Mobile support for learning, teaching and research

This is the presentation I gave today as part of the m-libraries 101 virtual conference hosted by QUT in Brisbane and organised by the wonderful Kate Davis. Meredith Farkas was the main presenter and gave a fantastic overview of mobile technologies and the way they can be used by libraries. The other speakers were Sarah Steed from ACT libraries and Richard Gray from UNSW. It was a fascinating look at the different ways libraries are investigating, playing and experimenting with mobile technologies. This was my first time participating in a virtual conference using Elluminate and it worked very well! The only problem I had was the lack of audience engagement as I was talking. Ever tried talking to a blank computer screen? It takes getting used to!

Mobile support for learning, teaching and research at UTS Library

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Some of the slides are probably not very self explanatory - I should probably provide commentary. Maybe I'll add the link to audio when I get it. Feel free to ask me questions. Hope you enjoy!

Getting to know our clients on 'wallwisher'

A few months ago we installed a 'wallwisher' suggestion board in our foyer for client comments and feedback. It replaced an antiquated system of pen on paper comments posted on a notice board. It's caused quite a stir among clients and staff and some of  the comments are hilarious. I particularly like the ongoing discussion about our Kenny G elevator music and the problem it's causing... clients ask our advice because they start to feel a bit romantic in the lift and they're worried one thing might lead to another... I've wanted to blog about this for a while but I've asked the wonderful Ashley to be my guest blogger for  this post because she's more involved than me and quite the comedian. I hope you enjoy.

~

Serious Asks: Does the Library have plans for response on a wizard attack on Blake Library?
Library: The Library has plans for earthquakes, fire, wizard and zombie attacks. However no one can stop Godzilla; except maybe ninja. Please dial 6 in an emergency.

Anon asks: this wall is amazing, I bet the person who set this up is amazing too. And handsome.
Library: We suspect this was put up by a member of our IT Staff.
Library (aka PinkFairaeDust): If you think the IT guys are cute, you should see the Librarians who write on this wall ;)

I suppose you realise by now that this is not one of lovely Sophie’s clever posts. She has asked me to write something about our Brilliant Library Suggestion Board. I am not entirely sure she has picked the right person. I am generally known for doing silly things like naming my lemon tree Fredrick, or asking my boss’ boss’ boss if the new ASRS will be pretty. Ah well here goes!

Above you can see me in front of our gorgeous suggestion board. I am one of the people who respond to students comments and have fallen head over heels in love with the process. They have surprised and thrilled me with their comments and general Geekery.

I guess what I really enjoy are the cheeky comments designed to test our boundaries. Most of the time they are not testing our boundaries by being bad or rude. I guess I can only describe it was testing out how human we are and if we have a sense of humour. So far, we have only had to moderate them lightly, taking down one racist comment and another with a naughty word in it. Actually, we really wanted to leave the latter one up due to its pertinence to the student experience. Shall we play Blankety blanks? “Life is like a sometimes it gets hard for no reason.” True in oh so many ways. Alas we do have to draw a line somewhere. You can see some of the initial comments in our Facebook Photo Gallery.
 
Some of you might be wondering what this has to do with providing Library Services. Not everyone probably agrees with me, but I represent the silly 25-year-old new graduates and I think it is a crucial step in engaging with students. Sure some of the comments are silly; sure some of them have nothing to do with traditional Library business. That doesn’t bother me at all. Anything that engages students and makes library staff appear less stern and more approachable is fine by me. One bad Library experience will turn you away from Libraries and Librarians for good. Secretly, between you and me, Librarians still petrify me. I was far too scared to approach Librarians in both my degrees – even when I was studying to be one!
 
What matters to me is that our students (patrons? Researchers? Learners?) feel comfortable talking to us no matter how silly the question may seem and know that we are interested in helping them solve their problems. Even if it is only to suggest a game of rock, paper, scissors, lizard, spock to settle who gets to use the computers first (then point out our Online computer availability system). 



Yours, @pinkfairaedust

QR codes and the mobile web

This is a poster I presented yesterday at the UTS Teaching and Learning Forum called "QR codes and the mobile web". There was much interest in the poster and I demonstrated how they work with my iphone which has the i-nigma reader installed (I think this is the best reader I have tested for the iphone as it auto takes photos very quickly with low error rate - much for efficient than the BeeTag reader). The poster was aimed at raising awareness of QR codes and their potential use in teaching, learning and research environments. The audience was mainly academic staff and most had seen QR codes before but weren't sure how they worked. I explained how we're using them in the library and suggested ways they could use them in their contexts. Most people were enthusiastic about trying to use them in some way and appreciated the way QR codes can bridge the gap between physical and digital learning environments. The full abstract is below.

QR codes and the mobile web

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At UTS Library we are engaged in the delivery of high quality information literacy training and services to clients. We endeavour to maintain awareness of emerging trends in technology and communications with regard to their impact on educational and library settings. Through this process we hope to better meet client needs and expectations by creating an evolving and dynamic teaching and learning environment. One way UTS library is trying to achieve this is through the use of QR codes. QR codes are barcodes for the 21st century that can be scanned by a mobile device and lead you to a website, video, podcast, quiz, pdf, or almost anything! They are simple to create and use as will be demonstrated live during the poster session. As more and more people use mobile devices everyday, the need to provide mobile content for accessing on-the-go is increasing and QR codes are a simple way to achieve that. Mobile devices allow the digital and physical worlds to interact via QR codes and enhance the teaching and learning environment.

