Monday, July 9, 2007

Week 6 Thing 15 Library 2.0

I read all of the articles posted and wanting to know more, I read some of the articles that were posted under references on the wikipedia article, "Library 2.0" I realize we are coming to another shift in how we conceptualize teaching, learning, classrooms and libraries. Since I am a new school librarian I haven't been around long enough to experience some of the other shifts in how libraries have been used. But I have experienced changes in technology and though the learning curve has been rough at times I have learned how to use new technology. As a life-long learner, I will continue to adapt and learn to use new technology. After reading the articles it seems pretty clear that the profession will be adapting also to a new focus and a new ways of offering our service to our library patrons. The challenge for me will be to stay up with all the new technology and making sure our patrons know what is available to them (Hey, I can use some of this new technology to keep my teachers and students up-to-date on what's available!)

Library 2.0 to me means extending the library beyond its walls. If you think back to B.G.(before Google) and computers, most people had to visit a library to research answers to their questions. Now with the Internet, search engines, on-line databases, on-line catalogs library patrons can access information from beyond the library walls. As a school librarian, I am shifting my perspective on how to help prepare students that use my library for the future. Whether I teach them skills as a class, one-on-one or direct them to video clips posted on the web to assist them in learning a skill, I need to continually assess and learn as new technology becomes available so I can offer my patrons the best service possible.

I am learning so much during this Library 2.0 course. I see great potential for what I have learned. I found a video on Teacher Tube that I think fits this lesson. I found Teacher Tube after browsing through other members blogs. One blog I learned a lot from is kangaLMT2. She had some favorite blogs that she regularly checked and I found many of them suited my taste too. So as I was searching around Teacher Tube, I found Shift Happens
which I suggest you watch when you have the opportunity because it fits this topic. But I am posting Shake It Up by Tom Woodward because I think it shows where we've been and where we are headed. (I wasn't able to embed the video on the page, so you'll have to use the link. Just when I think I've improved my technology learning curve...)

1 comment:

Katie Williams said...

Thanks for the link to Shift Happens. I am in the middle of reading The World is Flat, so this really hit home! It is interesting to note that when people in the general public discuss education and its faults, they are often operating on a picture of the past....because that is all they know! Our challenge is to get the policy makers to look to the future.