When I started classes at the University of Arizona, I started looking for libraries where I might end up at that offered programs and services that I would like to be a part of, sort of a dream-job search. Of course most of my initial impressions are based on information they had on their websites and how it was presented there. As I have been looking at web design I started to realize how this could also influence users to value or undervalue a library. For many this is their first impression of the library and they need to make it count. What surprised me most is that although these libraries offer great programs and services, there are some interesting strengths and weaknesses that become more obvious as I look at these sites for format rather than content.
Lansing Public Library, Lansing Illinois
Initial view of this site may seem plain and simple but that is what adds to the value of this site. There are not too many distracting features and the menu offers extended dropdown categories. Each of the pages features the same border, background and header menu, which makes it easier to find when navigating the site. What I like best about this library website is that it has well-developed instructions for first-time users as well as direct links for more experienced users. An example of this is under the Borrower Account menu where a user can renew his/her items. One link gives a good explanation of how to renew items and the other lets the more experienced user go straight to the task and renew his/her items. I especially appreciated the dropdown menu - Search for Books/Articles & More. It breaks down the search for more specific results so a user can find exactly the type of materials s/he might need – books, articles and discussion guides. This site’s homepage features the various blogs available, which let’s the user find information directed to their age group and interest. By breaking menus down into more specific user groups it is easier to navigate. The more I explored this site I started to notice what I feel are some weaknesses. There are no images on this site, other than the image of the library in the header. Also, although it well organized and easy to navigate, there is little interactivity for users on this site. It is the presentation of information only.
St. Joseph County Public Library, South Bend, Indiana
This library offers another clean homepage with their menu in descending alphabetical order. While I think grouping like items into a drop down menu feature could simplify the menu a little, I think that the site offers a basic easy to use format. I clicked on the ‘events’ icon at the bottom of the page, which provide a document type list of everything happening for the month. The user also has the option of viewing this information in a calendar format. This sets events into a timetable for each day’s events and when the user hovers the mouse pointer over an item a small pop-up window offers extended information regarding that event. This is a timesaving feature since the user doesn’t have to click each item and then go back each time they want more information. All the pages feature the same header menu option, which takes them back to the main page or other areas of the site, with the exception of the teen section of the site, though this too has a ‘home’ link back to the main page. There are nearly no images on this site either and few have proper ‘alt’ tag information. The ‘Subject Guides’ link does take the user to a page that is similar in format to Wikipedia. The ‘Kids’ Place’ page does have a series of images on a Flash rotation that feature the children’s areas of the local libraries. This would be a great feature for other parts of the menu too. They could feature book covers or other sections of the library to advertise resources, or pictures of library staff to familiarize users with those they will meet at the library. St. Joseph’s has a great video on YouTube. I was surprised to see that it was featured on their website also.
These first two sites featured the popular white background that I saw on so many of the commercial sites in class. I have been noticing it more and more. It really makes a difference on how the other colors used on a site affects the contrast and …busyness of a site.
Denver Public Library Teen Site -Evolver, Denver Colorado
I chose this third site because I thought that it was a fun teen site and presents a colorful and organized format for teen users. Most of the pages on this web site use the same format changing only the color of the background and contrasting pattern. On the left hand menu when the user scrolls over the link an information bubble extends out and gives more details about the link. This menu is constant on most of the pages, as is the general information links at the top of the page. When one of the links on the main menu is chosen a submenu comes up on the right hand side. When the user scrolls over those several change to short comments or information. It makes a much more interesting menu for teens. The links to reviews of different media each offer scrolling images of movie posters, book covers, and album covers respectively, along with links to other sites and information on what is available at the library. I also noticed that once a user selects from the menu (and subsequent submenu) the page become a simple gray background, more like the other sites previously reviewed. This site offers much more interest and interactivity for the user without being overwhelmingly busy.
I think one of the things that I am realizing is the difference I need to make in seeing a website as a user versus seeing a site as a librarian. The first two sites while easy to navigate, do not offer much interactivity, but I went to them because I know that the content they offer is valuable. A user may never make that connection if they aren’t engaged by what they see on the site. The third site I chose is very audience-oriented. The colors are interesting and engaging but when the user gets to the content the format is presented simply with minimal but well used images to maintain the fun of the site. If I were to work for one of these libraries I think that I am learning how to better present the website for a more engaging experience for users, though they have already organized the information well.
September 20, 2008
September 17, 2008
Digital Storytelling Meets Folk Stories
Cowboy Songs and Singers: Of Lifeways and Legend
I chose this to review since it is one part of the “Through Our Parents’ Eyes” website that I return to nearly every time. The stories of the cowboys often remind me of my grandfather who ran a cattle ranch in Florida for many years. He is full of entertaining songs and stories much like the ones featured on this site. I was only able to review some of the media on this site, since either the links are bad or my computer isn’t reading the data (probably a little of both). There is some really fun audio of cowboy songs and interviews. It would be great to do some research and try to find some images or footage of the performers or just cowboys in general to enrich the history of the available information. There is an interview with a fiddle maker, Charlie Kennedy, who lost three fingers to a lawnmower (OUCH!) and he whittled new ones out of wood and re-taught himself how to play. He relates a story of a woman who won a competition but humorously argued that another guy had an advantage because he played his fiddle on his chest instead of under his chin. So Mr. Kennedy made her a breast-cut fiddle, with a section cut out of the end to fit her chest. It would be great to see pictures of that fiddle or his wooden fingers, or to see him play his fiddle with them. There has to be some pictures taken from the performances, and they would really add to the appreciation of this fading art of both fiddle making and fiddle playing. Characters like these are hard to find anymore. I am realizing how important that I document my grandfather’s contributions. I can remember him singing one of his favorites – Cross-eyed Sue:
Oh, I have a gal
Named Cross-eyed Sue,
Her eyes are red
And her lips are blue
Dimpled hair and curly cheeks;
Her false teeth rattle and her glass eye squeaks
Her old man quite a sight
He’s drunk both night and day
He feeds the horses flapjacks and he feeds the kids on hay
Her momma talks so loud and fast
She couldn't hear to stop herself
So she talks herself to death
You just can't let precious artifacts like that slip away. And as entertaining as the words are, hearing an old cowboy sing it is fantastic. Adding images of my old grandpa on the farm would be not only a great family story, but it documents a forgotten age when the west was just beginning to be tamed.
I chose this to review since it is one part of the “Through Our Parents’ Eyes” website that I return to nearly every time. The stories of the cowboys often remind me of my grandfather who ran a cattle ranch in Florida for many years. He is full of entertaining songs and stories much like the ones featured on this site. I was only able to review some of the media on this site, since either the links are bad or my computer isn’t reading the data (probably a little of both). There is some really fun audio of cowboy songs and interviews. It would be great to do some research and try to find some images or footage of the performers or just cowboys in general to enrich the history of the available information. There is an interview with a fiddle maker, Charlie Kennedy, who lost three fingers to a lawnmower (OUCH!) and he whittled new ones out of wood and re-taught himself how to play. He relates a story of a woman who won a competition but humorously argued that another guy had an advantage because he played his fiddle on his chest instead of under his chin. So Mr. Kennedy made her a breast-cut fiddle, with a section cut out of the end to fit her chest. It would be great to see pictures of that fiddle or his wooden fingers, or to see him play his fiddle with them. There has to be some pictures taken from the performances, and they would really add to the appreciation of this fading art of both fiddle making and fiddle playing. Characters like these are hard to find anymore. I am realizing how important that I document my grandfather’s contributions. I can remember him singing one of his favorites – Cross-eyed Sue:
Oh, I have a gal
Named Cross-eyed Sue,
Her eyes are red
And her lips are blue
Dimpled hair and curly cheeks;
Her false teeth rattle and her glass eye squeaks
Her old man quite a sight
He’s drunk both night and day
He feeds the horses flapjacks and he feeds the kids on hay
Her momma talks so loud and fast
She couldn't hear to stop herself
So she talks herself to death
You just can't let precious artifacts like that slip away. And as entertaining as the words are, hearing an old cowboy sing it is fantastic. Adding images of my old grandpa on the farm would be not only a great family story, but it documents a forgotten age when the west was just beginning to be tamed.
June 18, 2008
Time to Change My Wiki Ways
Wikis are something that I never knew could be a customizable resource before this last year. I have used Wikipedia but I never thought about contributing or creating one of my own. It seems though that everyone else has. Since my background is in secondary education I chose K-12 as the emphasis for this blog.
I want to review a couple of the wikis provided in our class website resources for educational wikis. I looked at the Digital Media in Teaching and Learning wiki and was immediately put off by how busy and disorganized it appeared. It was difficult to navigate and there didn’t seem to be any logic to the entries. It seems that it was made for college students but I had a hard time sorting it out. However, The Discovery -Ism Project was really impressive. This site was designed for middle school students. The students working on this project were using all the different types of technology and embedding document, video and audio to create their own pages that gave them a chance to express themselves. I can see this working really well in a library too. Youth librarians would do well to follow this educator’s example. Another is one created by an educator in New Zealand, named Educational Software and Web 2.0. Her audience is other educators. She has developed a great wiki with live chat options (of course, since she’s on the other side of the world, we’d have to chat in what would be the middle of the night for me). Her wiki is very well organized and full of resources which educators can use in their classes.
I also searched on the Internet to see what others are doing. One wiki I found titled High School Online Collaborative Writing features pages from various schools that have pages for classes in Physics, civil rights, journalism, design technology, and humanities, among others. Obviously, educators are finding many applications for wikis in the classroom. With the increased interest in images and video, wikis could be used for class discussions of artists’ work or to display student work. Video presentations could be made of class presentations or lecture materials with accompanying student research or comments. The wiki does not have to be limited to one class or one school year. It can involve several classes over several years, each class contributing to the whole. One school could also develop a wiki with another school in another state or country to share ideas and cultures.
Using a wiki in a library setting offers many other opportunities for collaboration. Library staff can use a wiki as a tool to develop ideas for community outreach and event planning. By allowing everyone to view and contribute to a wiki it would save time since everyone wouldn’t have to wait for emails to get around to everyone. It would also allow everyone to see all the ideas in one place. A wiki page could also be used to update employees on software update information, library policy changes and such items that would help them serve the users better. The University of Minnesota has a library staff website/wiki, which is a great example of how something like this could work. Not as nicely developed yet, but still a good example is Oregon libraries’ network staff L-net wiki.
For users a wiki could be used for book reviews and recommendations. Iowa Librarians' Readers' Advisory is a wiki site that seems to still be in development but does give me ideas about how to use wikis in a library setting. Allowing users to develop book recommendation pages would give them a voice in the library and other users can add more information about the same books or add others that they want to recommend. Book clubs can use wikis to discuss what they’ve read. Teen groups can create a wiki of current events or favorite YouTube videos. Adult users can use wikis to present and discuss community events and information like elections. One great thing about wikis is that the user does not have to physically be in the library in order to participate. They can be at home, work, vacation, anywhere, and still participate in book clubs and discussions.
The Wikipedia Community Portal was a real eye opener for me. I never realized there was so much going on behind the scenes. Here are a few things that were new to me.
Portals—This is a place to collectively connect to items. Portals provide information on related items that might otherwise not be directly connected in a regular search in Wikipedia.
Wikiprojects —This section is dedicated to pages that help coordinate and organize article writing and editing. These are works in progress that are not yet ready to be viewed in the regular Wikipedia pages.
Collaborations — This is where existing articles are edited to expand content or clean up and improve an article’s content.
Discussions — This area lists comments and concern brought up by other users and editors. These have been subdivided into categories that make it easy to quickly identify section where a user could find a section they want to contribute to.
Wikizine —Described as “a (nearly) weekly news letter. It attempts to bring the most important news from the global Wikimedia family for everybody involved with Wikimedia.” It serves a brief ‘head-up’ to keep users informed on changes and topics.
The Village Pump — “This set of pages is used to discuss the technical issues, policies, and operations of Wikipedia.” This really gives users ownership and voice in the operation and maintenance of Wikipedia.
Wikipedia Weekly — Wikipedia’s podcast. Well, they have everything else, so why not?
It is amazing to me to realize that I have been using Wikipedia for so long and never knew there was so much to it. I always wondered who contributed to Wikipedia, but never felt until now that it could be me. As a librarian, it is important to the users that I serve that I am aware of and promote these kinds of services, both the official Wikipedia site and my library’s own wiki.
