Wednesday, January 9, 2008

i-List Party Game - Reviewed!


Reviewed by: Anne Murphy, & Nolan (age 13)


The idea behind this game is simple. Two to four people plug their mp3 players into the console, and race to find songs on their own playlist that match specifications from the card that is drawn from the deck. The person with the most points (one per win) when all the cards have been used wins.

This game has the potential to be a lot of fun, but unfortunately a few issues with game play knocked it down to a mediocre rating from both me and my 13 year old son.

Setup was fairly easy, although a Phillips head screwdriver is required to insert the batteries (or a bit of innovation, I used a small fingernail file to loosen and tighten the screw). Once the batteries are in, the console immediately springs to life and man’s voice begins giving instructions. We plugged our iPods into the console and began playing.

We didn’t formally follow the rules. Instead we just decided to use the blue questions (there are four different colored questions on each card), and try some races. At first things went well, as we were getting the hang of scrolling through our playlists as quickly as possible (not an easy feat – do you look through artists, albums, songs…?). After a few questions, however, the man’s voice on the console became annoyingly repetitive as he barked directions at us each time we pushed a button on the console. Soon we were telling him to “be quiet, we get the picture” etc.

One has to know their music collection pretty well to find songs to answer the questions, and we did enjoy the challenge of trying to remember things about our music.

Then the technical problems set in. Each time you press the start button for a new question, a timer begins as players race to find their song. In theory, as soon as somebody finds a song and presses play, the console begins playing the song out loud so all players can decide if it really “answers” the question. When they hit play, a green light lights up at their station and the rest of the players can no longer affect the console. After working perfectly fine for several songs, the console began lighting up whenever I began to scroll through my playlist, even if I was in artists or albums – thus effectively blocking my son from winning, even though I hadn’t actually chosen a song yet. He suggested that perhaps it had to do with the fact I was using one of the new Nanos, which has very sensitive scrolling. Maybe, but that doesn’t explain why it had worked all right earlier, and then started working properly again a little later. He has an older Nano, and didn’t have the problems I did. Also, sometimes the console would not work at all when we selected a song and pressed play.

I think people can enjoy playing the game, and we did get a lot of laughs over some of our answers and even the barking command voice. However, I believe interest will wane quickly if the technical problems persist for players. For an overall score, I’d only give it 2 ½ stars out of five.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Videogames Expand: A Popular New Phase Of Full-Body Playing
By NICK WINGFIELD

What is up and coming…beyond Rock Band.

know your teen celebrities

I tend to be a bit awful about knowing celebrities in general, and teen ones in particular, so I found this list to be pretty helpful:

Top 20 Tween (and Teen) TV Stars

A quick primer for catching up with who young teens are talking about.

Monday, December 31, 2007

good news to end the year

Sometimes it is nice to hear something that makes you think that just maybe all your hard work is paying off:

Study: Web generation heaviest users of public libraries


Rainie added that young adults are the ones likely to have visited libraries as teens and seen their transformation into information hubs, with computers and databases alongside stacks of printed books.

Hooray!

Thursday, December 27, 2007

A lovely article about Westerfeld and Larbalestier

Meet the East Village "It" Couple of Young-Adult Lit
Living large in Y.A.
by Carol Cooper
December 26th, 2007

Makes you want to run away and become a YA author in NYC, no?

Great interview with Nick Hornby

This came out last month, and is one of the most enjoyable author interviews I've read in a while. He says some great things about YA lit and the Alex Awards, too!

The Younger Side of Nick Hornby
by Jessica Murphy
in The Atlantic

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Scholastic's new multi-platform series for tweens

Scholastic Plans to Put Its Branding Iron on a Successor to Harry Potter

I'm not sure this will have much appeal for teens, but it is an interesting concept. It will feature 10 books be various authors including Rick Riordan and Gordon Korman, plus web based games, collectable cards, and cash prizes for readers who puzzle it all out.


“We want to go where the kids are and really be part of their complete world, rather than going to one aspect of their world,” said David Levithan, an executive editorial director at Scholastic. He added, “We talk of it as being subversively educational.”

Monday, December 17, 2007

books into movies in 2008

Over on the YALSA-BK listserve someone just posted a list of all the movies based on kids and teens books coming out next year. WOW! Looks like there could be some really fantastic programming tie-in opportunities here!

Spiderwick Chronicles, books by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi
Jumper by Steven Gould
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan
Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Suess
Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
City of Ember by Jeanne du Prau
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Tale of Desperaux by Kate Dicamillo
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Ball Don’t Lie by Matt de la Pena
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 by Ann Brashares

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

World of Warcraft saves boy's life

A random example of a benefit of playing video games:

After playing World of Warcraft, the 12 year old boy knew how to cope when he was attacked by a moose in the forest.

In the article he describes how he first yelled at the moose, distracting it so his sister got away, then when he got attacked and the animal stood over him he feigned death. "Just like you learn at level 30 in World of Warcraft."


Who would have thought?

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Are web communications oral traditions reborn?

Some interesting perspective on how we communicate online:

Myspacebook.past.: Friending, Ancient or Otherwise
By ALEX WRIGHT for the New York Times
Published: December 2, 2007
Academic researchers are starting to examine that question by taking an unusual tack: exploring the parallels between online social networks and tribal societies. In the collective patter of profile-surfing, messaging and “friending,” they see the resurgence of ancient patterns of oral communication.

