In the process of writing the last post, I was reminded of my political roots. A loss doesn't mean you roll over and except the result. A loss means you pick yourself up and work again for the next fight.

I know I share some of the blame for the loss of the "research intensive" designation. I could have lobbied harder and stayed more on top each phase. I assumed too much.

As I finished my last post, I started new emails to the committee members and outreach to the incoming Writing Center director. This should start laying the groundwork for the next phases.

I'm thankful for my political losses and for those organizers that shaped me. I've even brought the pin I was given after my first loss. Don't mourn - organize. This discussion may not be the focus of Research Quest, but I needed place to voice my thoughts and pick myself back up.

Now back to the general focus of Research Quest, even if it's been almost six months...



image via: www.laborarts.org

After 6 months of no activity on this blog, the growing assumption is a slow quiet internet death.

But I'm hear to say that it is not the case. I'm not dead, yet. There are still people finding the site and emailing about posts, articles, and classroom ideas. In the words of my colleague, I was on a blogcation. There are plenty of others who took planned and unplanned leaves from their writing. And we all have reasons.

Mine... the sudden death of my father. He died a few days after my last post. I am thankful to have had an open relationship with my father and we never hesitated to say "I love you." That being said, rarely a day goes by that I do not think of him in some fashion or another. In addition to this emotional tramua, as the Spring Semester wore on, the entire library began the preparation for a moving our existing collection and staff to a new library building. All in all, I was not in a mental or physical mindset to write.

I did continue to research and present. And I am back to needing a place organize, share, and shape my thoughts and ideas. Thus, I am back writing again. Over the next few posts, I will catch things up and talk more about my renewed energy and focus for video games and information literacy.

Starting up with where I stopped 6 months ago is a good jumping off point. My post on the state of video games, learning, and academic libraries was responded to by Christy Sich over at Bibliographic Games. Christy had one of the earlier articles about video games and information literacy and her experience and insight are appreicated. She ended her post with:

It's important to imbed information literacy into the curriculum - so a game-based information literacy approach should also be embedded.

Our campus is in the process of revising it's general education requirements and information literacy is currently included at the same level with writing and speaking/communication across the curriculum. Working on a draft of information literacy objectives, outcomes, course requirements has taken time away from video game research, but it has also allowed me to begin looking for games that fit these outcomes. Over the course of this academic year, I will write more about how I'm incorporating games and gaming strategies into the structure information literacy objectives and hopefully curriculum.

But for now, I'll catch myself and anyone else up on the last few months. There are also some new projects that I will be writing about, researching, and reflecting on.

Hello again to anyone who hasn't updated their RSS feeds in a while. And hello to anyone new out there reading.




image from Pythonline

I spent the night glued to twitter feeds and message boards last night reading about the UGO buy out of 1up and the cancelation of EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly).  The writers there consistently spoke with a unique voice in video game journalism and I’m sorry to see many of them go.  Their writings, shows, and podcasts were a part of my routine.  Three of their podcasts filled my MP3 player every week for the last two years.  Over that time, people came and went.  Relationships were cultivated.  Trust was built.  I’ve told many people that I spend more time writing and reading about video games than I do playing.  The 1up.com staff was a large part of my gaming experience.  They will be missed.

EGM was a video game institution.  It was about to enter it’s 20^th year with its final issue.  I remember seeing the very first issue of EGM on newsstands as a kid, but it wasn’t until issue number 4 that I became a regular reader.  Even as a middle school kid, I was reading about games from numerous magazines (Nintendo Power, GamePro, EGM,  Computer and Video Games, Computer Gaming World).  One perspective was not good enough even back then… it’s no wonder I’m teaching information literacy.  But EGM stood out above the rest.  Nintendo Power was for the fan in me, Gamepro had a fun kid friendly style with reviews, but EGM felt honest, harsh even at times.  Video games got poor ratings.  And who didn’t wonder who Sushi-X and Quatermann were?

EGM is a part of my gaming history as it is for many video game players.  While the death of EGM and print video game magazines was written on the wall for a while now… the loss is not softened. 

Thank you to all the EGM writers and editors over the years.  Your work has helped video game players question sources, look for additional perspectives, and see their hobby and passion as something more than the electronic “toy” it was back at the start of your run in 1989.

Cold. A brisk winter wind. A night filled with anticipation. Excitement both for the new gaming experiences and potential profit. Two years ago this week, the Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii were released within days of each other. 

It was a two years ago today that my godson, Luke Stempa died.

Luke was a gift.

