Saturday, July 23, 2005

Does your government have a blogging policy? Write All About It (at Your Own Risk). A blog can be a great way to vent about work. It can also be an invitation to a pink slip. By MATT VILLANO. [NYT > Technology] 8:57:21 PM    comment [] Saturday Standings -- top Rankings by Page-Reads Today's most popular Radio-managed weblog (using the same weblog software I do) is Crooks and Liars: good stuff over there, and lots of visitors from diverse places. 2:52:58 PM    comment [] Security Education Study: Online users in U.S. donít know Internet lingo. The average American doesnít know the meaning of ìphishing,î one of the most serious online threats, according to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. [Computerworld News] US computer users don't have much motivation to learn about computer security. No user actually thinks about doing security when they sit down to send email, surf the web etc. I predict we'll see security services sold for home computer users and small business that will take care of their security, for a small charge. Recently I heard articulate security person Bruce Schneier keynote (at a Security Day some State of California Data Centers arranged) and he mentioned he would pay for something like that for "his mother." How many IT people provide updates and clean ups for their relatives? Then if they visit less, people don't know how to take care of their own system (or have some of it happen automatically). Might be easier to pay for it. On my home systems in an evening, I schedule some of the security things, but sometimes cannot get to that instead of real work. 2:44:40 PM    comment [] Shifted Librarian posted 20 Technology Skills Every Librarian Should Have. This skills checklist is great for any educator, communicator or 21st-century person. Database and Information skills seem to be overlooked. When the information you need to create and share increases beyond the spreadsheet or document, it's really helpful to set up a database (like MySQL with PHP) and analyze and present information in diverse ways. Jenny Levine at Shifted Librarian posted all this (the indented post) below: Last month, T.H.E. Journal posted an interesting article titled 20 Technology Skills Every Educator Should Have and briefly defined each. Word Processing Skills Spreadsheets Skills Database Skills Electronic Presentation Skills Web Navigation Skills Web Site Design Skills E-Mail Management Skills Digital Cameras Computer Network Knowledge Applicable to your School System File Management & Windows Explorer Skills Downloading Software From the Web (Knowledge including eBooks) Installing Computer Software onto a Computer System WebCT or Blackboard Teaching Skills Videoconferencing skills Computer-Related Storage Devices (Knowledge: disks, CDs, USB drives, zip disks, DVDs, etc.) Scanner Knowledge Knowledge of PDAs Deep Web Knowledge Educational Copyright Knowledge Computer Security Knowledge It's a pretty good list, and it becomes useful for us if we substitute the word "librarian" for "educator" throughout, even for items like #13 about WebCT and Blackboard because you have to understand the distance learning you'll be supporting more and more in the future (speaking from a public librarian perspective). Of course, for librarians I would make it a top 25 list and add blogs, RSS, IM, wikis, and audio ebooks right from the beginning. I'd like to see MLS do a series of workshops, either online or f2f, that would help librarians learn all 25 skills. We could even do annual updates. [The Shifted Librarian] I'd file this under my interests. I have too much to do this weekend-it's July and hot here, but I'll get back to posting about the trends in egovernment soon. 2:28:49 PM    comment []

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