Thursday, January 28, 2010
prayer and computer help
I am convinced that sometimes, I need a little more technical help than is normally available through computer tutorials. That's when prayer comes in. Today, after working for literally hours, I am hoping that my computer woes are in the past. I've been having trouble with our network connection at home. It is unreliable, here one minute, gone the next. So I have done online searches, used tutorials, even asked for help from tech support from my router manufacturer. When they told me they would help me on a one-time basis for $29.95 and for a mere $10 more I could have access to them for 6 whole months, well, that just made me angry. Our router only cost $59 fourteen months ago so why would I pay $30 for one ounce of help? I just wanted help changing the channel on the router. Well, finally, I figured it out (after some heartfelt prayer) and we will see if that improves my network connection.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Groupwork
I like the members of my group, and generally, I am fine with groupwork and discussion---getting ideas from one another. However, when it comes to actually producing a product, especially a written one, it is so difficult to do this with so many contributors. I am glad our group decided to do all the brainstorming and planning together and let one person come up with the rough draft for our case brief. We can still all put in our two cents once it is written, but it will be more clearly flowing and unified if one person generates the text.
Tonight I was frustrated with our groupwork because my network connection wasn't consistent at home and I actually got kicked out for several minutes. That was irritating. Also, we were not successful in getting a document up that we could all see in Teleplace and edit there, so our session was not as productive as I had hoped. We should have been able to pull up our Word document of the planning of the case brief, discuss and edit right there in Teleplace, with however many of us wanted to contribute comments (just one at a time, I understand). Instead, we had one member typing and the rest of us talking. Only the typist could see the document that was being edited. It was disappointing--gotta figure out how that works right before the next document is due. I am one of these people that has a hard time adjusting if things don't work out according to my expectations. I knew we were so close to getting it set up but we didn't really want to take the time to get it fixed just right before jumping in to get the work done. I would rather take the time and "do it right" than settle for less. Sometimes this is a strength and sometimes it is a weakness.
Tonight I was frustrated with our groupwork because my network connection wasn't consistent at home and I actually got kicked out for several minutes. That was irritating. Also, we were not successful in getting a document up that we could all see in Teleplace and edit there, so our session was not as productive as I had hoped. We should have been able to pull up our Word document of the planning of the case brief, discuss and edit right there in Teleplace, with however many of us wanted to contribute comments (just one at a time, I understand). Instead, we had one member typing and the rest of us talking. Only the typist could see the document that was being edited. It was disappointing--gotta figure out how that works right before the next document is due. I am one of these people that has a hard time adjusting if things don't work out according to my expectations. I knew we were so close to getting it set up but we didn't really want to take the time to get it fixed just right before jumping in to get the work done. I would rather take the time and "do it right" than settle for less. Sometimes this is a strength and sometimes it is a weakness.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Project Ideas
When I interviewed my librarian, it became clear from the beginning that her greatest need for her library is the need for funding in order to manage and update the collection. I am torn, because I am not sure how this need relates specifically to the focus of this class--technology--but it most definitely relates to my other course on collections. There is another school with which I am familiar, the elementary school my students attend, where an obvious need exists that relates more specifically to technology. So do I try to split my time between two schools or do I stick with the first school and make it work?
Action Learning Process
I am very excited about the Action Learning Process. Finally, it seems that coursework will absolutely be relevant to life. I am anxious to jump in and help wherever I can in the library. In fact, I am having a bit of a problem deciding how best to utilize what precious time I have to devote to a project. The librarian with whom I am working is in dire need of help and I want to help so badly. I am limited in the amount of time I spend because for much of it, I need to arrange babysitting so I can be productive and not distracted. Three of my children attend school, but my full time job includes caring for my 3 year old and 8 month old during the day while my husband works. He teaches school, drives a bus in the morning, and is currently coaching wrestling. He leaves in the morning at 6:00 am and some days, we do not see him until 7:00 pm. If I need to do something that doesn't involve a toddler and a baby, I need to beg someone else, usually my mother, for help. My time away from them must be spent as efficiently as possible and it is not something the rest of the world truly appreciates.
