Second Life TV -

At 5 pm on February 17, I logged into Second Life as "CyberLibrarian Wrangler" and participated in a Second Life program by ISTE eduverse Talks: Beyond the Dewey Decimal System. It was captured on Second Life TV, so check it out. The sound cuts out from time to time, but overall it is very good.

• Presenters: Several library technology pioneers spoke about when and why they joined Second Life, their early frustrations, and what they are doing and why they are staying. Host Kevin Jarrett talks with Area Library Coordinator, Chicago Public Schools Lisa Perez (Elaine Tulip in SL), Librarian, Springfield Township High School (PA) Joyce Valenza (Joyce Story in SL) and Rhonda Trueman (Abbey Zenith in SL)
• Navigating. Practice getting around in Second Life -- there is a steep learning curve, especially if you "dip in" only 1-2 times a month or so. I "transported" myself to the event, "sat" in the back row, and got my bearings while listening to the program. This archived version is much superior than my experience participating and watching live! :)
  
• Book Review. Learn about the book co-authored by Lori Bell and Rhonda Trueman, "Virtual Worlds, Real Libraries."
  

TimeSpace - Washington Post Visualization Tool

The Washington Post introduced a cool visualization tool for seeing where its articles take place in the world. TimeSpace: World is a "mashup" of click-able locations on a map where news items occur. The interactive map allows you to see articles, photos, video and commentary from around the world.

From a California perspective, it appears that the Washington Post doesn't think much is happening on the West Coast. If the San Francisco Chronicle doesn't fold, this might be a good addition to SFGate.

ZeeMaps Powered by Google

Today, I learned to upload thousands of YMCA locations into a map thanks to ZeeMaps at ZeeSource, an open source company. I knew how to add one location at a time on Google Maps, but needed to learn how to add hundreds or thousands of locations. In order to do that, you need geocoded information in one of two forms:

• a database with longitude and latitude information or
• an excel spreadsheet in CSV format.

I learned about comma-separated values or CSV format. Using an excel spreadsheet of YMCA locations, I "saved as" in CSV format. CSV format does not allow for the following puctuation marks: " . , [ ] ( ) so I did a "find and replace" to eliminate unwanted marks. Early on, I sent an e-mail question and got an immediate response from the founder of ZeeSource, Pankaj Garg.

Next, I created my map! There is a menu bar to explore:

• Map - create, name, describe
• View
• Additions - Upload CSV file
• Edit Grids
• Deletions
• Customizations
• Print or Share
• Settings

Now to identify databases to pull information that would make an impact when visually displayed. Ideas that come to mind include: school equity issues such as schools that have no teacher librarians or subscription databases. Any other good ideas?

CafePress - setting up shop

For years, I've hunted for fun t-shirts on CafePress.com. Who hasn't ordered at least one shirt from the site? I've wondered how easy it really would be to set up a web shop, and even more important, what would I sell?

I took the plunge by offering to set up an online store for my local Y. Check out the YMCA Pro Shop for Y-babies and Y-kids. :) Hopefully, the online shop will bring in a small revenue for an excellent non-profit that provides so many community services.

The business proposition for CafePress and its shop keepers is a good one. Products (T-Shirts and stuff) are "created" or "customized" online by a shop keeper, who provides the artwork graphics and picks which products to sell, prices each product, and launches an online shop. No products are created, stored, or shipped until an item is selected and ordered by a customer. Basic shops are free. No upfront costs. No investment in inventory. Ideal for a small business, non-profit or individual.

CafePress provides the following:

1. Free online shop (URL) to promote your products.
2. Produces each item when ordered (print-on-demand).
3. Handles payment transactions.
4. Ships products worldwide.
5. Manages all returns/exchanges.
6. Offers customer service - toll-free and e-mail.
7. Sends you/your organization a monthly check for your earnings on sales.
8. More? Guess I'll learn more as I add more items to the store or add more stores!

ADEC Webcast: Countdown to Summit XX

Alliance of Distance Education in California (ADEC) President Heidi Maston hosted a webinar on key distance education panel topics, in advance of its annual ADEC Summit, February 26-28 in Oakland. Panel topics include:

• Distance Learning in the 21st Century environment
  
• Industry speaks


• How Distance Education can revitalize your organization


• More effective and less expensive education -- Possible?


• Hard financial times: helping your organization survive and thrive.


• Web accessibility: from Ableist Biases to Social Inclusiveness.


• Does technology magically improve learning? Maximizing your instructional results by strategically implementing distance education.


