Gaming and Technology Workshops
Overview
All sessions are 3 hours unless otherwise noted; workshop length and content can be modified to 1 hour, 6 hours, or an online 3-4 week interactive session. Workshops can be customized for librarians serving teens, children, or adults. Hands-on classes require 1 Internet connected computer per student and basic Internet proficiency. All software is available free online, JAVA and Shockwave plug-ins required; other software as noted.
Gaming
Core Collections: Accessing and Circulating Video Games at the Library
The average age of the gamer is 33 and rising, 81% of teens play games online, and 25% of people over 50 are playing. How is your library supporting the needs of gamers in your community? Circulating video game collections may be a place to start!
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Discuss key questions to ask in creating a video game collection development policy;
- Discover online and print selection materials and resources for physical video game collections;
- Identify criteria for selecting video games with high replayability;
- Hear "booktalks" for video games that are ideal for starter collections; and
- Learn about model circulating video game collections in libraries in the United States.
Digital Downloads for Gamers
Circulating video games and software is one way to serve gamers, but without community and staff storage, buy-in, theft, damage, and storage can be major hurdles. Discover alternatives such as downloadable games and subscription-based game services from a variety of vendors, and hear about libraries that are implementing digital and mail order game services! We will also examine the potential of mail order gaming services from vendors, and show other digital services with appeal to gamers for libraries to consider.
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Discuss key questions to ask in creating a digital and virtual video game collection development policy;
- Discover online and print selection materials and resources for digital video game collections and services;
- Identify criteria for selecting video games with high replayability and high quality gaming support materials;
- See demos for downloads and subscription services that are ideal for virtual collections; and
- Learn about model virtual video game collections in libraries in the United States.
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NEW! Game Design for Librarians
Learn to engage youth at the library with interactive, multimedia, content creation workshops: video game design! Not all librarians embrace the same “learn by failing” method that gamers employ; this hands-on workshop will introduce you to the fundamentals of game design, non-techie exercises, and a tour of free resources that you can use at your library for game design workshops. We'll also cover exercises and ideas for board and roleplaying game design.
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Identify universal game design elements;
- Discover online and print game design resources;
- Try demos for free hands-on game design software; and
- Learn about model game design programs in libraries in the United States.
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New! Board Games and Curriculum Standards for 21st Century Learners
National standards for the 21st-century learners define student interactions with information in terms of an inquiry-based experience. Rather than learning by lecture and rote memorization, today's students need to explore information in a process not unlike the scientific method.
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Discover resources that link specific games with learning objectives;
- Review several sets of learning standards; and
- Play a variety tabletop games!
Help! My School's Library is Turning into an Arcade!
Bad situation? Or challenging opportunity? Gaming—3D, interactive, digital environments—is the medium of choice for learning and play for today's millennial students.
By the end of this session, participants will:- Discover defining characteristics of the gamer generation;
- Learn how gaming relates to literacy;
- Try some video games; and
- Discuss how library teachers can harness the increasingly popular medium of electronic games to encourage student reading and research.
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Get Your Game On! Video Gaming in the Library (6 hours)
The average age of the gamer is 35 and rising, and an estimated
80% of the population under age 34 has played a video game! Beth Gallaway, author of Game On: Gaming at the Library (Neal Schuman, 2009)
explains why video games matter to your library in terms of entertainment,
culture, learning, literacy, and youth development. The session concludes
with a hands-on (or feet-on) portion—wear comfortable clothing and clean socks!
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Articulate how video games meet development needs of teens, and build developmental assets of adolescents;
- Examine video game collection development policies, procedures and issues;
- Discover best gaming program practices in the Unitd States;
- Experience a variety of games; and
- Design a new program of service to appeal to the “gamer” generation.
Technology
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NEW! Creating and Managing Your Online Identity (Hands-On)
What kinds of information are risky to reveal online? How does one separate professional online identity from personal What is an avatar, and how do you create one? In this hands-on workshop, participants will discuss identity and how they represent themselves online, learn some important safety tips, and preview selected virtual worlds. Discover online applications for avatar creation, easy tech programs, community building, and more.
Exploring Virtual Worlds
With over 6 million virtual residents, the online 3-D digital continent of Second Life is a growing community with a population surpassingthe size of Singapore. The virtual world of Habbo boasts over 7.1 million users, the Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Game World of Warcraft is home to over 7.5 million, and even companies like MTV and Sony are jumping on the bandwagon with virtual Laguna Beach and Home.
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Gain exposure to several virtual communities;
- Discuss educational, creative and social benefits of virtual communities; and
- Examine how libraries are responding to user needs by extending new and traditional library services in virtual spaces.
Feed Me! RSS Feeds and You
Hands-on or lecture style! An RSS or XML feed is like the engine of my car—I don't need to understand how it works, just how to make the right connections so it runs! Discover how feeds are changing the way we use the web, explore and evaluate several types of feed readers, and unearth resources to help you create feeds for your text, audio or video content.
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Be able to explain what a feed is;
- Recognize if a website has a feed or not; and
- Evaluate three styles of feed readers.
Podcasting
Hands-on or lecture style! Podcast was the word of the year in 2005, and more and more libraries are jumping on the podcasting bandwagon. What is it, how do you do it, and what are the benefits?
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Learn how to subscribe, listen to and evaluate podcasts;
- Discover best practices in library podcasting; and
- Create and post a digital audio podcast with show notes using GabCast.*
* Note: Each participant is required to bring a cell phone to call a toll-free 1-800 number.
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Web 2.wh0a! (Lecture)
What do Children's Librarans need to know in terms of media and technology in the next five or ten years? How do you keep up with technology trends? How do you ensure youth's equal access to technology -- and good cyber citizenship? How are libraries are responding to youth needs by extending new and traditional library services in virtual spaces.
Discover how libraries are incorporating Web 2.0 into their youth services, strategize how to incorporate things may children may already be doing with library services and look ahead to what may become Web 3.0 by examining virtual worlds. Discuss how to maximize library outreach to youth with elements from virtual worlds such as avatar creation, instant messaging, and 3-D digital environments. The session concludes with time in the lab for hands-on testing.
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Explore Web 2.0 applications, including virtual communities for youth;
- Discuss educational, creative and social benefits of Web 2.0 applications and virtual communities; and
- Develop a plan to implement new technology tools and features into current library services for youth
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Web 2.0 (Hands-On)
Hands-on or lecture style! Web 2.0 is an interactive web: instead of passively reading, listening and viewing, we are collaborating to create new content with tools like social software (Facebook), wikis (Wikispaces), blogs (Blogger), podcasts (Gabcast), and tagging (Flickr). Find out a little more about how you and your patrons can change the web, and discover how libraries are incorporating Web 2.0 into their program and services.
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Explain the key differences between Web 1.0 and 2.0;
- Explore Web 2.0 websites and applications; and
- Develop a plan to implement a Web 2.0 feature into current library services.
Website Evaluation
Hands-on or lecture style! It's a wiki wiki world, and today's web makes it very easy for anybody to make a webpage. Discover strategies for evaluating that the information you are receiving is accurate, authoritative, up-to-date, and well-presented.
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Discuss what makes a “good” website;
- Review and rate webpages for a number of elements;
- Utilize “faked” websites for own instructional sessions; and
- Discover resources for promoting databases over search engines.