The difference a prof. can make

After working all week the idea of spending the entire weekend in class probably doesn’t sound like much fun, does it? It does if Michael Stephens is your professor. My Library 2.0 class is great! This weekend Michael checked out 20 iPod touches from the IT department for us to use in class. They were preloaded with apps such as FourSquare, Gowalla, AroundMe, AcrossAir, and more. In the afternoon Jenny Levine stopped by and we had a really great discussion about how to draw the line between personal privacy and maintaining an online discussion. We also kept a close eye on the tsunami headed for Hawaii via Twitter and some live streaming videos.

Today we discussed the context books we’ve all been reading, including Born Digital, Tribes, Hanging Out Messing Around and Geeking Out, and more. This afternoon we played some Wii and had open lab time to start thinking about and working on our future assignments. Throw in some group project time and going out to lunch with classmates, and you’ve got a fantastic weekend.

I’ve had a number of disappointing experiences with bad professors, both in my undergrad and my graduate courses, and it is absolutely incredible what a difference having a great professor can make. One of the things that I love most is that Michael is so much more concerned with whether we’re learning something and exploring the material than whether we follow his laid out plans. If a student has a specific idea they want to explore and they can tie it into the learning objective for a given assignment, he’s always willing to work with them. So many professors get caught up in how they want assignments done that it seems like they don’t even care if the students are learning anything.

I’m always so keyed up after one of these class weekends. It’s wonderful!

Explore your library

I just read David Lee King’s post about Foursquare and Libraries and I’m intrigued. Foursquare is a location based social networking game that encourages you to explore your city by “checking in” when you visit various places. You can see who else has been there, add tips, tags, and to-do lists, and earn points and badges depending on what you do. For example, the first time you use FourSquare you get the Newbie badge. After 10 check-ins you get the Adventurer badge. Visit a place more than anyone else and you become mayor – at least until someone unseats you.

Like many social networking sites, FourSquare had definite potential for libraries. After all, shouldn’t visiting your local library be a key part of exploring your town? Your library can add to-do lists for patrons – like get a library card, check out 5 books, or attend a workshop. You can also add tips like free wi-fi, closes at 6 on Friday, new video game collection, and so on.

Many businesses have already realized the potential for FourSquare by offering rewards to loyal customers. These generally are along the lines of a free drink for the mayor, or free fries to anyone who’s checked-in more than 10 times. What if libraries offered similar rewards? Perhaps a waived fine, free book from the book sale, the ability to check out an extra DVD, or even just recognition on the electronic message board.