Identifying Your Audience

I was glad that we talked about the importance of identifying your audience during class today.  I think one of the most important aspects of designing a workshop, presentation, paper, or anything that is to be presented to or made available to one or more "audience" members is to identify who that audience might be. 

Obviously we cannot always know who our audience will be, but we can decide who our intended audience is. Doing so will aid you in preparing your presentation,  but additionally if the presentation or workshop is elective it will allow you to frame your description in such a way as to hopefully attract people from your target audience.  In other words if you are preparing an instructional workshop for internet searching you want to decide first whether the workshop will be aimed at teaching novices the basics, or if your workshop will be aimed at people who want to learn more complex search and retrieval skills.  Not only would you structure your workshop very differently for each, but you would target different groups in your promotional materials for each workshop.

It helps me to think about my target audience in terms of individuals I know.  If I am preparing to teach people who I would consider to be fairly tech savvy I may have my peers at SI in mind while preparing my presentation. Preparing a presentation for novices though perhaps less nerve-racking can, I find, be more difficult.  This is due to the fact that information I likely take for-granted is in all likelihood new and unfamiliar to them.  If I am preparing a presentation for a novice, I usually keep my mother in mind while preparing my presentation. My mother is an intelligent person, but she is not very comfortable with performing new tasks on a computer.  She also very much wants each step laid out clearly and in detail, along with an explanation of  why that task is being performed.  Keeping her in mind while I work on my presentation forces me to consider each step from her perspective and thus, from the perspective of someone who does not have the background knowledge I have.

On Tough Decisions: picking blogs to follow

For class we have to pick four library related blogs to follow. Two by people or on topics directly related to our future career goals in libraries, for me that would be special collection libraries, and even more specifically special collection libraries specializing in early modern books and manuscripts, Shakespeare, and or English history.  The other two, by people or on topics that are not directly related to our career goals, and perhaps even a little out of our comfort zone. 

And it's HARD!

Turns out there are tons of interesting blogs out there, but how to choose the "right" ones? To be fair the ones directly related to my career goals weren't that hard, mainly because I had an idea of what I was looking for.  I knew the subjects, issues, and types of institutions I wanted to hear about and that really helped me to narrow the field down.  It was picking the other two, the two by librarians in libraries outside of my personal interests that proved somewhat daunting.  I wanted to find blogs with voices that interested me, on interesting topics, and topics that I might be less likely to run into on the blogs more directly related to my career goals.

I used the list we were given to work from in class, but quickly decided I wanted to see what I could find myself and just started googling things like "librarian blogs," and seeing what came up.  I would pick ones that sounded interesting and read their "about" sections to see how they described their blogs, and then I poked around a bit.  I checked to make sure that they had recent posts, to see what the topics of those posts were, and how frequently they posted.  I'll be straight with you, I ruled out a couple due to the fact that they had over 15 posts in the month of January, and I didn't feel like dealing with that kind of volume on top of all of my other reading for class. I did however want blogs with substantial posts at least several times a month -just as there is such thing as too much, there is also such thing as too little.

Anyway, after spending what was probably far too much time plumbing the depths of the internet for the "right" blogs for me, I have come up four (okay five) that I think will keep me engaged.

Drum Roll Please.....

For the two (coughthreechough) related to my personal interests I chose:

1. WYNKEN DE WORDE, by Sarah Werner.  Sarah is the Undergraduate Program Director at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Associate Editor of Shakespeare Quarterly, and Editor of The Collation, a blog about scholarship at the Folger (which I will also be following as a kind of add on bonus to this blog. I actually wrote a guest post for The Collation last year about my Alternative Spring Break at the Folger).
2. NIU Rare Books and Special Collections Blog, by Lynne M. Thomas . Lynne is the Curator of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University.

For the two stepping outside my comfort zone I chose:

1. Librarian.net, by Jessamyn West. Jessamyn is a self described "library technologist" living in Vermont. When looking at her "about" section I found this statement particularly intriguing - "I am not currently a member of ALA though I was elected to be an ALA Councilor in 2004. I feel the double-edged sword of participating in a flawed system versus sitting out and not participating at all." I don't think I've ever heard anyone say anything but good things about ALA, and made me curious to hear more of her thoughts and opinions as expressed through her blog. 
2. Librarian By Day, by Bobbi Newman.  Newman is an ALA Councilor-at-Large, a member of the OITP Advisory Committee, and a serves on the advisory board for the Pew Internet & American Life research on Libraries in the Digital Age. I thought Newman would be interesting person to follow as a contrast to West of Librarian.net makes a point to say that she is not a member of ALA.  

And there you have it ladies and gentlemen, the blogs I have chosen to follow this semester. Let's hope it is the start of a long and interesting, edifying, and entertaining relationship.