I love the idea of learning in an atmosphere of action and service. How can I learn and contribute at the same time? That is the focus and the great reward of Action Learning. I am working with my librarian to help her to write a grant proposal for much needed library materials. I have always wanted to learn more about grant writing because I feel that it could utilize my strengths with the potential of achieving worthwhile results in the process. I am excited by the prospect of learning by doing and serving to help a friend while I am gaining valuable knowledge and experience. It is truly a win-win situation.
I love the idea of learning in an atmosphere of action and service. How can I learn and contribute at the same time? That is the focus and the great reward of Action Learning. I am working with my librarian to help her to write a grant proposal for much needed library materials. I have always wanted to learn more about grant writing because I feel that it could utilize my strengths with the potential of achieving worthwhile results in the process. I am excited by the prospect of learning by doing and serving to help a friend while I am gaining valuable knowledge and experience. It is truly a win-win situation.
Tech Stations
In class (1/19), we had the opportunity to explore various computer stations linked to websites of interest. My favorites were Jing (www.jingproject.com) and 3B (www.3B.net). I can see how using Jing will help especially in training situations. Some people really just have to see it done before they can do it themselves, even if step by step and word for word directions are given. Some people are just wired that way. I saw the possibilities of working with it with students and with teachers; through this website, I could take a snapshot or video of a computer screen (for instance, with cursor in motion) to demonstrate how an action is done. Very useful.
I also enjoyed the 3B world because it appeared to be applicable across a wide range of uses. I could envision putting the library itself in such a virtual world, where people could browse various rooms devoted to such topics as genealogy (more applicable to public library), medical information, library services, local events, etc. Websites could be chosen that apply to that particular topic and it could serve as a guide for users to navigate certain research areas. I see it applicable for teachers in that a teacher could choose a particular topic and several websites on that topic then allow students to browse the chosen sites for specific information like a scavenger hunt or to search for a group project. Students would not have to have the same topic to research, rather a subtopic of a larger whole. For instance, if I were teaching about the American Civil War, I might have chosen various websites I felt appropriate and given students particular topics to research within that umbrella topic of the war. They might research weaponry, battlefields, military personnel, political leaders, orators, etc. As a teacher, I could limit and choose appropriate research materials for their use rather than let them loose to google wherever they may. Very cool. Freedom of information within a somewhat controlled environment. That is awesome. Dr. Sanders also mentioned a more controlled, private environment that is similar in form to 3B --go go frog. Need to get more information about this site.
I also enjoyed the 3B world because it appeared to be applicable across a wide range of uses. I could envision putting the library itself in such a virtual world, where people could browse various rooms devoted to such topics as genealogy (more applicable to public library), medical information, library services, local events, etc. Websites could be chosen that apply to that particular topic and it could serve as a guide for users to navigate certain research areas. I see it applicable for teachers in that a teacher could choose a particular topic and several websites on that topic then allow students to browse the chosen sites for specific information like a scavenger hunt or to search for a group project. Students would not have to have the same topic to research, rather a subtopic of a larger whole. For instance, if I were teaching about the American Civil War, I might have chosen various websites I felt appropriate and given students particular topics to research within that umbrella topic of the war. They might research weaponry, battlefields, military personnel, political leaders, orators, etc. As a teacher, I could limit and choose appropriate research materials for their use rather than let them loose to google wherever they may. Very cool. Freedom of information within a somewhat controlled environment. That is awesome. Dr. Sanders also mentioned a more controlled, private environment that is similar in form to 3B --go go frog. Need to get more information about this site.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Interview Summary and Conclusions
Interview with Librarian, Linda Reep
Table Rock Middle School, Morganton, NC
January 14, 2010
Ms. Linda Reep works at Table Rock Middle School in Morganton, NC. This is the school where I began my teaching career in 1992, when the school opened, with a population of close to 1000 students, grades 6, 7, and 8.. At the time, it was considered quite technologically advanced, with 4 student computers in every classroom, 2 computer labs, and 15 computers in the media center. The computers have been updated, with the newest computers going to the labs and the media center and older computers being handed down to the classrooms. The school population has changed since the addition of a new middle school in the county, so TRMS serves about 625 students in grades 6-8.
