Tag: information literacy

Balancing Your Physical and Virtual Life (Tip #1)

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Da-ding, Da-ding!  Is that your phone notification of something incoming?  Hadn’t you better check it?

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Over the past few years, as more people utilize smart phones for instant access to information and communication, I keep running into the same concerns.  Time and time again, a new smart phone owner will tell me “It has changed my life!”  Then, I observe them exit our physical reality to enter the “other places” that await us on mobile devices: news sites, social media, photos, memes, content creation tools, curation applications and innovation entertainment activities- just to name a few.

We all see it everywhere we look….people staring into screens.  Yet, what do we reach for the moment we awaken each day?  Our phones.  How do we feel when we forget our phone at home?  I have heard people say they feel everything from vulnerability to actual fear.  

Just where IS everyone heading?  I took this picture on the bus because everyone near me was on a mobile device.  Nobody was “on the bus” with me!

Eric Pickersgill, an artist who photographs digital culture, shares some haunting images at Removed.  We all see people “removed from our world” every day.  I have heard jokes about the zombies around us- people who are not really with us.

My daughter, a tech savvy creative and intelligent young woman, recently suggested I write a blog post with tips on balancing physical and virtual life!  She had not heard of FOMO and realized she had personally felt that sensation (FOMO= fear of missing out) that her phone was beckoning her to a world beyond….a world where important things were happening.  The world beyond our physical surroundings, on our digital devices, takes us to a place where boredom no longer exists and where we can be both active and passive with no rules or constrictions.  Yet, deep in our souls, we feel a slight discomfort (if not horror) knowing that we can never master keeping up with the incoming and never really exit the small reality of our tiny individual life.

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Which leads me to…

BALANCE TIP #1 Intentional Disconnection Time

Find a time to leave your device and do not touch it!  Schedule yourself a PHYSICAL WORLD ONLY time, if only an hour a day.  During that time, focus on physical reality:  deep breaths, trees, textures, hot tea, smiles, and your five senses.

You could add prayer, yoga, meditation, or a walk outdoors, or even housework!  But, the idea here is to be consciously disconnected.  While connecting with others across distance is an amazing new opportunity, it can overtake and overwhelm us unless we can find a balance between the physical and the virtual world.

Contemplate your disconnection time.  This may seem too obvious or too easy.  But it really isn’t when you think about it.  Our phones are always with us and it takes intentional effort to disconnect for a period of time. More tips to come!

Search is Changing

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How we search for information is becoming more and more personalized. The personal dashboards we create on our devices make access to information easy and convenient, but how many of us realize the personal responsibility we now have to choose wisely each day, each moment?

Yes, information literacy has become a critical personal skill. “Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.” We hear it all around us. The likes and follows grow like giant sea monsters in the ocean of information chaos. Sure, we all love Google- but do we understand the responsibility is on each of us to evaluate what has been specifically given to us through algorithms of data? Do we really care?

As learners and citizens, we are all in this together. Come on, Google, give me the best answers for everyone. Not the best answers based on who you think I am. Of course, there are other search engines, but we all use google as a verb.

For those concerned about the future of information literacy, consider including information professionals in your personal learning network. You will need them. Thanks to Sheila Webber for sharing this slideshow by Phil Bradley.

In Awe of the Stacks

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(Comparing Twitter to the Library Shelves)

Tweets are serendipitous and I am reminded of walking through the library stacks as a young girl.

What is all of this?  How amazing!

COLLECTIONS

 

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.

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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.

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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.

In Praise of Gatekeepers

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Now that we live in 21st century “participatory” digital culture, daily life begins (for most of us) with logging in to our digital devices.  I float amongst phone, tablet, laptop, and desktop throughout the day whether at home, on the go, or in the library where I work. We live with a constant stream of incoming information, a blur of personal and professional content flooding the many accounts we juggle (emails, social media, content curation, and apps galore).

