Tech Roundup

Technology Committee members here at Towson University’s Cook Library are always on the hunt for new technology applications to bring into the library or technology-related issues our library should be addressing.  As we scour the internet for important, interesting, or just plain cool examples of technology applications, issues, or news, we post links and  summaries with our take here to the blog.

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Interview with Anurag Acharya, Google Scholar Co-creator

After ten years, Google Scholar remains a heavily used search engine across many academic fields, and librarians continue to help students, faculty, and staff make the most of its resources. In an interview with Scientific American, Google Scholar co-creator Anurag Acharya discusses the search engine’s inception, development, and future! – Kim

Resources for Working with iPads

Apple’s iPad is a great resource for Academic Library’s but where can you turn to when you are having problems with your iPad’s want or to try something different with them. Here are a few places you can look:

• Teaching With iPad’s and iTunes U
• IT In The Classroom
• Enterprise iOS
• iPads’s and Tablets In Libraries
• Fraser Speirs’ Web Site
• LinkedIn “iPhone iPad” Group
• LinkedIn “iPad For Learning Group”
• MacEnterpise.org mailing list (lots of iOS information   their too)

These sites have great information and the community sites have great active users who are willing to give ideas and tips. – Eric

 Reuters: “Google Glass future clouded as some early believers lose faith”

Read an article about emerging wearable technologies and you’re likely greeted with a picture of a person wearing Google Glass. However, as Reuters reports, some developers are beginning to doubt Glass will take off in the consumer space, with perhaps continued specialized applications in the workplace. Will academic and research libraries develop as a fruitful space for more specialized Glass development? – Kim

Microsoft Office Comes to iOS for Free

In case you missed it: Microsoft has released free iOS apps for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, allowing iPad and iPhone users to create, edit, and save Office documents without an Office 365 account. This may be welcome news for librarians who want to work with Office documents from an iOS device, but unfortunately apps for Android devices have not been released. – Kim

 

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What do you think about some of the issues or technologies presented?  Have you found anything interesting online this week? Share in the comments!

Tech Roundup

Technology Committee members here at Towson University’s Cook Library are always on the hunt for new technology applications to bring into the library or technology-related issues our library should be addressing.  As we scour the internet for important, interesting, or just plain cool examples of technology applications, issues, or news, we post links and  summaries with our take here to the blog.

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 Google Forms Add-ons

The Library Tech Talk blog has previously presented Google Forms as a survey platform option for librarians. In addition to new themes and added flexibility in personalizing form themes, Google recently announced a variety of free add-ons, making it easier to use Google Forms in more advanced ways. For example, if librarians use Google Forms to collect user feedback for a predetermined length of time, the “formLimiter” app could be used to automatically close the survey after a specific date or amount of time. The add-ons have been created by developers using Google Apps Script – librarians with a bit of JavaScript knowledge might also explore creating their own add-ons! – Kim

Hybrid Play

Gamification has a hand in making mundane tasks more fun. A recent indie gogo campaign has create an attachment that allows playground equipment to become a controller for a series of virtual games. While this application is more relevant to getting children more physically active, I could also see this being developed as a way to make your time in the office a bit more active, or perhaps make a library scavenger hunt a bit more interesting. – Laksamee

 EBSCO Flipster

Last week, EBSCO introduced Flipster, a platform for browsing digital versions of popular magazines. With Flipster, users can browse and read magazines on their desktops or on mobile devices through native apps for Android and iOS. Last year, Library Tech Talk shared thoughts about a similar product, Browzine, an app which brings journal articles to your tablet. EBSCO’s entry into the digital periodical market with Flipster, while focusing primarily on popular sources, illustrates a continued trend towards digital and, more specifically, mobile content delivery for magazines, journals, and newspapers. – Kim

 Penn State: One Button Studio

As part of a recent small-scale renovation, our library at Towson University is seeking to add more media and “presentation practice” space for student use. Even if libraries can carve out dedicated media production space and provide equipment, there’s no guarantee that all students know enough about video production to use the equipment effectively. Penn State has started solving this problem with “One Button Studio,” an app that automatically activates predetermined equipment settings and allows for recording with the touch of a single button. – Shannon & Kim

 

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What do you think about some of the issues or technologies presented?  Have you found anything interesting online this week? Share in the comments!