Well, it's week 13 of the semester and Nichole and I are nearly finished with our collaborative unit. Our last step is simply to present our unit to the class via Adobe Sandbox. Yeah! Looking back now, I am very happy with how our collaboration progressed and with our final product.
I'm particularly proud of several things we accomplished with the project. The first of which is the overall structure and appearance of our wiki. With all the various pages and links among the pages, it seems like the wiki is fairly easy to navigate. I'm also proud of the two multimedia aspects of the wiki that we added: the Google Map of Lamphere High School and the Slideshare plugin of my website evaluation PowerPoint. I think these two aspects give viewers a better visual of our school and our sample lesson. I also like our use of different types of assessment, especially the reflection blogs. I think these will be good ways to get students thinking about the research process will help us teachers see where students need more help. Lastly, I'm glad that we made several parts of the written opinion due before the final draft was due. I think this helps students avoid procrastinating and improves the overall quality of the final product.
Despite the many things that went well with our project, we did encounter some challenges along the way. One of the hardest parts for me was simply trying to visualize what the end product would look like. This was due in part to the fact that I'm not super familiar with law or how Nichole runs her classes. I also had difficulty using Turner and Riedling's instructional design process (needs assessment, learner analysis, etc.) because I am so used to doing these things in my head as I plan a unit that I was a little out of practice when it came to writing them out. Finally, I also had a bit of trouble trying to copy and paste text into the wiki. Apparently, PBworks doesn't like it when you transfer html code back and forth. Fortunately, I took the website development class this past summer and was able to fix most of the problems.
Overall, this project has really helped me gain a better idea of how school librarians should approach and execute a collaborative project with classroom teachers. In particular, I learned that it is very important for both collaborators to be flexible. For Nichole and I, being flexible meant adjusting to each other's crazy schedules. Throughout the semester, there were times when I had to cancel our planned meetings and other times when she had to cancel. Besides being flexible about meeting times, I also think teachers and school librarians should be be flexible when it comes to the actual lesson or unit planning since there are often many ways to teach the same thing. What is important is not necessarily how concepts are taught, but simply that they are taught and that students are learning.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Week 9: Collaborative Unit Assessment Stage
At this point this the collaborative unit plan, Nichole and I are finishing up the unit plan outline and beginning to think seriously about what type of assessments we want to use to evaluate student learning. At present, we are still thinking of assessing three different portions of the project: 1) the research process 2) the individual law briefs and 3) the class presentation.
In terms of the research process, Nichole and I discussed having the students do some self-reflection in the form of reflection logs. I got the idea to use the logs from AASL's Standards for the 21st Century Learner In Action book, which suggests using the logs during the research process to help students plan ahead, brainstorm solutions to problems, discuss accomplishments, etc. I'm thinking we might have the students do 2-3 logs throughout the project that require them to respond to questions or prompts. In terms of grading, since this is more of an informal journal, Nichole and I will likely just look at the journals to see that the students have thoroughly responded to the questions. The real goal is just to get the students thinking about the research process and to give us teachers a chance to see how the groups are progressing. We haven't yet discussed who will be grading these logs, but I am thinking we might both read them or split the grading responsibilities equally.
For both the law brief and presentation, we plan to use rubrics to measure student achievement. In terms of grading responsibilities, Nichole will grade the content portions of the law briefs and presentations while I will grade the presentation design and all citations. Some of the qualities we will be looking for in the law briefs include clarity of argument, summary of the case, spelling/mechanics, and proper citation. With the presentations, some of the qualities we will be looking at include equal division of labor among group members, professional looking design, organization of information, oral presentation, and proper citation.
Finally, after completing all of our assessments, Nichole and I plan to use our data to prepare a short presentation on the project for the school board. This data might include examples of student work, teacher reflections, excerpts from student logs, and student grades. Hopefully, by comparing the various data we will compile to the standards addressed in the unit plan, we will be able to provide board members with sufficient evidence of student learning.
In terms of the research process, Nichole and I discussed having the students do some self-reflection in the form of reflection logs. I got the idea to use the logs from AASL's Standards for the 21st Century Learner In Action book, which suggests using the logs during the research process to help students plan ahead, brainstorm solutions to problems, discuss accomplishments, etc. I'm thinking we might have the students do 2-3 logs throughout the project that require them to respond to questions or prompts. In terms of grading, since this is more of an informal journal, Nichole and I will likely just look at the journals to see that the students have thoroughly responded to the questions. The real goal is just to get the students thinking about the research process and to give us teachers a chance to see how the groups are progressing. We haven't yet discussed who will be grading these logs, but I am thinking we might both read them or split the grading responsibilities equally.
For both the law brief and presentation, we plan to use rubrics to measure student achievement. In terms of grading responsibilities, Nichole will grade the content portions of the law briefs and presentations while I will grade the presentation design and all citations. Some of the qualities we will be looking for in the law briefs include clarity of argument, summary of the case, spelling/mechanics, and proper citation. With the presentations, some of the qualities we will be looking at include equal division of labor among group members, professional looking design, organization of information, oral presentation, and proper citation.
Finally, after completing all of our assessments, Nichole and I plan to use our data to prepare a short presentation on the project for the school board. This data might include examples of student work, teacher reflections, excerpts from student logs, and student grades. Hopefully, by comparing the various data we will compile to the standards addressed in the unit plan, we will be able to provide board members with sufficient evidence of student learning.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Week 9: Website Recommendation
South Carolina School Libraries Wiki - Resources and Links to Facilitate Creating and Maintain Quality School Library Media Programs
This wiki was created by Martha Alewine, a school library media services consultant for the South Carolina Department of Education, and contains a number of useful links for school librarians both in and outside of the state of South Carolina. Some of these links are actual Word documents created by the South Carolina Department of Education. One document that appears very similar to the SL 21 document recently unveiled in Michigan is titled "Achieving Exemplary School Libraries." Like Michigan's SL 21 document, this evaluation tool rates how well school libraries achieve a number of different objectives such as how well school libraries foster collaboration, what type of scheduling for libraries is used (flexible vs. fixed), whether the library supports reading incentives within the school, etc. It would be interesting to see how and where the Michigan document differs or is similar to South Carolina's document.
