Facebook reflections

Social Networks are one of the Web 2.0 tools I actually knew a little about at the start of this course--Why, you wonder? Isn't Facebook more of a teen thing? Yes indeed, I feel like a real geezer when sign into Facebook. My own personal use of Facebook has remained very limited. I've connected with a few friends who live far away, and that's kind of nice, but that is pretty much it. Oh, and I'm connected to a lot of my kids' friends and to my nieces and nephews.Sometimes I find the news feed on their activities quite jarring--- and I'm pretty sure they're not that interested in my activities, but they wouldn't find out much from my profile anyway. It is just one more thing that I don't really have time or energy to invest in---but I do see the power it holds the younger people. It really seems to help them with their search for identity, which is the main task of adolescence.

Because I live in a home that has been full of teenagers for the last 11 years. Ive been hearing and seeing little bits about Facebook and related things like Instant messaging and email for years. Because I was an at-home Mom our house was frequently the gathering place for a pack of teen-aged boys and interactivity was the word. Our basement rocked to the sounds of teens playing a multi-player video game, hooting and hollering about every heroic conquest. Anyone not playing was on the computer sending email, instant messages and eventually updating their Facebook profiles. What I noticed was the more technology involved the better----soon of all the guys had cell phones too, so texting, picture taking, bizarre ring tones--basically lots of noise---has always been connected to technology in my mind. What impressed me most was that the web of connections must be maintained at all times. The kids always know where everyone else is, and they are highly skilled in organizational planning. My teens can plan all kinds of activities through Facebook--ranging from social gatherings to carpools for soccer. I think they prefer to plan on Facebook--more efficient use of energy!

Both my sons and daughter became involved in performing at some point, and I think that comes in really handy these days because teens seem to spend so much time as the hero of their own story, documenting both everyday events and rites of passage. Facebook helps them get their experiences out there to the audience of the larger world.

By contrast, I noticed while doing my Voicethreads creation how difficult it was for me to record my voice and thoughts---I spent a lot of time rejecting the 'spontaneous me'--revising and cringing in equal measure. Put me in front of real people that I can see and make authentic connections to and I'm comfortable and stimulated by visual and auditory interactions with my audience. But me and the machine---not so much.

My kids, part of the Facebook generation, avidly share images, thoughts and tidbits of information that I would never put out to a large audience. In a strange way I think they are liberated by their lack of inhibition--and this connects to the theme I've returned to every week--there is such an ocean of info out there--who really pays attention to all this stuff? Is it really that different from the gossipping I did with my highschool friends in person and on the phone?

Of course there are some significant differences. Anyone who wants to share personal details on the web needs to be aware of safety issues-- and that kind of information literacy learning needs to begin as soon as a child starts using the computer, both at home and at school. Certainly school administrators and teachers have developed lots of ways to protect their students and the creators of the Web 2.0 applications put tremendous energy into security features, too but cyber-bullying is a real issue. I also wonder about the long term effects of inappropriate Facebook material that is perused by future employers. Time will tell, on that score.

Social Networks--how to stay connected 24/7

Social Networks are nothing new. People have been finding ways to be and stay connected since the dawn of time.Whether we gathered around a campfire, at the matriarch's cave, on the village green, at the harvest field , at the church for communal rituals, or in hordes at the mall, humans have been ingenious in devising ways to share personal information.

The digital natives have created a new form - online social networks for communities of people to share interests and activities.

According to Wikipedia:

Most services are primarily web based and provide a collection of various ways for users to interact, such as chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups, and so on. Social networking has revolutionized the way we communicate and share information with one another in today's society. Various social networking websites are being used by millions of people everyday on a regular basis and it now seems that social networking is a part of everyday life.

The main types of social networking services are those which contain directories of some categories (such as former classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages), and recommender systems linked to trust. Popular methods now combine many of these, with MySpace and Facebook being the most widely used in North America,^[1] Bebo^[2], MySpace, Skyrock Blog , Facebook and Hi5 in parts of Europe,^[3], Orkut and Hi5 in South America and Central America,^[4] Friendster, Orkut and CyWorld in Asia and the Pacific Islands.^[5] Vkontakte.ru and LiveJournal in Russia.

