The OLD Top Shelf

Getting Them Where They Live: Designing Virtual Library Sites for 21st Century Learners

What a ball of fire Joyce Valenza is! She is passionate about helping students learn by using the new tools of the web and truly models lifelong learning. I have been an admirer of her library web site for several years and was anxious to hear what she would have to say about designing a virtual library site and incorporating Web 2.0 tools. Needless to say, she did not disappoint!

Joyce started her presentation by talking about school library web sites in general. She said that since there aren’t really any models of best practice in this area, none of us are there yet. Her vision is for the library’s web site to be a knowledge management tool where all of the school’s information is collected. She sees the library site as another “door” into the library - there is a physical door and a virtual door. The library web site should allow the school library to be there anytime and anywhere a student or teacher needs information. It should be as ubiquitous as Google or Wikipedia and we should aspire to having just a tiny piece of real estate on the customized home page of all learners in the school. Joyce feels strongly about this and declares that in the shifting informational landscape, having a web presence is not optional anymore. If you don’t know how to create a web site, you web presence can be a blog or a moodle site, but you must have one!

Having done some research in this area with her own students, Joyce shared some things she has discovered that kids like and don’t like about library web sites. They LIKE to feel a sense of ownership for the site and they like graphical organization. They also LIKE for there to be mouse-over descriptions that pop up on the links to explain what things are. They DON’T LIKE it when the language and organization used on the site don’t make sense to them, e.g., calling databases by their vendor names and/or listing resources alphabetically instead of by subject. They also DON’T LIKE to have too many choices and having to remember lots of different passwords. They really recommend that we (librarians) stop using “library” terminology and start using everyday language to describe things on our sites. Joyce referenced a great site to help us with this: Library Terms That Users Understand.

In the next section of her presentation, Joyce gave lots of examples of things to consider including on a virtual library site, organized under the three components of a 21st century library as described in Information Power.

Under the umbrella of Program Administration you might want to have the following items:

• Mission statements
• Policies (materials selection, reconsideration, academic integrity, etc.)
•  Calendar for library sign-up
• Assignment planner form for teachers to complete and submit online
• Surveys can be posted periodically using online survey tools such as polldaddy.com
• A form for book purchase requests or a link to an Amazon.com wish list for your school library
• An ILL request form that can be submitted online
• A reading interest poll
• A learning survey to capture what students learned during library instruction
• PDFs of monthly newsletters and annual reports

The Information Power component of Information Access and Delivery is probably where librarians put most of their energy. These are some things that you might want to include on your site that addresses this area:

• A link to the library OPAC (although you DON’T want to call it that!)
  As a side note Joyce asks wouldn’t it be great if we could have ONE search box for all of our library resources? Here Joyce advocated lobbying the database vendors to cooperate with each other so that this can happen - and for FREE!
• Links to other library catalogs
• Links to lots of different search tools
• Links to some new search engines that use Web 2.0 technology to increase search result relevance
• Links to some blog search tools
• Links to subscription databases grouped by subject area
• Links to free e-books and audio-books (e.g., The Encyclopedia of Life, Lookybook, International Children’s Digital Library)
• Pathfinders for all research projects made on wikis - use del.icio.us to create lists of web resources for each project, create a customized library for a project using Google Book search, locate open content textbooks written by teachers on Wikijunior)
  Side note: Create a wiki pathfinder on educational research for faculty and campus administrators that includes links, images, documents, video, discussion, etc.
• Links/RSS feeds to news resources
• A way to connect to a librarian
• Links to copyright friendly images and sound, such as Flickr’s Creative Commons Pool
• Links to resources for royalty-free music and sound, such as Shambles and Podsafe Audio
• Links to other people’s curriculum, e.g., OER Commons

The third component of a library program according to Information Power is Learning and Teaching. These are some things that you might include in a virtual library to address this area:

