Second Life has been an interesting experience for me. Before I signed up for an account, I never understood what the big fuss was about and why people were spending so much time and money working on their SL property and avatars. I hardly have time for my first life, let alone a second one.
But I was wrong. It wasn't long before I got immersed in the richness of this virtual world, albeit an empty one. Although it was fun exploring the various islands, I hardly met or interacted with other avatars. Some SL locations were fun -- my previous employer even had a presence there, though it had been vandalized before. My favorite SL locations are Sony BMG where you can listen and purchase music, as well as Dell, where you're able to customize a PC and send your orders directly to the vendor.
I was also impressed by the work done by folks from the Second Life Library Project on Info Island. The objects in the Second Life Library were all nicely sculpted to resemble a real library. There's a reference service as well as subject resources that you can access using the built-in media browser. Regular events such as book discussions are also held in-world.
Overall, I think SL is just one of the ways in which libraries can offer their services to SL residents. I do question the amount of time and effort that goes into creating these services on a proprietary virtual world platform. While Linden Lab claims SL has about 14 million residents today, the number of active users pales in comparison. There are companies like Mercedes Benz that have pulled out of Second Life because of limited activity.
Moreover, SL is unlike the public Internet which is built on open standards. Who is to say that SL will continue to be around 10 years down the road? There are also other virtual worlds out there -- should libraries also create a virtual presence in each of them to avoid discriminating users? What about users who can't afford the higher end hardware that's required to run these virtual worlds? What about non-English speaking users? While SL isn't the only way for these users to access library services, I think a disproportionate amount of attention has been paid to serve a privileged group of information seekers.
Overall, this class has been a positive experience for me. Apart from learning how to apply Web 2.0 tools in a library setting, the diversity of the class also brings fresh new perspectives on what libraries should focus on as they move into the age of participation. If I was Steve, I'd continue to incorporate tools like IM, Twitter and wikis which really gives students a chance to experience what online collaboration across time and space is like if they haven't done it before.
Perhaps enrollment numbers for the summer session should be capped so that it's easier to keep up with everyone's thoughts and ideas. The short duration of the summer session leaves very little time for contemplation and discussion over one another's blog posts. Also, while gaming can be a social process, I don't see it as part of social software which is more an area within Library 2.0. For a summer class, I'll probably include screencasting and subtract gaming from the syllabus.
For the section on IM, I will also include issues that libraries are facing in virtual reference such as serving unaffiliated users, question routing, and bibliographic instruction. These may probably be more suited for a reference class, but a look these issues will offer a good perspective on the challenges of IM at work.
I also love the examples of libraries that have implemented the social software covered in this class. But it'll also be great if we can also hear from guest lecturers from some of these libraries, perhaps in a podcast interview! This will give us a better idea of what goes on behind the scenes and provide useful lessons as we take what we've learned into our respective organizations.
...then more libraries should be circulating games.
I generally agree that there is some educational merit in computer and video games. As a long time gamer myself, I do spend hours -- sometimes without sleep -- in front of the console and PC trying to unravel a maze in a role-playing game, or conquering territories in Civilizations and Romance Of The Three Kingdoms. I've benefited from this process in the ways that Johnson described in his book.
However, I have to admit that the educational and literacy merits of some games are not obvious. I'm not a games researcher, but apart from the benefits of hand-eye coordination, it's hard to see any intellectual merit in a game such as Tekken where players engage in virtual arm combat with one another. The choice of games is thus an important consideration to libraries and educational institutions that are thinking of incorporating games into library services and the school curriculum.
I once interviewed a high school in Singapore that got its students to play Microsoft's Flight Simulator during physics classes on speed, velocity, acceleration and projection. The students told me that the game helped to improve their understanding of physics concepts tremendously.
Many library gaming services, however, tend to focus on multi-player games that promote community bonding and the fun factor. These games are usually played on more family oriented consoles such as the Nintendo Wii. For now, the educational benefits of games seem to be a secondary concern in many gaming programs which are really just about attracting teens to the library.
If educational institutions and libraries wish to harness the educational merits of gaming, they would have to consider strategy, role-playing or simulation games, which aren't common in library gaming services, and perhaps start circulating more of these games.
I played a game of pool on Yahoo games in a random game room. I picked this game because I'm also a regular pool player in real life. I wanted to see how the experience was like in a virtual environment.
In Yahoo! Pool, you can simply join an empty table hosted by another Yahoo user and compete with him or her. The game works pretty much the same way as regular pool. There is a chat feature at the bottom of the game screen if you need to speak with your opponent. In most instances, pool players hardly communicate with each other, except to perhaps swear at yourself for missing the shot! I wouldn't use the chat feature to translate my frustrations to my opponent unless I know the person.
My game ended pretty quickly, because my opponent seemed like a seasoned virtual pool player. After it ended, my opponent typed "gg" which meant good game -- it took me a while to figure that out. We later agreed to go for a second set, which I won in the end!