While I have few words to describe him right now, thanks to the tightening in my stomach and an overall sense of loss. After moving to De Pere, where Luke's family is, it is bittersweet. I wish he was here to share in Mario Kart races and Star Wars discussions. I know he would be excited about the lightsaber battling Star Wars: Clone Wars game and we could have logged hours in it together. But I am thankful to be closer to his family and continue to be a part of their lives... honoring those who are gone by loving those left behind.

Luke was and is an inspiration for me and my work on this site. Because of Luke's physical conditions he was limited in sports and other activities, but much of Luke's identity, and learning came through his life as a gamer. In gaming any physical struggles fell away and he was who he and those who loved him truly saw himself as; an intelligent, strategic, problem solver responding to multiple points of information and understanding it all. Whether helping others in Runescape or toying with the Dark and Light sides in KOTOR, he embodied what games could teach and how students could learn through them.

Here are posts about Luke and his continued influence in my life, one from a month after his death and another from this past spring. I know that he would love the work and discussions going on here.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family this day and everyday.

Luke, I love you and miss you. Thank you for the games we played, the lightsaber battles together, and the love we shared.

(Part of this post was first published last year on the anniversary of Luke's death. I will continue to post a reflection to Luke as a way to honor him, focus me on the educational aspects of games, and continue to work toward helping all students learn through video games and gaming strategies.)

It's been two months since I last posted. Two months, I'm sorry. Unfortunately this isn't the first time I've gone on a long blogging sabbatical, but this my time away is directly related to moving, a new house, and a new job. If there is anyone surprised to see me back... thank you. I'm glad to be back.

Rather go into all the details of what has kept me away - here are a few of the highlights:

Snagged a Wii the week of Wii Fit's release. While my sons were excited they were disappointed that I didn't get Mario Kart Wii. I did pick up one of the last copies in Dubuque, IA of Wii Fit on it's launch day. After checking 4 stores, the 5th had 3 copies left by 6:00 pm. My wife and I were excited to try it. I was not as excited to find out my BMI put me just above the "normal" line into the "overweight" range. But that whole BMI issue has already been discussed. It's "Brain Age" for your body. It's been two months now and I'm still playing. Granted not playing as frequently as I should but I'm playing 3 to 4 times a week. I'm coming up on my 2 month goal and I'm not going to make it. But I still want to keep playing, both alone and with my kids.

The end of May was my final days in Dubuque. I said my final goodbyes to the University of Dubuque and what a goodbye! The kindness of the staff and the support they've given over the years was amazing. I will be forever grateful. And to top it all off they held a going away party filled with 80's music and Wii Sports. I couldn't ask for anything more. Thank you.

Saying goodbye to Dubuque and the University of Dubuque meant moving to De Pere, WI and saying hello to St. Norbert College. The first two weeks of June (before starting library work) were filled with work. Moving into a new house, cleaning, painting, cleaning, building, cleaning some more, and rebuilding made starting "work" feel like a break from all the house projects. After working on our house from 7:30 to at least 10:00 everyday, a regular workday sounds like a break.

The blank slate of my office parallels the blank slate of my new position. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to build an information literacy program here, but there is a lot of work that can be done. Over the past month, I've had chances to meet with a variety of faculty, staff, and students around campus. There is a lot of interest in my position and people open to change and new ideas.

I met with the Associate Academic Dean and chair of the general education committee. He is an exciting person, filled with passion and I look forward to working with him. We met to talk about the college's work to rewrite their general education curriculum, specifically about including information literacy into the curriculum. While this will be a process that takes time, I am excited about the possibility to help shape (or at least strongly advocate) for information literacy across the curriculum. The library has the support of the Associate Academic Dean and he wants to make sure we are not only at the table, but part of the curriculum.

I'm excited about all the potential here and look forward to sharing the growth that we accomplish. Since starting the job at St. Norbert, the house projects have continued. House projects are the major contributor to my lack of blogging. New garage, windows, and now updating the kitchen. There is a never ending stream of projects. By the time I've stopped working on projects each night finding the mental stimulation to blog has been a real challenge. But enough of the excuses, I'm back on a regular basis now.

So after all the transitions of past months, I'll be back and blogging again on a more regular basis. I've written a number of posts over the past weeks and attended LOEX of the West and ALA's Annual Conference so there are a number of posts that I will be putting the finishing touches on my comments and applications over the next weeks.

Thank you for sticking with me. The new job will bring new applications of gaming and information literacy to continue to discuss and share.

