Is it really over? My reflection
I'm really amazed that the class is over. It went much more quickly than I'd expected. I know I've said it before, but I really couldn't have asked for a better group of students. Your enthusiasm was inspiring to me and your reflections helped me to see many of these tools and ideas in new ways. Yes, teachers can learn from their students. :)
When I decided to use Drupal for this class, I wasn't sure how it would go, but I am definitely a believer now. I'm also a big believer in experiential and reflective learning. To be able to read about something, use it, and reflect on the experience creates knowledge that is far more "sticky" than if you just read about these things. When I first started blogging, I was constantly amazed by how it helped me to process my thoughts. Sometimes my own views about something weren't clear to me until I wrote about it. Blogs are a tremendous learning tool, especially in distance education. And, as you saw in this class, blogs can really bring people together around ideas. We never had this level of discussion when I was in library school. Our discussions were always flat and uninspired.
Steven Bell wrote a post last month on ACRLog about classes like this one and arguing that what you learned won't be useful because these technologies are changing. I don't necessarily buy that. I think this course teaches more than a collection of technologies. It teaches how to critically evaluate technologies for use in libraries, how to incorporate technologies into reference and instruction, how technologies impact the learning process, how to plan for technology implementation, how to evaluate the imapct of technologies, how to be fearless about learning new technologies, how to keep up with technology in the profession beyond this course and more. When Facebook and Twitter are long gone, you will still know how to propose new technologies to your colleagues in a way that will increase the likelihood of buy-in. You will still be able to look critically at technologies and figure out whether or not they're right for your library. You'll still know how to plan for the implementation and ongoing maintenance of technologies. What I've learned from social tools has helped me in managing projects that have nothing whatsoever to do with social tools. These skills are so easily transferrable. I hope you find that to be the case as well.
I believe that knowledge of these tools and how to apply emerging technologies in libraries will help you in your career. I see more and more job ads asking for experience with Web 2.0 technologies and there has been a big increase in the number of Emerging Technology Librarian positions. At my library, we are currently interviewing people for the Distance Learning Librarian position (I was recently promoted to Head of Instructional Initiatives). There are several interview questions we asked all of the candidates during the phone interview that relate directly to this class. One was about experience with online instruction. Having experience with screencasting tools was something we were really looking for, so your experience with them would have been valuable. Another asked candidates to suggest some emerging technologies that they think would be useful in providing services to distance learners. Your knowledge of these social tools and how they can be used in libraries would have helped you answer that question. The last question asked about how you learn about emerging technologies. Hopefully the use of an RSS aggregator during the course helped you to develop your own keep-up strategy that will help you to keep up well beyond this class. Employers are looking for people who understand how technologies can be applied in libraries, how to critically evaluate technologies and how to keep up with future trends in libraries. I'd like to believe this course helped you a little bit in these areas.
This class has been a pleasure to teach and you all really are assets to the profession. I wish you the best in school and in your careers. If you ever need advice about these technologies, please feel free to email me. Also, if you ever decide to start up a blog outside of class, let me know. I'd love to follow it!
