Week+Three+5306

=**Developing Technology Leadership **=

My quote this week is from the article by Richardson in //District Administrato//r. Richardson, W. (2007). Online-powered school libraries. //District Administrator//. 43(1),62.
 * "Librarians are now launching blogs, not only to give updates on resources but also to interact with users, and host collaborative discussions." **

Reading this article made me aware of how school libraries need to change with the current times in relation to technology. I selected this quote because our staff recently began using a blog as a way to interact with our college-age students, and to engage them in discussion in order to ultimately increase participation in our program services. In our role as academic advisors we provide resources to our students much like a librarian. We provide information about financial aid, scholarships, internships, tutoring, career opportunities, and much more. We offer them referrals to appropriate departments or agencies in order to meet their academic or personal needs. Using a blog allows us to provide new and current information that is of interest to our students. It also allows them to interact with our staff as well as other students in the program. We post links to other sites that offer further information and guidance to meet their needs. The plan is to add Powerpoint presentations and other audio and video media to encourage and promote the use of the blog by students. As Richardson mentions, libraries are a place for "interactive learning and collaboration with others." That would be a good description of the services that our program provides as well.

I attended a conference this week and in one of the workshops the question was asked "Who has time to do all these things with the other demands of the job?" A librarian might ask the same question when faced with having to take on the new task of creating or updating a blog or joining a social networking site to connect with readers. The suggestion was made that maybe some of the things we are currently doing need to be replaced with using these new technologies. To quote Richardson again, "Web 2.0 technologies are transforming the ways in which school libraries operate and deliver their services in this fast changing online social and collaborative world." I would certainly agree because the same is true for our program.

I also enjoyed the article by Marc Prensky entitled "Turning on the Lights." It reminded me of my recent experience on my job. A little over a year ago I was working in a position which only allowed unlimited access to the internet for only one hour per day. Supposedly, this was equal to the time allowed for lunch meaning that we could roam the internet as much as we liked as long as we did not exceed the quota of one hour per day. Many websites we discovered were off limits unless we were logging them in under the one hour quota. Of course, this did not include what we would call "questionable" content sites. I am certain that since our job duties required that we work on the computer for 90% of our day that the intent of these measures was to ensure that the employer did not lose valuable work time. I found that in reality it had a negative effect on the employees. As a result, employees felt that they were constantly being monitored to stay on task and did not take pride in their work or utilize their own creativity in their job duties.

Since I have come into my current position, I have experienced what Prensky was describing when he referred to "turning on the lights." I felt that a weight had been lifted because I now have the freedom to conduct research online and find resources for my students and new ideas for assisting them. I feel the freedom to connect with my students using online tools. Prensky makes the statement that "we vastly underestimate our students' ability in technological areas and vastly inflate the threat of harm." I feel that this was the case with the first employer. He worried more about what he might be losing than what could be gained from allowing his employees the freedom to do their jobs and to collaborate with others who could assist them in doing their jobs better. Prensky goes on to say "Once we let students (particularly in groups) take the lead on technology projects, teachers tend to see more engagement and better results." I feel that this is true in the classroom as well as in the workplace.

I certainly agree that school libraries have a great potential that they are missing out on by not utilizing technology. I enjoyed reading the article Blogging RSS by Richardson where he discussed the school that was using weblogs throughout the school. The school website was featuring the latest news from separate weblogs that they hooked together using RSS. Just think what would happen if your school librarian posted a wish list of books on a blog for the library and then everyone who visited the school website would know about the needs. You would probably see more exposure and more people getting involved in the project on an ongoing basis rather than just one time a year. She could also post book reviews so the parents would know what their children were reading. This would allow the parents to get more involved in their children's reading development. As Richardson stated "a Weblog is a dynamic, flexible tool that's easy to use whether you're creating with it or simply viewing the result." By using a little creativity the librarian could enlist parents to become involved as volunteers for the library to spend time helping students with reading problems. I agree with Richardson when he states that "as more and more people get on the blog bandwagon, more and more teachers and schools are starting to experiment with technology as a way to communicate with students and parents." Maybe what it will take for your librarian to see the potential is for you to be the one to share some of these new ideas. Using the blog would assist in accomplishing each of the goals that you mentioned above: instilling a love for learning in the students and being a connector to the outside world.



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