The dark side of the web

I count myself very lucky in that I have only had one real experience with malware in the form of a Trogan Horse attack.

I had just visited Google images and searched for pictures comparing ants with termites, when one of the pictures I clicked on set off my Internet Security software's alerts.  I was able to request immediate action on dealing with this and then did a thorough scan of my entire computer for any residual nasties without any lasting, negative consequences.

However, this incident was enough to seriously scare me and I now only search/ click on images from reputable sites rather then just clicking on any image found in google images.  This is possibly one area that other people don't really think about when searching unlike with websites where you can get an idea if it is reputable.

Mashups Revisited

One of the mashups listed in this weeks session which I liked was Flickr Memari.

This mashup allowed you to "Create, customize, and send a memory matching game from your Flickr images".At first it just looked like a relaxing fun activity, kind of quirky and cute but then I thought of some other very useful reasons for creating this game. 

Instead of just using pictures from your flickr account you could also have tiles with

A. Maths equations 
e.g. 5X 8 with the answers e.g 40 needing to be found

B. Language translations 
e.g one (english) and satu (other languages - Indonesian translation) needing to be found

C. Combination of maths and language translations
e.g. maths equation -->  3 X 3  and answer --> novo (Italian translation)

These games could then be used as helpful learning tools by people trying to learn.

Instant communication

Instant Messaging - nice if you can do it!

Despite numerous attempts using Hotmail's Messenger service, I was unable to start a chat session with one of my approved contacts.  We were both online at the same time and available (according to messenger) and had not limited access to each other and yet we were apparently not available.  We ended up sending each other emails for a short while to communicate but soon both decided we had lost interest.
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I'm not sure how popular this form of communication is but considering how easy it is to just send an email or text or even just pick up a phone (as skype not an option) it is probably not something that I would personally use.

One of the main reasons being that my schedule for work, commuting and personal "free time" was rarely in sync with most of my friends and family for instant communication.

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I did like the Topeka and Shawnee County Public library's
Ask Us Service page.


Need help? Click the Ask Now button above or use one of our other options below. Our friendly librarians are ready to answer your questions!

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For a library, having a dedicated Reference Service accessible via instant messaging would be a great way of assisting members.  

Presumably, the librarian on call to assist is focusing only on this service and not also working on the public Information Desk at the same time. We all know how hard it can be to assist someone with an indepth reference query when the phone is also ringing and 8 other people are hovering in the background tapping their fingers..

More with Google docs

It's been awhile since I last visited Google Docs as we have Microsoft Office at work and I mainly create simple training notes with new procedures for staff to follow if working on the Public assistance desks. I usually just use screen images of the individual steps taken with some text box information to clarify.

Other tasks such as creating letters for lost, stolen, damaged items or overdue items are usually set according to council approved templates and only recquire editing of individual member / item details.

*I suspect that staff at other libraries probably only really use their supplied software too unless they need to create something and they find themselves unable to do so easily with what they have access to*

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So given my limited useage I did not really think I would discoverany great new tips for using Google Docs that I could apply to my work situation.... But I was pleasantly surprisd to discover at least a few new tips that I could get excited about!

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Tips I liked - You can

1. Create shared folders with documents that can be accessed by other trusted people  who can log on and edit at the same time as other members given access.

Why? 

We have all experienced frustration in attempting to see members of a group at the same time as if someone is not already committed to working  somewhere in the library, they are already attending another meeting / training session, are at lunch, having a rostered day off or on annual leave. Those that do attend are usually focused for about half  the time with one eye on their watch as they need to do something else soon.

By using shared documents for subjects you want to discuss or work on with other people, you can provide your comments, suggestions and sourced information at a time that best suits you.  

You no longer have to schedule face-to-face meetings requiring additional time and expense in travelling to and from one location to another.  A deadline can be announced for all members to submit their input and the final results can be managed by a nominated person with everyone else able to check in again at a set date.

2.  Use Google to translate your text documents into other language

Why?

Our library membership is very culturally diverse and not all members have English as a second language.  We are lucky enough to have members of staff  with bilingual language skills, but we still come across many people who we find it difficult to communicate with and pictures, hand gestures and mime can only get you so far.

Now if someone writes to us in another language, we can use Google translate where we can retype the letter's content in (provided it is in recognised characters) and have it translated into English.  It may not be a perfect translation, as we know certain phrases in one language don't always mean anything in another, but it can provide enough of an idea for us to understand what they are communicating.

We can then compose our reply in English and have it translated into their language which we can then send back (possibly with a note re: tool used to translate document and apologies for any misunderstandings or miscommunications).