At UTS Library we are trialling QR codes in our promotional bookmarks and flyers for example, a flyer promoting the new catalogue will have a QR code leading to a short screencast of how to use the new catalogue. While this is a simple idea, it provides library clients with an immediate interactive experience of how to use a new hands-on service that is better explained by demonstration than in reading a flyer. QR codes have been used in a wide variety of contexts such as advertising, events, music, museums, games, libraries and education. In an educational setting QR codes could be introduced to handouts or UTSonline as a way to enhance the learning experience. For example, websites, quizzes or video content referred to could have a QR code attached allowing people to access content on their mobile device in the classroom or on-the-go. It is also possible to create short screencasts or vodcasts for specific classes in minutes and link them to QR codes for placing in handouts, lecture slides or UTSonline. An added benefit of using QR codes is that they can be scanned by the mobile device and stored to be accessed anytime.

We will be educating our clients about QR codes and monitoring this pilot project by tracking usage statistics of the content we link to. We hope to enhance our existing library services through the use of QR codes by creating a more engaging and dynamic teaching and learning environment.

Twitter and interactive teaching and learning support

This is a short aside from my customisation theme to introduce a few ways of providing more interactive support to learning and teaching activities. Libraries are starting to use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to reach clients in their online worlds rather than expecting them to visit the library website (which in a way is related to customisation). While this is a smart move, it could be redundant if not managed well. What is the point of being there, what are you posting, what is the benefit? Below are some ways interactivity can be embedded not just in social networking sites but in any teaching and learning space.

Screenr: Web-based screencasting tool. So easy! All you need is a microphone so you can record your voice over the screencast. What this is good for is demonstrating a website, catalogue, databases or lecture slides while you talk through what to do. This tool allows you to create a screencast up to 5 mins that could be in response to a reference question you received or as a quick tip on how to better use resources. When you've finished recording your screencast: screenr can tweet the description and link for you, you can email the link, you can embed the video in a powerpoint slide, blog, website or upload to your WebCT. Overall, this is a very simple tool requiring no technical knowledge with the potential to make short informative messages more interactive and engaging.

Twitcam: You may have seen my first attempts at this today! The Elton John style glasses were actually memorabilia from the Sydney 2000 Olympics Games. In case you haven't seen it yet take a look below. This simple web-based vodcasting tool requires nothing but a webcam and a microphone. This would be great for recording short messages, updates and news items that would be more engaging than text based messages. For example, to quickly update library clients on new services and resources or conducting short interviews. When you've finished recording your video, twitchat has the same possibilities as screenr but also allows live chat which is tweeted. This means you can get live discussion going about the content presented. Overall, this is a great alternative to more complex video editing software.



Tinychat: "Create an instant web-based chatroom with a unique short URL... at the drop of a hat." Downloadsquad. This web-based tool is great for creating a temporary chatroom with screensharing capabilities. You simply give your room a name and you can share the link with Facebook and Twitter followers or you can email it to a select group. Up to 12 people can join at one time and you have control over access etc. It is possible to use this tool without a webcam - but not as interactive. This would be great for group meetings, team work, classes for rural and remote students, follow up to lectures, etc. It is best to have a purpose for the chatroom such as a topic, theme or reason for the online meeting. Basically, just another option for supporting teaching learning and research.

Have fun playing with these tools and figuring out how they could be used in your context. I will be sure to keep you updated when new tools are available.

The Personal Web

There has been a growing trend in recent years towards a 'personal web' which allows people to have a personal online experience without clutter and information overload. Emarketing has been a leader in this field through personalised advertising by using profile data such as that available in Facebook. However, more and more the personal web has become about users deciding what they want to see and how they want to see it. For example igoogle, pageflakes and Netvibes allow users to create a personalised home page with only the gadgets, news and tools they want to see. These services make it possible for one page to contain your: email, calendar, RSS, docs, Twitter, Facebook, podcasts, YouTube and much more. This essentially creates a single personal web portal which diminishes the need to be constantly navigating between all these sites individually.

RSS was the first big step in personalising the web by allowing all the blogs, news and awareness services you follow to be aggregated by an RSS Reader such as Google reader. The personal web takes this idea one step further by collecting all your social networks, calendars, emails, news, blogs etc all to the one personal online portal. This process began with sites such as igoogle but now for example, Facebook has such a wide network and variety of apps available that it is able to compete as a personal web portal.

Mobile devices are also leading the way on the personal web front through the proliferation of apps and the improved technology of smart phones. Apps are available to help you with the usual tasks such as: email, news and social networking but some of the more unusual ones can also help you: create a personal soundtrack to your life, track and plan your daily exercise and hygiene regimes, help you find a public toilet or create a digital postcard from a photo to send to your friends. No two mobile devices in the world would have the exact same set of apps and the way people use these apps would be even more varied.

There is now so much information available, tools to use, news to follow and places to look that it can seem impossible to keep up. A personal web diminishes the stress and burden of keeping up with all of this by providing a single portal containing only the things you need. There are so many more examples of personalising the web and I aim to continue blogging on this theme. Future topics will include: Google wave, Hunch, augmented reality, Drupal, mashups and how these things could be used in future library contexts.