Carnegie Mellon University Libraries are testing two games in their Library Arcade.
The first, I'll Get It, would help students figure out when to use books, indexes, or websites for a research question.
The second game, Within Range, would help students learn LC classification. Might also be good for training students workers on shelving!
vk
Thursday, December 13, 2007
2008 crystal ball
Here are Futurist magazine's top ten predictions for 2008:
1. The world will have a billion millionaires by 2025.
[None will be librarians]
2. Fashion will go wired as technologies and tastes converge to revolutionize the textile industry.
[Hmm. Build a keyboard into my pants and a monitor into my shirt - I could do some serious navel gazing.]
3. The threat of another cold war with China, Russia, or both could replace terrorism as the chief foreign-policy concern of the United States.
[I'm more concerned about China *owning* us.]
4. Counterfeiting of currency will proliferate, driving the move toward a cashless society.
[Higher interest rates are leading to a cashless society as well - though not in the way they mean.]
5. The earth is on the verge of a significant extinction event.
[Hope it's not us.]
6. Water will be in the twenty-first century what oil was in the twentieth century.
[I'm surprised it isn't already - they've been predicting this for quite a while.]
7. World population by 2050 may grow larger than previously expected, due in part to healthier, longer-living people.
[Doing my best to buck this trend...]
8. The number of Africans imperiled by floods will grow 70-fold by 2080.
[Nothing in Africa is a joke. I just watched HBO's latest documentary on Darfur. Hard to imagine flooding on top of this.]
9. Rising prices for natural resources could lead to a full-scale rush to develop the Arctic.
[We used to joke about needing to arm the deer against hunters to be fair. Now we'll have to arm the moose and caribou too.]
10. More decisions will be made by nonhuman entities.
[No jokes about adminstrators, please.]
If you want to read more about why they made these predictions, you can go to the original announcement.
1. The world will have a billion millionaires by 2025.
[None will be librarians]
2. Fashion will go wired as technologies and tastes converge to revolutionize the textile industry.
[Hmm. Build a keyboard into my pants and a monitor into my shirt - I could do some serious navel gazing.]
3. The threat of another cold war with China, Russia, or both could replace terrorism as the chief foreign-policy concern of the United States.
[I'm more concerned about China *owning* us.]
4. Counterfeiting of currency will proliferate, driving the move toward a cashless society.
[Higher interest rates are leading to a cashless society as well - though not in the way they mean.]
5. The earth is on the verge of a significant extinction event.
[Hope it's not us.]
6. Water will be in the twenty-first century what oil was in the twentieth century.
[I'm surprised it isn't already - they've been predicting this for quite a while.]
7. World population by 2050 may grow larger than previously expected, due in part to healthier, longer-living people.
[Doing my best to buck this trend...]
8. The number of Africans imperiled by floods will grow 70-fold by 2080.
[Nothing in Africa is a joke. I just watched HBO's latest documentary on Darfur. Hard to imagine flooding on top of this.]
9. Rising prices for natural resources could lead to a full-scale rush to develop the Arctic.
[We used to joke about needing to arm the deer against hunters to be fair. Now we'll have to arm the moose and caribou too.]
10. More decisions will be made by nonhuman entities.
[No jokes about adminstrators, please.]
If you want to read more about why they made these predictions, you can go to the original announcement.
Yahoo for my GoogleSpaceBook
Another nod to the NYT technology bloggers...
Saul Hansell reports that Google and Yahoo are both interested in integrating social networking into their email and custom pages (iGoogle,MyYahoo).
In some ways, it would be nice. Imagine getting professional email from someone and being able to see what they look like and basic information about them. Might make recognizing people at conferences a little easier!
But on the other hand, imagine your picture and profile going out with every email you send...
Professor Kline researches online search tools and likes warm fuzzy animals and quiet walks in the moonlight.
Yikes.
Saul Hansell reports that Google and Yahoo are both interested in integrating social networking into their email and custom pages (iGoogle,MyYahoo).
In some ways, it would be nice. Imagine getting professional email from someone and being able to see what they look like and basic information about them. Might make recognizing people at conferences a little easier!
But on the other hand, imagine your picture and profile going out with every email you send...
Professor Kline researches online search tools and likes warm fuzzy animals and quiet walks in the moonlight.
Yikes.
Are you ready for Web 3.0?
Folks are already beginning to discuss Web 3.0. John Markoff at the New York Times links it to the Semantic Web, which he describes this way:
"While it is not that much more precise a phrase, the semantic Web refers to technology to make using the Internet better by understanding the meaning of what people are doing, not just the way pages link to each other." [see full blog posting]
He also introduces an application called Twine which would look at all the data you produce/store and try to make sense of it. It isn't out yet, but you can sign up to be notified about the beta release.
"While it is not that much more precise a phrase, the semantic Web refers to technology to make using the Internet better by understanding the meaning of what people are doing, not just the way pages link to each other." [see full blog posting]
He also introduces an application called Twine which would look at all the data you produce/store and try to make sense of it. It isn't out yet, but you can sign up to be notified about the beta release.
No room at the Inn?
According to a recent study by Nemertes Research Group, demand for the internet in North America could exceed access within 3-5 years. Read it and weep: http://www.nemertes.com/internet_singularity_delayed_why_limits_internet_capacity_will_stifle_innovation_web
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Random Nuts - Printable Organs
Every now and then I come across a kernel of off-topic information too fascinating not to share...
Research team makes progress toward 'printing' organs from PhysOrg.com
Each year, pharmaceutical companies invest millions of dollars to test drugs, many of which will never reach the market because of side effects found only during human clinical trials. At the same time, the number of patients waiting for organ transplants continues to increase. In the past 10 years, this number has nearly doubled. Now, a new study led by a University of Missouri-Columbia physics researcher might present new solutions to both problems with the help of a very special printer.
[...]
Visuwords
I'm always fascinated by visual interfaces. Check out this new dictionary/thesaurus tool:
Visuwords http://www.visuwords.com/
vk
Visuwords http://www.visuwords.com/
vk
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Studying Students by Foster and Gibbons
I've just come across an interesting report: Studying Students: the Undergraduate Research Project at University of Rochester.
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/downloadables/Foster-Gibbons_cmpd.pdf
It addresses this question: "What do students really do when they write their research papers?"
It looks at both faculty and student expectations.
It's 90 pages so I'm going to give it a more serious read later...
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/downloadables/Foster-Gibbons_cmpd.pdf
It addresses this question: "What do students really do when they write their research papers?"
It looks at both faculty and student expectations.
It's 90 pages so I'm going to give it a more serious read later...
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