Must we become infovores? Survival of the digital fittest

Well, I finished The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains (ironically on audio-book rather than print) , which poses the idea that we are losing our ability to concentrate and read deeply for extended periods.  We skim, jump from link to link, and multi-task.  The Internet has made us infovores.  I am in total agreement.  As a librarian, I have witnessed the change.  As a human being, I have experienced it.

Because my profession is “information provider”, my appetite for information is both personal AND professional.  I have witnessed the concept of a traditional school library dissolve around me and (because I am perseverent and love a challenge) I have adapted.  I am digitally fit-  I blog, I wiki, I RSS, I understand user-generated content, I stay up late at night to try to keep up!  But I admit that I can’t and I believe that no one can.

So…I googled the word infovore (as well as checked the citation from The Shallows) and was led to an interesting title: The Age of the Infovore by Tyler Cowen.  Google even provided me with the table of contents and intriguing exerpts.  Googling the word infovore also led me to a blog, written by a young game designer (hey- cool blog title!).  I found myself ravenous.  I wanted to jump on what the game designer had to say about virtual worlds- my research topic.  My hunt, as a hungry infovore, led me to another blog, written by another young gamer (intellectuals I must add), on which the first young gamer replied to a post.  Oh…I am now on the prowl, indeed.  The post deals with gaming and discusses the importance of design and the sense of playfulness.

I have been struggling lately with the triviality of social media and the lack of meaningful purpose for so much online content we encounter.  These two blogs remind me that we initially learn, as children, through play.  We truly learn best and communicate best when we are passionate about something.

 

As I look to the future, I am torn between two opposing forces- darkness and light,  loss and gain, fear and hope.  I respect the warning of the intelligent authors and futurists who warn us not to embrace technology to the point of losing our humanity.  I also respect the miraculous ability of the human brain to learn and to adapt, along with the unbelievable quality of the human heart to truly care about something.  I continue to put all my eggs in the basket of light and hope.  Hey, I am only a temporary traveler on this planet like all those who came before me.  Maybe I am just born easy-going.  I am willing to be a carnivore or a herbivore or an infovore.  Whatever it takes to survive.

 

 

 

Crowd Sourced Ebook

As I build a global professional network, I am grateful for the opportunity to meet colleagues (mostly virtually but sometimes physically) who struggle with the same obstacles in this fast-paced techno world. Having recently read and posted about the pessimistic outlook for the future (Nicholas Carr, Sherry Turkle, and James Gleick- all excellent reads), it is refreshing to collaborate with others who are hopeful about teaching the next generation of learners.  Two school library media specialists, Kristin Fontichiaro and Buffy Hamilton, are currently working on a crowd-sourced ebook for school  librarians with the goal of seeking best practices for 21st century learning.  I submitted a chapter proposal on virtual worlds in libraries, which is just one of the possibilities for new literacy formats.

 

What an intriguing example of new and exciting publishing opportunities! Writing, along with all traditional communication formats, is changing.  In my school library, I am currently presented with the opportunity to teach writing strategies with 4th graders.  I hope to share with them the excitement of new and innovative writing opportunities but also remind them of what all good writers have done in the past: write about what they know, what they are passionate about, take risks and try new genres, and revise, revise, revise.

 

With digital formats, like digital storytelling or blogging, revision seems different than with a pen.  The idea of digital revision is new territory.  I think watching the crowd-source ebook grow and change online is an example of taking a risk in a new form.  Collaborative digital revision-  I like that!

The Toppling Hierarchy of Information

Web 2.o (perhaps an over-used term but a rapidly expanding source of shared information) may include user-generated content, social media, wikinomics, folksonomies and open source software.  For centuries, scholars have treasured the great works created by the most brilliant minds.  Expert authority has been regarded with great esteem by the wise elders. Now that the hierarchy of information has toppled, is respect for human ideas, creativity, and wisdom still valued?

Today, we see a trend toward “information wants to be free.” Note the link to cyberpunks and that idea that hackers are liberators of information which should never be isolated or controlled by a single ideology.  Don’t mistake my intent here to insult hackers or cyberpunks.  Some of the individuals I follow in my personal leraning network may fall into that category!

