Monday, November 20, 2006
Here's an interesting quandry. . .
If students prefer finding articles online (and not in print), why do they prefer using the printed graduate bulletin (and look injured when I tell them they have to access the bulletin online)?
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Adventures in Adaptive Technology
For the past week or so I've been mulling over my reference encounters, unsuccessfully trying to find a topic to write about. However, after the reference question I just finished, I've stumbled upon a topic. Eureka!
Here's something I don't remember learning much about in library school: adaptive technologies for the hearing and visually impaired, which we may happen across from time to time as librarians.
Like today, for instance. When the phone rang, I fully expected that I would be asked to repeat my standard Saturday evening reference mantra: "We close at 9 p.m. tonight." Instead, I was introduced to the new and fascinating world of voice carryover calls at the Michigan Relay Center. The operator explained that the person calling was deaf -- he would talk to me directly, and the operator would type my response and send it to his TTY phone. While I had heard about this service before, I had not actually experienced it. It took me a while to get the hang of what was going on. I frequently forgot to say "go ahead" at the end of my response, signaling the operator to send the message. It also took me a while to figure out that when the patron said "GA," he meant "go ahead".
This made for a long reference question, made even longer by the content of the question. The patron was, I believe translating a passage in the bible either into or out of Greek. He was looking for the nuances in meaning of a few Greek words. Collection development side note: perhaps UGL should invest in a Greek dictionary that has the Greek words in both Cyrillic and Latin (English) letters. But most of the Greek/English dictionary Web sites I found didn't include both sets of letters either.
But I digress.
Today's situation reminded me of a patron I helped a few weeks ago: a legally blind student who had to write an art appreciation paper about two paintings. I had assumed that books would be completely off limits, and everything we found would need to be online so she could use her screen reader. However, I learned that she could checkout or make photocopies of books, scan them using OCR technology, and then open them on her computer so that her screen reader could read them. Looking back, this doesn't seem like such a groundbreaking technique, but I had never thought of doing so until then. Our time together was very collaborative: I told her what I was searching for on the book catalog, we talked through the search results, I retrieved the books for her and then bookmarked the relevant pages. Using the databases, I was able to e-mail the articles to her directly.
While we were working, a patron standing nearby was watching and listening to the process intently. She had a nephew who was blind, and she had no idea that so many resources were available to him. Patron #1 then explained about the Educational Accessiblity Services (in Suite 1600), and the resources available at the Detroit Public Library. More information is available at the library's page on adaptive technologies.
Have any of your classes discussed adaptive technologies in the library? Because mine really haven't, and it would seem like an important topic to cover.
Here's something I don't remember learning much about in library school: adaptive technologies for the hearing and visually impaired, which we may happen across from time to time as librarians.
Like today, for instance. When the phone rang, I fully expected that I would be asked to repeat my standard Saturday evening reference mantra: "We close at 9 p.m. tonight." Instead, I was introduced to the new and fascinating world of voice carryover calls at the Michigan Relay Center. The operator explained that the person calling was deaf -- he would talk to me directly, and the operator would type my response and send it to his TTY phone. While I had heard about this service before, I had not actually experienced it. It took me a while to get the hang of what was going on. I frequently forgot to say "go ahead" at the end of my response, signaling the operator to send the message. It also took me a while to figure out that when the patron said "GA," he meant "go ahead".
This made for a long reference question, made even longer by the content of the question. The patron was, I believe translating a passage in the bible either into or out of Greek. He was looking for the nuances in meaning of a few Greek words. Collection development side note: perhaps UGL should invest in a Greek dictionary that has the Greek words in both Cyrillic and Latin (English) letters. But most of the Greek/English dictionary Web sites I found didn't include both sets of letters either.
But I digress.
Today's situation reminded me of a patron I helped a few weeks ago: a legally blind student who had to write an art appreciation paper about two paintings. I had assumed that books would be completely off limits, and everything we found would need to be online so she could use her screen reader. However, I learned that she could checkout or make photocopies of books, scan them using OCR technology, and then open them on her computer so that her screen reader could read them. Looking back, this doesn't seem like such a groundbreaking technique, but I had never thought of doing so until then. Our time together was very collaborative: I told her what I was searching for on the book catalog, we talked through the search results, I retrieved the books for her and then bookmarked the relevant pages. Using the databases, I was able to e-mail the articles to her directly.
While we were working, a patron standing nearby was watching and listening to the process intently. She had a nephew who was blind, and she had no idea that so many resources were available to him. Patron #1 then explained about the Educational Accessiblity Services (in Suite 1600), and the resources available at the Detroit Public Library. More information is available at the library's page on adaptive technologies.
Have any of your classes discussed adaptive technologies in the library? Because mine really haven't, and it would seem like an important topic to cover.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Stuck Staple Removal
I just wanted to share with everybody that I have just discovered that a push pin is an excellent tool for removing a heavy-duty staple stuck in the standard stapler.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Millenials and Me
In my new quest to achieve ultimate multitasking efficiency this semester, I've decided to write today's blog about a speaker at the dinner I attended for my other job. The speaker, whose name I don't remember at the moment, is a consultant for K-12 schools and the occasional college. His speech, which he delivered to a room of roughly 400 faculty and staff dressed like high-powered business execs, was entitled "Teaching to the Millenials." Or something like that.
The speaker asked the audience (and I'm paraphrasing) "where were you on this day in 1982." I whispered to my tablemates, much to their mirth, that I was less than a month old. The next youngest person at the table said that in 1982 she was a junior in high school. In fact, I was one of perhaps five Millenials (born between 1982 and 2002) sitting amongst 400+ Boomers and Gen Xers clad in executive business suits. And I was being placed in the same generational group as today's 4-year-olds. That's good.
