Digital Reshift   

It is with bittersweet anticipation that I write what will be my last post to Digital Reshift. After a bit over a year of blogging technology possibilities for libraries, I am making a reshift myself to new opportunities in the School Library Journal print edition. More information will follow as details are solidified, but I am very excited about the chance to write in a longer print format. Blogging will of course continue on my other library blog, Infomancy [Subscribe].

I look forward to seeing you in comments on Infomancy and my forthcoming print articles! Thank you for reading...

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As a conference speaker, one often wonders what people think about your presentation. Thanks to Bud "BudTheTeacher" Hunt and Cover It Live, I can replay the buzzing in the crowd from a recent presentation I made to the Colorado Association of School Libraries (CASL).

Cover It Live is a site that provides a chat room-like interface for live blogging an event. Like a chat room, text that is entered in a bottom pane is displayed with a time stamp and author attribution in the main window. Multiple users can be bl...Read More

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CASL, the Colorado Association of School Libraries, is trying something new this year. For the first time, they are holding a pre-conference day attached to the Colorado TIE - Technology in Education - confernece. What an exciting way to focus on the collaboration between technology and libraries!

I am quite excitied about keynoting the conversation today as we explore a rich future for libraries. Today's discussion will look at the idea of a Digital Reshift (subtitled finding library 2.0 in unlikely places). I will be looking at four key concepts: change, market, connect, and play. These may not seem like the most natural activities for libraries, but they are the ones that will secure our place in the future of schools.\

Follow the conversation live with a ...Read More

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Spore is coming! Don't wait until September, get a sneak peak at this revolutionary new game right now with the Spore Creature Creator trial (free download for Windows or Mac/$9.95 for the full Creature Creator). With this program, you can explore the possibilites of evolutionary trails not taken or just have fun creating a crazy combination. Either way, it provides a nice introduction to the ideas that will be filled out in the full game.

So what is Spore? Besides being one of the most anticipated game releases ever, Spore promises a revolutionary shift in gaming. In this game, players will guide and nurture the development of a culture from single-celle...Read More

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Along with about 11 million others, I took the plunge and downloaded the just released Firefox 3.0. As you might have guessed, this geek tends to download the new stuff right as it comes out. But is Firefox 3.0 an upgrade you should be eyeing with anticipation? Or perhaps a bit of dread?

After a couple days of use, I am quite impressed with the new additions to Firefox 3. Most immediately noticeable after installation is that the included theme (the way the software looks) is OS specific. Firefox 3 looks and feels like a Mac application on my iMac, while also managing to look and feel just like a Windows application when run on XP or Vista. In a very nice touch, the firefox website has also been tricked out to know what OS you are using so all the screenshots match.

While this might create more...Read More

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"Books will no longer be read, they will be experienced..." So say the folks bringing us this new twist on the classic book they are calling a Quillr. Here Ends the Beginning is their introductory novel that explores the potentials of an online, networked, multimedia story. I am certainly one who has said that we need to stop producing web pages and start producing experiences, so does this measure up?

I must say that in some ways, this new novel does provide more. The use of music, images, and even short movies to extend and enhance the story was interesting. Blocks of text still carry the main story line in Here Ends the Beginning, but you would certainly be missing quite a bit from the whole if those text blocks were all that was read. Reading this Quillr was a very holistic, multi-sensory ...Read More

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The world quakes in renewed terror as Facebook rises up to beat MySpace as the top social network in the world. Though still lagging behind MySpace in the US market, Facebook has overtaken the menace that nobody thought would ever stop menacing. Ding dong the witch is dead (or is she?).

Unless one of the 24 hour news channels, desperate for content to fill the void from the finally completed primary season, notices this and devotes entirely too much time covering this minor geek point it is quite likely that nobody will even notice that things have changed. My guess is that MySpace has noticed already, seeing as how the TechCrunch post that preceded the Facebook news was the ...Read More

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The iPhone is going to take over schools, so why fight it? I would like to suggest that schools buy an iPhone for each of their students, or at least an iPod Touch. Even given the very small size of the netbooks discussed yesterday, the iPod Touch still wins the battle for portability. The battery life is much better as well even under the load of full screen video. While an external keyboard would be a nice addition, the iPod Touch is still decently usable for text entry. Think about it - for about $200, students get a handheld computer with connectivity, a way to stay organized, access to educational media, and now ...Read More

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Have you heard the buzz about netbooks? If not, it certainly isn't due to a lack of effort from Intel. They are working to spread this new name for very small notebook computers as far and wide as possible. Netbooks are being defined as a group of small, highly portable computers that tend to be designed around seven to nine inch screens, flash-based drives, a Linux operating system (with Windows often available as well) and a focus on Internet capabilities. The class-defining computer was the ASUS EeePC whose cute white case was almost as attractive as its $400 price tag.

Over the past few months, the netbook population has soared. Even the big name computer manufacturers like HP are getting involved in this "small" market. The ...Read More

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There are reasons so many conference presenters use Macs. One is the super-nifty instant zoom feature (Ctrl+mouse scroll) that highlights URLs, helps identify toolbars, or just gets the audience a bit closer to an important point. Then there is ProfCast, a tool that automatically synchronizes audio recording with slides from a presentation to create an instant movie of a talk. Now another presentation tool has emerged that make Macs even more attractive to speakers.

Plainview is a Mac browser that presents a truly full-screen view of the Web. By removing all of the normal browser wrappers, not only is there extra room for content, but that content flows seamlessly from presentation to demonstration. With the abil...Read More

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So much for using Acrobat.com; two days after release and it is already being blocked by the filter where I work. [Note: the organization for which I work does not have direct control over the filter] The reason given is that the site provides "Personal Network Storage." Even though it prevents students from uploading and storing any files they might actually want to use for fun (executables, music, video, etc.) it still apparently represents a serious risk.

I probably shouldn't be surprised that Acrobat.com was blocked. The list of blocked to...Read More

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In an aliterative masterpiece, Adobe Acrobat now has an offline online office suite that uses Adobe Air to deliver the application to either a webpage or your desktop. The suite, dressed out in white on black, looks rather spectacular; actual performance may vary. If Adobe can address some of the speed issues as the software works its way through beta testing, the platform has a great deal of potential.

The suite features a selection of tools including the Buzzword word processor, ConnectNow for online collaboration, the ability to publish as a PDF, and the ability to store and share files online. With a generous 5GB of storage space, Acrobat.com looks to pull everything together to be your one place for online work centered aroun...Read More

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