The Blended Learning Place

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Friday 12 October 2007

#7 My thoughts on technology......
This whole exercise has brought back to me Marshall McLuhan's comments on "The global village". His vision of a globally connected society back in the 1970s is very true today where technology - namely the world wide web - is linking the globe. This new technology is making time zones inconspicuous. In Nelson's day the news of the Battle of Trafalgar took 2 weeks to reach society in Europe. It is mind-blowing how children take this information superhighway for granted! One downside is that this technology is creating too easy a passage for mis-information to cloud political, economic and social thought. The importance of face-to-face contact has also been lost in favour of impersonal technological "conversations". However, I can certainly see the benefits of Web 2.0 building knowledge enriched societies where individuals and groups can make informed decisions.

#15 On Library 2.0 & Web 2.0
I really enjoyed Michael Stephens' article "Into a new world of librarianship". His vision for the new librarian echoes what I believe should be happening in libraries around the world. Having worked in both school and public libraries I have witnessed the importance of the virtual library and the virtual school campus. Being proactive rather than reactive and "transparent" in policy and decision-making are top issues on my list for the librarian of the New 2.0 Age.

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