I was really intrigued by the concept of censorship and search engine results, and for that matter any mechanism that chooses the information that you have access to.
Which I think brings us to the pivotal point as TLs that we must be aware of and fluent in the strengths and limitations of the various sources of information we use and subsequently promote/teach with our students.
The more current and critically informed we are the better able we are to facilitate the transfer of these skills to our students so that they have increased access and mitigate the effects of intentional or unintentional censorship.
From a teaching perspective I now appreciate the significance of understanding how to retrieve the most useful/relevant information - is a form of organization of resources and this is important because it ultimately increases access for students.
So, as much as I want to resist becoming somewhat of a "techie" it is important in order to be effective as a TL who envisions their role as facilitating access and providing opportunity for students to use and make meaning of the information they retrieve that I understand the scope and nuances of digital technology.
Wednesday 25 January 2012
Monday 23 January 2012
Lisa I really felt that your comment that referred to the "...search terms for a search engine is a skill acquired by all great webmasters, or programmers, or tech savvy people just as a good cataloguer develops skills to increase the likelihood that pertinent materials will be easily found by the library patron" really set the light bulb off with with respect to connecting the idea of the effect of our role as TL and our understanding of metadata organization and how this truly does affect our ability to increase access for our students. Lesson 3 musings
Thursday 19 January 2012
I found it very interesting reading through the various postings to your (Kristi's) comments with respect to ironic situation that arises when considering the restrictions that historically have been placed on reference material vs. the full on-line access that is available 24/7. This certainly reflects the 'change' that Loertscher discusses in Flip This Library article. His discussion of the need for "...a 180-degree switch", and movement from a "..library owns to collection" to "...access to copyrighted infomation becomes elastic access rather than ownership...". Kristi's example has made me reflect upon the policies and procedures that were historically effective (given the cost of the resources and the lack of technology) but today are they relevant? Even something as simple as the number of books a student is allowed to check out... does this require reflection given the access to ebooks - however, will all our students have access to ebooks at hom? (could this widened a gap between economically advantaged and disadvantaged students) , from a replacement point of view do we want unlimited number of books going out to one student at anytime? All interesting questions to ponder as a TL and as you develop policies for the learing resource center. Technology has and will continue to elict ongoing reflection in terms of what we do, how we do it, and is what we do relevant and effective for our students.
I liked Beth's initiative to have students compare the print and nonprint resources. Having students work with the strengths and limitations of varying resources and their formats, not only allows students to develop a criteria system for the usefulness of a particular resource for a specific use but also broadens their perspective on how varying resouces add pieces to the "picture" of the concept - and isn't that about creating knowledge from information. :) As well Jodi's point about comparing varying sources helps teach information literacy skills for different resource format is valid and an example of how this can be taught in context if integrated into a curriculum outcome.
I liked Beth's initiative to have students compare the print and nonprint resources. Having students work with the strengths and limitations of varying resources and their formats, not only allows students to develop a criteria system for the usefulness of a particular resource for a specific use but also broadens their perspective on how varying resouces add pieces to the "picture" of the concept - and isn't that about creating knowledge from information. :) As well Jodi's point about comparing varying sources helps teach information literacy skills for different resource format is valid and an example of how this can be taught in context if integrated into a curriculum outcome.
Saturday 14 January 2012
I do agree that having so many links available to explore can cause problems in terms of time management and balancing broadening one's perspective and responding either through discussion and assignments. However, this challenge is one that not only we face but our students face - and therefore our challenges and the strategies we come up with for dealing with them - can be shared with our students and ultimately help them navigate through information overload.
From the perspective of gaining access to information and forming knowledge - having linkages allows the viewer to pursue the areas where they need clarification, not only does this promote self-directed learning, but also self-assessment as to where our deficits are currently with a topic. In addition, we all come from different experiences and knowledge base but through supplemental links we can "level" the playing field - not to mention view varying sources and minimize the bias of individual authors on our overall interpretation of information.
From the perspective of gaining access to information and forming knowledge - having linkages allows the viewer to pursue the areas where they need clarification, not only does this promote self-directed learning, but also self-assessment as to where our deficits are currently with a topic. In addition, we all come from different experiences and knowledge base but through supplemental links we can "level" the playing field - not to mention view varying sources and minimize the bias of individual authors on our overall interpretation of information.
I was really intrigued with the components of the word "access" in terms of both the intellectual and physical aspects that need to be considered with respect to the organization and management of resources, a school library program and the role of the TL and how this can enhance student learning.
Informational literacy skills are needed to be able to access information - and as such these skills also have intellectual and physical components to be considered. Access to resources --- support student learning! Students should be supported so that they have successful experiences retrieving information! How to plan for this - how to design and instruct for this --- the challenge for educators! Relecting on our own experiences, frustrations, and strategies as we navigate through information and resources can be illuminating here.
Informational literacy skills are needed to be able to access information - and as such these skills also have intellectual and physical components to be considered. Access to resources --- support student learning! Students should be supported so that they have successful experiences retrieving information! How to plan for this - how to design and instruct for this --- the challenge for educators! Relecting on our own experiences, frustrations, and strategies as we navigate through information and resources can be illuminating here.
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