Going Virtual

Going Virtual: Distributed Communities of Practice contributes to the understanding of how more subtle kinds of knowledge can be managed in a distributed international environment. It describes work in the field of knowledge management, with a specific focus on the management of knowledge which cannot be managed by the normal capture-codify-store approach and provides answers to the questions of what is the nature of the more subtle kind of knowledge and how can it be managed in the distributed environment?

From the moment the pandemic took hold in Spring 2020, libraries and library workers have demonstrated their fortitude and flexibility by adapting to physical closures, social distancing guidelines, and a host of other challenges. Despite the obstacles, they’ve been able to stay connected to their communities—and helped connect the people in their communities to each other, as well as to the information and services they need and enjoy. Ostman and ALA’s Public Programs Office (PPO) here present a handpicked cross-section of successful programs, most of them virtual, from a range of different libraries. Featuring events designed to support learning, spark conversation, create connection, or simply entertain, the ideas here will inspire programming staff to try similar offerings at their own libraries. Showcasing innovation in action as well as lessons learned, programs include COVID-19 Misinformation Challenge, featuring an email quiz, to encourage participants to separate fact from fiction; weekly virtual storytimes; community cooking demonstrations via Zoom; an online grocery store tour, complete with tips about shopping healthy on a budget; a virtual beer tasting that boasted 80 attendees; socially distanced "creativity crates" for summer reading; an online Minecraft club for kids ages 6 and up; a Zoom presentation about grieving and funerals during COVID, featuring the director of a local funeral home; Art Talk Tuesday, a one-hour, docent-led program; a virtual lecture on the history of witchcraft, presented by a public library in partnership with a university rare book room, that drew thousands of viewers; "knitting for knewbies" kits for curbside pickup; Songs from the Stacks, an ongoing virtual concert series in the style of NPR’s “Tiny Desk”; a pink supermoon viewing party that included people howling at the moon together from their homes on Facebook Live; and many others

In a captivating tour of cities famous and forgotten, acclaimed historian Ben Wilson tells the glorious, millennia-spanning story how urban living sparked humankind's greatest innovations. “A towering achievement.... Reading this book is like visiting an exhilarating city for the first time—dazzling.” —The Wall Street Journal During the two hundred millennia of humanity’s existence, nothing has shaped us more profoundly than the city. From their very beginnings, cities created such a flourishing of human endeavor—new professions, new forms of art, worship and trade—that they kick-started civilization. Guiding us through the centuries, Wilson reveals the innovations nurtured by the inimitable energy of human beings together: civics in the agora of Athens, global trade in ninth-century Baghdad, finance in the coffeehouses of London, domestic comforts in the heart of Amsterdam, peacocking in Belle Époque Paris. In the modern age, the skyscrapers of New York City inspired utopian visions of community design, while the trees of twenty-first-century Seattle and Shanghai point to a sustainable future in the age of climate change. Page-turning, irresistible, and rich with engrossing detail, Metropolis is a brilliant demonstration that the story of human civilization is the story of cities.

In Going Online, one of our most respected online learning leaders offers insights into virtual education—what it is, how it works, where it came from, and where it may be headed. Robert Ubell reaches back to the days when distance learning was practiced by mail in correspondence schools and then leads us on a tour behind the screen, touching on a wide array of topics along the way, including what it takes to teach online and the virtual student experience. You’ll learn about: how to build a sustainable online program; how to create an active learning online course; why so many faculty resist teaching online; how virtual teamwork enhances digital instruction; how to manage online course ownership; how learning analytics improves online instruction. Ubell says that it is not technology alone, but rather unconventional pedagogies, supported by technological innovations, that truly activate today's classrooms. He argues that innovations introduced online—principally peer-to-peer and collaborative learning—offer significantly increased creative learning options across all age groups and educational sectors. This impressive collection, drawn from Ubell's decades of experience as a digital education pioneer, presents a powerful case for embracing online learning for its transformational potential.