• An online research guide that is interactive
• The research process
• Links to bibliographic helps, such as NoodleBib, BibMe, Citation Machine
• Links to sample papers
• Information on how to document sources
• Links to information about each teacher’s different projects
• Information for parents
• Research organizers and other documents to be downloaded
• Information about evaluating blogs and other online sources for research purposes
• Notetaking guidelines
• Powerpoint presentations developed for information skills lessons (You can also save these to Slideshare and link to them there)
• Organizers for note-taking and outlining
• Student work - create a gallery of student art work on Flickr, post leftover yearbook photos, post video projects
• Library orientation
• Book trailers
• Videos made to address learning gaps, e.g. Its vs. It’s
• Links to student blogs of their research process (allows for early intervention and can be used as an assessment tool; the teacher and librarian can make comments on student blog posts)
• Celebrate student life with links to book reviews trailers made by students, lots of photos, timelines, favorite web 2.0 tools, reading lists, literature circles
• Teach students to create their own information spaces with iGoogle or Pageflakes (require that they include a sticky note with a link to the Virtual Library)

Joyce ended the session by encouraging us to “lead from the center” and reminding us that “it’s ok to be beta.” She said that everything will not be perfect, but to try anyway.

She also encouraged us to take the work she has already done and link to it or use it in any way that we need. She has an amazing collection of resources on her Virtual Library site and on her Information Fluency wiki.

Teaching Zach to Think: Evaluating Online Resources - Alan November

I caught the tail end of November’s presentation after Lee Rainie’s session ended. As I entered the room, he was very excitedly demonstrating how to make your own customized Google search engine that just searches the sites you tell it to search. Sounds like a pretty nifty idea. For more on this session and the ideas it included, see Digital Deb’s post over at Plugged In.

In this highly entertaining session, two big names in the world of instructional technology debated the pros and cons of Wikipedia, now known as the world’s largest encyclopedia. Kathy participated virtually via Skype, while Alan was there at the TLA conference. Kathy was at a little disadvantage, since Alan had control of the computer on which she appeared, but both presenters made some good points about the good and not so good aspects of Wikipedia. The back and forth banter was pretty rapid-fire, but here is a quasi-transcript of their ideas:

Moderator: What is your overall impression of Wikipedia?

KS says she has difficulty finding a way to validate information on Wikipedia. How do students determine if the information is correct? We can’t see the contributor’s name.

AN takes a conceptual approach. It is not an information tool, but a publishing tool/forum for children to use

KS agrees, but says they don’t sell themselves as that

AN gives an example of a Wikipedia entry for the Pitot House in New Orleans that was written by a 3^rd grade class researching the landmark. Says we can use the History tab to see different iterations of the article under the name of the teacher. Changes are still being made.

KS agrees that using a wiki as a publishing tool is one of the most powerful things we can do with students

AN says we don’t want to evaluate new tools using old thinking.  Role of the teacher is to help students evaluate new information.

KS doesn’t like what Wikipedia does to help its articles come to the top of a Google results list. She says Google is a popularity search engine – they use the number of times a site is linked to to determine relevancy. In some articles on Wikipedia, authors provide links to other web sites that will provide additional information on the topic, but Wikipedia hides the links to those web sites from the Google search engine, So even though another site might be more authoritative on a particular topic, the Wikipedia article on that topic is going to rise to the top of the Google results list when a Google search is done. The other resources that authors are using, are not assigned their appropriate “popularity” because those links aren’t seen by Google. She calls this a “slimy practice” by Wikipedia.

AN counters by saying that Google also looks at title of site, URL and content too when sorting and determining relevance.  Says the knowledge of the masses has validity. He believes we all have the responsibility to correct misinformation in Wikipedia.

KS says only 17 % of the world’s population is on the Internet and that the masses aren’t correcting Wikipedia. Kids believe that using one source for research is ok.

AN says that the power of Wikipedia is when students do good research using several sources then publish or correct an article.

Moderator: How do you critically evaluate an entry?

AN says that we need to read AND write on the Internet, just as we read and write on paper.  Many articles are rejected – there is academic rigor involved. What is published gets comments from all over the world. It’s hard to evaluate something you don’t know anything about. Learn about how it works. Use RSS feature to subscribe to an article and its corrections/changes.

KS still argues that the articles should have to be signed with the author’s real name and brings up the saying “On the Internet, no one knows you’re a dog.” Wikipedia’s editors have no credentials. She also mentions  GoogleKnol coming as a competitor to Wikiepdia.

Moderator: quotes The World is Flat as saying that it is too easy to slander people because there is no one accountable for the information. What keeps people from slandering others?

AN cites a study that looked at number of errors in Britannica and Wikipedia and found that the average error rate in Britannica is 3, Wikipedia is 4. He also cites as an example that the Oxford English Dictionary began asking anyone to contribute the definition of a new word in 1863. He says that we can’t just rely on scholars to provide information.