This wiki was created by Martha Alewine, a school library media services consultant for the South Carolina Department of Education, and contains a number of useful links for school librarians both in and outside of the state of South Carolina. Some of these links are actual Word documents created by the South Carolina Department of Education. One document that appears very similar to the SL 21 document recently unveiled in Michigan is titled "Achieving Exemplary School Libraries." Like Michigan's SL 21 document, this evaluation tool rates how well school libraries achieve a number of different objectives such as how well school libraries foster collaboration, what type of scheduling for libraries is used (flexible vs. fixed), whether the library supports reading incentives within the school, etc. It would be interesting to see how and where the Michigan document differs or is similar to South Carolina's document.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Week 8: Website Recommendation
Google Forms
Google Forms is one of the features available within Google Spreadsheet. Basically, this feature allows you to create a form requesting information and send that form to others via email. Recipients then enter their information into the form and submit the form. After submitting their form, the recipient's information will be placed into a spreadsheet, which you can then manipulate to create visual representations of your data. The whole process is very simple and fairly quick. In terms of collecting evidence for evidence based practices, I think this would a be a great tool.
Week 8: Teaching for Understanding - Response #2
Stripling, B. K. (2007). Teaching for understanding. In B.K. Stripling & S. Hughes-Hassel (Eds.) School reform and the school library media specialist (pp. 37-55) Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited.
Focus Quote:
"Educators can only teach for understanding by creating learning experiences that require the development of essential knowledge, the use of cognitive and metacognitive skills, and the application and transfer of knowledge." (Stripling 2007)
The second reading I selected for this week's readings on assessment and communicating evidence of student learning was Barbara Stripling's chapter on Teaching for Understanding. At the beginning of the chapter, Barbara devotes a section to defining understanding in which she clarifies the difference between facts, knowledge, and understanding. Basically, she states that facts provide information and exist outside the learner, knowledge is created when students attach meaning to facts and exist within the mind of the learner, and understanding is what happens when students interpret, evaluate, or apply their knowledge to another situation or context. (Stripling 2007) According to Stripling, the fact that understanding comes from the learner means that understanding is not something that can actually be taught by teachers. Rather, she states, "Educators can only teach for understanding by creating learning experiences that require the development of essential knowledge, the use of cognitive and metacognitive skills, and the application and transfer of knowledge." (Stripling 2007)
This definition of understanding was new to me. I think before reading this article, if someone had asked me to define understanding, I would have confused the definitions of knowledge and understanding. Now, after reading Stripling's definition, I think its a good definition and I think more educators need to to be aware that knowledge and understanding are two very distinct things. I also liked how she mentions that understanding has to come from the learner. With the No Child Left Behind law weighing heavily on the minds of many educators, it seems that we are so focused on what the teachers can or should do to improve education that we forget that students have a part to play in their own education. As Stripling points out, teachers are responsible for setting up situations where understanding can take place, but they are only piece of the puzzle.
Further on in the chapter Stripling discusses how to design inquiry-based instruction that leads to understanding. Using the theories from Understanding By Design, she recommends following three keys steps when planning instruction: "(1) target specific understandings; (2) develop how students will demonstrate their learning; (3) design the instructional activities." (Stripling 2007) In terms of the final step, designing instructional activities, Stripling also recommends using the Stripling model of inquiry, which includes six phases of inquiry: connect, wonder, investigate, construct, express, and reflect. (Stripling 2007) For each phase she also includes possible teaching strategies such as the use of concept maps or reflection logs. I found these strategies to be very useful and can see how they would be a good way to get students in the right frame of mind for true understanding to take place.
Focus Quote:
"Educators can only teach for understanding by creating learning experiences that require the development of essential knowledge, the use of cognitive and metacognitive skills, and the application and transfer of knowledge." (Stripling 2007)
The second reading I selected for this week's readings on assessment and communicating evidence of student learning was Barbara Stripling's chapter on Teaching for Understanding. At the beginning of the chapter, Barbara devotes a section to defining understanding in which she clarifies the difference between facts, knowledge, and understanding. Basically, she states that facts provide information and exist outside the learner, knowledge is created when students attach meaning to facts and exist within the mind of the learner, and understanding is what happens when students interpret, evaluate, or apply their knowledge to another situation or context. (Stripling 2007) According to Stripling, the fact that understanding comes from the learner means that understanding is not something that can actually be taught by teachers. Rather, she states, "Educators can only teach for understanding by creating learning experiences that require the development of essential knowledge, the use of cognitive and metacognitive skills, and the application and transfer of knowledge." (Stripling 2007)
This definition of understanding was new to me. I think before reading this article, if someone had asked me to define understanding, I would have confused the definitions of knowledge and understanding. Now, after reading Stripling's definition, I think its a good definition and I think more educators need to to be aware that knowledge and understanding are two very distinct things. I also liked how she mentions that understanding has to come from the learner. With the No Child Left Behind law weighing heavily on the minds of many educators, it seems that we are so focused on what the teachers can or should do to improve education that we forget that students have a part to play in their own education. As Stripling points out, teachers are responsible for setting up situations where understanding can take place, but they are only piece of the puzzle.
