2009 Horizon Report - Technology Trends

Here is a good way to start the new year. Read, share, and discuss the 2009 Horizon Report. It is co-published by the New Media Consortium and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) and released in January at the ELI Conference in Orlando, FL.

Seriously. Read the 36-page report carefully. Then share and discuss it with your technology teams, administrators, and colleagues. The focus is on technology application trends in higher education. Think about how the technologies would be used in other settings, such as libraries or K12 schools. There is a web version of the report that encourages comments. Read and comment about the six trends:

• ONE YEAR ( or less) Horizon: Mobiles and Cloud Computing

• 2-3 YEARS: Geo-Everything and The Personal Web
  

• 4-5 YEARS: Semantic-Aware Applications and Smart Objects
  

Solid Ink is Cartridge Free, Environmentally Friendly

Here's another Mac World post. Xerox had an exhibit to promote its Solid Ink printers and ink MFP sticks (no cartridges). I tend to gravitate to "green" things and the flyer for Solid Ink printers and cartridges caught my eye. I was impressed. Anyone using Solid Ink?

SOLIO - Hybrid Solar Charger

Mac World post #5 - We have solar roof panels and a solar outdoor light. What's next? Maybe a solar-powered universal charger for our numerous electronic devices. Solar chargers at strategic window locations in libraries and other public places would be welcome.

On Thursday, my friend and I arrived at Mac World with two dead cell phone batteries. We assumed correctly that there would be wireless connectivity and charging stations in the exhibits. I stumbled upon Solio. While my phone was charging, I looked at a number of models of multi-device chargers. Apparently, you can charge your charger with energy from the sun or the wall -- it's a hybrid. The Solio H1000 has a clip on one end that would make it easy to wear on a hike or a bike. Handy for emergencies and disaster preparedness. A cool tool.

Assistive Gaming - Mac OS X games & Accessibility

Mac World Post #4 - I was disappointed that the person who had been demonstrating AssistiveGaming.com had left before I stopped by the demonstration site on late Friday afternoon.

The website looks good as does the statement on the site: "Assistive Gaming provides information on how people with disabilities can enjoy the latest and greatest games on Mac OS X. In other words, how can you play and make accessible games that were not made with accessibility in mind. The editors and authors use assistive technology to access their computer, so they know what they are talking about.... "

I've forwarded url to Jane at TransAccess Technology Center who provided the content for the teacher tutorial on Discovering Assistive Technology.

Two business cards were left on the demonstration platform -- one for AssistiveGaming and one for AssistiveWear T-shirts. The two URLS use the same "head-designed" graphic element -- a blue salamander logo. A cool black cat is also available. Check out the shirts and short video.

Delicious Monster Librarian 2.0 at Mac World

Mac World post #3 - I was urged to check out Delicious Monster at Mac World. It organizes not just books (like LibraryThing) but also all sorts of other things like CDs, games, garage tools. Catalog your books, movies, music, software, toys, tools, electronics, & video games. Hold a book or other item's barcode to your computer's webcam to identify it on Amazon.com. It reads the UPC and downloads that item’s cover and all pertinent information about it, and displays all my stuff on photorealistic shelves. According to one of the demonstrators, classroom teachers like it for managing their classroom library collection (not for real libraries).

Another cool tool that is on the Delicious library 2 website at the very bottom is a button named "Blog us" -- just click and you get your blog post screen with the title already listed as "Delicious Library 2" -- how convenient and clever! Good work, Monster CEO Wil Shipley.

You Tube Quick Capture at Mac World

Post #2 from Mac World in San Francisco. A cool blogger was spoted in a red British phone booth, recording a message. Check it out.

Storyist - Software for Novelists and Screen Writers

Here is Post #1 after two days touring Mac World exhibits in San Francisco on 1/8 and 1/9. I hadn't visited Mac World in years. I focused on finding fun, cool tools.

Storyist is software especially designed for novelists and screen writers. As a reader, I often wonder how a writer or storyteller organizes all the details, characters, and research before or during the writing of a book. Now, after seeing this cool software, I could see myself possibly taking the plunge or at least helping a writer with the research for a book or screen play. In addition to a word processor with page layout and index cards, there are storyboards and a database of sorts to track your characters, plot, and settings. California-based Storyist is a cool tool to show friends and family who are writing "the great American novel" or with teachers who may want their writing classes to experience a structured writing tool.

Congratulations to CEO and Storyist developer Steve Shepard and Managing Editor Christina Cary. This blogger was impressed.

LINK-Live for Presidental Party

Groups and individuals across the country can LINK-live at no cost to the 1/20/2009 Presidential Inaugural Gala Event at the Corcoran Gallery of Art to http://www.inauguralgala2009.com/

The event will be broadcast live through video streaming and interactive technologies. Participants around the country will join in to celebrate via live broadcast quality video streaming, blogging, i-reporting, social networking, and more on a web 2.0 platform. LINK-live sponsors and participating organizations are building a social network, posting information, videos, and providing links to exciting projects that support the theme of Technology Serving Humanity in the areas of Life, Information, Nature, Knowledge (LINK). Libraries and librarians clearly support two of the themes: Information and Knowledge.

NOTE: Formal underwriting for city celebrations is still available by contacting the Kempster Group.

Are You LinkedIn?

Has a friend or colleague invited you to be LinkedIn? Over the past two years, I've been invited to link to a growing number of individuals and as a result, I've started to explore the social network. One of my very tech-savvy colleagues says he uses LinkedIn as his Rolodex.

For those who are active outside of work in leadership positions in professional associations, non-profit programs, school site councils/PTAs/coaching, and such, this can a good forum for getting recommendations and recognition. What a good way for non-profit leaders to commend their outstanding volunteers or award winners. For example, in addition to recognition of the Library's or YMCA's volunteer-of-the-year in the organization's newsletter and website, the same recognition sentence or paragraph can be copied and pasted into a LinkedIn letter of recommendation to the volunteer. Nice!

As individuals retire or lose jobs, this is a network that keeps you connected with those who you have worked with over the years. It is a treat to get a message from a former co-worker that you knew 10 or 20 years ago when you lived on the other side of the country or world.