Virtual World Librarianship.

Virtual World Librarianship

by Diane Nahl on Nov 14, 2009

The above link leads to a slideshare presentation illustrating the value of Second Life to the library profession.

The time for Libraries is NOW.

The time for Libraries is NOW

by Ned Potter on Mar 11, 2011

The above link leads to a slideshare presentation which is a great visual justification for

the continued and evolving importance of Libraries.

Here is a snapshot of a tour I took in Second Life.  The tour took us from the CSU courtyard to the Community Virtual Library, the International schools ipad exhibit (pictured here) and finally to Renaissance island.  I have had some difficulties with SL- mostly technical.  I have finally downloaded the beta version but to do this I had to upgrade my operating system and it doesn’t seem to have solved all of the glitches.  I had some trouble hearing everyone from time to time and would find this frustrating if attending a presentation since it only seemed to rectify if I left that location and then returned. However, having had my gripe, I must admit I see the potential for SL to be a powerful learning tool in schools and also for professional development for staff.  I haven’t had the time to fully explore the possibilities for younger children but I definitely will.  The possibility of interacting “in person” with children from other countries is amazing but I am unsure whether the school’s computers would have the capability to run the program and this could be a major stumbling block. Still – worth investigation!

As part of assignment 1 for Inf506 I made a prezi  outlining primary school uses for social networking platforms.

It is called “Social networking: a primary perspective”.

I thoroughly enjoyed tinkering in Prezi and found it a great tool for creating an interesting and engaging presentation.

I would certainly recommend it over the usual powerpoint presentations and feel that it would be great for both students and staff.

1. Kroski, E. (2009). Should your library have a social media policy? School Library Journal. Retrieved from  http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6699104.html

The author, an information consultant, reference librarian and faculty member of various US universities, outlines some of the reasons for having a school library social media policy for both staff and students. Kroski(2009) recognizes that many schools block social networking sites but points out that students and staff can still access these on their own accounts.  The article lists what to include in a guideline or policy and also links social media policies from a variety of organisations.

2.   Giffards Primary School. (2011). Giffards Primary School social networking policy.Giffard Primary School. Retrieved from  http://www.giffardsprimary.thurrock.sch.uk/PDFs/396/social%20networking%20policy.pdf

This incredibly strict policy was prepared by Giffards Primary school in 2011 in response to the growing use by staff and students of social networking sites. It provides precise guidelines for using social networking during school hours, outlines what is considered acceptable online behaviour and is very specific about child protection issues and cyberbullying. It also details disciplinary action incurred if this policy is breached by staff or students, illustrating the extreme wariness with which primary schools approach social media.

3.  NSW Department of Education and Training. (2011, March15). Social Media Policy.  Retrieved 2012, from

https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/policies/technology/communication/PD20110418.shtml

This is the NSW DET policy on social media use for staff, implemented in 2011.  It supports staff use and recognizes the value of blogs, wikis, social networking sites amongst others.  It outlines standards of staff online behaviour such as the code of conduct, and while it does not specifically address students’ use of social media it does provide links to related documents such as Online Communications Services – Acceptable Usage for School Students and NSW Public School Values.

4. Masseni, D. (2010). Why schools are spooked by social media (Rep.). Retrieved December 29, 2011, from

http://www.sponsor-ed.com.au/image/ayam/Why_schools_are_spooked_by_social_media.pdf

Denis Masseni, a lecturer in multi media at Monash University, identifies, in his 2010 survey of Victorian school principals,  the reasons why  schools are hesitant to use social media. After summarizing the survey and addressing the “blockers” for social media use in schools he suggests three “defensive” strategies, social media monitoring, policy and the law, and puts a strong case for using social media to strengthen school communities but warns that schools must develop policy for behaviour both inside and outside school hours.

Varlas, L. (2011). Can social media and school policies be “friends”? ASCD. Retrieved 2012, from

http://tinyurl.com/6ss7p99

Laura Varlas is a blogger for the website ASCD (Association for supervision and Curriculum Development) a US based non-profit organization providing professional development for educators.  The article gives a good case for using social media in K-12 schools, reviews US legislation COPPA (1998) and CIPA(2000) and goes on to give interesting examples of how and why schools either use or block social media. Varlas advocates having clear guidelines for students and teachers using social media to educate children about cybersafety and digital citizenship.

