My holiday break was a lot of fun. I received a web cam from my brother as a gift and was playing with it a lot. The screenshot above is one where I am video chatting with a dinosaur (it is actually my friend that has a bunch of goofy effects on his camera, but the dino effect was, of course, my favorite).

I hadn’t really gotten into using video on the web much before now.  I had fiddled around with Skype, and will likely do more of that in the future.  But now that Gmail makes it so easy (it is already in my personal email), and now that I have my own web cam, I hope to be doing a lot more experimenting with video.

My main hope is that it will allow me to stay better connected with friends and family.  My fairly tech-savvy dad already had a web cam and we were playing with them over break.  I look forward to bridging the distance gap between Vermont and Minnesota using this technology.  I can maybe even chat with my mom and ask her if the new curtains she made me are installed correctly.

Failure is an inevitable part of life.  Of course you are not going to be able to keep all your resolutions.  But the act of resolving, of renewing that commitment to better yourself is something I find very strengthening and energizing.  I know that I am a broken, disjointed human being with more faults and vices than I can count, but I also can see that I am getting better and moving in desirable directions.  To err is human, but to persist in trying to correct your errors is a better sort of human.

So a few resolutions I have come up with this year are:

• Stay better connected with friends - this should be easier with technology and social networking, but it only pays off what you put in.
• Improve my concentration - There is a lot of talk that the web is decreasing our ability to focus our energy on one task. I love the interwebs, but I also want to be able to have the ability to sustain my attention on one thing as well.  This will likely involve things like unplugging for a while, meditation, and reading.
• Eat better - I think I always have this one.  Probably because I eat so terribly around the holidays.  I would like to increase my vegetable intake and maybe have some fun with it: like trying out recipes with vegetables I rarely or never eat.  What even is Kohlrabi?

There will likely be some level of failure on these, but that is not the point.  Almost two years ago I quit smoking.  I don’t think I made a stated resolution to do it, but it was around the turn of the year.  The spirit of wanting to become something better, something more, is alive and vibrant this time of year.  What are you resolving to do to make yourself better?

Now, if Meebo could add just a little more customization ability to its widgets, our IM reference would be right where I want it.  It is a little annoying that the widget says to leave an offline message.  When users do, they do not leave a way to contact them so there is no way to get back to them and answer their question.  Someday…

From alist on Flickr

The main reason for this is the lack of barriers for people to connect, share ideas, and mash up other peoples’ ideas.  Things like wikis, cloud computing, social-networking, etc. are making it possible, unlike ever before to work collaboratively.

We used to have to worry about coordinating everyone’s schedule. Now it’s possible to not even have to know what your co-collaborators even look like. People can work on projects in their own way and on their own time.  They use their own strengths and interests to contribute to the whole.

An example of this is Wikipedia.  Not many people care or even know about the Penny Red.  But enough people do so that you can now know what it is.  In this way very successful products are created.  In the case of Wikipedia the product is a great storehouse of shared knowledge, and a place to go for quick answers.

In the academic world it should be no different. Professors should be assigning more group work, not only the traditional research paper. We do hold that up as a standard of scholarship, but at least at our institution, we are not trying to create scholars.  We are trying to create successful citizens of this country and this world.  We are trying to prepare them for careers where they will need to be easily adaptable and be able to work as a group.

Research papers are worthwhile and fine in small doses. But we should be getting more creative with assignments.  How about one where they research and add successful edits to a Wikipedia entry?  How about creating a Common Craft like video explaining their topic in an easy to understand way?

A research paper is so personal and often only the student and professor see it.  Editing Wikipedia is beneficial for everyone and teaches collaborative, 21st century skills.

I have heard that you never really know something until you teach it. There is a lot of truth in this. I think I am gaining a much better understanding of what information literacy is and how it influences our daily lives.

Teaching the same session over and over can become pretty dull, but it also helps you to polish the session and find your groove.  Every first-year session I did went well, but I think that I really found my groove in the last one. I knew what I wanted to get across and even kept it interesting by telling related anecdotes from my own life or even stupid jokes. This makes a session more personal and less robotic.  By bringing your real self into the classroom you are able to connect better with students.

One example was when I was talking about finding information.  I told them that they were not just looking for stuff but the right stuff.  Like the New Kids on the Block. Then I sang the “oh, oh, oh, oh, oh” part of the chorus.  It was super lame, but I got a few pity laughs.  And the students knew I wasn’t some phony preaching to them. I was just a dude having a discussion with them about information.