A couple of months ago an announcement and call for submissions went out for a forth coming journal, International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations . I had worked with the editor-in-chief, Richard Ferdig, before and he was looking for editors for the journal. It sounded like an exciting opportunity and a way to become more involved with educational games and research. I submitted my bio, CV, and statement of interest and was very pleased to find out I was accepted.

Their editorial review board reads like a who's who. It is filled with people who's work, application, and innovation I admire. And somehow, I managed to find a spot as a co-book review editor. I'm currently working on a book review for the issue, contacting publishers for review copies, and starting to line up future reviewers. I am excited because this position will help keep me focused on educational gaming applications and connected to the larger research community.

The journal itself looks good and the group working on it is incredible. More information on the journal can be found here, and the general mission of the journal has me looking forward to the first issue:

International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations publishes research articles, theoretical critiques, and book reviews related to the development and evaluation of games and computer-mediated simulations. One main goal of this peer-reviewed, international journal is to promote a deep conceptual and empirical understanding of the roles of electronic games and computer-mediated simulations across multiple disciplines. A second goal is to help build a significant bridge between research and practice on electronic gaming and simulations, supporting the work of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.

If anyone has any book review or journal editor experiences or tips they want to share... I'm listening.

And for those interested, the journal is always looking for submissions.

... the staff sets up a gaming day for your going away party.

Today I had my farewell reception at the University of Dubuque and the library staff organized an event. I not really a big event kind of person and always wondered what people would say to me at something like this. It turns out, they said an awful lot of nice things. Surprising nice, inspiring, and moving comments about my work with the University.

At LOEX this past weekend, I made an brief comment to my co-worker, and future Assistant Director Anne Marie Gruber that I'd love my last impression to be gathering people together and playing Wii. I thought it would keep things fun and continue to advocate for video games.

Anne Marie took the comment and ran with it. I was shocked to find Wii Sports set up. It was great to see staff and faculty try Wii Tennis and Bowling. And even the faculty that didn't try it were talking about it. I was happy that the library staff helped keep the conversation of video games and gaming general on campus. Not only did they keep the conversation going, but our director, Mary Anne Knefel, took time to help my youngest son with Wii bowling. Thank you Mary Anne.

Thank you to all the library staff who put the event on, you really made me feel valued. And thank you to the University for seven years of growth, education, and community.

Since I'm an academic librarian, my RSS feeds for public libraries are on the lighter side. So this may be old news to some of you, but I'm still excited by the activity of this partnership.

After returning from LOEX tonight, there was just enough time to get to my local comic book shop for Free Comic Book Day. With my previous readings into narrative and transmedia, I was interested in the literacy and library connection. A quick search for "free comic book day" and "libraries" resulted in a large number of libraries partnering with comics.
I was overjoyed to find the sheer volume of libraries actively creating partnerships with local comic stores and taking part in free comic book day. ilovelibraries.org summed up the potential of the day nicely:

Aside from providing free exposure to many of the most exciting projects in the comics industry, Free Comic Book Day also presents an opportunity for libraries with graphic novel collections to partner up with local comic book stores. The expertise and product familiarity of the people at your local comic book store can often prove to be an invaluable resource, and the community outreach emphasis of Free Comic Book Day makes it an ideal situation for letting graphic novel fans know about what your library has to offer.

Local newspaper coverage from Norman, OK

The event is a single day when participating comic book shops and libraries around the world give away books to promote interest in the comic and graphic novel formats.

Some blogs highlighted the comic book store partnerships, As Madison did across the Madison, WI Public library system. Others, like Niles, IL used the day to promote existing graphic novel collection. I like Austin, TX Libraries approach to the day, helping promote the day for their local comic book stores and then providing addition copies at the libraries on Monday. Pikes Peak, CO used the to not only provide and promote comics but to provide some educational programming about the history of comics and show a few comic related films.

New Jersey State Library even got into the act.
And finally having the DIY Librarian blog about it helps raise the connection to libraries a lot more than my post.

As a comics read for over half my life, I am thankful to be able to work in a profession that recognizes and celebrates my passions and works to inspire that passion in others.

While I've continue to live, work, and go about with my daily life. I am living toward the bottom of Maslow's Hierarchy. The past two weeks were (and still are) filled with trying to provide and find shelter for my family. The security of the need for shelter has filled every night in terms of time and emotional commitment. Finding a house is not going well.

My blogging absence is directly related to spending my nights looking, bidding, countering, reviewing finances, and looking some more. I have started a number of posts over the last two weeks, I obviously have not finished them. I am hopeful that over the next days I will return to them and post them.

