Final Thoughts

This course has offered a wealth of material that I will be exploring and experimenting with for some time to come. I will not be using the platforms of Web 2.0 for personal networking, because, as I mentioned in my introduction, I am fundamentally an introvert. I simply want to know what the sites offer and how to navigate them so that I continue to hone my skills as library media specialist. I want to understand the digital worlds of my students and use those worlds to enhance learning experiences.

The best thing about Web 2.0 is that the applications are free; I do not have to apply to the school administration for funding. I do not have to worry about school size for licensing agreements, updates, or whether students will not have access to the programs at home. As long as they have access to the internet, they will be able to participate.

Web 2.0 offers a certain anonymity to its students, and I am not just referring to virtual worlds like Second Life. Blogs and wikis remove the students from the classroom “stage” and allow them to contribute without having to perform before a live audience. It offers them greater time for reflection and an opportunity to share their writings with a wider audience. For students, who are immersed in the new technologies, Web 2.0 is an attractive means for communicating information and ideas.

The explosion of Web 2.0 does make my job more difficult. A basic search nets every possible source of information. Students must be able to critically and competently evaluate the information they uncover. They must be able to distinguish among fact, point of view and opinion. K-12 students have a habit of taking everything they find on the internet as gospel. Some blogs and wikis provide invaluable information, but students must be taught the need to determine authority and accuracy. The online services allow anyone to make a slick presentation and this can be very deceiving to a middle schooler.

My networking forays have not yet gone beyond professional interests and those are quite limited: seeking solutions for specific problems from library communities. I now see the possibility for all kinds of interactive projects both for students and staff. I am hoping to incorporate many of these tools into the curriculum.

Finding Fiction

Home Office

The Bermuda Gombey

Gombeys are a "crowd" of male dancers and musicians who appear on the streets of Bermuda on holidays, particularly Christmas, performing a unique dance form to the beat of drums. The basic origins of th edance form stem from West African tribal dance. West Indian, Native American, Military music , the Mummers and the slaves' conversion to Christianity were powerful influences on the Gombey dance in Bermuda as we know it today.

from The Bermuda Gombey by Louise Jackson

Gombeys in Training

Click To Play

Bookmarks

I generally organize my bookmarks into two distinct categories: professional and personal. As the school librarian, I am a resource person and I subscribe to many databases such as Librarians Index to the Internet (LII). When I review the feeds I receive from these databases and I find a site that is of particular use to a teacher, I tag it with the subject name. In that way, I build up a bank of sites that subject area teachers can use in their classes.

My personal bookmarks revolve around household and family topics; for example, travel, shopping, recipes as well as topics that I am researching.

It is important to have a system. Bookmarking is not unlike filing your documents on your computer or filing cabinet. If you misfile them, it may be along time before you find them, if at all. If you are not consistent with your tags, you run the risk of overlooking information that you have bookmarked or being frustrated by not being able to find a site that you had previously bookmarked. It is for this reason that library cataloguers must use a set of predefined “tags” to categorize books.

My Delicious account had been dormant for some time and I spent time deleting many of my entries: they were no longer useful or current. I had also not followed my own advice above and had to re-organize bookmarks. It is amusing how I now question the relevancy of tags I applied two years ago.

Cats Have Nine Lives: Humans Have Two

Anonymity – the state of not being known an identified – is a liberating feeling. It is the same feeling I have when I leave Bermuda – population 70, 000, 20 square miles- and visit New York City – population 8million. That is what I looked forward to as I signed up for Second Life. Ironically, I was self-conscious more self conscious in SL than I was in New York even though I hidden behind my avatar. I attribute it to my unfamiliarity with protocol in SL and how to interact with the environment. One has to dispense with first life codes of behavior, such as crowding someone else’s personal space and common greetings. Codes of behavior definitely change in faceless communities. I soon learned to forgo traditional introductions- you simply begin talking. I wasn’t certain whether other figures standing around were actually “in play”. They did not always respond when I attempted to talk to them. They appeared to be doing nothing. Perhaps the virtual characters were away from their computers and had not indicated this.

At first, I was reluctant to approach anyone except at the Help Institute. There I found a greeter who assisted me with resetting my avatar so that I did not appear as a cloud. At that point I tried to customize my avatar, but only succeeded in adding clothing without removing any. In the end, she looked as if she were dressing for a Halloween party so I settled for “the girl next door” look.
I visited TC Educator a few times, but did not meet anyone else there. I have to say that the replica of TC is impressive. I found my way to Starbucks, took a seat and waited, but no one else arrived. In fact, every professional or educational site I have visited was deserted save one – that was ISTE. I am advised each time I logon to SL that my system does not meet SL’s minimum system requirement, and that I may experience poor performance. I question whether that has affected my experience in SL.

I would need much more time exploring SL to offer an opinion on its potential for educational purposes. My initial forays were not very encouraging. As a librarian, I visited the American Library Association site – ALA Island. I cannot fathom what SL offers that I cannot experience in another platform. I feel encumbered by the avatar.

My previous experience with a virtual community such as SL was limited to Toon Town. My own children participated in this a few years ago and invited me to develop an avatar and join them in various activities. I did so to entertain them but could not understand the appeal except for the competitions which resembled all any other online games. My reaction to SL is no different. I grow impatient trying to navigate around SL or to customize my avatar. I commented in an earlier class that I have little time for my First Life; I definitely have no time for SL. I doubt if I’ll return to this forum after this class.