With my presentation just a few short days away, I finally got started on the mechanics of my presentation. I've been writing my speech and working on the paper for the LCLCPL, so the part I worked on this weekend was the Powerpoint. I decided for simplicity's sake that I would just give a Powerpoint presentation rather than trying to ask everyone to actually go into Second Life - it's just not feasible for a 5 minute presentation.
My presentation looks a little bare, but that's what Powerpoint slides are supposed to look like - in a proper presentation, the slides are simply an outline of what the speaker is discussing, a way to keep everyone watching the presentation on the same timeline. Most of my information will be given in my speech, which is both good and bad. The good part is it keeps me from repeating what's already on the slides and I can improvise if someone has a question. The bad part is that not everyone is an audio learner, so they may miss important information.
I've put a picture from Second Life on every other slide in my presentation because I think it will keep everyone interested. It shakes things up, and I'm able to show what I'm talking about right after I finish talking about it. It also keeps it from getting boring - how many pictures of SL can you really see in 5 minutes?
For the rest of the weekend and the beginning part of the week, I need to review my Powerpoint and finish writing my speech. The paper doesn't have to be "turned in" until next week so I'm putting that aside for the moment - I have it all outlined and some sources, so I'll still be able to write my speech and give a professional presentation to my peers.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Paper has started
This past week, I managed to start my paper. I have most of the Introduction done, as well as some of the Background and Asynchronous Collection. I have been formatting my References as I use them so I won't have to do it all at once at the end of the paper, and I have also been doing a lot of research. I haven't started on the virtual reference part of the paper yet - I want to find a few more sources before I start that, but I'll certainly have to start it by this weekend. I want a first draft of the paper done by Thanksgiving, so that I'll have the last weekend of the semester to polish it, write the speech (which will flow from the paper) and create my Powerpoint.
Much of the research I did this week was encouraging libraries to get into Second Life now - strike just before the iron gets hot, so to speak. Many people feel that if libraries can establish themselves in SL before many of the patrons get there, patrons will naturally turn to libraries for help in SL and thus be viable and valuable again. So now I don't know what to suggest to Helen. On the one hand, I would hate to see the LCLCPL rush into anything, just because they want to get into SL and be well trained before their patrons get there. But if the patrons never show, the LCLCPL has wasted time and money on a virtual reference environment. On the other hand, I wouldn't like to see the LCLCPL sitting on the sidelines when they have a chance to be a leader for public libraries in SL. So I guess it's really about timing - entering SL early enough to have a bit of lead-time for training but not so early that it's still unclear if Leon County patrons will ever use SL. Many non-library people I've spoken to (including college students) say "Second Life? Is that, like, that online game where people try to make money?" If people are only thinking of SL as a game, or a commercial endeavor, they will never try it.
The bottom line is that the LCLCPL needs to do what is best for their patrons. If their patrons show absolutely no interest in SL right now, perhaps the LCLCPL should hold off on entering SL for the moment and focus on other virtual reference opportunities. If patron interest in SL swells in a few years, then the LCLCPL will be ready.
Much of the research I did this week was encouraging libraries to get into Second Life now - strike just before the iron gets hot, so to speak. Many people feel that if libraries can establish themselves in SL before many of the patrons get there, patrons will naturally turn to libraries for help in SL and thus be viable and valuable again. So now I don't know what to suggest to Helen. On the one hand, I would hate to see the LCLCPL rush into anything, just because they want to get into SL and be well trained before their patrons get there. But if the patrons never show, the LCLCPL has wasted time and money on a virtual reference environment. On the other hand, I wouldn't like to see the LCLCPL sitting on the sidelines when they have a chance to be a leader for public libraries in SL. So I guess it's really about timing - entering SL early enough to have a bit of lead-time for training but not so early that it's still unclear if Leon County patrons will ever use SL. Many non-library people I've spoken to (including college students) say "Second Life? Is that, like, that online game where people try to make money?" If people are only thinking of SL as a game, or a commercial endeavor, they will never try it.
The bottom line is that the LCLCPL needs to do what is best for their patrons. If their patrons show absolutely no interest in SL right now, perhaps the LCLCPL should hold off on entering SL for the moment and focus on other virtual reference opportunities. If patron interest in SL swells in a few years, then the LCLCPL will be ready.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Stress keeps a-rising
My computer is STILL in the shop, so I haven't had access to SL in over 3 weeks. I'm really starting to panic - even though my presentation isn't until Dec. 3, I still want to have time to take lots of SL pictures of what I'll be talking about and to have a chance to practice in Elluminate.
