More MySpace for Parents

We are teaching a new MySpace for Parents class tomorrow evening in partnership with a local television station who will be capturing footage. That show is set to air on Oct. 26, and at that time I will post more information about the show and its results. I would suggest that your library, school & community center consider doing regular workshops for parents on various social networking sites that youth utilize in their growth & play. Parents need to be in the know and more comfortable with the use of these tools in youth development.

In the next few weeks I will also post more information on the development of a series of workshops for parents on various social networking tools, gaming technologies and Internet safety that we will be offering with another Charlotte community media partner.

KRL2pt0

I had the pleasure of spending this past Monday with the Kitsap Regional Library to assist in their Learning 2.0 kick off. Take a look at what they have started and give them a shoot out of encouragement at: KRL2pt0.

Game Lab Announcement

We just announced Tuesday at our Technology Summit that we will be developing a “Game Lab” here at PLCMC. The “Game Lab” will open in Virtual Village at Main Library this summer. We will be making a more formal announcement and splash this summer. The lab will be a first for public libraries. Initially, it will work with the University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Youth Digital Arts CyberSchool (www.ydacs.com); and Capcom Entertainment, Inc (www.capcom.com). We will also be partners in Syracuse University’s Library Game Lab (http://gamelab.syr.edu) with the American Library Association, along with individuals at the University of Illinois and OCLC.

The Game Lab will work with library customers, the community in general, universities, organizations and corporations to develop programs and services that increase digital literacy through games and interactive media. The lab will educate the public about the benefits of gaming and interactive media usage and creation.

For more information contact Matt Gullett, Emerging Technology Manager: mgullett@plcmc.org.

Also, if you plan on attending ALA Annual in DC plan to go to the PLA Technology session on Wiking the Blog, Walking the Dog: Social Software and Authority Everywhere, and I intend to discuss and tease out more about the lab then.

 

 

 

Computers in Libraries 2007

Howdy,

I’m back, and tomorrow I’m off to do a couple talks at the Computers in Libraries Conference.

Building Libraries in Virtual Worlds
Lori Bell, Director, Innovation, Alliance Library System
Matt Gullett, Emerging Technology Manager, &
Kelly Czarnecki, Teen Librarian, Imaginon, Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Library
Tom Peters, CEO, TAP Information Services
Virtual worlds such as Second Life, Active Worlds, and World of Warcraft are growing at amazing and increasing rates. These presenters will talk about their experiences, challenges, and successes in creating a library presence in Second Life for adults and teens. Involvement for all types of libraries will be discussed as well as how your library can get involved in these projects or start your own. A growing number of users are on the Internet in the virtual worlds. Libraries need to be there, too.

Tech Freebies & Program Ideas
Janie Hermann, Technology Training Librarian &
Robert Keith, Tech Aide, Princeton Public Library (PPL)
Matt Gullett, Emerging Technology Manager &
Robin Bryan, Technology Education Manager, ImaginOn, Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County
Discover how you can take one innovative program and turn it in to the cornerstone for a broader range of technology training for both the public and your library staff. Hermann and Keith, PPL’s technology teaching team, talk about the Fantastic Freebies program they used to jumpstart their 2.0 Technologies Training initiative. This program, in which staff and patrons are trained together, is expanding monthly with great success. They illustrate with a quick tour some of the hottest freebies and examine a few of the newest and most useful tools to keep you on the cutting edge of technology. Gullett and Bryan discuss new ideas and perspectives for any sized library and budget to place in your teens’ and tweens’ programming portfolio. They provide lots of resources, including ideas, sites, program plans, software, and hardware recommendations on technology oriented programs to offer in your own environment.

We will also be demonstrating the new portable animation station that John Lemmon built for ImaginOn and PLCMC. Here is the Handout for the program.

Teen Second Life: Meet the New You …

The Eye4You Alliance in Teen Second Life published an article in January, Meet the New You: In Teen Second Life, librarians can leap tall buildings in a single bound and save kids from boring assignments—all before lunch, in School Library Journal on Second Life and their project to build cultural and library services in a virtual world.

The Eye4You Alliance is a partnership between the Alliance Library System & the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County with many other partnering organizations coming on board.

YouthLearn’s 100 Big Things …

YouthLearn’s 100 Big Things in Youth, Technology & Education

If you are working with youth in any capacity that touches upon either technology & education you need to read through this list (http://www.youthlearn.org/resources/newsletter/issue100.html),
print it out and use it in planning your activities for the next year or so. Following are a few things that I pulled out of the list that looked interesting.

4. Text Messaging & IM
20. Wikipedia
21. YouTube
23. MySpace.com
32. Gaming & Education
33. Global Kids Online Game Project
34. Girls Creating Games
35. Second Life
39. Youth Civic Engagement & Technology
56. MediaRights.org
78. NAMAC’s Youth Resources
94. Youth & Media

Check out the newsletter list for descriptions and links to further resources.
http://www.youthlearn.org/resources/newsletter/issue100.html

Whyville & Stacey Orrico …

I recently received an email from Whyville. Need I ask why? I don’t know, but anyway it is one of the more interesting social networking sites out there for tweens and teens. eSchool News writes about it as being a safe social networking site for youth.

Whyville has over 1.7 million residents that come to learn create and have fun together. It has its own newspaper, politicians, beach, economy, city hall and much, much more.

Check it out, for tonight Stacey Orrico is giving a free virtual concert there.

News & Stuff…

My apologies for being away for awhile. Sometimes life gets in the way, or maybe it is that life happens. Regardless, I’m back with news and a few posts.

News: As of January 2, 2007, I will be serving in a new capacity as the Emerging Technology Manager here at the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. I still intend to maintain my enthusiasm and commitment to several youth oriented projects (Eye4You Alliance Second Life Project and several long term initiatives here at ImaginOn) but will also be working with and continuing to develop adult oriented computer and technology oriented programs, experiences, etc. at PLCMC’s Virtual Village and throughout.

I still intend to maintain this blog, for we will also be moving it to its own domain soon. We might adjust the idealistic purpose of the blog’s direction a bit, but will still include youth oriented technology news and items of interest. Youth Tech should be more about the youthful enthusiasm for technology that folks have. It just so happens that our youth tend to have this built into them and through the years it is pushed out of them in various ways and maturation processes. This blog is about that attitude and how it is present in our worlds, but also how one might present and foster such an attitude of learning, change, youth and technology.

Storytelling Event for Teens by Teens

This looks awesome. HarperTeen editors and authors invite teens to join thousands of others online to collectively create an original short story—one chapter at a time. The beginning of the storyline will be posted on October 27, so get singed up to join in. Participate in author blog posts from Meg Cabot, Farrin Jacobs and others.

Check it out at: http://www.harperteenfanlit.com/

Sally Ride Science and TOYchallenge

I ran across this the other day and wanted to pass it along. Founded in 2001 Sally Ride Science’s mission is to empower girls to explore the world of science. They have recently announced the TOYchallenge. It is a toy design challenge for imaginative boys and girsl that are 5-8th graders to create a new toy or game. They go on to state that “(t)Toys are a great way to learn about science, engineering, and the design process! As girls and boys create a toy or game, they experience engineering as a fun, creative, collaborative process, relevant to everyday life.”

For more information: http://www.toychallenge.com/abouttc.shtml