The core philosophical standards of my training as a librarian have encouraged me to balance intellectual freedom with intellectual property.  I hear many people call the Internet the “world’s biggest library” and use the term “Google” as both librarian and search strategy.  Many individuals are unaware of the cost of high quality information in academic databases.  Convenient sources, accessed immediately, are first choice.  Giving credit to the source of information retrieved online is an idea that is archaic in some circles.  Respect for intellectual property is the concern of stuffy old academics from the dark ages.  A science teacher can use a youtube video created by a 6th grader to teach magnetism, so who needs an expert?

Why I do I care?  Why am I taking the time to write this blog?

Standing among the rubble, having witnessed the toppling of the hierarchy of information, my concern is that human beings will no longer have a quest for deep understanding.  I think I am beginning to understand The Shallows by Nicholas Carr.

Who am I to write about this?  I am no authority!  I am an example of the problem I address, adding to the “sea of chaos” by writing a user-generated blog.  Spouting off my meager ramblings for the world to read (knowing that the likelihood is extremely small because the average time spent on a webpage according Nicholas Carr is only 18 seconds), I often feel unqualified to share my thoughts online.  I remind myself that I should be willing to serve as a “brave guinnea pig” in this new era because there is no going back to life before the net.

The only redeeming value I can see in this post, is that fact that I am revising a draft that I started two years ago ( August 2009).  I saw my unfinished post titled “The Toppling Hierarchy of Information” and was compelled to revise.  Oh, the power of that word- revision (to see again).

 

BYOT (bring your own technology)

There’s a new slogan rapidly spreading through my school district, as well as other districts across the country: BYOT (bring your own technology).  Many of us have been hoping for a more innovative and open philosophy for over five years.  We all know the world has changed and we all know that information access is not only at an all time high…we are drowning it it.

 

The books and articles of interest to me of late, however, give rise to caution when it comes to integrating the latest high-tech gadget into our schools.  In fact, Kristin Fontichiaro (professor at the University of Michigan) shared with us this week some excellent examples of how online Web 2.0 technology tools are sometimes full of bling and pizzazz without any meaningful content at all!

 

Librarians have been trained in aquisition and evaluation of high quality resources, both physical and digital. It seems an emphasis on the latest tool is often stressed today more than the content or information delivered. Although students will be bringing smart phones, ipads, and other tech gadgets to school, using them to multi-task throughout the day may contribute to even more distraction and “shallow” trivial thinking.

 

How can we help our students embed meaningful purpose into BYOT?

1. As educators and librarians we can model the best practices by balancing innovation with tradition and requiring high standards of critical thinking.

2. We can model our own learning in this new era by showing our own willingness to “learn, unlearn, and relearn ~Toffler” and allowing time to unplug and reflect on the meaning of our learning.

3. We can put people first!  Teaching and librarianship are service-oriented professions.  We are not books or buildings, we are human beings.  We are not robots (yet). Just kidding on that last line.  Putting people first requires admitting that they are more important than our tech gadgets which we all turn to throughout the day.

Virtual Tornado Exhibit and Simulation

For the past few years, I have been exploring virtual worlds in education and libraries. For example, building a virtual display of the Texas Alamo and conducting live tours of a simulation in Second Life illustrated how students might use virtual worlds to study history.
With another librarian from the Texas Library Association, I happened to meet an individual who builds disaster preparation and emergency rescue simulations. One day, while working on another project in the virtual world of Second Life, this individual asked if I would like to come to an emergency rescue on a virtual submarine. I asked, “When?”
“Right now!” he answered.
So, I teleported to a sunken submarine and experienced a virtual rescue. Of course, I couldn’t pass up the chance to take some machinima shots.
The rescue simulation gave me (and my other librarian friend) the idea to create a virtual library display and exhibit that would include a live rescue simulation. Because 2011 was a year filled with record breaking tornados, we decided a virtual tornado exhibit would be a good choice.

VIRTUAL TORNADO EXHIBIT & LIVE RESCUE SIMULATION
The virtual tornado exhibit will be on display in Second Life from September 1 – October 31, 2011 at the Community Virtual Library on Info Island.

Volunteers are need to roleplay as rescue workers, police officers, firefighters and victims. Tentative dates for the live simulation are Sept. 8th at 6pm Pacific Time (Second Life time) and Oct. 8th at 9am Pacific Time (SL time).  Anyone interested is welcome to participate.