Since the beginning of the school, there has been a Technology Specialist, whose job it is to train teachers and maintain the computer hardware and software. Originally, her position was split between two schools, but now, each middle school has its own Technology Specialist. At TRMS, it has always been Toni Anderson. Ms. Reep and Toni have shared a lot of workspace over the years, with the technology office housed in the media center. Ms. Reep has had the luxury of having a technology specialist handle the maintenance concerns and much of the training of teachers. Ms. Reep's main focus is to maintain the resources available in the media center. She has always made it a priority to make the students feel welcome in the media center and provide the books and resources that they want and need.
The Media Center at TRMS is clean and neat, with 15 computers available for work and 3 computers at a station for finding materials. Books are checked out using a bar-code system, with each student assigned a number. The student tells the librarian his/her number and books are checked out accordingly. The largest grouping of books that are used on a daily basis is fiction, primarily books in the Accelerated Reader program, which is highly favored by teachers at the school. Using the AR program, qualifying books may be checked out, read, and then tested and students' reading progress is followed by the AR program. Teachers can use the program to monitor a child's reading level and the level at which the students are comprehending the books. Ms. Reep likes the program, but feels it has created readers who will only choose books on the AR list, so it limits the potential of the reader's choices.
According to Ms. Reep, the greatest need of this library is for funding and support staff. Years ago, she had an assistant to help with the duties of maintaining the library, but that position was cut. Also, her budget, which has always been reduced at principal's discretion, was cut by 50 % last year. To be fair, other programs have also received cuts, but Ms. Reep feels like there is little support from administration in terms of funding for the library. She hasn't had money for purchasing magazines in 3 years, and spends her budget on replacing lost books and buying the books that the students are clamoring for--such as the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. She says she can't keep these on the shelf. While I was there, two students came in requesting the same book, which Ms. Reep had reported was there this morning but already checked out. She says she tries to maintain as many as 5 or 10 of the really popular books that the kids want to read. Her budget for the year was around two thousand dollars, allowing her to purchase a little more than one hundred books. She is worried about the age of her collection, showing me a printout analyzing the age of her collection. It showed that more than 80% of the resources in the library are aged. She estimated that the non-fiction section average age was 1985.
When asked what other resources are available to students and teachers, she said that she has a small collection of VHS tapes, very few DVDs for teachers to use, a few books on tape, and the rest is books. Computers and the Internet have replaced most of the research that was traditionally done in the library. She said that teachers often will not even bring their classes to the library for research because they prefer to take them to the computer lab for research on the internet. In some ways, it is beneficial because it has opened up many possibilities for the students to find information that otherwise might not be available in the library. However, Ms. Reep is concerned that the students are not being taught enough about using proper sources and that a lot of sources on the internet are not as credible as others. The internet can be a great tool for research, but its users need to be aware of the information source and its reliability.
Ms. Reep was very candid about the condition of her library. She described it as "a mess," citing that she does not have the time necessary to do a proper job of cataloguing, repairing, helping students and teachers, and checking books in and out. There are classes scheduled to come in to the library every period of the day. Instead of helping students to find materials they need or help them with their research, much of her time is now spent checking materials in and out. She feels underutilized in the area of her expertise. Ms. Reep is often available after school to help students check out materials and complete research for their classes, even after the classroom teacher is gone. Many of the school's students do not have access to computers or the internet at home.
When asked about opportunities she has, as a librarian, for attending conferences or updating her own knowledge of technologies available, she referred again to the problem of lack of funding. Normally, she says, she attends one conference a year, but there has not been any funding lately to help with registration, so she hasn't been able to attend. Teachers at the school are well trained to use the technology available at the school because there is a Technology Specialist available as well as an Instructional Coach who serve as resource-people to help teachers with their technology needs.
One of the greatest gifts that the internet has given has been a program that she showed me called "NC Wise Owl," www.ncwiseowl.org an online library available to the citizens of North Carolina, funded by the state government. Patrons can gain free access to a number of resources from print to video, to magazines that have been purchased by the state and shared in the form of this user-friendly database. Items can be easily searched. This program has eliminated the need to purchase these materials at individual libraries. Ms. Reep gave an example of a book that she normally would have tried to purchase--through Grolier, The New Book of Popular Science--that is now available through this website. Not only does she no longer have to purchase it, but the most current copy of the book is available at no cost to her budget. PBS videos are also available through the NCWise Owl website and are very easy to access. Sites such as this are dependable, current, and are good sources for students. Ms. Reep has worked hard to promote this website at her school and she feels that students and teachers are "finally catching on" to it. There is also a section on the site where students and teachers can get help citing sources for their research. It is like a "wizard" that helps the user to put source information in the MLA format.