It is vital for libraries to market themselves to promote existing services and their worth to their community of users.

Marta Kagan’s presentation What is Social Media Now, makes it clear that social media is an area libraries cannot afford to ignore when it comes to marketing and AnnaLaura Brown’s blog post, Developing an Effective Social Media Marketing strategy highlights the importance of being specific and having something written down.  It is also important to market the the library in a way that reaches the target audience, in this case a primary school library, whose patrons include students, teachers parents and administration.

If the whole point of marketing is to find out what users’ wants are and then fulfil them then it is easy to see Li and Bernoff’s point that listening to the “groundswell” is imperative, even in terms of a small primary school. Burkhardt’s Four Reasons Libraries Should be on Social Media illustrates why web 2.0 tools, which encourage two way interaction, need to be utilized to create a dialogue which can clarify what users want, how they access information and their opinions of existing services.

A draft marketing plan for a school library then may look something like this:

1.  A Vision and mission statement clearly outlining the overall aim of the school library.

2.  A situational analysis which illustrates the social media habits of the target audience, in this case staff, students and parents, that is, finding out how and why  patrons access information.

3.  Clear goals and objectives for meeting the needs and wants of the target audience based on the situational analysis.

4.  An outline of strategies for meeting these goals.  These might include:  regular input in the school newsletter; posters and flyers around the school; a link to the library website on the school webpage; regular emails to staff, parents and students and perhaps, if deemed useful, a Facebook page and/or Twitter account.

5. A statement of a clear message the library wants to convey, depending on the patrons identified wants. For example, if the school community mainly wants to use the library for research then the message might simply be “ask a librarian”.

6. An outline of any expenditure and how this will fit into the library budget.  Many social media sites are free but it would have to be decided how much time could be spent during the day to maintain these.

7. A time frame for achieving the plan’s goals and for evaluating their success.  A marketing strategy would have to be realistic in terms of achievable goals and would need to be reviewed regularly to remain useful and relevant.

References

Bernhoff, J., & Li, C. (2008). Excerpt. In Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies. Retrieved from http://www.forrester.com/groundswell/book.html

Brown, A. (2009, July 30). Developing an effective social media marketing strategy [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/social-media-in-salt-lake-city/developing-an-effective-social-media-marketing-strategy

Burkhardt, A. (2009, August 25). Four reasons libraries should be on social media [Web log post]. Retrieved January 27, 2012, from http://andyburkhardt.com/2009/08/25/four-reasons-libraries-should-be-on-social-media/

Kagan, M., (2008). What is social media now? [Slideshow]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/mzkagan

I like Andy Burkhardt’s 4 reasons to use social media in libraries.  Libraries need to communicate with their patrons – not all the time, in your face, communication but the kind that informs and gently reminds.  The most important reasons, I believe are to gain and respond to feedback.  If libraries can use social media to find out what their users need and want and then provide that service then Library 2.0 is a useful phenomenon. In Meredith Farkas’ post the essence of Library 2.0? she wonders about the difference between Library 1.0 and Library 2.0.  I think really the difference is in the direction of information flow.  Library 1.0 sees information being disseminated to library patrons perhaps via a website or blog.  Library 2.0 allows for a 2 way flow of information, seeking feedback from patrons as to their needs and their perceptions of the success or otherwise of the libraries information initiatives.

In the small school library at the school where I work as a casual teacher there is really only a one way conversation going on.  There is a link to the library catalogue in the school’s intranet so that students can access it from the classroom. There is also a link to a library blog set up for students to discuss and review the books they have been reading.  It is monitored by the librarian but provides no avenue for students to give feedback about the library, only the books.  The current teacher librarian is not trained but has gradually been trying to introduce new ideas.  A new, trained librarian starts this year and it will be interesting to see what new initiatives she introduces.  It would be great to see a new school website created that allows for greater interactivity.  At the moment the library is really only servicing student needs.  I think the library needs to recognize teachers and parents as users as well and create a website, either through a blog, wiki or perhaps an in house social network, that allows for more feedback from patrons as to what are the needs of all of the library’s users.  I’m not sure that a Facebook or twitter account would be necessarily utilized and I agree with Farkas’ idea that we shouldn’t be using social media tools just because they are cool but because they are useful!

