The University of the Philippines sunken garden. Sunken garden is a garden set below level of the ground surrounding it. A refreshing site to see. After attending a class on digital photography, my friend and I tried to shoot pictures inside the campus. She took pictures of me and she toured me around UP. It's a nice place conducive to learning.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
They're Called the Net Generation Librarians by Ronald S. Lim
Old, dour, and extremely conservative. Of course, that stereotypical image of the librarian is far from the truth.
Today’s Filipino librarians are very much in touch with the modern times. For instance, librarians Zarah Gagatiga and Von Totanes both have popular blogs – Filipino Librarian in Action and Filipino Librarian, respectively – that discuss the many different issues that today’s librarians face.
This was also a top concern as librarian Johann Cabbab presided over a forum that tackled the many ways today’s librarians may utilize the immense power of the Internet to their advantage.
The forum was held at the Manila International Book Fair, ongoing until tomorrow, Sunday, Sept. 20, at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia. The forum was dubbed as “Net Generation Librarians” and was organized by The Association of Special Libraries of the Philippines’ (ALSP).
BRAND NEW WORLD
Cabbab defines net generation librarians as those who utilize the tools of current technologies to better provide services to their users.
As an assistant professor of Library and Information Science (LIS) at the University of the Philippines (UP), Cabbab is keen on introducing modern technologies, especially the Internet, to his students. In fact, his masteral thesis – The Development of an Interactive Media Program in Library and Information Science – focused specifically on that. He has also spoken at numerous seminars and workshops regarding the topic.
“Technology has always been a valuable tool in libraries and LIS teaching here and abroad. Libraries and librarians have always been using current technology-driven services to do their job,” he says. “I remember computers being used in the SLIS and the UP Main Library ever since I enrolled in UP in the 90’s, maybe even earlier.”
The prevalence of Web 2.0 technologies likes blogs and social networking sites has also provided today’s librarians an exceptionally effective way of communicating and finding out the needs of its market.
In the United States, librarians have been using microblogging sites like Twitter to announce their new acquisitions, and YouTube to provide virtual tours to its patrons. The same things are also now being done in the Philippines.
“UP Diliman in particular has the Diliman Interactive Learning Center (http://dilc.upd.edu.ph, http://updilc.multiply.com) for the whole UP community. The University Virtual Learning Environment
(uvle, http://www.uvle.up.edu.ph), has been around for quite some time. Quite recently, the IskWiki (UP Community Wiki, http://iskwiki.upd.edu.ph) was also put up,” Cabbab adds.
These changes have also made an impact on how classes are conducted: if students used to bring notebooks to class, they now bring netbooks and laptops so as to easily access today’s technology.
RIDDING OF THE HARD COPY HABIT
But getting to such a comfortable place with regards to technology has not always been an easy journey, Cabbab recalls. While he’s had his own share of technological mishaps, he says that the biggest challenge to overcome was the digital divide that exists in today’s society.
“A lot of students didn’t have net access here or at home. This has changed in the past couple of years with all the cheaper ISP packages as well as the proliferation of net cafes,” he says.
Cabbab says that the challenges that today’s net generation librarians face is one of economics and information. The continuing shift towards digitized books will be something that today’s librarians will have to address.
“While we have a web-accessible Online Public Access Catalog, more Internet access in the library, and more databases with full text and downloadable content, I really don’t know if we’ll fully be able to rid ourselves of hard copy habit,” he says. “Maybe a gradual shift from print to digital in the next couple of years would be okay, but then the problem of economics and the digital divide still comes into view.”
“On the marketing side, I would think being more familiar with webdev, RSS, CMS’es, blogs and social networking would be an edge in letting stakeholders know about current holdings
in one’s institution,” Cabbab says.
Today’s Filipino librarians are very much in touch with the modern times. For instance, librarians Zarah Gagatiga and Von Totanes both have popular blogs – Filipino Librarian in Action and Filipino Librarian, respectively – that discuss the many different issues that today’s librarians face.
This was also a top concern as librarian Johann Cabbab presided over a forum that tackled the many ways today’s librarians may utilize the immense power of the Internet to their advantage.
The forum was held at the Manila International Book Fair, ongoing until tomorrow, Sunday, Sept. 20, at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia. The forum was dubbed as “Net Generation Librarians” and was organized by The Association of Special Libraries of the Philippines’ (ALSP).
BRAND NEW WORLD
Cabbab defines net generation librarians as those who utilize the tools of current technologies to better provide services to their users.
