRC's Twitter account to tweet blog posts and Pinterest updates to generate interest. The IRC Pinterest site continues to be a vital resource, hence my willingness to use it to appeal to Twitter users. My strategy has been marginally successful; the number of followers consistently hovers in the vicinity of 100, tweets are often re-tweeted on campus, and stat notifications emailed by Twitter to users show a slight increase in connections. Cognizant of the fact what's missing is the conversational flow of user interaction, and understanding it may never have that capability, it is time to revisit how to best utilize the tool for marketing the IRC. I am using the IRC Twitter account to feature available collections, highlight news and information about the library and IRC, and connect followers to other IRC social media resources. To some extent, it is working. Are my expectations too high?
Consider this tweet sent out from an ALA session earlier in the week.
I agree; much of what I do via Twitter for the IRC is 'awareness building.' I have built lists of authors and campus accounts, I follow (and am followed) by a number of campus twitter accounts, and use the library's digital sign to feature the IRC's most recent tweet. However social media, whether for building awareness or connecting with users, remains a full time job in and of itself; time management is key. It takes time to craft well written blog posts, time to curate interesting boards on Pinterest, and time to schedule tweets of interest to followers.
To some extent, I have 'automated' tweets connected to Pinterest and the IRC and library news blogs using IFTTT. Why haven't I been using TweetDeck? It is easy to point out the number of articles discussing its demise and the recent hacking incident. Still, after further review, the web version fits nicely with a project to highlight IRC collections posting #IRCshelfies via Twitter.
Collections were photographed, shelfies created with a simple online editor, and tweets scheduled in TweetDeck to post each Tuesday beginning July 1st and continuing throughout the fall 2014 term. I personalized the web layout to display scheduled tweets, the #IRCshelfie hash tag, the general IRC feed, and a list of campus twitter accounts for east of re-tweeting events. The option to schedule tweets with images appears to be a new functionality, making my TweetDeck procrastination a bit ... timely. I will follow up #IRCshelfie tweets with a board on Pinterest and publish a blog post introducing shelfie tweets scheduled for the first week of classes in August. As to return on this particular investment, I hope to see an increase in followers for the IRC twitter. But more importantly, I hope it plays a role in increased awareness and use of the IRC and its collections.
I started using Twitter for the Instructional Resource Center in November 2011, revisited the idea in early 2012, and again later that spring. It remained a bit of a struggle remembering to post relevant content. Last fall I started using IFTTT in conjunction with IRC's Twitter account to tweet blog posts and Pinterest updates to generate interest. The IRC Pinterest site continues to be a vital resource, hence my willingness to use it to appeal to Twitter users. My strategy has been marginally successful; the number of followers consistently hovers in the vicinity of 100, tweets are often re-tweeted on campus, and stat notifications emailed by Twitter to users show a slight increase in connections. Cognizant of the fact what's missing is the conversational flow of user interaction, and understanding it may never have that capability, it is time to revisit how to best utilize the tool for marketing the IRC. I am using the IRC Twitter account to feature available collections, highlight news and information about the library and IRC, and connect followers to other IRC social media resources. To some extent, it is working. Are my expectations too high?
Consider this tweet sent out from an ALA session earlier in the week.
Think of marketing as awareness building. You're not always going to see Direct ROI. #alaac14
— Andrea Snyder (@alsnyder02) June 30, 2014
I agree; much of what I do via Twitter for the IRC is 'awareness building.' I have built lists of authors and campus accounts, I follow (and am followed) by a number of campus twitter accounts, and use the library's digital sign to feature the IRC's most recent tweet. However social media, whether for building awareness or connecting with users, remains a full time job in and of itself; time management is key. It takes time to craft well written blog posts, time to curate interesting boards on Pinterest, and time to schedule tweets of interest to followers.
To some extent, I have 'automated' tweets connected to Pinterest and the IRC and library news blogs using IFTTT. Why haven't I been using TweetDeck? It is easy to point out the number of articles discussing its demise and the recent hacking incident. Still, after further review, the web version fits nicely with a project to highlight IRC collections posting #IRCshelfies via Twitter.
Collections were photographed, shelfies created with a simple online editor, and tweets scheduled in TweetDeck to post each Tuesday beginning July 1st and continuing throughout the fall 2014 term. I personalized the web layout to display scheduled tweets, the #IRCshelfie hash tag, the general IRC feed, and a list of campus twitter accounts for east of re-tweeting events. The option to schedule tweets with images appears to be a new functionality, making my TweetDeck procrastination a bit ... timely. I will follow up #IRCshelfie tweets with a board on Pinterest and publish a blog post introducing shelfie tweets scheduled for the first week of classes in August. As to return on this particular investment, I hope to see an increase in followers for the IRC twitter. But more importantly, I hope it plays a role in increased awareness and use of the IRC and its collections.
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