As I'm returning to blogging, I'm hopeful to begin moving back up the hierarchy and meeting the social and ego needs as well.

In the meantime, I'm back to looking for a house. 23 houses down... ? to go. We thought we had a couple very solid options, but those fell through. Now my wife and I are at the stage of determining our sacrifices and trade-offs. Wish us luck.



Image via Flickr.com by mikemindel

Now that I've promoted the open position at my current library and the library has announced my replacement, it is time to talk about my new position.

I was offered and accepted a position at St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI. The college is just outside of Green Bay and is about 2000 students. You can learn more about the college here.

My new position is Information Literacy and Instruction librarian. The Todd Wehr Library has an exciting director who is moving the library forward in new and interesting ways. The staff is full of dedicated and eager people, whom I'm looking forward to working with. The campus has also just broken ground for a new library. St. Norbert College also recently announced a new President. There are a lot of changes happening on campus, and I'm excited to have the chance to be part of them.

The focus of the library is to grow and formalize their instruction program. My new position was created to build their instruction program, develop an overall plan, implement information literacy across the curriculum, and assess the program. I will also be helping train and update the library staff in pedagogy and instruction. The position has the support of faculty, the dean, and the writing center. I'm looking forward to working with them all to successfully build and jump start their information literacy program.

I'm already starting to think about the position and I will be writing about the ideas here. The chance to help jump start a program with video game strategies and pedagogy is exciting. The library staff are interested for my experience with video games and student engagement.

It is an exciting position with many challenges, but I know that what I've learned at the University of Dubuque will help me bring this same level of quality service provided by the Charles C. Myers Library to other students. I have the opportunity to help serve students and help contribute to their overall education.

While I'm shifting positions, colleges, and cities - my focus, research, and instructional application of video games in information literacy will continue. I hope that you will join me in this new application and adventure.

Wow, I'm sorry.

2 weeks since my last post. Ouch.

Reason: I'm moving. Moving jobs. Moving houses. Moving cities.

The last few months were filled with a lot of decisions, some easy, some incredibly challenging. It's been almost a month since I received a job offer, struggled through the discernment process, had multiple conversations with both my current and future employer, and come to a decision. As of June, I will have a new position at a new college.

Since my last post, I told my employer of my decision and spent the following week talking with the rest of the staff about my decision, thanking them for all that I've learned, and working through my personal emotional fallout. Moving on after seven years, puts a strain on a lot of working relationships and friendships. Part of my blogging blackout, was devoted to both the time and emotional focus to work through these transitions.

The rest of my blogging blackout and my free time was eaten up by preparing our house for sale, finding a buyer, working with them through the paperwork, looking for a new house, and starting to pack our current house. Between cleaning, fixing, packing, and searching my evenings were booked. Granted we still are looking for a house and packing... but having a buyer for our house is a huge relief.

So with all the changes, stress, and excitement over the last few weeks, I'm glad to be through most of it and moving on and looking ahead. I'll be back and blogging on a more consistent basis again.

As I posted last night, I taught the Library Dusk database review today. The information literacy session went okay, but it was a powerful example of the gaming strategy of "reducing the risk of failure." I've written in some detail before about applying "risk taking" video game strategy, and I'm thankful for that perspective today.

The session started well. The student-directed multiple path review got the class of upper class students engaged. While all but one of the students had previous information literacy sessions with me, the vast majority were interested in student-choice driven review. The activity worked well to review both catalog and database navigation. It was effective in challenging students' previous assumptions. The activity includes choices of specific databases, books, and internet sources. Students first started by choosing internet search engines as the place to start. Given the scholarly requirements of the assignment, starting with the internet would not be the most efficient. I asked a few detailed questions about the type of sources they would find online and they came to the conclusion that their could be better options.

Students were surprised that their assumptions about what search terms would bring the best results were incorrect. Breaking their assumptions, opened up some discussion about what they expected to happen and what their rationale was for the choices. Similar to last year's session, the students engaged with each other and challenged each others' opinions. I served more to help guide the discussion and not to present the content. The personalization the students had with the ability to determine the how, where, and what should be searched, kept them engaged and debating during the course of the review.

Unfortunately, not everything was that rosy. Some hyper links that I tested before the class did not work and my power point slides from MS Powerpoint froze up about half way through. I was lucky that the class covered much main review topics.

Keeping in mind the video game strategy of "reduced risk," I looked back on today as an example of flexibility, not frustration. Having a review specifically designed for Power Point created tension for me once it froze. But because I'm trying to model video game strategies, I was able to use that turn of events for the better.