Technology has also improved the way in which materials are ordered. Ms. Reep orders most of her materials online through programs such as Titlewave, by Follett or Permabound. It has made ordering books so much easier. She can look up reviews of books very quickly and easily before she decides to order the book. She can also download the contents of her library and receive an analysis of the collection. Technology has been very helpful, but it has also presented some new challenges.
Ms. Reep and I have agreed to work together on a grant proposal she is preparing to submit. It is for a grant of $10,000, which she would use to update the print resources in her library. We have planned to work on it on Monday, January 25, which is a teacher workday in Burke County. She is very happy to have me to help, since I have long wanted to learn more about grant writing, and I feel I may be a good resource to her for this task.
Interestingly as well, Burke County School Board recently approved funding $2 million to be earmarked toward improving technology in the schools. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
Table Rock Middle School, Morganton, NC
January 14, 2010
Ms. Linda Reep works at Table Rock Middle School in Morganton, NC. This is the school where I began my teaching career in 1992, when the school opened, with a population of close to 1000 students, grades 6, 7, and 8.. At the time, it was considered quite technologically advanced, with 4 student computers in every classroom, 2 computer labs, and 15 computers in the media center. The computers have been updated, with the newest computers going to the labs and the media center and older computers being handed down to the classrooms. The school population has changed since the addition of a new middle school in the county, so TRMS serves about 625 students in grades 6-8.
Since the beginning of the school, there has been a Technology Specialist, whose job it is to train teachers and maintain the computer hardware and software. Originally, her position was split between two schools, but now, each middle school has its own Technology Specialist. At TRMS, it has always been Toni Anderson. Ms. Reep and Toni have shared a lot of workspace over the years, with the technology office housed in the media center. Ms. Reep has had the luxury of having a technology specialist handle the maintenance concerns and much of the training of teachers. Ms. Reep's main focus is to maintain the resources available in the media center. She has always made it a priority to make the students feel welcome in the media center and provide the books and resources that they want and need.
The Media Center at TRMS is clean and neat, with 15 computers available for work and 3 computers at a station for finding materials. Books are checked out using a bar-code system, with each student assigned a number. The student tells the librarian his/her number and books are checked out accordingly. The largest grouping of books that are used on a daily basis is fiction, primarily books in the Accelerated Reader program, which is highly favored by teachers at the school. Using the AR program, qualifying books may be checked out, read, and then tested and students' reading progress is followed by the AR program. Teachers can use the program to monitor a child's reading level and the level at which the students are comprehending the books. Ms. Reep likes the program, but feels it has created readers who will only choose books on the AR list, so it limits the potential of the reader's choices.
According to Ms. Reep, the greatest need of this library is for funding and support staff. Years ago, she had an assistant to help with the duties of maintaining the library, but that position was cut. Also, her budget, which has always been reduced at principal's discretion, was cut by 50 % last year. To be fair, other programs have also received cuts, but Ms. Reep feels like there is little support from administration in terms of funding for the library. She hasn't had money for purchasing magazines in 3 years, and spends her budget on replacing lost books and buying the books that the students are clamoring for--such as the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. She says she can't keep these on the shelf. While I was there, two students came in requesting the same book, which Ms. Reep had reported was there this morning but already checked out. She says she tries to maintain as many as 5 or 10 of the really popular books that the kids want to read. Her budget for the year was around two thousand dollars, allowing her to purchase a little more than one hundred books. She is worried about the age of her collection, showing me a printout analyzing the age of her collection. It showed that more than 80% of the resources in the library are aged. She estimated that the non-fiction section average age was 1985.
When asked what other resources are available to students and teachers, she said that she has a small collection of VHS tapes, very few DVDs for teachers to use, a few books on tape, and the rest is books. Computers and the Internet have replaced most of the research that was traditionally done in the library. She said that teachers often will not even bring their classes to the library for research because they prefer to take them to the computer lab for research on the internet. In some ways, it is beneficial because it has opened up many possibilities for the students to find information that otherwise might not be available in the library. However, Ms. Reep is concerned that the students are not being taught enough about using proper sources and that a lot of sources on the internet are not as credible as others. The internet can be a great tool for research, but its users need to be aware of the information source and its reliability.