• Where do we go now? As a nation, a state, a college, a school, a business.

The pre-summit conversation was made possible by Elluminate, a corporate sponsor. It was an excellent way to introduce a good number of important topics and whet appetites for a more indepth discussion and conversations in Oakland at the ADEC Summit. I've enjoyed the annual gatherings for many years, serving on the ADEC Board for two terms. Always good networking, no distractions.

Classroom Learning 2.0 - Video Promotion

EdTechLife.com president Mark Wagner has created a video promotion for the free, online professional development course Classroom Learning 2.0 that is being offered to California teachers through the California Technology Assistance Project Region I. Teachers can start through the "discovery learning" course anytime from February 9 -- June 1. There are 23 "things" for participants to complete. By the end of the course, teachers will have their own blog and avatar, explored YouTube, podcasts, image generators, wikis, mashups, and much more. See CTAP Region 1 Director Peggy Ericson's flyer for directions for how to register for the course.


Among many other roles, Mark is CUEtoYOU professional development coordinator for Computer Using Educators, Inc (CUE), educational technology coordinator for the California League of Middle Schools (CLMS) and California League of High Schools (CLHS), and director of professional development for California Vision Technologies (CVT).

This fun course is an ideal way for teachers and schools to take responsibility for learning the new web tools of the 21st century -- no need to wait for budgets or permissions to learn. Says CSLA 08/09 president Connie Williams, "Classroom Learning 2.0 gives individuals permission to have fun".

Search Engine Optimization - SEO

The Wall Street Journal is a long-time favorite. The Personal Journal Section is a treat. Today, in addition to the Personal Technology column by Walter S. Mossberg, there was a very enlightening and useful item by Julia Angwin. "It's a New Me (As Seen on Google)" addressed search engine optimization (SEO). She consulted with a SEO consultant Rhea Drysdale at OutspokenMedia.

Here are some tips to make unwanted items move further down the list and more current or preferred items to appear at the top of a Google search of your name.

• Link your online presences to each other. For example, if you have a website and two blogs, be sure they are linked. [Link your LinkedIN page to your blog -- to your bibliography on your work or professional association's website -- to your Twitter -- and so on. This blog links to my LINKEDIN profile.]
• Submit articles that show off your knowledge to key websites. Rhea suggests Squidoo.com, eHow.com or Google Knol and calls this a branding opportunity. First check out these or other sites to see if they are sites you'd want to contribute to!
• Keep checking. Julia warns us that "constant vigilance is required." It is easy to lose control of your ranking. Large businesses have their search results monitored full time!
• Website design - don't overdo the graphics in favor of descriptive words. Use text terms that Google can easily categorize when searching the Internet -- web crawling.
• Web or blog "title tag" needs to have text that describes the page to a search engine. This is also known as metadata. [Notice that the title for 2CoolTools now has a longer subtitle thanks to this tip!]

Thank you for the tips, Julia Angwin and Rhea Drysdale. Hope my one post joins many others to keep your SEO in good shape.

The Time Machine - a next step in online videos

The 2/4/2009 Wall Street Journal carried an item headlined "Video Sites Entice Users to Stay and Play." Several web-video sites have added new features that allow for and encourage interaction. The one example given was "The Time Machine" by a comedy production company, ChadMatt&Rob. The Time Machine is just like a storybook that at certain dramatic moments asks the reader to select one of several possible directions and the reader has to turn to a certain page to learn how the story progresses. In this case, video viewers get to click and choose what the characters will do next. When they click, they are linked to a new video where the characters continue on (or die).

It can be great fun, but the real goal of "stay and play" technology is to keep viewers online as long as possible for the benefit of advertisers, according to the Wall Street Journal. From a storytelling perspective, it could be a great way for students to learn how to tell stories. From a training perspective, it could be a good way to visually reinforce consequences of actions -- such as safety or ethics training.

CTAP1 Offers Digital Media tutorial - Classroom Learning 2.0

The California Technology Assistance Project is offering a free, online teacher tutorial on web 2.0 tools and curriculum connections. The 9-week "discovery learning" course runs from February 9 through June 1, 2009. Although all teachers are welcome to take the course, registration is especially for teachers in the five-county CTAP Region 1 -- Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake, and Sonoma Counties.

Peggy Ericson, Director-CTAP Region I says "You are invited….
… to participate in an innovative online tutorial that appeals to teachers who like to be one step ahead of their peers… and their students! Classroom Learning 2.0 is FREE, FUN, and CATALYST for Change. Check it out! "
See CTAP's flyer for details on how to register.