I particularly like the conclusion:

Still, the sheer popularity of social networking seems to suggest that for many, these environments strike a deep, perhaps even primal chord. “They fulfill our need to be recognized as human beings, and as members of a community,” Dr. Strate says. “We all want to be told: You exist.”

How can we satisfy this need for community teens?

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Teen Tech Sherpas - cool volunteer program

In US classrooms, 'tech sherpas' assist teachers with computers
In a role reversal, students provide the tech support, creating a 'culture of respect' between teachers and teens.
By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo in Christian Science Monitor

As American schools look to incorporate 21st-century technologies into everyday lessons, some teachers are intimidated by technical glitches or the prospect of being left behind in a generational divide. Teachers have even become targets of cyberbullying, with students taking secret videos of an angry or embarrassing moment in class and posting them on popular websites such as YouTube. But this district and many others are trying to foster more collaboration – staving off problems by putting students' enthusiasm to constructive use.


I love the idea of giving students such empowered volunteer opportunities. How could we make something like this work in our libraries?

What Do Youth Volunteers Want?

from The Everyday Giving Blog

The following list of traits that should be a part of any volunteer project that involve youth:

  1. Provides a new experience
  2. Shows "immediate" progress in making a difference
  3. Is fun
  4. Is well prepared and organized
  5. Encourages (but doesn't force) participation
  6. Matches work to skills of each youth volunteer
  7. Involves a group of friends and other youth
  8. Work is challenging
  9. Adequate number of supervisors and trainers
  10. Future volunteer opportunities are available
Something to think about with our teen volunteers. What could we do to provide such an experience?

Monday, December 3, 2007

rainy day aphorism from Lemony Snicket

A library is like an island in the middle of a vast sea of ignorance, particularly if the library is very tall and the surrounding area has been flooded.

- Lemony Snicket, from Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid

Here is hoping your area hasn't been flooded.

Friday, November 30, 2007

seniors + teens = a winning combinations

Old Bridge library unites generations
Home News Tribune Online 11/26/07
by TOM CAIAZZA
OLD BRIDGE — You're never too old to rock out.

Seniors, alongside teenage volunteers, tested their mettle in the ubiquitous air-guitar video game and various other games available for the Nintendo Wii gaming system as the first step in the library's plan to make seniors more technologically proficient and to include them in what Allan Kleiman, assistant director of the Old Bridge Public Library, called the inevitable redesign of libraries.


I love the idea of doing a program like this, especially as we explore new ways to use technologies and give teens meaningful and fun volunteer opportunities in our libraries.

I Used to Believe...



If you’re looking for an easy bulletin board idea that’s fun for teens, this one has been very popular at Maryville. I put up the words “I used to believe…” on a plain background, set out blank construction paper circles with a bunch of colored sharpie and waited for responses. You might want to put up a couple samples so people get the idea, but we get several responses in our box each day, so it won’t take long to fill your board.

It’s not uncommon to see groups of teens gathered by the board reading what’s already up there and adding their own. The responses have been as different as teens are…Here are some of my favorites!
• I used to believe that the library was only for research.
• That the library was boring…but it’s not—it’s Awesome!
• I use 2 believe that graduating would be fun, but now I’m scared—Class of “08”
• That having a little brother would be cool
• That it would be awesome when my older sisters would move out (its not)
• That we would be best friends forever. Then you moved away.
• That if I forgot to tie my shoes my feet would fall off.
• Elected officials in the United States Government worked for the people who elected them, not for themselves.
• That if I wished hard enough, I could go into the TV.
• That if you plant Skittles a rainbow would come out
• My sister was an Alien.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Lack of sleep is impacting teens

Snooze or Lose Overstimulated, overscheduled kids are getting at least an hour’s less sleep than they need, a deficiency that, new research reveals, has the power to set their cognitive abilities back years. By Po Bronson
New York Magazine

Apparently getting more sleep improves learning, reduces traffic accidents, and might possibly lower childhood obesity.


Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Keeping up with Asian pop culture

I've found two great sources in my quest to learn more about Asian pop culture...

Giant Robot - print magazine and website highlighting visual arts, music, literature, and the famous names in Asian pop culture

PingMag - Tokyo based e-zine "About Design and Making Things!"


I've been looking through Issue 50 of Giant Robot, and it could be worth considering for out teen magazine collection.

Game Boys - portraits of gamers


This is a interesting and lovely collection of portraits of teen boys playing video games...a subject rarely commented upon for its beauty.

Game Boys
March/April 2007 Issue of Mother Jones
Photo Essay by Shauna Frischkorn

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

not the same old song and dance

The game Rock Band was realeased today making headlines not just in video game publications, but in the financial pages as well. http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/NYTU07620112007-1.htm

Rock Band ushers in a more social level of gaming. Built along the lines of Guitar Hero, Rock Band allows players to take part in other aspects of being in a band, adding vocals and drums to bass and guitar. Four players can play songs cooperatively as well as play dress up with their virtual rocker buying outfits and changing hair, accessories, and makeup.

Not only does this mean expanded participation during gaming events (as 4 can play off one console instead of just one or two players) but teens can create virtual rock and roll identities, which even this librarian found addictive.

While only hardcore gamers may be aware of Rock Band's release, once word begins to spread I see it becoming a gaming phenomenon making Guitar Hero yesterday's news.

Online petition in support of school libraries

As described in this morning's SEATTLE TIMES, the Legislature is being petitioned to strengthen the standards for schools and provide for school/teacher librarians as mandated staff in the Basic Education Act.

World-Class Education for Washington: Support School Libraries & Information Technology