The good news is that my real world research is almost done. I've written an outline and collected most of my sources. I think it will be easiest to write the paper first, then do the speech, and finally the Powerpoint. Even though I need the Powerpoint presentation first (for my class presentation on the 3rd) I don't think I can make a good presentation without knowing what I want to say first.
In my presentation to LCLCPL, I am planning to present my findings first, then go into SL. I'm afraid that if we go into SL first, Helen will be so enamored with it that she will comepletely disregard my findings and cautions and may not even listen to my presentation. Mary has been into SL before, so she will know what to expect but I don't know if Helen has any experience at all in SL. And that could be why she's so gung-ho about it - she doesn't know what it's really like.
I mostly concerned for the LCLCPL to rush headlong into SL and then find that none of their patrons are even IN SL. It is extremely difficult to give good reference assistance if the patron isn't there. I really wanted Helen to consider 2.0 technologies before SL because we know the patrons are there - just walking around the library you see people checking their Facebook or MySpace pages. I think the key to successful reference work is to see where your patrons are, then go there, not the other way around. Trying to anticipate where patrons will go is tricky at best, expensive and unsuccessful at worst. And it's not like the LCLCPL has librarians already trained in SL, which would make the implementation easier.
At least I know the parts of my presentation, I have a plan and an outline to do it, and hopefully my computer will be fixed next week.
The good news is that my real world research is almost done. I've written an outline and collected most of my sources. I think it will be easiest to write the paper first, then do the speech, and finally the Powerpoint. Even though I need the Powerpoint presentation first (for my class presentation on the 3rd) I don't think I can make a good presentation without knowing what I want to say first.
In my presentation to LCLCPL, I am planning to present my findings first, then go into SL. I'm afraid that if we go into SL first, Helen will be so enamored with it that she will comepletely disregard my findings and cautions and may not even listen to my presentation. Mary has been into SL before, so she will know what to expect but I don't know if Helen has any experience at all in SL. And that could be why she's so gung-ho about it - she doesn't know what it's really like.
I mostly concerned for the LCLCPL to rush headlong into SL and then find that none of their patrons are even IN SL. It is extremely difficult to give good reference assistance if the patron isn't there. I really wanted Helen to consider 2.0 technologies before SL because we know the patrons are there - just walking around the library you see people checking their Facebook or MySpace pages. I think the key to successful reference work is to see where your patrons are, then go there, not the other way around. Trying to anticipate where patrons will go is tricky at best, expensive and unsuccessful at worst. And it's not like the LCLCPL has librarians already trained in SL, which would make the implementation easier.
At least I know the parts of my presentation, I have a plan and an outline to do it, and hopefully my computer will be fixed next week.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Outline and research
This week I realized that there are only 5 weeks left to write my paper, one of which is Thanksgiving week, during which I probably won't be doing any work. This leaves 4 weeks, with 2 other final projects to accomplish. The panicking started, the planning kicked in, and I created an outline for my final project. This was trickier than it sounds, as I'm doing SL stuff for THREE different people.
The first is for the Leon County Public Library. As the actual organization, I'm most concerned with their happiness. I think that if the LCLCPL is happy, the grades will come because the LCLCPL wouldn't be happy with a lousy plan/paper. This project is going to be a hybrid of a plan and a term paper. I plan to set it up like a term paper, addressing the different aspects of entering SL as a library, including real-time reference, asynchronous reference (also called Collection Management in the paper, as a virtual reference environment's collection will mostly be links to different things), and special considerations for the public library - like how, in many cases, only one avatar can be created from each computer. This is a problem for public libraries, as many people will probably create their avatars at the library where they can get librarian help. (Luckily, there's a solution to this problem, which will be addressed in the paper).
The second is for this class, the VRE. Interestingly enough, I may not necessarily have to write a paper for this class, as the third turn-in-able is a "submission of your final project". So it may be better for me to simply turn in the presentation that I will be giving to the LCLCPL, which will be much like the presentation I give in class. In fact, the class presentation will actually be a warm-up for the LCLCPL presentation, so I will have a chance to tweak it and make it better for the final organization.
