__I have used social networking (SN) tools like Twitter, Facebook, Plurk, Ning, etc. for many years. My involvement with these tools has been predominantly social. Today, I place more emphasis on personal learning, but find that I still like to maintain a social presence on these tools. I use SN tools for personal and professional relationships, and conduct myself in a way that is still social with professionals, to some degree. I think it’s important to maintain that human touch, as we each have our own personalities and interests to bring to the network. Plus, I believe that online connections can easily develop into personal relationships.

Over the years, I have gone through Utecht’s Personal Learning Network (PLN) stages and back again. When I first discovered SN, I would have likely gone from level 1 (Immersion) to 5 (Balance). However, since I’ve had children (with a major reduction in free time), I moved to stage 4 (Perspective). In fact, I stepped away from SN (for professional purposes) simply because with a full-time job and a child at home, there was no time for anything else. As a result, I felt disconnected, and professionally isolated. There was professional development through work, but being so busy without sufficient time to think and reflect, it was difficult to apply what I was taught.

When I had my second child, I left work to pursue my Master’s. I also reconnected and rebuilt my PLN. In the time that I had been away from SN, the technologies have grown and improved to more effectively support the development of PLNs. As a result, I have revisited stage 1 (Immersion), lost a lot of sleep during stage 3 (Know it all), and am now feeling comfortable at stage 5 (Balance). While I feel I have balance in the use of my PLN, I continue to explore new tools that could impact my PLN, and therefore, continuously revisit stage 1 (Immersion).

I'd like to become more of a contributor to my PLN. I am continuously learning from others, and while I do share, I still haven’t developed a much of a following. I am quite satisfied with my level of involvement with SN tools. However, returning to work will present new challenges, as I will again need to retreat to stage 4 (Perspective) in order fit SN time for personal learning into my life.

Reference:
Utecht, J. (2008, 3 April). Stages of PLN Adoption. http://www.thethinkingstick.com/stages-of-pln-adoption.

I just attended this seminar with Lisa Guernsey at the Library 2.011 World Virtual Conference. Just a quick note that it was nice to be part of a conference session where I felt I had a good understanding of what she was talking about. Interestingly, I felt familiar with a lot of the research she presented as well as the background of eBooks because I wrote a proposal of a study on this exact topic for my EER500 (Research Methods) class/subject. Having done that subject online, I've never really been sure of how thorough my work was, aside from the feedback I got from my instructor. It was nice to have someone working in that industry reaffirm that I really did know something!  :) In addition, I learned of a few other good sources for eBooks to consider when I eventually step up to the plate, if I choose to expand an ebook collection. 

eBook collections/sources mentioned were:
Oxford Owl (free)
Scholastic's BookFlix
Tumblebooks
One More Story
Sesame Street
Big Universe
Disney Digital Books
MeeGenius
Storyline Online
International Children's Digital Library (free)
Starfall (free website, has some books)
TrueFlix (for older elementary and middle school students)
Overdrive (?)

There isn't enough research to conclusively indicate whether or not ebooks are having an impact on student reading skills. More research needs to be done (like my proposal!). Also, Lisa wondered if there was any research done on the effectiveness of Starfall.com since so many teachers in the group claimed to use it a lot. 

There was a new term that I hadn't heard before, called the Catwalk syndrome. This is where kids go off track and explore because of too many bells and whistles in the ebook. :)

Do we need to clear the way for eBooks? Are print books going away? We don't know yet. Most librarians at this seminar tended to feel that there needed to be a balance. There's something to be said for story time with children gathered around to hear a story, or the table covered with books, or children drawing, writing, and folding paper to make their own books (examples that came up in this session). 

Here is the link to the recording of that session.

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.