The game got addictive after a while. I wanted to improve my overall score which goes up and down according to the number of wins and losses. Before I knew it, I had spent almost two hours on Yahoo Pool. Overall, it was a great experience, and I can see how this simulated environment can help me improve my game in real life.
At the Fayetteville Free Library in Fayetteville, New York, a gaming service has been proposed to attract both teens and adults to the library. Since the goal of the library gaming service is to meet the recreational needs of users and facilitate community bonding, the choice of consoles and games must be able to fulfill that goal. Here are some considerations in deciding on a suitable console.
Budget: The amount of money that goes into the gaming service will influence the kind of console that can be purchased. The Nintendo Wii is more affordable than the Sony Playstation 3, although the Playstation may have games that are suitable for a gaming service that are not available on the Wii.
Games: The kind of games to be used in the gaming program is another key factor. In this regard, the library's users should be consulted to determine the kinds of games that will attract them. Also, if entertainment and interaction among users is the desired outcome of gaming events, then a majority of Wii games would fit the purpose.
The cost of the games for a particular console is also a consideration. Can the library's budget sustain the cost of more Playstation games which are more expensive?
Controls: Consoles such as the Nintendo Wii offer a variety of game controllers that will determine the gaming experience. For a game such as Mario Kart Wii, users can either use the Wii remote or the Wii Wheel to play. Is the library willing to purchase the Wii Wheel which may provide a better experience for some users? The cost of game controllers is also a consideration since the library is expected to provide additional controllers for a gaming event.
Online gameplay: Most consoles today allows players to connect with others over the Internet to play on the same game. If the library plans to support interlibrary gameplay across a county-wide library system in a tournament, then a console that supports online gameplay will be necessary.
Based on the criteria above, the Nintendo Wii is the clear choice with the library's limited budget. Popular titles such as Wii Sports and Dance Dance Revolution available on the Wii are also likely to appeal to both teens and adults, thus facilitating intergenerational gameplay and community bonding. The Wii also supports online gameplay should the library decide to collaborate with other libraries in the same system to introduce interlibrary tournaments.
I won't say that popular culture is just a more sophisticated way of delivering stupidity. There is some merit to Johnson's arguments in some of the examples he gave. I watched Memento recently and it does require the viewer to do some serious information processing to follow the plot. People who would rather sit down and laugh themselves silly would probably watch Kungfu Panda instead.
Of course, there are shows that are just pure brainless entertainment and nothing else. Johnson claims that even shows that cater to the lowest common denominator are getting more sophisticated compared to the early days of TV, and that these shows have trained us to be smarter over the years.
Arguably, this may be true, but people are also getting smarter whether they're watching TV or not. Some have attributed this to better nutrition and an ever-demanding society that pushes our kids to become higher achievers in order to survive in the real world.
Just compare the school curriculum 30 years ago to what we have today. In Singapore, content that used to be taught at higher grade levels are now being taught at lower grades. The examination scores of top students in elementary schools continue to increase every year. I worked as a home tutor during my college years, and I was shocked at how demanding math questions have become since I left high school.
So, instead of being a more sophisticated way of delivering stupidity, I would take the liberal-pluralist approach and argue that popular culture mirrors changes in society. Coupled with more sophisticated media production techniques and technology advancement, games, television programs and movies are merely evolving to meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated audience.
One of the main advantages of Ning is the ability to form customized social networks around common interests while putting the community in center stage rather than the individual in the case of multipurpose social network sites. There are several reasons why you want to do this rather than forming an interest group on Facebook and MySpace.
First, Ning allows you to create subgroups where users are able to delve into specific areas of their interest that are still within the boundaries of the social network. This is a good way to segment conversations into specific topics rather than one big discussion board which can become hard to follow as the number of conversations increases.
Facebook users tend to sign up for several groups while participating actively in only a few. This may be attributed to the mentality of some Facebook users who really just collect contacts, even those of acquaintances. As a member of several Ning-based networks, I've noticed that the conversations on Ning networks are way more in-depth than similar ones on Facebook groups, even though the latter may have higher membership numbers.
Furthermore, without RSS feeds enabled on the Facebook groups, users are often unable to keep up with interesting updates that keep them coming back. In contrast, Ning provides RSS feeds for different types of user generated content to ensure that users are kept abreast of network activities.
There are also several widgets available to Ning networks such as live chat, group events as well as RSS functionality that allows networks to incorporate related content from elsewhere. Members are also allowed to create their own blogs and profile pages that reside within the social network rather than outside in the case of Facebook groups.
One of the limitations of Ning is the ads that show up on the right side of a social network. They take up space that could otherwise be used for customized widgets or even simplifying the design of a social network. The ads can be removed only if the network is converted to a paid Ning account. Another limitation is the lack of support for RSS feeds for music or podcast content. A workaround is available but it will require access to the PHP source code which can be requested.
In a work environment, Ning will be extremely useful as a peer support network for members of a specific department within an organization. Members could share information directly through this network and engage in conversations related to their work. It could also be an avenue where ideas could be thrown around informally before they get crystallized into formal proposals, but this may require the network to be hosted on the company intranet for security reasons.
