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Throughout the month of June, iSchool Professor Scott Nicholson taught IST 600 Gaming in Libraries in three online spaces: • The Syracuse University YouTube channel, where video lectures and guest speakers were posted, and where students enrolled in the class were required to post weekly video responses. • American Library Association (ALA) Connect, a social networking site for the ALA that hosted the discussion of students, speakers, librarians, and other participants from the general public • The iSchool’s online learning management system, a private space for enrolled students to ask questions and submit their assignments Now, the course is archived and available to anyone interested in watching the video posts from Nicholson and class members, and people can continue to post their video responses to YouTube. Although the course was designed for librarians or people who volunteer at libraries, it provides useful information about the evolution of gaming and wokring and playing in online environments. Nicholson decided to offer the course through this open forum for several reasons, including the desire to reach public librarians who are interested in learning more about incorporating gaming into their libraries. “Many libraries are interested in gaming but don’t know where to start,” Nicholson said. “My hope is that the videos will help libraries be successful with their gaming programs from the beginning.” He also recognizes the potential hazards of teaching a course in a public space such as YouTube. “There are a lot of people there who post negative messages and spam,” Nicholson said. “As it’s a public forum where anyone can post behind a user name, I expect the tone of the discussions may be different than what students expect in an online course. That said, this also prepares them for what can happen when they become librarians and start to host community 2.0 spaces, so that is part of what we will be talking about in the closed portion of the course.” Participants in the class can expect to gain a solid understanding of the spectrum of types of games, know how libraries typically use games, and be able to select games for their own libraries based upon the goals of the program and the mission of the library. They will learn how to start a gaming program, how to facilitate the activity, how to assess the program, and how to tie the assessment back to the library’s mission. Nicholson’s biggest goal for the course, however, is to bring together students, librarians, gamers, and representatives of the gaming industry. He is hoping that some of the 4,000 people who follow his “Board Games with Scott” video series will join in the course discussions. The course is being offered by the Syracuse iSchool to its students and students enrolled at partner schools through the Web-based Information Science Education (WISE) Consortium. The course is being funded by the Kauffman Enitiative Project at Syracuse University. While Nicholson sees more and more social media tools being used in the classroom, he acknowledges that universities face the challenge of receiving compensation for their content. “Universities survive because people are willing to pay for education,” he said. “Social media tends to produce content that is free. If the course is then being given away, this isn’t sustainable.” Yet, he wants to explore ways in which universities can offer some content, such as continuing education courses or information that could serve the public, through these public venues. Anyone interested in participating in “Gaming in Libraries” course can learn more at: http://gamesinlibraries.org/course. Subscribe to our FREE Ezine and be eligible for Health News, discounted products/services and coupons related to your Health. We publish 24/7. HealthNewsDigest.com Top of Page 
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