But, you would ask, the program you teach even has “technology” in its name — Library and Information Technology. Yes, I like using library technology, for example, the systems that interact with library resources and databases, the different search functions that allow me to explore and retrieve. I am quite versed in them. I used programs to manipulate large sets of metadata; I implemented an open source discovery system in a project.
However, I didn’t have a toolbox of technologies that target every activity. I had been using the good old fashioned “bookmark” in my web browser (or even a Word document) to organize the websites I regularly use. I am not crazy about technology for its own sake. As a rookie instructor, plenty of more important things occupied my schedule, so learning and using technology in teaching was the last thing I was worried about.
Last week I attended a conference called WILU, Workshop for Instruction in Library Use. Librarians from all over the country and the United Stated came to Winnipeg to learn about how to teach college and university students to use library resources, how to do research, and how to write academic papers.
In one of the sessions I attended, the university librarian said, “Everyone is telling us students are suffering short attention span. Are they really? Don’t they spend hours playing video games, browsing on Pinterest or Instagram? They don’t appear to have any problem paying attention to those!”
So that was an epiphany moment for me. It was great timing that a week later I am at this Introduction to Technology in Education class experiencing a whirlwind practice of technology tools. I am curious to learn how to use all these to keep students interested, curious, and energetic in classes I am going to teach.
LibInfoTech 