Information Power/NETS Followup
November 21st, 2005 by Christopher HarrisThere have been some great conversations happening around the blogosphere related to Jeff’s post at The Thinking Stick about remixing NETS for information instead of technology.
As this was probably the last weekend without snow and bitter cold here in Western NY, I was too busy outside to really get involved in any of the interactions, but I am catching up this morning:
Doug Johnson: Why does this remix work?
Librarians need to understand and master the revolutionary impact of technology, including Web 2.0 trends, on their programs and professional skill sets as reflected in their standards. Technology folks need to realize that learning how to use technology without ever applying it to learning (especially research and problem-solving like information literacy standards require) is not worth much. (Blue Skunk Blog)
John Pederson: This applies to teachers as well.
Adults need to be literate in the skills necessary to survive in this new, online world. This most recent “shift†is giving us the tools to manage our information. In the old world, we went to find information. In the new world, the information comes to us. An entirely new set of skills is necessary. (pedersondesigns)
Jeff Utecht: What does this mean for me?
I am a elementary technology teacher so what should I be teaching my students? Am I to teach them technology a.k.a. how to use computers/software? Or is my job to teach them how to access the information that is available to them? I have taken the approach of the later this year. As I’m finding out, and I was hoping, they know the computer, they don’t know how to access information. (The Thinking Stick)
I love how these three quotes work together. As Doug points out, neither technology NOR libraries can exist in isolation. Libraries need technology to access the new world of digital information. Technology needs libraries to make the new world of digital information meaningful. And yet, we haven’t always done a great job of brining this message to the school as a whole. As John points out, our primary standards document continually addresses the importance of collaboration without providing a set of standards for information literate teachers. NETS addresses standards for teachers (and administrators) but doesn’t address the root need for technology and the end result of technology use, information. I think NETS is especially lacking in that it doesn’t address Web2.0 (sure, it wasn’t around then, but Information Power was written earlier and addresses the skills needed to interact in a Web2.0 environment). What does that lead to? Teachers like Jeff who aren’t entirely sure how best to approach the new world of digital information. Jeff, an active member of the Web2.0 environment, found the answer. What about your colleagues? Who will show them the way?
Who will be their infomancer?
November 23rd, 2005 at 12:05 pm
Well, the topic is all a bit too William Gibson, but my answer is that if it’s truly a Web 2.0 environment, then it won’t necessarily be the teachers showing students the way. They’ll be finding the way themselves via a complex entanglement of links, feeds and interconnections. This leads to parallel path of questioning: is one of the new roles of educators to implant themselves within the hyperconnected world, in order to provide signposts? Maybe one of the most ignored facets of Web 2.0 is that our ‘great contributions’ to cyberspace will most likely be interpreted as more of a whisper than a roar… time for more market research!
November 23rd, 2005 at 1:57 pm
Jonathon,
Thanks for the comment. I like the William Gibson comparison. One of the visions in my mind of infomancy are the Gibson/Stephenson/Etc. cyberpunk information ninjas.
An interesting thought, also, that we are simply whispering. You can’t help but wonder how the future will look back at the emergence of Web 2.0. Are these conversations the letters and diarys of past ages? Think about this: if Howard Dean had been elected President, would his Presidential Library include his blog posts? Will someone in the future use a new communication medium to retell the story of the early 21st century as blogging is being used to tell the story of 17th century diary author Samuel Pepys ?
November 25th, 2005 at 6:45 am
Jonathan;
Your comment “[t]hey’ll be finding the way themselves…” is my understanding of effective education. I’m a music teacher at a US curriculum-based school in Saudi Arabia (assisting Jeff Utecht in his elearning course for teachers) and realize that most of my students won’t use music beyond consumer level after the curricular mandates of participation. Same idea for many of the (outdated) programs they use on computers; the biased history lessons they’re learning;the “facts” of science they’re exploring or memorizing. If I am are truly educating them for their futures, they will leave me not with a set of skills, but most importantly, with a deep understanding of how to learn. This would include learning how to access and discern needed information on demand (thanks Jeff – another foundational shift) and a compulsory need to learn continously.
I hope that Christopher’s whisper becomes a shout: we are documenting tales for future his/herstory lessons. I only hope we learn from the past and accurately organize this plethora of information and not just the tout the inevitably biased perspectives of the victors (as Howard Dean’s blog posts would do).
Jeff has led me into this Web 2.0 world. Rather than the blind leading the blind, I better spend a bit more time exploring it. A home upgrade beyond 26.4kb/s might facilitate this.
November 26th, 2005 at 10:25 am
I’m feeling it, although the more the conversation evolves, the less I like the term ‘teacher’ and the more it’s feeling like ‘facilitator’ or ‘guide.’ Beyond the Web 2.0 world, we’re also looking for the School 2.0 model (or whichever model we’re currently up to…) I guess my response to Christopher’s thoughts and the concept of blogging is that the majority of it is a form of whispering in effect, although on the flipside, it could be the closest thing that the global community has to telepathy, so it’s not something worth deriding! When enough of us get together to whisper the collective volume tends to increase and what we discuss becomes part of our collective philosophy. Note that the faciliator in this case was someone who put the effort into creating this blog, and then the rest of us just joined for the ride… did we learn any less?