Blogs vs Social Networking

I found a great wiki here which outlined some educational perspectives on uses of blogs and social networks. Of special interest is this description of why the social networking sites are so appealing---

Many parents understand the appeal of social networking sites, as they are used to the lengths that youth will go to receive attention--whether positive or negative. Our individual needs to be acknowledged, to be valued, and to be part of a group are heightened during teenage years. Social networking sites provide a fast and effective way to give and receive attention, and not all of it appropriate.

and why kids often behave inappropriately online---

Because technology often provides 1) a perceived buffer from regular consequences and 2) a real buffer from traditional social cues, people will say and do things through technology that they would not do face-to-face. (The scientific term for this is "disinhibition.") If this is apparent with email, instant messaging, and text messaging on cell phones, it seems even more glaring on social networking sites. Youth who do not have any real understanding of the dangers or consequences of certain behavior will often talk openly about sexual issues or post provocative pictures online. While this may sometimes reflect their actual behavior, it is believed that many youth are being provocative in order to gain attention--not realizing how dangerous this actually is.

I found another great resource for parents and educators on Doug Johnson's site--a series of lessons called Raising Good Citizens for a Virtual World an excellent description of the ways we model and teach ethical behaviour, calling forth the best that is in our children and youth. The optimist in me really believes that most people want to treat others the way they'd like to be treated themselves and this golden rule extends to the virtual world. When we take time to share with our children our own beliefs and values we give them something to hang onto as they navigate the tricky road of adolescence.

My favourite article echoes the Bonnie Raitt song I Jazzercized to so many years ago with the title:Let's Give Them Something to Talk About by Ashley Jones. EContent. Wilton: Mar 2008. Vol. 31, Iss. 2; pg. 10, 2 pgs.

Retrieved from Proquest, March 29, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1442269341).

This one hit the high spots for me. Jones writes that "humans, by nature, are social beings. Teenagers, by nature, are social machines." She quotes a new study released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, "Teens and Social Media," which reveals some distinct differences between the ways teens and adults use social networks. She writes:

"90% of online adults are merely lurkers, and only 10% actually contribute to the Web 2.0 movement. In contrast, according to the report's findings, 64% of online teens have participated in a content-creating activity on the internet, up from 57% of online teens in 2004...

Most of the content creation among teens today occurs on social networking websites like the aforementioned Facebook or MySpace. In fact, according to the study, 55% of online teens ages 12-17 have a profile on a social networking site. Mary Madden, a senior research specialist at Pew and one of the writers of this report says, "This survey discusses the conversational portion of social media. We found that teens want feedback, and they can get that feedback on social networking sites".

When it comes to social networking sites, feedback comes in many forms. Wall posts, photo albums, comments, blogging, and video posts are among the most popular, and the report from Pew finds that not only are teens in general using social networking sites to interact, but the type of online interaction varies depending on gender.

Girls have always demonstrated a more aggressive adoption of online messaging in general. Prior to Web 2.0, it was instant messaging, and now it is seen in the forms of writing on friends' walls and blogging. It seems that girls are more focused on verbal expression.

In contrast, teenage boys are posting video files more readily than girls. While the study states that 57% of all online teens watch videos online, teenage boys are twice as likely as girls to post video files (19% versus 10%). "There is a fascination with visual media, especially among boys, today," says Madden.

The endless loop of feedback that teens long for, comes in the area of comments. I can vouch for the importance of this based on the amount of time my 14 year old daughter spends posting and collecting comments. According to the Pew study:

89% of teens who post photos online say that people comment at least "sometimes" about the photos they post, and 37% of those teenagers say that their audience comments on their photos "most of the time." Further, 72% of teen video posters report receiving comments "sometimes," and 24% say that people comment "most of the time."

Another article I read, by Michael Stephens (2007). Social Networking Services. Library Technology Reports, 43(5), 45-51. Retrieved March 30, 2008, from ProQuest Education Journals database. (Document ID: 1341876331), went into a detailed analysis of the strengths and weakness between MySpace.com and Facebook.com, with Facebook coming out ahead on most points, for security, ease of use, design layout, the fact that you are connected to your actual real friends, news updates and messaging. What intrigued me most is that several libraries and librarians are using Facebook in creative ways to interact with students (teens and college students).