KS says that since there are no citations in many articles, that there is lots of plagiarism. Top 10 things looked up indicate that the most users are young people. We need to help students look at everything critically. She recommends using it as a source consulted, but not cited.

AN says that certain controversial topic articles cannot be edited by anyone, e.g., Hilary Clinton and the campaign – authors must have clearance. Telling students not to use Wikipedia doesn’t help them learn to deal with it.

Moderator: Does Wikipedia fill a need for pop culture information?

KS says everything can be found easily which makes it popular. It is larger than any print encyclopedia. Some articles contain opinion which can influence students not ready to determine the difference from fact and opinion.

AN references Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. Wikipedia can tell you what people think about things, not necessarily what the facts are. Collaboration is expected in 21^st century – a wiki is a tool for collaboration.

No solutions were found, but both sides gave the audience much to think about regarding Wikipedia and its place in the Web 2.0 world.

Beyond Books and Bytes: The Role of Libraries in a Networked World
Presenter: Lee Rainie

Lee Rainie is the director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project. This organization does original research to determine how the Internet impacts people in their daily lives. His presentation was fast-moving and full of research findings about how information and communication are changing and the role that libraries can play in the digital age.

When Rainie first started this research in 1999, he was surprised to find that librarians were some of the most avid consumers of Internet content. Since that time, however, librarians have been identified as the #1 stakeholder in the work of the Project. His latest studies have found that with the advent of Web 2.0 (the “social” web), there has been a major shift in the social lives of Americans today that has big implications for libraries and they way that they serve their communities.

Rainie discussed 8 hallmarks of the Internet today:
1. Media and gadgets - Everyone uses media and has technology gadgets.  97% of computer users use the Internet. The web itself has become a storage device that allows people to access the information they want via whatever device they have access to.

2. Broadband access - More than ½ the population now have broadband Internet access at home. The web has become the central information center and the first place people go for answers to questions.

3. Wireless connectivity - allows access anywhere. This connectivity has changed the way we have to think about the digital divide and the importance of e-mail.

4. Content creation - Ordinary people are now publishers and creators of their own content. These new content creators post photos, create social networking profiles, blog (either on a blog site or on their social networking profile), create their own web sites and help others create sites, take other online content and use it to make something new (mashup), and create avatars, or online identities. 

5. Many different audiences - All of these new content creators have some sort of audience that uses video sharing sites, reads blogs, uses wiki sites for information, downloads podcasts, etc.

6. Sharing knowledge and feelings - People are using these new web tools to share what they know and what they feel. By doing this they are creating online conversations and communities. There are many services that allow users to rate people, products or services and communicate their feelings about them. Other users tag online content or make comments on videos, photos, blog posts.

7. Customization of the web - People are customizing their Internet experience with web 2.0 tools, e.g., iGoogle and myYahoo pages.  Others use RSS feeds to get the news/information they want.

8. Different people use technology in different ways. Rainie’s findings have identified three tiers of Internet users:

High tier users

• OMNIVORES have the most info gadgets and participate voraciously in content creation
• CONNECTORS are more into e-mail cell phones and the social networking aspect of the Internet
• LACKLUSTER VETERANS are frequent internet users of the Internet, but don’t really love it
• PRODUCTIVITY ENHANCERS are positive about technology and the way it helps them do their jobs

Middle tier users

• MOBILE CENTRICS – embrace the cell phone and its capabilities; includes a high share of African-Americans and Latinos
• CONNECTED BUT HASSLED - have a lot of technology but don’t like how it intrudes into their lives

Low tier users:

• INEXPERIENCED EXPERIMENTERS – occasionally take advantage of online connectivity and can use it if they are shown how to do it
• LIGHT BUT SATISFIED – use technology but it does not play a central role in their lives. These are the people you have to call and say “Did you get my e-mail?”
• INDIFFERENTS – have some technology, but don’t like it
• OFF THE NETWORK – do not have cell phones or use the Internet at all. These people tend to be older or without the resources to buy technology

All this connectivity changes our relationship to information and to each other. We are living life in a “continuous state of partial attention.” The validating of information becomes more social.

Libraries need to plug into people’s social networks as a source of information. People perceive the Internet as a “node” on their social network to fill in gaps when friends can’t help them solve a problem.  Libraries should be one of the sources that they can turn to easily.

