The Shelf life

  I am technophobic. The first step is admitting it. But as an MLIS student, with librarianship heading towards encompassing the role of technology leadership, I need to be proactive about learning the skills needed to fill the role. Luckily, a combination of research skills and curiosity will drive me to learn what I do not know.  This assignment proved to be a great first step in the right direction. First of all, in reading other librarians’ blogs, I learned that I am not alone in my technophobia, but these other librarians overcame it and so can I. Steven Bell at EdSurge recommends making it a goal to look into 3 to 5 edtech resources a month, first taking a cursory glance and then diving deeper if it looks promising (2018). Through his article, I was introduced to VoiceThread. VoiceThread has been around for a while, but surprisingly, I have never seen it used. One of its greatest assets is its ease of use and library of tutorials on the website. There are several applica...

  Information, Digital, and Media Literacy-Post #2 In our current digital age, we are positively swimming in information; on top of this, anyone who has a mind to can post online for the world to find. Creating websites is no longer limited to digital professionals, and Wikipedia is always listed on the first page when I submit a query on google or yahoo. The amount of content that is readily available is daunting. Learning how to navigate the information morass takes a set of skills that help to clarify the information-seeking process.  The Framework for Information Literacy for higher education published by the ACRL tackles defining the core concepts that gird information literacy. These concepts are divided into six frames, one being that information creation is a process. “The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating information vary, and the resulting product reflects these differences” (ACRL, 2015). When the information seekers are within...

  AASL versus ISTE Standards After looking over all of the materials in Knowledge Quest volume as well as the ISTE and AASL websites, I discovered a big picture similarity along with several crosswalks that can facilitate standards working in collusion with each other. In the big picture of education, both sets of standards enumerate skills that empower the learner to pursue knowledge outside of the traditional, teacher-led classroom. “The empowered learner” is actually the very first ISTE standard listed for students, and I believe that autonomous and engaged pursuit of knowledge is the goal of both sets of standards. The process of acquiring knowledge starts with a question and a plan for answering that question. It then moves through the process of getting it answered or generating further questions, using a critical eye for the quality of answers and attributing it to its source. The final step is applying what is learned to another context. Both ISTE and AASL standards clarify...