The End, Again....

So what have I learned...a lot.

The first time around Web 2.0 was so foreign to me that this activity contributed to several mini breakdowns and embarrassing tantrums. But in the end I'm glad for it because I discovered that I had erected so many mental road blocks to unfamiliar technologies that I was in danger of becoming a techno-phobe. I found out that most of the Web 2.0 platforms out there make it very easy and I had caused myself frustration for no reason. 

I was also forced to confront my tendency to be inflexible. And as they say awareness is half the battle. So now even though it may a format or service I will never use I realize I owe it to myself and have an obligation to the future library patrons I will serve to be knowledgeable and skilled. 

As for Information Literacy, I think it is central to any and all librarianship. There are so many resources available to us as teachers and learners. And Web 2.0 allows us to be really creative in making information literacy compelling and interesting. It seems like we live in a world saturated with information but it can really challenging to filter through it. Ultimately, the information is only as good as our ability to find and critically evaluate it. 

Like the old adage...

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

 

I say...

Give a person the information and you feed their mind for a day. Teach a person to find the information and you feed their mind for a lifetime.

Or something like that :)

Social Networking...

Social Networking...I think we are all familiar with it by now. Who or what doesn't have a Facebook page nowadays?

I work in a small academic library and the office manager has a Facebook page she uses to keep in touch with all the student assistants. I think that concept could be expanded to a forum for all students to have access to library information and resources. 

Since I am already familiar with FB I poked around a Ning page for Law Librarians. Ning is a nifty platform for professionals to create a site. It allows for groups, photos, blogging, videos. While it isn't completely free for small groups up to 150 members it only costs $2.95 a month or $19.95 a year.

The site I looked at can be found at 

http://lawlibraries.ning.com/

 

My first impression is that this is a great tool for librarians and Information Literacy teachers to network, collaborate, and share ideas. There are multiple group pages for local librarians, various topics, and issues. They have an Information Literacy group where members can contribute and comment on teaching legal research skills. 

 

I thought this was a great way to have a dialogue about ways to teach IL and to learn from each others experiences. 

Are iphone Apps Web 2.0?

So, I mentioned before that my Uncle works for a school and that they abandoned Second Life. He also mentioned that they use an iphone Algebra App.

So, are Apps part of Web 2.0? I think they might be, but they are not included in the 23 Things Web 2.0 activities. Nonetheless, my curiosity has been piqued!

I am sadly sans smart phone. So a Google search was in order. One website listed the best education apps which were all aimed at what I assume are toddlers, i.e. learning the alphabet, matching games. Which begs the question do 3 year olds have iphones now?

But, there are also apps for astronomy, building flashcards, foreign languages, math, spelling, even to help organize homework assignments. Some are free others range from $.99 to $4.99.

Why not an Information Literacy App?

Second Life and Information Literacy...

There is definite potential for IL instruction in a virtual environment but I remain skeptical as to how successful teaching of any kind will be in the present format. 

For me having to navigate around to find activities or assignments is too time consuming. My impression is that a virtual course is just like blackboard except you walk your avatar around instead of just clicking on a link and reading the info.

For adult IL education I think Second Life is too juvenile. But, it may be useful for younger students. I am especially interested to see if educational institutions begin to build their own virtual worlds and if it proves to be affordable or successful in the long run.

If individually developed and maintained virtual worlds can be feasibly carried out for schools it would be cool if the faculty and librarians could develop curriculum collaboratively. Perhaps, the virtual classroom would involve a virtual librarian (sort of like an embedded librarian in a normal online class) who can provide tailored IL tools which are relevant to that particular class.

Hmm, More on Second Life...

I began to wonder if Second Life was completely irrelevant. A little Google searching however gave me pause to think.

A 2010 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, entitled "After Frustration in Second Life, Colleges look to new virtual worlds" by Jeffrey Young confirmed my suspicions.The author echoes my Uncles evaluation. 

But, while Second Life may not be an ideal medium for virtual instruction there may be alternatives. The one that seemed the most appropriate is being developed by the makers of Second Life, Linden Labs, that would be tailored to education. Colleges or other learning institutions could develop a virtual school that is limited to faculty and students.

I also saw that the University of Texas created a collaborative virtual learning archipelago in Second Life with each of its campuses occupying an island. So it seems Second Life is not obsolete.

Virtual Worlds and Second Life....

Second Life is an online virtual world. You create an avatar for yourself and can travel around in the 3-D world. Educators have set up virtual colleges, classrooms, and so on in Second Life for instruction and advising purposes. 

The Web 2.0 activity is to register for a free account and visit the Second Life Information Island. 

So I registered, downloaded the software, picked an avatar and began exploring. I was supposed to be able to "teleport" but found myself wandering around aimlessly looking for anything that said library.

It seems like a cool idea. I mean I like to play the Sims. But, Second Life was clunkier than the Sims and I kept bumping into things. Frustration began to set in.

So I called my Uncle who works for a Florida school that I knew at one point had a virtual campus and student counseling service in Second Life. This is what he said...

"Second Life was pretty cool in the beginning but it got so huge, commercial,
and scary (you could actually get robbed. Peaceful librarians would take on the alter ego of assassins), that I became disinterested. We tried doing a virtual school there but it never took off. I really think the trend toward mobility in entertainment and education also sunk it. It isn't much fun on an iPhone. On the other hand we developed an Algebra I app that people can download from iTunes that has been a huge hit. Kids love it and they get to pass their math class."