Spurred by advances in technology and people’s hunger to get an extra edge in a down economy, universities and colleges are posting course materials – including syllabi, class notes, and lectures – online for anyone to access. This movement, known as OpenCourseWare, allows self learners to save money on tuition, gives alumni a link to their alma mater, and enables prospective students to peek into university classrooms.
Already more than 200 colleges and universities offer courses ranging from art history to economics for free on demand. The classes can be watched on YouTube or downloaded to iPods. And the consortium continues to grow…
The OpenCourseWare concept began in 2003. That year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology decided it couldn’t turn a profit from putting online its hands-on curriculum with an emphasis on laboratory work online. Instead, MIT began providing its syllabi, course notes, and eventually, video and audio lectures online for free. MIT’s OpenCourseWare initiative started by listing 500 courses in 2003. Even that first year the program attracted more than 4 million visits to its web pages.
But today, in less than a decade, the institution has archived 1,897 courses – and in April 2009 alone attracted more than 1 million visits.
[read more at OpenCourseWare: College education, without the student loans, from the Christian Science Monitor]
May 13, 2009
Guatemalan Protests Organized and Covered on Social Sites
Social network sites – blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube – are again being used both to report and to create breaking news, this time in Guatemala.
On May 10, attorney Rodrigo Rosenberg was assassinated in Guatemala City. After he was killed, a video was released on YouTube in which Rosenberg said he feared he would be assassinated, and that if he were, those responsible would be operating at the orders of Guatemalan president Álvaro Colom.
Now, social network sites across the Central American country are calling for Colom's impeachment and trial. Anti-Colom protesters are using the sites to livestream demonstrations and other actions against the government.
As in Mumbai last November, and in Moldova in April, social network sites are central to how fast-breaking, current news is created and delivered.
[via BoingBoing]
On May 10, attorney Rodrigo Rosenberg was assassinated in Guatemala City. After he was killed, a video was released on YouTube in which Rosenberg said he feared he would be assassinated, and that if he were, those responsible would be operating at the orders of Guatemalan president Álvaro Colom.
Now, social network sites across the Central American country are calling for Colom's impeachment and trial. Anti-Colom protesters are using the sites to livestream demonstrations and other actions against the government.
As in Mumbai last November, and in Moldova in April, social network sites are central to how fast-breaking, current news is created and delivered.
[via BoingBoing]
Tweeting Moby Dick
@publicdomain has tweeted Moby Dick on Twitter, in 140-or-fewer-character updates. It took 9½ months and 12,849 updates – around 45 a day. And yes, a robot was doing the tweeting.
This project is a brainchild of Dan Coulter (@danco). Coulter has set up a poll to see which public domain book will be tweeted next. I voted for one of my favorites, Alice in Wonderland. I am glad to see it leading in the early results.
[via BoingBoing]
This project is a brainchild of Dan Coulter (@danco). Coulter has set up a poll to see which public domain book will be tweeted next. I voted for one of my favorites, Alice in Wonderland. I am glad to see it leading in the early results.
[via BoingBoing]
eBay Cuts Listing Fees To Encourage Sellers
Great news for casual eBay sellers:
The Library offers two eBay classes: Buying and Selling on eBay for learning the eBay basics, and eBay Selling Workshop for those with items ready to list and sell. Each class runs about two hours. Check out our program calendar to view our class schedule and register online.
Our next scheduled eBay classes are:
Buying and Selling on eBay
Monday, June 1 & 8, 6:30 pm - FULL
Wednesday, July 1 & 8, 6:30 pm - Registration begins on June 11, 10 am
Wednesday, August 5 & 12, 1:30 pm - Registration begins on July 11, 10 am
eBay Selling Workshop
Monday, May 18, 6:30 pm - Register Now!
Monday, June 29, 6:30 pm - Registration begins on June 8, 8 pm
Wednesday, July 29, 6:30 - Registration begins July 8, 8 pm
Wednesday, August 19, 6:30 - Registration begins August 12, 3:30 pm
[via USA Today]
The online marketplace eBay is eliminating some upfront fees to attract more sellers who occasionally auction off items. San Jose, Calif-based eBay said Tuesday that users will soon be able to offer up to five items for auction every 30 days without paying the fees that eBay usually charges to list goods. Those listing fees usually run 10 cents to $4, depending on the item.
