In my Library Journal column “Office Hours,” I explored the concept of learning everywhere. Here’s a snip: This semester, I’m teaching a new class based on Mezirow’s concepts of transformative learning, the work of Char Booth in the arena of user instruction, and the Learning 2.0 model…. We’re working with consultant Polly-Alida Farrington, who teamed up three groups of my students with two libraries and a school library consortium in New York State. Over the course of our 15-week semester, each group is adapting, designing, and running a “mini-23 Things” for its assigned organization. It’s been a fun, chaotic, and messy experience. In our weekly group […]
Contributors Michael Stephens
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From Jan Holmquist: 23 Mobile Things is a self paced course that offers library workers the chance to build their awareness, knowledge and skills at their own pace. It is a fun professional development tool that seeks to explore the added potential of mobile devices. The course is freely available to anyone who has access to a mobile device (tablet or smartphone) to participate. We are interested in exploring ways that libraries and library staff can use mobile technologies to deliver library services, to engage with their communities and for their own professional development. The first version of 23 mobile […]
Greetings all! Today marks ten years that Tame the Web has been up and running as a library focused blog. After learning about blogs and blogging in 2002, I was inspired to begin blogging in April 2003. TTW officially began April 1, 2003, with a post about a recent presentation I gave at Computers in Libraries 2003, published from my brand new Apple laptop at Panera Bread in Mishawaka, Indiana. I learned as I went along, creating posts, adding links, and sharing my thoughts. Once in awhile, I would get a link from another blogger, pointing traffic my way. It was a […]
My new column is up at the LJ site: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/03/opinion/michael-stephens/lost-control-not-a-problem-office-hours/ In a discussion after a recent presentation, an educator stood to make a counterpoint to my take on participatory teaching. “I’m paid to have control,” she said. More than one person in the room gasped. I should have directed her to the new Horizon Report. Among the key trends identified as those impacting teaching and learning for 2013 is an emphasis on “open.” The report states, “Open is a key trend in future education and publication, specifically in terms of open content, open educational resources, massively open online courses, and open access.” Open […]
http://www.coloradolibrariesjournal.org/articles/failing-forward-risk-and-reward-conference-interview-conference-organizers What prompted the need for a Risk and Reward Conference? Shelley and Stacie can provide the back-story about how this initially came about. Shelley Walchak (SW): Libraries across the country have been deeply concerned about their future since the beginning of the recession, and yet, one Colorado library district – Anythink Libraries (Rangeview Library District in Adams County) seemed to be resistant to the downturn. In fact, within the last 5 years they have built or remodeled seven libraries and won ALA’s National Medal as well as the John Cotton Dana Marketing Award. SW: Colorado libraries were curious as to how […]
I for got to post last month’s LJ column here at TTW: http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2013/02/opinion/michael-stephens/essential-soft-skills/ I would add other soft skills such as intuition, political awareness, and a willingness to make and learn from our mistakes. Transparency is evolving into an even more clearly defined “full frontal” strategy for some corporations—putting it all out there. We should follow suit. Library schools should teach case studies of failed library systems and initiatives. We must study our failures as much as we study our successes. There seems to be an ongoing unwillingness to do this. But in fact some libraries make bad decisions, and […]
Note from Michael: I am very excited about this project! We’ll be offering a professional development opportunity for FREE to a global audience AND I’ll be co-teaching with Kyle Jones! Thanks to SJSU SLIS for the incredible support and encouragement for this endeavor! http://ischool.sjsu.edu/about/news/detail/free-online-course-extends-learning-individuals-across-globe Take a look!
Please don’t miss: http://thecorkboard.org/stephens-and-jones-to-co-teach-a-mooc-version-of-the-hyperlinked-library/ A snippet: There are a number of reasons this project excites me, and I think it should excite you as a potential student: The Hyperlinked Library model takes a humanist approach to user services and their intersection with ICTs: this is not a technology course, but it is a critical examination of the dual shaping of LIS professionals and technologies as they work in tandem to serve library users; Both Michael and I believe in a constructionist approach to learning: this is not a consumption course where the lecture is a vade mecum to hold onto […]
We just finished an intensive session of my Hyperlinked Library class – a full semester taught in seven weeks. the students were GREAT and really took on the hard work. One of the students created wordclouds of all of the class blogs to celebrate the end of our journey. He called it a word cloud party. Take a look: http://thehyperlinkedlibrary.org/hyperlib-i/ceobk/2013/03/14/wordcloud-party/ Here’s a very public shout out to the students of #hyperlib-i! Great work!