I presented on using Mobile Phone Polling to increase student engagement in the classroom. The session was a lot of fun and I always get new ideas from talking to audience members.

In addition to presenting I attended a lot of awesome sessions. Some of my highlight’s of the conference include:

• Your Library Website Stinks and it’s Your Fault - This presentation by Matthew Reidsma is about web usability, focusing your web presence, and the importance of improving your library web site.
• An Introduction to Design Thinking Workshop - Paul Zenke facilitated a fun, hands-on, engaging workshop on user experience and the using the design thinking process to create solutions for libraries.
• An Introduction to jQuery Mobile: Creating Simple Mobile Webpages - A solid workshop and good resources by Brooke Bergantzel and Ian Mason on how to get started creating mobile websites using jQuery mobile (it’s really pretty easy if you know HTML/CSS!)
• Library Data and Student Success - a presentation I heard a lot about (I was presenting at the same time so didn’t see it). Some U of M folks collected pre-existing data from circ stats, analytics, workstation usage, etc. to correlate library usage with student success.

I would recommend this conference to anyone interested in library tech. The keynotes were really inspiring, especially the one from Larry Johnson, CEO of the New Media Consortium. I will definitely keep this on my radar for future conferences.

Our presentation was about using technology in the classroom, specifically videos from YouTube and mobile polling via PollEverywhere. We have a lot of fun integrating these technologies, but we also realize they can be overused or used haphazardly.

In our information literacy sessions, we teach using the inquiry method. In designing our sessions then, we use technology as a jumping off point that allows students to start asking questions and struggling with real world situations. Technology isn’t the point of our sessions. Instead we use it in a way that sparks discussion and engagement that goes past the tech and into the minds of our students. Here are the slides from our presentation:

QR codes are pretty cool. Whether it’s videos, pictures or a website, it’s great to be able to attach web content to a physical object. The technology has been around for a while, but adoption in the US has been slow. In the past I have been of the opinion that they were over-hyped and that their time had not yet arrived, at least in America. But maybe now that’s changing.

When governments start adopting technologies they often start becoming more mainstream. It reminds me of how a few politicians began using Facebook and Twitter to connect with constituents, then a few more joined, then everyone rushed to register their Twitter handle. Now everyone is tweeting, from my own socialist senator Bernie Sanders to FEMA.

QR code technology it seems has reached a similar tipping point. I am seeing the little squares much more than I used to. They are all over in our awesome weekly paper here in VT, Seven Days.

Betty Bargains

They are also around at a lot at our college. I’ve seen them on Student Life and Study Abroad posters. They’re in the cafeteria on the napkin holders. Even the alumni magazine from my alma mater is adding them to their issues.

St. John's University alumni magazine

There are a number of libraries who have started pioneering this technology and have done some really interesting things with QR codes. Syracuse University Library Learning Commons is using them on their bookmarks to link to ways to get help from a librarian. The San Diego State University Library is using them in their catalog, so instead of writing down location info you can scan it. Lafayette College Library used QR codes to create a “Where In The World is Carmen San Diego” game geared towards first years to add some fun to a library orientation. I love seeing all this creativity around emerging technologies.

The time for QR codes might not be ripe everywhere, but I know I’ve seen a lot more of them lately. Is this the case in other places? Are QR codes finally becoming mainstream?

Photo by thehenryford on Flickr

I’m reading the book (on my iPad) What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly the co-founder of Wired Magazine. It’s an optimistic look at the nature of technology and our relationship to it. I’d highly recommend it to anyone interested in philosophical, historical, evolutionary look at technology. I can’t say that I agree with all his arguments, but I’m finding thought provoking passages on almost every page. This one from chapter 12 stood out in light of the current issues in the library world:

“We make prediction more difficult because our immediate tendency is to imagine the new thing doing an old job better. That’s why the first cars were called “horseless carriages.” The first movies were simply straightforward documentary films of theatrical plays. It took a while to realize the full dimensions of cinema photography as its own new medium that could achieve new things, reveal new perspectives, do new jobs. We are stuck in the same blindness. We imagine e-books today as being regular books that appear on electronic paper instead of radically powerful threads of text woven into one shared universal library.”

We gravitate to what we know and what we’re used to. An e-book is not a book on electronic paper. It is a completely new medium that will have myriad unanticipated effects, both positive and negative. I’m guessing “electronic paper” and “e-ink” are both going to sound a lot like “horseless carriage” in 20 years. Also the way we consume, share, and interact with e-books is going to be different than paper books. We are inventing the future right now through our action and inaction. We should be mindful of the past, but not so wrapped up in it that we aren’t able to see the future.