Anchored in new institutionalist approaches in political science, the book provides a comparative in-depth analysis of information technology effects in the foreign ministries of Canada, Norway and Slovakia.

"Our subject is how virtual teams actually work; how they use networked electronic information and communications systems as the infrastructure for their teaming processes"--Introduction.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The #1 bestselling author of On Fire shows us how to recapture and harness our childlike sense of wonder in order to become more engaged, successful, and fulfilled. “Engaging . . . O’Leary encourages us to see the world through a child’s eyes.”—Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays with Morrie There once was a time when we joyfully raised our hands to answer questions, connected easily with others, believed that anything was possible, and fearlessly jumped into new experiences. A time when we viewed each day not as something to endure, but as a marvelous gift to explore and savor—when we danced through our lives in awe of the ordinary moments and eager for the promise of tomorrow. Unfortunately, that’s far from our experience today. Instead, we feel disconnected and jaded. Social media reminds us that we don’t measure up, and the mainstream media barrages us with constant negativity. Many of us find ourselves caught in a life of dogged responsibility and mind-numbing repetition. The daily struggle to earn a living has caused us to lose the sense of wonder with which we once greeted every day. In his new book, bestselling author John O’Leary invites us to consider that it is possible to once again navigate the world as a child does. Identifying five senses children innately possess and that we’ve lost touch with as we age, O’Leary shares emotional, humorous, and inspirational stories intertwined with fascinating new research showing how each of us can reclaim our childlike joy, and why doing so will change how we interact with the world. In Awe reveals how we can regain that ability to see fresh insights, reach for new solutions, and live our best lives.

Free yourself from self-limiting beliefs and fears that keep you stuck. This book lays out a blueprint for how to take control of your life and begin living your dreams. We all dream. We all imagine. And we all want to live our best life. But why is it that 90 percent of people admit that if they got to live their life over, they would live it differently? What keeps us comfortable with the status quo and unable to get beyond “What if”? In part 1 of this book, Dr. Shirley Davis addresses these and other questions by guiding the reader through a personal journey of self-discovery, a search for significance, and an examination of the self-imposed limitations that can hijack our purpose, power, and possibilities. In part 2, she details the readers' journies toward realizing their dreams by reimagining their lives, identifying their “why,” and developing a life plan to stay focused and accountable. She describes the right questions to ask, the right mindset to adopt, and the right relationships to build that will enable everyone to live the life he or she has always imagined. Dr. Davis reveals the necessary steps for releasing the limits we place on ourselves as a result of life's tests, wrong thinking, and bad decisions. She helps readers overcome paralyzing fears that keep dreams on pause and inspires the confidence to jump first and grow wings on the way down.

“Generation Alpha” applies to children born between 2011 and 2025. They will be raised in smaller and constantly evolving families, digital natives, more tech-savvy than previous generations, globally-connected, diverse, and will live and interact with many more generations. Because of these differences, the next generation and the nation is transforming in ways that adults have never experienced before. Valora Washington invites you to consider how to advocate for and influence the trajectories of this next generation. Raising Generation Alpha Kids looks at how this generation of young children presents new opportunities and challenges, and supports and informs the two principal groups of adults in children’s lives—their families and early childhood educators.

Book Summary Circle of Helmets is a poignant and fascinating account of one infantryman's tour of duty in Vietnam during some of that war's heaviest fighting as told through first hand accounts written by that young soldier just hours after actual combat, coupled with raw and intense poems about those battlefield experiences written by that same man some thirty years later. Follow the author's journey from a brash, inexperienced youth eager for his first combat mission to a seasoned, hardened veteran striving to do his duty as a combat leader and come out alive. Honest and powerful, Circle of Helmets is a unique and very personal portrayal of combat in the Vietnam War and one man's efforts to face his memories of that war decades later. Forget any other poetry books you have ever read this one unforgettable!