Further on in the chapter Stripling discusses how to design inquiry-based instruction that leads to understanding. Using the theories from Understanding By Design, she recommends following three keys steps when planning instruction: "(1) target specific understandings; (2) develop how students will demonstrate their learning; (3) design the instructional activities." (Stripling 2007) In terms of the final step, designing instructional activities, Stripling also recommends using the Stripling model of inquiry, which includes six phases of inquiry: connect, wonder, investigate, construct, express, and reflect. (Stripling 2007) For each phase she also includes possible teaching strategies such as the use of concept maps or reflection logs. I found these strategies to be very useful and can see how they would be a good way to get students in the right frame of mind for true understanding to take place.
Week 8: Evidenced Based Practice - Response #1
Todd, R. J. (2008). A Question of evidence. Knowledge Quest. 37(2), 16-21.
Focus Quote:
"By placing emphasis on outcomes, evidence-based practice in school libraries shifts the focus from the medium to the message -- from articulating what school librarians do in their day-to-day work to articulating their effect on what students become. Placing emphasis on systematically gathered evidence moves school library advocacy from a "tell me" framework to a "show me" framework." (Todd 2008)
This week our readings dealt with assessment and communicating evidence of student learning. One of the books that was recommended by our professor was a book by David V. Loertscher and Ross J. Todd called We Boost Achievement! Evidence-Based Practice for School Library Media Specialists. While I was unable to obtain a copy of this book in time for this week's blog post, I did find an article by Ross Todd on evidenced based practice that discusses some of the topics within the book. (I'll have to add the book to my summer reading list so I can read it later.)
In the article, Todd argues that evidenced based practice (EBP) can help school librarians demonstrate their value within the school by giving educational stakeholders a better picture of just what their presence in a school accomplishes. He states, "By placing emphasis on outcomes, evidence-based practice in school libraries shifts the focus from the medium to the message -- from articulating what school librarians do in their day-to-day work to articulating their effect on what students become. Placing emphasis on systematically gathered evidence moves school library advocacy from a "tell me" framework to a "show me" framework." (Todd 2008) I agree with Todd in that this is an important part of school librarians job especially nowadays when many schools are facing budget cuts.
While I am in full support of utilizing EBP in school libraries, I admit I am still a bit unclear as to how to realistically implement them. Perhaps the actual mechanics of these practices and examples are available in the book, but at the moment I can't picture exactly how a school librarian goes about collecting evidence for all of the different types of activities that take place in a school library. Plus, school librarians are so overloaded with responsibilities now that many library support positions have been cut that I imagine collecting evidence is not an easy thing to do.
The article also points out some criticisms of EBP. One of the these criticisms is the problem that, unlike the medical field where research is commonplace, many educators are not well-versed in how to conduct research. This lack of knowledge and/or experience "creates major gaps in expertise and professional discomfort with engaging in and using such evidence." (Todd 2008) I definitely agree with this criticism and believe school librarians will need additional support if they are going to feel comfortable implementing EBP. Just recently I took a class on research methods, but, even with this experience, I still feel apprehensive at the thought of taking on my own research. My hope is that, upon entering the workforce, I will be able to learn more about EBP through additional reading and professional development opportunities. I also imagine that EBP will become easier the more you do it.
Focus Quote:
"By placing emphasis on outcomes, evidence-based practice in school libraries shifts the focus from the medium to the message -- from articulating what school librarians do in their day-to-day work to articulating their effect on what students become. Placing emphasis on systematically gathered evidence moves school library advocacy from a "tell me" framework to a "show me" framework." (Todd 2008)
This week our readings dealt with assessment and communicating evidence of student learning. One of the books that was recommended by our professor was a book by David V. Loertscher and Ross J. Todd called We Boost Achievement! Evidence-Based Practice for School Library Media Specialists. While I was unable to obtain a copy of this book in time for this week's blog post, I did find an article by Ross Todd on evidenced based practice that discusses some of the topics within the book. (I'll have to add the book to my summer reading list so I can read it later.)
In the article, Todd argues that evidenced based practice (EBP) can help school librarians demonstrate their value within the school by giving educational stakeholders a better picture of just what their presence in a school accomplishes. He states, "By placing emphasis on outcomes, evidence-based practice in school libraries shifts the focus from the medium to the message -- from articulating what school librarians do in their day-to-day work to articulating their effect on what students become. Placing emphasis on systematically gathered evidence moves school library advocacy from a "tell me" framework to a "show me" framework." (Todd 2008) I agree with Todd in that this is an important part of school librarians job especially nowadays when many schools are facing budget cuts.
While I am in full support of utilizing EBP in school libraries, I admit I am still a bit unclear as to how to realistically implement them. Perhaps the actual mechanics of these practices and examples are available in the book, but at the moment I can't picture exactly how a school librarian goes about collecting evidence for all of the different types of activities that take place in a school library. Plus, school librarians are so overloaded with responsibilities now that many library support positions have been cut that I imagine collecting evidence is not an easy thing to do.
The article also points out some criticisms of EBP. One of the these criticisms is the problem that, unlike the medical field where research is commonplace, many educators are not well-versed in how to conduct research. This lack of knowledge and/or experience "creates major gaps in expertise and professional discomfort with engaging in and using such evidence." (Todd 2008) I definitely agree with this criticism and believe school librarians will need additional support if they are going to feel comfortable implementing EBP. Just recently I took a class on research methods, but, even with this experience, I still feel apprehensive at the thought of taking on my own research. My hope is that, upon entering the workforce, I will be able to learn more about EBP through additional reading and professional development opportunities. I also imagine that EBP will become easier the more you do it.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Week 7: Collaborative Unit Mid-Planning Stage
At this point in the semester, my partner and I are now in the mid-planning stage of our collaboration project. So far, Nichole and I have been "meeting" online for the past three Saturdays to discuss our project and plan out what we hope to accomplish during the upcoming week. At the moment, things are going really well. We've been using Google Docs to write up our unit plan and have started creating pages within the wiki for each section of the assignment.