I’m one of three librarians at Champlain College teaching 21 sections of our CORE-210 classes. I have finished five so far and have five to go. In this session we are talking about plagiarism, and more broadly, the ethical use of information. Often sessions on plagiarism can be pretty boring and come off as preachy or authoritarian; but this session, with the help of some technology, elicits thoughtful discussion and is now probably my favorite session.

The technologies that we are using are a wiki,YouTube videos, and a digital projector (new school) and a white/blackboard and post it notes (old school). The videos that we show are examples of possible instances of plagiarism or possible unethical uses of information. After showing an example of possible plagiarism we draw a continuum on the board with one side being completely ethical and the other being completely unethical. Students then have to decide where they feel this situation falls on the continuum by placing a post it somewhere along it and then justifying their answer.

I see this as a perfect example of technology working well in accomplishing an educational goal. It works for several reasons:

• The technology isn’t the focus – We are not highlighting a database or our OPAC. We’re not teaching them a technology. The technology is an afterthought. We’re using a wiki, but simply as a place to embed multiple videos. We’re using videos, but thoughtfully. They’re not just haphazardly thrown in. We are using these technologies in the way they should be used – as tools. When you forget you are using technology is usually the time when it is most effective.
• A mix of old and new – We have some variety in the technology that we use. We don’t limit ourselves to only new shiny technology, nor do we eschew the new. We use the correct tools at the correct times. Using post its and the blackboard can be just as effective (if not more) than showing a video.
• Physical element – Having a student write their reasoning on a post it and then physically walk up to the board and place it somewhere works well pedagogically. It helps people who are kinesthetic learners. It also makes students commit to a position and then justify their reasoning behind it. They can’t hide. They have to put their brains on the board so others can see them. Humans are physical beings and because of this we need more than just a screen. We need to touch things, move, and interact with the real world.

This session works really well because it has variety, a physical element and uses technology in a purposeful way. When the teaching librarians here are designing information literacy sessions in the future I want to remember the lessons that we have learned from this CORE-210 session.

Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania went on a social media blackout this week starting Monday in order to get students thinking about their use of technology in their lives. This seems like a very interesting experiment, especially for a technology school. Depending on how it is executed it could be an educational success or a failure in which students are simply trying to thwart the university’s efforts.

Whatever the outcome, I like the sentiment behind this experiment. As librarians and educators we should be teaching students to be thoughtful, reflective individuals and to integrate technology meaningfully into their life. These skill are integrally tied to information literacy and are ones that they will desperately need as connected citizens in this society.

The value of digital fasts such as the one at Harrisburg are debatable (found via Librarian By Day). As we all know email can pile up, and important messages could be missed. Steven Bell suggests that simply taking time occasionally to power down and leave the screen for a while can be useful for reflection and rejuvenation. Like anything, I feel that it is best to maintain balance. Completely shutting down for a week and then playing catch up will have you stressed that whole week.

We realize that there is value in disconnecting sometimes. I recently started reading the book Hamlet’s Blackberry by William Powers. Powers draws on philosophers of the past to gain practical insights into our present technological age (ironically I’m reading this book on my iPad which is another piece of connected digital technology). He says that in order to make meaning of our digital interactions we need to create gaps in between them for reflection. These gaps allow for “epiphanies, insights, and joys.”

This makes sense. This has happened in my life and happens to everyone. My colleague Sarah is constantly talking about the great ideas that she comes up with in the shower. Periods of reflection allow us to create meaning. But do students feel the same way? Do they see the value in unplugging and taking time for reflection? In one of our information literacy classes at Champlain College we devote time to this. We talk about how research is not just finding information and throwing it all together. It is necessary to take time to think about how different pieces fit together and what your next steps will be. We actually give students five minutes to reflect in class. I like this lesson and want to flesh it out more and improve on it.

We don’t have all the answers ourselves as professionals. Some of us over-tweet, are buried in emails and are constantly re-acting when we should be acting. I don’t think a social media blackout is the answer for everyone, but I do appreciate additional attention to this issue. We should be creating more dialogue on our campus that discuss this issue of technology, reflection, and the good life. Librarians could be thoughtful leaders in these discussions.

