Final, Finally (minus an "F" word I left out)

Despite the fact that my computer rebelled during the last week and was actively working against me (shakes menacing fist at screen), here is the screencast for my final project. It goes all Wonky McCrazytown in the middle, but I have made my peace with this, the final screencast of the semester.

The accompanying wiki/blog.

Click To Play

I like my real life, thanks...

There I am, Honor Sommerstein, flying over the water after I've dragged myself out of it for the 100th time. Let's just say walking was a challenge for me.

I HATED Second Life. Hated. I just don't get it. I used to mess around with the Sims a little bit, but honestly after I dressed my people up and got them looking the way I wanted, I lost interest. Some would argue that the interactivity in Second Life is more engaging--you can meet and talk to people in real time. Well, OK. But I can walk to the corner and do that. I was so disoriented and uncomfortable in Second Life that it made me WANT to work on my MMP project--that's pretty bad, since I'll use any excuse to avoid working on it. I have enough trouble managing my real life. If I'm going to head out to find some bliss it is not going to be clicking buttons trying to connect with another compuer generated icon. I understand the appeal of recreating yourself in another world, but ultimately you still have to go back to the real one and deal with your sh**. Does Second Life ease isolation or create more of it? I guess it depends on how you define connection. It. Is. Not. For. Me.

Library-wise I suppose it's OK to experiment, but I'm going to stick by my mantra: Just because we can do something doesn't mean we should. Second Life, in my opinion, is one of those places better left to recreational gamers.

If I were Steve, I would give me an A

This class is a living example of something that could easily be perceived as a "dumbing down" of the SCILS curriculum to people who operate out of an old school mentality. The truth is that the technologies we learned about here could quite possibly mean the difference between being merely a competant librarian and an excellent, innovative one. This class is not set up to initiate you into the "cult of 2.0 technology", but to introduce you to the potential of the technology and its related pitfalls. Honestly, this class would do more to enhance the practical skills of a librarian than MMP.

Things that I took from this class that I am using and will continue to use:

• Wikis--these are gifts from a higher power for group work. I have three going right now and am considering a fourth.
• Screencasting--invaluable skill. If a course that I take online does not use some kind of screencasting element I do not feel connected to the course in any way. I see incredible potential for this.
• Flickr--I like the concept. It's nice to play with a medium that is not word based. Has potential to engage the entire library community.
• Blogging--I've always kept journals, I have a lot of opinions, I love blogs. Great communication tool when paired with RSS feeds.

Hated with a blazing redhot hate:

• Gaming. I know why it's important, and I think it needs to be covered, but--blech!
• Myspace/Facebook--it is my belief that people use social networking sites for reasons that probably do not include libraries. Libraries need to be there and aware, but not count on these sites to create a community for them.

Ch-ch-ch-changes:

• I'm a fan of weekly forum activity. In this case I think responses to blog posts should be mandatory throughout, or at least strongly encouraged. Perhaps group IM'ing? I think that we all had some great things to say and I would have been interested to see what we would have had to say to each other.
• Second Life portion might be enhanced by "meeetings". Assign three or four time periods where we could all meet up in Second Life, possibly pair up for activity or something. I felt very isolated in SL, having my classmates there might help.

I did love the class. It was fun, but most importantly, it taught practical skills while engaging our critical thinking. It wasn't just about HOW, but about WHY. Sometimes it's about content, sometimes it's about how the content forces you to think. Some other courses in the SCILS curriculum could afford to take a page out of Steve's book.

Society Needs A Dose of Vitamin L

My ideal world is one in which people come to libraries to check out books, to study, to learn new things, like the library of my childhood. Then, people associated the library with "important", vital things. It was where you went when you needed information, when you needed definitive decision, when you needed the kind of comfort that only quiet, solitude, and a good book could provide. If I had to define ideal library culture for myself, that would be it. The library, however, does not operate as a function of my mind (pity, that)--it operates in a societal structure that is largely out of individual control. To consider the function of a library as serving a fixed, timeless purpose, independent of the society in which it operates is what will doom the institution.

A library MUST operate as part of the society it serves. It must, to a certain extent, reflect that society. We can all cry into our beers about the dumbification of American culture, but unless the ALA is going to position itself as the savior of American culture and aggressively spearhead a movement to reclaim it, libraries have no choice but to evolve their collections and services to reflect what is actually going on in society. That said, I do believe that traditional library services and culture can be preserved and flourish, they just need to exist side by side with updated ones.