Alternatively, if the person is standing in front of you, you can open up Google translate, type in some text and play the translation in their language to them.  If they speak a language that uses the English alphabet, they too can use the keyboard to communicate too.
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Here is an e.g. of what can be done.

English version

Hello I am the Overdues Officer.We charge overdue fees for items which are returned late. You must return items in time or renew them online to avoid these fees. You may renew items twice provided that no reservation exist.

German translation

Hallo, ich bin der Überfälligkeiten Officer.
Wir berechnen überfälligen Gebühren für Artikel, die verspätet zurückgegeben. Sie müssen Elemente zurück in der Zeit oder erneuern Sie sie online, um diese Gebühren zu vermeiden. Sie können zu erneuern Artikel zweimal sofern keine Vormerkung besteht.

* Please accept my apologies for any errors as I have used a translation tool and my German is only so-so. No offense has been intended*

Event management

Scheduling ones daily/weekly/monthly/yearly calendar can be a difficult task, especially when other people's attendance and availability is involved. The following online mangement tools can really help with the challenge.

Doodle

This is a really easy tool to use and is great for arranging meetings with other people. It is especially useful for someone who is constantly on the go, moving from one location to the other and working remotely as it can be accessed anywhere, anytime as long as you have internet access, which with the exisiting range of internet accessible portable devices is incredibly easy today.

Google calendar

This is a more advanced event management tool with multiple ways of organising ones schedule.  Registering with this tool is so easy if one already has a gmail account as one only has to log on. One can even see a read only view of one's calendar without the need for being online.

Eventbrite

This is a really good tool for managing attendees for an event you wish to run as it is really easy for people to use which is almost half the challenge.  Up and coming events can be searched with the basic search bar and results can be limited to the event's date, location, category (e.g. convention) and fee. Tickets can also be easily printed out by the attendee.

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Of the three tools, I would probably only really use Doodle for scheduling meetings with people outside of our organisation as we already use Microsoft Outlook at work which has a council contacts list already and a calendar tool.  I would recommend Eventbrite to our Community Information team for managing all of our author talks and other events.

Productivity with RSS

Sigh, I must admit to not even looking at my feed reader since creating and briefly using it for Learning 2.0.

I was using Bloglines and although it was great to receive feeds of my choice which could be accessed anywhere I had internet access, I always found it extremely irritating that I could not delete the feeds once I had read them and decided I no longer wanted them.  It was possible to delete a feed subscription altogether but not an indivdual feed received. 

Despite searching I could not find any information in the help section about how to do this. Google Reader also didn't seem to offer this deletion option either and I so badly wanted to tidy up my feeds list!

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I actually found it easier to simply subscribe to the most desired feeds via my Internet browser and only look at them when on the computer I had used to subscribe on.

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Using a Rss filter like Feedrinse is not required.  I find that when searching for the initial website to see if it has feeds, one can simply use good keyword searches and actually look at the site to be able to decide if it meets your needs.

Slideshows! Screencasting & Digital storytelling

I love slideshows and they are especially effective when one wants to portray an emotion and show the progression of a  story from beginning to end.

You can simply show the picture slides, add text, music or a voiceover to really invove the target audience.

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If only we had a screen near our library's entrance...  We have a perfect captive audience in all those eager members who wait outside counting down the minutes till our doors open.  Our library could do a slideshow showing the year that passed at the library!

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Here is a slideshow I found when looking at Authorstream. 

You can play it here and 

* Simply watch the pics with the volume turned on

* Watch it in full screen mode with the volume turned on to see the factual information about the festival and the information about the individual picture slides in the text box. You can speed up the show by placing your mouse indicator in the text box and clicking on this when you are ready to move on. Simply press ESC to return to the blog.

* Alternatively, you can go to the actual site and play it there. Visit:

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/Nubiagroup-1233817-nubia-group-diwali-festival-of-lights/

Note: there are 100 slides to possibly see but it is well worth it!

DIWALI Festival Of Lights

More PowerPoint presentations from Nubia

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Online Screencasting looks interesting and I can immediately see one benefit to using tools like Screenr - decreased delays in broadcasting the finished product!

Provided one has a fast enough internet connection, one can play the screencast eliminating all of those nasty pauses while we wait for the website to open up and as the trainer manually works their way through all of the individual steps as sometimes technology can be too slow when in a live training session.

Additionally,  if online access to this screencast is also provided one can revisit and replay as many times as one requires to be able to learn the procedures involved.

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The digital storytelling "Culture Shock" project was also fascinating to read, watch and listen to.

Not only did it provide an insight into the individual people's stories, but it also leaves a great record of the varying accents of the people of North East England.

Visit: http://www.cultureshock.org.uk/home.html to watch and listen

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