The panel assembled by ALA’s Library Information Technology Association (LITA) for its Top Tech Trends predictions on Sunday afternoon had its work cut out for it. Not only was it the division’s 50th anniversary, but moderator Maurice Coleman, tech trainer at Harford County (Md.) Library, put panelists through a lightning pace with questions worthy of the McLaughlin Group.
The panelists were Blake Carver, LYRASIS; Lauren Comito, Queens (N.Y.) Library; Laura Costello, Stony Brook (N.Y.) University; Carolyn Coulter, PrairieCat Library Consortium; and Nick Grove, Meridian (Idaho) Library District. Here are some of the questions: What is the next top tech trend?
(Read more...) TechSoup for Libraries hosted a webinar in May on teaching older adults technology at the library. The webinar featured two guest speakers: Steve Black, the founder of TechBoomers, who shared information about this free resource for technology training, and Kathy Faubion, a computer class instructor from the St. Mary's County Library in Maryland who shared how she teaches technology to the older adults in her community.
I hadn't heard of TechBoomers prior to the webinar, so it was a nice introduction to another resource for basic technology and internet tutorials and documentation. TechBoomers was launched with the mission to "improve the quality of lives of older adults by empowering them to learn how to use technology," and offers over 80 free courses, 1,000+ videos, and article tutorials, with plans to add more in the future. (Read more...) Though Pokemon Go has become a speeding train, libraries can still hop on board. Here is a great article from the galaxybookjockey blog that details how libraries can mingle with the adventurers and get the most from the ride: Everything Librarians Need to Know About Pokemon Go
Yesterday, at the WiscNet Future Technologies conference, I enjoyed a session on Google CS First and Google Expedition, both of which promise great potential in the library. Perhaps the presentation was directed towards schools, but what library doesn't have students and what librarian isn't an educator?! :)
Not only was I impressed with the quality of the programs that Google offers (often for free), but also the quantity. Most are focused on computers and the internet - both of which our libraries certainly possess. There are programs available for children/students, educators/teachers, or a combination thereof. Explore Google's Expeditions Pioneer Program and Google for Education pages to discover these gems yourself! :) At the PLA Conference in Denver last month, I attended a lot of great sessions. As I was writing up my notes for the PLA Highlights webinar on April 19 and the WAPL Conference next week, I realized there was a common thread among them.
Time - or the lack of time - especially when it comes to learning and staff development. And, how setting aside a few minutes a day or an hour a week is key to developing skills. In Tech Assistance for Cutting Edge Communities, librarians from Denver Public Library and the Arapahoe Library District talked about having dedicated technology specialists in their libraries. This is really awesome but may not be possible in all libraries. One of the key ideas they talked about was "hiring great staff who are passionate about helping people" and then developing their technical skills. They offer "Tinkertime" for staff when the library is closed and build in time for staff to play and learn. In Play Your Way to an Engaged Staff, librarians from the ImagineIF Libraries in Kalispell, Montana schedule staff for a weekly "happy hour" (or portion of an hour depending on their schedule) so they can learn something new, take a class, play with new equipment, or whatever they want to do. Then, in Bite-Sized Staff Training with Julia Huprich from the Georgia Public Library Service, I heard about "microlearning" and was immediately intrigued. While your library may not be able to give staff an hour a week or dedicated "tinkertime", how about 5 or 10 minutes? I especially appreciated how Leah Fritsche, the director of the Deerfield Public Library, turned this around to emphasize the importance of learning anytime - what can I learn (or teach) in 5 minutes? And, you've actually been participating in microlearning simply by reading TechBits regularly - woo hoo! Happy Reading and Learning! I've been meaning to scrap together something like this for our libraries for over a year now. There have been questions about whether or not a library needs to be 501(c)(3) status, and what they get in either case. Recently, I became aware of a non-profit organization that believes it is not Tech soup eligible for Microsoft licensing. It may not be, there are plenty of caveats beyond my very quick and limited research which can affect eligibility for Tech Soup in general, or for any of the numerous vendors whose products it aggregates.
The Google Doc I whipped up (see link immediately below) is be no means authoritative, but it does highlight important language specific to Microsoft Licensing eligibility via Tech Soup. https://docs.google.com/document/d/15zer9dNQ0Vg7l0oRACIwYleXXiEjxH77uatw0C1TCtU/edit?usp=sharing (in theory, no Google+ logging in required to view). If you're not absolutely certain (eg, you've requested a Tech Soup account and/or access to certain vendors' products and been definitively denied), I recommend consulting directly with Tech Soup and researching your institution's or organization's eligibility for the products you're using and needing. Also, just a reminder, if you're representing a Public Library using Microsoft Office Desktop products on staff computers, look into the Office 365 for Education licensing options. There's a whole lot of FREE there. Good luck, have fun, and license responsibly!!! Joshua Klingbeil - IT Director Wisconsin Valley Library Service The simplest explanation is that the USB cable/connection has gone through another upgrade. When I say "upgrade" I mean it has a smaller, different shape and transfers your data ten times faster than USB 3.0 Type-A/B - big stuff for a brighter future! Granted, I don't think the average computer user noticed (or cared) when USB 3.0 devices hit the marketplace with its blue interior in early 2010. Though that new standard was also ten times faster than its predecessor, how many people actually knew they had a USB 3.0 device/cable and then managed to plug it into the proper 3.0 SuperSpeed port (If there even was one)? Most folks just go for whatever USB port is handy and then wait however long it takes to open/transfer their files, right? Well, the reason I am writing about this latest iteration is because the different connector shape will change everything. Right now, the Type-A connector end is the flat rectangle shape with which we are all familiar, while the other end (Type-B) can be one of about five different kinds. The new Type-C connector (pictured below), on the other hand, will be the same small oval on both ends of the cable. This means the cable can be used for even the smallest peripherals (like a phone), you do not have to worry about which end you use because they are both the same, and it can plug in either way - no more flipping it around to find the correct orientation to slide it into the port! As the new USB 3.1 cables/ports will slowly find their way onto computers and devices, you will need to buy an adapter for any new Type-C device you get so that you can connect to the millions of existing USB 2.0 and 3.0 Type-A ports that will around for a while. Since USB 3.1 is backward compatible, you should have no problem making things work until the older stuff is gone.
