“The difference between a jogger and a runner is an entry blank.” Dr. George Sheehan

2.0 does 26.2


In seven days I will be running the California International Marathon. For every serious long distance runner, the dream of achieving a fast enough marathon time to qualify ( I need 4:05) and be able to participate in the prestigious Boston Marathon, is everything. Boston is on my life list and it seriously needs a nice big check mark. Anyone else have a similar goal?

I’m not genetically blessed with athletic genes. My father is the most incredible bowler who leaves his name and high scores immortalized on plaques in every bowling alley where he’s ever played. My sister won the 100-yard dash on Sports Day wearing an arm cast. Me? Well I have hips, heavy bones, no natural talent, absolutely no fast-twitch muscle fibres, and I’m also getting older at an alarming pace. But I like running. It clears my brain, helps me think creatively and gives me plenty of time for contemplation. And I love the challenge of running 26.2 miles.

The running gods are not kind. I’ve endured a 50 mph headwind/sandstorm at the Las Vegas Marathon, a hailstorm in Vancouver, an autumn gale in Victoria, broke one foot falling off a sidewalk and the other when I was bowled over in an exercise class. (I know, pretty stupid!) I’ve still run 15 marathons – all of them too slow for Boston. Darn!

But this year feels different. I’m not hoping. I’m not wishing. I’m putting in a determined effort by training hard, eating properly, stretching, doing my track workouts and tempo runs, getting up early to weight train, asking experts for advice and doing lots of reading on the subject. My times keep improving and I’m daring to dream that Sacramento will be my day.

What it All Means?

When I’m running, I find my mind clears. I do my best thinking and come up with neat ideas, a result my husband hates because neat ideas usually involve more work on his part. Lucky for him, this week I had just read “What it All Means” from Richardson’s Blogs, Wikis and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms before I hit the nearby trails for a 13-miler. So with Richardson’s “What all this means?” swirling in my head instead of potential renovation plans, I ran through the autumn leaves, and did some reflecting about why I decided to learn more about Web 2.0 in the first place. My reasons: A – As a secondary Teacher Librarian it was my role to get my staff and students using Web 2.0. B – I wanted to improve my own facility with technology and stop being scared by it, and C – I was tired of not knowing what the heck was going on with technology. I'm sure others in this Web 2.0 course had similar goals.

I remember in the interview for my education leave from the District, I was asked how I would use technology in the library setting. I explained that I really did not know which uses were applicable but was determined to find out through my university coursework. From Teacher Librarian magazine I knew that other teacher librarians were doing amazing things integrating technology – using Web 2.0 tools I couldn't pronounce (what's a why-kee?) much less understand. Acquiring greater fluency with information knowledge and technology tools was the first goal I set for myself. Then I would cast a wider net to include my school. In any case, I had established a personal vision and “began this journey with the end in mind", as motivational speaker Steven Covey recommends.

In the concluding chapter of his book, Richardson offers a quote by Thomas Friedman, which encapsulates current trends in technology and offers a mission statement for my vision:

“We are now in the process of connecting all the knowledge pools of the world together.”

Teaching as a connecting and collaborative process is a concept that speaks directly to my role as a teacher librarian. The time is perfect for me to work as an agent for change with students and staff. To convey the literacy skills necessary for success in this new technology-based learning environment is “a huge shift” in my own interpretation of teacher librarianship and frankly, a very daunting prospect. But then so is 26.2 miles and I can do this. It all starts with an action plan broken into manageable, achievable chunks. Investigating Web 2.0 applications is the first step I’ve taken towards gathering the skills I need to teach the new literacies.

The Starting Line - Blogging

So here I am again. How I will I begin to use technology, specifically Web 2.0, in the library setting? To extend my running metaphor, I am going back to the starting line and look at my first entry into the Web 2.0 world – blogs. Future education trends demand that teachers adjust the way we teach students, and blogs can help us with these changes. Richardson lists blogs first in his 2.0 arsenal with good reason. Extremely versatile, they may be used for instruction across the curriculum, professional development, portfolio building, repositories of information, collaboration, and promoting information literacy. I guess you could call blogs a one-stop shopping mall of possibilities. In his video “Perspectives on Classroom Blogging", Wesley Fryer calls blogging the “cornerstone piece of literacy learning in our classrooms.”

Richardson outlines ten “big shifts” or attitude changes necessary to support the new literacies on pages 131 – 136 of his book. As I read through these “big shifts” concepts I thought that blogs would be a great starting point because they could be used to promote each one of these ideas.

