My dream is a continual question for meaning. What it means to be alive….the awe of it. That has always been my dream and why I chose to be a librarian. (We are on a dream collecting quest.) My dream is a constant journey, a spiral, just like life. Seasons come around again and again and every year they’re the same yet different. Old- yet new. My dream of meaning is a collection of oxymorons that illustrate the tensions of opposites. We live in a world of them. I dream in poetry but balance my mind by writing research.
What does life mean? Human culture has attempted to answer that philosophical question through different lenses of perception over the centuries. The Post Modern Era is over and we have yet to agree on the term for the cultural moment in which we live. Post Postmodernism sounds redundant. Some, myself included, prefer metamodernism.
Digital life is spent in the “about”: sharing life on social media, creating memes and living in digital spaces. Literacy has become metaliteracy. The metaverse exists but can’t be defined by any location on any particular server.
Everyone needs a Robin. Batman simply cannot do it all alone.
Think about who you can count on day in and day out to encourage you. Who do you turn to at a time of struggle? Who do you know you can depend upon? I have an inspiring sidekick at the Community Virtual Library without whom I am certain the library would not have thrived in a virtual world. Virtual worlds hit a stage sometimes referred to as “the trough of disillusionment” in the Gartner Hype Cycle which analyzes adoption of new technology innovations.
Yet, CVL survived the mass exit of educators after an economic downturn largely because of our head reference librarian, Carla (Suemoon). Carla, a law librarian in a physical world library, tirelessly persevered through thick and thin to update resources in the Community Virtual Library and train other librarians and volunteers.
Carla was Hamlet’s Horatio- a good friend through it all. There are other literary sidekicks we all know and love as well as famous movie companions or real world right arms.
Sidekicks often do not receive the awards or recognition they deserve! But without the involvement, encouragement, and steadfast commitment of a good sidekick, projects can wither, falter and fail.
Think about your sidekick for a minute. Teamwork is crucial to processes of growth in any field. Members of a team work together. Yet a sidekick is an individual. In digital culture, we can connect to thousands of people and communities across the world. Perhaps we need a reminder about the importance of one individual in our lives.
Virtual worlds provide unique educational opportunities for learning in digital culture. How honored I am to receive the 2018 Thinkerer Award for contributions to education in immersive learning environments. The silver statue holds a glass ball in my favorite shade of blue!
Virtual worlds are often misunderstood and people think of videogames when they hear the word avatar. But an avatar is simply a representation of one’s self. Jaron Lanier (often credited as being the Father of Virtual Reality) says, “The visceral realness of human presence within an avatar is the most dramatic sensation I have felt in VR. Interactivity is not just a feature or a quality of VR, but the natural empirical process at the core of experience. It is how we know life. It is life (2017, 173)”. Having spent a number of years teaching, learning and developing a professional network across the world through my work in virtual worlds, I have come to understand the best practices (both advantages and disadvantages) of using an avatar as a librarian.
You may ask What does a virtual world librarian do? My virtual world library work is basically the same as the work I have done in libraries for over 25 years! As Director of the Community Virtual Library, I have witnessed and helped implement library programs similar to those found in physical world libraries, such as book discussions, writing workshops, exhibits, speakers, reference services and more. Imagine not just reading a book….but entering the book!
Library visitors have the opportunity to enter historical eras (like the life of Anne Frank or Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol). Moving pictures brought stories and books to life over a hundred years ago. Now, we can enter stories (both fiction and nonfiction) and experience them together. This interactivity with others is imperative to learning because we do not learn in isolation.
All media formats are valuable for various purposes: movies, images, sounds, as well as immersive virtual experiences (and certainly print). I think the real reason I continue to work in a virtual world is because the children growing up today will never know a world without constant incoming information on mobile devices. Exploring ways to use technology for deep learning (not disposable quick apps) and to promote digital citizenship is the purpose of the Community Virtual Library. A team of great librarians, educators and volunteers share my passion.
Thank you mentors, friends, family and colleagues who inspire me to persevere in an ever-changing information landscape. So many of you are the reason for this lovely Thinkerer Award!
Examples of CVL Programs and Projects
Exhibits and displays (Genealogy, Art, History, etc) Monthly book discussions & literary study, Digital Citizenship Museum in Kitely, Poetry garden and writing workshops, Art study group, Trivia nights, Reference services, Virtual World Database, Virtual World Bibliography, Book Orchard & immersive learning spaces, Virtual world networking of educational communities, Historical role play for immersive learning, Charles Dickens Resource Center (for historical simulation), Gutenberg Press (for historical simulation) Presentations & speakers Virtual archives.
Lanier, Jaron. (2017) Dawn of the New Everything: Encounters with Reality and Virtual Reality. Henry Holt & Company. Valibrarian on digital culture: “Whether or not one has an avatar, we all live in virtual worlds”.
We all love the convenience of looking for answers immediately and having “google” in our pockets. My dad, in his eighties, said, “People don’t really need to know anything anymore because they can just google it.” What a wise statement from a pre-Internet veteran. We have digital assistants on our devices to help us remember important things and manage our time. We are free of the burdon of having to remember small things and instead access and share information nonstop on a global scale.
