Technological evolution

At the beginning of this course, I had many questions about the vocabulary and applications related to Web 2.0.  I also had lots of apprehension about how to introduce students to new tools and activities while effectively prohibiting them from encountering age-inappropriate information.

Through this course, I have discovered that I am already comfortable with many Web 2.0 applications that I simply lacked the specialized vocabulary to describe.  For example, I have used social networks to share pictures and keep in touch with family and friends for several years.  I have also maintained a blog of teaching tools and ideas over the last few years.  However, I had not been aware that these activities were part of Web 2.0. 

Lone Star Glog

 I have also become much more comfortable trying out new tools.  For example, during this course, I have learned to use Prezi and Glogster to share information with students, teachers, and parents in visually interesting and novel ways.  I have also learned to use wikis to collaborate and share information.  I now realize how easily people can work together remotely by using a common online document or planning tool.

My greatest concern about using technology in the library was regarding student access to questionable content.  The Internet is vast, and the opportunities for students to access images and information which might not be appropriate are many.  In the last few months, I have provided many opportunities for my elementary school students to use computers, access the Internet, and use applications such as our online catalog, online games, and web-based presentations.  Admittedly, I have had some students "sneak" onto song-lyric or game sites which I did not approve or intend them to use.  However, on the whole, I have found that by planning engaging activities, I am able to guide most students to focus on the appropriate task at hand.  In the few cases of virtual-wandering, I have been able to quickly address the situations through basic discipline.  Classmates quickly learn that they won't be able to engage in the fun technology-based activities if they choose not to follow directions.

Having made my way to success with several new-to-me tools, I feel more capable of approaching unfamiliar technology with a sense of adventure rather than apprehension.  I have already begun enjoying introducing others to some of these tools, and I look forward to future projects I will accomplish using my new skills.

Organizing

I set up a new Delicious account this week, and I've been exploring the world of social bookmarking.  I love the idea of having my bookmarks available online.  I'm always wishing I knew the address for some cool site I visit from home but don't have a link for at work.  Having my directory of favorite online tools and content available wherever I am is fantastic.

On the other hand, it's taking me a bit longer to adjust to tagging sites instead of categorizing them in folders.  I'm pretty sure it can work out just as well, but I am accustomed to organizing my favorite sites in folders and sub-folders that create a tidy little outline of topics.

 

A new vegetable lasagna recipe would normally go in the Vegetarian sub-folder that's within the Recipes folder.  I'm sure I can just use those categories as tags and achieve a similar effect, but it will take some getting used to.

The thing that I find most intimidating about tagging is that I have to plan and create new categories each time I begin using a new program.  When I tag my photos, I have to decide whether to sort them by date, location, subject matter or the names of people featured.  When I write blog articles, I need to think of what tags readers might be looking for and then constantly edit tags as I see which are used frequently and which others might need to be combined or deleted.  With formal cataloging, these decisions are more universal and longstanding.  Because tags can change with trends and perspectives, and for that matter grammatical errors, they seem a little slippery when compared to standardized subject headings.

At the same time, a huge amount of data is being generated, through Delicious, Blogger, Flickr and any other site that allows users to tag content, about what people want to know and how the general public likes their information to be categorized.  Librarians who pay attention to frequently used tags in various programs would better understand patrons' desires and could potentially one day create a new systems that combines the best features of both the traditional and the publicly-generated systems.  So, in terms of assisting our ability to meet patrons needs, tagging is very effective.  If our goal is to control the categories and keep information easily manageable, traditional subject headings are probably more efficient.

Web 2.0

"It has become obvious that the machine is here to stay...The sensible thing to do is not to revolt against the inevitable, but to use and modify it to make it serve your purposes.  Machines exist; let us exploit them to create a beauty--a modern beauty while we are about it." --Aldous Huxley

The defining characteristic that separates Web 2.0 from the World Wide Web itself is the collaboration catalyzed by Web 2.0 applications.  As Courtney wrote in Library 2.0 and Beyond, "collaborative writing is a hallmark of Web 2.0" (7). When we add photos to our Flickr accounts, comment on friends Facebook pages, edit a Wikipedia article, or add to a blog, we are adding little bits of information and organization to the Web.  As more people create content and interact via the Internet, the quantity of data expands. When millions of people each add their perspective or advice, the sum of the information is immense.

I believe this immensity is behind the title of Professor Wesch's video about Web 2.0.  "The Machine is Us/ing Us" sums up the nature of Web 2.0.


The concept reminds me a little of stories like The Matrix, wherein machines become too smart and take over.

Since we don't know all the potential outcomes of such large scale data-sharing and collaboration, we could theoretically be creating a thing that is smarter than any human. In fact, we definitely are creating a bank of information that far exceeds what any individual could know or even know how to access.

Without contributors, the Web is useless.  We must add information and categories and links in order to reap the benefits of being connected, so in this way, the Web is "using us."  At the same time, all the information together creates a map or outline of who we are, indicating out interests, habits and purchasing patterns.

Handhelds

If I were given a budget of $10,000 to purchase handheld computers for the elementary school library where I work, I would devote the funds to purchasing twenty Apple iPads.  Although these devices are more expensive than most ebook readers and MP3 players, at about $500 each, they offer many more technological capabilities for much less than the tablet PC price estimate offered in Library 2.0 and Beyond (Courtney 52).

