Tech Day 2011: Making Connections

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Thank you for making Tech Day 2011 a Success!

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AGENDA

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

8:30 – 9:00 a.m.

Registration at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library in the Marvin Auditorium

Breakfast Buffet

9:00 – 10:00 a.m.

Keynote Speaker – Michael Wesch

“Mediated Culture: Libraries and Librarians in New Media Environments”

Michael Wesch

It took tens of thousands of years for writing to emerge after humans spoke their first words. It took thousands more before the printing press and a few hundred again before the telegraph. Today a new medium of communication emerges every time somebody creates a new web application. A Flickr here, a Twitter there, and a new way of relating to others emerges. New types of conversation, argumentation, and collaboration are realized. Using examples from anthropological fieldwork in Papua New Guinea, YouTube, university classrooms, and “the future,” this presentation will demonstrate the profound yet often unnoticed ways in which media “mediate” our culture, and change how we might think about and arrange our most important spaces for sharing information, collaborating, and learning.

Michael Wesch is an Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University.  Dubbed “the explainer” by Wired magazine, Michael Wesch is a cultural anthropologist exploring the effects of new media on society and culture. After two years studying the implications of writing on a remote indigenous culture in the rain forest of Papua New Guinea, he has turned his attention to the effects of social media and digital technology on global society. His videos on culture, technology, education, and information have been viewed by millions, translated in over 15 languages, and are frequently featured at international film festivals and major academic conferences worldwide. Wesch has won several major awards for his work, including a Wired Magazine Rave Award, the John Culkin Award for Outstanding Praxis in Media Ecology, and he was recently named an Emerging Explorer by National Geographic. He has also won several teaching awards, including the 2008 CASE/Carnegie U.S. Professor of the Year for Doctoral and Research Universities.

10:00 – 10:40 a.m.

Facilitated Group Discussions based on Dr. Wesch’s presentation

10:40 – 11:00 a.m.

Networking Break

11:00 a.m. – Noon

Lightning Rounds!

Any Tech Day participant who cares to come forward will be given 2-5 minutes to demonstrate their favorite Web-based (free) piece of software, useful and/or fun Web site, and/or favorite gadget.  It’s Show and Tell for technology you can’t live without!  Ideas: “60 Apps in 60 minutes” presentation from the Scott Brown and Joe Murphy at the SLA conference June 14, 2011 in Philadelphia.  Happy to say many of these have already been covered in past Lightning Rounds!

  • TED Riveting talks by remarkable people
  • MarcEdit Free meta data tool for Library Catologers
  • Professor Messer Free CompTIA A+ Training Course
  • Michael Meyers All-in-One CompTIA A+ Certification Exam Guide
  • Dragon Dictation Voice recognition application for the iPhone
  • XDA-Developers Internet community for the Android and Windows Phone platforms
  • Angry Birds: Knock on Wood Board game version of the popular app
  • cdcovers.cc Archive of downloadable covers for CDs and DVDs
  • Google Voice One phone number to rule them all
  • Lifehacker Tips, tricks, and downloads for getting things done
  • Stellarium Free planetarium for your computer
  • Dropbox Save files to the cloud for access on any online device
  • Square Enables accepting credit card payments on any iOS device
  • Twitter Real time information network for tracking your interests
  • ConsumerSearch Analysis of product reviews and purchase recommendations
  • HootSuite Social media dashboard for scheduling updates and tracking data
  • Zuula Provides the results from multiple search engines unaltered

12:00 – 12:50 p.m.

Lunch

Breakout Sessions Schedule

12:50 – 1:40 p.m.

A. If you plug it in, they will come! - Marvin Auditorium (101 AB) – capacity 96

Presented by Dr. Alan Bearman, Sean Bird, Royce Kitts, and Keith Rocci, Washburn University Libraries

The Washburn University Dean of Libraries with three WU librarians discuss the transformation of Mabee Library from a repository of books to the thriving intellectual center of campus in three years. By expanding the mission of the library, Mabee Library revitalized its space, energized the staff, used technology as a foundation, and became a central component of the University’s focus on student success.

Presentation: “If you plug…”

B. Kansans Tell their Stories–a collaborative podcast project between the library, community, and the local Historical Society - Anton Room 202 (upstairs) – capacity 30

Presented by Janet Reynolds. She has worked at the public library in LaCygne for over 30 years during her spare time :)  After teaching 18 years in Fontana Elementary,this is her 9th year to serve as the High School Librarian for Prairie View USD 362 in LaCygne, her other duties include curriculum, testing, Title I and technology assistant for the district.  Her hobbies include genealogy, reading, computers, and history and she currently sponsors the Young Historians group at the library.

You’d be amazed at the the wealth of stories your community has that are being forgotten because no one is recording them.  Through collaboration we now have 13 of these stories on podcast programs, thanks to a grant from Kansas Humanities council, the library and museum.  We have plans to continue recording these stories during the upcoming months.

