A full semester has come and gone since Michael Stephens and I initiated a social network inspired course management site using WordPress Multi User (WPMU) and BuddyPress at Classes.TameTheWeb.com (classes.ttw). We made some assumptions about what this type of learning management system might do for students:
- Connect them more with their peers on a more personal level
- The similarity between networks such as Facebook and Twitter would be of assistance in their learning and engagement
- Any new technologies introduced by the site will become a part of their learning adventure
- Help them become more comfortable with rich, multi-faceted online discourse that they’ll monitor and engage with as information professionals
We believe that these assumptions graduated to solid truths at the end of this semester.
Hosting over 40 student blogs and a variety of group blogs, Classes.ttw was an overwhelming success this semester. Though by no means scientific, our end of the semester exit-survey (using the surveys WordPress plugin) showed that students were socially active within and outside of the Classes.ttw domain using the supplied site wires, individual wires, direct messaging, and blog post comment features, as well as Twitter as main avenues for communication. Michael was contacted via e-mail a majority of the time (23%), which was followed up closely by Twitter (22%), direct messaging (20%), and group wires (13%).
Usability was a concern of mine as we went forward with the site. In an attempt to help students educate themselves on how to navigate the system screencasts were developed and published. 19 students reported they watched the screencasts; my Vimeo statistics for each video average about 22-25 views per screencast. 91% of survey respondents found the site moderately easy or easy to use; 88% were able to find course information easily and quickly or with minor confusion.
Michael and I have had extensive experience with Blackboard and have developed a certain distaste of this closed learning management system. It was our purpose in this project to create an open and flexible learning management system for students. 96% of the students surveyed reported having experience with learning management systems, most (48%) with Blackboard. Again, overwhelmingly the students reported having a much more enjoyable experience with Classes.ttw, sometimes even calling out Blackboard as the inferior learning management system. Here are some sample student responses to this question:
More fun and interactive than Blackboard
better because of the blogging
I liked the tametheweb [Classes.ttw] site becaues I could customize my site a lot, which made me want to work with the program more. That way I could create something and be able to show it to others. Blackboard is clunky and I don’t like it.
TameTheWeb [Classes.ttw] is better, more fine-tuned to my interests
Classes.TameTheWeb.com is much easier to use than blackboard. I had no problems with it.
This is better organized, doesn’t look outdated, I’ve never encountered a dead link, and it’s more connected with other people.
The Classes.ttw site wasn’t without its criticisms, welcome criticisms that Michael and I are taking very seriously as we prepare for the upcoming semester. Some students reported a bit of information overload due to the amount of dynamically changing content areas on the homepage, speaking mostly of the site wire that funnels all recent blog, comment, group wire, and individual wire posts into one spot. Michael’s students were highly prolific with their commenting and posting (which was encouraged), but created a pile of posts to sift through. In an attempt to alleviate some of this information overload, Classes.ttw will be split into three different sites for each site: 701, 753, and 768. Each site will have its own installation, thus it will separate the students postings.
Due to the kind of social networking done outside of Classes.ttw via Twitter and Facebook, we’ll be looking into other plugins that hook up these capabilities into the new installations. Additionally, analytics were a bit of a weakness with this go around. I’d like to be able to pull data for feeds subscribed to, specifically the course blogs and the site wide feed. We’ll probably initiate a Feedburner and Google Analytics plugin next semester.
Overall, this experience has confirmed my personal beliefs that WPMU and BuddyPress can be used successfully as a learning management system. Its social characteristics are of benefit, not hinderance, to the learning experience of the students. Classes.ttw is a prime example of using blogs and social networks as a way to connect student to student, student to teacher, and student to an authentic audience – the world. I wish, however, that more plugin development was made for the core components of a learning management system that have been lost in this endeavor: a robust gradebook…. and that’s about it.
Square for Libraries
I’ve had a mixed bag of library stuff floating around my head for a bit now between roving reference, mobile devices, and a mix of the two. With iPhone’s apps and Droid’s open architecture it’s starting to make me think that a lot of things are possible that weren’t so before (pending someone is able to program for them).
With this in mind, Alex led me onto the new startup Square. Square uses an audio jack dongle hooked up to an iPhone to swipe credit cards to accept payments virtually anywhere. Open up a Square payer account and you get nifty new features like text and e-mail receipts, electronic reward “punch” cards, and user profiles. Though not listed on the feature list, a screenshot shows a signature on the iPhone, leading me to believe that signing the iPhone for signature verification is possible.
