Category: News

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MacArthur Investing $50 Million in Digital Learning

Today the MacArthur Foundation is rolling out a big push into digital media and youth. They are working hard to create a field in the area with researchers and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines. I’ve been a part of this effort as an author for their MacArthur book series devoted to the topic (mine is a chapter on technology and credibility in the credibility volume).

Here’s a snip from the press release:

New York, NY, October 19, 2006 â?? The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today announced plans to build the emerging field of digital media and learning, committing $50 million over five years to the effort. The Foundation will fund research and innovative projects focused on understanding the impact of the widespread use of digital media on our youth and how they learn.

â??This is the first generation to grow up digital â?? coming of age in a world where computers, the internet, videogames, and cell phones are common, and where expressing themselves through these tools is the norm,â?? said MacArthur President Jonathan Fanton, who announced the new initiative today. â??Given how present these technologies are in their lives, do young people act, think and learn differently today? And what are the implications for education and for society? MacArthur will encourage this discussion, fund research, support innovation, and engage those who can make judgments about these difficult but critical questions.â??

More information is available here.

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Announcing the LISIG (Library and Information Science Interest Group)

The Syracuse University School of Information Studies is working with
the Onondaga County Public Library and Syracuse University Libraries to
create the Library and Information Science Interest Group (LISIG).

The goal of LISIG is to bring together:

– librarians,
– Masters and PhD students interested in LIS,
– faculty members, and
– other interested parties

together on a regular basis to talk about bigger issues in library and
information science. The goal is to connect academia with practice by
facilitating cooperative research projects that connect faculty and
students with the needs of CNY libraries. Librarians are invited to
attend and bring their research needs for presentation.

Meetings are open to anyone interested and will be held twice a month,
once at OCPL and once at Bird library.

Meetings will be on Tuesdays from 1-2:30.

The fall dates and tentative locations are:

Oct. 10 – Syracuse University, Bird Library, Hillyer Room
Oct. 31 – OCPL, Central Library, Board Room (in the Galleries)
Nov. 14 – OCPL, Central Library, Board Room (in the Galleries)
Nov. 28 – Syracuse University, Bird Library, Hillyer Room
Dec. 5 – OCPL, Central Library, Board Room (in the Galleries)
Dec. 12 – Syracuse University, Bird Library, Hillyer Room

Questions about the Bird Library meetings should go to [email protected]
and questions about the OCPL meetings should go to [email protected].

Other questions can go to Scott Nicholson at [email protected].

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Public Comments Welcome on ALA Participatory Network Draft

HomeGraph.jpgThe public is invited to provide input and feedback on the latest draft of “Participatory Networks: The Library as Conversation,” a technology brief being written for the ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy. Read the draft, join the online discussion, or even WIKI the draft at:

http://iis.syr.edu/projects/PNOpen/

You will also find more information at the site on the project as a whole. To give you an idea of what’s in the draft here is the table of contents:

NOTE TO READER
Executive Overview
1. The Goal
2. Library as a Facilitator of Conversation
3. Participatory Networking, Social Network and Web 2.0
3.1. Web 2.0
3.1.1. Web 2.0 Characteristic: Social Networks
3.1.2. Web 2.0 Characteristic: Wisdom of Crowds
3.1.3. Web 2.0 Characteristic: Loosely Coupled API’s
3.1.4. Web 2.0 Characteristic: Mash Ups
3.1.5. Web 2.0 Characteristic: Permanent Betas
3.1.6. Web 2.0 Characteristic: Software Gets Better the More People Use It
3.1.7. Web 2.0 Characteristic: Folksonomies
3.2. Core New Technologies: AJAX and Web Services
3.2.1. AJAX
3.2.2. Web Services
3.3. Library 2.0
3.4. Participatory Networks
4. Libraries as Participatory Conversations
4.1. Challenges and Opportunities
4.1.1. Technical
4.1.2. Operational
4.1.3. Policy
4.1.4. Ethical
5. Recommendations

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Lankes 12th Most Productive LIS Faculty Member

A new article “Scholarly productivity of U.S. LIS faculty” by Denice Adkins, John Budd coming out in Library & Information Science Research, lists me as the 12th most productive LIS faculty member in terms of journal publications. Publish or Perish indeed.