A-Z of Social Networking for Libraries

http://socialnetworkinglibrarian.com/2010/01/22/a-to-z-of-social-networking-for-libraries/

The school library in the small primary school where I teach is in the very early stages of learning about social networking.  A library blog has been initiated using the school intranet, for students to discuss the library, books they have read and those they would like to read. The 5 letters which would most help this library to “embrace a library 2.0 ethos” are-

C-Content- just like businesses have to offer valuable content in order to market their businesses, your library needs to offer valuable content that your patrons will read and appreciate.

Direction- What are you planning to accomplish for your library with social networking?

H-Help- relying on only one or two people to build your library’s social networking presence will not work. It needs to be a whole team effort on behalf of your entire library staff.

N-Ning this free social networking site allows you to create a social networking specifically for your library.

Z-zeal, is your library staff excited about the possibilities that social networking can offer your library? If not, you will struggle to make it work for you.

Perhaps the most important letter is D – for Direction.  The library blog is a great place for the children to express themselves but if the library has no clear vision of what it is trying to achieve by blogging then it risks becoming obselete as the users, at this stage the children only, lose interest.  If the purpose of the blog is to create a dialogue between users about the books they have read then H- for Help is needed by including more users in the blog.  In a small school with only two library staff working 2 days per week this means looking for help among the staff and parents of the school community.  Reaching a wider audience could be achieved by using a blog which can be viewed publicly using such social media sites such as Edublogs and WordPress.  These can be set up so that the content is public but cannot be edited unless membership is approved by an administrator. Such free social networking sites as N- for Ning, still requiring a username and login, could be a place where the library blog might be situated to pique the interest children not specifically searching for book reviews, enticing them to contribute in an area they might not usually visit. While the actual Ning site cannot be used by children under 13 there are a number of similar sites for use in primary schools, for example, Superclubsplus, which was piloted in  a number primary schools in Victoria in 2009.  By using social networking software the school will be able to improve the content by providing a space for children to collaborate to form other interest groups. By expanding  the C-for content,  the blog will improve by encouraging more patrons with  Z- for zeal to collaborate to create an exciting community of bloggers for years to come.

References-

Brown, A. L. (2010, 29 January 2011). A to Z of Social Networking for Libraries. http://socialnetworkinglibrarian.com/2010/01/22/a-to-z-of-social-networking-for-libraries/.

Dept of Education and Early Childhood Development. “Teaching and Learning with Web 2.0 Technologies.” State Govt Victoria. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/teachlearn/innovation/technology/web2report.pdf

My head is in  a whirl after spending all week exploring the world of web2.0!  I’ve been inside wikis, perusing blogs and endeavouring to remain calm and organized by using Diigo and Delicious  while trying to keep up with all the new posts on Facebook, checking up on news on my new rss feeds and at the same time spending hours figuring out what on earth? I’m doing wandering around in Second Life?  Talk about information overload!!

I realise, now, that I have had my head firmly planted in the sand when it comes to  social networking and media.  The more I find out the more I realise what an impact it is already having on the world of politics, business and education. Previously I had only thought of it as a way of keeping up with friends and family but I can see the word “social” has a much more global connotation.  I’ve been reading “Share This!” by Deanna Zandt and I can see that if people like me (read ordinary Joe) continue to ignore this platform our chances for changing the world are seriously diminished.  I have always felt that my opinion counts for little, that I have no real voice and that the only time I can make a statement about my views is when I vote. Reading Zandt, however, I can see that social networks like Facebook and Twitter enable even the smallest voice to have an impact – joining up with all the other small voices until we are all able to create a tidal wave of public opinion – to which politicians, businesses and increasingly educational institutions are paying careful attention.

Zandt says that “We each have a significant contribution to make…. and sharing our stories with one another on the grand scale that social networks provide is the place to start.  The events, opinions, and experiences we choose to share don’t just matter on a hyper-local level (within the tighter parts of our social networks); they also have ripple effects through others’ networks as they spread…..World-changing ideas start with a few individuals sharing with and relating to one another.” p14.

Similarly I thought Second Life was a virtual chat room for individuals that really didn’t have a First Life!!  As I read and explore more I can see the applications for education especially those involved in Distance Education, like me!  How good is it to be able to “sit” in a “room” with people from all over the globe and discuss aspects of a course you are completing together. How much more personal to listen lectures and seminars this way, rather than the copious amounts of reading transcripts that distance education often entails.

