Sunday, February 2, 2014

ALA Midwinter 2014 - Day 3

It's Sunday morning and another day at Midwinter.  I started with day by attending the YALSA Badging session by Linda Braun.  The key point from this presentation was that "the Badge" is the last piece.  There are a lot behind the scenes items to cover to get to "the Badge."  The YALSA series is debuting and can be accessed at http://YALSAbadges.ala.org -- for more information about the process and badging in general go to http://www.ala.org/yalsa/badges-learning.  There are currently 3 badges sequences ready for testing:
Next on the day's agenda for me was a discussion session with other state library colleagues.  Hot topics we discussed included Common Core Standards, Digital Inclusion Survey, FCC pilot project money, Makerspaces and EDGE. 

I did get to try the Google Glasses -- and it is pretty cool.  I just happen to have the correct shaped glasses that they fit nicely over -- tap on the left side of the ear stem and speak OK GLASS when it appears on the screen in the upper right hand corner, select an action and speak -- TAKE PHOTO -- and there you go -- the easiest picture taking I ever experienced.  Then you can share by speaking -- SEND (contact name) and off it goes!  to scroll the menu lightly swipe from front to back or back to front for all the options.  When you are not using it the little screen goes to sleep.  Very little interference with vision otherwise.  More at http://www.google.com/glass/start/ -- although $1500 is a bit steep for me!  I'll wait!

Next was "Is there a MOOC in your future?"  Although I have participated in a MOOC, was interested in hearing the discussion.  Take aways include.  1)  MOOCs are Messy!  There are no standards and no single story which describes the learner or learning environment.  Some people come only to see what it is like, some come to gain a specific piece of information  - then leave, and some complete the process.  2)  Leaner has to be self-directed, interested in exploring topics and earning credentials. 3)  Quick MOOCs at http://quickmooc.com is a tool focusing on a single unit of instruction created by David Loertscher to facilitate the creation of learning MOOCs.  There is a $10 per MOOC -- if you wish to create a MOOC using this tool, contact David for more information.

Attended the Lyrasis Reception -- great music and good conversation.

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