Evaluative Report

Part A - Evaluative Statement:

An evaluative statement using three (3) experiences documented in your OLJ as evidence of meeting the learning objectives of the subject (@750 words).

The three experiences that I have documented in my OLJ which best provide evidence of meeting the learning objectives of this subject are: Module 3 – Building Academic Library 2.0, Module 2 – Second Life and Module 5 – Online Identity, Privacy and Trust.

The Building Academic Library 2.0 experience was particularly relevant to me as this presentation provided sound guidance for librarians whose organisations are currently transitioning to be Library 2.0 libraries about doing it well. Meredith Farkas’ (2007) presentation particularly resonated with me and she is now part of my Online Personal Learning Network. This activity makes you think about the concepts and theory of Library 2.0 and consider how they can be applied. Extracting the practical applications from the presentation and determining which ones are applicable to your workplace and then articulating how these practices would benefit your workplace in particular was a valuable exercise. I was very interested in the advice given about creating a supportive learning culture. This experience also encompasses participatory service, and a number of really great examples are discussed, including the use of wikis as spaces to share and add knowledge that can be used by both staff and students. These examples were not only inspiring, but could be practically applied in my workplace as well.

The Second Life (SL) experience has allowed me to fulfil the objective of demonstrated understanding of social networking technologies, as I have actively engaged with SL, have been able to successfully master the basics of getting around. I have successfully completed all of the activities that have been set for me as a student, and I now feel I am quite a confident user of this tool. Secondly, this experience has also allowed me to fulfil the objective of critically examining the features and functions of various social networking tools.  Therefore, I acknowledge that it has taken many hours of practice and learning to master all the buttons and keys to move around, and I have also learnt that because of the complexity of SL, one needs to keep practicing. This is one of the major drawbacks of this tool and the other is the amount of bandwidth required to run the program. It was disappointing that some of my classmates who were obviously interested in exploring this tool had issues which prevented them from participating. I also experienced loss of sound and speech which really detracted from the whole immersive experience. Through my various experiences with SL I have been able to see the ways in which it is currently being used to meet the informational needs of users, through virtual libraries, galleries, universities and the like as well as SL’s incredible potential in all sorts of learning environments.

The SL experience also fulfills the objective of being able to evaluate social networking technologies and software to support the information needs of workgroups, communities and organisations. This tool has so much potential in so many areas – in my reading I was particularly impressed with its application to medical and health education (Boulos, Hetherington & Wheeler, 2007) and for people with disabilities. I can readily see how SL could be applied within tertiary education (Frank, 2008), and schools (Plummer-Morgan & Neal-Shaw, 2009) however, I am doubtful that this tool could be utilised in my own workplace. SL requires software to be downloaded, which is prohibited in our public network, and even if it were possible, the amount of bandwidth required would almost certainly cause network issues, particularly if several people were using it at once. However, the potential is there to connect with remote library users (Grassian & Trueman, 2007).

The experience which most informed the objective of understanding the social, cultural, educational, ethical and technical management issues that exist in a socially networked world was the OLJ task concerned with identity, privacy, and trust. One of the readings which I selected (Harris, 2010) focused on appropriate usage and relationships when using social media, but it also informed about social media policy development at the micro level, that is, each of us needs to develop our own personal policy for using social media. Through our use of Facebook as our primary communication tool during this subject, we have had the opportunity to practically apply and evaluate the effectiveness of our policies. Furthermore, my readings outlined some of the implications of not having effective policies and the behaviours which may emerge as a result (Raynes-Goldie, 2010) and indicated changes to the cultural landscape in terms of the changes to privacy and social norms that are taking place.

Part B - Reflective Statement:

A reflective statement on your development as a social networker as a result of studying INF506, and the implications for your development as an information professional (@750 words).

As a result of studying INF506, I have developed as a social networker in many ways.

I have taken the opportunities to explore a range of social networking sites, and have become proficient at using quite a few. I have enjoyed sharing and interacting with my fellow students on Facebook, many of whom have offered insights not only into our learning this semester, but into their own psyche. Through the use of immersive experiences, this subject has stimulated a propensity to use exploration as a means of learning, which was not a learning style I had previously preferred.

In addition to this I have had the opportunity to critically analyse the features and functions of a number of social networking sites with a view to determining if they will benefit me personally and/or professionally. I will continue to use many of the applications that we explored in this subject to aid me on my learning journey.

