So today was meant to be spent working on my paper for my professional placement. I have done so much professional reading recently and have learned so much--the challenge is remembering where the heck I got my information. So, as I write, I'm jumping back into the university library's website searching databases for articles that support the point I want to make. I know, it's a bit backwards, and is not meant to be done that way. Ssshhhh, don't tell anyone. I need the reference for my paper.

Anyway, as I'm searching, I encounter an article by Michael Stephens, called the Transparent Library School. He was a keynote speaker at the Learning 2.011 Worldwide Virtual Conference I participated in a month ago, so I read it (one of the many ways I get sidetracked when studying!). In it, he mentions a blog by an MLIS student named Ben Lainhart, who is frustrated about the instructional pedagogy used for his MLIS program. The quote made me laugh. "I do not want to take any more online classes that are exactly the same: sign into BB (BlackBoard), read the 'lecture,' read the articles, make my obligatory posts on the discussion board and occasionally write a paper. How uninspiring!" I could not agree more.

Sorry CSU, but many of the courses I've taken so far have been delivered this way. This element of my studies has been disappointing. However, this is not to say that I haven't learned anything. I do the necessary assignments and follow instructions carefully (and frankly, I think I've doing a pretty good job so far too). However, I learn most when I'm off track. The learning that sticks with me most, the stuff that gets me excited about jumping into this job as teacher-librarian has more to do with the professionals in the industry that I have encountered along the way. I enjoy learning from those in the job now, who are doing things that guide rest of us. When I see that, I want to learn too. No, I don't get particularly jazzed about reading about philosophies and practices from a text and making those posts to the discussion forums because I have to.

That being said, what is the answer? I am with Ben Lainhart who said: "... I don’t have too many answers yet. All I have is a feeling that things can and should be done differently. The problem is: differently may be something so open-source that it really begins to mean the end of “institutional” education. And I do not think that I have a problem with that."

Just to add to that further, I encountered a youtube video of a presentation by Jeff Utecht, who I remember used to be an IT teacher here in China. In this speech, "Community Trumps Content" he talked about the power of communities. "The Revolution will be here when the students figure out they can learn more in their own communities than they can sitting in a seat in the school." I can relate. He then mentions a university called The University of the People which offers degrees for $25 around the world. Maybe this University of the People is what Ben Lainhart is talking about.

But then again, I suppose these resources not necessarily academic. I need to get back to that paper, and find that reference. Ugh.

Lainhart, B. (2011). Is Online Education Still Stuck in 2001: Some still unformed thoughts. Available from http://benjaminlainhart.com/2011/02/17/is-online-education-still-stuck-in-2001-some-still-unformed-thoughts/
Stephens, M. (2011). The Transparent Library School. Library Journal, 136(9), 46
Utecht, J. (2010). Community Trumps Content. Available from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8djV8slDN0

I've been immersing myself in some professional development for the last 24 hours or so by taking part in the Library 2.011 conference. It is a global digital conference held completely online in multiple timezones using Blackboard's Collaborate. I have SO enjoyed the experience thus far.

This entry is just to comment about how I'm enjoying the delivery experience. I've learned so much in just one dedicated day. What's great is that this is self guided, so I attend what I want to attend. Many of the presentations are inspirational which leave me with a vision of where librarianship is headed, but as always, the steps in between are still unclear. Other sessions have been more hands on, learning how to use a particular app, for example.

I will try to at the very least list the sessions I have attended so far and hope to write something up about them each in a separate entry. The challenge is time, as my kids are asleep, and soon I will inevitably be interrupted. Such is the story of my life as a stay-at-home student/mom.

Sandra Hirsch was the opening keynote speaker on New Career Pathways for Information Professionals in a Library 2.0 world. While not so relevant to someone like me who is near the end of my M.Ed. program and specifically going into teacher librarianship, she addressed many of the work areas where people with information management skills can go into. Here is the link to the recorded session.

Michael Stephens presented the Hyperlinked Library. Overall he was just so well spoken and well presented. He showcased various "techno" terms to highlight how we are responding to technology. He showcased how some libraries are responding to innovative technology, such as the outright NO, versus those that embrace the technology. He emphasized that we as information professionals and institutions need to modernize, and make the library a center for encouraging conversation. He encouraged social networks as a means of accessing information and library professionals, and keeping the interaction "human." However, he is a fan of their opportunities as personal learning networks, more than anything. I loved how his presentation was so well done, filled with wonderful complimentary and thought provoking images, despite the fact that the technology slowed things down just a bit. Here is the link to his recorded session.

I then decided to view a presentation that I missed last night, because it was on so late (in the USA). It was given by Tasha Bergson-Michelson, and so far I think her session was the most practical, useful, and hands-on friendly for me. She basically highlighted different ways we can improve our online searching using major search engines. While there were many specific strategies she used, her main message, in my view, was that we need to think before searching, and search for our answers, not the question. In other words, we need to first decide what we think the perfect result might show us (keywords, table, infographic, etc.?). Again, very very well done. Here's the recorded session.

I also attended a workshop on location based gaming using SCVNGR app for creating scavenger hunts in libraries. This was put on by Linda Barron, and while it is just one specific activity, it is an easy and non-threatening way to put your library into an app, and create more innovative practice. Our local school does not use iPhones or iPods as educational tools, but it is an interesting idea. Her recorded session is here.

Finally, Helen Partridge spoke about Becoming a Librarian 2.0. She showcased her findings from research, which highlight the key skills and attributes required for librarians today. This very much addressed the philosophical understandings of librarianship. It Emphasized the need for library preservice programs to combine both the knowledge and skills in librarianship programs with awareness of what the role and identity of a librarian is today--a good combination of epistemology and ontology. Her recorded session is here.