Thing #15

Librarians need to adapt and change as users' needs change. With technology changing as quickly as it is, it is up to librarians to stay on top of new information and continue teaching students in ways that will impact them now and in the future, not continue to teach them using outdated methods. Tom Storey address this in him article Where will the next generation Web take libraries? (http://www.oclc.org/nextspace/002/1.htm). Students are connecting to the internet and to computers in ways we never dreamed of a few years ago. To keep learners engaged we must use the tools and sites that interest them: iPods, MP3s, Flickr, YouTube, etc. Teachers and librarians have the ability to reach their students in a powerful way if only they realize that this generation's of learners is different than that of their own. And that part of their responsibilities as educators is to keep up with the new trends in technology so that their lessons can be as meaningful, as engaging, and useful as possible.