Libraries and librarians are adding their presence here, too. Robert J. Lackie, associate professor/librarian at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, posted at the LibraryGarden blog about his use of Facebook:As a librarian and professor, I joined Facebook last year when I found out that the students in my public speaking class were communicating with each other via that tool, instead of our university's email system. It was amazing how much more open and willing the students were to sharing information about each other and their individual and group projects in our class, via Facebook. They were thrilled that I was willing to join Facebook, and they loved that I used it to find out and celebrate their birthdays, for instance, as they came up during the semester

The author concludes with a list of suggestions for possible ways to use social networking systems for libraries:

* Investigate some library MySpace profiles and create one for your library. Follow the lead of HCPL and PLCMC and create an extension of your library in users' space.

* Create a Facebook page for yourself. Add as much personal information as you'd like. Find colleagues to "friend." Try some of the applications and features. Then, follow the advice of librarians like Brian Mathews and engage your users in a conversation.

* Create a Ning social network for your library staff (or department, branch, agency, etc) and explore the features of a do-it-yourself SNS. Create groups for your library teams. Manage projects and communication channels for library-wide initiatives.

* Create a Ning site for your library users, such as a readers' community, homework or coursework help site, or technology support clearinghouse. Promote it. Invite participation.

These suggestions are quite ambitious, and intended perhaps, more for university and public libraries. A lot of the features of the virtual libraries we explored a few weeks ago are more likely to be useful in the elementary or high school school setting, but the idea of going where the users go is sound. Facebook has only been in existence since 2004. As with any other evolving use of technology, things are bound to change!

I came across tassl.com an application that uses Facebook to keep detailed track of your classes at university, connects you with other members of your classes, and includes contact with your instructors. This makes sense to me since a new university student could feel isolated. Lots of profs are using Facebook at the college level and are delighted with their ability to connect with individual students. At the High School level, use of social network sites is usually blocked--though students are very adept at finding ways to get around this hurdle. In High School, I think that an academic focus while using school computers is most appropriate. Social networking so far, needs to happen from home, with parental interest and monitoring.

Connections

Another piece of the multimedia explorations involves revisiting some Information Literacy essentials. Creating a Voicethread is fun and can demonstrate learning, but it also means students are looking critically at the ways media can be manipulated, because that is what they are doing themselves. Lesley Farmer in I see, I do: Persuasive messages and visual literacy. MultiMedia & Internet@Schools suggests a variety of activities for students to engage in that will help them flex their critical thinking muscle. For example, students can:

• manipulate images using photo editing to present both pro and con sides of an issue
• videotape their neighbourhood and then compare the different subject matter and perspective chosen by each film-maker
• look at on-line sites and evaluate the sources by considering what perspective most benefits the creator
• download raw footage from a rally or protest and then use that footage to target a particular audience (e.g. seniors, single parents, students).

Mary Burns, in A Thousand Words: Promoting Teachers' Visual Literacy Skills, MultiMedia & Internet@Schools reminds us that:

Both still and moving images ...serve as powerful shorthand for communication. These images are concise. Images are not bound by language. Their very imprecision renders them more evocative and open to subjective interpretation...schools must begin to introduce concepts of visual literacy and methods for understanding, applying, analyzing, and synthesizing visual information.

Using multimedia applications is appealing, understanding the power of this tool is essential.

Voicethreads victory!

I really enjoyed poking around on the Voicethreads site. I saw lots of examples here of educators and students using this medium in exciting ways. Technofeeb that I am, I really appreciated the simplicity of the whole experience. Basically, if I can figure it out anyone could. I think Steve Muth and Ben Popell were thinking of me when they decided to use the amazon.com site as an example---2 or 3 clicks and you've succeeded in your quest! The site allows you to create something with layered complexity, but the new user is their guide.

What's a Voicethread anyway? offers some great examples of what kinds of things are possible with Voicethreads. Some examples:

• multiple family members' comments on a vintage family photograph
• a young artist's (age 5?) description of a drawing he'd made
• a teacher's lecture and slides,
• a school project media mash up of Catcher in the Rye,
  
• a demonstration of how to do the Hustle
• a book review by several students
• a comparison of a book and a movie exploring the strengths of each
  

This list will undoubtedly grow as more people interact with this flexible format. It is easy to see every department and curriculum area finding useful applications for Voicethread projects. Voicethreads could be used in Math, Science, Home Ec, Woodworking, P.E.-- any area where a demonstration is used either to help with instruction or to demonstrate understanding. Distance learners would also benefit. In fact, part of the reason I found this easy to use was because of the tutorials that showed exactly which button to press to carry out an action.

