I've been participating in a discussion about the hypothetical design of the perfect library catalogue discovery layer. I guess I've been thinking a lot in terms of scenarios, these days and when asked if I could design the perfect system, here’s a scenario that helps me think it through:
In the ”old” days, not too long ago, the public library would have dozens of copies of a tax return guide, either like this: http://vpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/2803009038_personal_tax_return_guide, or the one that Revenue Canada gave out for free, as well as samples of the tax return form itself, and those would be the basic knowledge-containers that a citizen might need to do their taxes.
Those documents are largely online now:
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/formspubs/t1gnrl/bc-eng.html
This represents a step in the conversion of knowledge from document-centric to network-centric but this conversion hasn’t stopped there.
For $18 you can use this online service to do your taxes:
http://turbotax.intuit.ca/personal-tax-software/online-tax-software.jsp
Within this service is an online guide to filling out the tax return as well as a question-and-answer forum that users participate in to answer each other’s questions. This isn’t just something for the well-off members of a community. $18/year is well within the reach of almost all members of an ordinary community in Canada. For that much money, they get the app that does much of the work for them, an online guidebook, and a knowledge-network to keep themselves informed.
So, let’s ask ourselves, where does the library fit in? If a public library can’t find some way to lead someone seeking information about filling in their tax-return to these services, we’re not really giving our community all the options that are available to them.
The line between the information/knowledge about something and the act of doing it are breaking down. I wrote a proposal for my library many months ago about building a maker lab and I said that the guiding ethos of that lab should be ”turning learning into action”. As I think about these basic first principles of library discovery, I think I’m arriving at the same catchphrase. How can we get a link to that online tax return service, and all the other services and apps and programs in all the subject areas we cover, into our dataset so that when our patrons are discovering (ie: learning) what resources are available for their query, the value we offer them is to turn their learning into action?
This was interesting, although I initially wondered how
MIT cannot even construct a functional WWW page. I had to
copy the text to an editor to read it. {:-(
Anyway, this whole concept had me ponder conventional
teaching methodology. I can state from experience that
having infinite instructors, most whom have limited
enthusiasm and expertise, teaching similar curricula is
probably not the most effective for learning. People learn
in different ways, and I might guess that the traditional
classroom/lecture experience is satisfactory for the
majority, as that is why it has survived.
On the other hand, a video is not panacea for instruction.
In school, there were several occasions when I had video and
programmed learning experiences, and I can state that they
were memorable, and I might guess enthralling, but the
content they delivered may not have been that profound. I do
not think you could watch a 1/2 hour video on a complex
subject and comprehend the material. It's analogous to
reading an English or history essay versus a mathematics
lesson. The latter needs magnitudes more concentration and
effort to assimilate.
This may be the area where extra curricula instruction
both survives and fails. The student who seeks alternative
education such as Khan, is already probably having
difficulty. Schaum's, Coles Notes, Sparknotes, and other
vehicles have long sought to address these students. These
students may be seen as those who require extra or different
teaching methodologies, but the chance of these students
being motivated and having the concentration and intellect
required to succeed is reduced. Possibly, most students in
trouble already lack the skills and interest in the course
matter, and thus more material to study is not a viable
solution.
The solution may lay in motivating students, so that their
interest and understanding are maximised. Understandably,
this will be different for many, and this is where some
alternatives such as Khan may have some value. I do not
think most students have the discipline to succeed in self
directed study as Khan proposes, but it may be a superb
teaching tool.
ciao!
lin Baden
>Buenos Noches - I was checking out somethings here in Puerto tonight and
>came The linked interview with Salman Khan who is the founder of the Khan
>Academy. Wow what a powerful idea although education can not be total IT
>driven but i sure can do a lot. Interesting idea free education ...
>http://www.technologyreview.com/news/506356/qa-with-salman-khan/ ###