In terms of assignment tasks, I think Nichole and I have divided them fairly evenly. Since Nichole is a teacher at the school we selected, we decided she would work on the school narrative. Also, since Nichole is more familiar with social studies and the students, she has been gathering the appropriate standards, clarifying our essential questions, and writing up some of the unit objectives. As much as I can, I try to offer suggestions that I think will improve the unit. For my part, I have focused more on identifying resources for the students to use, gathering the AASL standards we will address, and planning out the research related lessons.
As for assessment, we are still thinking that we want to assess three aspects of the project: the written law brief, the in class presentation, and the research process. In terms of grading, Nichole and I decided that she would be responsible for grading the first two components and that I would be responsible for the research process. After looking at the AASL standards, I can now see that there are several skills and dispositions that I would like students to demonstrate as they research. I am thinking that perhaps we could have a rubric that covers aspects of the research process such as source citations, use of multiple sources, evaluation of sources, collaboration with others, etc. I may even include some self-assesment opportunities for students to complete as they progress through the research process.
Additionally, Nichole and I have begun to look at how we can address the needs and abilities of historically underrepresented students in our unit plan. In the case of Nichole's class, these students are primarily English Language Learners and resource students (students with IEPs or 504 plans) Apparently, her school has received a number of Middle Eastern refugees in recent years, some of whom have had little or no experience in a traditional school setting. Since Nichole has experience working with these students, she came up with two different sets of accommodations: 1 set for resource students and 1 set for non-native English speakers. Examples of accommodations we plan to utilize include cooperative grouping, use of a translator, use of visuals, extended time for assignments, and teacher created templates. I am also thinking we may want to utilize K-W-L charts to access the students' background knowledge. While the Middle Eastern students may not be familiar with the United States court system, they may be able to draw on knowledge of similar institutions in their home countries.
In terms of assignment tasks, I think Nichole and I have divided them fairly evenly. Since Nichole is a teacher at the school we selected, we decided she would work on the school narrative. Also, since Nichole is more familiar with social studies and the students, she has been gathering the appropriate standards, clarifying our essential questions, and writing up some of the unit objectives. As much as I can, I try to offer suggestions that I think will improve the unit. For my part, I have focused more on identifying resources for the students to use, gathering the AASL standards we will address, and planning out the research related lessons.
As for assessment, we are still thinking that we want to assess three aspects of the project: the written law brief, the in class presentation, and the research process. In terms of grading, Nichole and I decided that she would be responsible for grading the first two components and that I would be responsible for the research process. After looking at the AASL standards, I can now see that there are several skills and dispositions that I would like students to demonstrate as they research. I am thinking that perhaps we could have a rubric that covers aspects of the research process such as source citations, use of multiple sources, evaluation of sources, collaboration with others, etc. I may even include some self-assesment opportunities for students to complete as they progress through the research process.
Additionally, Nichole and I have begun to look at how we can address the needs and abilities of historically underrepresented students in our unit plan. In the case of Nichole's class, these students are primarily English Language Learners and resource students (students with IEPs or 504 plans) Apparently, her school has received a number of Middle Eastern refugees in recent years, some of whom have had little or no experience in a traditional school setting. Since Nichole has experience working with these students, she came up with two different sets of accommodations: 1 set for resource students and 1 set for non-native English speakers. Examples of accommodations we plan to utilize include cooperative grouping, use of a translator, use of visuals, extended time for assignments, and teacher created templates. I am also thinking we may want to utilize K-W-L charts to access the students' background knowledge. While the Middle Eastern students may not be familiar with the United States court system, they may be able to draw on knowledge of similar institutions in their home countries.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Week 7: Website Recommendation
Google Sites
Since this week the focus of our readings is on assessment, I decided to share the website Google Sites, which is basically an app created by Google that allows users to create a basic webpage. The best part is that the website can be created with little or no knowledge of HTML code!!! Other nice features include the ability to utilize web site templates, upload documents, and incorporate other Google apps such as Google Calendar. Like other Google apps, Google Sites also allows the user to determine the share settings, meaning you could have a group of students working together on the same website. In terms of assessment, Google Sites would be a great way for students to create portfolios of their work for a particular class.
Since this week the focus of our readings is on assessment, I decided to share the website Google Sites, which is basically an app created by Google that allows users to create a basic webpage. The best part is that the website can be created with little or no knowledge of HTML code!!! Other nice features include the ability to utilize web site templates, upload documents, and incorporate other Google apps such as Google Calendar. Like other Google apps, Google Sites also allows the user to determine the share settings, meaning you could have a group of students working together on the same website. In terms of assessment, Google Sites would be a great way for students to create portfolios of their work for a particular class.
Week 6: Website Recommendation
Authentic Education
Authentic Education is a company that offers training and support to schools looking to implement school change, improve student assessment, and align curricula using the Understanding By Design framework designed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. In terms of services, the company offers workshops, web conferences, action research, and other on and off site services. Specific to curriculum mapping, the company also provides an online curriculum design software called Curriculum Framer that facilitates the creation and maintenance of a school curriculum. While this method of curriculum mapping is costly, I really like many of the ideas behind the Understanding By Design framework and I think the types of services provided by this company would be useful if used by an entire school district.
Authentic Education is a company that offers training and support to schools looking to implement school change, improve student assessment, and align curricula using the Understanding By Design framework designed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. In terms of services, the company offers workshops, web conferences, action research, and other on and off site services. Specific to curriculum mapping, the company also provides an online curriculum design software called Curriculum Framer that facilitates the creation and maintenance of a school curriculum. While this method of curriculum mapping is costly, I really like many of the ideas behind the Understanding By Design framework and I think the types of services provided by this company would be useful if used by an entire school district.
