Thing 2 is about Library 2.0. Personally, I think it should be called "Libraries: the Next Generation" or "Libraries: the Second Wave". Maybe, a spin-off of that MTV show "Pimp My Ride" and call it "Pimp My Media Center". Okay. You may not know that show, but I bet some of your users do. If you're not familiar with the show, the premise is simple: young adults with old, plain vehicles take them to an auto detailing shop to get it "pimped out". Television sets in the back seat, aquariums in the headrests, special colored lights inside and under the car. It's wild. Some of the updates seem unnecessary, but fun and tailored to the driver's desires.
Well, our libraries need to meet our users at least halfway to stay relevant and be useful to them. It's a bit of a challenge for school libraries and librarians. Some of these 2.0 tools are blocked by districts, but as intellectual freedom fighters and facilitators, we must work with our faculty, tech reps and curriculum heads to gain access. After all, every state has technology objectives that are required by the state to be taught. Here's it your crowbar to pry those block accessed tools open. Thankful the district is very open to technology and software, but there is still a gap. The gap between our state and district approved databases (what we want our students to use) and tools like Wikipedia and Google (what the students, even some teachers want to use).
Given the age of the students I work with, some of the tools may be out of reach for them, but I can introduce some of them. I can see them contributing to our library's Flickr page with their projects, creating mashups and using image generators. Some may even be ready to blog using our district's email provider. I hope to share some of their work in the future. Until then, keep buzzing.
Queen B.
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Blogs and wikis are great ways to improve student writing. If they know someone will read it, they will work harder to get their message across. We have used blogs for book reviews, wikis for research on a topic and posting what they have learned, and podcasting for booktalks orginally by librarians, and then by students. Donna
ReplyDeleteI do want to do a wiki with my older students and GT students I work with. They love to see their work on the internet. I did have some students do book reviews, but we use PhotoStory instead of a blog because of their ages. I plan to use the blog in combination with Shelfari to do my book reviews.
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