Ms. Reep was very candid about the condition of her library. She described it as "a mess," citing that she does not have the time necessary to do a proper job of cataloguing, repairing, helping students and teachers, and checking books in and out. There are classes scheduled to come in to the library every period of the day. Instead of helping students to find materials they need or help them with their research, much of her time is now spent checking materials in and out. She feels underutilized in the area of her expertise. Ms. Reep is often available after school to help students check out materials and complete research for their classes, even after the classroom teacher is gone. Many of the school's students do not have access to computers or the internet at home.
When asked about opportunities she has, as a librarian, for attending conferences or updating her own knowledge of technologies available, she referred again to the problem of lack of funding. Normally, she says, she attends one conference a year, but there has not been any funding lately to help with registration, so she hasn't been able to attend. Teachers at the school are well trained to use the technology available at the school because there is a Technology Specialist available as well as an Instructional Coach who serve as resource-people to help teachers with their technology needs.
One of the greatest gifts that the internet has given has been a program that she showed me called "NC Wise Owl," www.ncwiseowl.org an online library available to the citizens of North Carolina, funded by the state government. Patrons can gain free access to a number of resources from print to video, to magazines that have been purchased by the state and shared in the form of this user-friendly database. Items can be easily searched. This program has eliminated the need to purchase these materials at individual libraries. Ms. Reep gave an example of a book that she normally would have tried to purchase--through Grolier, The New Book of Popular Science--that is now available through this website. Not only does she no longer have to purchase it, but the most current copy of the book is available at no cost to her budget. PBS videos are also available through the NCWise Owl website and are very easy to access. Sites such as this are dependable, current, and are good sources for students. Ms. Reep has worked hard to promote this website at her school and she feels that students and teachers are "finally catching on" to it. There is also a section on the site where students and teachers can get help citing sources for their research. It is like a "wizard" that helps the user to put source information in the MLA format.
Technology has also improved the way in which materials are ordered. Ms. Reep orders most of her materials online through programs such as Titlewave, by Follett or Permabound. It has made ordering books so much easier. She can look up reviews of books very quickly and easily before she decides to order the book. She can also download the contents of her library and receive an analysis of the collection. Technology has been very helpful, but it has also presented some new challenges.
Ms. Reep and I have agreed to work together on a grant proposal she is preparing to submit. It is for a grant of $10,000, which she would use to update the print resources in her library. We have planned to work on it on Monday, January 25, which is a teacher workday in Burke County. She is very happy to have me to help, since I have long wanted to learn more about grant writing, and I feel I may be a good resource to her for this task.
Interestingly as well, Burke County School Board recently approved funding $2 million to be earmarked toward improving technology in the schools. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
Interview questions
Starting Block--Question Framework
- Describe the current technology resources available through the library and classrooms at TRMS.
- How does the technology available now compare to when you first began working here?
- What are the greatest needs of this school in terms of technology?
- What are the greatest needs of the library?
- What opportunities or resources are available to you as a librarian to experience new technologies?
- Describe the library you would like to create here.
- What are the biggest hurdles you face in terms of creating the library you’d want?
- What would it take to achieve your goals for the library?
- What methods of research are utilized most at this school?
- Are there aspects of technology that are helping create better readers? researchers?
- How has technology improved this library?
- What are the biggest problems you have in the library? as related specifically to technology?
- If your “dreams came true,” what equipment would you like to have in the library?
- How effective is your cataloguing system?
- What is your involvement in the maintenance and management of technology?
- Do you have responsibilities in training staff and students in using technology?
- How many students are served as a whole? on a daily basis?
- How well are the teachers trained to deal with existing technology?
- Comment on the support you receive by the administration.
- What software is most helpful?
- What technology/websites, etc. are used most?
Library 2.0 and Beyond, chapter 1
Library 2.0 and Beyond, edited by Nancy Courtney
Response to Reading
I wanted to be one of those people who didn’t care about convention and order and just read a chapter later in the book first--like the chapter on wikis. But I must admit that the reality of my life is that I have been immersed in a world of laundry and changing diapers for the last eight years, and I am clearly out of the technology loop. So, I gave up hope of spontaneity and settled in to read chapter one.