***Edit: Apparently we can't follow this blog for class, but I'm totally going to keep following it because it is a lot of fun: A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette, by J. Vance, a "practicing polite librarian and faculty member at Middle Tennessee State University." The about section described the blog as "the number one, most-trusted source for authoritative tongue-in-cheek librarian etiquette tips on the Internet." (okay so this one is still academic libraries, but it's not special collections and it looks really interesting)***

Educatoinal practices and methods

Our readings this week were focused on two main topics related to educational practices

1. Effective methods for developing workshops/educational material, in person or online. 
2. Effectiveness of online learning, and tools/software for creating online educational materials.

I found reviewing the first topic to be interesting, but fairly straight forward. The focus was an outline of the ADDIE ( Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) method. I had never heard of this particular method before, but as I read through the steps I recognized very clearly the typical steps I take when putting together a workshop or other instructional materials.  While I don't feel as though I gained any new conceptual information form learning about the ADDIE method, I did like the way that they broke down the different steps and dissected their components.  I think that having their breakdown as an example will help me to organize how I present my planning process to others in the future.

I found the second topic more interesting from the perspective of considering the kinds of things that I would prefer to learn independently through tutorials versus what I would prefer to learn in person.  Obviously everyone has different learning styles and what is most effective for me, may not be effective for someone else.

The two readings focused on specific case studies where online learning was employed one to teach individual how to use a specific system and one to teach more general skills in information literacy. At a personal level I prefer to learn more abstract skills from an instructor, in person, so that I can easily ask questions to help me understand the mechanics of what I'm learning.  However, for more straight forward tasks like navigating specific web-based interfaces such as the one covered in the  Yelinek et.all. reading I think that the screencasts are a great solution, which can allow users to not only test out the steps as they go along, but also pause, go back, and repeat sections that they may have found confusing. 

It seems to me that using instructional screencasts can be a very powerful and effective method for teaching one time things like how to navigate a library's search interface, how to request books through ILL, familiarizing students with specific software, or teaching students how navigate and use a course website.  I am less convinced by the effectiveness of online learning when it comes to more abstract concepts or learning over an extended period of time.  It is not that I think it doesn't work or shouldn't be done, but simply that I think there are greater challenges to overcome when it comes to trying to teach something like an entire course or mini course with preset online materials. I also recognize my personal bias against longer term distance learning because I know that I personally do not like to learn in that kind of environment. However,  for one shot learning which I often actively seek out online tutorials and screencasts to gain a better understanding software that I want to use or a specific procedure task that I want to know how to perform.
 

Fixed or Flexible?

In class on Monday we discussed the difference between fixed and flexible learning styles, and were given the opportunity to say which we felt we were and why.

In class we loosely defined the difference between these styles to be that fixed learners tend to believe that they are highly intelligent and thus have nothing more to learn. When they get a bad grade it is not because they themselves didn't do something correctly, but because the assignment was "stupid" or "badly" written.  While Flexible learners always believe there is something to be learned from every situation.

With the above set up it is easy to view the difference as being good (flexible) vs. bad (fixed), but the more I think about it the more this black and white division bothers me.  In class I identified myself (as did everyone else) as a flexible learner, and I believe this is accurate.  One example I gave in class and one that I stand by is that the further I go in my education the more aware I become of how much I do not know.  This is not to say that I don't learn and grow as an individual, nor does it mean that I don't see myself as being intelligent, quite the contrary.  What I mean is simply that the more I understand a subject area or discipline the more I realize there is to know, and thus I can begin to have an understanding of just how vast the expanse of knowledge on a subject is and how little of it I personally posses.

For example, in undergrad I majored in theatre focusing on theatre history and specifically Shakespeare and other early modern English dramatists.  I had a greater expertise in this subject than most of my peers and thus could and would often speak with authority on the subject. I was not under the impression that I knew everything there was to know on the subject, but I did fancy myself rather well informed.  Following undergrad I entered an M.A. in English specializing in Shakespeare Studies, I was well prepared for the program and did well graduating with the second highest honors. However, it was in my graduate degree where I really began to grasp the idea that the more I learned the more aware I was of the nuances of a subject.  Things I might once have with confidence seen to have a yes or no answer I would now likely respond with "well that depends on how you look at it."

So yes I see myself as a flexible learner, but the more I thought about it after class and throughout the week the more I felt as though I was in some ways being dishonest with myself if I could not admit that I am also very fixed in many ways.  I can be extremely strong-willed, opinionated, and stubborn, and have on more than one occasion been deeply frustrated with courses that I believed to be a total waste of my time, because I wasn't being taught anything of value or that common sense wouldn't take care of.  I certainly think that my sister, the social worker, would consider me to be fixed. She has always expressed distaste for my sarcastic and sometimes cynical sense of humor and my unwavering opinions on certain subjects. 

