ALA Preconference: Eating the Elephant 2.0 with Doug Johnson

Today I attended my first conference presentation by Doug Johnson called, Eating the Elephant 2.0 One Bite at a Time: Using the Read-Write Web in Classrooms and Libraries. I am one of those librarians who is determined to keep up with all of the free technology tools. I have so many things in my head that sometimes I think I might burst. It's inspiring to watch Doug present because he has taken some of the popular web 2.0 tools and presented them in a very accessible and non-threatening way. I was familiar with 90% of the tools he presented. Although I was familiar with the topic, I viewed it as an opportunity to learn.
I learned:

1. Introduce 1, 2, or 3 new web 2.0 tools to my staff per year. Don't overwhelm them with too much too soon.
2. Show teachers exactly how they can use these tools with the students.
3. Talk about responsibility and privacy issues with the staff as well as with the students before problems arise.
4. Use problems that arise as teachable moments. Learning from mistakes is a powerful metacognitive behavior.
   
5. Use videos, comics, and/or images as transition tools (ImageChef, Big HUGE Labs Motivator, Web Crash 2007 Video . He used a variety of Common Craft tools to introduce the concepts of blogging, wikis, social networking and RSS feeds.
6. People like to receive information in list format ;) ex: "Top 10 things you should know about... and 23 Things on a Stick (and the California Version)"
7. I can convince my teachers to create a Professional Learning Community on a small scale through the use of social bookmarking tools like del.icio.us, FURL, and Blinklist.
8. Use screensavers as a learning tool or to relay library and/or school news. (This one I came up with myself as the result of being hypnotized by his pre-conference "Doug's T-shirt says..." slideshow)
   

I have so much information inside me. When I look at Doug and think about Joyce Valenza and David Loertscher and I look at myself, I think...I need to step out of my comfort zone and start writing and presenting in front of adults.

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