I want to review a couple of the wikis provided in our class website resources for educational wikis. I looked at the Digital Media in Teaching and Learning wiki and was immediately put off by how busy and disorganized it appeared. It was difficult to navigate and there didn’t seem to be any logic to the entries. It seems that it was made for college students but I had a hard time sorting it out. However, The Discovery -Ism Project was really impressive. This site was designed for middle school students. The students working on this project were using all the different types of technology and embedding document, video and audio to create their own pages that gave them a chance to express themselves. I can see this working really well in a library too. Youth librarians would do well to follow this educator’s example. Another is one created by an educator in New Zealand, named Educational Software and Web 2.0. Her audience is other educators. She has developed a great wiki with live chat options (of course, since she’s on the other side of the world, we’d have to chat in what would be the middle of the night for me). Her wiki is very well organized and full of resources which educators can use in their classes.
I also searched on the Internet to see what others are doing. One wiki I found titled High School Online Collaborative Writing features pages from various schools that have pages for classes in Physics, civil rights, journalism, design technology, and humanities, among others. Obviously, educators are finding many applications for wikis in the classroom. With the increased interest in images and video, wikis could be used for class discussions of artists’ work or to display student work. Video presentations could be made of class presentations or lecture materials with accompanying student research or comments. The wiki does not have to be limited to one class or one school year. It can involve several classes over several years, each class contributing to the whole. One school could also develop a wiki with another school in another state or country to share ideas and cultures.
Using a wiki in a library setting offers many other opportunities for collaboration. Library staff can use a wiki as a tool to develop ideas for community outreach and event planning. By allowing everyone to view and contribute to a wiki it would save time since everyone wouldn’t have to wait for emails to get around to everyone. It would also allow everyone to see all the ideas in one place. A wiki page could also be used to update employees on software update information, library policy changes and such items that would help them serve the users better. The University of Minnesota has a library staff website/wiki, which is a great example of how something like this could work. Not as nicely developed yet, but still a good example is Oregon libraries’ network staff L-net wiki.
For users a wiki could be used for book reviews and recommendations. Iowa Librarians' Readers' Advisory is a wiki site that seems to still be in development but does give me ideas about how to use wikis in a library setting. Allowing users to develop book recommendation pages would give them a voice in the library and other users can add more information about the same books or add others that they want to recommend. Book clubs can use wikis to discuss what they’ve read. Teen groups can create a wiki of current events or favorite YouTube videos. Adult users can use wikis to present and discuss community events and information like elections. One great thing about wikis is that the user does not have to physically be in the library in order to participate. They can be at home, work, vacation, anywhere, and still participate in book clubs and discussions.
The Wikipedia Community Portal was a real eye opener for me. I never realized there was so much going on behind the scenes. Here are a few things that were new to me.
Portals—This is a place to collectively connect to items. Portals provide information on related items that might otherwise not be directly connected in a regular search in Wikipedia.
Wikiprojects —This section is dedicated to pages that help coordinate and organize article writing and editing. These are works in progress that are not yet ready to be viewed in the regular Wikipedia pages.
Collaborations — This is where existing articles are edited to expand content or clean up and improve an article’s content.
Discussions — This area lists comments and concern brought up by other users and editors. These have been subdivided into categories that make it easy to quickly identify section where a user could find a section they want to contribute to.
Wikizine —Described as “a (nearly) weekly news letter. It attempts to bring the most important news from the global Wikimedia family for everybody involved with Wikimedia.” It serves a brief ‘head-up’ to keep users informed on changes and topics.
The Village Pump — “This set of pages is used to discuss the technical issues, policies, and operations of Wikipedia.” This really gives users ownership and voice in the operation and maintenance of Wikipedia.
Wikipedia Weekly — Wikipedia’s podcast. Well, they have everything else, so why not?
It is amazing to me to realize that I have been using Wikipedia for so long and never knew there was so much to it. I always wondered who contributed to Wikipedia, but never felt until now that it could be me. As a librarian, it is important to the users that I serve that I am aware of and promote these kinds of services, both the official Wikipedia site and my library’s own wiki.
June 8, 2008
More Digital Storytelling
Architecture and Urbanism of the Southwest http://parentseyes.arizona.edu/adobe/index.html
This section of the “Through Our Parents’ Eyes” website is based on an essay by John Messina a research architect. This is an excellent essay with corresponding images, but for those who are not familiar with architecture or some of the amazing features of the southwest, this could be an opportunity for the author to reformat his essay. He has some multimedia features such as a a QuickTimeVR panorama view of Casas Grandes at Paquimé, Chihuahua, which is really amazing, and a slide show of the adobe brick-making process, but I think that it would be great to hear a narration and explanation of the images by the author. Since this area is so rich with multicultural influences, it could be a great educational tool to better understand which images were developed by each culture and the significance it had. In one section the author writes of how “Because of relatively small windows most of the older adobe buildings appeared dark inside. However, some architects of early adobe buildings employed design strategies in order to selectively position daylight at specific locations in the interior space. The clear story window of many east and south facing New Mexico churches allowed for illumination on the sanctuary or altar area.” There is an image of a church’s altar, which is an example of this, but it would be interesting if possible to get video footage tracking the sun as it rises on that altar, or more examples of buildings with clearstory windows that could be put together with an explanatory narration. This is valuable information that might be overlooked if one feels that they won’t understand what there is to read, but with audio and image/video descriptions, the user could better comprehend the amazing history being documented.
This section of the “Through Our Parents’ Eyes” website is based on an essay by John Messina a research architect. This is an excellent essay with corresponding images, but for those who are not familiar with architecture or some of the amazing features of the southwest, this could be an opportunity for the author to reformat his essay. He has some multimedia features such as a a QuickTimeVR panorama view of Casas Grandes at Paquimé, Chihuahua, which is really amazing, and a slide show of the adobe brick-making process, but I think that it would be great to hear a narration and explanation of the images by the author. Since this area is so rich with multicultural influences, it could be a great educational tool to better understand which images were developed by each culture and the significance it had. In one section the author writes of how “Because of relatively small windows most of the older adobe buildings appeared dark inside. However, some architects of early adobe buildings employed design strategies in order to selectively position daylight at specific locations in the interior space. The clear story window of many east and south facing New Mexico churches allowed for illumination on the sanctuary or altar area.” There is an image of a church’s altar, which is an example of this, but it would be interesting if possible to get video footage tracking the sun as it rises on that altar, or more examples of buildings with clearstory windows that could be put together with an explanatory narration. This is valuable information that might be overlooked if one feels that they won’t understand what there is to read, but with audio and image/video descriptions, the user could better comprehend the amazing history being documented.
May 15, 2008
Digital Storytelling
I have looked at the website for “Through Our Parents’ Eyes,” several times since starting the IRLS program and each time I am surprised how much that I overlooked before. Now looking at it from a digital storytelling perspective it is as if it is all new to me. I wish I had time to review it all, but my available time limits me, so I'll have to add more in a later post. For now here's ~
Finding a Place in America – A Collaborative Conversation
As I looked through the texts for this project the content reminded me of the Capture Wales site that we looked at in class. They are short messages about self and community, and understanding ourselves and our place in this world. I think that adding images and audio to this project would give this project more depth and dimension. While reading the text is valuable, written words don’t convey the nuances that speech provides. The written word doesn’t show what the tone of voice or tense that gives different value to the words when spoken. When Kevin Courtney talks about growing up “off Broadway” in New York City, and he writes about his friend Al from “the Carolinas” it would be great to hear the his voice imitating his friend’s drawl. While his words create a vivid picture it would be amazing to add images of him and Al and New York that would give us his perspective of the experience which he relates. In another “conversation,” Joan Allemon shares her feelings about art. She says “I try to imagine a world without Art; without pictures, stories, songs, dance, theater, architecture. I cannot. It is a glorious place to go to. It's my space travel, my religious experience, my spirit trip, and probably the primary force behind why I make pictures or at least why I keep returning to my empty canvases." While text only is not an empty canvas it can be like viewing rainbows in black and white. The addition of audio and images or video each adds colors and dimensions to these stories that would give them personality and life. I wonder why this project wasn’t continued. It would be interesting to see this project start again and develop it with an emphasis on digital storytelling.
Finding a Place in America – A Collaborative Conversation
As I looked through the texts for this project the content reminded me of the Capture Wales site that we looked at in class. They are short messages about self and community, and understanding ourselves and our place in this world. I think that adding images and audio to this project would give this project more depth and dimension. While reading the text is valuable, written words don’t convey the nuances that speech provides. The written word doesn’t show what the tone of voice or tense that gives different value to the words when spoken. When Kevin Courtney talks about growing up “off Broadway” in New York City, and he writes about his friend Al from “the Carolinas” it would be great to hear the his voice imitating his friend’s drawl. While his words create a vivid picture it would be amazing to add images of him and Al and New York that would give us his perspective of the experience which he relates. In another “conversation,” Joan Allemon shares her feelings about art. She says “I try to imagine a world without Art; without pictures, stories, songs, dance, theater, architecture. I cannot. It is a glorious place to go to. It's my space travel, my religious experience, my spirit trip, and probably the primary force behind why I make pictures or at least why I keep returning to my empty canvases." While text only is not an empty canvas it can be like viewing rainbows in black and white. The addition of audio and images or video each adds colors and dimensions to these stories that would give them personality and life. I wonder why this project wasn’t continued. It would be interesting to see this project start again and develop it with an emphasis on digital storytelling.
April 26, 2008
Review of Security Now Podcast
Security Now Episode #107
PIP & More Perfect Passwords
I chose to read the transcripts rather than listening to the podcast because the banter was distracting so the link above reflects that. I tried listening to several and found that I was really confused by what they were discussing. I don’t think I know enough yet to appreciate what they have to offer but by going to the transcripts I was able to pick out a couple of items that I could learn more about online. Because of this I provided page numbers rather than times.
I wanted to have a better understanding about OpenID (Gibson 5). It makes sense that it would be good to have one (or more) ID that is held in a secure site that I could use to gain access to multiple sites without giving out my personal information to each of them. It seems like a common sense idea but not every site has an OpenID option, at least not yet. From what I could tell, more and more companies are adding this option because of the growing need for users to secure their personal information. This information would not be stored on the user’s computer either so if the computer were compromised this information wouldn’t be. Users gets to choose the OpenID Provider that best meets their needs and most importantly that they trust. At the same time, their OpenID can stay with them, no matter which Provider they move to. And best of all, the OpenID technology is not proprietary and is completely free. (OpenID.net)
I also learned about dongles and fobs(Gibson 8). Dongles are hardware devices that are attached to the computer for verification of software, also sometimes referred to as hardware keys. “Dongles evolved and have become secure cryptoprocessors that execute inaccessible program instructions that may be input to the cryptoprocessor only in encrypted form.” (Wikipedia) Still, they are not a perfect protection. Fobs are external security tokens often found on a key chain much like jump drives. They can be used to store passwords or to generate a one-time password that changes after each login, or changes after a set time interval. This fob may provide a “time-synchronized one-time password change constantly at a set time interval, e.g. once per minute. For disconnected tokens this time-synchronization is done before the token is distributed to the client, other token types do the synchronization when the token is inserted into an input device.” (Wikipedia)
Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte also discuss password generators that use a “monotonic counter, meaning a counter that only goes up, never goes down.” Mr. Gibson developed a system that “generates the thing [he calls] a "cryptoken," which is a nonrepeating token that is used in order to hand our individual ecommerce users a token that’s only good once (Gibson 11). This is something that I am still trying to understand but from his description it basically helps provide passwords that are virtually impossible to break. I don’t understand all the number crunching involved but the idea is that they are providing users with more security and confidence when online, which is something everyone needs more of.
PIP & More Perfect Passwords
I chose to read the transcripts rather than listening to the podcast because the banter was distracting so the link above reflects that. I tried listening to several and found that I was really confused by what they were discussing. I don’t think I know enough yet to appreciate what they have to offer but by going to the transcripts I was able to pick out a couple of items that I could learn more about online. Because of this I provided page numbers rather than times.
I wanted to have a better understanding about OpenID (Gibson 5). It makes sense that it would be good to have one (or more) ID that is held in a secure site that I could use to gain access to multiple sites without giving out my personal information to each of them. It seems like a common sense idea but not every site has an OpenID option, at least not yet. From what I could tell, more and more companies are adding this option because of the growing need for users to secure their personal information. This information would not be stored on the user’s computer either so if the computer were compromised this information wouldn’t be. Users gets to choose the OpenID Provider that best meets their needs and most importantly that they trust. At the same time, their OpenID can stay with them, no matter which Provider they move to. And best of all, the OpenID technology is not proprietary and is completely free. (OpenID.net)
I also learned about dongles and fobs(Gibson 8). Dongles are hardware devices that are attached to the computer for verification of software, also sometimes referred to as hardware keys. “Dongles evolved and have become secure cryptoprocessors that execute inaccessible program instructions that may be input to the cryptoprocessor only in encrypted form.” (Wikipedia) Still, they are not a perfect protection. Fobs are external security tokens often found on a key chain much like jump drives. They can be used to store passwords or to generate a one-time password that changes after each login, or changes after a set time interval. This fob may provide a “time-synchronized one-time password change constantly at a set time interval, e.g. once per minute. For disconnected tokens this time-synchronization is done before the token is distributed to the client, other token types do the synchronization when the token is inserted into an input device.” (Wikipedia)
Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte also discuss password generators that use a “monotonic counter, meaning a counter that only goes up, never goes down.” Mr. Gibson developed a system that “generates the thing [he calls] a "cryptoken," which is a nonrepeating token that is used in order to hand our individual ecommerce users a token that’s only good once (Gibson 11). This is something that I am still trying to understand but from his description it basically helps provide passwords that are virtually impossible to break. I don’t understand all the number crunching involved but the idea is that they are providing users with more security and confidence when online, which is something everyone needs more of.