The One Minute Voicethread gave simple enough instructions that even I managed the set up and creation of my masterpiece Swirly Sarah. Okay, it's not a masterpiece but it is a start. For someone who has never even attempted a powerpoint presentation, not too bad!

Jumpcut Jaunt

My first question is what the heck is a jumpcut?

According to Wikipedia:

the name is derived from the jumpcut, a video artifact that results from the splicing together of two separate parts of the same shot, or similar sections from two different shots".

I still do not feel very enlightened and this does not bode well for my adventures with video. Jumpcut.com boggles me from the beginning. I am not someone with a little stockpile of movies that I'm keen to edit and re-form. I made the attempt however, because I know this is something that students do love. As kids who've grown up watching music videos, they see movie making as an accessible artform. It is also a natural format for creative expression and demonstration of learning--very suitable to the world of education.

One of the things I liked about Jumpcut.com, (a common feature of the Web 2.0 world) is the emphasis on sharing--if you make your videos and photos public, others can use them to make movies of their own or to enhance their own creations. Joining jumpcut.com is easy, and they do their best to make the instructions clear.

Alas that wasn't quite enough for me.... At this point I just explored the site and found lots of images that were unappealing and inappropriate for students. It is my understanding that there is movie-making software aplenty that would be more useful in a school setting. When I recover from my technology trauma after this course is over I will learn how to work with video---probably engaging some experienced student as my guide. Giving a student an opportunity to teach me is pedagogically sound, right?

Multimedia Today

To begin we start with Wikipedia's definition of multimedia--

media that utilizes a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun (a medium with multiple content forms) or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which only utilize traditional forms of printed or hand-produced text and still graphics. In general, multimedia includes a combination of text, audio, still images, animation, video, and interactivity content forms. Multimedia may be broadly divided into linear and non-linear categories. Linear active content progresses without any navigation control for the viewer such as a cinema presentation. Non-linear content offers user interactivity to control progress as used with a computer game or used in self-paced computer based training. Non-linear content is also known as hypermedia content.

This definition is quite a bit broader than the mixed media presentation I know from the art world where a variety of art forms are mixed together, e.g. dance performance combined with visual images and music, or an installation piece at an art gallery that might combine film or traditional paintings with soundscapes. We've known for a long time that the artist's statement has a stronger impact on the viewer as more senses come into play. So, it is too, in today's world of multimedia.

The big difference between a mixed media presentation of old, and some of today's multimedia experiences, is the addition of two powerful new tools-- interactivity and hypermedia links.
The addition of a viewer (or learner) controlled aspect to the experience moves learning into a brave new world that is self-directed.

Of particular interest is the ways that educators and students are using multimedia creations in the Web 2.0 world to create some amazing experiential documents. Document is perhaps not quite the right word, because the most interesting feature of all is the interactive aspect. Using Voicethreads or Jumpcut people can easily connect still images, sound, animation, video and allow viewers to respond with either spoken or written comments.


As Joyce Valenza reminds us in:

Top School Library Things to Think About in 2008

"The end-product of research and inquiry should be communication of knowledge. And the options for communication exploded this year. ... We can reform PowerPoint for presentation and we can explore a wealth of other creative Web-based presentation options. .... VoiceThread is just one powerful option with nearly no learning curve."


I like this introduction from the VoiceThread site:

‘Participation is not optional’

A VoiceThread allows every child in a class to record audio commentary about the ideas and experiences that are important to them. Whether it’s an event, a project, or a milestone, children can tell their story in their own voice, and then share it with the world. For teachers, a VoiceThread offers a single vessel to capture and then share all the diverse personalities of an entire class. A VoiceThread can be managed with little effort, creating an heirloom that can be shared by students, parents, and educators alike. You can hear the pride and excitement in their voices as the students “publish” and archive their work. Behind every photo, drawing, or project, is at least one story, and often many more. VoiceThreads offer a simple way to capture and share them. This act of ‘publishing’ a creation which can then be seen all the way from Cheyenne to Shanghai, strongly reinforces the message we try to send to our children everyday, that their work is great, and worthy of the world’s attention.