A decade ago, I ran into Michael Wesch’s Information R/evolution at the exact time I was personally experiencing my role as a librarian turned upside down due to the toppling of the information hierarchy. During that year or so, I began devouring new media formats and began my exploration of virtual worlds as a mode of communication and education for the future.  As a school librarian, I could imagine the floor of my library shaking under my feet because I knew nothing would ever be the same: ebooks, apps, and user-generated content were about to explode.  And they did. 

For over a decade, I have spent my life exploring and examining the evolution of information literacy. Today, I revisited Wesch’s video because I remembered his closing line stating, “the responsibility is on us. Are we ready?”  I don’t really believe many people were/are ready.  In fact, I am starting to think perhaps the role of gatekeepers was not all bad.  So, I googled “Michael Wesch” and “gatekeepers” which led me to his digital ethnography class and his presentation to the Library of Congress on the topic of researching Youtube. The ability to share our lives across the globe has created a networked culture and a personal responsibility for consumption and production of media.

This exemplifies my point because in the days before the toppled hierarchy, one could have a critical inquiry and set a course toward a satisfactory resolution- either an answer, an expert,or a realization that the question has been contemplated and unresolved for centuries.  Today, without gatekeepers, there is no resolution to our questions as the path never ends.  There is simply a constant hyperlinked unending quest with flashing neon lights compelling us to take a turn.  The default setting of our minds is the state of distraction.

Perhaps we still need gatekeepers (librarians, publishers, experts, journalists, academic peer review, etc), to help us navigate through the sea of disposable media. Wesch is right– it is up to us now.  There is no perceived metaphorical card catalog full of answers.  The idea of a shared body of literature which the “cultured” young mind should embrace is out-of-date because current viral videos, remixed in hopes of creating a spotlighted meme has become more valued than the slow road to research, refined art or edification. When popularity (followers, friends, and a perceived online image) is regarded as the achievement of success, the journey toward wisdom is out-dated. 

The Internet, as seen in Wesch’s video, is created by us all- without gatekeepers. At this point in history, I think we still need them.  Anyone today can upload content, be a photographer, a journalist, or a content curator.  But, only some of us are trained (or gifted) to do it well. Let’s give a tip of the hat to the gatekeepers, the lifeguards in the sea of chaos.

Not a Gadget- Nor a Crystal Ball of Data

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People are more important than data.

I just finished Who Owns the Future by Jaron Lanier and although economics is in no way my area of expertise- he makes interesting points about the future of economics and society in the Information Age. His previous book You Are Not a Gadget provided insight into digital culture and this new book is a warning about the increasing risk of losing the backbone of modern civilization- the middle class. The following notes come from Lanier’s perspective and are worth contemplating.

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Who Owns the Future by Jaron Lanier and although economics is in no way my area of expertise- he makes interesting points about the future of economics and society in the Information Age. His previous book You Are Not a Gadget provided insight into digital culture and this new book is a warning about the increasing risk of losing the backbone of modern civilization- the middle class. The following notes come from Lanier’s perspective and are worth contemplating.

We have this crazy illusion that data is sort of magic – that “data came from the heavens instead of from people.” Inanimate data holds no promises for the future — only people hold promise. Our fascination with technological gadgetry (also a theme in his prior writing) puts emphasis on the data instead of the people who create it.

A highlight of Who Owns the Future was an excellent analogy about current TOS (terms of service) contracts and how we completely ignore them in the numerous apps and sites we download and take part in daily. Most are written in complex jargon that would take hours to analyze. Lanier presents the terms of service of a lemonade stand (page 80) in a child’s front yard! In the lengthy legalese statements to the parents of the lemonade stand entrepreneurs, he include such items as:

“A percentage of up to 30% of revenues will be kept by StreetBook.

Limited free access to StreetBook’s curb in front of your house is available in exchange for advertising on your body and property. The signage of your lemonade stand, the paper cups, and the clothing worn by your children must include advertising chosen soley by StreetBook.