April 10, 2008
Social Bookmarking
Social bookmarking is something I didn’t know existed (I am embarrassed to admit) until I took my technology class at the university, though it is something I wish I had known about. The idea that all those sites I’ve bookmarked at home I can now access from any computer is great. It was always a problem if I was working on a project with someone else to write down the web address and then find it on another computer. And if I misspelled something then I wasted time searching for it all over again. Now not only can I access my sites but I can share them with anyone I want. Below are the social bookmarking sites we reviewed in class with an overview of the highlights and description of what they offer.
Digg –
Digg describes itself as a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. The website states that they’re “here to provide a place where people can collectively determine the value of content and [they’re] changing the way people consume information online.” This idea of working collectively gives each voice a chance of being heard. Although not every user will ‘digg’ each item placed on the website they’re “committed to giving every piece of content on the web an equal shot at being the next big thing.” They have clear-cut rules about content and are dedicated to protecting members from spamming and other abuses. I would not specifically call this a bookmarking site though since if a submitted item does not produce enough interest then it is dropped. It is a good site for discussion and posting information that the user wants to make others aware of and get feedback on.
Del.icio.us –
This site seems to be one of the most popular as I see it linked to blogs and MySpace pages all the time. Del.icio.us lets users create tags to organize and remember bookmarks, which they feel “is a much more flexible system than folders.” For me, I like compartmentalizing things into folders with tags as a search option, but I am learning the merit of tags. Del.icio.us also lets the user create a description for each bookmarked site which is helpful as the list gets longer and more difficult to remember what each link was. Using a good description along with the tags helps the user remember and identify if the site is one they need for what they are searching.
Netvous –
“The idea behind Netvouz is that you should always have access to your bookmarks. Regardless if you are at your computer at home, at work, in school, at a friend's place or outdoors surfing from your cell phone.” This site lets users organize bookmarks in folders and tag each bookmark with keywords so they easily can find them. While this seems like just what I was looking for I seem to prefer del.icio.us for some reason. This site does have some great benefits though. It provides an automatic link checker that “cares about your links and regularly verifies that all your bookmarks are valid and alerts you in case they are not. And if a web site is moved permanently we automatically update your links to point to the new address.” Now, that’s service! You can also place an “Add2Netvouz” button to your internet menu to automatically bookmark sites without going to the Netvous webpage. Del.icio.us also offers this option, as does Furl (see below).
PennTags –
This site asks the question - have you ever bookmarked a web page and then cant find it again in your mass of bookmarks? PennTags allows you to add tags to your posts, helping you organize and find posts later. Again it is that idea of user generated social indexing, that makes sites like this interesting. You create your own tags so you are most likely to have a more successful search for the information that you are seeking. You can also create an RSS feed for tags in PennTags, so anytime that tag is used, you will be notified in your RSS feed reader. This is a great way to be notified if something that users are interested in is found by others. The users can then review and keep or delete that site in their own list. There did seem to be some limitations to this site though. PennTags was developed by librarians at the University of Pennsylvania and as far as I can tell you need to be a student or staff/faculty to contribute to this site. I tried to find a user sign-up page and all links took me to the university site which asked for information that wasn’t available to me.
Furl –
While once again this is a site that I have not heard of, I am really surprised that it doesn’t get more press. It seemed to have the most services of all the sites we covered in class. Like other sites when you save a web page, you can assign one or more topics to it. This site differentiates between topics and keywords. “Keywords aid you in finding the page later, but unlike Topics (or "tags") are not as obtrusive. Basically, the keywords you assign are search hints.” Users can also save comments on the page to provide descriptions of content. When users save an item, they can also save a clipping with it, “a quoted portion of the page that is separately displayed and can be used for summarizing the page or identifying the most important part of it.” This is an easy way for user to identify key elements of saved articles. You can apply a rating system to items from 1-5 (worst to best). Furl also builds a full-text index of all your saved pages creating a personal web search engine for users. Furl also provides something that Amazon.com has been using with great success, the recommendation. Based on your activity on the site, Furl will recommend other links and topics to users. They are color-coded to indicate how popular they have been with other Furl members. Another interesting service Furl provides it that they will save a copy of a web page and it is archived for the user. This means that users can access that page and read it any time they need to, even if the web site is down, or the page has changed on the original web site, or even if the page is no longer accessible for free. This is an exceptional service considering how the Internet changes so rapidly, and sites change, move or disappear frequently. The information can still be available to the user.
These social bookmarking sites would be great for online communities created for libraries too. I like the idea of folders because then the library could create different sections for different groups of users, e.g. children, youth/teens, adults, community info, etc. Also library users could add their own bookmarks and tags to help create a fuller taxonomy for the community of users.
Digg –
Digg describes itself as a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. The website states that they’re “here to provide a place where people can collectively determine the value of content and [they’re] changing the way people consume information online.” This idea of working collectively gives each voice a chance of being heard. Although not every user will ‘digg’ each item placed on the website they’re “committed to giving every piece of content on the web an equal shot at being the next big thing.” They have clear-cut rules about content and are dedicated to protecting members from spamming and other abuses. I would not specifically call this a bookmarking site though since if a submitted item does not produce enough interest then it is dropped. It is a good site for discussion and posting information that the user wants to make others aware of and get feedback on.
Del.icio.us –
This site seems to be one of the most popular as I see it linked to blogs and MySpace pages all the time. Del.icio.us lets users create tags to organize and remember bookmarks, which they feel “is a much more flexible system than folders.” For me, I like compartmentalizing things into folders with tags as a search option, but I am learning the merit of tags. Del.icio.us also lets the user create a description for each bookmarked site which is helpful as the list gets longer and more difficult to remember what each link was. Using a good description along with the tags helps the user remember and identify if the site is one they need for what they are searching.
Netvous –
“The idea behind Netvouz is that you should always have access to your bookmarks. Regardless if you are at your computer at home, at work, in school, at a friend's place or outdoors surfing from your cell phone.” This site lets users organize bookmarks in folders and tag each bookmark with keywords so they easily can find them. While this seems like just what I was looking for I seem to prefer del.icio.us for some reason. This site does have some great benefits though. It provides an automatic link checker that “cares about your links and regularly verifies that all your bookmarks are valid and alerts you in case they are not. And if a web site is moved permanently we automatically update your links to point to the new address.” Now, that’s service! You can also place an “Add2Netvouz” button to your internet menu to automatically bookmark sites without going to the Netvous webpage. Del.icio.us also offers this option, as does Furl (see below).
PennTags –
This site asks the question - have you ever bookmarked a web page and then cant find it again in your mass of bookmarks? PennTags allows you to add tags to your posts, helping you organize and find posts later. Again it is that idea of user generated social indexing, that makes sites like this interesting. You create your own tags so you are most likely to have a more successful search for the information that you are seeking. You can also create an RSS feed for tags in PennTags, so anytime that tag is used, you will be notified in your RSS feed reader. This is a great way to be notified if something that users are interested in is found by others. The users can then review and keep or delete that site in their own list. There did seem to be some limitations to this site though. PennTags was developed by librarians at the University of Pennsylvania and as far as I can tell you need to be a student or staff/faculty to contribute to this site. I tried to find a user sign-up page and all links took me to the university site which asked for information that wasn’t available to me.
Furl –
While once again this is a site that I have not heard of, I am really surprised that it doesn’t get more press. It seemed to have the most services of all the sites we covered in class. Like other sites when you save a web page, you can assign one or more topics to it. This site differentiates between topics and keywords. “Keywords aid you in finding the page later, but unlike Topics (or "tags") are not as obtrusive. Basically, the keywords you assign are search hints.” Users can also save comments on the page to provide descriptions of content. When users save an item, they can also save a clipping with it, “a quoted portion of the page that is separately displayed and can be used for summarizing the page or identifying the most important part of it.” This is an easy way for user to identify key elements of saved articles. You can apply a rating system to items from 1-5 (worst to best). Furl also builds a full-text index of all your saved pages creating a personal web search engine for users. Furl also provides something that Amazon.com has been using with great success, the recommendation. Based on your activity on the site, Furl will recommend other links and topics to users. They are color-coded to indicate how popular they have been with other Furl members. Another interesting service Furl provides it that they will save a copy of a web page and it is archived for the user. This means that users can access that page and read it any time they need to, even if the web site is down, or the page has changed on the original web site, or even if the page is no longer accessible for free. This is an exceptional service considering how the Internet changes so rapidly, and sites change, move or disappear frequently. The information can still be available to the user.
These social bookmarking sites would be great for online communities created for libraries too. I like the idea of folders because then the library could create different sections for different groups of users, e.g. children, youth/teens, adults, community info, etc. Also library users could add their own bookmarks and tags to help create a fuller taxonomy for the community of users.
March 22, 2008
XML - Because one size doesn't fit all.
I have always thought of myself as a consumer of technology not a creator. While the idea of creating websites was an interesting concept, I didn’t really see the value of learning HTML when there are programs that basically do it all for you without dealing with the technical language. In addition I would have to learn all the tags used to describe the structure of the information, which was initially like learning another language. After enough exposure to HTML I had a tourist’s understanding of the language, knowing enough to not offend but not enough to comprehend. I am one of those for whom all computer languages might as well be Greek. During my undergraduate work, I took a computer programming class to fulfill a technology requirement. It was the only class I ever got a ‘D’ in. After that, I avoided any sort of computer languages.
When the buzz about XML started, I figured the X stood for eXtremely difficult, but I soon learned that XML is more user-friendly and widespread in its applications. The great thing about XML is that it is not a programming language, it’s a markup language. A markup language is descriptive while a programming language is for commands. It can be used for website design but the information can also cross over to word documents, spreadsheets and more.
The mark-up tags in XML are user-defined which is what makes it much easier to use and understand. Still there are rules that must be followed in order for the information to be processed correctly. There are two levels of correctness of an XML document:
Well-formed-
A well-formed document conforms to all of XML's syntax rules. or example, if an element has an opening tag with no closing tag and is not self-losing, it is not well-formed. A document that is not well-formed is not considered to be XML; a conforming parser is not allowed to process it. (Wikipedia)
A well-formed XML document follows general tagging rules:
–All tags begin and end but can be minimized if empty:
instead of
–All tags are lowercase
–All tags are properly nested:
• Mark Twain
–All attribute values are quoted:
•Music
•Has identification & declaration tags
Using XML software can make sure a document follows these rules. (Tennent)
Valid-
A valid document additionally conforms to some semantic rules. These rules are either user-defined, or included as an XML schema. For example, if a document contains an undefined tag, then it is not valid; a validating parser is not allowed to process it. (Wikipedia)
While this may be common sense to some, those like me who are apprehensive about using any type of computer language, knowing the rules helps to structure one’s understanding of what is necessary to be successful. As long as these basics are covered so that the information can be processed, the rest is up to the user. What makes XML great for crossing formats does not make it readily readable on the web. Stylesheets need to be created to tell the computer how the information is displayed on the screen, but this can be done once and applied to all the pages on a website.
By being able to create one’s own tags, the user can organize the information in a way that makes sense to the community in which s/he works. As a librarian, there are specific things that I would look for to organize collections, such as author, title, genre, format, and ISBNs. Using XML I can create tags that will be used when I search for that information. I can identify IOs as books, periodicals, articles, or media and digital items. For example: (Brackets were used so the information wouldn't mess with the blog's HTML.
[blog]
[title] XML: Because one size doesn’t fit all.[/title]
[publisher]Professor Glogoff[/publisher]
[format]digital[/format]
[/blog]
This example applies for my work environment while for a salesperson, different tags such as customer name, order number, and price might be used to identify the content information for records and reports. It can be customized for those who are reading and interacting with the data.
Other helpful information can also be put inside the tags to identify relationships between the elements provided.
The Maltese Falcon
This tells me the book is The Maltese Falcon and it is located in the Sam Spade Mystery Museum. This would be helpful for interlibrary loans to locate items not in my library’s inventory. XML documents are not specific to any particular platform or programming language, which allows them to be used by anyone on any computer, without any complications like transferring data from a Mac to a PC. You need only use different pieces of software that can read XML and can provide the information for a particular format or device.
