The Prevailing Common Sense of the Field

Tweckle - to heckle on a Twitter backchannel
Harshtag - a hashtag that has been given over to tweckling -broadstuff

This tweet caught my eye today:

librarybeth Conference Humiliation: They're Tweeting Behind Your Backs (Chronicle) http://bit.ly/RmPWE

and led me to Marc Parry's posting about "twecklers."

At the recent AASL Conference, Rev Up Learning, participants tweeted non-stop during the keynotes and sessions. Most of us were too busy recording salient points to engage in idle chit chat. I know that I used these streams of tagged comments as a virtual notebook, a way to capture key concepts for later evaluation.

But what if...the presentation were more of a Death by PowerPoint...say, in a mandated professional development workshop or a faculty meeting? Is engaging in backchannel exchanges rude, inappropriate, counterproductive?

One of the commenters on Parry's posting defends Tweeters, suggesting that

"The speaker did not respect the experience/knowledge of his audience (or, arguably, the prevailing common sense of the field itself), and thus the audience did not respect the speaker's time or message."

Another, sees tweckling as a positive force:

"The pressure is on conference organizers and keynote speakers - choose the speakers wisely and the speakers had better be prepared (and engaging as well). This is part of a quality improvement movement, and I'm all for it."

There were those who disagreed:

"I read the transcript of the back-channel talk. Sure the presentation may have been dated and generally awful, but I can't see that all the twittering added anything constructive. It was childish. Another thing that twitterers might want to consider is that when you defame someone via twitter you are doing so publicly, and could be opening yourself up to a lawsuit."

A study done by the University of Leicester, Twittering the student experience, highlights some of the positive educational uses of Twitter. No mention is made, however, of tweeting in the lecture hall.

In our connected world, we're frequently making things up as we go, trying to reconcile new tools and old protocol. What are the rights and responsibilities of attendees at workshops, conferences, lectures, and meetings who choose to engage in backchannel discussions?

Are there "rules" - should there be?






"Megafon" by Matti Kolu

Unsound

The Good, The Bad, The Extraordinary: Reflections on Rev Up Learning

"Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action." -James Levin


On Sunday, I returned home from Charlotte, NC, where I attended the AASL's national conference, Rev Up Learning.

I was a first time attendee and a member of Joyce Valenza's Geek Squad. Here are my impressions of the whole experience.

The Good

• meeting some of my online friends and connecting with them on a deeper, more personal level
  
• becoming acquainted with librarians from around the country...making new friends
• participating in the Unconference, headquartered in the Bloggers' Cafe area
  
• enjoying the sights - and tastes! - of Charlotte, most within easy walking distance of my hotel and the Conference Center
• having access to a treasure trove of sessions to choose from. The ones I attended, particularly Joyce Valenza's 2.o Learning Tools Smackdown and Buffy Hamilton's Not Just Another Brick in the Wall, were entertaining and provided valuable content
  
• listening to keynote speakers, danah boyd, James Patterson, and Marco Torres, who were inspired and inspiring

The Bad

• Internet connectivity was erratic and unreliable. Presenters were frequently unable to demonstrate key sites with a resultant lack of interactivity for the audience.
  
• the Bloggers' Cafe was tucked away out of sight (though we got the word out, and attendance was large and enthusiastic).
• the Celebrate Conference for new attendees was poorly handled. There were separate lines for getting validated and entering the room, and it was obvious that hundreds of eager newcomers would be turned away, disappointed.
  
• the Learning Times site did not function as promised. Those of us with blogging privileges were occasionally unable to post; visitors to the home page could not always view promised resources.
• some content was not available to non-attendees and non-members.

The Extraordinary

• the Geek Squad modeled those frequently touted "21st century skills": lifelong learning, effective information management, collaboration, creation of content. We talked the talk, then walked the walk. Through impromptu presentations and one-to-one mini tutorials, we reached out to colleagues and extended our own learning.
• when the official site had problems, an unofficial alternative space was created and shared
• many presenters added their handouts and slideshows to the Unconference wiki, in the true spirit of advancing knowledge

Overall, I consider my first AASL conference experience to have been a valuable one. In the future, I hope our organization will recognize and actively seek the input of its members, in both the planning and implementation of these gatherings. Some day, perhaps, the Conference will morph into something more akin to the Unconference.

For now, we have the opportunity to reflect on an experience that was mainly positive, and help move it in the direction of greatness.






"What is the good of experience if you do not reflect." -Frederick The Great

"Change is the end result of all true learning." -Leo Buscaglia

Only One Page

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine


I've always loved to travel - it's in my genes.

One of my favorite childhood books recounted the escapades of Richard Halliburton, a globetrotting adventurer, who did everything from retracing Ulysses' voyage throughout the classical Greek world, to swimming the Panama Canal, to flinging himself into the Mayan Well of Death (twice!). I still treasure a battered copy of Richard Halliburton's Complete Book of Marvels that my father purchased before I was born.