If you choose to seek limited free access to use of the curb in front of your house, you must make available to StreetBook a current inventory of items in your house, and allow StreetBook to monitor movement and communications of individuals within your house.”

That is a small fraction of the contents of the terms of service for the lemonade stand. His point is that we simply cannot keep up with the fine print on these TOS agreements, so must of us simply click “agree” and get on with it.

Lanier calls Google, Facebook, and other online giant information providers “siren servers”. Lanier believes the biggest threat to our economic future is big data networks (siren servers) getting all online profits rather than individuals who create or program digital content. “One giant siren server (Facebook) should not own an individual’s online identity (p. 250).” He proposes a revolutionary payment system on the Internet, which includes possibly linking monetary payment for creative skills and service into the data transfer.

His digital “golden rule” could be stated– Pay others the way you would like to be paid.

Today, it is easy to access and copy information for use in multiple formats. Why not copy when it is convenient? “If you copy a file, you don’t know where it came from, if it’s been altered, or what other information might be needed for it to make sense (p.221).” Meaning depends on context and the copy/paste/share mentally of digital participatory culture erodes context.

With the vast information landscape we navigate daily, Lanier proposes another idea called “decision reduction services” (p. 270). That reminds me of librarianship! The acquisition of high quality resources that have been evaluated for specific criteria sounds rather familiar. I suppose I am a “decision reduction service provider” for my patron community. (Lanier highly values libraries and librarians. I heard him praise them at the American Library Association convention last summer in Chicago).

For the past decade, I have been hearing the notion that information should be free. Lanier says that the “lure of free” beckons (e.g. MOOCs- massive open online courses) and the future of education could be grim if seduced by siren servers. As I currently research information literacy needs in MOOCs, his perspective illustrates some of the problems higher education is facing. He answered a question at the ALA convention with a humorous exclamation that “MOOCs are moronic!”

Online “creepiness” due to being spied on or having personal data collected is nothing new but Lanier illustrates the idea that we may not share the same “augmented reality” in the near future. Each of us will live in a personalized world and that loss of shared experience might be “creepy” and isolating (p. 315).

His prediction of The Future of the Book. (p. 356) was certainly full of insightful points. I can agree with Lanier’s hypothesis that books will merge with apps, video games, virtual worlds. He says, “Many readers will read what is put in front of their eyes by crowdsourcing algorithms, and often will not be aware of the identity of the author or the boundary between one book and another. This is similar to Barlow and Leston’s warning about the Internet becoming a book of sand.

Lanier points out that “There will be much more information available in some semblance of book form than ever before, but overall a lower quality of standard”. I heard Roy Tennant make that same prediction back in 2008 at the Texas Library Association Conference when he said that today “convenience trumps quality”.

My personal take away from Who Owns the Future is that embedding intellectual property identification and a small monetary token of appreciation into data could solve both information literacy issues and help strengthen a shaky economic future for civilization. Information is actually never free (even though many want it to be)- just as life is never free. Open access to information and projects that promote free information and books benefit society but certainly have costs involved somewhere. Acquisition and organization of high quality resources takes time and effort, which are as valuable as dollars and cents. Respect for people in both the physical and digital world is the bottom line. You really are not a gadget and you are not made of code.

Lanier, J. (2013). Who Owns the Future?. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Take-Aways from the King of Information Literacy in Schools

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I was honored to introduce Mike Eisenberg at the Texas Library Association Convention 2013 in the exact same building where I saw Elvis Presley! I was just as excited to hear Mike as I was to hear Elvis. So I introduced him as the King of Information Literacy because he truly is a champion for teacher librarians.  Here are a few take-aways from a leader in teacher librarianship who is always innovating and continually evolving in the information age.

Embed information literacy learning opportunities

A teacher librarian can utilize online spaces alongside physical spaces. As we transform our physical libraries with flexible collaborative seating areas, we can also share tools for creating user-generated content. We can infuse high quality, credible sources into courses and curriculum. I had to rush off after Mike’s presentation to present on a panel about that very topic: Embedded Librarianship. (See my presentation below which validates his perspective.)