As well as this,  I have been able to determine how each social networking application fits within my personal values and ethics, consider what boundaries I place around my use of particular sites and decide what information I am prepared to give away and what will remain private. In short, I have been able to determine a plan for moving forward in a socially networked society which I am comfortable with, and which will bring maximum benefits for me personally and professionally.

The implications for my development as an information professional as a result of studying this subject are manifold.

I have learnt skills which I can directly apply to my workplace. For example, Facebook is one social networking application that is part of the user education program at my workplace. The skills and proficiency that I have developed in using this application during this course will not only assist me in teaching library users about how to use Facebook, but also how to make the best use of it for their purposes.

Through studying this subject, I also have a concept of how much more there is to learn.  I have developed a number of skills with social networking applications and become aware of many more that I need to develop. I have been able to put a plan into place to keep developing my skills using the personal learning network model. To this end, I have started to follow several people who I consider will assist me in this process with RSS feeds and Twitter follows, and am already finding this quite beneficial.

This subject has placed the whole issue of social networking technologies and libraries in context for me. Being able to study and reflect on the meaning of Web 2.0 and what it means to be a Librarian 2.0 has allowed me to determine what attributes a Librarian 2.0 needs to remain relevant in the profession, to evaluate what skills and attitudes I already possess which will stand me in good stead, and to identify those I need to further develop.

I see the way for a library to become a Library 2.0 library as a continuous journey which will lead on to Web 3.0 and beyond. Using this methodology has allowed me to analyse at what point my own workplace is up to in this pathway and to see what the next steps in this journey might be.  Using this knowledge, I hope to be able to make a greater contribution in my workplace and to be able to support and encourage others in their journey.

Now that I have a greater knowledge of social networking applications and how they can be applied to libraries, I can use my skills to evaluate new applications and be an advocate for their introduction or otherwise into our workplace. I am keen to implement some of the tools and ideas that I have learnt about to help create a more collaborative library environment.

This subject has reinforced my belief that librarians need to constantly keep learning to remain relevant. Qualifications gained ten years ago soon lose relevancy if not galvanised with ongoing experiences which build on and enhance the original knowledge gained. Another reason to keep learning is that what has traditionally been regarded as ‘being literate’ has changed and will keep changing. As Wooliscroft (1997), quoting Behrens, states in an information society “people who are presently regarded as being literate are possibly not literate on a level which will enable them to function in such an evolved society”.

References:

Boulos, M. N. K., Hetherington, L., & Wheeler, S. (2007). Second Life: An overview of the potential of 3-D virtual worlds in medical and health education. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 24(4), 233-245. Retrieved from: http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=27477118&site=ehost-live
Dede, C. (2009). Immersive interfaces for engagement and learning. Science, 323 January, pp. 66 -69.

Farkas, Meredith. (2007). Building Academic Library 2.0. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_uOKFhoznI

Frank, I. (2008). Librarians in virtual worlds: why get a second life? First Monday, 13 (8) 4 August. Retrieved from:  http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/2222/2010

Grassian, E. & Trueman, R. (2007). Stumbling, bumbling, teleporting and flying....librarian avatars in Second Life. Reference Services Review. 35 (1) pp.84-89.

Harris, C. (2010). Friend me?: School policy may address friending students online, School Library Journal, 1 April. Available http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6724235.html

Helmer, J & Learning Light. (2007). Second Life and virtual worlds. Retrieved from: http://www.norfolkelearningforum.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/virtual-worlds_ll_oct_2007.pdf

Plummer-Morgan, S., & Neal-Shaw, L. (2009). Virtual worlds for kids — Good fun, good educational value. MultiMedia & Internet@Schools. 16(6) 12-14. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cph&AN=45455602&site=ehost-live

Raynes-Goldie, K. (2010). Aliases, creeping, and wall cleaning: Understanding privacy in the age of Facebook, First Monday. 15(1) 4 January. Available http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2775/2432

Wooliscroft, M. (1997). From library user education to information literacy: some issues arising in this evolutionary process. Paper prepared for COMLA Workshop, Gabarone, Botswana, July. Retrieved from: http://www.otago.ac.nz/library/pdf/tandlpapers_MJW.pdf