Teaching with Primary Sources

On Friday and Saturday, Feb 1st and 2nd, I attended an annual event called "Librarian Days" about teaching with primary sources. The event was held at the Auraria campus and was heavily geared for school librarians and teachers but there was still a lot of good information that can be applied in a public library setting.

There was a big emphasis on those ubiquitous "Web 2.0" technologies which are still relatively new territory for schools, though we are on the ball with our ALD blogs, wikis, deli.ci.ous accounts and more. We were also introduced to resources available through the Library of Congress American Memory website which has over 11 million (and counting) primary cources feely available to the public. There was a presentation by the Colorado Historical Newspaper project and another by the Denver Newspaper Agency.

Keeping with the Web 2.0 theme, they have a wiki up with links to PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and additional resources from the various presenters. I encourage you to take a look and I will probably comment in further entries about some of the presentations in more specifics. I especially need to write about my experience and thoughts about entering the new online 3D world of Second Life. I got to create my own avatar and wander around some virtual libraries and museums in Second Life. While I am not conviced Second Life itself is the way of the future, I think this kind of technology is and I'm anxious to learn and share more.