On the upside, my fellow Millenials are, apparently, the next great American generation, full of technological prowess, energy and ideals, and are more interested in enjoying their jobs than in being paid well for them. The speaker told us that not only is this group of idealists even larger than the Boomer generation, but Millenials are also potentially more influential, providing they can overcome their incredibly short attention spans (look! a bunny!)
While I think it may be a little premature to start labeling today's preschoolers as America's next heroes (that's a lot of pressure to put on a kid who can't yet tie his own shoes), I did catch the speaker's two main points.
First, having been raised with computers and cell phones and various other forms of technology, Millenials are extraordinarily good (or think they're extraordinarily good) at multitasking. Thus, in class (and the library), even if Millenials are otherwise engaged and aren't staring at their teacher (or friendly librarian), part of them may still be absorbing information. Millenials do particularly well through learning activities, in which they can apply what they've learned.
The speaker's second point was that K-12 schools generally have been slow to learn and apply this information to their teaching practices. The speaker argued that this leads to students who are ill-prepared for college because information has not been presented to them in a way they can easily understand and process.
Soooo...how can I bring this back 'round to Club UGL?
Millenials (i.e. 3/4 of Club UGL attendees) know how to play with technology but aren't all that skilled in doing productive stuff with it. When they ask for help, they expect a quick answer and seem to be more interested in the ends rather than the means (witness the students who ask for directions and begin walking away when you speak).
Boomers and Gen Xers are more patient learners (and I am speaking in generalities here), but their patience is tried when they have to glean information from technology they don't understand.
These learning differences present problems for librarians charged with the task of teaching Millenials and non-Millenials how to use library resources to find information. When working with patrons one-on-one, it isn't too difficult to switch your teaching style to meet the patrons' needs. However, how do you teach library skills to a mixed group?
I've watched one drop-in workshop at Club UGL and was a "student" in another. In both, technologically-adept Millenials sat next to computer illiterate non-millenials. And at my other job I've watched many BI sessions (and gave a few of my own today) with a similar mix of students. What's the best way to teach library skills in this situation? Do you teach to the lowest common denominator and risk having the Millenials zone out on you? Do you aim high and tell non-Millenials to watch their neighbors? Or do you teach to the middle, hoping that the Millenials don't get too bored while you explain how to double-click a mouse button, and hoping that the non-Millenials can keep up? You can tell the bored or confused to ask for help later, but I'm sure many won't. Each group has a right and a need to learn, so where do you draw the balance when working with both?
The speaker asked the audience (and I'm paraphrasing) "where were you on this day in 1982." I whispered to my tablemates, much to their mirth, that I was less than a month old. The next youngest person at the table said that in 1982 she was a junior in high school. In fact, I was one of perhaps five Millenials (born between 1982 and 2002) sitting amongst 400+ Boomers and Gen Xers clad in executive business suits. And I was being placed in the same generational group as today's 4-year-olds. That's good.
On the upside, my fellow Millenials are, apparently, the next great American generation, full of technological prowess, energy and ideals, and are more interested in enjoying their jobs than in being paid well for them. The speaker told us that not only is this group of idealists even larger than the Boomer generation, but Millenials are also potentially more influential, providing they can overcome their incredibly short attention spans (look! a bunny!)
While I think it may be a little premature to start labeling today's preschoolers as America's next heroes (that's a lot of pressure to put on a kid who can't yet tie his own shoes), I did catch the speaker's two main points.
First, having been raised with computers and cell phones and various other forms of technology, Millenials are extraordinarily good (or think they're extraordinarily good) at multitasking. Thus, in class (and the library), even if Millenials are otherwise engaged and aren't staring at their teacher (or friendly librarian), part of them may still be absorbing information. Millenials do particularly well through learning activities, in which they can apply what they've learned.
The speaker's second point was that K-12 schools generally have been slow to learn and apply this information to their teaching practices. The speaker argued that this leads to students who are ill-prepared for college because information has not been presented to them in a way they can easily understand and process.
Soooo...how can I bring this back 'round to Club UGL?
Millenials (i.e. 3/4 of Club UGL attendees) know how to play with technology but aren't all that skilled in doing productive stuff with it. When they ask for help, they expect a quick answer and seem to be more interested in the ends rather than the means (witness the students who ask for directions and begin walking away when you speak).
Boomers and Gen Xers are more patient learners (and I am speaking in generalities here), but their patience is tried when they have to glean information from technology they don't understand.
These learning differences present problems for librarians charged with the task of teaching Millenials and non-Millenials how to use library resources to find information. When working with patrons one-on-one, it isn't too difficult to switch your teaching style to meet the patrons' needs. However, how do you teach library skills to a mixed group?
I've watched one drop-in workshop at Club UGL and was a "student" in another. In both, technologically-adept Millenials sat next to computer illiterate non-millenials. And at my other job I've watched many BI sessions (and gave a few of my own today) with a similar mix of students. What's the best way to teach library skills in this situation? Do you teach to the lowest common denominator and risk having the Millenials zone out on you? Do you aim high and tell non-Millenials to watch their neighbors? Or do you teach to the middle, hoping that the Millenials don't get too bored while you explain how to double-click a mouse button, and hoping that the non-Millenials can keep up? You can tell the bored or confused to ask for help later, but I'm sure many won't. Each group has a right and a need to learn, so where do you draw the balance when working with both?
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