I listened to a podcast at the Technology Shopping Cart site where co-founders of VoiceThread , Steve Muth and Ben Popell described the intent of their creation, and further provided details of Ed.VoiceThread , their new offering for educators that includes many new safeguards put in place so that this tool can be used with accountability. They describe their idea of letting students get their ideas out into the wide world, the global village---to receive feedback and enhance learning.

"The Ed.VoiceThread network is a worldwide community where safety is built upon a foundation of accountability. All users are known users, responsible for their content and behavior. Access is restricted to K-12 educators, students and administrators, and all content is created exclusively by registered members of the community. Web services offering free accounts are blocked in many school districts because of child online protection policies, and are not eligible for federal eRate monies. For this reason, there are no free Ed.VoiceThread accounts and student email addresses are not required. Educators must pay a one time $10 verification fee to become a member of the community, with no recurring costs."

Another feature that I liked on the Ed.VoiceThread is that a student's work can be saved from year to year:

As long as a school or class remains a subscriber to the network we continue to store student work indefinitely. Because our pricing is not based on 'seats', log-ins, or users, every year you can add new student users without deleting the old ones. This is critical to the goal of building year-over-year student portfolios.

For my purposes the free version of VoiceThreads was fine, though Muth and Popell discussed the fact that Voicethreads is often blocked in schools. Both the tech folks and administration need to see the value before changes are made to the system. Ed.VoiceThread offers a secure alternative for an affordable price. For more details and comparisons check About VoiceThreads .

pb wiki-Is pb wiki easy?

Wikis in Plain English

lee lefevre's great explanation

Time well wasted?

Just a note to self--if I can't be a good example, at least let me be a horrible warning! I have spent so much time today trying to find pictures that will tart up my blog.I can see how much more fun it is to read a post with images, BUT I am very keen to use images that are not violating copyright. I seem to be pretty confused about the topic. I began this course with limited computer skills so every week I know that I'm learning plenty, but I waste a LOT of time trying to do things for the second and third time....I expect to remember, but I don't.

Wiki Wacky

This week's topic is the wiki so I begin with a connection to the mother of all wikis-the original wikipedia

The essential ingredient inherent in the word wiki- is quick. Using wikipedia is a quick, ballpark reference for students of all ages. Using wikipedia as your ONLY source is not recommended, but when we're engaged in helping students develop their critical thinking abilities, using wikipedia as one of several sources can be instructive. At the high school where I teach, I notice that students in the library, busy researching any topic, seem to always start with wikipedia. It is quicker than walking all the way to the reference room to pick up a physical encyclopedia, and will quite certainly be a more current resource. That's one of the very cool things about wikipedia--it's alive! According to the helpful information on the wikipedia site,Using Wikipedia as a research tool:
As a wiki, articles are never complete. They are continually edited and improved over time, and in general this results in an upward trend of quality, and a growing consensus over a fair and balanced representation of information.

I found more defining details on the librarian's wiki LISwiki:
Wikis are, in general, online content repositories that allow others to contribute and modify entries. The name comes from the "wiki wiki" shuttle buses at the Honolulu International Airport.

Wikis are online, collaborative environments that allow anyone to add, edit, or delete pages. Some Wikis require registered membership, and others are private, but many allow anyone with access to the Web to contribute. Wikis use a simplified mark-up syntax that allow users to contribute without special knowledge of HTML. Many Wikis now also offer What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) editing, similar to a word processor, which makes it easier for some users to contribute. However, many experienced Wiki contributors prefer Wiki syntax.

I had been wondering what WYSIWYG meant! In truth, since I could be the posterchild for inexperienced users of technology, it's a great thing to know that using a wiki is so accessible. I found the pbwiki youtube video bolstered my confidence even more. If these people could use a wiki so could I!

More research support from the librarian's wiki:

• Though Wikis do require some experimentation, they are easy to learn for the average, computer-literate user (Chawner and Lewis 2006, 33; Raman 2006, 60).
• Many free or inexpensive Wiki engines and Wiki farms are available (Casey and Savastinuk 2006; Raman 2006, 61).
• Wikis support communication and knowledge sharing (Raman 2006, 63-64).