“Case studies of XML never fail to mention new and exciting possibilities where XML adds value to existing environments — or solves previously intractable problems. That’s probably why XML applications are widely used for everything from displaying chemical formulas to setting up a family tree.” (Tittel 14)
As the languages evolve and are refined, the applications increase, making it easier for more and more people to create the information specific to their needs and share it with others in their work communities.
Sources:
Extensible Markup Language (XML). World Wide Web Consortium. (2007). Retrieved October
1, 2007, from http://www.w3.org/XML/.
Tennant, R. XML for Libraries. Retrieved October 2, 2007 from
http://www.cdlib.org/inside/news/presentations/rtennant/2002cil/xml/XMLintro.htm
Tittel, E., Mikula, N., & Chandak, R. (2005). XML for Dummies. Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc.
XML. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 1, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML.
Other helpful information can also be put inside the tags to identify relationships between the elements provided.
The Maltese Falcon
This tells me the book is The Maltese Falcon and it is located in the Sam Spade Mystery Museum. This would be helpful for interlibrary loans to locate items not in my library’s inventory. XML documents are not specific to any particular platform or programming language, which allows them to be used by anyone on any computer, without any complications like transferring data from a Mac to a PC. You need only use different pieces of software that can read XML and can provide the information for a particular format or device.
“Case studies of XML never fail to mention new and exciting possibilities where XML adds value to existing environments — or solves previously intractable problems. That’s probably why XML applications are widely used for everything from displaying chemical formulas to setting up a family tree.” (Tittel 14)
As the languages evolve and are refined, the applications increase, making it easier for more and more people to create the information specific to their needs and share it with others in their work communities.
Sources:
Extensible Markup Language (XML). World Wide Web Consortium. (2007). Retrieved October
1, 2007, from http://www.w3.org/XML/.
Tennant, R. XML for Libraries. Retrieved October 2, 2007 from
http://www.cdlib.org/inside/news/presentations/rtennant/2002cil/xml/XMLintro.htm
Tittel, E., Mikula, N., & Chandak, R. (2005). XML for Dummies. Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc.
XML. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 1, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML.
When the buzz about XML started, I figured the X stood for eXtremely difficult, but I soon learned that XML is more user-friendly and widespread in its applications. The great thing about XML is that it is not a programming language, it’s a markup language. A markup language is descriptive while a programming language is for commands. It can be used for website design but the information can also cross over to word documents, spreadsheets and more.
The mark-up tags in XML are user-defined which is what makes it much easier to use and understand. Still there are rules that must be followed in order for the information to be processed correctly. There are two levels of correctness of an XML document:
Well-formed-
A well-formed document conforms to all of XML's syntax rules. or example, if an element has an opening tag with no closing tag and is not self-losing, it is not well-formed. A document that is not well-formed is not considered to be XML; a conforming parser is not allowed to process it. (Wikipedia)
A well-formed XML document follows general tagging rules:
–All tags begin and end but can be minimized if empty:
instead of
–All tags are lowercase
–All tags are properly nested:
•
–All attribute values are quoted:
•
•Has identification & declaration tags
Using XML software can make sure a document follows these rules. (Tennent)
Valid-
A valid document additionally conforms to some semantic rules. These rules are either user-defined, or included as an XML schema. For example, if a document contains an undefined tag, then it is not valid; a validating parser is not allowed to process it. (Wikipedia)
While this may be common sense to some, those like me who are apprehensive about using any type of computer language, knowing the rules helps to structure one’s understanding of what is necessary to be successful. As long as these basics are covered so that the information can be processed, the rest is up to the user. What makes XML great for crossing formats does not make it readily readable on the web. Stylesheets need to be created to tell the computer how the information is displayed on the screen, but this can be done once and applied to all the pages on a website.
By being able to create one’s own tags, the user can organize the information in a way that makes sense to the community in which s/he works. As a librarian, there are specific things that I would look for to organize collections, such as author, title, genre, format, and ISBNs. Using XML I can create tags that will be used when I search for that information. I can identify IOs as books, periodicals, articles, or media and digital items. For example: (Brackets were used so the information wouldn't mess with the blog's HTML.
[blog]
[title] XML: Because one size doesn’t fit all.[/title]
[publisher]Professor Glogoff[/publisher]
[format]digital[/format]
[/blog]
This example applies for my work environment while for a salesperson, different tags such as customer name, order number, and price might be used to identify the content information for records and reports. It can be customized for those who are reading and interacting with the data.
Other helpful information can also be put inside the tags to identify relationships between the elements provided.
This tells me the book is The Maltese Falcon and it is located in the Sam Spade Mystery Museum. This would be helpful for interlibrary loans to locate items not in my library’s inventory. XML documents are not specific to any particular platform or programming language, which allows them to be used by anyone on any computer, without any complications like transferring data from a Mac to a PC. You need only use different pieces of software that can read XML and can provide the information for a particular format or device.
“Case studies of XML never fail to mention new and exciting possibilities where XML adds value to existing environments — or solves previously intractable problems. That’s probably why XML applications are widely used for everything from displaying chemical formulas to setting up a family tree.” (Tittel 14)
As the languages evolve and are refined, the applications increase, making it easier for more and more people to create the information specific to their needs and share it with others in their work communities.
Sources:
Extensible Markup Language (XML). World Wide Web Consortium. (2007). Retrieved October
1, 2007, from http://www.w3.org/XML/.
Tennant, R. XML for Libraries. Retrieved October 2, 2007 from
http://www.cdlib.org/inside/news/presentations/rtennant/2002cil/xml/XMLintro.htm
Tittel, E., Mikula, N., & Chandak, R. (2005). XML for Dummies. Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc.
XML. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 1, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML.
Other helpful information can also be put inside the tags to identify relationships between the elements provided.
This tells me the book is The Maltese Falcon and it is located in the Sam Spade Mystery Museum. This would be helpful for interlibrary loans to locate items not in my library’s inventory. XML documents are not specific to any particular platform or programming language, which allows them to be used by anyone on any computer, without any complications like transferring data from a Mac to a PC. You need only use different pieces of software that can read XML and can provide the information for a particular format or device.
“Case studies of XML never fail to mention new and exciting possibilities where XML adds value to existing environments — or solves previously intractable problems. That’s probably why XML applications are widely used for everything from displaying chemical formulas to setting up a family tree.” (Tittel 14)
As the languages evolve and are refined, the applications increase, making it easier for more and more people to create the information specific to their needs and share it with others in their work communities.
Sources:
Extensible Markup Language (XML). World Wide Web Consortium. (2007). Retrieved October
1, 2007, from http://www.w3.org/XML/.
Tennant, R. XML for Libraries. Retrieved October 2, 2007 from
http://www.cdlib.org/inside/news/presentations/rtennant/2002cil/xml/XMLintro.htm
Tittel, E., Mikula, N., & Chandak, R. (2005). XML for Dummies. Indiana: Wiley Publishing Inc.
XML. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 1, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XML.
March 4, 2008
More on Digitization
Working as a student employee in a special collection library, I remember being amazed at the hidden treasures that were in the stacks. As I became familiar with the collections I learned that the metadata could be accessed on the university library website, but the link was as hidden as the resources (and essentially the location) of the special collections. Some of the collections however, were still accessed by large binders of finding aids in print form. Specialized collections, when not restricted by copyright or privacy issues, benefit from being digitized and made available to a broader audience. The originals see less wear and tear, and the user group becomes much larger as materials become more accessible. The November 28, 2007 Digitizationblog entry highlights the RLG Programs Descriptive Metadata Practices Survey Results. Beyond the need to get the information digitized, one item I realized that hadn’t given enough thought to was “the disconnect between libraries’ interest in creating metadata to serve their primary audiences and the inability to serve that audience within the most commonly used discovery systems (such as Google, Yahoo, etc.)” (Smith-Yoshimura 4). When institutions create their own specialized metadata instead of using a more standardized format that can be accessed with web crawlers then, even if the material is digitized, they have still limited their audience, and their own effectiveness of being an information resource. The Cornell Tutorial states that the “goal of digital preservation is to maintain the ability to display, retrieve, and use digital collections in the face of rapidly changing technological and organizational infrastructures and elements.”
February 26, 2008
Digitization continued...
The fact that the Dead Sea Scrolls have been preserved for as long as they have been is miraculous. No less miraculous is that anyone can view them now thanks to digitization. Projects like this bring to the forefront many of the aspects of the value of digitization. The exposure to the elements can have detrimental effects that the average user may never consider when seeking information sources. An article states that the “conservation, preservation and documentation of the Dead Sea Scrolls have concerned both scholars and conservators ever since their discovery.” While most archives won’t be dealing with anything of value comparable to the Dead Sea Scrolls, it should not lessen the dedication and concern shown the local artifacts they are storing. The second section of the Cornell Tutorial, provides a valuable set of question that should be used as a checklist for considering items for digitization. Archivist cannot let artifacts sit in the back rooms until they are too brittle to digitize. Making a surrogate copy protects the original. Here are some of the questions from the Cornell Tutorial that should be asked:
Does the material lend itself to digitization?
Can the informational content be adequately captured in digital form?
Do the physical formats and condition of the material represent major
impediments?
Would the material be put at risk in the digitization process?
Would digital surrogates reduce use of the originals, thereby offering them
protection from handling?
Is the digital reproduction seen as a means to replace the originals?
By starting with a few considerations a collection can be better preserved for generations.
Does the material lend itself to digitization?
Can the informational content be adequately captured in digital form?
Do the physical formats and condition of the material represent major
impediments?
Would the material be put at risk in the digitization process?
Would digital surrogates reduce use of the originals, thereby offering them
protection from handling?
Is the digital reproduction seen as a means to replace the originals?
By starting with a few considerations a collection can be better preserved for generations.
February 10, 2008
Digitization
Sometimes the smallest thing can inspire a flood of ideas. For me this was one line in the Digital Document Quarterly newsletter linked in the Digitizationblog for October 13. 2007. The author of the newsletter asks the question, what might be done to achieve the long-standing medical dream called “the longitudinal patient record”? In his footnote he details that a longitudinal patient record is a lifetime collection of the medical records of a human being, held to be readily available. This may seem a tangential topic, but for a medical librarian it could help in the organization of records. Companies add and drop insurance providers, people bounce from doctor to doctor, vital records get lost in the shuffle. It would be interesting to see a digital medical library develop that would allow doctors and patients to upload their information to a secure location where it can be managed and accessed as needed. This could include basic records, X-rays, MRI data, and lab tests. By have a single collective location for a patient’s records the history of a patient’s health would be complete allowing physicians to better diagnose illnesses that might be chronic. Researchers could also get a better understanding of hereditary illnesses, as a family’s records would be more complete and traceable. Or an adopted child could be provided with a familial medical history without having to track down biological parents if they given the child limited access to the records (no names or addresses, just pertinent medical information) as a part of the adoption process.
A library such as this would require some careful consideration in regards to data management and systems. The Cornell Tutorial addresses this by listing some points to consider.
Follow some basic file system recommendations:
Use a file naming scheme that is compatible with whatever operating systems and storage media you plan to use
Use standard file extensions for different file types
Don't overload directories with too many files
Rely on storage management software to manage large collections across multiple physical disk drives
Allow for generous amounts of collection growth
It seems that a beneficial resource that could be developed, but it needs to be available to different doctors or patients who may have different operating systems (no pun intended) or the information won't be accessible.
A library such as this would require some careful consideration in regards to data management and systems. The Cornell Tutorial addresses this by listing some points to consider.
Follow some basic file system recommendations:
Use a file naming scheme that is compatible with whatever operating systems and storage media you plan to use
Use standard file extensions for different file types
Don't overload directories with too many files
Rely on storage management software to manage large collections across multiple physical disk drives
Allow for generous amounts of collection growth
It seems that a beneficial resource that could be developed, but it needs to be available to different doctors or patients who may have different operating systems (no pun intended) or the information won't be accessible.
January 31, 2008
Recommended U of A Computer Requirements
I am quickly realizing how quickly my computer is becoming obsolete. While it is only a few years old, it is hard to keep up with all the new programs that I need to stay current. I have the necessary requirements according to the SIRLS specifications, but I would be lacking if I were a law student. When taking a class which meets physically, I would say generally that a basic computer with the usual hardware would suffice as long as you had a current word processing and spreadsheet type software. You will need a quality ISP. Many of the classes I have taken have had required reading online as well as being able to do any applicable research. While the university library and SIRLS office have computers available, they are not always available when you need them, and investing in a computer makes sense since you will be able to take the work you’ve done in school into your career. With this in mind I would recommend that if you were going to invest, use the College of Law specifications. It will pay for itself in the longevity of use and reliability. Your computer will also more readily adapt to new technologies that may be introduced during your schooling. For those students who are taking classes virtually, the College of Law specifications are almost a necessity, especially if you are a distant student who can’t stop by the university for help. You want your computer to be as reliable as possible since these classes can move quickly and a computer breakdown can cause you to fall behind quickly.
