Post 2 - Thoughts on Information

As I was working on my post for LIS 2000, I thought about how Information Technologies is tied to the notion of information versus knowledge. Last week a lot of information was provided to me in class, but I'm not sure how much knowledge I acquired because of the overwhelming sensation of inadequacy due to a lack (at least that's how I feel) of knowledge about information technologies. I feel that I have a wonderful grasp on materials for education purposes because that is my field, both professionally and of study, but I lack some of the common knowledge about information technology, partially because I choose not to participate.

For instance, I am not a member of Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, etc. I have never been a member, and I always tell my friends if they friend an Erin Parkinson, it's not me. I've chosen to not participate partially because of my job as a teacher (this past year has seen quite a few lawsuits and suspensions due to materials posted on Facebook), but also because I like communicating as personally as I can. Even though I do not like to talk on the telephone, I do so to keep in contact with friends. I'll also use email or write a letter and mail it (I love letters). I know that for others I'm making contact more difficult because of my "archaic" choices of communication, but at the same time I like the privacy and personality of these ways.

Going back now (sorry for my tangent), the idea of information versus knowledge is very important to the future of the library and school library. As technologies are developed, it is our duty to "be in the know" even if we cannot access the programs ourselves, we can provide the necessary information for others to develop the practical knowledge and use. It's amazing with my own students how easily they adapt to new technology, while also wanting guidance. We recently made digital stories using Audacity and Windows Movie Maker. Although the kids normally would have played around to figure out the programs, due to the time constraints, I sampled each program for them, and then allowed them to play with the program. I provided the information; they acquired the knowledge. At the same time, they often bring information to me about websites or popular culture items that we can then explore together. This communication of information is the key to the understanding and development of knowledge in the area of information technology. If we cannot communicate the information, the knowledge is lost.

At the same time, we, as professionals, have to understand that each person is at a different starting point. I felt completely overwhelmed after last Tuesday's class because I did not understand a lot of the content. After reading my peers questions, I felt a bit better about my own knowledge and realized we would all work together to acquire knowledge from the information. With this being said though, I found myself today while teaching a class in the library becoming very angry with students because they could not access a file in a local folder we have been using all year. I was becoming irritated because the kids just couldn't find the drive, folder, and file. I realized that somewhere along the line their was an information/knowledge break down. Even though the information was presented, knowledge was not gained. As librarians, this is our job; to help gain the knowledge by providing the information and at times the skills to process the information. It all takes time and patience.