Week 6: Curriculum Mapping - Response #2
Everett, J. (2003). Curriculum mapping and collection mapping: Otherwise known as "The Camel with Two Humps." In B.K. Stripling & S. Hughes-Hassel (Eds.) Curriculum Connections through the Library (pp. 119-137). Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited.
Focus Quote:
"As with curriculum maps, collection maps provide the 'big picture' of how balanced the library collection is in relationship to the school curriculum." (Everett, 2003, p. 124)
In Jo Ann Everett's chapter on curriculum mapping and collection mapping, she discusses the importance of using both types of maps in schools. Since I was already familiar with curriculum mapping, what I found most interesting in this chapter was her discussion of the collection map. According to Everett, "As with curriculum maps, collection maps provide the 'big picture' of how balanced the library collection is in relationship to the school curriculum." (2003, p. 124) I particularly liked that she focuses on the importance of developing a "big picture"view of the library collection - one that encompasses the library's past, present, and future. I think it can be very easy to get caught up in the day to day tasks of the present that you can forget to plan for the library's future in terms of collection. Doing a collection map, would certainly help a librarian to think more broadly.
Another part of the collection map process that I found interesting was Everett's recommendation for dividing up the library collection into Dewey sections and then evaluating each section individually. (2003, p. 125) This seems like a lot of work, but if I'm not mistaken there are two services available from Follett TitleWave (TitleWise and TitleMap) that would help expedite the process. From what I can gather from the TitleWave website, the TitleWise service provides collection analysis while TitleMap helps librarians map out a plan to improve their collection. Unfortunately, these services do come at a cost. Still, it might be worth it to have Follett do the initial analysis and then maintain your own records afterwards. I'd be interested in talking with other school librarians that have used this service.
Lastly, one other step of Everett's that I liked was her creation of a web room or a room where she assembled unit boxes containing numerous resources (books, videos, CDs, etc.) that a teacher might use for a particular unit. This is something that I would like to do more of at my school. However, I would expand Everett's unit boxes to include online resources as well as print materials and other physical resources. One way to do this might be to create a Symbaloo webmix or a webpage with relevant links for each unit.
Focus Quote:
"As with curriculum maps, collection maps provide the 'big picture' of how balanced the library collection is in relationship to the school curriculum." (Everett, 2003, p. 124)
In Jo Ann Everett's chapter on curriculum mapping and collection mapping, she discusses the importance of using both types of maps in schools. Since I was already familiar with curriculum mapping, what I found most interesting in this chapter was her discussion of the collection map. According to Everett, "As with curriculum maps, collection maps provide the 'big picture' of how balanced the library collection is in relationship to the school curriculum." (2003, p. 124) I particularly liked that she focuses on the importance of developing a "big picture"view of the library collection - one that encompasses the library's past, present, and future. I think it can be very easy to get caught up in the day to day tasks of the present that you can forget to plan for the library's future in terms of collection. Doing a collection map, would certainly help a librarian to think more broadly.
Another part of the collection map process that I found interesting was Everett's recommendation for dividing up the library collection into Dewey sections and then evaluating each section individually. (2003, p. 125) This seems like a lot of work, but if I'm not mistaken there are two services available from Follett TitleWave (TitleWise and TitleMap) that would help expedite the process. From what I can gather from the TitleWave website, the TitleWise service provides collection analysis while TitleMap helps librarians map out a plan to improve their collection. Unfortunately, these services do come at a cost. Still, it might be worth it to have Follett do the initial analysis and then maintain your own records afterwards. I'd be interested in talking with other school librarians that have used this service.
Lastly, one other step of Everett's that I liked was her creation of a web room or a room where she assembled unit boxes containing numerous resources (books, videos, CDs, etc.) that a teacher might use for a particular unit. This is something that I would like to do more of at my school. However, I would expand Everett's unit boxes to include online resources as well as print materials and other physical resources. One way to do this might be to create a Symbaloo webmix or a webpage with relevant links for each unit.
Week 6: Curriculum Mapping - Response #1
Vlasis, C. (2003). Librarian morphs into curriculum developer. In B.K. Stripling & S. Hughes-Hassel (Eds.) Curriculum Connections through the Library (pp. 107-117). Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited.
Focus Quote:
"The curriculum map is also useful to librarians because it allows them to make connections across grade levels and help teachers avoid repetitions in the curriculum." (Vlasis, 2003, p.112-113)
This week the focus of our class readings was curriculum mapping. This educational practice has many benefits. One of these benefits is curricula alignment. For librarians, this ability to view what standards and topics are being taught and when, is especially useful since they are in the unique position to collaborate with teachers from multiple grade levels and content areas. As Charlotte Vlasis states in her chapter on the librarian's role as a curriculum developer, "The curriculum map is also useful to librarians because it allows them to make connections across grade levels and help teachers avoid repetitions in the curriculum." (2003, p.112-113)
Just recently, at my practicum school, I witnessed a situation in which a lack of curriculum map hampered the ability of the school librarian to provide instruction. Basically, the school librarian was trying to plan out a set of lessons for freshman English students on how to search the web effectively, utilize databases, and import their bibliographic information into a citation maker. However, upon teaching the lesson, she discovered that half of the students had already received some of this same type of information while others were completely unfamiliar with it. Had the school librarians within the school district created a curriculum map for research skills the librarian at my school wouldn't feel pressured to teach a lot of skills in a short amount of time and could perhaps have focused the lessons on different research strategies.