The third is for my Management of Information Collections class. This paper will be focusing primarily on the asynchronous part of SL, the development of the virtual collection. This paper will mostly be derived from the paper for the LCLCPL, with the reference parts taken out. This is acceptable because the big paper for the LCLCPL is not being submitted for a grade, and submitting it to the organization is part of the final projct requirement.
So this week I spent mostly doing research. I've been searching the databases for articles on SL, how SL is used in libraries, especially public libraries, and I must say so far I've found a lot of personal narrative-type articles, which is not really what I want. I think putting one or two of those in the paper for the LCLCPL would be acceptable, as the librarians in the meeting will want to know how other librarians felt about SL, but I need to ensure my discussion is backed up with more academic evidence.
Once I write a first draft of the paper for the LCLCPL, then I can start planning my presentation. I think for class, the presentation will be mostly Powerpoint, with lots of pictures from SL. As a B.S-holding Business Administration major, I have been taught to be leery of Powerpoint presentations. So many people cut and paste stuff onto the slides and then just read the slides, which is really the worst thing you can do in a business presentation. At least I'm aware of this and so I can make sure not to make that mistake in my own presentation. For the LCLCPL presentation, Helen wants to actually visit SL and see what's inside, so that will be the second part of the presentation. I thought about putting it first, but I'm afraid she will be so enamored of the virtual world that she won't take my research seriously. In the preliminary research I've done so far, nearly every article is advising for public libraries to wait a few more years, until more peoples' computers catch up with the SL technology, before sinking a lot of time and money into a place where their patrons might not yet be, and I want to know she will be able to hear that message.
The first is for the Leon County Public Library. As the actual organization, I'm most concerned with their happiness. I think that if the LCLCPL is happy, the grades will come because the LCLCPL wouldn't be happy with a lousy plan/paper. This project is going to be a hybrid of a plan and a term paper. I plan to set it up like a term paper, addressing the different aspects of entering SL as a library, including real-time reference, asynchronous reference (also called Collection Management in the paper, as a virtual reference environment's collection will mostly be links to different things), and special considerations for the public library - like how, in many cases, only one avatar can be created from each computer. This is a problem for public libraries, as many people will probably create their avatars at the library where they can get librarian help. (Luckily, there's a solution to this problem, which will be addressed in the paper).
The second is for this class, the VRE. Interestingly enough, I may not necessarily have to write a paper for this class, as the third turn-in-able is a "submission of your final project". So it may be better for me to simply turn in the presentation that I will be giving to the LCLCPL, which will be much like the presentation I give in class. In fact, the class presentation will actually be a warm-up for the LCLCPL presentation, so I will have a chance to tweak it and make it better for the final organization.
The third is for my Management of Information Collections class. This paper will be focusing primarily on the asynchronous part of SL, the development of the virtual collection. This paper will mostly be derived from the paper for the LCLCPL, with the reference parts taken out. This is acceptable because the big paper for the LCLCPL is not being submitted for a grade, and submitting it to the organization is part of the final projct requirement.
So this week I spent mostly doing research. I've been searching the databases for articles on SL, how SL is used in libraries, especially public libraries, and I must say so far I've found a lot of personal narrative-type articles, which is not really what I want. I think putting one or two of those in the paper for the LCLCPL would be acceptable, as the librarians in the meeting will want to know how other librarians felt about SL, but I need to ensure my discussion is backed up with more academic evidence.
Once I write a first draft of the paper for the LCLCPL, then I can start planning my presentation. I think for class, the presentation will be mostly Powerpoint, with lots of pictures from SL. As a B.S-holding Business Administration major, I have been taught to be leery of Powerpoint presentations. So many people cut and paste stuff onto the slides and then just read the slides, which is really the worst thing you can do in a business presentation. At least I'm aware of this and so I can make sure not to make that mistake in my own presentation. For the LCLCPL presentation, Helen wants to actually visit SL and see what's inside, so that will be the second part of the presentation. I thought about putting it first, but I'm afraid she will be so enamored of the virtual world that she won't take my research seriously. In the preliminary research I've done so far, nearly every article is advising for public libraries to wait a few more years, until more peoples' computers catch up with the SL technology, before sinking a lot of time and money into a place where their patrons might not yet be, and I want to know she will be able to hear that message.
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