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Posting this to test Diigo...also because it was a GREAT find - a current study that provides information for both my digital storytelling project AND my group project on ethics....Here's a summary of what it's about. Also was wondering if "Sribd" is another sort of Diigo? The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning, published by the MIT Press, present Findings From current research on how young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life. The Reports result from research projects funded by the MacArthur Foundation as part of its $50 million initiative in digital media and learning. They are published openly online (as well as in print) in order to support broad dissemination and to stimulate further research in the Field.

Has anyone read this book? I started it a few days ago. Noticed that reviews, like the one I linked to, were skeptical. Basically, Carr, who is a journalist, not a scientist, cites studies on brain plasticity and research that the brain changes in response to actions to conclude that the way we read and synthesize information online has changed the way we think (for the worse). I like how the NYT review puts new technology in a historical perspective.

Well, if I had to take a guess, I think she did it since one of her main points is that media isn't an external force outside of our control -- we can shape it, caring about it enough to respond and filter it. With a graphic novel, the images draw you in because they're abstract; the reader plays an active role by seeing themselves in the images and connecting all the images/words together to make it make sense. It engages so many of our senses at once. I love what Scott McCloud has to say about this, and the following talk that he gave actually relates more to how comics have been impacted by technology: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXYckRgsdjI

The idea that media has the potential to shape how we reason reminds me of Neil Postman and Marshall McLuhan. As an undergrad, I was basically obsessed with Postman's "Amusing Ourselves to Death" and the idea that some forms of media -Postman was especially thinking about TV- are inherently shallower than other forms and that the predominant medium tends to set the standard of what makes a good argument. Anyway, I wanted to find a YouTube video of Postman but instead found a really good video of Mike Wesch talking about Postman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09gR6VPVrpw&feature=related

Another way to take the library away from the library. I'm interested to learn more about that "entire library experience" to launch soon.

I got to play with the Biblion app a couple of weeks ago at work; the developers, Potion (http://www.potiondesign.com/#/home) have created a whole slew of incredible educational exhibits/experiences. I think overall mobile apps are a really interesting direction for digital libraries - making them increasingly portable and interactive. I remember feeling a bit of excitement in my interaction with the materials from the Biblion app in which my own fingers, rather than an extension of them in the form of a mouse, turned pages, rotated objects, pressed buttons, etc. - a stark difference from interacting with digital libraries that contain similar types of artifacts. I'm interested to see how the web-version of the Biblion app compares - in physical presentation and affective impact.

Wow! I'm so glad that you posted this! This makes history so accessible and interesting, and I'm looking forward to installing it asap on my ipad right now! I wish I knew about it this past semester for my junior high American history class I taught; they would have loved this.

I'm interested in the idea of digital privacy (or lack thereof). It seems nobody is particularly worried about their privacy online, and I'd like to learn a little more about this

Um, I can't think of a more bone-chilling phrase than "cyberwar."

Steig Larsson made hacking look pretty cool. But it's interesting to think about how much is possible in the hacking world that we tend to forget about since our everyday use of technology has been so woven into our routines. Just saw this article and I found interesting to see the many sides of hacking: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jun/06/hackers-how-and-why-they-hack I always make fun of my dad for being a computer hypochondriac -- he always thinks that someone is hacking into his computer, so he has a million anti-virus and security programs (a combination which I think is actually destroying his computer). But it is a valid concern, though I think you have to just find a balance for your privacy since in extreme cases, your privacy can be a bit restricting.

While searching web 2.0 and social software applications in K-12, I cam across this interesting article about how the success of gaming is based on perceptions of teachers. This idea of "perception" I becomes really important when trying to implement new technologies in schools.

Very recent Q&A with Sherry Turkle on "Alone Together" about our plugged in lives making people more lonely and distant. Interesting passage about teenage culture midway through

This really highlights one of the bad ways that technology impacts us; texting and checking Facebook are gaining precedence over socializing with people in the same room. It's depressing to think of how widespread it is.

I loved this article! I see customers at my work (a restaurant in a hotel) checking their phones all the time. One of my coworkers told me a few weeks ago that he was working when a big game was on tv. He was bartending and his bar was packed. Instead of having their eyes on the screen during the crucial moments of the game, many of his customers were sitting right in front of those tvs and ignoring them while their eyes and fingers stayed glued to their tiny phone screens, playing Angry Birds for all he knew. It was just odd, but sadly this way of life has been becoming more of the rule.

Building an online community and culture around words, phrases, and tropes -> looks at twitter hashtags, 

Hey, sorry I didn't see this comment sooner! I'm on a few google groups about memes so I get a lot of articles through them, as well as following twitter accounts of academics studying the lulz. This one, I think I just found it on google scholar while looking for sources for my final project.

Jay Smooth nails the "no homo" meme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7nCB8aiXD4)....and explains that as fun as it is to "play the game," just don't do it.

There are currently huge riots happening in the virtual world of EVE online, a science fiction massively multiplayer online game, after the publisher changed the in-game currency, making clothes for players' avatars cost 20-25 USD a piece and space monocles cost 68 dollars. Also, the game has a parliament that meets in Iceland. woah!

It sounds like these gamers on on the verge of an epic win...obviously demonstrating their ability to change virtual worlds by way of impending cultural collapse. This makes me rethink Jane McGonical's talk. I was assuming all positive outcomes when applying the collaborative game play concept. Now I wonder what the likelihood is that simulations of real world scenarios (like ending world hunger) will produce not just a failed result but possibly create even bigger problems.

I never realized there were so many categories of games. Check out the video about the piano staircase, designed to get more people to take the stairs. It's an example of gamification, creating a game that encourages people to buy a product or to behave in a particular way.

Using this definition, "serious games" are the types that we would use in schools to teach a particular concept, while "gamification" is turning anything into a game. It seems to me that many of is in this class would be more interested in the idea of "serious games", unless we were trying to do some sort of public relations effort in our library, which might bring more of "gamification" into play.

I've been having some technical problems starting a new link to a US Depart. of State sponsored Serious Games Conference, so here it is: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/05/164134.htm Further down the page is a link to live streaming of the conference. It really is starting to look like serious business..!

We all just missed the 8th Annual Games for Change Festival held in NY last week....but here's a description of the workshops that took place. On the Demo page you can see some game samples...unfortunately, there's no link enabling you to play...

Interesting way to educate users about privacy settings