For days, I read a paragraph or page here and there, whenever I could steal a minute, but today, I had a whole hour of uninterrupted time to read (enter angels rejoicing). I wanted to keep the textbook pristine, so I could resell it when the class is over and recoup some of my investment. But soon, I abandoned that goal and couldn’t resist highlighting and marking notes in the margins. This book will be a keeper. I am behind the times and I am ready to catch up. At the end of chapter one, I had the uncontrollable urge to reflect on what I have read. So I had to start with notebook and pen and get to the computer later. Whoever asked me to blog my thoughts has no idea what they are getting into. I apologize ahead of time for the endlessness of my rambling.
I enjoyed a lot of the new vocabulary of this chapter. Many of the tech terms that are familiar to people are pretty foreign to me, so there were a lot of "aha's" as I read the chapter. The concept of Web 2.0 is a "user-friendly" way of thinking about how times have changed with ultra modern changes in technology. I hadn't been familiar with the concepts of syndication or mashups, but anxiously await learning more about these unselfish and generous sharing methods of using technology. I can agree with the idea that how we use the internet has evolved so that more users are creating and not just viewing or using what the internet offers. Cool! I love the quote by Shell Holtz that the "Internet's real significance was its promise to democratize communication."
I loved the idea of
"the Millennials, those born between 1982 and 2002 as being "born with the chip." These young people have grown up with computers and don't think of them as technology." (p. 5)
I was intrigued by the list of descriptors to categorize this new generation: format agnostics, nomadic, multitaskers, collaborative.
Another author (Lee Rainie) refers to this generation as "digital natives"--love this term!
Six realities of life for the digital native:
1. Media and gadgets are common throughout everyday life
2. Digital natives enjoy media and carry on communications anywhere they wish
3. Internet is at the center; Internet and web are ubiquitous
4. Multitasking is a way of life
5. An ordinary citizen has a greater opportunity to be a publisher, moviemaker, artist, song creator, and storyteller.
6. Everything will change more in the coming years.
I put all these here because I totally see all of this happening! I wanted to comment on the author's assertion, "To the digital natives, or Millennials, Web 2.0 is not a change. It is the expected way of being." Wow! I think of it like this: my children have never known a world without certain things that I know have not always existed. They have never known a world without a microwave, for instance. In their minds, this is how we all warm up food. They have never known a world without computers or the Internet, so it is how we all communicate and find out what we need to know. They have no knowledge of encyclopedias in the form of books. They only know what they have seen and touched and been exposed to. I agree with the author in that we need to respect the needs of the library consumer by keeping up with the various avenues that technology travels.
I knew that Wikipedia was an encyclopedia on the web, but I have rarely seen or used anything from it. I did not know what a wiki was, so I was grateful to find out its history. I find it so intriguing that wikis are written by multiple authors. What a concept! The author pointed out that wikipedia has pros and cons. It may not be considered authoritative as a reference source, but there is an enormous amount of content with remarkably few errors, given the nature of the sources.
There were other terms brought out by the author that I have not had much personal experience with at all, so I look forward to learning more about these: folksonomies, social bookmarking, mashups. I know a little about MySpace and Facebook, but have so far avoided creating an account of my own. They seem too much like drugs to me--you know, "why don't you join and create an account? . . . Everybody's doing it . . ." My husband has an account on Facebook, and I can see the addictive potential.
This chapter also discusses the concept of Library 2.0, that the library of the future must move along or evolve with technology. I really like the assertion by T. Scott Plutchak that the changes in libraries are not radical but "evolutionary," The author summarizes, "When librarians embrace the changes in technology and society to find new and more effective ways to serve their patrons, they are not acting in brand-new 2.0 ways, they are simply being good librarians." (page 11) Way to go!
Change is coming in terms of how our libraries look and how they work. Libraries as we know them have the potential of dying, especially if the "physical third places" described by the author do really get replaced more and more by the "virtual third places." I think about how we are interacting through technology and the Internet and this course. Meeting in a virtual world to share and discuss ideas is foreign to me but I see its value. I agree with the author that all these changes in the uses of technology create challenges but are full of potential for librarians.
Response to Reading
I wanted to be one of those people who didn’t care about convention and order and just read a chapter later in the book first--like the chapter on wikis. But I must admit that the reality of my life is that I have been immersed in a world of laundry and changing diapers for the last eight years, and I am clearly out of the technology loop. So, I gave up hope of spontaneity and settled in to read chapter one.