With iPads available in the library, many new possibilities would open up.  Students could use the devices as readers to enjoy books purchased from Apple's iBook store, where there are thousands of ebooks to choose from.  Students could also read ebooks from Amazon or Barnes & Noble that could be played using downloadable apps.  The machines could also be used to play audiobooks or podcasts through iTunes.  Many audiobooks available in the iTunes store are even read by the author, which means students could hear the story the way the writer imagined it.  By using headphone splitters, two students could sit together and share one iPad to read a book together.  Students could also use the devices to listen to music in order to study for choir, band, foreign language or social studies.

The mobility and Internet browsing capabilities of the iPads also facilitate the research process.  With the advancement from the card catalog to the online library catalog, one problem remained the same: once a patron has looked up an item in the catalog, he or she must still go and find it in the library.  I frequently see students oscillating nervously between the bay of student computers and the library shelves, double and triple checking a book's title, cover art, and call number.  By using the iPad, a student could skip copying down the call number of the item for which he is searching.  Instead, the patrons would be able to carry the catalog with them to the shelves.  For many students, I believe this would make locating needed materials much simpler. 

In addition to helping locate physical items, students could use the iPads to conduct research, specifically by accessing district-purchased databases.  The mobility of this device adds an element of flexibility to the research process that is not present with desktop computers.  Students could carry an iPad to a study table or meeting area  in order to analyze the information found through it along side other resources such as traditional books.

Finally, there are many and varied tools that can be added to the iPad to make it have more capabilities.  This genre of tools is infinitely growing.  Whatever a patron is trying to explore, as Apple's ads point out, "there's an app for that."  Students could use the world clock to investigate time zones or enhance a life science lesson by navigating a bird watching tool.  Skillbuilding activities like matching games and flashcards would take on a fresh and fun persona when practiced via the iPad in lieu of tabletop components. The possibilities for extended learning are completely limitless.

Individual Technology Assessment

As an educator, what are your present strengths and weaknesses in technology? How do you plan to use your strengths? How do you plan to address the weaknesses?

As a librarian and teacher, I have had lots of success using multimedia tools for whole group and demonstrative purposes. Using audio and video elements in the introduction and guided practice sections of the lesson cycle allows me to provide relatively concrete experiences for my students. When I taught social studies, I played music clips from various cultures and time periods and showed video clips of faraway places and things. As a science teacher, I used web-based simulators to demonstrate the immense distance between planets in the Milky Way and to show the relative sizes of tiny biological elements such as bacteria and blood cells.

Now that I am working as a librarian, I have been able to incorporate tools and media in similar ways. For example, this week we read Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina. Students watched the story unfold on a document camera projection as they listened to the author read his story via audio book. Due to technology, this one activity could accommodate visual, auditory, and tactile learners through the projected book, the recording and the more traditional tool, construction paper.

I am less proficient at providing opportunities for my students to independently use tools and explore media. At the root of this deficiency is the paradox of children's adoration of computers. Since students love using computers, they are the perfect tool to grab learners' attention; but, because the computers are beloved, there are inevitable quarrels over shared equipment and wildly wandering Internet browsers. The detrimental possibilities are as myriad as the benefits, so I am mostly inclined to CONTROL the classroom media experiences militantly.

Also, there are many new tools and media that I have yet to master or even attempt. I am a child of the Internet era, so it is sometimes hard for me to list and define my areas of technological familiarity. My blog, online photo albums, and social network and chat accounts are just things that I do. I'm not always sure which tools other people, or the ubiquitous average person, knows how to use. Nevertheless, I have recently learned of many tools, specifically web-based programs, with which I am somewhat to completely unfamiliar.

This fall, I have a double dose of motivation to become more proficient with instructional tools and media. Last month I started a brand new job as an elementary school librarian. As librarian, I am responsible for circulating and maintaining small electronics, such as overhead projectors, stereos and listening centers, for classroom use. Additionally, my new school's Campus Improvement Plan includes a goal for improving students' computer proficiency, and the library contains the school's second largest bank of computers after the Instructional Specialist's lab. For these reasons, my instruction in the library this year must include emphasis on student technology exposure and use. At the same time, I am working on an MLS in the evenings, and this semester one of my classes focuses entirely on instructional technology. Now that the technology stars have aligned, I am excited to use this impetus to take advantage of my strengths and build my repertoire.

As this year goes on, I want to continue to find ways to incorporate media into storytimes and lessons, but I also want to push myself to include opportunities for students to use tools and media first-hand. This week, I demonstrated the online library catalog using the digital projector, but then went further and led several hundred students in independent searches using the student computers. I think that with careful time management and deliberate planning, I will be able to, at least mostly, avoid serious technology-related problems. I am looking forward to teaching students how to research independently, take advantage of district-purchased databases and subscriptions, and explore tools and media.

In order to gain the familiarity necessary to teach these new skills, I have identified a few sources of information for myself. Through ongoing librarian professional development provided by my district, I will have opportunities to ask questions about and explore many of the programs and online tools available to my students. I have also found a few people who can help me as I expand my skills. My librarian mentor is very comfortable with many digital tools and makes effective use of them in her library lessons. I plan to take advantage of her expertise as well as that of my school's Technology Specialist as I navigate new tools.