Libraries should also help teach new literacies. Rainie ended his presentation with a reference to a post by Pam Berger in her InfoSearcher blog. In her post, Pam identifies the new literacies required by the digital age:

graphic literacy - the language of the screen

navigation literacy - the transition to nonlinear formats

context literacy - the importance of seeing connections

focus - the value of reflection

skepticism - the capacity to evaluate

ethical behavior - the will to be responsible

Overall, an excellent presentation that was worth getting up for the 8:00 start time!

I’m back for day 2 of TCEA. Our first session this morning is about del.icio.us.

Presenters: Patty Engel, Rockwall ISD

Those of you who explored del.icio.us while doing the 23 things already know a lot about it. For those who don’t, del.icio.us is a social bookmarking site. It allows you to save your bookmarks online, give them tags (or subject heading, for you librarians out there), and share them with others. What makes it “social” is that you can share your bookmarks with other del.icio.us users. Since your bookmarks are online, you can access them from any computer with Internet access.

The tags assigned make del.icio.us really powerful. They allow you to find your bookmarks by searching instead of scrolling through long lists of sites that you have saved in your favorites.

Another great feature is the ability to create a network of other del,icio.us users so that you can access their bookmarks and see what they have saved.

If you haven’t set up a del.icio.us account yet or want to know more, see the del.ici.o.us help. They have really easy to follow instructions for setting up your browser and how to save your bookmarks, as well as how to use additional features.

The presenters recommend also creating a “teacher” account and letting students add and tag sites to this account for projects. This way that they end up with a group generated list of sites that are relevant for that particular project.

Presenter: Tammy Worcester

Tammy has some great web tools for teachers and librarians to use. See her list here.  Some of her favorites are del.icio.us, iGoogle, a cool newspaper clipping generator that puts your text into an actual newspaper clipping, an online timer and a random word picker that will let you enter students’ names and choose them at random. Click on the list for links to these and more.

Trick #1 - Use Google advanced search to find powerpoint presentations that have been posted online. Enter .ppt in the Extensions box.

Time-saving shortcuts for MS Office, Firefox, and Mac OS X are here. These are keyboard shortcuts that make use of the CTRL (PC) or Command/Option (Mac) keys.

Trick #2 - You can set up shortcuts to favorite web sites in Firefox and include search terms in the location box. This will take you to the site and do your search all at once. To do this, go to a favorite site, save it as a bookmark, then choose properties. For more detailed directions go here.

Trick #3 - On a Mac, two fingers on the trackpad will scroll up and down. Tapping with two fingers is the same as a right click on the PC.

Tammy’s Favorite Computer Activities
has PowerPoint, Excel, and other projects for students.

Trick #4 - In Excel, you can filter and just look at one set of data at a time. From the Data Menu, choose AutoFilter…

Trick #5 - Change color photos to Black and White in PowerPoint by using the Show Picture toolbar and choosing grayscale.

Battery low - more later!

The wiki appears to be the presentation tool of choice at TCEA this year. This session also featured a wiki to point you toward its resources.

Presenters: Dr. Mary Ann Bell, Dr. Holly Weimar, Sam Houston State University

Many teachers and librarians have not had time to explore web 2.o tools. Blogs are familiar, but other tools are not.

Web 1.0 = presented information to users

Web 2.0 = users can add their own information

ABCs of Web 2.0
gives a little more detail into what Web 2.0 is. My favorites are P -participation required and U - users are what drive the web!

How can librarians in teachers learn about Web 2.o in a filtered environment? Districts are starting to allow access to some Web 2.0 tools and using them with students.

Start out by being a blog reader. Can subscribe to blogs via e-mail, but a better way is to use a blog aggregator.

Before starting a blog, know what you will do with it and be able to commit time to it. Regular posts are required.

Another way to start is by opening a Google account and using all of the tools they have to offer.

When you’re comfortable with blogs, you might move on to wikis or join a ning, which is a community of like-minded people.

Try out a web 2.0 tutorial, like MISD’s Learning Through Play.

Some great new tools are VoiceThread and Twitter. Twitter is like blogging meets instant messaging. You can follow other Twitter users and keep up with their new ideas. Twitter posts can be no longer than 140 characters.

Other fun and free web 2.0 sites are featured at Knock Your Socks Off.

Web 2.0 organizational tools:
Ta-da list
43 Things
Remember the Milk