Towards School Library 2.0: An Introduction to Social Software Tools for Teacher Librarians

Abstract

This article is an introduction to some of the most popular Web 2.0 learning tools for teachers and teacher librarians. The authors supplement their discussion of social software by describing the major tools of Web 2.0 and by illustrating how they are being applied in various school settings. Most importantly, the authors (both academic librarians) believe that social software is critical to learning in the digital age, and cite several major educators in this area to bolster their perspectives. A number of these emerging tools impact teaching, learning and creative expression within learning-focused organizations (Horizon Report, 2008) and encourage collaboration, knowledge-building and collective intelligence ('wisdom of the crowds'). In promoting Web 2.0, we argue that teacher librarians can play prominent roles in K-12 schools and raise awareness of relevant pedagogies for the iGeneration (Wikipedia, 2008). Many teachers have already dubbed this trend School Library 2.0 (Harris, 2005). Introduction Today's digital youth are in the process of creating a new kind of literacy... an evolving skill beyond the traditions of reading and writing into a community of expression and problem-solving ...changing [our] world. (Fanton, 2007) In the 21st century, teachers and teacher librarians are charged with providing instruction in information, visual and technological as well as teaching the specific skills of digital literacy for K-12 students using a variety of software tools (Horizon, 2008). By utilizing social software in schools and learning resource centres (SLRCs), teachers and librarians can find ways to demonstrate their knowledge of information and communication technologies (ICTs) (Richardson, 2006) and work to promote digital learning across the lifespan. According to Statistics Canada (2004), teacher librarians have a considerable positive influence in promoting the ideals of lifelong learning. They contribute to the intellectual life of schools by promoting information literacy (AASL, 2008) and integrate information technologies into their work (Kirkland, 2007). In the Web 2.0 era, all educators can use social software tools or social media to promote online participation, digital literacy and lifelong learning for their K-12 students. What is School Library 2.0? Beyond the tools themselves, Web 2.0 is often described as an interactive, highly social digital milieu (Solomon & Schrum, 2007; Richardson, 2006). This media-rich space is conducive to student interaction and collaboration due to an infinite variety of Web 2.0 tools-blogs, wikis, RSS, podcasts and social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook (Kirkland, 2007). As many of these Web 2.0 tools are brought into the classroom, the nature of student work and learning changes. When a student's work is seen, and commented on, and collaboratively enhanced by a larger participative audience, students are drawn into extended educational 'conversations' (Hargadon, 2008). A critical question in this discourse, however, is which Web 2.0 tools are the most useful and which promote learning? Generally, we believe that social media encourages students to interact in new, meaningful ways and engages them in a technological universe that they have grown up in. As Harris (2005) rightly suggests, The digitally reshifted school library draws upon ideas from Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 to create a vision for School Library 2.0. ...School Library 2.0 is about creating a participatory, social, user-centered environment rich with technology that is focused on interactivity and collaboration. This transformation must be based on one primary goal - student success (¶ 28). The social, participatory Web now seems increasingly important to academic success, even integral to building a digital identity for many teens and pre-teens (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). However, compared to their technology-infused lives at home, Prensky (2008) reports that middle- and high-school students state that activities at school are 'boring' between 50-70% of the time. …