Talking about copious amounts of reading I have found that using Delicious has really helped to organize all the great resources that my lecturere and fellow students have been posting.  As to the comparison between “folksonomies” and “taxonomies” I feel that while taxonomies may provide resources that have more depth and are probably largely more academic in nature, folksonomies provide a breadth of knowledge about a topic and also a way of recommending information that others have already found interesting/useful.  I recognize that this can lead to information overload if too much is bookmarked but by using the stacks feature it is at least a little easier to organize and share groups of links.  I also use Diigo and find that by following both I am finding more and more interesting links.  I still have a way to go since I haven’t yet figured out how to get Delicious to notify me by email when new resources are added to the groups I follow but I’m working on it!  I can see how on a school website that Delicious could be useful as a way of organizing the links that teachers and students have found useful, organized into groups or subjects or faculties.

I would love to be able to find out more about QR codes but I’m a bit swamped and I’m not really confident I have the technology to explore these……one for future reference.

I have a Flickr account which I have stored photos on but I have yet to really explore its capabilities – another area to delve more deeply into!

I am finding, more and more, the educational value of youtube!  It’s not, as I previously thought, all about cute home videos of strange things cats do and boring “how to cook” demonstrations – or for that matter just about advertising and selling products.  I can see I still have a lot to learn and I am finding myself lost for hours in front of the computer – to the point where my family is complaining and I am being accused of being a “computer hog”!

I have made my first, very simple, Prezi and I love it!  I would like to be able to incorporate it into Assignment 1 in some way. I am also impressed with infographics and have added this one about social media ,which I particularly enjoy!

http://www.personalizemedia.com/media/socmedcounter.swf 

Anyhow, as you can see, I am stuffed full of new ideas and experiences and have web 2.0 to thank for it all!!

Original Source: Markus Angermeier Source: http://kosmar.de/archives/2005/11/11/the-huge-cloud-lens-bubble-map-web20/ URL: http://kosmar.de/wp-content/web20map.png

Wikipedia characterizes Web2.0 as emerging to differentiate between web technologies which merely serve as a one way display to those which rely on a two way interface with endusers creating and sharing content rather than just viewing it.

Web 2.0 technologies open up a whole different way for students to learn and teachers to teach. I am not sure they are being embraced in all schools though.  My teenage children attend public high school where, although some rooms have interactive whiteboards they are rarely used.  They have been given laptops but  not all teachers have been inserviced adequately in how they can be used. Consequently they end up a distraction as students play games on them when they are bored in class.  Every teenager has an ipod but no-one has shown teachers how to use them in the classroom.  Again they are a distraction and have now been banned!  I am hoping that universities are teaching new teachers the benefits and uses of web 2.0 technologies so that as “old fogies” (like me) retire the new technologies will become the norm.  I’m a bit worried though, that we can’t wait that long. Something needs to be done now or students will continue to become disenchanted with school at the same time we are requiring them to attend for more years than ever before.

Explaining Web 2.0  was very helpful to me to as even though this may all be common knowledge to 10 year olds I must admit to being a little bit lost in all the jargon of the web. I guess its a little like being  in a foreign country.  I love my surroundings, I can get most places I want to be with my smattering of the language and a good guide book but I miss the smaller nuances and eventually my brain just gets tired and I want to give up,  go home and speak English again!!

The web as a Social Space

I was blown away by all the facts and figures in this video -

It is interesting the notion that we define ourselves by the social media we choose NOT to use.  For me, I’m comfortable with Facebook, blogging and wikis but I am shy with strangers and feel insecure using things like podcasts or virtual worlds like Second Life where you are interacting verbally. (Don’t really like phones much either!!)  I am only just realising the power of Twitter, previously thinking of it as a social experience rather than a marketing tool. I’ve never seen a use for it personally, as I find it hard to keep my sentences to under 200 characters…..can you tell?!

The Social life of information

I understand that this is not a fad, that this IS the way the world is heading.  Larger and larger amounts of information are being shared by more and more people every day in a miriad of different ways.  If we, as teachers, don’t become familiar with the use of web 2.0 technologies we will be left behind…….(though sometimes I think that being left behind will be a nice quiet place to be…..showing my age again!!)