Embrace Wikipedia!
Currently, the top three information sources in the world are Google, Youtube, and Wikipedia. Let’s embrace them! The first “go-to” sources are a great place to start but not always the best or the only source for the problem-solving process. As information professionals, our role is to teach critical evaluation as learners face a flood of incoming information daily. For years, educators have been reluctant to allow students to cite Wikipedia but the accuracy of the content continues to prove to be as reliable as most print resources. Students today demand convenience and real-time access and the time has come to shift our thinking from the resources to the process of deep thinking and self-assessment (personal responsibility for learning).

Offer consultation-coaching services
Through wikis and online spaces, we can offer both synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities to teach information literacy. Librarians today can be available physically, virtually, digitally, electronically, and even through augmented reality and mixed reality venues.  My elementary library is evolving into an exciting physical space that embraces new media and information literacy in all formats.

Thanks for a wonderful session, Mike, even if you didn’t sing Jailhouse Rock!

Disposable Media and Intellectual Junk Food

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Smart phones and mobile devices, equipped with high quality cameras and global networking, have made unlimited transfer of the documentation of our daily lives quotidian (a new word I picked up from Hello Avatar: the Rise of the Networked Generation by Beth Coleman). I wonder, dear reader, if you are beginning to feel (as I am) that you have seen enough photos of day-to-day life to last a lifetime. Various entrees, potty training, new shoes, and cute animals may be interesting to those involved, but become meaningless with exponential increase.

I see a trend toward disposable media, such as the Snapchat app.  The raw, unrevised information uploaded every second could be described as “intellectual junk food” which does little to nourish our minds.

Bruce Sterling, media futurist and design geek, predicts that augmented reality may soon congest the world with 3D spam (geolocative information trash) (Coleman, p.153). AR may have purpose for historical documentation, both personal and global; however, some people view the mixed reality heading our way as a kind of “reality hack” that blurs boundaries.  An example, is a ghostly overlay of the twin towers created by Wikitude.  The towers, through augmented reality, may be interpreted as an historical and symbolic icon.  Yet, advertisements and a barrage of 3D images may soon compete with historical data, current events, and personal user-generated content.

How are we preparing ourselves for the “X-reality” evolution described by Coleman(p.65)?  Currently, educators and librarians are gathering strategies to prepare 21st century learners for information literacy in unforeseen territory.  The young adult fascination for the “zombie apocalypse” may have some interesting symbolic interpretation!  Get ready…who knows what lies in our future. As we navigate the information sea of chaos, each individual becomes responsible for information intake.

Beware!

Choose wisely-  both your sources of information and your personal network.

Welcome New Year: Garden or Garbage Dump

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Welcome 2013

I’ve always enjoyed the metaphor of a library as a garden. The librarian tends the garden by planting and weeding. In Texas, the CREW method (continuous review, evaluation and weeding) proposes an ongoing way to promote a healthy library which Ranganathan defined as a “living organism”.

The Internet may be viewed with a similar metaphor and may certainly be defined as a “living organism”. However, there is no weeding method for maintaining the health of the Internet and one might compare it to a tangled forest of overgrowth or a continually growing monstrosity. Rather than a garden, the web seems more like a garbage dump with treasure buried under mounds of rubbish. Of course, there are reliable databases and sites, such as the Internet Public Library, but how many people go beyond the first page of Google hits or beyond Youtube for how-to’s on just about anything? Close-enough is sufficient and convenience trumps quality, authority, and reliability. With thousands of images at our fingertips, who really cares where they came from (other than librarians and a scholars)?

Beautiful Trash
My son and I once glimpsed something truly stunning outside the window of the parlor car on a train: a junkyard filled with cars, each with the hood up. The sun was shining at a angle that made the cars sparkle in many colors and we thought it looked like a garden. There is beauty everywhere- there are poems hidden under leaves and in my purse. Who am I to question where and how anyone finds what they seek? I suppose, a career in information science for over 20 years allows me just a bit of knowledge on the subject; yet I keep referring in my blog to the “toppling of the information hierarchy”. My professional role has been to help others find the best quality in information resources in any location or format (whether in a garden or a garbage dump?).

