Library Techie

I think I am so tired of hearing the terms Digital Immigrant and Digital Native to categorize digital users that when Alec Couros explained the differences between being a Digital Resident as opposed to being a Digital Visitor…that I thought – this makes so much sense to me.   I often think of those folks that move into a new home or apartment and two years later, they still haven’t unpacked.  They are living in the space, but they haven’t fully embraced the environment – they are still sort of in the visiting mode.

Taking the plunge!

I think we all need to unpack a bit and take up a digital residence, if for no other reason than our students have completely moved in digitally.  They’ve unpacked, put up posters, and have met the neighbors.

I enjoyed reading Chapter One of the text as well, very readable – very logical.  I think about how I organize content on my library’s page for my students and it amazes how easy it has become to create an environment for digital learning for them.  Within Haiku (our school’s Learning Management System), I can embed videos, place PDFs in Scribd for easier viewing, link my databases and ebooks, and create Jing instructional videos for my students all with the goal of  having our students use these tools to help them become information literate in today’s world.  I hope I am helping them become a better digital resident and citizen.

The best intentions do not always lead to direct actions.  I signed up for the class with great anticipation and then…life happened.  Work became busy, the holidays arrived, and yet, I still hadn’t set up my blog.

I did make progress though.  I was so excited to purchase the course textbook via Google Books, download it to my Nook, and begin reading.  I read library books via Overdrive all of the time by using my Adobe EPub account, but this was the first time that I had actually used Google books.  It was painless.  Something to remember for my students.  I have gotten so used to reading via my Nook, that a hardback book seems foreign to me now.  Odd, how quickly we can change our preferences.

So, now I play catch up and get to point where everyone else is.  I am so glad that there exists a bit of fluidity in this course and that I am not taking it for actual credit, but for personal growth.

I took this photo during my morning walk today and it speaks so eloquently to me about directions and the paths we choose.

The Path Ahead