January 15, 2008
Let's get started
This is intended to be a blog where I can post thoughts and ideas that relate to my career as a library and information professional. I often find valuable online resources or other materials that I want to share review for others in my field. This is a great place to share those ideas and I invite any comments or suggestions.
The title of this blog for those of you who are curious comes from an article I read for an ethics class, "The Mission of the Librarian," by Jose Ortega Y Gasset, wherein he says that the librarian should become "master of the raging book." While I don't agree with everything that the author writes, I thought that was a great phrase. I'm thinking about putting it on a t-shirt or something.
Some of the blog entries will be evaluations I have done for classes I have taken which were originally podcasts. If I can post the audio then I will, just for continuity until they can be podcast somewhere more permanant or replaced as necessary.
The title of this blog for those of you who are curious comes from an article I read for an ethics class, "The Mission of the Librarian," by Jose Ortega Y Gasset, wherein he says that the librarian should become "master of the raging book." While I don't agree with everything that the author writes, I thought that was a great phrase. I'm thinking about putting it on a t-shirt or something.
Some of the blog entries will be evaluations I have done for classes I have taken which were originally podcasts. If I can post the audio then I will, just for continuity until they can be podcast somewhere more permanant or replaced as necessary.
December 15, 2007
Digitization Podcast
(This is the text for a podcast that is presently not available. This will be updated as soon as possible.)
Welcome back for my final podcast for IRLS 571, this is Verlene Schafer and today I am going to review some digitization projects. Digitization has been growing as a vital way to access archival materials without compromising their condition. But as more and more information sources are born digital, digitization becomes less of a optional method and more of a necessity for libraries to maintain their collection and meet user demands.
The Technical Advisory Service for Images (TASI) website offers a wealth of valuable information whether you are beginning a digitization project or working on an existing one. The site outlines four basic areas to consider which I will use to review some sites. They are managing, creating, delivering, and using a digitization project.
Managing –
It may seem that managing would come after the creation of a project but it is important that you know what you are getting into before you start a project. You need to know your limitations such as budget, time constraints, copyright issues, metadata, and once all these are considered, organizing resources for longevity, and overseeing the day to day project management. TASI notes that “each main area has its own set of key activities. While many of these tasks will follow each other in a linear fashion, they are seldom distinct and may overlap considerably.” Management should be considered in the development of the project and then continued while implementing the other areas of digitization.
The Online Archive of California (OAC) has been available now for nearly 15 years. It has grown by forming partnerships with other libraries and organizations such as the California Digital Library. This organization “brings together historical materials from a variety of California institutions, including museums, historical societies, and archives and provides over 120,000 images; 50,000 pages of documents, letters, and oral histories.
The University of Pittsburgh has a Digital Research Library (DRL) which from the beginning focused on creating text-based collections though they have now added photographs, map images and audio-visual materials. That growth requires foresight and an ability to adapt as the media changes and develops. Unfortunately, this collection requires a user/student account to access the contents, which is something I will address in a moment.
Last, there is the Collaborative Digitization Program (CDP) which began in the fall of 1998. Once again it requires good management to have a project continue for nearly a decade and the site notes that the key to the success of the CDP is collaboration.
Creating –
Creating a digital collection is more than just the scanning and loading of images and documents, though this step does require some attention to detail and quality. The Cornell tutorial site Moving Theory into Practice: Digital Imaging for Libraries and Archives, based on a book by the same name, emphasizes the need for quality control as “an integral component of a digital imaging initiative to ensure that quality expectations have been met.”
The other aspect of creating is the metadata used to describe the items. Metadata supports navigation and file management, so it is vital that this information be well organized. The OAC provides a large number of photographs but when focusing a search to the date or publisher or the list of photos, the searches often don’t sort the information properly. This happened when a photo had a number in the title. It would sort that number in with the dates, even though at times the photo provided a date that would place it elsewhere in the list. Problems like these make it hard for users to find the resources they are seeking and also can complicate management of the collections.
Delivering-
Once the collection has been created it is important that the database be made available to users. Points to consider are the size and quality of images. Not all users have the same access points and so items need to be formatted to the various needs. The Cornell Tutorial suggests “if resources allow, the best approach is to offer multiple versions of images, taking advantage of greater capacity where it exists, but also supporting low bandwidth connections with lower quality images.” The OAC search offers a thumbnail view of images which guides users to find what they are looking for. This is a great way to allow user to browse a collection. The CDP has a great collection of Colorado Historical Newspapers but it loads large images and can be time consuming to navigate, but the images are quality, and a thumbnail view of a newspaper would hardly be informative about the content for the user. Collection developers need to consider their collection as well as the users when developing the presentation and delivery.
Using - Technical Advisory Service for Images
There are several things to consider for user access to digitized materials. TASI advises that “a search mechanism is planned and implemented, to make best use of the available Metadata and to fit within the delivery mechanism. User access and digital rights management must be considered.” Plans need to include who is going to be able to access the data. For the CDP and OAC anyone can view the materials, but the University of Pittsburgh requires a user account to access their digital library. The CDP allows users to download PDF files of their newspaper archive but photographs are subject to copyright restrictions which vary depending on what collection they belong to. Some state that use of digital images found on a website is permitted for private or personal use only, while others may not be reproduced in any way without permission. These policies must be made clear to protect the collection’s integrity and to protect the user from breaking the law.
While the scope of creating a digital collection can seem overwhelming using tutorials like the one provided by Cornell, and reviewing other collections, can help to guide your own collection development. The information needed is available and with careful planning and management organization, digitization can give users valuable information that otherwise they would not have access to.
This is Verlene Schafer for IRLS 571 wishing you a happy holiday season. Thanks for listening.
Welcome back for my final podcast for IRLS 571, this is Verlene Schafer and today I am going to review some digitization projects. Digitization has been growing as a vital way to access archival materials without compromising their condition. But as more and more information sources are born digital, digitization becomes less of a optional method and more of a necessity for libraries to maintain their collection and meet user demands.
The Technical Advisory Service for Images (TASI) website offers a wealth of valuable information whether you are beginning a digitization project or working on an existing one. The site outlines four basic areas to consider which I will use to review some sites. They are managing, creating, delivering, and using a digitization project.
Managing –
It may seem that managing would come after the creation of a project but it is important that you know what you are getting into before you start a project. You need to know your limitations such as budget, time constraints, copyright issues, metadata, and once all these are considered, organizing resources for longevity, and overseeing the day to day project management. TASI notes that “each main area has its own set of key activities. While many of these tasks will follow each other in a linear fashion, they are seldom distinct and may overlap considerably.” Management should be considered in the development of the project and then continued while implementing the other areas of digitization.
The Online Archive of California (OAC) has been available now for nearly 15 years. It has grown by forming partnerships with other libraries and organizations such as the California Digital Library. This organization “brings together historical materials from a variety of California institutions, including museums, historical societies, and archives and provides over 120,000 images; 50,000 pages of documents, letters, and oral histories.
The University of Pittsburgh has a Digital Research Library (DRL) which from the beginning focused on creating text-based collections though they have now added photographs, map images and audio-visual materials. That growth requires foresight and an ability to adapt as the media changes and develops. Unfortunately, this collection requires a user/student account to access the contents, which is something I will address in a moment.
Last, there is the Collaborative Digitization Program (CDP) which began in the fall of 1998. Once again it requires good management to have a project continue for nearly a decade and the site notes that the key to the success of the CDP is collaboration.
Creating –
Creating a digital collection is more than just the scanning and loading of images and documents, though this step does require some attention to detail and quality. The Cornell tutorial site Moving Theory into Practice: Digital Imaging for Libraries and Archives, based on a book by the same name, emphasizes the need for quality control as “an integral component of a digital imaging initiative to ensure that quality expectations have been met.”
The other aspect of creating is the metadata used to describe the items. Metadata supports navigation and file management, so it is vital that this information be well organized. The OAC provides a large number of photographs but when focusing a search to the date or publisher or the list of photos, the searches often don’t sort the information properly. This happened when a photo had a number in the title. It would sort that number in with the dates, even though at times the photo provided a date that would place it elsewhere in the list. Problems like these make it hard for users to find the resources they are seeking and also can complicate management of the collections.
Delivering-
Once the collection has been created it is important that the database be made available to users. Points to consider are the size and quality of images. Not all users have the same access points and so items need to be formatted to the various needs. The Cornell Tutorial suggests “if resources allow, the best approach is to offer multiple versions of images, taking advantage of greater capacity where it exists, but also supporting low bandwidth connections with lower quality images.” The OAC search offers a thumbnail view of images which guides users to find what they are looking for. This is a great way to allow user to browse a collection. The CDP has a great collection of Colorado Historical Newspapers but it loads large images and can be time consuming to navigate, but the images are quality, and a thumbnail view of a newspaper would hardly be informative about the content for the user. Collection developers need to consider their collection as well as the users when developing the presentation and delivery.
Using - Technical Advisory Service for Images
There are several things to consider for user access to digitized materials. TASI advises that “a search mechanism is planned and implemented, to make best use of the available Metadata and to fit within the delivery mechanism. User access and digital rights management must be considered.” Plans need to include who is going to be able to access the data. For the CDP and OAC anyone can view the materials, but the University of Pittsburgh requires a user account to access their digital library. The CDP allows users to download PDF files of their newspaper archive but photographs are subject to copyright restrictions which vary depending on what collection they belong to. Some state that use of digital images found on a website is permitted for private or personal use only, while others may not be reproduced in any way without permission. These policies must be made clear to protect the collection’s integrity and to protect the user from breaking the law.
While the scope of creating a digital collection can seem overwhelming using tutorials like the one provided by Cornell, and reviewing other collections, can help to guide your own collection development. The information needed is available and with careful planning and management organization, digitization can give users valuable information that otherwise they would not have access to.
This is Verlene Schafer for IRLS 571 wishing you a happy holiday season. Thanks for listening.
December 4, 2007
Social Software Podcast
(This is the text for a podcast that is presently not available. This will be updated as soon as possible.)
Welcome to podcast #5, this is Verlene Schafer for IRLS 571 and today I will be discussing more types of Social Software and how they are being used in libraries today. I covered podcasting, bookmarking and wikis in previous blog entries and today I’ll be talking about blogging, sites like Facebook and MySpace, and Twitter. For those who aren’t familiar with this topic, then first I think it is important to define social software. In his article Social Software in the Library, K. Matthew Dames defines social software as “an umbrella term that applies to any tool that allows two or more persons to collaborate while each person is in a different location.” He adds that “the ultimate goal of social software is to build a community of practice or knowledge network in which participants constantly give and receive valuable information.”
Many libraries use types of social networking tools but they are often so commonplace anymore that librarians may not include them in the list of tools that are making waves amongst librarians today. Email, while not as immediately social as other applications, is ordinary by today’s standards of technology. Most library websites now feature an “Ask a Librarian” IM option as a way to answer ready-reference questions for users that is now considered commonplace. IM-ing is developing new multimedia applications too. Soon we will be instant videoing as we now instant message and instant image each other.
Another tool that is commonplace is blogging, although blogs are becoming more interactive methods of communication than the online journals they have been in the past. In the past, the majority of blogs were published in text only. Several blogs now feature an IM window also. There are even more changes as users add audio and video elements, bringing a multimedia trend to blogging. Librariesinteract.info, an Australian library blog site provides a short list of collaborative or group blogs which is also a new trend. This would be great for libraries since no single person would bear the responsibility of adding info and there would be many different opinions voiced in one blog, including users. This is much like a wiki, which is another collaborative tool that allows for group participation that I covered in an earlier blog entry.
The social networking tools that seems to be creating the biggest buzz, are sites like Facebook and MySpace. These types of sites have gotten some bad press because teens are posting inappropriate content. In her online blog, Information Wants To Be Free, Meredith Farkas touches on this topic. She states that librarians “can play a valuable role in educating young people about online privacy and the possible negative effects of putting too much of yourself online. If you want to prevent all the problems of MySpace and Facebook, the key is educating the parents,” which is another way librarians can have a positive influence on users.
Many of the major librarian blogs have covered this aspect of social networking and library profiles on MySpace and Facebook. The biggest problem seems to be the libraries that create profiles with no content. It needs to benefit the library users. Farkas notes that “some of the libraries in MySpace and Facebook have put a profile up, but they have not tried to make it useful to their patrons at all. Just putting up a profile does not make the library seem cool, nor does it make the library more visible.” The Librarian in Black feels that library profiles on these sites are improving as more users are responding positively to library profiles.
