Library 2.0 Article Reflection

In the article, “Towards School Library 2.0: An Introduction to Social Software for Teacher Librarians,” Naslund and others begin by commenting on the social nature of learning. In the YouTube video linked to this article, it is mentioned that students today are twenty-first century learners and that they learn by doing, collaborating and interacting with others. Students of today beg to be engaged and active in their learning process. The author comments that this engagement lies in treating students like the technology natives that they are and by using social software.

Naslund and colleagues describe some of a librarian’s initial responsibilities to students in reference to social networking. One of these is knowing students’ interests and how technology relates to developing these. Another responsibility is to examine software and other tools to discover how and why students are using them. Using Library 2.0 to assist with these tasks to discover and explore possibilities.

The authors go on to describe a broad spectrum of social networking tools that students, instructors and teacher librarians are using and will continue to use. Blogs can be used to journal, chat, debate and reflect. Constructing knowledge in this social environment allows students to build on one another’s ideas in an ongoing, collaborative atmosphere. Teacher librarians use blogs to bounce ideas off colleagues as well for posting information on programs, hours, policies, collections, and for posting news bulletins. Using blogs allows for necessary versatility and continuous updating. Wiki’s are another prominent Library 2.0 tool commonly in use at the current time. These editable websites allow for collective input and tracking ideas. A positive advantage to using Wikis is that many are free to use. An example of a third type of social networking site that is seen as a fast growing and highly usable medium is Facebook or MySpace (as well as others). Users create digital profiles using narratives, pictures etc…and share these with digital friends. Students can make connections and share ideas, as well as for identity formation, practice digital performance, civic engagement and maintain relationships. Teacher librarians use these spaces for networking and exchanging ideas. Although with this last tool, there are parental concerns with students revealing information in this format, this is being addressed by “in house only” assignments where only other students involved share information in a school. Other social media sharing tools were also mentioned by the authors including microblogging, iTunes and podcasting, all of which assist in engaging this “igeneration” of students that require “anything technology.”

Naslund and others conclude by stating that students can develop information skills interactively by using the many Library 2.0 tools that are available. Communicating and sharing constructed knowledge using social networking tools assist students in molding and shaping their own knowledge. Technology is a key component to engage learners of today and assists them in being excited about projects and creating information. Student success depends on social software and digital learning and is found in tools that encourage collaboration, knowledge building and collective intelligence. Social networking tools reflectively teach students, teachers and teacher librarians to analyze, think and create while maintaining a level of engagement necessary to success in a world of socially conscious citizens.

Naslund et. al., J. (2008, July). Towards school library 2.0: An introduction to social software tools for teacher librarians. School Libraries Worldwide, 14(2), 55-67.