An example of my fixed nature would come from a theatre history course I took in undergrad where my professor rather proudly explained that she had managed to do a Ph.D. in theatre history without reading or seeing a single Shakespeare play.  Add to that the fact that she openly didn't care about theatre prior to the 20th century, even though she was teaching a course that started with Greek theatre, and I immediately and permanently lost any respect I might have had for her.  I was furious and in spite of the fact that I was a mere undergrad, I could not believe her ignorance.  I reasoned that if you profess to be a theatre historian that you did not need to like Shakespeare or the Greeks, but you did need to understand them. After all, they formed the basis for all of Western theatre. I personally don't care for Greek theatre, but I applied myself to learning about it because I understood its importance to the evolution of theatre in Western culture. If you question my fixity, let me say that my opinion of that professor has not changed to this day.  

I think ultimately it would be inaccurate to classify myself as either fixed or flexible.  I think that the perception of fixity as a negative is a little unfair. A certain amount of fixity combined with maturity and self-awareness can be good, and can lead to an individual being more likely to challenge ideas and norms, and speak up when they do not agree with something.  I believe that where fixity becomes a problem is when an individual lacks self-awareness and the ability to perceive when and why they are forming a fixed stance on something.  

"I'll try if I know all the things I used to know..."

“I'll try if I know all the things I used to know. Let me see: four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen, and four times seven is - oh dear! I shall never get to twenty at that rate!” 

~Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

Alice in attempting to reassure herself that she isn't Mabel, reasoning that she is much cleverer than Mabel, attempts to recite her multiplication tables.  She is of course horribly wrong (the effects of Wonderland), but what Alice is trying to do is prove knowledge and intellect, and that she is still herself, to herself by recalling information she has memorized.  The reader knows that Alice is quite clever, but if one had to make an assessment of her intellect based on her ability to regurgitate the facts and figures she memorized for school, Alice would not fair well.

In our reading for class this week we read the first two chapters of How People Learn, by the National Research Council.  A concept that is dealt with early on in the readings is the value of being able to synthesize information based on knowledge and understanding, rather than simply repeating diligently memorized fact and figures.  Since we will be using this text throughout the semester, I found this heartening.  As a student I have always been the kind of person that wants and needs to know "why," in order to learn.  I am never more frustrated than when an instructor isn't able to explain why something works or is the way it is. Furthermore, while I understand the usefulness of tests for certain subjects, I have always much preferred writing papers or essays to taking a multiple choice test.  I can memorize information for a test, but it won't stay with me long.  However, if I have to actually synthesize information for an essay question I am far more likely to remember what I have learned, and be able to apply that knowledge to other situations in the future.

It is easy for me to come up with examples of my own experiences as a student that were both good and bad when it comes to how I was taught.  However, for the purposes of this class and my own career goals I also tried to consider the information from these chapters from the perspective of an educator.  Much of what we read this week was familiar to me, in terms of the concepts of learning and the different ways in which people learn. However, even being aware of these concepts it can be easy to make mistakes as an educator.  I believe one of the biggest mistakes an educator can make is to cling desperately to a lesson plan and not take their lead from their students.  Organization and lesson plans are important, but if you are not in tune with your students you won't be able to teach them anything.  This goes equally for a two hour long workshop, and a semester long course.

To return to Alice for a moment, there were two examples from the readings that I found particularly interesting, and demonstrative of the difference between memorization and learning.

The first example was that of history students being able to more easily answer short factual questions about American history than historians, but the historians unsurprisingly being more adept at justifying their choices when asked to take on a task which required interpertation.  I found this particularly interesting because I think that very often in our society the ability to regurgitate information ad nauseam is seen as proof of knowledge, when in fact it reflects little more than an individuals ability to memorize.    

The second example given in the reading was of two historians being asked to draw conclusions about a specific topic. One was an expert in the topic and the other was an expert in a different historical topic.  I will spare you the details, but ultimately even though the second historian was not an expert in that particular topic, they were eventually able to reach the same conclusions as the first historian. This is because the second historian knew enough to recognize that his/her initial assumptions might in fact be due to his/her own lack of familiarity with the subject, and thus should be questioned. 

I can relate strongly to both of these examples, prior to beginning my library degree I had completed a MA in English specifically focusing on Shakespeare.  For a time I worked for a bookstore where patrons would, upon finding out about my English degree, regularly recite Shakespeare at me and then smugly ask me to identify which play it comes from.  This always bothered me because although I often could identify the quotation, I never felt it demonstrated any real knowledge either on my part of theirs.  My degree wasn't meant to equip me to identify random quotations it was meant to equip me to analyze, question, understand, and know where to seek out answers. As for the second example I need only say that the further I go in my education the more aware I become of how vast my lack of knowledge is.  

Understanding our limitations as educators, students, and librarians may be one of the greatest strengths at our disposal.  If we try to know everything we will surely end up knowing very little, but if we try to understand what we do know we will be able to recognize our weaknesses and work towards strengthening them.