Farkas sums up this concern well as she states, “there is a big difference between ‘being where our patrons are’ and ‘being USEFUL to our patrons where they are.’” Her article contains many useful links with more valuable information on this topic. On the Library Revolution blog site an entry discusses using blog entries for FAQ’s adding “with the proliferation of library blogs, [the author is] always surprised to see how few libraries blog their reference questions… especially the common ones.”
One last application that occurred to me recently is a use for Twitter. Twitter asks the question, “What are you doing?” and allows you to send a small update (limited to just 140 characters) to your followers. For areas and people that don’t have easy access to libraries and other information centers, there is usually some type of mobile library available. Imagine getting bookmobile location updates sent to you as it travels its route. Or a library could set up book wait-lists with twitter so that when an item you have on reserve comes in, it lets you know. More info on Twitter, and how it is used is available on Caroline Middlebrook’s blog or on the Twitter home page.
The possibilities are limited only by lack of imagination. Anything’s possible.
Welcome to podcast #5, this is Verlene Schafer for IRLS 571 and today I will be discussing more types of Social Software and how they are being used in libraries today. I covered podcasting, bookmarking and wikis in previous blog entries and today I’ll be talking about blogging, sites like Facebook and MySpace, and Twitter. For those who aren’t familiar with this topic, then first I think it is important to define social software. In his article Social Software in the Library, K. Matthew Dames defines social software as “an umbrella term that applies to any tool that allows two or more persons to collaborate while each person is in a different location.” He adds that “the ultimate goal of social software is to build a community of practice or knowledge network in which participants constantly give and receive valuable information.”
Many libraries use types of social networking tools but they are often so commonplace anymore that librarians may not include them in the list of tools that are making waves amongst librarians today. Email, while not as immediately social as other applications, is ordinary by today’s standards of technology. Most library websites now feature an “Ask a Librarian” IM option as a way to answer ready-reference questions for users that is now considered commonplace. IM-ing is developing new multimedia applications too. Soon we will be instant videoing as we now instant message and instant image each other.
Another tool that is commonplace is blogging, although blogs are becoming more interactive methods of communication than the online journals they have been in the past. In the past, the majority of blogs were published in text only. Several blogs now feature an IM window also. There are even more changes as users add audio and video elements, bringing a multimedia trend to blogging. Librariesinteract.info, an Australian library blog site provides a short list of collaborative or group blogs which is also a new trend. This would be great for libraries since no single person would bear the responsibility of adding info and there would be many different opinions voiced in one blog, including users. This is much like a wiki, which is another collaborative tool that allows for group participation that I covered in an earlier blog entry.
The social networking tools that seems to be creating the biggest buzz, are sites like Facebook and MySpace. These types of sites have gotten some bad press because teens are posting inappropriate content. In her online blog, Information Wants To Be Free, Meredith Farkas touches on this topic. She states that librarians “can play a valuable role in educating young people about online privacy and the possible negative effects of putting too much of yourself online. If you want to prevent all the problems of MySpace and Facebook, the key is educating the parents,” which is another way librarians can have a positive influence on users.
Many of the major librarian blogs have covered this aspect of social networking and library profiles on MySpace and Facebook. The biggest problem seems to be the libraries that create profiles with no content. It needs to benefit the library users. Farkas notes that “some of the libraries in MySpace and Facebook have put a profile up, but they have not tried to make it useful to their patrons at all. Just putting up a profile does not make the library seem cool, nor does it make the library more visible.” The Librarian in Black feels that library profiles on these sites are improving as more users are responding positively to library profiles.
Farkas sums up this concern well as she states, “there is a big difference between ‘being where our patrons are’ and ‘being USEFUL to our patrons where they are.’” Her article contains many useful links with more valuable information on this topic. On the Library Revolution blog site an entry discusses using blog entries for FAQ’s adding “with the proliferation of library blogs, [the author is] always surprised to see how few libraries blog their reference questions… especially the common ones.”
One last application that occurred to me recently is a use for Twitter. Twitter asks the question, “What are you doing?” and allows you to send a small update (limited to just 140 characters) to your followers. For areas and people that don’t have easy access to libraries and other information centers, there is usually some type of mobile library available. Imagine getting bookmobile location updates sent to you as it travels its route. Or a library could set up book wait-lists with twitter so that when an item you have on reserve comes in, it lets you know. More info on Twitter, and how it is used is available on Caroline Middlebrook’s blog or on the Twitter home page.
The possibilities are limited only by lack of imagination. Anything’s possible.
November 24, 2007
Worst Web Pages
I always get discouraged when I google something and pick a link that seems to have exactly what I am looking for, only to open a site that has nothing to do with what I am searching. Or worse yet, some annoying error message that explains that the page is no longer available, which makes me wonder why it came up on the search in the first place. Still, an error message would be preferable to dealing with some of the sites that came up on the Web Pages That Suck website. They are definitely there for a reason.
I think it must have been difficult to limit the list of sites provided of the 10 Worst Web Pages Featured on Web Pages That Suck in 2006, which explains the second list of the 10 Worst Web Sites to Navigate in 2006. Here are my impressions of the first list.
#10 Brown University
I have found in the past that there are many universities with difficult to navigate sites. This is one that I think was worse than most. I think the first lesson that they could learn is adopting the same style as the stores we looked at in class with nice white backgrounds on their sites. Many of the rows of links move up when I try to click on them, which is annoying too. The undergraduate link on the “Academic Life” bar takes the user to the office of the dean. It’s confusing! To borrow a line from UPS, what can Brown do for me? Redesign their site.
#9 NEIU Foreign Exchange Lab
Well, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to say much on this site since the provided link gave me some error message, but I didn’t let that stop me from finding the site. I couldn’t believe that this site was an extension of the Northeastern Illinois University. The rainbow header switches through the different languages that it I found it difficult to read even when words in English flew through. Apparently an opera, Manon, is our cyberguide for the site, which features a Beverly Sills album of the cyberguide’s opera. The black silk background and rose borders make this site feel like it should feature Fabio and the latest bodice-ripped romance novel rather than links for students’ education. This site is also full of dead links. Oh, that they were all that way!
#8 Red Blood Club
I don’t have a lot to say about this site. It is just a glorified link to the MySpace page for this establishment. The content is graphic and offensive so I didn’t bother to spend much time exploring. The initial page is disturbing enough that you get a general sense of the content.
#7 Tampax
Not much to say here either. The vertical menu does make the site difficult to navigate. The ‘cute factor’ is a bit overdone too. They provide some serious information for women regarding abuse, rape and women’s health issue with colorful bubbly backgrounds. It seems a little contradictory to me. Also, women’s issues are all in the same group as issues that young women face. It would be nice to see a little more thought go into the organization of the menu.
#6 LongsCycle
I never thought I would see a site that dedicated so much passion to socks (and other cycling apparel)! The left side menu is like a mantra with repetitions of SAVE and CYCLING this and that. The use of highlighting text already large enough to read from space is also a little redundant. The person who submitted the site noted that “this site comes up number one in the Google search for ‘cycling clothes.’” I tested this and in fact it does. I have to agree with the Web Pages that Suck site manager that this definitely shows the “irony of how high they rank vs. the quality of the web site.” My eyes had glowing yellow bars in them when I blinked for hours after viewing this site.
#5 HRODC
Just a word of caution. This site took forever to open (and close!) on my computer. Check it out when you have time to kill. Speaking of killing, how do I pull the plug on this site? Resource and Organisational Development Consultancy Ltd.’s site is one that, instead of offering you a menu with similar items grouped under a tab, have just laid it all out for you in one giant pile. If you scroll down below the initial table you have a menu on the left-hand side but some of the writing is cut off. . I clicked one link to see where it took me and after waiting for 60+ items to load, the screen never changed. I figured out that if I scrolled down I would find the linked information but not only did I have to scroll down but left to right to see all of it. And if that wasn’t enough there was another extensive menu on the right-hand side associated with that particular link. It seems they need to study numbers 53 and 54 on their home page a little more.
#4 Accept Jesus, Forever Forgiven!
Another word of caution, don your sunglasses and turn down your speakers before loading this site! Well, where do I begin? I could start with the psychedelic rainbow that backgrounds the home page or I could say something about the chipper midi music which cannot be turned off. Maybe I should mention that every time you hit a link and then hit the back button it sounds like you just stopped on the black path that continuously crosses your path on the bottom of the screen. I think maybe I’ll go with the name of the organization – the Empowered Evangelical Charismatic Protestant Bible Gospel Christian Ministry. Say that ten times fast! And for those users who don’t feel like getting up and dressed to go to church on Sunday, just grab your Second Life Bible and meet other member in the CyberChurch [12] in Second Life. This site has received 23 awards inlcuding the Excellence in Fishing Award and the Beautiful Site Award, which perhaps was awarded by users of site #2 on my list.
#3 TIE — VTR Australia, Ms. Dewey, and CyberAtlas
I started out reviewing Ms. Dewey as I thought it would be interesting, but it just became annoying really fast because I had to sit and wait while she pondering the questions I gave her. So I tried the video of VTR Australia and literally got motion sickness watching the navigating of their site. It has been changed. I skipped Cyber Atlas. I couldn’t take much more.
#2 Association of International Glaucoma Societies
The initial look of this website gives me the impression that I expect somewhere to find my horoscope for the day. The dizzy dancing heads at the top left corner, aside from being annoying, seem a little insulting for a site for people who have eyesight problems. The scrolling menu on the left-hand side seems in the usual order but as I scrolled to the bottom I am met by a disturbing image of someone’s eye that seems a little voyeuristic. Then I clicked on it and it blinked! Really creepy! But if that is your sort of thing you might be interested in downloading the Glaucoma Hymn (with accompanying lyrics). I actually listened to all 3½ minutes of it, which strangely left me wanting to see that musical about that state that is just below Kansas.
#1 Optimal World
This site appears to be inactive now. Maybe after making the list they took it down to redesign it. I tried to find another way in but all links seem to be dead. It’s probably for the best anyway.
This has been interesting seeing how badly people can screw up a website. I find it hard to believe that they don’t see some flaws in their design as they are creating it but I guess it takes all sorts.
I think it must have been difficult to limit the list of sites provided of the 10 Worst Web Pages Featured on Web Pages That Suck in 2006, which explains the second list of the 10 Worst Web Sites to Navigate in 2006. Here are my impressions of the first list.
#10 Brown University
I have found in the past that there are many universities with difficult to navigate sites. This is one that I think was worse than most. I think the first lesson that they could learn is adopting the same style as the stores we looked at in class with nice white backgrounds on their sites. Many of the rows of links move up when I try to click on them, which is annoying too. The undergraduate link on the “Academic Life” bar takes the user to the office of the dean. It’s confusing! To borrow a line from UPS, what can Brown do for me? Redesign their site.
#9 NEIU Foreign Exchange Lab
Well, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to say much on this site since the provided link gave me some error message, but I didn’t let that stop me from finding the site. I couldn’t believe that this site was an extension of the Northeastern Illinois University. The rainbow header switches through the different languages that it I found it difficult to read even when words in English flew through. Apparently an opera, Manon, is our cyberguide for the site, which features a Beverly Sills album of the cyberguide’s opera. The black silk background and rose borders make this site feel like it should feature Fabio and the latest bodice-ripped romance novel rather than links for students’ education. This site is also full of dead links. Oh, that they were all that way!
#8 Red Blood Club
I don’t have a lot to say about this site. It is just a glorified link to the MySpace page for this establishment. The content is graphic and offensive so I didn’t bother to spend much time exploring. The initial page is disturbing enough that you get a general sense of the content.
#7 Tampax
Not much to say here either. The vertical menu does make the site difficult to navigate. The ‘cute factor’ is a bit overdone too. They provide some serious information for women regarding abuse, rape and women’s health issue with colorful bubbly backgrounds. It seems a little contradictory to me. Also, women’s issues are all in the same group as issues that young women face. It would be nice to see a little more thought go into the organization of the menu.
#6 LongsCycle
I never thought I would see a site that dedicated so much passion to socks (and other cycling apparel)! The left side menu is like a mantra with repetitions of SAVE and CYCLING this and that. The use of highlighting text already large enough to read from space is also a little redundant. The person who submitted the site noted that “this site comes up number one in the Google search for ‘cycling clothes.’” I tested this and in fact it does. I have to agree with the Web Pages that Suck site manager that this definitely shows the “irony of how high they rank vs. the quality of the web site.” My eyes had glowing yellow bars in them when I blinked for hours after viewing this site.
