As mentioned at Stephen’s Lighthouse. 2012 Horizon Report from EDUCAUSE and New Media Consortium.
Historical publications of the Horizon Report can be found here.
Category Archives: Technology
GTA Technology Topics, Tips and Tricks: Timeline Tools
I was asked whether I knew of any good timeline maker tools and I actually have never used one before. I did some investigating into what is available and am passing along the tools I found.
This article by makeuseof looks at two easy to use tools Tiki-Toki and Dipity.
Tiki-Toki – Looks impressive but basic/free account has restrictions.
Dipity – More basic than Tiki-Toki but may not work well for print purposes. Looks great for web purposes and sharing.
TimeRime – Create, view, share and compare timelines. Basic account probably has some restrictions.
TimeGlider – This one looks more advanced and again may not work well for print purposes. Application moving away from Flash and will use a Javascript plugin. Complicated installation.
Timeline – This one is cross platform, free and open source. Requires installation. May be the best to use for print purposes. Mac OSX users may have to install from the command line.
Another option is to install a PowerPoint plugin from Office Timeline. This looks like the best option for print purposes.
GTA Technology Topics, Tips and Tricks: Pinterest
As an update to my prior post on Social Bookmarking, this post is dedicated to the new hot social media trend Pinterest (though it has been around since 2008).
Pinterest is a website of virtual inboards. From an LIS perspective, users “catalog” items and create visual collections by topic/interest/category.
Some may argue its an advertising tool to sell things and promote brands…I think Pinterest is a great tool to see what’s trending and popular.
Pinterest may have useful applications for libraries as discussed in these posts by the iLibrarian “5 Ways to Use Pinterest in Your Library” and “5 More Ways to Use Pinterest in You Library“.
Here’s an infographic for some Pinterest stats…one of which is that 97% of Pinterest’s Facebook fans are women! Apparently Pinterest has no revenue business model right now and is focused on growing the service.
Another Infographic: Is Pinterest The Next Social Commerce Game Changer?
GTA Technology Topics, Tips and Tricks: Diversions
Here are some diversions in anticipation of University of Alberta’s Reading Week break. Some are informative, some are fun.
Oldies but Goodies
Mr. Bean Library (Video)
And because I know you know I love infographics…and to celebrate Valentine’s Day…the Stacy Green, Will You Marry Me Infographic
GTA Technology Topics, Tips & Tricks: Social Bookmarking & Recommender Sites
Here are some great websites to take a look at for social bookmarking (excluding Twitter and related web applications). Social bookmarking tools can be used to find recommendations, what is popular, share what you love, and find further information on a topic. This recent article by eBizMBA lists the top 15 of February 2012. The hottest social bookmarking website right now is Pinterest. It does look pretty cool. I wish I had the time to use all these social bookmarking tools!
Pinterest – “Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.” I love how visually-based this website is! With such cool pin boards as “Plan a Wedding” or “Save your inspirations.”
Reddit – “The front page of the Internet.” Lists links and ranks the most popular websites on the Internet and websites that are trending.
Delicious – “Delicious helps you find cool stuff and collect it for easy sharing. Dig into stacks created by the community, and then build your own!”
Digg – “Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best stuff as voted on by our community.”
StumbleUpon – “We help you explore new and interesting things from every corner of the Web.” You tell StumbleUpon what you like and it will recommend web pages, videos, photos and more that “you wouldn’t have found on your own.”
GetGlue – “GetGlue is a social network for entertainment. Users check-in and share what they are watching, listening to and reading with friends; get fresh recommendations, exclusive stickers, discounts and other rewards from their favorite shows and movies.”
GTA Technology Topics, Tips & Tricks: Fun Diversion Nerd vs. Geek Infographic
GTA Technology Topics, Tips & Tricks: Reminder Statistics Canada Making Data Free February 1st
Saw this Huffington Post article reminding us that Statistics Canada is making their data free. With the announcement made last year, Statistics Canada will officially open up their online data for free Wednesday, February 1st. The data will be under a new open data license agreement according to a post at EmbasseyMag.ca.
Pricing was previously $3.00 per time series. Here is a great post from David Eaves from January 5, 2011 breaking down why Statistics Canada data should be free, past revenue details and the benefits of opening up the data.
Apple: On the Horizon
GTA Technology Topics, Tips & Tricks: Tools to Help Support Learning & Organization
Here are some great tools to think about using to help you learn and organize! There is of course the Google Apps suite but the recommendations posted below are out of the box type of tools!
Quizlets Flashcards help you study for final exams, languages, vocabulary, etc. and they can be shared. Web-based. (Free)
Index Card for Apple iPad lets you write index cards. Useful for those non-linear thinkers! ($4.99)
inClass for Apple iPad and iPhone is basically a digital planner, allowing you to store multimedia notes and organize your schedule (free)
Evernote for PC and Mac OS X. Amazing tool where you can tag notes and save web clips, text documents, pdfs, etc. Can be used in every aspect of your life and I think its a great tool for saving and organizing recipes. Their tagline is “Remember Everything” and there is a browser plug-in. Syncs across devices. (free)
iProcrastinate for Mac OS X and iPhone. Sync calendars, tasks and to do lists. You can break down tasks into components. (free)
bubbl.us is a brainstorming tool. Web-based. (free)
Diigo lets you bookmark, highlight and sticky note (annotate web) pages. Web-based and all platforms. (try for free = limited features)
No Weak Links
The Secrets Apple Keeps is a fascinating commentary on the inner workings of Apple, Inc. and its culture of secrecy and division. The commentary is from Adam Lashinsky’s new book called Inside Apple. Apple would make a great case study in mentoring, managing and leadership…too bad we will never know the true inner workings of the company.
Highlights
“You don’t want to be the weak link. There is an intense desire to not let the company down.”
“All companies have secrets, of course. The difference is that at Apple everything is a secret.”
“There is not a culture of recognizing and celebrating success. It’s very much about work.”
“Apple pays salaries that are competitive with the marketplace — but no better.”
“People love it, which is different than saying they have fun. Fun comes and goes.”
infophile 