There is always going to be a segment of society that will lament the erosion of our culture. There will also be those who try to justify plain nonsense as intellectual discourse. The key is to find balance between the two. Bigger is not always better. Faster is not always efficient. More is not always fulfilling. Libraries should keep this in mind as they build collections and prepare programs for the digital generation. Create collections that are driven by quality, vibrancy, AND relevance. Yes, they may incorporate some less than highbrow aspects, but they don't have to devolve to "Rock of Love" level either.

Imagine a library world where people come to the libary. Actually come to the library. Some might come for books, some to play in a Guitar Hero tournament, some might drop in to check out a DVD or use the internet. But just imagine people having a central location to come, to meet, to relax, to possibly even learn, but ultimately to leave enriched in some way. Shouldn't that be a library's true mission anyway?

Getting my grandma on! Yahoo Bingo

Here is my game screencast. I'm not much of a gamer so I went with a game that required little head to head interaction.

Bingo Mama

Game On! Librarification of games or arcadification of libraries, you be the judge.

Here's how I would go about choosing a system for a public library:

1. Review your library's mission. If your library doesn't have one, start writing. It is important to know what your library's mission is so that you can evaluate how gaming can dovetail with that mission.
2. Set your budget. It would be horrible to do all kinds of research, decide the Playstation3 is for you and then find out you can't afford it.
3. Decide what kinds of activities you envision sponsoring with your game system: family fun nights? tournaments? boys activities? girls? age groups? Are you in it for fun? Education? Both?
4. Anticipate resistance. There are going to be some people who Just. Don't. Get. It. If you've done your research and have a plan, you wll find it easier to persuade the haters.
5. Research what others have to say about the subject. First stop: ALA.--here and here. It's important to get the "company line". Then hit the blogs. You'll get tons of anecdotal information that can help you make a sound decision. Next: ask your patrons. Whether it be casual conversation, a forum, a survey on your library blog, or a more formal SurveyMonkey, you need to take into consideration what your patrons want.
6. Don't forget peripherals. The game system is not just the unit. Make sure you know what games are out there for your system and what other peripherals you might need (controllers, dance pads, joysticks) you will need to get maximum fun out of your chosen system.
7. Choose your system. My system of choice for libraries just getting into gaming who might anticipate some resistance from patrons or their board would be the Wii. It's non-threatening to video game newbies (of all ages), with simple easy-to-understand controllers but still lots of fun. There are games for a wide variety of ages, and lots of games that all ages can play together. This way, you can include the whole library community and not just kids. My stepfather loooooves bowling on the Wii. I could see starting a senior program in addition to kids/teen programs. The Wii is a versatile, non-threatening system that doesn't have a Grand Theft Auto stigma attached to it. Also, you don't want your programs to skew to one age/sex group. Gaming can easily skew to tween and teen boys if you don't have a varied program that will appeal to all. The one down side is that you cannot play the Wii online, so if you envisioned tournaments with other libraries, you would be limited.
8. Explore online gaming options or even none at all. Perhaps your library isn't ready for full-on system gaming, there are a lot of games on the net, including educational ones, and there are ways to work wth these to create a program. It's not a shame to know your strengths and weaknesses, and more than OK to decide that gaming isn't right for your community.

I think the most important part of the process is determining your library's mission and how gaming will contribute to that. To simply say "It will bring more people into the library" is not enough of a reason to start a gaming program in a library. It needs to contribute to more than just foot traffic to be justified. It needs to be an integrated part of what the library wants to do and should be doing for the community.

Quiet on the Set!

Screencast best practices:

* Double check your links if you are going to switch screens during the screencast. Nothing more annoying than getting halfway through a cast and hitting a broken link or a link that suprises you. Also, remember that your desktop or toolbar may be on display and if there are things you don't want to show, hide them.

* If you are not alone, notify everyone in the household that you will be screencasting for the next half hour and need QUIET. That quiet should include not just a ban on talking but on flushing the toilet in the bathroom adjacent to your office, emptying the dishwasher, or employing ridiculous stage whispers to still attempt to communicate. Unless the house is on fire, someone has severed a limb or Ewan McGregor is at the door, DO NOT DISTURB!

* I would say don't overpractice because if you do it sounds it. For me, I'd rather sit through a screencast by someone engaged in their topic who might fumble a bit than someone who has practiced a screencast into submission.

* If you mess up a few times and get frustrated, walk away. Tension is reflected in your voice. You're better off coming back to it later.

* Learn where the pause button is. It doesn't matter much with the short screencasts we do, but redoing a fifteen minute screencast because you don't know where the pause button can be frustrating.

* Play with pan and zoom, especially if you are doing detail work. I had fun with this feature, and I think it can be helpful as long as you don't overdo it and make everyone dizzy.

* Watch your sound levels. The first few times I did screencasted I didn't and ended up being disappointed when I played my "good" one back.

* Have fun. Remember: edutainment!