The Library offers two eBay classes: Buying and Selling on eBay for learning the eBay basics, and eBay Selling Workshop for those with items ready to list and sell. Each class runs about two hours. Check out our program calendar to view our class schedule and register online.
Our next scheduled eBay classes are:
Buying and Selling on eBay
Monday, June 1 & 8, 6:30 pm - FULL
Wednesday, July 1 & 8, 6:30 pm - Registration begins on June 11, 10 am
Wednesday, August 5 & 12, 1:30 pm - Registration begins on July 11, 10 am
eBay Selling Workshop
Monday, May 18, 6:30 pm - Register Now!
Monday, June 29, 6:30 pm - Registration begins on June 8, 8 pm
Wednesday, July 29, 6:30 - Registration begins July 8, 8 pm
Wednesday, August 19, 6:30 - Registration begins August 12, 3:30 pm
[via USA Today]
Using Twitter Search as a Library Reference Tool
I have just answered my first reference question using Twitter Search here at the Library. And it is a perfect example of the real-time nature of of the microblog site, and its advantage over even search-powerhouse Google.
I was working at the Technology desk and a patron using one of our public computers asked me if we are now blocking Craigslist. I didn't think we were, but when I tested it, it was not connecting. I could have contacted our IT department to see if they did something that might restrict sites, or I could have tried to Google search the Internet for some notice of Craigslist going down, but both of those options seemed too slow to me.
Instead, I Twitter searched "craigslist down." In a moment, the results verified that it was down everywhere:
I informed our computer user that it was a site issue. I continued to monitor Twitter Search and Craigslist, and was able to tell him when it was back up.
Our patron needed an immediate answer. Twitter Search game me a way to give him one.
I was working at the Technology desk and a patron using one of our public computers asked me if we are now blocking Craigslist. I didn't think we were, but when I tested it, it was not connecting. I could have contacted our IT department to see if they did something that might restrict sites, or I could have tried to Google search the Internet for some notice of Craigslist going down, but both of those options seemed too slow to me.
Instead, I Twitter searched "craigslist down." In a moment, the results verified that it was down everywhere:
I informed our computer user that it was a site issue. I continued to monitor Twitter Search and Craigslist, and was able to tell him when it was back up.
Our patron needed an immediate answer. Twitter Search game me a way to give him one.
May 12, 2009
Student Uses Wikipedia to Test Media
When Dublin university student Shane Fitzgerald posted a poetic but phony quote on Wikipedia, he said he was testing how our globalized, increasingly Internet-dependent media was upholding accuracy and accountability in an age of instant news.
His report card: Wikipedia passed. Journalism flunked.
[Read more from msnbc.com, Student hoaxes world's media on Wikipedia]
His report card: Wikipedia passed. Journalism flunked.
[Read more from msnbc.com, Student hoaxes world's media on Wikipedia]
Find a Quote at Famous Quotes and Authors
Need a quick quote by a famous author? You might try Famous Quotes and Authors.
This website was created by a non-profit organization, whose mission is to introduce people to quotations and sayings from famous authors, poets, artists, politicians and others. Nice looking and easy to navigate, the site currently has 25,000 quotes online from over 6,700 authors, searchable by keyword, or browseable by author or topic.
This website was created by a non-profit organization, whose mission is to introduce people to quotations and sayings from famous authors, poets, artists, politicians and others. Nice looking and easy to navigate, the site currently has 25,000 quotes online from over 6,700 authors, searchable by keyword, or browseable by author or topic.
Google Chrome Ads Come to Television
Google has launched its first television advertising campaign for Google Chrome, the company’s nine-month-old web browser.
I find it a little odd to advertise web browsers on television. Late at night, watching reruns of The Simpsons, I usually don’t think to myself, “I wonder if I could be more productive with a better web browser?”
Nevertheless, the marketing people at Google know better than I do, I suppose. Clearly, the company is making a push to cash in on an increasingly large percentage of Internet users – estimated as high as 30-40% – who are looking for alternatives to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
Let us know what you think:
I find it a little odd to advertise web browsers on television. Late at night, watching reruns of The Simpsons, I usually don’t think to myself, “I wonder if I could be more productive with a better web browser?”
Nevertheless, the marketing people at Google know better than I do, I suppose. Clearly, the company is making a push to cash in on an increasingly large percentage of Internet users – estimated as high as 30-40% – who are looking for alternatives to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
Let us know what you think:
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