Thrift Store
Thrift Store creative commons photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/orinrobertjohn/500212463/


The Old and the New
As a thrift store shopper, I understand that the “old” can sometimes be the “new”. I have found lovely clothes and treasures hidden in thrift shops. Often the newer articles are cheaply constructed and not worth the cost. Instead of comparing the Internet to a garbage dump, perhaps a better metaphor is a giant thrift store full of treasures mingled with crazy crafts and user-generated gadgetry.

Currently, I am reading Hello Avatar: the Rise of the Networked Generation by Beth Coleman. The book discusses how we are witnessing the moment of crossover into pervasive media technologies (p. 41). Ubiquitous computing has arrived and we can choose to perceive the change as frightening (Sherry Turkle’s book Alone Together) or investigate ways to adapt to the three C’s: communication, community, and collaboration (p.23).

A gardener can work alone among the flora and the weeds; but we need each other to uncover the buried treasure (physical, virtual, digital, and augmented) in the gigantic tangled cyberworld in which we now live.

International Information Literacy in a Virtual World

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As convener of the Association of College and Research Libraries Virtual World Interest Group, I am excited about an upcoming event which is jointly sponsored by ACRL VWIG and CILR (the Center for Information Literacy Research based in the UK). The two groups have worked together to discuss information literacy on a global scale. How is literacy changing and how are information literacy specialists teaching 21st century skills to students?

Sunday, October 21st from 12 noon to 1 pm SLT (Pacific Time USA) InfoLit iSchool in Second Life

International Information Literacy Panelists

Sheila Webber (Sheila Yoshikawa in SL), Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Information Studies, University of Sheffield – UK (British IL Associations)

Ewa Rozkosz-Poland – Saba Pearl in SL (Polish IL Association)

Elvira Saurina (Mariae Habana in SL) -, Sistema de Bibliotecas. Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile Santiago de Chile

Stylianos Mystakidis (Sylianos Mystakidis in SL)- E-learning & Virtual Worlds Specialist at the Library & Information Center of the University of Patras, Greece

Valerie Hill – (Valibrarian Gregg in SL) LISD Library Media Specialist, Adjunct Instructor, TWU School of Library and Information Studies- USA (AASL 21st Century Standards Information Literacy)

Scan, post, scroll, click- STOP here!

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Where will my eyes stop for a moment to truly focus?

On what do I give my undivided attention? Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “Time is money”; however, I propose a change in the old adage. How about, “Attention is money”?

Attention is valuable in the information age because we are bombarded with information in multiple formats. Instead of seeking out what to see or hear, information is knocking down our front door every day– each time we plug-in. And, today’s youth are always plugged-in. Most people under 30 years of age (and some older- how about you?) reach for a smart phone and access the virtual world before getting out of bed each morning. Or perhaps they put on Google goggles or whatever new app is available by the time I hit the “submit” button for this blog post.  

Back in the glory days of the book, some of the quickest learners were admired for their speed reading abilities. Today, after the digital revolution, we scan through Internet pages while multitasking on our digital devices, focusing for only a number of seconds on most pages.

Now, after the Gutenberg parenthesis has closed, the quickest learners may not be those able to speed read, but those able to s–l–o–w–d–o–w–n and truly focus deeply.  

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“We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge.” ~ John Naisbitt The quest for knowledge (and ultimately wisdom) requires perseverance, focus, and that now extremely valuable and rare element of attention.  

Photos: http://www.freefoto.com/preview/21-33-65/Red-Traffic-Lights http://www.copyright-free-images.com/fauna-animals-copyright-free-images/reptiles-and-amphibians-copyright-free-images/turtles-free-images/desert-tortoise.jpg.html