Every instruction librarian has a bad session and days we wish we could "do over." By keeping the gaming strategy in mind, we can have "do overs." While the same class can never come back, there are more opportunities. Another class - another chance.

Video games reduce risk so that the player continues to play.
Librarians and teachers want to reduce risk for our students so they continue to be engaged.
We need to reduce the risk for ourselves so that we can continue to innovate, try, and advance us all.

Spectrobes for the Nintendo DS has eaten up most of my gaming time since I first blogged about it. But my video game time has turned into father son time. As I've discussed earlier, my interest in Spectrobes (2007) was based on middle schoolers who choose the game over Pokemon. While the reviews were mixed, 7.5 from 1 Up & 6.5 from Game Informer, I've somehow leveled my creatures up to around 114 of the 128 level cap.

Now before you snicker, go back and look at how Spectrobes is an exercise in patience and persistence. I've used this to connect and help teach my 4 year-old son. My son, like many 4 year-olds, has issues with control and patience. Digging for fossils in the game has helped my son understand the benefits of approaching something carefully and not trying to rush through. It's working in the game. Most weekday mornings we spent some time before work/school digging up some fossils and while he initially struggled he continued to improve. While this patience and control doesn't always carry over into daily life, I've used his video game experience to help remind him during difficult situations.

I bring this up because I do not believe my son's experience is unique. Learning through video games is a useful tool in the larger discussion of kids and video games. Tracey John over at MTV's Multiplayer spent this week and last talking with parents about when kids are old enough for video games. The discussion generated a good number of comments from parents and gamers alike.

As video games are criticized and challenged in the press and government it is important to keep discussing the positive learning experiences children can have through games. Some of my son's positive behavior stems from what he's learning in Spectrobes. Video games can be good teachers at all age levels.

Over the semester break I spent many hours wrapped up in the world of Sid Meir’s Pirates for the PSP. The game puts the player in the role of young man in the 1600 who turns to piracy to rescue his family from an evil baron. The player can choose to align with the English, French, Dutch, or Spanish at the start of the game, but after that the world is wide open. Like any good game, Pirates drew me into it’s world and made me want to clear the seas of other pirates, claim ports for my nation, and win the heart of a governor’s daughter. While playing though, I’m learning through procedural literacy. I’m learning about a variety of ships and sailing requirements during that timeframe. I’m learning about the simplified political dynamics of the exploration and settlement of the “new world.” While the game is male centric (no female pirates and an overemphasis on bar maids) it is an engaging and thought provoking experience.

Thanks to Sid Mier’s and Civilization, I’ve played educational video games for the last 15 years. One of my high school history teachers was using video games to teach with the first Civilization. As a freshmen and sophomore in high school, I didn’t see the value in using it to teach. Friends at school talked about how great the class was because all you did was play the game. And that was and still is my concern with games that teach… the need for reflection and discussion. While my friends were excited to just play the game, the teacher did incorporate discussions about strategy, tactics, technology, and civilization building into class. Combing the game with discussion and historical lectures and readings created a much deeper understanding than just traditional textbook based teaching.

Not only was the game useful within the classroom, it also created enough investment and excitement that students went to the library during study halls and lunch hours to keep playing. The game was an experience that grew outside of class. And this is still a strength and a goal of educational games today – players that keep playing & learning long after the class period is over. As a testament to my learning (or loneliness) there were many Saturday nights during high school that I spent playing and replaying historical maps and writing new histories with Civilization.

I returned to the Civilization series in 2003 while I was student teaching. I spent many long nights preparing lesson plans and playing Civilization II. I was the one now teaching freshmen in high school about world history. But I missed the opportunity to learn from my own experiences. Playing Civilization created a deeper meaning for me in high school, but I didn’t bring that into my student teaching. While I was playing and creating histories at night on my computer, I didn’t bring the game into the classroom. Looking back on it now, I wish I had.

The procedural literacy that students build through games is important for making a subject feel more alive and developing a deeper understanding. While I brought other technologies (laptops and palm pilots) into the classroom I didn’t bring video games. I played things conservatively and stuck with the status quo. I missed my chance in a high school classroom, but I’m working to create those opportunities within college classrooms. I hope that the continued discussion, research, and experiments will encourage others to take advantage of opportunities to enhance our students learning and understanding through games.

Thank you Sid Meirs’ for creating games that helped me learn and encouraged me to explore. Video games create a deeper understanding through procedural literacy… as long as we as educators are willing to apply them.