Our library recently got several iPads. I’ve been playing with one for two weeks now and there are a number of  reasons why tablet computers could have a significant impact on libraries:

• It’s easy to read long texts – I enjoy reading text on the iPad. I downloaded A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain and am flying through it like I would any other book. There are several ways to get books including through iBook, the Kindle app, and the Barnes & Noble app. Also any books in the open EPUB format work in Apple’s iBook app. A great app for books like these is Lexcyle Stanza which has tons of free titles, including many from Project Gutenburg. A grad student even told me that he purchased all his books for the summer semester on his iPad and is reading them on that single device. I thought to myself, “this is the future.”
• It’s great for consuming information – This is one of the most fun devices to consume content on. I love sitting with it in my hands like a book, reading something (as opposed to a laptop or netbook that needs to be on a desk or your lap). I love laying on the couch watching a TED talk, lazily holding it at the perfect angle. It is a device perfect for consumption.
• You can give it to someone – This is one of the ways I see it being very useful for libraries. On regular PCs or laptops you can show people a book record or a database search. On a tablet, you can physically hand them the record or the search and allow them to view it, interact with it, and make it their own. The physical act of handing someone information should not be discounted. Tablets are much more intimate and bring information down to a very personal level.
• It’s another tool to organize information – We all organize our information. We have piles on our desks. We have notebooks filled with ideas, lists, and things to remember. We have folders (physical and virtual) whose titles makes sense, at least to us. The iPad and tablets in general are another type of device that allows us to organize this information. How well it works for you depends on your personality and preferences. I still like actual notebooks, but I am using Evernote a lot more since getting this device.

There are things I dislike too. I wish it was easier to create content, though the keyboard is getting easier to use. I still don’t like Apple’s censorship, lack of Flash support, and closed environment. Tablets are going to be big and I’m looking forward to the upcoming rounds of devices, including one’s running Android or Windows.

• Plan and implement appropriate technology to improve services and access to resources
• Stay current on new technology
• Web-design skills
• Innovative
• Ability to work in a team and collaborate across campus (e-learning, IT, etc.)
• Share technology knowledge with library staff

I love seeing that more jobs of this nature are being created, and I feel it’s important that libraries are creating positions that are focused on thoughtfully planning and implementing technology. Anyone should be able to come up with ideas for a new technology in the library and then implement it, whether they’re a reference librarian, cataloger or director. But having a dedicated position like an emerging technologies librarian shows that the library is committed to staying current and trying innovative solutions to the new problems we are all facing.

Any of these jobs look really fun and interesting and it makes me wonder: now that these jobs are becoming commonplace, what will future library positions look like? What will be library job titles in the future?

Unlike PowerPoint your ideas aren’t confined to a single slide. It’s visually appealing and uses movement and zooming to highlight points and convey ideas.  Prezi also just recently began offering a free educational license that allows students and teachers to create private prezis for free. This tool could be great for use in the classroom to talk about things like narrowing your topic, keywords, or the research process.

Seriously, if you’re someone who does library instruction or presentations, check out Becky’s presentation on Narrowing a Topic. There are a lot of possibilities for this tool. (UPDATED: Becky’s presentations are marked for REUSE so if people want to use her structure and just change the text they can!)

Is anyone else using this tool? Are you using it for instruction or for something else?

Since “Emerging Technologies librarian” is my job title, I of course have an opinion about such things. To me the phrase “emerging technologies,” in the context of libraries does not necessarily refer to the very bleeding edge stuff. Examples of bleeding edge include things like augmented reality, location based services, or other technologies mentioned in the Horizon Report. It can also refer to things that have been around for a while, but are used in new and creative ways in libraries. An example of this is IM reference. IM was around for a while before libraries started using it to help their patrons. Emerging technologies in the context of libraries, can be any tool that is being used in a novel way to serve your users.

This brings me to the role of an Emerging Technologies librarian (ETL). First, it is simply a title. Many librarians are doing amazing things with technology, but you’d have no idea from their title. The words are not that important. But the actual role of an ETL involves innovation and service. An ETL stays abreast of trends in technology and implements new and existing tools in order to better serve their patrons.

The most important thing for ETLs or anyone to keep in mind when implementing technology are the users, who they are, and what their needs are. Bleeding edge stuff might not work for your users because they are still getting used to the “old” stuff. Mobile apps might be really cool and useful, but how many of your patrons actually own smart phones to run them? Maybe a lot…maybe not. Twitter was really hot last year, but if your patrons aren’t on it (ours are) what is the point? It’s good to come up with inventive ways to use technology to promote the library and deliver library services, but you also can’t force things. ETL’s and anyone interested in emerging technologies should be thoughtful in their implementation of technology, while constantly asking, “how does this benefit the library and our patrons?”

What are your thoughts? Join the conversation or present your thoughts at ALA Annual in DC.