Despite the many benefits of curriculum maps, as a former teacher, I can attest to how difficult it can be to keep a map up to date. With regard for making time to create and maintain a map, Charlotte Vlasis, states, "Scheduling the time to work on maps needs to be addressed before the process is begun, and a commitment to spend time on the maps has to be made by each participant." (2003, p.115) I completely agree with this statement, however, I would like school administrators to support teachers in this pursuit by providing professional development time on a regular basis for teachers to work on their maps. In my own experience, the professional development time allotted for curriculum mapping was often spaced too far apart. We would work on maps one day, but then it would be several months before we picked them up again. At that point, it was almost like we had to start all over again.
Focus Quote:
"The curriculum map is also useful to librarians because it allows them to make connections across grade levels and help teachers avoid repetitions in the curriculum." (Vlasis, 2003, p.112-113)
This week the focus of our class readings was curriculum mapping. This educational practice has many benefits. One of these benefits is curricula alignment. For librarians, this ability to view what standards and topics are being taught and when, is especially useful since they are in the unique position to collaborate with teachers from multiple grade levels and content areas. As Charlotte Vlasis states in her chapter on the librarian's role as a curriculum developer, "The curriculum map is also useful to librarians because it allows them to make connections across grade levels and help teachers avoid repetitions in the curriculum." (2003, p.112-113)
Just recently, at my practicum school, I witnessed a situation in which a lack of curriculum map hampered the ability of the school librarian to provide instruction. Basically, the school librarian was trying to plan out a set of lessons for freshman English students on how to search the web effectively, utilize databases, and import their bibliographic information into a citation maker. However, upon teaching the lesson, she discovered that half of the students had already received some of this same type of information while others were completely unfamiliar with it. Had the school librarians within the school district created a curriculum map for research skills the librarian at my school wouldn't feel pressured to teach a lot of skills in a short amount of time and could perhaps have focused the lessons on different research strategies.
Despite the many benefits of curriculum maps, as a former teacher, I can attest to how difficult it can be to keep a map up to date. With regard for making time to create and maintain a map, Charlotte Vlasis, states, "Scheduling the time to work on maps needs to be addressed before the process is begun, and a commitment to spend time on the maps has to be made by each participant." (2003, p.115) I completely agree with this statement, however, I would like school administrators to support teachers in this pursuit by providing professional development time on a regular basis for teachers to work on their maps. In my own experience, the professional development time allotted for curriculum mapping was often spaced too far apart. We would work on maps one day, but then it would be several months before we picked them up again. At that point, it was almost like we had to start all over again.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Week 5: Website Recommendation
This week our readings focused on guided inquiry and inquiry-based learning models. Since inquiry often involves brainstorming and organizing one's thoughts, I decided to share a website that allows users to create online mind maps or visual organizers. Basically, to utilize Mindomo you add a central topic and then continue adding subtopics as needed. After creating a mind map, students can then save and export their maps as picture files. The one downside is that the basic free version of Mindomo only allows 3 maps per year. Despite this shortcoming, this tool could still be useful especially if a teacher has only a few big inquiry projects per year.
Here's an example of a Mindomo map.
Image: http://www.mindomo.com/maps/080a2a033949479b97c8e353cfa3c1af
Week 5: Early Planning Stage
Well, I am now in the early planning stage of my collaborative project. At this point, Nichole and I have firmed up our intention to do our project on the subject of social studies. Our focus will be on law in the United States, since Nichole is currently teaching this class. In terms of how we plan to collaborate, we have decided to utilize Google Docs, email, and possibly Skype. We didn't want to use any sort of calendar tool since we are both super busy people, but we tentatively agree to "meet" online Saturday mornings to discuss our project and establish weekly goals.
In terms of the unit itself, we are still planning on having students pair up with a classmate and research a Supreme Court case that deals with the Bill of Rights. After researching their case, students will prepare a presentation that showcases both sides of the argument. For student assessment, we are thinking of assessing three aspects of the project. First, we will use some sort of assessment to measure the students' ability to locate and identify quality information. Second, the students will be assessed on the written portion of their assignment. Finally, the third piece of assessment will be the partner presentation.
As for how the collaboration process is progressing, I would have to say "quite well." Nichole and I haven't encountered any major roadblocks and I think we work pretty well together. The only thing that I can envision being a problem, is finding times to "meet" online. Hopefully though, our Saturday morning meetings will be productive enough that we won't need to meet more frequently.
Well, that's all for now. More on our collaboration process to follow later.
In terms of the unit itself, we are still planning on having students pair up with a classmate and research a Supreme Court case that deals with the Bill of Rights. After researching their case, students will prepare a presentation that showcases both sides of the argument. For student assessment, we are thinking of assessing three aspects of the project. First, we will use some sort of assessment to measure the students' ability to locate and identify quality information. Second, the students will be assessed on the written portion of their assignment. Finally, the third piece of assessment will be the partner presentation.
As for how the collaboration process is progressing, I would have to say "quite well." Nichole and I haven't encountered any major roadblocks and I think we work pretty well together. The only thing that I can envision being a problem, is finding times to "meet" online. Hopefully though, our Saturday morning meetings will be productive enough that we won't need to meet more frequently.
Well, that's all for now. More on our collaboration process to follow later.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Week 4: Website Recommendation
Doodle
This week, since our focus is collaboration, I though I would post a website that might come in handy if you are trying to set up a meeting with a group of people such as your school's English department. The website is called Doodle. This site is free and super easy to use. Basically, this site allows you to create an event, select date/time options, and send an email relaying the information to the event participants. The participants then vote on the time slots that work best for them. After they have voted, you can view a chart that highlights the best time for everyone. From there, you send one more email to your participants letting them know what date/time the meeting will take place. The best part is that all of this decision making can occur with only 2 emails! Other nice features include no required login, linking capability with other types of online calendars (i.e. Google Calendar), and mobile access (iPhone, etc.).