As an assistant professor of Library and Information Science (LIS) at the University of the Philippines (UP), Cabbab is keen on introducing modern technologies, especially the Internet, to his students. In fact, his masteral thesis – The Development of an Interactive Media Program in Library and Information Science – focused specifically on that. He has also spoken at numerous seminars and workshops regarding the topic.
“Technology has always been a valuable tool in libraries and LIS teaching here and abroad. Libraries and librarians have always been using current technology-driven services to do their job,” he says. “I remember computers being used in the SLIS and the UP Main Library ever since I enrolled in UP in the 90’s, maybe even earlier.”
The prevalence of Web 2.0 technologies likes blogs and social networking sites has also provided today’s librarians an exceptionally effective way of communicating and finding out the needs of its market.
In the United States, librarians have been using microblogging sites like Twitter to announce their new acquisitions, and YouTube to provide virtual tours to its patrons. The same things are also now being done in the Philippines.
“UP Diliman in particular has the Diliman Interactive Learning Center (http://dilc.upd.edu.ph, http://updilc.multiply.com) for the whole UP community. The University Virtual Learning Environment
(uvle, http://www.uvle.up.edu.ph), has been around for quite some time. Quite recently, the IskWiki (UP Community Wiki, http://iskwiki.upd.edu.ph) was also put up,” Cabbab adds.
These changes have also made an impact on how classes are conducted: if students used to bring notebooks to class, they now bring netbooks and laptops so as to easily access today’s technology.
RIDDING OF THE HARD COPY HABIT
But getting to such a comfortable place with regards to technology has not always been an easy journey, Cabbab recalls. While he’s had his own share of technological mishaps, he says that the biggest challenge to overcome was the digital divide that exists in today’s society.
“A lot of students didn’t have net access here or at home. This has changed in the past couple of years with all the cheaper ISP packages as well as the proliferation of net cafes,” he says.
Cabbab says that the challenges that today’s net generation librarians face is one of economics and information. The continuing shift towards digitized books will be something that today’s librarians will have to address.
“While we have a web-accessible Online Public Access Catalog, more Internet access in the library, and more databases with full text and downloadable content, I really don’t know if we’ll fully be able to rid ourselves of hard copy habit,” he says. “Maybe a gradual shift from print to digital in the next couple of years would be okay, but then the problem of economics and the digital divide still comes into view.”
“On the marketing side, I would think being more familiar with webdev, RSS, CMS’es, blogs and social networking would be an edge in letting stakeholders know about current holdings
in one’s institution,” Cabbab says.
Clean Slate
The popular author, Stephen Covey, correctly observed, “So often the problem is in the system, not in the people. If you put good people in a bad system, you get bad results. You have to water the flowers you want to grow.” If this is true to corporations and organizations,
this can be true also to families. We are not born bad nor are we born good. We are born into a wonderful, caring and loving families. Others are born into families that are broken and some are raise with one parent because the other one is working abroad. Some are born out of wedlock or what they call single parent. Some are born into wealth and privilege while others see the light of day in the filthy slums. Some are educated, and have insightful parents who carefully nuture and guide their children into adulthood. Others are unfortunate because their parents are insensitive and unloving. The result of which, children grow up without discipline, without character and without even morals. The problem isn’t in the kids but it’s in the family and the environment which they are raised. The environment has great influence on us. Even if some come from a loving and caring family their children turned into vices such as drugs because of peer pressure.This simply proves that Covey’s observation about good people locked into bad system is also true about good kids trapped in bad environment. There are good kids out there who are stuck in environments that crush their spirit and drag them into all kinds of messy situation. Life is sometimes or oftentimes unfair, especially to children. They become victims of circumstances in their lives which they don’t have the capacity to cope up. Children are raised in good earth, others are thrown into rocky, dry land where they are force to grow up and face the harsh realities of life.
There are those children who are allowed to actualize their potentials while others are trapped in a cycle of emotional and moral degradation. What parents need to know is that they are answerable to God if they do not care for their little ones whome they are in charged with. And when we ask God for justice, that is what parents will get if they maltreated their children God has given to them.
this can be true also to families. We are not born bad nor are we born good. We are born into a wonderful, caring and loving families. Others are born into families that are broken and some are raise with one parent because the other one is working abroad. Some are born out of wedlock or what they call single parent. Some are born into wealth and privilege while others see the light of day in the filthy slums. Some are educated, and have insightful parents who carefully nuture and guide their children into adulthood. Others are unfortunate because their parents are insensitive and unloving. The result of which, children grow up without discipline, without character and without even morals. The problem isn’t in the kids but it’s in the family and the environment which they are raised. The environment has great influence on us. Even if some come from a loving and caring family their children turned into vices such as drugs because of peer pressure.This simply proves that Covey’s observation about good people locked into bad system is also true about good kids trapped in bad environment. There are good kids out there who are stuck in environments that crush their spirit and drag them into all kinds of messy situation. Life is sometimes or oftentimes unfair, especially to children. They become victims of circumstances in their lives which they don’t have the capacity to cope up. Children are raised in good earth, others are thrown into rocky, dry land where they are force to grow up and face the harsh realities of life.