#5 HRODC
Just a word of caution. This site took forever to open (and close!) on my computer. Check it out when you have time to kill. Speaking of killing, how do I pull the plug on this site? Resource and Organisational Development Consultancy Ltd.’s site is one that, instead of offering you a menu with similar items grouped under a tab, have just laid it all out for you in one giant pile. If you scroll down below the initial table you have a menu on the left-hand side but some of the writing is cut off. . I clicked one link to see where it took me and after waiting for 60+ items to load, the screen never changed. I figured out that if I scrolled down I would find the linked information but not only did I have to scroll down but left to right to see all of it. And if that wasn’t enough there was another extensive menu on the right-hand side associated with that particular link. It seems they need to study numbers 53 and 54 on their home page a little more.
#4 Accept Jesus, Forever Forgiven!
Another word of caution, don your sunglasses and turn down your speakers before loading this site! Well, where do I begin? I could start with the psychedelic rainbow that backgrounds the home page or I could say something about the chipper midi music which cannot be turned off. Maybe I should mention that every time you hit a link and then hit the back button it sounds like you just stopped on the black path that continuously crosses your path on the bottom of the screen. I think maybe I’ll go with the name of the organization – the Empowered Evangelical Charismatic Protestant Bible Gospel Christian Ministry. Say that ten times fast! And for those users who don’t feel like getting up and dressed to go to church on Sunday, just grab your Second Life Bible and meet other member in the CyberChurch [12] in Second Life. This site has received 23 awards inlcuding the Excellence in Fishing Award and the Beautiful Site Award, which perhaps was awarded by users of site #2 on my list.
#3 TIE — VTR Australia, Ms. Dewey, and CyberAtlas
I started out reviewing Ms. Dewey as I thought it would be interesting, but it just became annoying really fast because I had to sit and wait while she pondering the questions I gave her. So I tried the video of VTR Australia and literally got motion sickness watching the navigating of their site. It has been changed. I skipped Cyber Atlas. I couldn’t take much more.
#2 Association of International Glaucoma Societies
The initial look of this website gives me the impression that I expect somewhere to find my horoscope for the day. The dizzy dancing heads at the top left corner, aside from being annoying, seem a little insulting for a site for people who have eyesight problems. The scrolling menu on the left-hand side seems in the usual order but as I scrolled to the bottom I am met by a disturbing image of someone’s eye that seems a little voyeuristic. Then I clicked on it and it blinked! Really creepy! But if that is your sort of thing you might be interested in downloading the Glaucoma Hymn (with accompanying lyrics). I actually listened to all 3½ minutes of it, which strangely left me wanting to see that musical about that state that is just below Kansas.
#1 Optimal World
This site appears to be inactive now. Maybe after making the list they took it down to redesign it. I tried to find another way in but all links seem to be dead. It’s probably for the best anyway.
This has been interesting seeing how badly people can screw up a website. I find it hard to believe that they don’t see some flaws in their design as they are creating it but I guess it takes all sorts.
November 14, 2007
Malware Podcast
(This is the text for a podcast that is presently not available. This will be updated as soon as possible.)
Welcome back for podcast number four. Once again this is Verlene Schafer for IRLS 571. The Internet is rich with stories of malware attacks. It can be frightening to even turn on a computer for fear of what may be lost to viruses and trojans. Email boxes are stuffed with tempting offers of free items, or “remember me” letters from people you never knew. According to Matt Hines of InfoWorld (http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/03/Second-tier-AV-labs-decry-commoditization-claims_1.html), over the first six months of 2007, anti-virus applications market leader Symantec found a total of 212,101 new malware variants, an astonishing 185 percent increase over the second half of 2006, totaling an average of well over 1,100 unique samples arriving per day.
Malware programmers are becoming more sophisticated but unfortunately users are not. In an article from TechNewsWorld I read that what worries Louis Cheng, spokesperson for Finjan Software security products, is how easily uninformed computer users become victims of spyware and other malware products. With the increase in threat levels, more damage will occur. In that same article Edward English, CEO of InterMute, which makes the well-known products SpySubtract, Spam Subtract and AdSubtract called spyware a national security concern. He says, "It is so easy for companies, tricksters and deviants to get spyware planted on a PC. Just post it on a download site and call it 'freeware.' People will download and install it. There are millions of naive users out there installing 'free' spyware daily," (TechNewsWorld http://www.technewsworld.com/story/34228.html)
To be sure, some malicious hackers are doing creative work. This year saw some sophisticated phishing attacks, and virus writers have been branching into relatively new areas like instant messaging and social networking sites, noted Christopher Boyd, security research manager for FaceTime Communications. But the trend overall, he said, has been "quantity over quality." (TechNewsWorld) http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/12/18/HNmalware_1.html
An example of these new attacks is found in an article from Tech2.com http://www.tech2.com/india/news/telecom/wikipedia-hijacked-to-spread-malware/2667/0
Computer users are being warned against opening unsolicited mails after hackers took advantage of the popular Wikipedia encyclopedia in their attempt to spread malicious code. Wikipedia allows anyone to create and modify articles, a policy of openness which has often been abused by mischief-makers in the past. Taking advantage of this fact, an article on the German edition of Wikipedia, was created by hackers claiming to include a link to a fix for a supposedly new version of the Blaster worm. However, the 'fix' was actually a piece of malicious code, designed to infect visitors' PCs. In an article for eWeek, http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2078379,00.asp IM viruses are highlighted, stating that the “final three months of 2006 represented the heaviest volume of IM threats ever seen.” The article also notes that researchers said the distribution of IM threats slowed during summer months and then increased during the fourth quarter of the calendar year.” The same trend for the past three years. This is the time for everyone to be more wary and aware. So one might wonder, if things are so bad why use a computer at all? I think that would be like saying, hey, there are germs and disease outside so I will just stay in so I don’t catch anything. I recall two of the adages my mother used to use on me. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and stay in school. There are many programs that can protect your computer, many at no cost to the user. Users can prevent malware attacks if they take a little time to run the programs and clean up their computers on a regular basis. The second thing to do is stay informed. Taking some time each week or two to read about what is happening can help keep users’ information safe. But this is not just a one time study, the malware creators are constantly creating new ways to get past your defenses and educating oneself is the first step to blocking those attacks. The online magazines in this podcast are a great place to start. For software to protect and remove problems check out sites like Ad-Aware www.lavasoftusa.com/ or Tucows http://www.tucows.com/, Download.com http://www.download.com/. Take the time to protect your information, just like you protect yourself from the world outside, you need to protect yourself virtually too. Well, that is all for now. This has been Verlene Schafer for IRLS 571. Thanks for listening.
Welcome back for podcast number four. Once again this is Verlene Schafer for IRLS 571. The Internet is rich with stories of malware attacks. It can be frightening to even turn on a computer for fear of what may be lost to viruses and trojans. Email boxes are stuffed with tempting offers of free items, or “remember me” letters from people you never knew. According to Matt Hines of InfoWorld (http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/03/Second-tier-AV-labs-decry-commoditization-claims_1.html), over the first six months of 2007, anti-virus applications market leader Symantec found a total of 212,101 new malware variants, an astonishing 185 percent increase over the second half of 2006, totaling an average of well over 1,100 unique samples arriving per day.
Malware programmers are becoming more sophisticated but unfortunately users are not. In an article from TechNewsWorld I read that what worries Louis Cheng, spokesperson for Finjan Software security products, is how easily uninformed computer users become victims of spyware and other malware products. With the increase in threat levels, more damage will occur. In that same article Edward English, CEO of InterMute, which makes the well-known products SpySubtract, Spam Subtract and AdSubtract called spyware a national security concern. He says, "It is so easy for companies, tricksters and deviants to get spyware planted on a PC. Just post it on a download site and call it 'freeware.' People will download and install it. There are millions of naive users out there installing 'free' spyware daily," (TechNewsWorld http://www.technewsworld.com/story/34228.html)
To be sure, some malicious hackers are doing creative work. This year saw some sophisticated phishing attacks, and virus writers have been branching into relatively new areas like instant messaging and social networking sites, noted Christopher Boyd, security research manager for FaceTime Communications. But the trend overall, he said, has been "quantity over quality." (TechNewsWorld) http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/12/18/HNmalware_1.html
An example of these new attacks is found in an article from Tech2.com http://www.tech2.com/india/news/telecom/wikipedia-hijacked-to-spread-malware/2667/0
Computer users are being warned against opening unsolicited mails after hackers took advantage of the popular Wikipedia encyclopedia in their attempt to spread malicious code. Wikipedia allows anyone to create and modify articles, a policy of openness which has often been abused by mischief-makers in the past. Taking advantage of this fact, an article on the German edition of Wikipedia, was created by hackers claiming to include a link to a fix for a supposedly new version of the Blaster worm. However, the 'fix' was actually a piece of malicious code, designed to infect visitors' PCs. In an article for eWeek, http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2078379,00.asp IM viruses are highlighted, stating that the “final three months of 2006 represented the heaviest volume of IM threats ever seen.” The article also notes that researchers said the distribution of IM threats slowed during summer months and then increased during the fourth quarter of the calendar year.” The same trend for the past three years. This is the time for everyone to be more wary and aware. So one might wonder, if things are so bad why use a computer at all? I think that would be like saying, hey, there are germs and disease outside so I will just stay in so I don’t catch anything. I recall two of the adages my mother used to use on me. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and stay in school. There are many programs that can protect your computer, many at no cost to the user. Users can prevent malware attacks if they take a little time to run the programs and clean up their computers on a regular basis. The second thing to do is stay informed. Taking some time each week or two to read about what is happening can help keep users’ information safe. But this is not just a one time study, the malware creators are constantly creating new ways to get past your defenses and educating oneself is the first step to blocking those attacks. The online magazines in this podcast are a great place to start. For software to protect and remove problems check out sites like Ad-Aware www.lavasoftusa.com/ or Tucows http://www.tucows.com/, Download.com http://www.download.com/. Take the time to protect your information, just like you protect yourself from the world outside, you need to protect yourself virtually too. Well, that is all for now. This has been Verlene Schafer for IRLS 571. Thanks for listening.
November 9, 2007
Rich Media Websites
All of the sites reviewed below are new to me except for the popular video sites, which almost everyone is familiar with. This was a great opportunity for me to discover new resources and develop ideas for using rich media in the future as I continue to develop my technology skills.
Interactive Advertising Bureau –
It is important to have standards when creating a website. The more a site designer considers their audience the more likely viewers are to return to that site for information or products. It seems that the Interactive Advertising Bureau put a lot of research into creating guidelines for effective website advertisements, noting that “rich media is especially good at moving purchase intent.” The bureau studied customer satisfaction in regards to pop-up ads, which are so persistent and found that “more than 90% of consumers find pop-ups annoying and objectionable” and “more than 50% of users cited a ‘very negative affect’ to brands using pop-ups.” This is easily understood and it seems that of the millions of sites online that many companies would follow these guidelines to improve the users’ experience and yet the list of companies who are compliant is surprisingly short. While it is an impossible task to regulate the web, I would have thought that more companies would at least try to follow some kind of standard. The Interactive Advertising Bureau even designed a sort of seal of approval for companies who are compliant with their guidelines. “The IAB suggests that compliant member sites post the Compliance Seal in their online media kit as well as in their print versions. Media buyers will be educated as to the benefits of Rich Media Guidelines and be encouraged to look for the Seal.” Many of the sites listed as compliant that I looked at did not have the seal.
Learning Technologies Center –
While the examples on this site are few it does bring to mind ways that these technologies might be used in a library. The 3D modeling and animation would be useful to create virtual library tours or resource tutorials. These technologies could also be used to create opportunities for virtual interaction with other libraries or for users who want to participate in activities that otherwise they may not be able to.
Pima Community College –
I enjoyed looking at the different ways PCC used flash technology to make their site more interactive. Not only was it more visually appealing, but it also allowed the user more participation in the information than just reading. The map and directions page was also interesting. I liked how links were highlighted as I moved the cursor around the map because it helped highlight active links which when selected provided a menu specific to the location and directions.
UA Virtual Reality Annex –
This is a great example of what can be done with rich media. Interactive panoramic views like this would be great for school librarians to use to compliment curriculum in history or areas of current events. This would also work for libraries for people to see where items are located so they will be familiar with the physical space when they visit. It encourages interest in community sites to visit and appreciate, and allows viewers to visit these amazing places from their computer. It would be great to add interactive links with more information about specific items or parts. If a library created a panoramic tour of the library it could include links which might provide information on new titles in that particular section of the library or more information about what a user might find. It could also provide information about the various formats the information is available in such as audiobooks, ebooks, serials, videos, or websites.