For days, I read a paragraph or page here and there, whenever I could steal a minute, but today, I had a whole hour of uninterrupted time to read (enter angels rejoicing). I wanted to keep the textbook pristine, so I could resell it when the class is over and recoup some of my investment. But soon, I abandoned that goal and couldn’t resist highlighting and marking notes in the margins. This book will be a keeper. I am behind the times and I am ready to catch up. At the end of chapter one, I had the uncontrollable urge to reflect on what I have read. So I had to start with notebook and pen and get to the computer later. Whoever asked me to blog my thoughts has no idea what they are getting into. I apologize ahead of time for the endlessness of my rambling.
I enjoyed a lot of the new vocabulary of this chapter. Many of the tech terms that are familiar to people are pretty foreign to me, so there were a lot of "aha's" as I read the chapter. The concept of Web 2.0 is a "user-friendly" way of thinking about how times have changed with ultra modern changes in technology. I hadn't been familiar with the concepts of syndication or mashups, but anxiously await learning more about these unselfish and generous sharing methods of using technology. I can agree with the idea that how we use the internet has evolved so that more users are creating and not just viewing or using what the internet offers. Cool! I love the quote by Shell Holtz that the "Internet's real significance was its promise to democratize communication."
I loved the idea of
"the Millennials, those born between 1982 and 2002 as being "born with the chip." These young people have grown up with computers and don't think of them as technology." (p. 5)
I was intrigued by the list of descriptors to categorize this new generation: format agnostics, nomadic, multitaskers, collaborative.
Another author (Lee Rainie) refers to this generation as "digital natives"--love this term!
Six realities of life for the digital native:
1. Media and gadgets are common throughout everyday life
2. Digital natives enjoy media and carry on communications anywhere they wish
3. Internet is at the center; Internet and web are ubiquitous
4. Multitasking is a way of life
5. An ordinary citizen has a greater opportunity to be a publisher, moviemaker, artist, song creator, and storyteller.
6. Everything will change more in the coming years.
I put all these here because I totally see all of this happening! I wanted to comment on the author's assertion, "To the digital natives, or Millennials, Web 2.0 is not a change. It is the expected way of being." Wow! I think of it like this: my children have never known a world without certain things that I know have not always existed. They have never known a world without a microwave, for instance. In their minds, this is how we all warm up food. They have never known a world without computers or the Internet, so it is how we all communicate and find out what we need to know. They have no knowledge of encyclopedias in the form of books. They only know what they have seen and touched and been exposed to. I agree with the author in that we need to respect the needs of the library consumer by keeping up with the various avenues that technology travels.
I knew that Wikipedia was an encyclopedia on the web, but I have rarely seen or used anything from it. I did not know what a wiki was, so I was grateful to find out its history. I find it so intriguing that wikis are written by multiple authors. What a concept! The author pointed out that wikipedia has pros and cons. It may not be considered authoritative as a reference source, but there is an enormous amount of content with remarkably few errors, given the nature of the sources.
There were other terms brought out by the author that I have not had much personal experience with at all, so I look forward to learning more about these: folksonomies, social bookmarking, mashups. I know a little about MySpace and Facebook, but have so far avoided creating an account of my own. They seem too much like drugs to me--you know, "why don't you join and create an account? . . . Everybody's doing it . . ." My husband has an account on Facebook, and I can see the addictive potential.
This chapter also discusses the concept of Library 2.0, that the library of the future must move along or evolve with technology. I really like the assertion by T. Scott Plutchak that the changes in libraries are not radical but "evolutionary," The author summarizes, "When librarians embrace the changes in technology and society to find new and more effective ways to serve their patrons, they are not acting in brand-new 2.0 ways, they are simply being good librarians." (page 11) Way to go!
Change is coming in terms of how our libraries look and how they work. Libraries as we know them have the potential of dying, especially if the "physical third places" described by the author do really get replaced more and more by the "virtual third places." I think about how we are interacting through technology and the Internet and this course. Meeting in a virtual world to share and discuss ideas is foreign to me but I see its value. I agree with the author that all these changes in the uses of technology create challenges but are full of potential for librarians.
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