A generation of citizens is emerging who have never known life without a networked mobile device with instant access to information. With that convenience comes the sacrifice of time to reflect and the guarantee of accuracy and quality of the hits we receive.
An information literacy colleague, Esther Grassian, advocates the need for Information Literacy and explains why it is a big deal. Information literacy is not simply an academic term– it is an understanding of our current culture in networked society.
A friend posted an insightful quote on Facebook which I noticed had been liked and shared by many but without any attribution to a creator. I asked if she knew the source and she replied, “People share these things all the time now and nobody ever really knows where they came from.” I find it perplexing that this smart and tech-savvy young woman would simply shrug off intellectual property with a “Who knows? Who cares?” attitude.
In BEYOND THE BLOGOSPHERE by Aaron Barlow, we are given the image of the Internet as a “book of sand” in which nobody knows the origin of ideas. They are washed out to sea and scattered along the beach.
If we really don’t care about information literacy in the future, there will be a high price to pay. Idiocracy might be a concept too difficult for the citizens of the future to comprehend. The fear of artificial intelligence evolving into consciousness pales in comparison to the glimpse of human beings shrugging off any desire to acquire knowledge simply because easy access and quick apps have made it irrelevant.
Medieval Quest is coming to the Community Virtual Library in Second Life. A beautiful Medieval village, complete with King Arthur’s Court, was built by Brant Knutzen at the University of Hong Kong.
Through collaboration with the Community Virtual Library, plans are underway to provide live tours with a role-play quest. All participants can choose parts to role-play and participate at any level desired. Sound like fun?
Here are the initial planning session times (Second Life Time- SLT- Pacific Time zone). More information about the role-play dates will be forthcoming.
Monday Jan 25th 6pm SLT Medieval Quest Planning Meeting (Share roles and overview)
Saturday Jan 30th 7am SLT (Continue sharing roles and training) Prepare Press Release to send for publicity Meet at the Community Virtual Library Exhibit area
I am tentatively choosing the role of “The Lady of Shalott”. There are numerous places to find free historical clothes for your avatar. The Medieval Quest is based on the concept of bringing literature to life through role-play and simulation. This project is a demonstration of how learning has changed and is changing. Don’t just read about it….come give it a try!
I am not much of a football fan but because I moved to Seattle, I rooted for the Seahawks in Super Bowl 49 (2015). The Seahawks were very close to winning the game when there was a call which caused tons of controversy and criticism. Those of you who know football could explain it better than me, but apparently a big player who was great at “running the ball in for a touchdown” (Marshawn Lynch) could have scored or could have given them more time. But, the coach decided to let the quarterback try for a throw which was intercepted. Seahawks lost abruptly and left everyone with a “What just happened!!?” moment of disbelief.
Now- Superbowls are known for the high quality commercials which I have always looked forward to more than the game! There was another crazy moment of disbelief during Super Bowl 49 when Nationwide aired an extremely sad (and some say distasteful) commercial about a young boy who died in the bathtub. The commercial was suppose to create awareness of childhood accidents, the number one cause of death for youngsters. I was scrolling through twitter during the game and saw tons of people saying “OMG! Did you see that? What were they thinking?” etc.
At the end of the game, within seconds of the loss, I witnessed something on twitter which exemplifies the power of the meme. The two moments of disbelief- the dead child and the crazy loss of a superbowl- were entwined by a witty tweet by Jared Smith.
This merge of two moments, shared by thousands of people, somehow relates to my understanding of post postmodernism. We live in an era where everything is a reference to something else. Modernism is essentially an art term (so too are post and post-post), but for me it is a philosophical concept because I have no formal art training. I have yet to find anyone who can explain this to me but here’s my take: Our great great grandparents lived each day struggling to plant the crops, harvest them, can them, cook them and survive. There was little time to think about other things beyond survival, yet they were grateful. Modern conveniences (picture the 1950’s Westinghouse ads with Betty Furness) gave our grandparents time to relax and enjoy “leisure time”. Purchasing these shiny contraptions (cookers, grinders, mixers, warmers) gave them the good life.
photo from https://envisioningtheamericandream.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/xmas-kitchen-westinghouse-betty-furness-swscan08163.jpg
A movement to simplify life and get rid of clutter has risen in my lifetime. I personally have witnessed the move from physical collection of objects to life in the digital and virtual world. I have witnessed the move from physical books, as a librarian, to the digitization of everything. So too, I have felt the shift from a mindset of the physical to a mindset of the virtual. Most of the jobs pursued by young college graduates are connected to the digital tech industry in some way. Every field, from medicine to mechanics, is impacted by computers.
So, how can I explain post postmodernism? The words escape me. But I know that the power of the meme I saw, live on twitter within seconds of that Superbowl 2015, is somehow an example and I knew it the second it appeared.
