Thomas Frey, Executive Director of the DaVinci Institute (a futurist think tank), writes about 10 definers that are shaping the 21st century library in his article, “The Future of Libraries: Beginning the Great Transformation.”
His 9th trend, that “We are transitioning from a product-based economy to an experience based economy” is interesting. I am not sure marketers agree and have heard this, but perhaps I am wrong. I wonder how many advertisements we see today are marketing more toward creating a perception of “an experience” that people want to be a part of, rather than marketing the specifics of a particular product?
My favorite recommendation of Frey’s in his list of four at the end of the article involves oral history and digital storytelling. Frey writes that libraries and those in communities which have libraries should:
Preserve the memories of your own communities. While most libraries have become the document archive of their community, the memories of a community span much more than just documents. What did it sound like to drive down Main Street in 1950? What did it smell like to walk into Joe’s Bakery in the early mornings of 1965? Who are the people in these community photos and why were they important? Memories come in many shapes and forms. Don’t let yours disappear.
To me, this sounds precisely like a call for digital storytelling, similar to the one I shared in the podcast presentation “The Case for Digital Storytelling.” Frey is right on the money with this recommendation. We need to get students of all ages involved in digital storytelling and preserving local history via the stories of our family members and neighbors.
Our brains are hard wired to listen to stories and hear stories. We remember stories. This is more important than “school accountability” and test scores. This is about preserving history, and making new memories in the minds of the young from the rich experiences still accessible in the minds of the old. Digital storytelling is not a panacea for all that ails us in education, but it certainly is an engaging activity with robust instrumental as well as intrinsic value. Tomorrow in my presentation, “Cultivating Digital Literacy Through Blogging and Podcasting” here at TCEA 2006 in Austin, I’ll be addressing the need to develop 21st century literacy skills.
Digital storytelling provides the ideal platform for the development of those skills. If you are interested in engaging in dialog with other educators passionate about digital storytelling, I invite you to join the discussion in the SITE Digital Storytelling blog.
On this day..
- Recorded Audio & Resources from my #otaem12 Presentations Today - 2012
- Standards Mapping the Common Core to Everyday Instruction and Teaching - 2012
- Can You Do That? Legal Issues in Tech Administration #otaem12 - 2012
- Visioning New Schools with David Warlick - 2012
- Anywhere, Anytime Learning by Janet Barresi - 2012
- Montana Voices: Digital Vision for Schools 2011 Challenge #mtvision - 2011
- Learning with iPad #msmeca11 - 2011
- "Reply All" Bridgestone Super Bowl Ad Highlights Important Social Media Issues #msmeca11 - 2011
- Web Browser Options #gct - 2011
- Use Friendly Media - 2010
