Connecting LifeLong Learning BUZZ : Libraries, Flexi Education + OER
As a Lifelong Learner, Librarian + Community Educator...I'm an avid ally of LIBRARIES & EDUCATION - how they can CHANGE LIVES.Equitable access to libraries + education is a fundamental HUMAN RIGHT, right?
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| Dr Matt Finch : Dirty Library Triology | 2012 | Mechanical Dolphin |
As both Dr Matt Finch, above, + Laurinda Thomas, below (... incidentally one of my NZ social justice crushes alongside Jacinda Arden!) highlight:
- Libraries are RADICAL institutions within our inequitable, user-pay technological world.
- Libraries are social, cultural + information hubs for millions of people across the globe.
- EVERYDAY libraries continue to provide FREE access to information, skills, literacy, wellbeing + cultural resources - creating community spaces for people to LEARN, CONNECT, CREATE + SHARE, especially for vulnerable peoples within our societies.
- Throughout our recent history of the Digital Age, aka 1970's to NOW... Libraries + Librarians have been INTENTIONAL EARLY ADOPTERS - highly adaptive to technology + complex social changes.
Working within the youth Flexible + Inclusive Education landscape for 15+ years, I'm reminded daily of the incongruence between my social justice ethos + reality. Whilst, I will always hold tight to the narrative that equitable access to quality education is a basic human right - many complex social barriers + injustices mean it's not a REALITY everyone experiences. So, during one of my 'librarian' research escapades, my curiousity was ignited about OER: Open Educational Resources & how young people engaged in flexi education colleges +/or programs could access OER to enrich their personalised learning journeys.
... As a self-aware lifelong learner, I knew others within the Australian | NZ Flexible Learning Network would also have connected Flexi Learning + OER... so a quick-n-dirty google search led me to a 2021 FLANZ: Flexi Learning Association of NZ webinar featuring the OER Foundation director, Wayne Mackintosh! Sweet!
I'm confident Librarians around the globe, passionate about lifelong learning; digital literacy & participatory democracy would agree ... In fact, debunking the myth of Digital Native = Digitally Literate has been broadly researched, critiqued +/or disseminated by academics, educators, employers + journalists - not just Librarian + Information Specialists... A 2020 analysis, "Not all young people are 'digital natives' - inequality hugely limits experiences of technology" in The Conversation (yep... an intentional shoutout to allies of research-based journalism & Creative Commons publishing in an era characteristised by deep fake media). Academic, Simeon Yates, unpacks the simplistic myth that digital native + digital literate are synonymous - if you're a Millennial or younger. Yates, highlights how social, economic & cultural inequalities paint a more complicated picture, than the stereotypical snapshot of a young social media user on a smart device.
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| OER : Learning in a Digital Age | FREE Micro Courses |
Connecting Lifelong Learning BUZZ : Libraries, Flexi Education + OER...
To sum up this reflection... I don't just want to theoretically believe in the UNESCO Library Manifesto - I want to intentionally enact it! My learners deserve nothing less! So, invigorated by the abundance of research that affirms my lived experience as a Librarian + Literacy educator within a flexi education college - mentoring young people with complex social barriers + literacy gaps, who epitomise the snapshot of young social media users on a smart device with limited digital literacy. I've intentionally enrolled in the #LiDA - Learning in a Digital Age course! With my growth mindset cap on, I'm hopeful this OER learning journey, will grow my capacity to mentor digital literacy skills like a Boss!
If you're still reading ... big GRATITUDE to YOU!
REFERENCE LIST
Aafie.org.au. 2021. Australian Association for Flexible and Inclusive Education – AAFIE supports the Flexible and Inclusive Education sector who support young people to learn and succeed!. [online] Available at: <https://aafie.org.au> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Anton Smith <newSplash Studio, O. and Taua Piri <newSplash Studio, O., 2021. Learning In A Digital Age | Free Online Course | OERu. [online] OERu. Available at: <https://oeru.org/learning-in-a-digital-age/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Anton Smith <newSplash Studio, O. and Taua Piri <newSplash Studio, O., 2021. How It Works | OERu. [online] OERu. Available at: <https://oeru.org/how-it-works/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Blunden, H., 2020. How to Build Your Personal Learning Network. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA0vKYhGQmg> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Blunden, H., 2021. Start Here. [online] Activate Learning Solutions. Available at: <https://activatelearning.com.au/start-here/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Cormier, D., 2010. Success in a MOOC. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8avYQ5ZqM0&t=133s> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Finch, M., 2012. Dirty Library Trilogy, part 1: Drink your way to better librarianship. [online] matt finch / mechanical dolphin. Available at: <https://mechanicaldolphin.com/2012/12/30/dirty-library-trilogy-part-1-drink-your-way-to-better-librarianship/#more-1159> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Finch, M., 2019. Anywhere in the universe: a mission for libraries. [online] matt finch / mechanical dolphin. Available at: <https://mechanicaldolphin.com/2019/02/21/anywhere-in-the-universe-a-mission-for-libraries/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Libguides.csu.edu.au. 2021. Library Guides: Open Educational Resources: Introduction. [online] Available at: <https://libguides.csu.edu.au/oer/introduction> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Mireles, N., 2012. Open Education Matters: Why It Is Important To Share Content. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTNnxPcY49Q&t=115s> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
NZ, F., 2021. FLANZ Conversation On Open Education Resources with Wayne Mackintosh. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB-o80pIuPc> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Press, B., 2012. Creative Commons License and how it helps us share digital content. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKfqoPYJdVc> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Skyring, C., 2014. Why You Need A Personal Learning Network. [online] Education Technology Solutions. Available at: <https://educationtechnologysolutions.com/2014/07/why-you-need-a-personal-learning-network/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Thomas, L., 2016. The Dangerous Myth About Libraries. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdQwrhxw8LM> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Thomas, L., 2017. The Dangerous Myth about librarians – Laurinda Thomas: OPEN17 LIANZA Conference. [online] Christchurch City Libraries Bibliofile. Available at: <https://cclbibliofile.wordpress.com/2017/09/25/the-dangerous-myth-about-librarians-laurinda-thomas-open17-lianza-conference/> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Tower, B., 2017. Why Open Education Matters. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBFOQEmR1n4&t=1s> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
UNESCO. 2021. Open Educational Resources (OER). [online] Available at: <https://en.unesco.org/themes/building-knowledge-societies/oer> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
UNESCO and IFLA, 2019. Inspire, Inform, Indicate : How the UNESCO-IFLA Public Library Manifesto Makes a Difference. [online] Ifla.org. Available at: <https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/hq/topics/libraries-development/documents/public-library-manifesto-impact-article.pdf> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
Walsh, B., 2013. OER (Open Educational Resources) Introduction II. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfl1B6Qmp5g> [Accessed 21 September 2021].Yates, S., 2020. Not all young people are 'digital natives' – inequality hugely limits experiences of technology. [online] The Conversation. Available at: <https://theconversation.com/not-all-young-people-are-digital-natives-inequality-hugely-limits-experiences-of-technology-133102> [Accessed 21 September 2021].
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