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the script or lesson plan and just go through the motions, but if you can personalize it and actually put yourself into your teaching, you will serve the students much better.

I am looking forward to the holidays and a little break from teaching though.  I need to recharge for next semester.

A couple of things she discussed resonated with me as an information professional.  The first was that we are now used to getting our information in sound bites and very small easily digestible chunks.  She contended that this was not the way humans should be getting their information.  I agree.  Sound bites are good for some things, but it is a very superficial relationship to info.  You don’t get time to internalize it, think about, or understand what else is happening besides just this chunk you’re given.

The other issue she raised was how many more people are getting a voice now.  Regular citizens can make the news now with their cell phone cameras.  The Center for Media and Democracy even trains people to use cameras and go out and make their own news (as long as it is beneficial to the public, not people video-taping their cats lick themselves).

I really think the web and the these local media outlets are the key to showing us a truer version of the news than corporate media.  These are exciting times.

As an after-thought, it was really cool how Rob made up a video introduction to his class.  This is great use of web technologies for improving learning and the classroom experience.

These words were uttered by our new president-elect Barack Obama. Back in 2005 Obama keynoted at the ALA National Conference in Chicago.  An adapted transcript of the speech is available on Obama’s Illinois senator website.

It is really rad to have a new president that is not only against banning books (Palin I am looking at you), but keynoted at an ALA conference and talked at length about the importance of libraries and literacy.  I’ll just leave you with a few quotes that made me smile and realize that our new president-elect is on the side of libraries.

“I want to work with you to ensure that libraries continue to be sanctuaries of learning, where we are free to read and consider what we please without the fear that Big Brother may be peering over our shoulders to find out what we’re up to.”

And this one:

“We should make sure our politicians aren’t closing libraries down because they had to spend a few extra bucks on tax cuts for folks who don’t need them and weren’t even asking for them.”

It was like Darth Vader talking to the Emperor on Star Wars.  I still think Will I Am should be wearing a dark cape.  I can’t wait for this to catch on.  Forget these ancient technologies like SMS reference and IM reference.  The wave of the future is here, and it is hologram reference!  I better get started implementing it here.

I have been in my apartment for almost two months now, but have just not pulled the trigger on getting the internets. Mainly because the reasonable fiber connection I wanted did not yet run to my part of town. This angered me a bit so I have been using the web at coffee shops, the laundromat and at work to get my fix.

I can’t say I do not miss it at home, but I do think that it has been good for me not having the web around all the time. I have had more time to concentrate on some book reading. Moreover, I have been able to do more reflection and writing (not blogging though). I get time to slow down and think instead of watching TV on hulu or tripping from link to link on blog posts.

That being said, I need to get my home wired soon. I am starting to go through withdrawals.

Yesterday I went to the Vermont 3.0 Tech Career Jam.  I did not go into the actual gym with the tables set up since I am not actively looking for a job, but I did attend two panel sessions that sounded interesting.

The first one was called “So you wanna build websites.” It was interesting to get a perspective on the field of web design today and where it will be going in the future.  The future clearly is mobile computing and handheld devices (cell phones, etc.). and the future is here. They gave excellent advice to students and career seekers.  First they told them to concentrate on designing to standards not browsers.  “The browsers will come around,” they said.  They also said that it was necessary to have a concentration.  You cannot be a Jack of all trades in the web-design world doing graphic design, web app programming, and actually designing the site. You need to find your place and hook up with a few other people who have complementary skills.  Web design is far to specialized now.

The second session I attended was “So You Wanna be an Internet Marketer.”  This session was mainly about Google Analytics making conversions.  It made me want to do some more reading about making sense of web traffic numbers.  The most important thing that was said in the session, in my opinion was to be open to play with technology.  Champlain professor Elaine Young and others noted how important it was to try out technologies instead of instantly deciding, “that’s not for me.”

I wholeheartedly agree with this philosophy.  I need to constantly do this for my career as an Emerging Technologies Librarian.  Playing with technology is the only way you will stay current with what is out there and what your users are doing.  I hope to foster this environment and idea of play at Champlain College, along with other colleagues who are already playing and enjoying it.

Overall this Vermont 3.0 Tech Career Jam seemed like a great event bring businesses and students from around the area together to fill mutual needs.  I look forward to it next year.