By Michael Stephens | 
I've just finished my semester at Dominican as an adjunct—the version
of LIS 753 Internet Fundamentals & Design I teach is taught over
three fun-filled and information-packed weekends—and turning the
students in the class on to online social tools and the bigger picture of what's happening online was a
highlight for me. We ended the class with group presentations, a discussion of the Newsweek cover story on the Social Web, and a look at three 2.0 job descriptions as a wrap up.
Last month, I wrote about that handful of 2.0 Job Descriptions posted here and there on job sites. One of them is even called Librarian 2.0. I found this interesting and proposed: "Library schools should evaluate the technology-focused courses they offer and make sure they are aligned with what is soon to be expected of recent graduates" if they hadn't already. I asked LIS students and others to comment. I received a few replies and wanted to share them here.
Caroline Brown, a recent graduate from San Jose State University, commented on the original post:
I also heard from some students at other LIS schools. Heidi Hansen, for example, is finding just what she needs at Wayne State University:
Recently, I've been considering the role of training and instruction in our discussions of new or changed services in libraries. For social software and building library services, such as the wiki-based innovations at my former employer, the St. Joseph County Public Library, I think students and librarians are getting their most valuable learning by doing. Doing, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes, and doing it again. I think some librarians might find this type of experience a bit daunting. What I say in workshops is this: "Go for it! You can't break the wiki [or whatever tool]—play! Have fun!"
Experiential instruction, such as building a weblog, IMing with another student, messing around in the virtual sandbox of wiki pages, or engaging in group tagging exercises, not only can immerse learners in the tool, but these experiences also can get them thinking about applications in libraries, new services, and the impact they have on their individual lives. For example, a MySpace seminar might really get librarians thinking about what presence they might establish in this relatively new frontier. Also, for the librarians that have heard "scary stories" about such social sites, they can checkout the landscape themselves. I did just that: I recently got a MySpace and Facebook account to test the waters and see what all the discussion is about—and because of Robert Lackie's post at Library Garden:
Candy Schwartz, co-editor, Library & Information Science Research at Simmons College GSLIS, wrote to say the GSLIS students are teaching social software and more "for the whole student community, not just one class." She urged me to visit the course listings at http://my.simmons.edu/gslis/techlab/workshops.shtml. Classes are co-sponsored by the Tech Lab and the student chapter of the American Society of Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T). Each is an hour of hands-on experience in the lab, with discussion and a resource list takeaway. "If this flies," Candy said, "they will probably do it every semester."
As I mentioned last time, Steven L. MacCall, associate professor at the School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alabama, formally incorporated Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 discussions into his medical librarianship class
"I incorporated Library 2.0 applications in this course in order to provide additional tools for the students' professional problem solving toolkit," he said, answering a quick e-mail query from me. "These tools will not only provide additional ways for students to assist their future library users, but they will also provide a platform and a set of techniques to help students to efficiently meet their future personal and professional information management and environmental scanning needs."
MacCall's students studied the use of Library 2.0 tools in professional LIS and in health-sciences contexts, and they had the opportunity to become comfortable with a variety of these tools via class assignments requiring hands-on experience. Demystification and the development of an understanding of Library 2.0 tools' strengths and weaknesses are stressed.
Peer training and instruction played a role as well, MacCall explained in his message back to me. "I also required each student to teach his or her fellow students about their assigned tool, thus facilitating the opportunity for each student to think about Library 2.0 applications from the perspective of an information teacher/expert rather than simply from the perspective of someone who is learning about these tools as a future user."
Heidi Dolamore, MLIS candidate at the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of British Columbia and blogger at http://quiddle.blogspot.com, wrote to say that she looked for classes outside of her comfort level, to push herself to learn new things— great advice in my book:
Courses would be experiential, collaborative, and they would take place in the physical world as well as in 3D-online environments. The fifth generation of Facebook/MySpace would allow students to seamlessly connect to other students and professors, as well as practioners all over the world, via new iterations of Weblogs, wikis, IM, and RSS (maybe by then what we know as RSS will be called something else). Resources would grow, from students' efforts across the globe, which libraries could tap into... and, of course, we'd all be talking about the whole Library 8.0 kerfuffle! :-)
Next time... 2.0 Job Descriptions: Authors Speak!
Technorati tags: Blog, Blogging, instant messaging, library education, library information science, library job descriptions, library schools, Library 2.0, social software, Web 2.0, weblogs, wiki
I've just finished my semester at Dominican as an adjunct—the version
of LIS 753 Internet Fundamentals & Design I teach is taught over
three fun-filled and information-packed weekends—and turning the
students in the class on to online social tools and the bigger picture of what's happening online was a
highlight for me. We ended the class with group presentations, a discussion of the Newsweek cover story on the Social Web, and a look at three 2.0 job descriptions as a wrap up.Last month, I wrote about that handful of 2.0 Job Descriptions posted here and there on job sites. One of them is even called Librarian 2.0. I found this interesting and proposed: "Library schools should evaluate the technology-focused courses they offer and make sure they are aligned with what is soon to be expected of recent graduates" if they hadn't already. I asked LIS students and others to comment. I received a few replies and wanted to share them here.
Caroline Brown, a recent graduate from San Jose State University, commented on the original post:
- It's entirely possible for a student to complete an MLIS at SJSU without engaging with the issues surrounding emerging Web technologies. I'd like to see more emphasis on making technology-oriented courses approachable to people who enter the program with very basic computer skills, and I'd like to see user created content and social software addressed as more than a sidenote. SJSU is very good at teaching its students to use traditional digital resources, but the program would be improved by including active student participation in Web 2.0 projects.
