Conclusion

What specific plans do you have for implementing technology in an educational setting as a result of what you have learned in 5720?

One technology that I learned how to use during this class is blogging for educational purposes. I already had a personal blog, and had created a blog for another class project. Through 5720 I learned how to use blogs to engage students in learning. I co-teach a book club for the Magic Tree House series for 3^rd grade boys. With each book we read together, the boys complete projects at home and we do fun activities related to the content of the book together at our meetings. I added a blogging component to our book club, and the boys love it! I post a question about the book they are reading, and they are able to respond to my question as well as comment on other students' replies. This is one more way to engage a group of boys who might otherwise avoid reading in discussing literature together. I know they have bought into it because the website was down for about two weeks, and every day someone would come ask me if the blog was working yet or not. It feels good to be missed!

I will continue using blogs for book clubs as I begin an American Girl book club for 3^rd grade girls in the spring. I am also exploring ways to make blogging part of students' homework or completing research projects in curricular areas outside of reading. Getting students interested in reading or research can be a challenge, but I believe that implementing technology can be a positive way to engage all students in learning.

The Job of Organizing

Organizing books and materials used to be in the domain of professionally trained catalogers and indexers. Now, through Web 2.0, it is in the hands of everyday "folk." What are the implications of this trend for librarians? Also, for additional food for thought, go to your Delicious site and examine your list of tags. In your opinion, are these tags more or less helpful than traditional subject headings?

I see pros and cons for putting the job of organizing books and materials in the hands of non-professionals. Personally I tend to be a perfectionist wanting everything formatted, labeled, and organized consistently; I work well with systems, charts, and checklists! However, the way I organize things may not make sense to other people which would make it difficult for others to find what they are looking for within my system. A label or group I assign to an item may not be the same as what others would think. To this end, Web 2.0 tools that allow everyone input for organization schemes make finding and retrieving items more user-friendly because it uses the intelligence of the masses to assign labels.

For example, searching an academic database using controlled vocabulary can be very efficient--IF the user is familiar with the terms assigned by the cataloger, such as Library of Congress subject headings. When the user only knows one term for an idea or topic and that term yields few results, the user will quickly become frustrated and miss out important information that sitting out there under some different label. On the other extreme are websites and search engines that have little or no sense of organization or classification of information. In this case searching may yield many results, but many will be obscure and the user must manually search for relevant information. In both of these examples, librarians are important to assist the user in finding multiple search terms and filtering irrelevant information. The best case scenario would be to combine the two practices: using a somewhat-controlled vocabulary, allow users to tag items by names and categories that make sense to them. Search engines or databases would then link terms in the controlled vocabulary and display hits from a series of linked terms. Catalogers and indexers still need to monitor and manage the organization to keep it consistent, but users' input would offer valuable information for making searching more successful.

I believe the tags offered by Delicious are more helpful than traditional subject headings because they use common, every day language. Traditional subject headings can be outdated or too technical. What I like about Delicious is that it shows me options frequently used for a particular site while still allowing me to add my own personal tags. This way I can keep my bookmarks organized in a way that makes sense to me while still benefiting from the input of other users.

Web 2.0

The title of the video that you were asked to view this week is "Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/Using Us." Referencing what you have learned about Web 2.0 through the readings in the Courtney text and through watching the video, why do you think that Professor Wesch gave this title to the video?

The title for this video is referencing the way Web 2.0 has changed the way and reasons we use computers and the internet. No longer just for big businesses or research, the web is part of our everyday lives. Because the internet is used for everything from news, banking, socializing, conducting business, researching, shopping, entertainment, and so much more, the "machine" has become a part of us. Whether it is a desktop or laptop computer or a handheld device, people all over the world are constantly connected to their machines. People do not need extensive knowledge or training in html codes or software to create and share information on the internet. Web pages are no longer static. Instead, using Web 2.0 tools people can edit or comment on others' work, creating fluid documents providing information that can be updated almost instantly. Web 2.0 tools allow for social networking, file sharing, and new information being created and linked every day. The way we use these tools has changed the way computers and the internet works. When people tag a page, image, video, post, or other data it becomes linked to similar data with like tags. These tags create a network of related data that can be searched and retrieved; the computer "learns" what to link together based on the tags and links people provide and use every day. Professor Wesch's video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g) demonstrates the cyclical pattern in the way we use the internet has evolved, because of the way we are using the internet.

Handheld Devices

Your technology director has given you a budget of $10,000 for the purchase of handheld devices in your library. What would you purchase and why? Justify what you purchase and your creative ideas for how to use the handhelds in the library, whether by students, faculty, and/or staff.

$10,000 to spend sounds like a lot of fun! However making responsible decisions about purchasing technology that will greatly impact teaching and learning school-wide is a huge responsibility. Technology can be a great tool for students and teachers to use, but if not implemented properly it can become a distraction. Handheld devices can be great instructional tools because they are small, portable, and relatively inexpensive. However, they must also be user friendly, have useful applications and capabilities, and be easy to learn and maintain. The last thing I as a librarian would want to do is spend a lot of money on a technology that causes more trouble for students and teachers than benefits.

One handheld device I would invest in for an elementary library is a class set of netbooks. At about $200 each, netbooks offer an inexpensive alternative to laptops that have fewer bells and whistles. Most data and file storage must be kept on other portable devices, making it easy for individual users (students and teachers) to keep track of their own projects. Teachers could use netbooks to take notes and create lesson plans during staff development, trainings, and team meetings, as well as manage assessment and testing data about students. Benefits for students are numerous and include research using web applications, file and data sharing, and presenting to classmates. I would spend $6,000 purchase 30 netbooks, enough for a class set and a few extras for individuals to check out.

With the remaining $4,000 I would purchase a set of iPod touch. These handheld devices cost about $300 for 32GB of memory; I would purchase 10 iPods and use the rest of the money for accessories like headphones and downloading apps and videos. I chose the iPod touch because students are familiar with using a touch screen and it allows the devices to be more interactive, especially for younger students. Teachers can design instruction on the iPods with educational videos and games. Students can work independently or in groups to complete research or enrichment projects. Struggling students will greatly benefit from iPods because they can access the same information as their peers at their own level. Emergent readers or ESL students can use iPods for audio or eBooks to improve fluency and comprehension. The wide range of applications available for iPods makes this a versatile tool for educational use.