A few weeks ago, I visited Milwaukee and Green Bay with my son. Tomorrow, I'm setting off for Charlotte to attend the AASL's Rev Up Learning conference.

While online interaction can be a satisfying way to expand your horizons, there is still a certain glamour and excitement in physical journeys. Some things need to be experienced in real life.

So I'm off to meet new friends, greet old ones, talk and eat and tour and take pictures. I love my home, but I need these Journeys to satisfy the wanderlust in my soul.



“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain



"Lady's Airship" by Coffeelatte

365 Project: October

“Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves, We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!" -Humbert Wolfe


October is a bittersweet month, as the northeast celebrates Autumn while moving inexorably towards the challenges of Winter.

The most popular photos this month were Adirondack Autumn, a glowing landscape


and Born Digital, a still life with glasses and book


My personal favorites were Ann Lee Pond (a painting created for our new kitchen by my talented husband)


and Soccer Dreams, since it represents a reconnection with my former students



You can see a slideshow of the 31 October photos here or view all of my 2009 photos to date here.

The two groups to which I contribute are 365/2009 and 2009/365.


"October is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations above them once again." -Hal Borland

Library 101

Library 101 is a multimedia collaboration project started by Michael Porter & David Lee King.

The video features over 500 library professionals from around the world and can be found on YouTube as well as the project's home site.

Guests on the Library 101 essay page - everyone from President Brack Obama to Library and Information Science professor Meredith Gorran Farkas - were asked to articulate "what they see changing in libraries and what we need to be doing to ensure we remain relevant as technology and society evolve."

Enjoy the vision.

The Essence of Civilization

“Sharing is the essence of teaching. It is, I have come to believe, the essence of civilization." -Bill Moyers


Next week, members of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and their guests will gather in Charlotte, NC for Rev Up Learning.

In addition to a full program of keynotes, concurrent sessions, and workshops, there will also be the Unconference, an informal gathering where volunteers and attendees can trade tips, discuss problems and solutions, and connect on a very satisfying human level.

The One Book, One Conference selection is Born Digital, by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser. One of the authors' key points is that "there's an unnecessary technology gap between young people and many of their parents and teachers." Palfrey and Gasser recommend that "Parents and teachers...start by putting in the time it takes to understand how the digital environment works so that they can be credible guides to young people."

The Unconference offers a perfect opportunity to stretch and grow professionally, particularly in the areas of technology integration and information fluency.


"Sharing knowledge is not about giving people something, or getting something from them. That is only valid for information sharing. Sharing knowledge occurs when people are genuinely interested in helping one another develop new capacities for action; it is about creating learning processes." -Peter Senge





"straws akimbo" by Darwin Bell

Geeks Get It Done

"In a 2007 interview on The Colbert Report, Richard Clarke said the difference between nerds and geeks is 'geeks get it done.'"


There's been a lot of discussion lately about librarians and technology. Many LMS (Library Media Specialists) would like to become more familiar with electronic resources but lack the time or expertise to do it on their own.

If you plan on being in Charlotte for Rev Up Learning, look for volunteers wearing the geek@aasl ribbon. We (yes, much to my amazement I qualified for the Geek Squad!) will answer questions, offer assistance and help you connect with people. Although the Unconference area will be our home base, we'll be in sessions and at events, mixing and mingling, sharing and learning, just like everyone else.


This second ribbon, #aasl2009, displays the tag that will be used as attendees add their comments and photos to Twitter, Flickr, TeacherTube, and other sites.

Puzzled by those names? Drop in at the Unconference for a quick tutorial...or ask a geek!



"In its more general usage, a 'geek' is anyone that knows a lot about a certain area that you don't. For this reason, geeks are associated with knowledge..." -wiseGEEK

A Very Merry Unconference!

In addition to the amazing keynote speakers and a multitude of scheduled sessions, AASL's Rev Up Learning will host an Unconference - an informal, loosely-structured opportunity to meet, greet, share, and learn.

Be sure to stop in at the Bloggers' Cafe. You can ask questions, exchange tips and resources, and connect with colleagues from around the world.

To put you in the right mood, here are two very creative clips created by fellow AASL members,

"The Unconference at the Bloggers' Cafe" by gwyneth


and "Bloggers' Cafe @AASL 2009" by Brenda Anderson




A very Merry Unconference to you!



"Mad Hatter" by EricByers

Anticipation

It's only a few weeks now until the AASL Conference, Rev Up Learning, in Charlotte. Be sure to visit Learning Times for information on speakers and activities.

And watch this Animoto by Joyce Valenza - it is guaranteed to Rev you Up!