Images of Sid Mier's Pirates from Gamespot
Images of Civilization from Wikipedia
Images of Cilvilzation II from Gamespot

“You can’t always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need.”

The Rolling Stone lyrics have ran through my head over the last two weeks. And today, like many other times in my life, the lyrics hold meaning. In the past, I’ve applied the lyrics to my personal and social life. But today, the lyrics apply to my professional life.

Some of my time and energy away from this blog during the fall semester was for something I wanted. While I do not know the result of the desire and energy, I feel positive about my role. I realized about two weeks ago, that while I’m thankful for chasing the “want” I need to find a way to get what I “need.” This blog, my research on video games strategies and information literacy, the research community I’ve been lucky enough to tap into, and the people I’ve met in the field are really what I “need.”

Regardless of what my professional situation is, I have the ability to continue my professional development and advocacy of games in information literacy. My renewed commitment to this blog over the past week is part of realizing I have to provide what I “need” no matter what I think I “want.”

While this may sound a little cryptic, it’s been cathartic for me. Steven Bell’s ACRLog post that I talked about earlier discussed how blogs provide younger people in the professional a voice. This has most certainly been the case for me, and I’m very grateful. Even though my voice over this year has not always been as clear (learning) and as consistent (sorry) as I’d hope, I am very thankful for the opportunities this blog has helped create.

During this time of year of reflection and celebration, I want to thank everyone who’s helped provide those opportunities. Thank you to everyone for reading. Thank you to everyone who’s engaged in conversations, both online and off. Thank you to those whose work I’ve been able to highlight and discuss over the past year. And thank you to anyone out there who is advancing video games in libraries and education.

Thank you for giving me what I need. And I hope that I can continue to work to find ways to effectively give our students what they “need” as well. And maybe through video games and game strategies the students can even get what the “want” as well.

"Are You Where You Want to be Professionally"

Steven Bell's excellent post over at ACRLog provides a lot for new and seasoned librarians to think about.

Where I'm at professionally is a question I've debated internally for the majority of this semester. Obliviously, my postings here have been any thing but consistent. Some of this lack of consistency stems from teaching 101 information literacy sessions this semester. Some of it comes from being a husband and a father. And some comes from enjoying video games for more than simply "research" purposes. Added together this blog and my writing here has suffered.

Bell's post talks about priorities and not being able to be everything all at one time. Steven's post help me feel that taking time to be one thing or another well is okay. I've been fortunate to have the support of people for the research and discussions that Research Quest was designed to promote. I hope that as this year draws to a close, I can find some balance.

I will continue to work toward my goals and understand as Steven said, "It took time to develop my voice, and gain the ability to think and write about things in a way that communicates them well to others." Thank you for your post Steven.

In the two weeks since I posted last (sorry about that), I've taught 36 credit hours worth of information literacy sessions.

Nothing like teaching almost a full semester in two weeks, finishing an article for publication (see C&R Libraries News early for 2008), and sending off a few conference proposals to keep one busy. Not that I'm complaining.

The classes were great. I worked with 7 different sections of a English Composition on a research paper unit for the past two weeks. We've taught the unit before and I've written about the students reactions when we taught it back in the spring semester. It created some good discussion about video game violence and the impact it has on aggression for college students. While the research continues to point to short term increases in aggression for college student, the students debated how that aggression manifested itself.

How they handle and control their aggression was an interesting talking point. However they choose to manage their emotions, the discussion helped students on both sides of the issue see the shades of gray that is the research on violence and video games.

(if you are not interested in my personal excuses, please move on to the next post)

October's been a blur. Work's a nonstop ride - as any good ride should be. My family's been up and down over the month (including a visit to the ER). Because of this I started October taking a little time off from blogging, a little blogging vacation if you will. But getting started again was the challenge.

During the second half of October, I really had to think about why I started this blog and where I'm going with it. Truth be told, I'm not sure where I'm going with it - heck I'm not sure where I'm going in life some days. But I do know were my passions lie.

Teaching - Reaching out - Connecting to students

I know that video games, the play, and the act of learning is one way to reach out and teach students.

My month off was not because I lacked the passion to go forward. I lacked the energy. The daily grind of my job and life weighted heavily on me. It wasn't one specific thing that prevented me, it was simply a downward spiral. Now, standing on the other side of that break, I missed the engagement, discussion, and innovation that came from blogging and pushing these issues forward.

I will continue to keep the conversation about video games and gaming strategies in information literacy moving forward. I hope if you are still willing to come along for the journey.