Gamification

To successfully complete Gamification READ this blog post.
DO and THINK about the information in the "Learn More About" activities. LEARN by completing the Hands-On Activities.
Your total time commitment is about 50 minutes.

Introduction to Gamification
What does Reader Rabbit, Math Blaster, Carmen Sandiego or the Legend of Zelda have in common? Developed in the late 1980s, all of these children’s software programs are early examples of gamified learning for children. Yup, that's right! Somebody decided to use game mechanics and game design techniques to engage and motivate kids to achieve goals. And it worked! Kids learned easily by playing the games. The games made learning fun. We need that.

Did you know that --

• 1.2 million students fail to graduate from high school every year
• Only one in four high school students graduate ready for college in all four core subjects (English, reading, math and science), which is why a third of students entering college have to take remedial courses. (ACT, 2011)

*For more statistics, visit the National Center for Education website.

Over 5 billion people play an average of 45 hours a week of video games. Gamification taps into people's basic desires and needs concerning status and achievement. It can be applied in almost any setting. Ever heard of "Frequent Flyer Programs"? Does your credit card give you reward points? Both are examples of gamification, too.

Why is this topic important? We're building creative spaces (digital media lab and makerspace) in the library. We hope to use gamification concepts to encourage customers to both use and help us develop the spaces.
Learning More about Gamification (30 minutes)

1. Watch The Future of Creativity and Innovation is Gamification by Gabe Zichermann at TEDxVilnius(18:29 minutes) OR Watch Gamification to improve our world by Yu-kai Chou at TEDxLausanne (16:59 minutes)
2. Read Gamification (10 minutes)

Hands-on Activities (15 minutes)

1. Visit the JUL Children's Room and try out Reader Rabbit on one of the four AWE computers. What do you think about this learning program?
(10 minutes)
2. Visit Free Rice website and play the Vocabulary Game for two minutes. Every correct answer equals a 10 grain donation to the World Food Programme. How did you feel when you answered the questions correctly? Did you feel "called" to continue playing? (2 minutes)
3. What are your ideas on how could the library use gamification? Share your thoughts on the Idea Tree in the first floor workroom.

When you have completed this module, please be sure to complete this form. Thank you!

Tablet Computing

To successfully complete Tablet Computing

READ this blog post.
DO and THINK about the information in the "Learn More About" activities.
LEARN by completing the Hands-On Activities.
Your total time commitment is about 30 minutes.

Introduction to Tablet Computing
Although tablets come in a variety of shapes, sizes and feature sets, they share many similar characteristics. None of them have a phone and nearly all have a touch-screen interface and an operating system capable of running small programs or applications. There are three recognized types: slate, convertible, and hybrid.

Hybrid tablets are slates designed to work with keyboard docks. Slate tablets are all screen with no physical keyboard or mouse. Convertibles are laptops that transform into tablet PCs by flexing a special hinge. If you look inside any of these tablets, you’ll find familiar computer components. Tablets have smaller processors (microprocessors) to conserve space. They draw power from a rechargeable battery with a typical battery life of six to ten hours.

They also contain some components found in smartphones including accelerometers, gyroscopes, WiFi and/or cellular chips and antennas, speakers, a touch-screen controller chip and camera sensors, chips and lenses. Accelerometers and gyroscopes provide orientation to display graphics in either portrait or landscape mode. The WiFi or cellular components allow your tablet to connect to a computer network such as the Internet.,/p>

Tablets are usually under-powered (under-clocked). The CPU is set to run fewer instructions per second than it’s capable of doing. This reduces heat production inside the device and also conserves the tablet’s battery life. Most tablets don't need the processing power of a standard computer. Tablet programs or applications (apps) are generally less complex and robust than standard computer programs.

Why is this topic important? According to the Pew Research, the number of Americans ages 16 and older who own tablet computers has grown to 35%. Tablet computing is growing in popularity. It is part of now and the future.
Learning More about Table Computing (15 minutes)

1. Read Tablet Computers: an overview at ZDNet (10 minutes)
2. Watch Apps by Commoncraft(4:29 minutes)

Hands-on Activities (10 minutes)

1. Check-out a tablet computer from Cindy Hart. Turn it on and off; find and adjust the volume; open, try out and close an app; open an Internet browser and use the tablet's keyboard to search for something. Discuss with a co-worker how is the tablet computer different from the PC at your desk? What are the benefits?

When you have completed this module, please be sure to complete this form. Thank you!

Smartphone Technology

To successfully complete Smartphone Technology
READ this blog post.
DO and THINK about the information in the "Learn More About" activities.
LEARN by completing the Hands-On Activities. Your total time commitment is about 50 minutes.

Introduction to Smartphone Technology
More than 1 billion people own a smartphone. We talk on them, surf the Internet, take pictures and dozens of other daily activities. While new designs and user interfaces are introduced each year, smartphones are basically mini radios that send and receive radio signals within a cell phone network.

