Learning 2.0 the Helen Blowers Way

More like DeadClassroom!, originally uploaded by bolceg.

I was asked to write an article for our work newsletter about working through 23 Steps. This is part of what I wrote:

What do you know about blogs, wikis, podcasts, rss, myspace, youtube or flickr? I have three teenage children and I have watched them embrace and use these web tools. They engage in social networking on Myspace, watch programs on YouTube, talk about doing research on wikis and I wondered if I had been left behind.

Last year, much to their amusement I decided it was time I purchased an IPod and now listen to music and podcasts on the bus or while walking. In their eyes it was definitely not a Mum thing to do. However, I thought to myself “why should young people be the only ones to get to use this wonderful technology?”

After listening to Helen Blowers on July 24th I went home and told my stunned family that I was going to learn how to create a blog, use and develop a wiki, create a spot on myspace, upload photos onto Flickr and embrace 2.0 technology. At first they laughed, but I told them that it was not too late for their mother to embrace the 2.0 web tools and start using them at home and at work. It is a long time since I have felt so inspired to learn and apply new technologies to my work context.

Helen Blowers refers to the 2.0 Librarian’s Manifesto:

“I will recognise that the universe of information culture is changing fast and that libraries need to respond positively to these changes to provide resources and services that users need and want.

Information flows down the path of least resistance. If you block a tool the users want, users will go elsewhere to find it. You cannot change the user, but you can transform the user experience to meet the user.

Your ignorance will not protect you.”

I want to be a person who embraces these new technologies and applies them to my work environment. The best way for this to happen is to play with these technologies. So, I have been playing and having a great deal of fun. At the same time, I have learnt heaps and my mind keeps thinking of ways that we at the State Library could apply these technologies to our work.

According to Helen Blowers, most young people search for their information on wikis and blogs and they are more likely to trust what a friend says than a sourced piece of information such as a text book. For me this sets alarm bells ringing – they should be using “good resources” to find answers to their questions.

It would be wonderful if the State Library went into their world and ensured that the State Library’s rich resources are resoundingly in their face, accessible and available. And that they find us and use us!

Helen Blowers has made it easy for each of us to move from a state of ignorance about 2.0 stuff to developing our knowledge and skills about these tools. Believe it or not, they are easy and fun to use.

Let me encourage all of you to set aside fifteen minutes each day and play. Believe me, you will have fun. I have discovered a world of photos, people, ideas and places that I knew nothing about until three weeks ago.

I have created a blog, I have found photos on flickr that are inspiring and uploaded them onto my blog. I have learned about technorati – a way of “googling for blogs” and much more. At present, I am getting my head around wikis.

Here is the link to Helen’s Learning 2.0 Program: http://plcmclearning.blogspot.com

The direct link to 23 Steps is: http://plcmcl2-things.blogspot.com/#23

Its time to play!!!!