Library and Web 2.0 - The Experts

I'm looking for mentors and gurus of Web 2.0 in my school library community. Years ago as I started researching Information Literacy principals and then Digital Information Fluency skills I came across a school librarian who really put into practice all of the skills we know that are critical to teach our students (and by our or my students I mean each student/teacher/administrator/paraprofessional etc. that was in our building)

Joyce Valenza continues to inspire and lead the way for librarians to give our students the tools/resources and opportunities to succeed in our information rich world.

I have accessed her school library page giving which gives resources and tutorials on information literacy skills and her blog

From Joyce's blog I was directed to another librarian's blog...Judy O'Connell. Her blog too gives great insight into teaching information literacy using the Web 2.0 I have to admit though I know about the concept of the RSS feed, I've never engaged it. I found that both of these blogs allow me to have a feed go straight into my Google Reader. (I'm a few months new to having a gmail account).

Judy's blog also gave me access to her del.icio.us tagged list which is a wealth of information dealing with everything from blogs and podcasting to pageflakes and squidoo...

I feel like I've learned an tremendous amount in this past week and I feel more confident about my OET assignment...

Stephen Downes - Web 2.0 Principals of Learning

I found the articles and podcasts on Stephen Downes web site really interesting. He makes learning and e-learning principles make sense. His ideas about Learning Online are broken down into 3 categories...

1) Making the most of Interaction by engaging and motivating....learning by putting yourself in the center not the content of the lesson. Forums such as emailing, blogging are effective as well as the instant communication ofSkype and instant messaging, and also online classrooms like Elluminate or Centra (haven't seen this one...)

2) E-learning has to have a degree of Usabilityto make it effective. It takes consistency and simplicity. It is important to identify your learning theory and teaching style. Using tools like anLMS system or a Wiki one is able to gather information and summarize and save it in their own words; including tagging it with unique vocabulary.

3) And finally the information must be Relevant. Get what you want when you want it....filter the information ruthlessly (I love this quote) Information is a FLOW not a collection of OBJECTS....
Through repeated exposure to information that is determined by the users function it then becomes relevant.

As I progress through my own journey of the Online Learning experience....I too am reflecting on the fact that it takes a lot of discipline....and that I may not need or find relevant all of the information provided in the readings and notes. I'm finding the fact that I'm not currently in the classroom/library it is a greater challenge to find the relevance to what I am doing. I find that I am a person and a student who learns by doing and also what I do needs to be relevant to my daily activities....and I keep reflecting...isn't that just life?

Blogging vs. Discussion Thread

Looking at weblogs and discussion threads brings to mind looking at each from the point of view as a teacher and as a student.

As a teacher I can see the benefits of both...the threaded discussion is guided by the teacher and the students and teacher can question and respond in one central location. I also see the benefits of having students create a blog as it allows them to be creative and individualize their learning experience. I know that there would have to be guidance and direction for

As a student I can also see the benefits of both, but my learning style and learning experiences to date prefer the teacher guided discussion. This may be due to the fact that blogging is very personal and public and I find myself feeling vulnerable....is there a structure? Am I being graded on form, content etc.? I logically see the benefits....the asynchronous nature....my own discovery of topics related to the topics and readings provided by the professor....the ability to read other classmates or professional blogs allows me to reflect and comment....this logically makes for a wider learning community and yet my structured, logical, private self is feeling uncomfortable.....a natural reaction to a new experience? I think I'll get through it and hopefully come out of it with the appreciation of the experience...

I liked the Anderson/Cameron article with the premise based on the the "Community of Inquiry Model" as a guide to look at how blogging enters into the social, cognitive and teaching realm to support the discourse of the educational experience. I also have started to read Will Richardson's weblogg-ed that was mentioned in the same article.... I will also look to find some teacher/librarian blogs for inspiration.....