There are those children who are allowed to actualize their potentials while others are trapped in a cycle of emotional and moral degradation. What parents need to know is that they are answerable to God if they do not care for their little ones whome they are in charged with. And when we ask God for justice, that is what parents will get if they maltreated their children God has given to them.
Friday, September 18, 2009
The Apple Ipod Mini
Owners of the original Apple iPod clamors for more from the makers of the iPod music experience. The latest ipod player available in the market comes in a smaller and leaner frame, and is marketed in a rainbow of colors. This is the Apple iPod mini.
The Apple iPod mini has a platform of MAC or Windows OS. Some original Apple iPod users have already seen the Apple iPod mini with a new four gigabytes harddrive space for a US$ 249 price tag. It is not a secret that an additional of US$ 50 will get you a fifteen gigabytes iPod that would store somewhere around 2,700 more music files. That is a lot more than the Apple ipod mini.
This is because harddrive space is so much important for Apple iPod users, the original Apple iPod have so much space available to the user of about forty gigabytes. This amount of space can store more than five thousand songs. Aside from this, the original Apple iPod also has a longer battery life.
However, criticizers should consider the frame of the Apple iPod mini. It is slender and is more styled, that which made it seem more functional and more attractive to the eyes and has a more ergonomic feel to the fingers. To most people, it would not be the ideal music player, but to the 99,000 or so Apple iPod mini users, they beg to disagree. The Too Sexy Apple iPod Mini
The Apple iPod mini is compared to a US$ 1,200 purse from Chanel. This is because the US$ 249 Apple iPod mini, with its variety of five colors, brings out class and posh.
It has an anodized body made of aluminum and weighs about 3.6 ounces. It measures about 2 inches in width, 3.6 inches in height, and only about half an inch in thickness. It does not look like it at first glance, but the Apple ipod mini is almost like a featherweight than the original Apple iPod.
It is also silky to the touch and smooth. It also fits wonderfully in your palm. This is the reason for the premium price tag.
The Apple iPod mini also has no external moving parts. You will notice that underneath the smaller 1.67-inch LCD screen lie the light touch-sensitive and highly ergonomic Click Wheel. This Click Wheel is the one which incorporates the Apple iPod mini's other controls. The control's buttons are located on the pad itself. This is much different than the original Apple iPod's four function buttons that is located above the scroll pad.
Anyone who is familiar with the software for the iPod knows about the seamless integration of iPod with iTunes. In no time, you would be cruising with the tunes.
The Apple iPod mini behaves just like exactly as other newer generation Apple iPods. It now even packs a battery life of 8 hours. The original Apple iPods have a longer battery life.
Besides the smaller physical dimensions and the new warm minimalist choices of color, which can be gold, silver, pink, green and blue. A major difference observed between the original Apple iPod and the Apple iPod mini is the harddrive space capacity.
The Apple iPod mini has a tiny Hitachi harddrive that can hold about four gigabytes of music. Music files include AAC, Audible, MP3, WAV and AIFF. This is enough storage for a number of Apple iPod mini users.
Apple iPod users usually prefer to carry an entire library of music any time of the day. Rather than manually selecting and transferring specific songs to the Apple iPod mini. The Apple iPod mini can only hold as much as a fraction of the forty gigabytes music collection.
The Apple iPod mini also has accessories that include the earbuds, a USB 2.0 cable and a FireWire dock connector, an AC adaptor, a belt clip, and the Apple iPod mini software.
The Apple iPod mini could have been more lenient by adding a dock or armband to teh package.
The US$ 29 armband is a great help for joggers who want to listen to good music while jogging and carrying the very lightweight and effectively skip-free Apple iPod mini.
Conclusion
To summarize, the Apple iPod mini has a sleek styling, it is a small size and has an excellent integrated Click wheel. It has a possible disadvantage to the user, though, that is the price per megabyte which is much higher as compared to the original Apple iPod.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)