Check out this page for a short video on exactly how to use the site. Enjoy!
This week, since our focus is collaboration, I though I would post a website that might come in handy if you are trying to set up a meeting with a group of people such as your school's English department. The website is called Doodle. This site is free and super easy to use. Basically, this site allows you to create an event, select date/time options, and send an email relaying the information to the event participants. The participants then vote on the time slots that work best for them. After they have voted, you can view a chart that highlights the best time for everyone. From there, you send one more email to your participants letting them know what date/time the meeting will take place. The best part is that all of this decision making can occur with only 2 emails! Other nice features include no required login, linking capability with other types of online calendars (i.e. Google Calendar), and mobile access (iPhone, etc.).
Check out this page for a short video on exactly how to use the site. Enjoy!
Week 4: Collaborative Leaders
Abilock, D. (2002) Ten attributes of collaborative leaders. Knowledge Quest, 31 (2), 8-10.
Focus Quote:
"Leaders focus on horizon goals, not local crises or imminent deadlines. Many of these authors are hardcore dreamers; they have been thinking about the role of school library media specialists in teaching and learning throughout their professional careers. So, too, you have a life's work ahead." (Abilock, 2002)
The second article I selected to read this week focused on collaborative leadership. In Debbie Abilock's article "Ten attributes of collaborative leaders," she shares the collaborative attributes she has seen in the various school library leaders she has worked with on various task forces and projects. The very first attribute she highlights caught my attention right away. It is "Collaborative leaders envision the ideal and work backwards." (Abilock, 2002) She then goes on to explain this attribute by stating, "Leaders focus on horizon goals, not local crises or imminent deadlines. Many of these authors are hardcore dreamers; they have been thinking about the role of school library media specialists in teaching and learning throughout their professional careers. So, too, you have a life's work ahead." (Abilock, 2002)
This quote reminded me of two things. First, I just recently read the book Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan about the poet Pablo Neruda as a child. It is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it for anyone who likes poetry. (Plus, it recently won the Pura Belpré Author Award for 2011!) But, what I loved most about this book was how it championed the qualities of a dreamer. In the book, Neftalà (Pablo's childhood name) views the world through a lens different from that of his family and, as he grows older, learns to stand up for himself and his dreams. This ability to dream, to think outside the box, and to stand up for our dreams is an important attribute according to Abilock and I couldn't agree more. School libraries today are in a state of change and we need to be dreamers that can envision the goals we want, communicate them to others, and fight to make them reality.
The second thing that this quote reminded me of was Dr. Nancy Larsen's interview that was recently posted to our class Blackboard site. In the interview, Nancy responded to a question about how to best manage one's time by saying that when she worked in a school she focused her time on two things: teaching and learning. Like Abilocks's first attribute, Nancy advocated spending the bulk of one's time on big picture goals and then using any remaining time for other tasks. I think this is great advice especially now that the role of the school librarian is changing to become more focused on instructional support. Additionally, I believe this attribute will help administrators understand the value of employing a school librarian in the school.
I'm looking forward to being a "dreamer" and to focusing my time on teaching and learning. I know it won't always be easy, but like Abilock says I have my "life's work ahead" to achieve it.
Focus Quote:
"Leaders focus on horizon goals, not local crises or imminent deadlines. Many of these authors are hardcore dreamers; they have been thinking about the role of school library media specialists in teaching and learning throughout their professional careers. So, too, you have a life's work ahead." (Abilock, 2002)
The second article I selected to read this week focused on collaborative leadership. In Debbie Abilock's article "Ten attributes of collaborative leaders," she shares the collaborative attributes she has seen in the various school library leaders she has worked with on various task forces and projects. The very first attribute she highlights caught my attention right away. It is "Collaborative leaders envision the ideal and work backwards." (Abilock, 2002) She then goes on to explain this attribute by stating, "Leaders focus on horizon goals, not local crises or imminent deadlines. Many of these authors are hardcore dreamers; they have been thinking about the role of school library media specialists in teaching and learning throughout their professional careers. So, too, you have a life's work ahead." (Abilock, 2002)
This quote reminded me of two things. First, I just recently read the book Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan about the poet Pablo Neruda as a child. It is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it for anyone who likes poetry. (Plus, it recently won the Pura Belpré Author Award for 2011!) But, what I loved most about this book was how it championed the qualities of a dreamer. In the book, Neftalà (Pablo's childhood name) views the world through a lens different from that of his family and, as he grows older, learns to stand up for himself and his dreams. This ability to dream, to think outside the box, and to stand up for our dreams is an important attribute according to Abilock and I couldn't agree more. School libraries today are in a state of change and we need to be dreamers that can envision the goals we want, communicate them to others, and fight to make them reality.
The second thing that this quote reminded me of was Dr. Nancy Larsen's interview that was recently posted to our class Blackboard site. In the interview, Nancy responded to a question about how to best manage one's time by saying that when she worked in a school she focused her time on two things: teaching and learning. Like Abilocks's first attribute, Nancy advocated spending the bulk of one's time on big picture goals and then using any remaining time for other tasks. I think this is great advice especially now that the role of the school librarian is changing to become more focused on instructional support. Additionally, I believe this attribute will help administrators understand the value of employing a school librarian in the school.
I'm looking forward to being a "dreamer" and to focusing my time on teaching and learning. I know it won't always be easy, but like Abilock says I have my "life's work ahead" to achieve it.
Week 4: Fixed vs. Flexible Scheduling
Hurley, C. (2004). Fixed vs. Flexible scheduling in school library media centers: A continuing debate. Library Media Connection, 23 (3), 36-41.
