Greetings! I’m embedded at the Panera Bread at the corner of State Street and Congress Parkway in downtown Chicago, waiting for my first class of the semester to begin. LIS701: Introduction to Library and Information Science will be Wednesday nights inside the Harold Washington Library Center of the Chicago Public Library. I am really looking forward to starting with a new group of MLIS students. While embedded, I’m updating my course Web sites with some wonderful recent links. I thought I’d share them here as well for any TTW readers who might be designing their own courses, enhancing a Learning […]
Categories Gaming & Gamification
114 posts
This semester I am working with a student at The College of St. Catherine (Dominican has partnered with the school for a few years) on an independent study examining the information needs and information-seeking behaviors of Second Life Users. Check it out: http://librariandreamer.wordpress.com/ I constructed this research project because I desperately want to know more about people who use virtual worlds. Knowing more about the users can help librarians who are experimenting with how to provide library services and information there. Virtual worlds present a unique opportunity for librarians to creatively apply the mandate they have to serve user communities. […]
After our discussion Monday night in lass of Beck and Wade’s “Got Game,” it was nice to see this at The Shifted Librarian: I think the social interactions and socialization that takes place around gaming are often overlooked as being something less valuable than when it happens around books. This is one of the reasons that (as with anything) you can’t truly understand the benefits of video games in libraries if you’ve never played them. It’s why I encourage regional organizations (like state libraries and consortia) to purchase a console in order for their member librarians to experience this. It’s […]
Last night was our “Gaming in Libraries” session in my Library 2.0 course. We read some articles, discussed gaming programs in local libraries, and had some time for open play. Who knew that in library school you might get to do DDR? 🙂 Thanks to the LIS768’ers who brought gaming consoles, handhelds and the like – and to those who showed others how to play various games. Some folks explored Second Life as well, whiles others had a blast from the past with a rousing game of Asteroids. Thanks to Ruth for shooting the video. Photos to follow.
Let the (video) games begin! Originally uploaded by Canton Public Library (MI) At Canton Public Library: We just got our new collection of video games in. There are about 40 so far with a loan period of 1 week. Text all your friends and tell them.
Evening teen panel moderated by Stephen Abram Originally uploaded by American Library Association Publishing Do not miss sampling the incredible audio from the presentations and panels from the Gaming Symposium. jenny has put loads of content up at: http://www.techsource.ala.org/blog/Gaming+and+Libraries+Symposium/ The image is the evening teen panel moderated by Stephen Abram, where Jenny noted: “Our favorite quote from one of the teens when he talked about using .gov sites versus wikipedia: “who are you going to trust – the government or the people?””
&tPosts I’ve noted for use in classes, presentations and future writing: Aggregator as Textbook by Will Richardson: I’ve been thinking more and more about my own use of RSS, and trying to reflect on the choices I make in my aggregator. Frankly, I am still amazed that so relatively few people (not just educators) have made RSS a part of their practice, but I wonder if it doesn’t have something to do with how disruptive a technology it is when you really think about it. It changes the traditional information structures in fundamental ways, and it forces us to be […]
http://librariansmatter.com/blog/2007/07/31/gaming-in-my-academic-library/ Like many academic libraries, our library has just remodelled two floors to make a Learning Common. It is aimed at capitalising on the building as a social space – a place that creates a community of learners and provides a venue for students to hang out and (hopefully) do some self directed learning. We are opening part of it 24/7 and have soft drink vending machines, junkfood vending machines, comfy couches, a coffee shop… Is a gaming space really so far from that continuum? During mid semester break, we have PC labs that stand empty. Would a leisure reading […]
I got a Wii for my birthday! Originally uploaded by mstephens7
A blog post describing a teacher’s personal reservations about allowing students certain types of technology use, on a blog site that promotes technology and libraries may seem paradoxical, but here it goes. By the way, my name is Michael Westfall and I’m a media information specialist in a Chicago public elementary school and a Dominican University LIS graduate student. A big thank you to Michael Stephens for allowing me to get my voice out there. So here is my issue: I don’t like kids playing games on the computers in my library because I feel it is at the expense […]