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Lankes Nominated to 3rd National Academy of Science Panel

Lankes has been nominated to the National Academies’ National Research Council policy study â??Transportation Information Manage-
ment: A Strategy for the Future.â?? From the National Cooperative Highway Research Program’s 2007 outlook:

The scope of the current National Research Council study is to â??â?¦provide strategic advice to the federal government and the states regarding a sustainable administrative structure and funding mechanism for meeting the information services needs of the transportation sector. The committee will define the core services that need to be provided, identify how they should be provided, and suggest options for funding.â??

It is clear that a concerted effort will be needed to begin implementing this study. A NCHRP project will serve as an appropriate first step in what will be a long-term effort to capitalize on the benefits to be gainedâ??in terms of increased efficiencies, cost savings and qualityâ??through better management of transportation information.

The objective of the research is to begin immediate implementation of recommendations from the policy study. Likely required tasks might include: (1) Develop a detailed business plan for implementing the administrative structure recommended by the Committee. (2) Establish perform- ance measures for evaluating delivery of the core services recommended by the Committee. (3) Engage key U.S. DOT, state DOT, and University Transportation Center personnel in supporting and facilitating implementation of the Committeeâ??s recommendations. (4) Develop a prototype website to demonstrate integrated information access and retrieval for a key transportation business need.

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Lankes Selected to Write Chapter in New MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning

Lankes has been selected to write a chapter in the new foundation series on the credibility of information. The chapter title and initial abstract to be included on a volume on credibility are:

Trusting the Internet: New Approaches to Credibility Tools

Synopsis: This chapter looks at how new approaches to credibility on the Internet can make information more credible than traditional channels. Examples from online retail to the Katrina catastrophe will be used to illustrate the way in which the Internet has the potential to revolutionize how people judge credibility.

Here is some more on the series:

The New Media Consortium and the Monterey Institute for Technology and Education, supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, are soliciting abstracts for chapters to appear in a series of volumes entitled The MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning. The MacArthur Foundation Series will explore the intersection of digital media and learning from the perspectives of experts, visionaries, and thought leaders chosen from across the globe. Authors whose chapters are selected for inclusion in these volumes will receive an honorarium for their contribution.

The working hypothesis of the effort is that digital media tools have advanced significantly in recent years, enabling new forms of knowledge production, social networking, communication, and play. People who have grown up with access to these new digital tools are engaged in an unprecedented exploration of language, games, social interaction, and self-directed education that can be used to support learning. They are different as a result of this exposure to and use of digital media and these differences are reflected in their sense of self, and how they express their independence and creativity, and in their ability to learn, exercise judgment, and think systemically.

Six volumes of such work will be published in the first year of the MacArthur Foundation Series, each with a unifying theme that addresses a critical aspect of this emerging field of study. The themes are Identity and Digital Media, Credibility, Digital Media and Civic Engagement, the Ecology of Games, Incidental Learning and Unexpected Outcomes, and Race and Ethnicity. These volumes are intended for an informed but wide audience. Each volume will include an introductory chapter by the editor, and 7-10 additional chapters that will explore the topics from a variety of perspectives. A summary of each topic is attached.

Authors for the volumes will be chosen in a competitive process, with selections based on a peer review of an abstract of their proposed chapter. Submissions of abstracts are due April 28, 2006. Abstracts will be reviewed by a panel of scholars who will base their selections on the relevance of the content to the planned volume on the topic, the conceptual underpinnings and quality of the ideas represented in the abstract, the publication record or relevant expertise of the author in this area, and other related factors.