Each cell in the cell phone network has an antenna that receives and transmits signals. When you make a call, browse the web or download a file, you send and receive data through an antenna in your smartphone. Most phones in use today are 4th generation technology or 4G.

Whether it’s 3G or 4G, they run on processors and have computer chips that provide functionality such as multimedia file sharing. Often, the computer chips integrate multiple functions to reduce the cost of producing the device. Chances are high that your phone has additional hardware like a camera. If it does, then it's equipped with high-resolution image sensors just like digital cameras.

Like a good deli sandwich, smartphone software is stacked in layers --

• kernel -- management systems for processes and drivers for hardware
• middleware -- software libraries that enable smartphone applications (like web browsing and messaging)
• application execution environment (AEE) -- application programming interfaces that allow software developers to create their own programs or applications
• user interface framework -- the graphics and layouts seen on the screen
• application suite -- the basic applications users access regularly such as menu screens, calendars and message in-boxes

Anyway you stack it, smartphone technology is rapidly improving. It's changing the way we communicate and interact with each other. Part of that is due to near field communication (NFC). Have you ever passed by or touched your phone to a poster in a store and received a discount coupon or got a map or schedule for a bus or train? How did it happen? Passive NFC tags transferred small amounts of data through a short-range, low power wireless link.

NFC is an evolved form of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. It's moving us to a future where the wallet, purse, paper ticket and even your pants pocket are digital and live on your phone. That's right -- soon you'll swipe your phone in the check-out line at the grocery store to pay instead of digging out your wallet.

Why is this topic important?
Smartphones are everywhere. People use them increasingly to communicate and interact with others including businesses and organizations. The library will continue to develop mobile services to meet the growing demand.

Learning More about Smartphone Technology (20 minutes)

1. Watch How Do Cell Phones Work? (2:26 minutes)
2. Read CNet's article Everything You need to know about NFC and Mobile Payments (5 minutes)
3. Read Everything You Need to Know about Near Field Communication (10 minutes)

Hands-on Activities (15 minutes)
Share your ideas with a co-worker and write a few comments in the evaluation form.

1. If you could design the "perfect" smartphone, what features or functions would it have? How would you use your smartphone to enhance your library experience?
2. Some say machine to machine networking (M2M) will turn your smartphone into the key to your life -- you will no longer need a house or car key, your smartphone will unlock everything. Thanks to Bluetooth like technology, other experts say your smartphone will become a universal remote control over everything from home and office security to thermostats, lights or your TiVo device. What impact would this make on your life?

When you have completed this module, please be sure to complete this form. Thank you!

Makerspace

To successfully complete Makerspace READ this blog post.
DO and THINK about the information in the "Learn More About" activities.
LEARN by completing the Hands-On Activities.
Your total time commitment is about 50 minutes.

Introduction to Makerspace Makerspaces, also referred to as hackerspaces, are a growing trend in Do-it-Yourself culture. A makerspace is “space” where people gather to create, invent and learn generally using technology. In fact STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) has embraced these spaces and technologies. Makerspaces offer people a variety of opportunities to engage in collaboration and participatory learning. They learn to think creatively and seek do-it-yourself solutions.

The physical space of a makerspace can take many different forms. They run the gamut from a carefully planned dedicated classroom style room to a single table with chairs. The tools and supplies fit the needs and interests of the people using the space. For example, if fashion is of interest to participants, then a makerspace would have a sewing machine. The key is that a makerspace can adapt to a wide variety of uses and be shaped by the purposes and creative goals of the people that use it. While no two are alike, community is at the heart of every makerspace.

Why this topic is important
We're building a digital media lab at the Joint-Use Library on the first floor. In the future, we hope to offer a markerspace too. Staff and customers alike will enjoy exciting technology like 3D printers.

Learn More about Makerspace (15 minutes)

1. Watch What to expect from libraries in the 21st century a presentation by Pam Sandlian Smith at TEDxMileHigh (11:24 minutes). Listen to this stirring TEDx talk as Pam discusses how the library is a hub for community-based knowledge creation and discourse.
2. Watch Makerspaces: What Makes A Makerspace? (3:04 minutes). Hear from the makers and tinkerers at Pumping Station: One and Milwaukee Makerspace about what makes a makerspace.

Hands-on Activities (30 minutes)

1. Explore A Librarian’s Guide to Makerspaces: 16 Resources. Select and read one article or blog post linked from this site. Discuss it with one of your co-workers. (15 minutes)
2. Read Makerspaces, Participatory Learning and Libraries post at the Unquiet Librarian Blog. What are your ideas on how libraries can become a springboard for makers, movers, shakers and creative learners? Share your ideas on the idea tree in the first floor staff workroom. (15 minutes)

When you have completed this module, please be sure to complete this form. Thank you!