Banned Books Music Video - Dfilm

Devolver MovieMaker (formerly DFilm) was easy and fun to use. I made a quick mini-movie on "Banned Books". Check it out and encourage them to add a book-themed (library) backdrop option! Lots of potential for advocacy, not just a fun toy. Fun is a powerful way to make a point.

Did You Know 4.0 - 2009 Update of "Shift Happens"

Fall 2009 update to famous video, "Shift Happens", developed in partnership with The Economist.

Tennant's Top 10 Technology Things To Know for Library Administrators

Academic Librarian and technology guru Roy Tennant writes: “It’s not insulting to say that those who run libraries tend not to know all that much about technology. A very different set of skills are needed to run an organization, and those skills do not often come packaged along with technical knowledge and experience. But administrators need to know some specific things about technology in order to do their jobs well, so here is my list.”...
TechEssence, Sept. 12

1. Technology isn't as hard as you think it is.
   
2. Technology gets easier all the time.
3. Technology gets cheaper all the time.
   
4. Maximize the effectiveness of your most costly technology investment -- your people.
   
5. Iterate, don't perfect.
   
6. Be prepared to fail.
   
7. Be prepared to succeed.
   
8. Never underestimate the power of a prototype.
   
9. A major part of good technology implementation is good project management.
   
10. The single biggest threat to any technology project is political in nature.

See Roy's explanations on his TechEssence blog.

Bing Visual Search vs Google Flip

Seen in American Libraries Direct, 9/16:
Phil Bradley writes: “No sooner does one new visual search option come along, than you get another. Neck and neck with Google’s Fast Flip (which allows users to skim through Google News stories by viewing an enlarged thumbnail) do we have Bing’s Visual Search. It’s a simple concept: People like searching visually. The idea is that you simply click on what interests you, and you'll get a bunch of images. You can then mouse over the one that interests you and immediately see some information below the search box, with the person/thing/whatever added into the search box for you.”...
Phil Bradley’s Weblog, Sept. 15; Google News Blog, Sept. 14

Clovis Online High School - Rob Darrow

It has been fun watching this online school come together. Watch video clip of Rob Darrow's Clovis Online School.
See

AudioPal - widget adds audio to your site

Add another layer of communication to your website, blog, or other web 2.0 tool with AudioPal. To order, you need to first call and add your voice by phone. Enter a passcode. Preview (listen). Then type in your e-mail address so you will get AudioPal e-mail with with link for your voice message. Could be useful for school or library websites or blogs. Could be used for an opening greeting or regular messages.

Features include:

• Record and use your OWN voice
• Select from a number of voices (TTS)
• Playback controls
• Update your audio anytime
• Free
  

AudioPal is a companion to SitePal, which lets you add talking avatars.

MadMen Avatars

As project manager for a bunch of online web 2.0 courses, I get to welcome new students and learn all sorts of new cool tools that they discover. Today, I was introduced to MadMen avatars. What a kick!

Once you select your avatar, outfit, accessories, and background, you then pick which view you want: face (for Twitter and Facebook), top half of avatar (Facebook and iPhones), or full screen for your monitor wallpaper. All the while you are making your avatar, music is playing. The music is fun at first, but is now driving me nuts! Enjoy!

APIs for Libraries

SIRSI/DYNIX's Stephen Abrams has collected a list of useful applications (APIs) for libraries, listing them in his Stephen's Lighthouse Blog.