I also heard from some students at other LIS schools. Heidi Hansen, for example, is finding just what she needs at Wayne State University:
- I'm only in my first semester at Wayne State, but I'm really pleased with the curriculum so far. I already had a technology and information architecture background before coming to Wayne State and I stated that I wanted to continue my interests in library technology in my cover letter. They paired me with a fairly new information science professor as my advisor, but I think she's a wonderful addition to the University, she was even eager to present me a list of future classes WSU will be offering around my specialization (Information Science).
My current class is Information Technology, a required class, but my observations from the other students in the class have made me realize that some of my classmates are indeed interested in how technology is shaping the career.
On the other hand, some of my most valuable experience has come from actually doing these things. At the library system that I do work for, it's no secret that I'm interested in library technology, I'm pretty lucky to work for people that are eager to let me try new things and throw out ideas at my job. It's the combination of class and work that's the most beneficial to me.
I don't know if my experiences are typical, but I know that Wayne State is often overshadowed by Michigan's program. I've been really pleased with WSU so far and I'm quite happy with my choice, I have no doubt that I'll feel prepared for the "L2 World" upon graduation.
Recently, I've been considering the role of training and instruction in our discussions of new or changed services in libraries. For social software and building library services, such as the wiki-based innovations at my former employer, the St. Joseph County Public Library, I think students and librarians are getting their most valuable learning by doing. Doing, making mistakes, learning from those mistakes, and doing it again. I think some librarians might find this type of experience a bit daunting. What I say in workshops is this: "Go for it! You can't break the wiki [or whatever tool]—play! Have fun!"
Experiential instruction, such as building a weblog, IMing with another student, messing around in the virtual sandbox of wiki pages, or engaging in group tagging exercises, not only can immerse learners in the tool, but these experiences also can get them thinking about applications in libraries, new services, and the impact they have on their individual lives. For example, a MySpace seminar might really get librarians thinking about what presence they might establish in this relatively new frontier. Also, for the librarians that have heard "scary stories" about such social sites, they can checkout the landscape themselves. I did just that: I recently got a MySpace and Facebook account to test the waters and see what all the discussion is about—and because of Robert Lackie's post at Library Garden:
- As a librarian and professor, I joined Facebook last year when I found out that the students in my public speaking class were communicating with each other via that tool, instead of our university's email system. It was amazing how much more open and willing the students were to sharing information about each other and their individual and group projects in our class, via Facebook. They were thrilled that I was willing to join Facebook, and they loved that I used it to find out and celebrate their birthdays, for instance, as they came up during the semester.
Candy Schwartz, co-editor, Library & Information Science Research at Simmons College GSLIS, wrote to say the GSLIS students are teaching social software and more "for the whole student community, not just one class." She urged me to visit the course listings at http://my.simmons.edu/gslis/techlab/workshops.shtml. Classes are co-sponsored by the Tech Lab and the student chapter of the American Society of Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T). Each is an hour of hands-on experience in the lab, with discussion and a resource list takeaway. "If this flies," Candy said, "they will probably do it every semester."
As I mentioned last time, Steven L. MacCall, associate professor at the School of Library and Information Studies, University of Alabama, formally incorporated Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 discussions into his medical librarianship class
"I incorporated Library 2.0 applications in this course in order to provide additional tools for the students' professional problem solving toolkit," he said, answering a quick e-mail query from me. "These tools will not only provide additional ways for students to assist their future library users, but they will also provide a platform and a set of techniques to help students to efficiently meet their future personal and professional information management and environmental scanning needs."
MacCall's students studied the use of Library 2.0 tools in professional LIS and in health-sciences contexts, and they had the opportunity to become comfortable with a variety of these tools via class assignments requiring hands-on experience. Demystification and the development of an understanding of Library 2.0 tools' strengths and weaknesses are stressed.
Peer training and instruction played a role as well, MacCall explained in his message back to me. "I also required each student to teach his or her fellow students about their assigned tool, thus facilitating the opportunity for each student to think about Library 2.0 applications from the perspective of an information teacher/expert rather than simply from the perspective of someone who is learning about these tools as a future user."
Heidi Dolamore, MLIS candidate at the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies, University of British Columbia and blogger at http://quiddle.blogspot.com, wrote to say that she looked for classes outside of her comfort level, to push herself to learn new things— great advice in my book:
- One of the best classes I took was in the electrical and computer engineering department on computer supported collaborative work—meaning blogs, wikis, IM, and groupware. I think collaboration with other departments and taking electives outside of the library program should be encouraged.
- There would be more integrated opportunities for that sort of learning, rather than a whole class devoted to new technology—assignments would be designed to incorporate opportunities for you to develop your tech skills and play with new tools. I think staying current with technology has a lot to do with library schools teaching students how to engage in professional development...and encouraging students to get involved before they graduate. You're going to have to spend some of your own time finding out about stuff while you're working, good to get in the habit as a student.
Courses would be experiential, collaborative, and they would take place in the physical world as well as in 3D-online environments. The fifth generation of Facebook/MySpace would allow students to seamlessly connect to other students and professors, as well as practioners all over the world, via new iterations of Weblogs, wikis, IM, and RSS (maybe by then what we know as RSS will be called something else). Resources would grow, from students' efforts across the globe, which libraries could tap into... and, of course, we'd all be talking about the whole Library 8.0 kerfuffle! :-)
Next time... 2.0 Job Descriptions: Authors Speak!
Technorati tags: Blog, Blogging, instant messaging, library education, library information science, library job descriptions, library schools, Library 2.0, social software, Web 2.0, weblogs, wiki