There are lots of educational uses for wikis ranging from teacher collaborations, student group projects, class creations (e.g. a wiki of book recommendations by individual students), administrators (e.g. school plan collaborative documents), Parent Advisory committee minutes and projects, etc. The possibilities are only limited by imagination and one's attitude of techno-bravery.

Since Elizabeth took on the leadership role in creating our group project wiki, I still needed to fully experience the process of creating a wiki in order to demonstrate my learning. Following Ronda's advice, I checked out the wiki matrix. Here I answered about 10 questions that got me thinking more about how much and/or how little I needed to understand to use a wiki. The questionaire helped me narrow it down to 20 wiki styles. I chose one that was recommended, but that I hadn't seen much about before. Wetpaint.com:

Wetpaint (www.wetpaint.com) lets anyone create a free hosted wiki website in minutes. Wetpaint sites are different from other wikis because anyone can easily add text, photos, or links to other websites just by clicking on the "EasyEdit" button and typing. Wetpaint eliminates the need to learn wiki syntax which significantly increases the number of people who can participate in helping grow and edit content to the site.

Okay, I chose wetpaint.com because of the name. Anything involving/evoking wet paint has got to be fun and creative, right? As I moved through the wetpaint.com site I was offered lots of information... but not too much, if you catch my drift. In fact, I tried to shut down my critical, cautious brain and just go with the flow.

Elizabeth was right--the hardest part was choosing a name. I had to think about what I might actually use a wiki for, non-professionally. I wanted to give myself the chance to just play with the format---without creating extra pressure.

I decided to make a wiki for my book group and came up with the descriptive, if somewhat dull, name of Victoria Book Lovers.The lovers part is a sly reference to the fact that we are a bunch of married couples who meet monthly to socialize and talk about the books we've chosen to read together.

We have been together 4 or 5 years and try to read a book a month. One of our founding members is a trained librarian (not me). She diligently keeps track of what we've read. I think the wiki would appeal to the members of this group because everyone can't be at every meeting, but people still like to comment on the book under discussion. Some members have emailed in their thoughts from as far away as New York and South Africa.

I can see just having a page for each book, maybe rating each one--thumbs up or down, and writing about how the in-person discussion changes how we think about books. I would also track the books that people had the most trouble reading---an awful biography of Jack Nicholson comes to mind. I think only 2 out of 12 made it through that one....I set up the wiki in under 10 minutes--seems easy---but when I try to return the next day I can't find it. Wetpaint.com starts to lose points for reliability. Obviously not completely user-friendly!

So I give it another try.This time I see that it is advertising-heavy and not as simple to use as pbwiki. Certainly less appealing for a school setting. I can imagine setting up a wiki in the school library for book reviews or recommendations.It would be quite straightforward to show students and staff how to access and contribute. No doubt many students could 'pretty it up'. I wonder about multiple editors and how that would play out in a school-wide context. I need to do more research and find out my details about school technology policies.

In sum, my favourite part of the wiki experience has been getting to hum wiki wacki woo* along with Jim Kweskin all week.

* a few of the lyrics from Irving Berlin's song:

Maybe she'll sigh
Maybe she'll cry
Maybe she'll find somebody else
Bye and bye to sing to
When it's cool and shady
Where the tricky wiki wackies woo
If you like-a ukulele lady
Ukulele lady like-a you.

Copyright 1925 Irving Berlin Inc - The ukulele was brought to Hawai`i from Madeira, Portugal in 1879. Three immigrants are credited with introducing the stringed instrument: Manuel Nunes, Augusto Diaz and Jose do Espirito Santo. These three played for the royal court and performed throughout Hawai`i. King Kalâkaua and Queen Lili`uokalani both played the ukulele and were instrumental in promoting it's popularity. There are three theories on how the ukulele (jumping flea) was named. 1) Playing of the instrument was described as finger movements jumping like fleas; 2) Edward Purvis was nicknamed the ukulele and the instrument was known as "Ukulele's instrument; 3) Purvis's fingers looked like jumping fleas when he played.

Virtual libraries--To Infinity and Beyond!

To Infinity... and Beyond --- the real world of virtual libraries.

