voki

Color Scheme Generator

We've been doing presentations and designed creations quite a bit in this class and since we're hopefully preparing for careers and the like, I thought it would be worthwhile to go a little bit into making the things we're doing look better and more professional. I know we're not designers ourselves and we're studying to do library work but if we're making fliers and presentations it's worth knowing at least a little about what makes designs look good.
Today I'll talk about color. Color is extremely important in attracting and keeping attention, but not just any color combination looks good. There are a few types of color combos that work really well, and they involve the use of a color wheel. Generally, colors look good when they're paired with similar colors, or opposite colors. What I mean by opposite is that it is placed opposite the color(s) you're already using across the color wheel. This will make a little more sense when I show you this website.If you go there and play around for a bit, you will start to see that there are several designs which look good. They let you use mono, complement, triad, tetrad, analogic, and accented analogic combos. Choose a combo you like and pay attention to the color tags (the numbers and letters) attached to each color; they will be useful later.
Here is a guide to terrible color decisions.

eyejot...Laura

Test eyejot

Eyejot Portfolio introduction

Here is my short intro to my digital portfolio.

Creating a Facebook Location Page

Creating a Facebook location page is an easy way for libraries to keep in touch with their users. Creating a page for the library is easier than creating an account, and one can put library information such as location and hours for users to look at quite easily. Additionally, if for some reason the library is unable to create updates often, the page is much easier to take care of. To create one, simply click on "Create a Page", under the new account fields. Once there, choose "local business or place", and fill out the information about the library. It will ask you to complete a captcha and choose a facebook account to link it to, and then you're done! Hours and address can be placed once the page is created by clicking the "info" link.

Voki 3

http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=3803902&height=267&width=200

here is my third and final voki!

Voki 2 Virus Protection

http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?partnerID=symbaloo&scid=3804018&height=267&width=200


This Voki will give you an example on how to protect yourself against viruses being attatched to your e-mails.

http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=3804063&height=133&width=100

FourSquare

FourSquare is a "location-based mobile platform that makes cities easier to use and more interesting to explore", according to their website; people can become members and "check in" from locations logged on the website and trough that earn badges and share new locations with their friends. It is compatible with a variety of platforms, including iPpone and Blackberry as well as having a text-based check in for those who have phones incompatible with it. Venues and locations can be bookmarked, which makes it easy for users to keep track of their friends and favorite places. Libraries can create accounts as venues and share their locations and hours with users interested in them. There are several libraries already involved with Foursquare, including the Carlsbad City Library and the CSUSM Kellogg library.

Foursquare's Home Page

Palomar College's current user-made library page

ZoomText, a Favorite Assistive Technology

Text on websites and other computerized documents can vary greatly in size, depending on original version and screen resolution and setup. This can be a real problem for visually impaired computer users, especially in a library, where the screen setup cannot be adjusted. That’s what makes ZoomText a favorite assistive technology. ZoomText Magnifier/Reader is a fully integrated magnification and screen reading program that enlarges, enhances and reads aloud everything on the computer screen. It automatically speaks all program controls, including menus, dialogs, list views and messages. Navigation keys make it easy to read while creating and editing documents. With simple commands you can read by character, word, line, sentence and paragraph, even while selecting text. Also, each key or word that you type is automatically spoken. You can choose to have all keys spoken or only selected groups of keys. Mouse echo automatically reads text that you point to. Single words or complete lines of text are spoken instantly or after hovering briefly. And the SpeakIt tool allows you to read selected areas of the screen by clicking or dragging the mouse. Software solutions such as ZoomText installed in libraries would assist visually impaired patrons and make them more independent in the library, making the library more attractive as a viable usable resource to them.

Assistive Technologies in School Libraries

The article What Teacher-Librarians Should Know About Universal Design for Teacher Librarian #31 explains that the concept of universal design is an approach to the design of products to be usable by as many people as possible regardless of their age, ability or situation.

In the school library there can be a diverse student population and its features should be accessible to students with a wide variety of needs and learning styles. In fact it could be less expensive to purchase universal design features in the beginning that is flexible enough to be used by a variety of students than having to adapt to a student later with a tight budget.

This is a link to an online tutorial on universal design. The center for universal design in education promotes independence of people with disabilities using technology.

Do-It Universal Design in Education

Video Blogs for library Users

Assistive Technology is an extremely helpful tool that can help any person whith a disability. For example, people with disabilities that range from visually impared, hearing impared or other disabilities can benefit from this helpful service.
You can get a better idea from looking at and reading the following article.



http://www.hclib.org/extranet/AssistTech/AssistiveTechnology.ppt

Voki characters

These are really fun to make! I forced a very noble looking lady to quote Fight Club as quietly as she could. Here's the result.

7 Great Library Themed Templates for Your Blog

7 Great Library Themed Templates for Your Blog



Here are some ways that social networking affect libraries in a postive and negative way