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VRD and WebJunction

Subject: Virtual Reference Desk at SU

Virtual Reference Desk project joins WebJunction as Information Institute of Syracuse and OCLC expand partnership

SYRACUSE, NYâ??The Virtual Reference Desk, a pioneering project in the development of digital reference, is moving its resources to WebJunction, the online community dedicated to emerging technology and training needs of librarians. This represents an expansion of the ongoing partnership between Syracuse Universityâ??s Information Institute of Syracuse and OCLC Online Computer Library Center.

The Virtual Reference Desk (VRD) is a project dedicated to the advancement of digital reference and the successful creation and operation of human-mediated, Internet-based information services. The Information Institute of Syracuse has been home to the VRD since 1997. OCLC and the Information Institute of Syracuse have collaborated on the VRD project since 2002.

In the expanded partnership, VRD will make its substantial and highly regarded body of virtual reference information available to the library community at WebJunction, a rich environment that includes threaded discussions, online courses, over 15,000 members, and a growing network of other partners. The Information Institute will continue the projectâ??s ambitious research initiative, and will collaborate with OCLC on the 2005 Virtual Reference Desk Conference.

â??This is a logical move given the success of virtual reference,â?? said David Lankes, director of the Information Institute of Syracuse. â??As virtual reference becomes the norm, widely implemented in libraries around the world, VRD needs a home closer to the business of libraries. OCLCâ??s WebJunction is that natural home.â??

The Institute will continue to work with OCLC and others on an advanced research agenda. â??Ideas are what we do best,â?? Lankes added. â??A University is an ideal place to push the envelope.â??

â??We are thrilled that WebJunction is expanding to include VRD and the reference community it serves. The Virtual Reference Desk has a lot of recognition as a high quality source of unbiased information, and WebJunction is the perfect place for it to continue to grow,â?? said George Needham, OCLC Vice President for Member Services. The VRD will remain a separate project from OCLCâ??s QuestionPoint service.

Originally developed with funding by the United States Department of Education, The Virtual Reference Desk has grown from a basic research project in 1997 to a consortium, agenda setting international conference, tool builder and clearinghouse for the virtual reference community. The VRD project has been instrumental in creating technical standards, quality standards, education resources, software and setting the research agenda in the reference field.

The Information Institute of Syracuse (IIS) at the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University is a long standing research center in the areas of education, technology and librarianship. It has been the source and host for a number of highly visible and widely successful digital education information services. The IIS created The Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education), The Virtual Reference Desk (VRD), AskERIC and the Educatorâ??s Reference Desk. All projects share the same goal: to improve student learning by providing educators, policy makers and parents with quality information to improve teaching and the educational environment. IIS projects bring together universities, government agencies and private enterprises to promote easy access to high quality educational information to a diverse user population.

The School of Information Studies at SU is a nationally ranked center for innovative programs in information policy, information behavior, information management, information systems, information technology, and information services. The School offers an undergraduate degree, certificates of advanced studies, three professional masterâ??s programs, and a Ph.D. The School of Information Studies was established in 1896 as the School of Library Science and is accredited by the American Library Association (ALA). For more information, visit the Schoolâ??s web site at www.ist.syr.edu.

Contact:
Amy Sloane-Garris
Phone: (315) 443-6885
[email protected]
Continue reading “VRD and WebJunction”

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VRD 7 a Success

Thanks to all for making this year another successful VRD conference. As announced at the closing session, there will be no VRD 8 unless the virtual reference community steps up and takes it over. Keep your eyes out for more information on a December conference call for folks interested in volunteering and adopting the Virtual Reference Desk Conference. The future of the conference is in your hands.

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OpenQA

Openqa2-1
Today at the Virtual Reference Desk Conference, David Lankes announced the availability of OpenQA. OpenQA, the latest in the line of QABuilder software, allows libraries and organizations to build online cohesive blogging communities. Check out the OpenQA Wiki for more information.