|
 |
Thursday, September 23, 2004 |
Amazon/Google/WorldCat. The switched-on librarians have been having a bit of a hackfest today. Jessamyn West and Andrea Mercado got to wondering how to make use of the integration between Google and OCLC WorldCat ("a worldwide union catalog created and maintained collectively by more than 9,000 member institutions.") They discovered that if you construct a Google query using site:worldcatlibraries.org plus an ISBN, you'll find WorldCat records for the book. For example, this query returns this link, which is the WorldCat record for Bruce Schneier's Secrets and Lies.
If you follow that link and fill in a ZIP code (WorldCat will remember
it for you), you'll see all the nearby libraries that have the book,
and you can check its availability at each library. ... [Jon's Radio]
8:55:24 PM  Google It!.
|
|
RSS Support in CourseForum and
ProjectForum. Ask and you shall receive. Yesterday I wrote
that "My plan is to put together (or convince someone
to put together) a small addition to wiki software that
allows a wiki page to import an RSS feed." Today Mark
writes in to say that it has been done in CourseForum and
ProjectForum. The reason I missed it, of course, is that
these are commercial products (with a free version) that,
while they are very clearly based on wiki technology, are
not exactly wikis. I would expect (right Mark?) that the
RSS mod will be put back into the open source wiki
community so that others can use it too. By Unattributed,
CourseForum Technologies, September, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect] [OLDaily]
8:48:15 PM Google It!.
|
|
Rights Expression Languages: A Report for
the Library of Congress. Useful and crystal-clear, this document surveys
the four major digital rights languages (CreativeCommons,
METSRights, Open Digital Rights Language (ODRL), and
MPEG-21, Part 5 (MPEG-21/5) aka XrML) and looks at a wide
variety of other initiatives such as PRISM, Adobe Content
Manager (ACM), Electronic Resource Management Initiative
(ERMI) and much much more. Not overly long but containing a
wealth of detail, this document is suitable for
presentation to executive types when they ask why you
haven't implemented digital rights management yet. PDF. By
Karen Coyle, February, 2004
[Refer][Research][Reflect] [OLDaily]
8:46:24 PM Google It!.
|
|
The New Learning. This
article from Technology and Learning magazine by Sara Armstrong and
David Warlick makes the now familiar point that learning to learn is an
essential skill for a lifetime of self-directed learning. The authors
add to that point the message that a major part of learning how to
learn must be learning to use technology, including technology for
Reading, Riting, and Rithmetic. "Recently, Edgar
Murphy of the North Carolina State Board of Education delivered a
presentation to a group of technology-using educators in the Raleigh
area. He stated that of all the positions he has held in his life, he
was technically qualified for only the first one. In the case of those
that followed, he convinced prospective employers that he could teach
himself all he needed to know while on the job.Some months back,
Michael Cox, a chief economist for the Federal Reserve Bank, predicted
to a group of students that they would have at least five jobs after
they graduate, four of which haven't been invented yet."
"If Mr. Murphy's experience is a model for our
children's future, then the best thing we can teach them is how to
teach themselves. This requires that students become not only literate,
but also able to use that literacy within their personal information
environment in order to succeed now and in the future."
The authors provide useful examples and links.
____
JH [EduResources Weblog--Higher Education Resources Online]
11:23:47 AM Google It!.
|
|
Listen to a Book on Your Cell Phone. more competition
"Audible.com and Sprint PCS
have teamed up to offer audiobooks on phones. This is exciting but
nerve-racking. It would sure be terrible if people thought about
getting digital audiobooks on their phone before getting them through a
library." [walking paper]
Of course, Audible titles already work with my Treo 600, so I can
vouch for how wonderful it is to always have an audio ebook with you. I
look forward to being able to circulate ListenIllinois titles to patron cell phones someday!
Tangent: you should also read Aaron's post about library journal's breaking news.
He makes some excellent points, and you start to wonder how
information-rich the online world of library-related information would
be if there was more of a two-way street between the bloggers and the
trade journals. [The Shifted Librarian]
8:49:46 AM Google It!.
|
|
Canadian copyright reform will hurt research and education. Educators fear effect of copyright changes,
Canadian Press, September 22, 2004. Excerpt: "Educators across the
country are gearing up for battle, fearing proposed changes to Canadian
copyright law could hinder Internet use in the classroom. They say
extended blanket licensing as proposed by a parliamentary committee on
Canadian Heritage last spring, could create a costly pay-per-use system
that might cause schools to deny students access to the Internet
entirely....Educators are saying it's one thing for people to protect
their work by passwords and encryption that allows only paid users to
access it, or by creating low-resolution images that are inadequate for
reproduction. It's another issue to charge a blanket copyright fee when
many of those posting information do so without the expectation of
being paid for it. 'Why should we pay for access to public
information?' said Robert Schad, a University of Regina administrator
and member of the Council of Ministers of Education." [Open Access News]
8:21:37 AM Google It!.
|
|
© Copyright 2004 Bruce Landon.
|