Here are some links for more info and pictures: - http://www.cnet.com/news/usb-type-c-one-cable-to-connect-them-all/ - http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2478121,00.asp - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB I thought it'd be a good idea to take some time and go over all those different video connectors that are out there. Disclaimer: acronyms and tech jargon will be present in this post. However, this is useful information to have when talking to the help desk and/or you plan on adding an extra monitor. Lets dive in: VGA This is probably the most prevalent video connector in the library system. (Go to blog...)
I'm working on a few upcoming presentations and often use Google Slides or PowerPoint. I've used both of them often enough that I'm bored with their templates and backgrounds. I regularly use images in my slides but what about those times that a template would work best?
So, I went to one of my favorite sites for questions like this - Free Technology for Teachers. I've shared other tips, tricks, and ideas from this blog before and I highly recommend you bookmark thesite, add the blog to your favorite reader, or follow Richard onTwitter or your favorite social media site. And, after doing a quick search on his site, I came up with this blog post:Free PowerPoint Templates for Teachers and Students. I started browsing through Slide Hunter and found some fun new templates to try. I created a free account and downloaded my first template in under 15 minutes. Don't be surprised if you see something like this in an upcoming presentation from me. Say you’re doing a web search on something like the flu. The next thing you know, an ad for a flu remedy pops up on your web browser, or your video streaming service starts playing a commercial for Tylenol.
The content of those ads is no coincidence. Digital ads are able to follow people around the Internet because advertisers often place invisible trackers on the websites you visit. Their goal is to collect details on everywhere you go on the Internet and use that data to serve targeted ads to your computer, smartphone and connected television. (New York Times article...) Hi ,
Netflix’s popularity continues to grow fast, and they recently launched their streaming service globally. Obviously that makes them a hacker target. At the moment, there are active malware and phishing campaigns targeting Netflix users. The operations are fairly sophisticated, so it is likely this is the work of an Eastern European cybermafia. Some of the campaigns are dropping actual malware on the box, others phish for the user's login and/or payment information and sell these on the dark web. All of the campaigns start with some form of social engineering. In the case of malware, users infect their machine at the moment where they are tricked into acting on a fake ad for a cheaper version of Netflix. Once installed, the malware poses as Netflix and compromises the system with a Trojan. Symantec researchers wrote about one good example of credentials-phishing that targets Danish Netflix users. A fake email tried to trick them into updating their account due to a payment issue, mistakenly sending their bank details directly into the hands of cyber scammers. I suggest you send the following to your employees, friends and family: "Cybercriminals are targeting Netflix users with several scams you need to watch out for. Some of these scams claim you need to update your payment information, and others try to trick you into downloading software for a cheaper version of Netflix. Do not fall victim for any of these tricks. Only download Netflix software from the Netflix website or official app stores, and always go to these websites yourself instead of clicking on a link in an email. Also, if you receive an email that looks like it is from Netflix, and claim you need to update payment information, do not click on any links or open any attachments. Go to the Netflix website yourself using your browser and check your account. Call their customer service if you want to be 100% sure, using the 800 number you found on their website." For KnowBe4 customers, send your users a phishing security test to inoculate them against Netflix scams. You can find the template in Phishing -> Email Templates -> System Templates -> Current Events -> "Netflix Alerts: Your payment was declined". This template has a difficulty rating of 4 out of 5. Let's stay safe out there. Warm regards, Stu Sjouwerman Founder and CEO, KnowBe4, Inc. How important is customer service via social media? According to J.D. Power, 67% of consumers have used a company’s social media channel for customer service. And when they do, they expect a fast response. Research cited by Jay Baer tells us that 42% of consumers expect a response with 60 minutes.
So, how’s your social media customer service? For this post I was excited to research a set of 14 amazing examples of customer service using social media. Let’s get started! (read about it...) In southwestern Japan, there is a hotel staffed primarily by robots. Royal Caribbean’s new Anthem of the Seas cruise ship has a bar staffed by robot bartenders. And Starwood’s Aloft hotel in Cupertino, CA, uses robot butlers. With this type of technology beginning to appear in the hospitality industry, libraries might begin considering the implications of patron interactions with service robots in a library environment,Jamie Hollier, coowner and co-CEO of technology consultancy Anneal, noted during the Library Information Technology Association’s (LITA) Top Tech Trends panel at the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2016 Midwinter Meeting in Boston.
The robots were mentioned in a brief aside as Hollier made a broader point about... (read more) It's annual reports season again, and I know you're all as pumped as I am about sifting through all those numbers. But how do we extract real meaning from these data? Charts can help us visualize the key similarities and differences between data points, but can also be tedious. Here are a few tips for greasing the wheels in Excel.
First, know your shortcuts. Pressing F11 will... (read rest of blog) |
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