SonicFoundry’s Media Site –
I am very impressed with the media on this site. I like how the presentations are provided with video and slides side by side. It also offers the option of enlarging the video so the viewer can just watch the presenter or just watch the slide show with audio. Skipping from one slide to the next or previous slide also moves the audio/video to the same part of the presentation so a viewer can skip or review parts without adjusting the other media attached to that presentation. I watched a presentation entitled Enhancing the Learning Environment with Rich Media: Best Practices. The part specific to rich media would be helpful for librarians who are developing technology programs. It provides great information on what one might need to begin and what to do with everything when completing a project. It was brief but offered very helpful tips. While I did not have the chance to look at many, when I searched for presentations using library as my search term, I got over 1,200 hit results. I also reviewed a presentation of Santa reading The Night Before Christmas, which would be a great link to have for kids, especially those learning to read since with the slides they could read along with Santa. Other stories and characters could be used in a similar way to develop some great media for children’s librarians.
Popular Video Sites –
MSN Video seems to provide news-related video rather than user created video. This would be useful to keep up on the latest new regarding any given topic for users who want to know more, or for libraries to keep up with what other libraries are doing in the news or information regarding political actions that may affect libraries. Google Video seems to have few original videos, most of the videos that came up on their search were from YouTube. YouTube seems to be the site that most library-created videos are found as well as user-produced videos.
Other Video Sites –
SciVee has great information on the sciences but also offers great RSS feeds for items that would be appreciated by any user, such as the 10 Simple Rules videos on making oral presentations or getting grants. FORA.tv provides a wealth of current event presentations that would be beneficial for library users though I thought that the site was not well organized. It was hard to navigate the busy homepage. TeacherTube and the TED website both offered rich media that addressed more than just the science and math emphasis which was helpful since that is my background and I was able to find more useful information in those sites.
I took a lot of creative writing classes during my undergraduate studies. I think that by using rich media applications both learning about and creating new works could have been enhanced by using technology more in the classroom. A good example of how media could be used to engage students in learning about new authors is one that I found on the TeacherTube website. If one does a search for Billy Collins there is a series of videos that present his poetry in amazing ways. Most are done by the same person(s) but there is one that seems student produced. Allowing students to create their own interpretation of a poem would have been a great project for the classes I took. Also I think that concrete poetry would have been another type of assignment that could have used the 3D applications available at UA.
Interactive Advertising Bureau –
It is important to have standards when creating a website. The more a site designer considers their audience the more likely viewers are to return to that site for information or products. It seems that the Interactive Advertising Bureau put a lot of research into creating guidelines for effective website advertisements, noting that “rich media is especially good at moving purchase intent.” The bureau studied customer satisfaction in regards to pop-up ads, which are so persistent and found that “more than 90% of consumers find pop-ups annoying and objectionable” and “more than 50% of users cited a ‘very negative affect’ to brands using pop-ups.” This is easily understood and it seems that of the millions of sites online that many companies would follow these guidelines to improve the users’ experience and yet the list of companies who are compliant is surprisingly short. While it is an impossible task to regulate the web, I would have thought that more companies would at least try to follow some kind of standard. The Interactive Advertising Bureau even designed a sort of seal of approval for companies who are compliant with their guidelines. “The IAB suggests that compliant member sites post the Compliance Seal in their online media kit as well as in their print versions. Media buyers will be educated as to the benefits of Rich Media Guidelines and be encouraged to look for the Seal.” Many of the sites listed as compliant that I looked at did not have the seal.
Learning Technologies Center –
While the examples on this site are few it does bring to mind ways that these technologies might be used in a library. The 3D modeling and animation would be useful to create virtual library tours or resource tutorials. These technologies could also be used to create opportunities for virtual interaction with other libraries or for users who want to participate in activities that otherwise they may not be able to.
Pima Community College –
I enjoyed looking at the different ways PCC used flash technology to make their site more interactive. Not only was it more visually appealing, but it also allowed the user more participation in the information than just reading. The map and directions page was also interesting. I liked how links were highlighted as I moved the cursor around the map because it helped highlight active links which when selected provided a menu specific to the location and directions.
UA Virtual Reality Annex –
This is a great example of what can be done with rich media. Interactive panoramic views like this would be great for school librarians to use to compliment curriculum in history or areas of current events. This would also work for libraries for people to see where items are located so they will be familiar with the physical space when they visit. It encourages interest in community sites to visit and appreciate, and allows viewers to visit these amazing places from their computer. It would be great to add interactive links with more information about specific items or parts. If a library created a panoramic tour of the library it could include links which might provide information on new titles in that particular section of the library or more information about what a user might find. It could also provide information about the various formats the information is available in such as audiobooks, ebooks, serials, videos, or websites.
SonicFoundry’s Media Site –
I am very impressed with the media on this site. I like how the presentations are provided with video and slides side by side. It also offers the option of enlarging the video so the viewer can just watch the presenter or just watch the slide show with audio. Skipping from one slide to the next or previous slide also moves the audio/video to the same part of the presentation so a viewer can skip or review parts without adjusting the other media attached to that presentation. I watched a presentation entitled Enhancing the Learning Environment with Rich Media: Best Practices. The part specific to rich media would be helpful for librarians who are developing technology programs. It provides great information on what one might need to begin and what to do with everything when completing a project. It was brief but offered very helpful tips. While I did not have the chance to look at many, when I searched for presentations using library as my search term, I got over 1,200 hit results. I also reviewed a presentation of Santa reading The Night Before Christmas, which would be a great link to have for kids, especially those learning to read since with the slides they could read along with Santa. Other stories and characters could be used in a similar way to develop some great media for children’s librarians.
Popular Video Sites –
MSN Video seems to provide news-related video rather than user created video. This would be useful to keep up on the latest new regarding any given topic for users who want to know more, or for libraries to keep up with what other libraries are doing in the news or information regarding political actions that may affect libraries. Google Video seems to have few original videos, most of the videos that came up on their search were from YouTube. YouTube seems to be the site that most library-created videos are found as well as user-produced videos.
Other Video Sites –
SciVee has great information on the sciences but also offers great RSS feeds for items that would be appreciated by any user, such as the 10 Simple Rules videos on making oral presentations or getting grants. FORA.tv provides a wealth of current event presentations that would be beneficial for library users though I thought that the site was not well organized. It was hard to navigate the busy homepage. TeacherTube and the TED website both offered rich media that addressed more than just the science and math emphasis which was helpful since that is my background and I was able to find more useful information in those sites.
I took a lot of creative writing classes during my undergraduate studies. I think that by using rich media applications both learning about and creating new works could have been enhanced by using technology more in the classroom. A good example of how media could be used to engage students in learning about new authors is one that I found on the TeacherTube website. If one does a search for Billy Collins there is a series of videos that present his poetry in amazing ways. Most are done by the same person(s) but there is one that seems student produced. Allowing students to create their own interpretation of a poem would have been a great project for the classes I took. Also I think that concrete poetry would have been another type of assignment that could have used the 3D applications available at UA.
October 15, 2007
I Tune in to I Tunes
(This is the text for a podcast that is presently not available. This will be updated as soon as possible.)
Welcome back for podcast number three. Today I am discussing the wonderful world of podcasts courtesy of iTunes. This is something that I am learning to love! And of course the best part is that most of it is free. I listen to most of my podcasts on my home computer though when I know my week is not going to give me the time to sit and listen I download a podcast or two onto my mp3 player. There are podcasts for all kinds of information and entertainment. While I have subscribed to several I will discuss three that I think show the diversity of podcasts available from iTunes.
The first that I want to tell you about is the National Geographic Video Shorts. I have loved National Geographic magazines since I was a little girl. I loved learning about different countries and cultures. Every issue that came with a map was another opportunity to cover my walls with ‘travel plans.’ National Geographic also has a great website that also brings the world to my desktop with amazing images and stories. The podcasts run from two to five minutes so for me it’s a quick fix when I need a vacation from everyday stress. Many of the podcasts also focus on animals and their relationship with other animals in their environments or how they live in nature. There are amazing stories of strange and unusual cultural practices, mysterious places and the wonders of nature’s forces. If you have any interest in the wide world outside of your hometown and state, then this is definitely a podcast worth subscribing to and if you like what you see you should definitely check out the National Geographic website.
The second podcast that I subscribed to was CNet.com’s Buzz Out Loud. I subscribed to this one because it covers current technology concerns and questions, products and the increasing list of new vocabulary as new technologies are developed. Usually several topics are covered in each podcast so it covers a lot of ground. In each introduction the hosts say that it is a podcast “of indeterminate length,” which is true. They run from 15 to 45 minutes in length. The most recent podcast is number 573 but on iTunes the oldest podcast is from May of 2007. I am not sure if the others are available somewhere, but since they produce a new one every workday, I just try to keep up with the most current and leave the past ones alone. Obviously, there is a website, but I often feel overwhelmed when visiting technology websites unless I have a specific task in mind. There is so much information out there that I never know where to begin. The podcasts give me an overview of information in smaller bytes.
The last one I want to review it one of my favorites, but it one I chose for entertainment value alone! I love the old time radio shows where a few actors play a myriad of characters by disguising their voices. I love the idea of special effects being done without sound bytes and computer editing. And I especially love the overly dramatized reactions the actors use to covey to the listener what they cannot see. So when I found the Decoder Ring Theatre podcast I was in heaven! There are several different recurring characters and ‘shows’ that feature that masked mystery man The Red Panda, the fearless fighting female The Flying Squirrel and their army of agents, hardboiled pulp detective Black Jack Justice his partner Trixie Dixon, girl detective, and Deck Gibson, Far Reach Commander. There is a blog available online to keep listeners posted on what’s coming up in the future, reviews and information on podcasts and characters. These are family-friendly fun adventures. I like to kick back on Saturday mornings and just enjoy the show. This is one that should not be overlooked.
Well, those are just a sampling of what I enjoy. Check them out, maybe you’ll enjoy them too. This has been Verlene Schafer with my third podcast for IRLS 571. Thanks for listening.
Welcome back for podcast number three. Today I am discussing the wonderful world of podcasts courtesy of iTunes. This is something that I am learning to love! And of course the best part is that most of it is free. I listen to most of my podcasts on my home computer though when I know my week is not going to give me the time to sit and listen I download a podcast or two onto my mp3 player. There are podcasts for all kinds of information and entertainment. While I have subscribed to several I will discuss three that I think show the diversity of podcasts available from iTunes.
The first that I want to tell you about is the National Geographic Video Shorts. I have loved National Geographic magazines since I was a little girl. I loved learning about different countries and cultures. Every issue that came with a map was another opportunity to cover my walls with ‘travel plans.’ National Geographic also has a great website that also brings the world to my desktop with amazing images and stories. The podcasts run from two to five minutes so for me it’s a quick fix when I need a vacation from everyday stress. Many of the podcasts also focus on animals and their relationship with other animals in their environments or how they live in nature. There are amazing stories of strange and unusual cultural practices, mysterious places and the wonders of nature’s forces. If you have any interest in the wide world outside of your hometown and state, then this is definitely a podcast worth subscribing to and if you like what you see you should definitely check out the National Geographic website.
The second podcast that I subscribed to was CNet.com’s Buzz Out Loud. I subscribed to this one because it covers current technology concerns and questions, products and the increasing list of new vocabulary as new technologies are developed. Usually several topics are covered in each podcast so it covers a lot of ground. In each introduction the hosts say that it is a podcast “of indeterminate length,” which is true. They run from 15 to 45 minutes in length. The most recent podcast is number 573 but on iTunes the oldest podcast is from May of 2007. I am not sure if the others are available somewhere, but since they produce a new one every workday, I just try to keep up with the most current and leave the past ones alone. Obviously, there is a website, but I often feel overwhelmed when visiting technology websites unless I have a specific task in mind. There is so much information out there that I never know where to begin. The podcasts give me an overview of information in smaller bytes.
The last one I want to review it one of my favorites, but it one I chose for entertainment value alone! I love the old time radio shows where a few actors play a myriad of characters by disguising their voices. I love the idea of special effects being done without sound bytes and computer editing. And I especially love the overly dramatized reactions the actors use to covey to the listener what they cannot see. So when I found the Decoder Ring Theatre podcast I was in heaven! There are several different recurring characters and ‘shows’ that feature that masked mystery man The Red Panda, the fearless fighting female The Flying Squirrel and their army of agents, hardboiled pulp detective Black Jack Justice his partner Trixie Dixon, girl detective, and Deck Gibson, Far Reach Commander. There is a blog available online to keep listeners posted on what’s coming up in the future, reviews and information on podcasts and characters. These are family-friendly fun adventures. I like to kick back on Saturday mornings and just enjoy the show. This is one that should not be overlooked.
Well, those are just a sampling of what I enjoy. Check them out, maybe you’ll enjoy them too. This has been Verlene Schafer with my third podcast for IRLS 571. Thanks for listening.
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