Libraries remind me of Harry Potter not just for Rowling’s amazing work but the big rooms loaded with books is a delight to watch and also to be a part of.
Now that is something common in most libraries but the magic in the libraries of harry potter is being recreated with technology in our real lives.
Sad that we don’t have a real Harry Potter world but technology is doing its job by giving us some rich experiences.
After getting into the classroom and giving some amazing outputs, libraries are the next big thing that will have an impact of technology in the best ways. To give a closer look to the new gen learning classroom, I feel that in a way they are similar to the libraries that we have had. A place where people get the opportunity of personalized learning and access to multiple resources to make their pick as per their needs.
Now tech enabled libraries are going to be an extension of such an environment so the opportunities are going to expand for the learners. In relation to this a quote from NMC Horizon Report 2017 is appropriate which states that, “School libraries are also at the nexus for rethinking learning spaces because they are the largest yet often least-utilized spaces”.
To have a better understanding of the same, read the pointers below.
– We are aware that library is one space that is being shared with all. So the chances are that there can be more learning and exposure to learners. The pin drop silence tag somewhere is dropping down as collaboration is one sound practice. A tech enabled library opens the door of many opportunities to students as they not only cab collaborate along with the peers from their classroom but reach out to other students from the institute and get in touch with others across the globe with more help on their end.
– E-books, audio books and other substitutes to the hardcovers were a big change to our libraries and this is going to extend further to technologies that are going to give real time experience of education to students. A part of EdTech’s post mentions how incorporation of various technologies like makerspaces, 3D printers as well as flexible seating would be a part of the libraries.
“Experiential learning through robotics, 3D printing, and virtual reality often occurs in the library media centers, requiring the purging of some reference items to create more room for these activities,” it reads.
– With changing libraries the role of a librarian will also change. Sound knowledge of OER, curriculum designing and many other such skills would be needed by the librarian to help students as well as teachers in order to get the right information. Schools would need to make sure that person is trained and familiar with open education resources, selecting digital content and curriculum, and with instructional design strategies so that they can extend a helping hand to the teachers as to make the wise choices when it comes to making the pick for the content creation.
On the other side of the coin it’s a little absurd that if libraries are going to have a similar environment as that of a classroom than what would be the difference between both the learning spaces.
Diving deep, I understood the difference between the two from a post by MindShift that mentions of Monticello High School in Charlottesville, Virginia, school with a next gen library at campus.
What I understood was that it is the shift in culture that calls for the transformation and the core i.e. students. They are being able to derive productive results from these learning spaces. Libraries are no longer a place to be quite, research and gather information. This can be done easily on any smart device. Therefore, it is essential that the place “LIBRARY” offers something of interest to students.
These collaboration and engagement driven learning spaces are helping students in many ways and acknowledging the fact that technology is going to be inevitable with leading times it is imperative that as a providing authority we are being able to make innovative and productive uses of technology at hand.
For more information, I recommend you to read this post by Information Today titled,” No Librarians Left Behind: Preparing for Next-Generation Libraries”.
Also, read the case study of Monticello High School mentioned above to learn from the experience of the practitioners.
And lastly, I would like to know your thoughts on the same.
Do you agree to the concept of integrating technology into the libraries or see them as the traditional gold mines of knowledge.