• Share open content.
• Offer full intellectual access, 24/7 learning with access to many teachers.
• Facilitate the social and collaborative connection.
• Allow for conversations.
• Help students to find information.
• Encourage critical reading.
• Provide a vehicle for managing information.
• Write critically.
• Create shared resources.
• Add student knowledge to the wider learning community.

I'd be interested in knowing if you agree with my choice of blogs as a starting point.

The Race Strategy

So if my plan is to use blogs as the tools to create a change in my secondary school, I will need to start with baby steps. Introducing a new idea to one or two teachers, “converting” them, and then building upon this success, is an approach that has always worked well for me. Teachers are responsible for so many daily tasks and encouraging them to find the time to explore a new approach requires encouragement, genuine offers of help and a certain amount of subterfuge. If you can illustrate ways in which a change can ease teacher work – such as saving time, helping to achieve objectives or motivating students - then teachers will usually “buy in”. And once you’ve got teachers comfortable integrating technology into their lessons, they will begin to promote it in lesson and assignment design and in informal chats with colleagues.

In the video (thanks, April!) “Web 2.0 and Your Own Learning and Development” Stephen Downes talks about the push/pull effect of interaction when learning. He encourages new learners to retrieve ( pull) information themselves as opposed to having someone overwhelm by force-feeding information (push). It is important to keep this good advice in mind. I must be cautious about overwhelming the students or the staff with new information. I have to motivate them to want to learn more through sharing examples, offering collaborative assistance, encouragement and praise for their success. I also have to keep in mind that I can tap into the support of the wider teaching community. I can connect interested staff to other teachers, such as Jill Robbins “Blogging a Portal to the Future” which provides a great collection of information and resources about blogging, perfect for new bloggers to explore. WebTools4U2Use was a particularly valuable resource for me to use as I was learning about Web 2.0. I need to revisit my own learning journey and select a few quality resources to share and, at the same time, move beyond blogging to sneakily introduce wikis, video resources, virtual learning sites, podcasts and other tools.

As teacher librarian there are many other ways to encourage change at a practical level. When teachers book their classes into the library I can offer to set up a blogs for the unit topics that lists links to online research resources. As interest grows I could build on this success by introducing class wikis as a more collaborative venture. I could develop a Library wiki or website to house unit lists for different subject and grade areas. Additional resources such as bibliography help, note taking forms, essay guidelines, Delicious tags and such could also be archived on this for easy online access. Establishing a virtual library presence is an important part of this journey toward new literacies. Did anyone follow a similar path and can offer sage advice?

Fill out the Entry Blank and Enter the Race

As I write this, I realize that the time has come for me to stop jogging along. I need to fill in the entry blank to the race, to make the serious commitment to get the job done, like I’ve done with my marathon training to prepare for this upcoming Sacramento race. It’s time to figure out a clear step-by-step action plan, beginning with integrating blogging into the library research model and moving towards a vibrant library community with staff and students incorporating Web 2.0 tools seamlessly into their learning styles.

I won’t be able to achieve my vision alone. The support of other stakeholders such as the librarian technician, administration, technology teachers, teachers, support staff and students is a necessary element for lasting change. A great beginning point would be to present my vision to the entire staff by focusing on the “why” reasons for change. Showing a motivational video such as "A Vision of K-12 Students Today" would be a perfect way to initiation discussion.

I also need to make students aware that I am available as a practical resource. I’ve discovered that helping individual students is a sure-fire method of getting any message out into the mainstream. Above all, I have to model the approach to learning which I want my students and staff to adopt. I have taken this coursework and learned so much about Web 2.0 but my journey has only just begun. I need to be self-directive and, as Stephen Downes describes it, make myself the centre of an incredible network environment. Through repeated exposure and constant daily contact with the stream of information, I will be able to continue my own learning and remain a valuable guide and mentor to others.

This week I read Karl Fisch’s “Is It Okay to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?” winner of Edublog’s Most Influential Post of 2007. Fisch’s post is well worth visiting and reading in its entirety but this portion spoke to me as it summarized the path I’m following.

“In order to teach it, we have to do it. How can we teach this to kids, how can we model it, if we aren’t literate ourselves? You need to experience this, you need to explore right along with your students. You need to experience the tools they’ll be using in the 21st century, developing your own networks in parallel with your students. You need to demonstrate continual learning, lifelong learning – for your students, or you will continue to teach your students how to be successful in an age that no longer exists.”

My exact plan for transforming the way our school perceives education is still a work in progress but I now have the beginnings of a rough plan in place. The task ahead seems less overwhelming and I’m not alone as I can tap into the expertise of others in the learning community, ask for help (any suggestions?), do further research and refine my plans. By the time I return from my leave in September, I will be ready to step up to the starting line and begin this different kind of marathon. Wish me luck!