I begin with a quote from a favourite philosopher, Buzz Lightyear. Buzz says it all when he invites us to infinity and beyond ---there is so much out there that it literally makes my head spin.In truth, I'm complaining about my health----I keep having major dizzy spells that must be part of some weird virus. I've been home most of the week sleeping and reading--but most of the writing I tried to Friday disappeared into the Blackboard-abyss, so today I still feel crummy AND I'm still behind. I'm quite disappointed in myself because I was so determined to stay playful and positive, NOT take it all too seriously.(Hopefully that explains all the cartoon images I've used this week). I guess I can decide that analytically, but my body has other ideas.

I know I'm a bit of a one-note Johnny when I keep underscoring the essential aspect of playful learning, but as I contemplate introducing web 2.0 tools to some of my non-techie colleagues I know that there will be resistance. They are hesitant to embrace all of the new web 2.0 options---just like me. As I ponder the challenges of making professional development effective, I keep the leery learner in mind. But I digress, this is topic 2 musing....

So, back to the world of virtual libraries. My first research stop was at the Teacher-Librarian guru, Joyce Valenza's Springfield Township High School library. My first impression was funky, fun, inviting. I would definitely enjoy accessing this site whether I was a student, a teacher, a parent or visiting TL. I especially liked her design layout--artwork courtesy of a relative-- very Magic Schoolbus/Mrs. Frizzle--

tons of cool and extremely useful stuff.
But as I kept poking around I began to get overwhelmed. I thought WHOA! This is a galaxy of stuff to sort through.

This of course, is the same response I've had pretty well every week of this course. Too much information is almost as bad as too little, (not really!), and it can eat up a LOT of time and 'product hours'. For example, if I'm at work exploring virtual libraries to research the upcoming changes to our school website, at what point does the value of fresh inspiration and learning end, and the time-waster function commence? We think about TV as a time-waster, but of course the internet trumps TV (to emulate Doug Johnson's pithy comments). Suddenly I'm doing an old Brittany Spears song: 'Oops, I've done it again.

By making the connection to Doug Johnson's article, Dangers and Opportunities:Challenges for Libraries in the Digital Age Ive started to side-track myself again. There is so much fascinating stuff to explore, but the ability to re-focus on the task at hand is required. (As a teacher, I want to know more about the ways we help students develop this skill because internet use is a daily part of student life).

Back to Johnson for a moment.When he quotes Michael Jensen's list of the number of ways in which one type of information is becoming more valued than another by today's searchers, his comments are most pertinent to the evaluation of a virtual library. Jensen's list:

Free trumps cost

Open trumps firewalled

Easy trumps intricate

Fast sufficiency trumps clumsy quality.

Integrated/linked trumps siloed

Findable trumps precise

Recommended trumps available

Updateable trumps static

Every item on the list is an aspect of the ideal Virtual Library.

The virtual library is an amazing resource that can:

• level the playing field for access to resources
• take users on a journey of connection as they follow link after link
• locate the actual (physical) resource in your library
• teach users how to search online databases effectively
• model and/or showcase best practice whether it's the best way to write a blog or research a social studies topic
• highlight new books and other resources
  
• offer on-line collaboration options e.g. wikis which then form a library of shared resources.
• inform users about school policies, procedures, and news
• publish student and staff creative work( links to videos, podcasts, poetry, essays etc. ad infinitum)
• assist students with homework outside of library hours
• advertise special events that take place in the(physical) library, i.e. visiting authors, book club discussions, workshops
• quite a few thousand more things I haven't thought of yet...
  

Not surprisingly, Valenza's site hits the bull's eye. I continued my search for other good sites. I found a directory that listed virtual library sites from around the world. I checked out the Canadian sites and was especially impressed by the site created by Judith Comfort at Dr.Charles Best Secondary School Library
Some of my favourite features were a Should we buy these titles? link on the teacher resources page that listed 5 titles (and the links to Amazon with more product information). Getting feedback from other staff about prospective titles is a great idea. Of course what really sold me was the question posed 'Virtual tools speed up your life but do they improve it' with an invitation to leave a comment just below. Another feature, Behind the screen - for teacher-librarians, led me to a million more reasons to frequent this site.

All this leaves me back where I started, slightly overwhelmed with all the possibilities there are out there for amazingly useful, vibrant, stimulating virtual libraries. Make that overwhelmed, inspired, and motivated to keep learning.