This can be as easy or as hard as you want to make it.  Using open source software such audacity to record the stories, using flipcams, video recorders to capture movie clips, using windows movie maker, dvd maker, and a software to convert to podcast format.  We hosted them on lacygne.podomatic.com for free for awhile, but eventually paid for a subscription to be able to have bigger files. It was an adventure that will be ongoing for our community.

Powerpoint presentation on SlideShare 

C. Naked in the Library: Keeping your private information private, online – Marvin Auditorium (101 C) – capacity 60

Presented by Heather Braum and Liz Rea, NEKLS

Many people browse online “naked,” not realizing how easily information can be exposed. How can you protect staff and patrons? Come see how to avoid being vulnerable online in this quirky session.

Session Website

D. Hands on with eBooks - SBC Computer Training Center – capacity 16

Presented by Shari Schawo, Topeka & Shawnee County Library

Learn how to use the Kansas eBooks services and have some hands on time with various eReading devices and learn how they work.

Shari Schawo is a public services specialist at Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library and Received her MLS from Emporia State University in 2008.

1:50 – 2:40 p.m.

A. Hyperlinking Reality with QR Codes – Marvin Auditorium (101AB)

Presented by Jason Coleman. Jason is an Undergraduate and Community Services Librarian at Kansas State University. In addition to answering reference questions, providing library instruction, and creating online guides and tutorials, he spends his days (and sometimes nights) exploring emerging technologies and ideas for innovative services.

Do your patrons have smartphones or tablets equipped with cameras? If so, you can dramatically enhance their experience of your library by using QR codes to connect its physical components (signs, books, walls, maps) to digital resources and services. In this session JasonColeman will demonstrate how to create and use QR codes and will highlight a number of free, simple, yet clever uses for them in public libraries.

Session Website (or handouts if available)

B.Northeast Kansas History: A kete of local history, culture and genealogy - Anton Room 202 (upstairs)

Presented by Sharon Moreland and Liz Rea, NEKLS

The Kete Horowhenua ”is a community built digital library of arts, cultural and heritage resources for and about Horowhenua, New Zealand. Horowhenua Library Trust are responsible for the creation and ongoing development of the site.”  Liz and I decided to repurpose a local server with the kete open source software to create an easy-to-use online digital library for local history, genealogy and unique community artifacts, similar to Orlando Memory.  Along side this new NEKLS service, we will talk about the successful Humanities Council Grant that Rossville Community Library received to fund a collaboration with the State Historical Society to scan and host 300 historic photographs on the kansasmemory.org Web site.

Additional information:

C. Tech Toy Box hands-on - Marvin Auditorium (101C)

Presented by Heather Braum, NEKLS

This will be a hands-on session, come-and-go with the NEKLS Tech Toy Box. Feel free to bring your own gadgets to share or ask questions about good apps or ideas to use them personally or in your library. 

Online Handouts

2:50 – 3:40 p.m.

A. Social Media Marketing as Team Sport Marvin Auditorium (101AB)

Presented by Susan Brown, Marketing Director, Lawrence Public Library

Lawrence Public Library has gone from using Facebook and Twitter as broadcasting tools to developing a strategic team approach for social media, resulting in greater numbers of followers, a deeper level of engagement, and new community partnerships. Susan Brown will share how the social media team operates, the strategy developed by its members, and a look at not just *what* they tweet and post, but also *why* they tweet and post.

B. What would YOU do with a Gig?: A Brainstorming Session - Anton Room 202 (upstairs)

Facilitated by Brenda Hough, NEKLS

Google recently announced their selection of Kansas City (first KS then MO, too) as the location for their test ultra high-speed Google Fiber network. What does ultra high-speed mean? What can you do with so much bandwidth? What role can the library play in a community where people have access to ultra high-speed at home? Join us for a brainstorming session that tackles these questions.

Session Resources:
Google Fiber comes to KC

C. 3-2-1 Contact… - Marvin Auditorium (101C)

Presented by Dan Alexander, Technology Specialist, NEKLS

Dan Alexander, as Technology Specialist, is the newest member of the NEKLS staff.  He will be leading “3-2-1 Contact: A touch, multi-touch, and stylus exploration”.  This presentation will center on where we have been with user interfaces, what technology is available now as well as what you can do with it, and what the future holds. Interfaces that allow for the “human touch” will be the focus of this breakout session.

3:40 – 4:00 p.m.

Wrap-up

Photo of original art “found on a wall in Malmö, Sweden” and added to Flickr by Karl Jonsson.  Our thanks to both Karl and the artist.

Tech Day planning: Brenda Hough, Sharon Moreland, Heather Braum, Liz Rea and Dan Alexander.

Tech Support to be provided by Dan Alexander and TSCPL Staff.

Thank you to the presenters for their time, thought, effort and PowerPoint presentations!

Online Evaluation

Last updated August 5, 2011 

About the Author

Sharon Moreland is the Technology Consultant at NEKLS. You can reach her by email (smoreland (at) nekls.org), phone, or on several instant messaging platforms (look Sharon up by her email address). Visit the Staff page to learn more about when to contact Sharon.