My review of Sherry Turkle’s Reclaiming Conversation continues with the concept of avoiding boredom or anxiety in our lives by “going elsewhere” on our phones. Those “boring bits of life” and worries that may come into our minds can be escaped by scrolling our news feeds and connecting with our online networks. Turkle suggests we consider the value of contemplation during brief moments of boredom and anxiety because as humans this “thinking through” leads to problem-solving and creativity. A lull in a conversation gives us time to reflect on the people around us. But today– our mobile devices tug at us to go “elsewhere”.
And when we get to this other place on our devices, the activity is nonstop. It’s become acceptable to back channel through conferences, business meetings, events and even mealtime. Interruption is now considered simply another mode of connectivity. Our brains love the stimulation of endless diversion but we never feel we can really keep up. Turkle says, “Only half joking, people in their teens and twenties tell me that the most commonly heard phrase at dinner with their friends is “Wait, what?” Everyone is always missing a beat, the time it takes to find an image or send a text (pg 37)”.
Certainly, the constant companionship we carry in our pockets can be used for good and I remain hopeful that the future can bring positive uses for technology in our daily lives. Stay tuned for more of the warnings we may need to heed as presented in this book and the possible solutions we are urged to embrace before it is too late!
Part of digital citizenship (and information literacy) is giving ourselves a healthy information diet. Just like our bodies will have consequences if we eat only tasty junk food or sweets, so too our minds are at risk in an age of constant digital intake and interruption.
photo from http://weknowmemes.com/2012/07/whats-the-point-of-being-afraid-of-the-zombie-apocalypse/
I just finished reading Sherry Turkle’s Reclaiming Conversation which was chock full of truisms and presents a challenge to all of us to consider how we communicate. She makes a case for setting limits on technology tools, particularly our phones, and taking a good look at the value and importance of real voices and human eye contact in face to face conversation. Turkle believes students today lack empathy for others because our constant connectivity in digital spaces reduces friendship to a “performance” rather than a relationship.
In addition to the preference of texting over talking and the performance of “an edited life” on social media, young people are bombarded by information all around them and have grown up in a state of distraction. Television increasingly brings us BREAKING NEWS with a constant crawl on non-related topics scrolling across the screen and dramatic special effects hyping what is suppose to inform us.
Breaking News
Not only are we now comfortable with constant distraction, we consider nonstop interruption a normal state of affairs as our devices ding and beep in our pockets. Turkle says, “We forget how unusual this has become, that many young people are growing up without ever having experienced unbroken conversations either at the dinner table or when they take a walk with parents or friends. For them, phones have always come along” p. 16.
Are you concerned about the effects of mobile devices and where global digital participatory culture is heading? Do you feel like you have a handle on balancing your “digital double” (Turkle’s term for our online selves)?
The ideas in Turkle’s latest book are worthy of our attention. Stay tuned for part two and more discussion on this critical topic. Photos from https://www.flickr.com/photos/rubbercat/208330144/in/photostream/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/clanlife/6369791755
Tweets are serendipitous and I am reminded of walking through the library stacks as a young girl.
What is all of this? How amazing!
But there is a difference-
The library stalks were part of a carefully selected collection….curated (planted by a trained gardener and carefully weeded).
Things have changed. The gardener or “the gatekeeper” no longer keeps out the weeds and pests.
There are tons of weeds and pests online. It is increasingly difficult to find the cream of the crop- the authentic, aesthetically pleasing, accurate information that helps individuals learn and grow toward knowledge and wisdom in the 21st century.
I am not in awe of these stacks.
But, I know I can still learn and be in awe of the people in my PLN. Yes, just like the stacks…tweets are serendipitous. Those I follow will lead toward what I need to learn.
I must learn to garden for myself.
Photos labeled for reuse with creativecommons licensing.
Today I helped a kindergartener and a 65 year old do the same thing: find what they wanted to do on their iPad.
The five year old kindergartener wanted “Big Cat’s” microphone to record his voice (on a child’s app) and it wasn’t working.
The 65 year old wanted to share a Facebook post to specific friends on his iPad FB account.
Both the 5 year old and the 65 year old sat beside me (one during school hours and one after school) with their ipads on a day which was overwhelmingly spent solving iPad issues. Some of the issues I encountered were update needs, restriction issues, apps not working, wifi settings wrong, locked-out passcodes, and numerous emails about iPads. Tech issues with iPads has overtaken my job as a school librarian. But that is not the point here.
I sat beside two individuals today who are 60 years apart in age. I had the same feeling, as I sat with both of them. I felt a sense of “please help” and I felt a sense of “this is so important to me”.
Who am I to judge their information literacy needs?
Well, actually, I am an information literacy specialist. So, I suppose this is the topic I could write on for hours; however, information literacy is rapidly changing as we move into digital culture- whether at age 5 or 65.
Shall we play a game? Share a youtube video? Shall we critically evaluate our information intake with meaningful purpose using best research practices?
Learning….the quest for life. Caring for the individual….where they are in life.
I shall remember doing what my colleague, Kristin Fontichiaro, would call “nudging toward inquiry.”
