What Library 2.0 means to me.....

When I first walked onto C.W. Post Campus, I came with virtually no expectations of what this major was going to entail or what I was going to get out of it. This major was my father-in-law's idea, something he came up with at the dining room table one evening. After a roller coaster ride in the field of education where ultimate disappointment is where the ride ended, I felt like I wasn't meant to be in this field. My father-in-law, who felt quite differently, told me that I should consider becoming a school librarian; not an educator himself, but he described it as a place where I could reach the students in maybe a more meaningful way. Fast forwarding to the first day of class I was still unsure about the path to reaching the students in this field, but by July 20, 2010 I knew exactly what mission was going to be when I stepped into my own school library and I am fairly certain that I have a few decent tricks up my sleeve.

LIS 629 has smoothed the pavement to being techno-savvy in the library. I feel like for the first time in my short professional career that I am on the cusp of transforming and revolutionizing the role an educator can play in a student's life. Bringing technology into the library and immersing it into the curriculum is a fresh way to bring students to the forefront of learning how they learn. Web 2.0 tools allow for students to become accountable and responsible for their own learning environments. this course has prepared me to HAPPILY become a 21st century librarian.

I knew before the class started that I came up in a generation where computer technology was first being introduced to society. Yet now I am a professional in the field where technology is a common place for today's student. With all of the course assignments on tools such as Flickr or Twitter have completely captured my attention. I have always complained about Twitter as I watch my sister tweet every few seconds, thinking that it is an addiction that completely calls for no brain cell activity. When I finally had to sign up for class, I realized that there is a whole world of library experts and professionals that have created this web of information. My absolute favorite quote is from the Unquiet Librarian states "I can be transparent about my practice, thinking, wonderings, stumbles, successes, dreams, and other assorted musings..." It feels good to know that growing pains are OK and it's expected that you will not be perfect during your first year, but perfection comes with evolution and change. This is the perfect opportunity for the students and I to have equal ownership and partnership in creating a space that evokes learning, appreciation, and functionality.

The Image Generation

This seems to be the generation of images! Unlike the "golden days of old" we as educators can no longer talk our students to death and expect them to a) relate to us, b) become interested in anything we have to say, or the even deadlier c) participate in the class discussion. In today's world images capture the eyes and the minds of both young and old. Image generators such as Wordle or Flickr Montager allow various images to instantly motivate students into actively learning and participating in the social issues the are evaluated in the classroom; in addition to supplying them with the ability to apply this strategy in real time. Yes we can stall and weave a basket of excuses as to why students should just be able to adapt as well as become adept to OUR WAY of teaching, but really is it necessary to dig our heels in the sand just to make a point? No I think we should all become MAN/WOMAN enough to accept the challenge and supply our future with what they need. I'm off the soapbox now.....until next time.

Reading 2.0

Reading 2.0 offers some of the most amazing technological advances in ways to present library information to students. Programs such as Microsoft PhotoStory3 allows the school media librarian to present new books in a fun and exciting, yet virtual way. These tools allow students to view book talks in a new engaging way, while maintaining active and participatory learning. Working with PhotoStory3 today helped me to gain a new respect for the importance of promotion within the library. How else are we going to engage students to read more books and to challenge themselves to go beyond the mandatory reading if we do not visually stimulate them? Step into the 21st century and embrace the new pathways that are allowing us to not only reach our learning expectations, but to also heighten student awareness.

Am I a TWIT or what?

So I am definitely sitting in class reaping the benefits of my $6,000 ticket to LIS 629 and wondering "Am I really not THAT techno savvy?" Here I am in the prime of my life, young 25 just out of undergrad less than five years, and I don't have an updated twitter account. Here I am following people and tweeting people that are twice my age, and they are more in the loop when it comes to technology than I am. It has definitely been a radical, yet fulfilling day that allowed me to really see the world of school librarians in a completely different light. Although on paper I know that librarians are extremely relevant to society, and more importantly the academic settings they service, it was amazing to see it in action.

The movement and the fluidity within the field has allowed for some of the most dynamic, transformational, and radical ideas I have heard/read in the education industry (I call it that with purpose) to date. I find myself trying to listen in class as well as read amazing articles like this one "The DDC is Killing our Libraries" http://schoolof.info/infomancy/ . Just this one article, of many, revolutionizes the drab iconic view of a librarian and charges us to find better and more innovative ways to reach our students.

I'm not going to sit a and write an entire essay, but I will be back later when I have furthered my research into "tweeting." LOL

Using Blogs in the Library

Coming out of an extremely restricitve school where I taught alternative high school students for two years, I wish I would have found something this exciting to use in the classroom. Most of the students came out of lower income families but still had access to the internet. We were always restricting the access that students had to the internet, in addition to the types of assingments that they could do while using technology. We had an amazing computer tech teacher, but there was never any collaboration with him, we always just used the space and asked him to move over, or just help monitor the students. Bloggin would have definitely engaged these students and would have given them some outlet in the world where they spent most of their time, yet were the most resticted.

I think using blogs in the library is such an oxymoron that its almost radical in thought. Who would have known that we could make a student's time in the media centerr this enjoyanle while using something that is common to them. Rather than just handing out homework assignments and then collecting them and having to suffer through than mandated excuses of "I don't have it" or "I didn't know that was due today!," you could just post it on the blog to have students respond. On the teacher's part, I am sooooooooooooooooo tired of reading through papers and I am always distracted by the internet and searching, that this would actually focus me and help me to give instant feedback.