Taste of Tech

I’m just starting to get caught up on all of the podcasts I missed when I was on vacation. A couple weeks ago, the guys over at EdTechTalk hosted LibraryFest, a webcast on the role of libraries and librarians in 21st century schools. Their primary guest was Joyce Valenza, a dynamic, forward-thinking, technology-focused school librarian from the Philadelphia area.

The discussion is online, along with the related chat. If you’re not familiar with EdTechTalk, they host a weekly audio discussion online about educational technology. People participate by using Skype. At the same time, a text chat is taking place, where listeners and participants can share reactions, resources, and related information about the primary discussion. It’s the perfect medium for the multitasker. If you’re listenting to the program after-the-fact (like I do), you can read the text chat transcript to get the links and related information.
Among the many things discussed, Joyce contends:

• Audio books can actually motivate students to do more reading.
• There’s no “best” search tool.
• Students need media resources 24/7.
• Students need challenging projects that ask them to analyze, compare, synthesize, and draw conclusions.
• TurnItIn and citation generators can be used to teach students how to write original work instead of simply policing plagiarism.
• Schools have to be consistent about fair use and copyright law. Looking the other way with a wink and a smile doesn’t cut it.
• Subscription databases are an information goldmine.
• Blogs are the ultimate primary source. If you want to know what’s really happeneing in Iraq, read a soldier’s blog.
• Google works best when asking very focused questions. “Which 20th century president did the most to promote civil rights?” is a hard question to answer with Google.
• Researchers have to use multiple sources and compare and validate information.

As we continue to examine the role of media centers and librarians in our schools, this episode really helps hit the high points of how school libraries can continue to be the centers of our learning communities. If nothing else, it’s definitely worth investing an hour to listen to the program.

Emily started the dinner conversation. “According to Ruff Ruffman’s web site, cheetahs can run 70 miles per hour.”

“Really? What else did you find out?”

“Dad, I think we should Google cheetahs after dinner.”

We did. We found the Nature site, which says cheetahs can run 60 miles per hour. National Geographic agrees with Ruff Ruffman.

“Daaad…” She was getting impatient now. “I want the world one. It’s something like kids world or planet kids or something like that.”

“Kids’ planet?”

“Yeah. That one.” She had Googled cheetahs before. This site was seventh in the list of results. In addition to some good information and great pictures, it agreed with the growing consensus that cheetahs can run 70 miles per hour over short distances.

The discrepancy didn’t bother her. She found some cheetah coloring pages, and after printing them out was off on another adventure.

“That’s the difference,” I told my faithful blog reader. “Did you notice the generation gap?” She hadn’t. It was in the first six words. “According to Ruff Ruffman’s web site…”

Information now has two components. There’s the data itself (Cheetahs can run 70 miles per hour) and the source (Ruff Ruffman’s web site). They don’t exist on their own anymore. She didn’t say that she knows cheetahs can run 70 miles per hour because she read it online.

Somehow, she managed to become information literate. I can’t claim any credit for this, and this single episode doesn’t mean that she’s always aware of how different sources may provide more or less reliable data. But we’re definitely heading in the right direction.