Ok, so the library connection/situation…
Imagine a piece of software called LibSquare – has Square like features for library services: account checking, checkout, and more installed on an iPhone or Droid.
You’ve been completing a reference interview or roaming the stacks with a patron, they’ve grabbed a couple of items, and they’re ready to checkout. But hey, no need to stand in line or go to the self check. Equipped with an iPhone/Droid and LibSquare you’re able to check them out right there. Using the built-in camera, you take a shot of the user’s barcode on their library card. The LibSquare software starts up and you see the user’s library information. With a touch of a button you’re taking another picture of the book’s barcode and the book’s then automatically checked out to the user and synced with their account – additionally they get an automatic e-mail or SMS (their choice of course) telling them their recent stash of library items checked out and when they’re due.
This all sounds fine and good, but I can’t get around desensitizing the items. Maybe have a desensitizer at the reference desk? This is all right but that takes away from the anytime, anywhere theme. What do you think?
I was thinking about some of the hurdles that face roving reference and I couldn’t get past the idea of librarians “getting lost in the stacks” or, maybe more accurately put, librarians “getting found in the stacks” by users. We can put signage on all we want to provide wayfinders for our users, but what happens when their target moves about the building?
- How is the librarian identifiable as a source of help and information?
- How can that librarian be sought out?
John Blyberg’s Growl notifications are an excellent step in the right direction, but that – as I interpret it – may only be a librarian-to-librarian connection. That is unless it can be hooked up into the catalog or and idea I have/took called hotspots. Stolen from the likes of Home Depot and other big box stories, hot spots are simply “call buttons” to get librarians back to the user’s location for assistance. I’m pretty sure John’s already thought of this…
One thing I have yet to see (as always prove me wrong if I am) is libraries branding their roving reference devices. With sites out there like Skinit and Schtickers, we could be making ourselves a bit more visible with our technologies by giving them a bit of flare with vinyl stickers. Both sites allow you to upload custom images and create your tailored skins for laptops, netbooks, iPods, and iPhones.
Creating a netbook skin is easy at Skinit.com
Screenflow to Vimeo HD Settings
- If at all possible, make sure your screen is set to 16:9 screen resolution. Vimeo likes a 1280×720 resolution for HD and because of this when I’m screencasting a browser I use a javascript bookmarklet to resize the window to that resolution: javascript:void(window.resizeTo(1280,720))
- Capture per usual with ScreenFlow (SF) (note that if you use Mousepose’ 3 for effects you may get some weird zooming characteristics)
- Use your resize options in SF to make sure the canvas is set on the front window and sized to 1280×720
- Here are my export settings:
- SF Settings-
- Scale by 100%
- Use motion blur if you set some internal animations with SF
- Video-
- Compression: H.264
- Quality: high
- Frame Rate: Current
- Key Frame: 30
- Bitrate: 5000 kbs
- Frame Reordering: yes
- Encoding Mode: Multi-pass (will provide greater quality, but will be slower)
- Dimensions: 1280×720
- Also, I always choose optimized for streaming
- Sound-
- Format: AAC
- Sample Rate: 44.100 khz
- Channels: stereo
- Bit Rate: 128 kbs
- Prepare for Internet Streaming-
- Fast Start
- SF Settings-
I’m very excited to announce that starting in January of 2010 I will be joining the award winning staff at Darien Library in Darien, CT as a Knowledge and Learning Services Librarian. To say that it is honor to be afforded this opportunity at this time in my career is a bit of an understatement. I look forward to getting to know the community of Darien.
Some People to Thank
I’ve had some success early on in my career and there are a few folks that need to take some real credit for helping me succeed. That being said, there are always those unnamed but not forgotten individuals – you know who you are.
Michael Stephens
Michael’s been my mentor and friend since I began my career in librarianship in 2007. Not many people talk librarianship with such enthusiasm, care, and reflection as Michael does. He’s truly an innovative librarian, amazing teacher, and wonderful person.
Jacob Hill
I’ve worked under Jacob for two and half years at the A.C. Buehler Library at Elmhurst College. He’s given me a lot of free reign in my side projects to think outside the box and produce some new services. Together we’ve been through two website redesigns, a migration to WordPress MU as a CMS, the introduction of SMS reference, a spike in IM reference traffic through the integration of Meebo and then LibraryH3lp, the creation of a Facebook OPAC application, a mobile website, and a myriad of great experiences.
