Thing #15

I believe the video A Vision of Students Today is priceless. It is the truth about the students we teach and the changes that need to be made in education not only to reach these students but to also prepare them for life out of the classroom.

In the article "Away from Icebergs", I agree with the point that libraries don't need to be a "just in case" collection anymore. Most of the information that students obtain comes from electronic sources. A lot of people would argue that libraries are still needed for children's books and novels, but these items are now available through electronic sources such as Kindles, iPad, and the Nintendo DS. While I do see the importance of teaching students library skills to find hard copies of books, students also need to be given the opportunity to interact with electronic forms of information as well. A few of my Master's classes required textbooks. Instead of purchasing a hard copy of the book, I downloading an electronic version of the book for a specified period of time at only a fraction of the cost. Where was this at when I spent thousands of dollars on textbooks in college that I never looked at????

I also like the idea that "Into a New World of Librarianship" mentioned about Library 2.0 transforming the library setting into a "social and emotionally engaging center for learning and experience". People learn from social interactions and young children need to learn how to socially interact. They should be able to get excited about the information they gain from the library and have the opportunity to share their opinions and views with others.