Focus Quote:
"Johnson's article runs counter to generally accepted ideas reflected in library literature. He focuses on five arguments in favor of fixed scheduling (see sidebar on page 39), the most important of which is that "you can't teach kids you don't see." For Johnson, giving some kids great library skills (kids whose classroom teachers are open to collaborative efforts), and other kids no skills (kids whose classroom teachers are not open to such efforts) is simply not acceptable." (Hurley, 2004)
This week the focus of our class readings was collaboration. Since I am not very familiar with elementary school library practices, I decided to read the article by Christine A. Hurley on fixed and flexible scheduling. According to Hurley (2004), flexible scheduling, despite ALA/AASL support, is still widely used in many school libraries, especially those at the elementary level. Furthermore, there is still much debate among school librarians over which is the best method.
Doug Johnson, Director of Media and Technology for Mankato Public Schools, sparked this debate in October of 2001 when he wrote an article for School Library Journal titled "It's Good to Be Inflexible," in which he argued in favor of fixed scheduling. Referring to this article, Hurley states, "Johnson's article runs counter to generally accepted ideas reflected in library literature. He focuses on five arguments in favor of fixed scheduling...the most important of which is that "you can't teach kids you don't see." For Johnson, giving some kids great library skills (kids whose classroom teachers are open to collaborative efforts), and other kids no skills (kids whose classroom teachers are not open to such efforts) is simply not acceptable." (Hurley, 2004)
This quote resonated with me because it reminded me of the blog post I wrote for the first week of class on critical inquiry. In my post, I discussed how I agreed that critical inquiry should be part of library instruction, but could not foresee many teachers giving up class time for it due to the many standards they are already trying to cover within their own subjects. Now, after reading Doug's arguments, I wonder if fixed scheduling could be used to make time for critical inquiry? Plus, I do think he has a point in that we can't give skills we never see. In my own experience as a teacher, I know there were definitely some teachers who never used the library except to give their students free days to play computer games.
On the other hand, I can see the value in flexible scheduling. It does make sense that library instruction should coincide with student/teacher needs. Additionally, this flexibility gives school librarians and teachers the opportunity to collaborate before instruction occurs. One of the major complaints I hear from elementary school librarians is that they find if very difficult to find time to meet with teachers in order to collaborate because they are busy with students during the teacher's planning period.
Clearly, this is a problem that will not be going away any time soon especially given the fact that many elementary schools would have to hire more teachers in order to provide both planning time for teachers and flexible scheduling for school librarians. Hurley (2004) concludes her article with a call for more research (current findings are inconclusive) and a call for school librarians to remain open to to the idea that the real solution might be more related to library practices rather than scheduling type. This approach seems like a good idea to me, given the changing face of school libraries today.
Focus Quote:
"Johnson's article runs counter to generally accepted ideas reflected in library literature. He focuses on five arguments in favor of fixed scheduling (see sidebar on page 39), the most important of which is that "you can't teach kids you don't see." For Johnson, giving some kids great library skills (kids whose classroom teachers are open to collaborative efforts), and other kids no skills (kids whose classroom teachers are not open to such efforts) is simply not acceptable." (Hurley, 2004)
This week the focus of our class readings was collaboration. Since I am not very familiar with elementary school library practices, I decided to read the article by Christine A. Hurley on fixed and flexible scheduling. According to Hurley (2004), flexible scheduling, despite ALA/AASL support, is still widely used in many school libraries, especially those at the elementary level. Furthermore, there is still much debate among school librarians over which is the best method.
Doug Johnson, Director of Media and Technology for Mankato Public Schools, sparked this debate in October of 2001 when he wrote an article for School Library Journal titled "It's Good to Be Inflexible," in which he argued in favor of fixed scheduling. Referring to this article, Hurley states, "Johnson's article runs counter to generally accepted ideas reflected in library literature. He focuses on five arguments in favor of fixed scheduling...the most important of which is that "you can't teach kids you don't see." For Johnson, giving some kids great library skills (kids whose classroom teachers are open to collaborative efforts), and other kids no skills (kids whose classroom teachers are not open to such efforts) is simply not acceptable." (Hurley, 2004)
This quote resonated with me because it reminded me of the blog post I wrote for the first week of class on critical inquiry. In my post, I discussed how I agreed that critical inquiry should be part of library instruction, but could not foresee many teachers giving up class time for it due to the many standards they are already trying to cover within their own subjects. Now, after reading Doug's arguments, I wonder if fixed scheduling could be used to make time for critical inquiry? Plus, I do think he has a point in that we can't give skills we never see. In my own experience as a teacher, I know there were definitely some teachers who never used the library except to give their students free days to play computer games.
On the other hand, I can see the value in flexible scheduling. It does make sense that library instruction should coincide with student/teacher needs. Additionally, this flexibility gives school librarians and teachers the opportunity to collaborate before instruction occurs. One of the major complaints I hear from elementary school librarians is that they find if very difficult to find time to meet with teachers in order to collaborate because they are busy with students during the teacher's planning period.
Clearly, this is a problem that will not be going away any time soon especially given the fact that many elementary schools would have to hire more teachers in order to provide both planning time for teachers and flexible scheduling for school librarians. Hurley (2004) concludes her article with a call for more research (current findings are inconclusive) and a call for school librarians to remain open to to the idea that the real solution might be more related to library practices rather than scheduling type. This approach seems like a good idea to me, given the changing face of school libraries today.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Week 3: Collaborative Unit Pre-Planning Stage
One of the assignments that I will be working on throughout the semester is a collaborative unit project with another classmate in which one student takes on the role of teacher and another student takes on the role of a teacher librarian. The students then work together to create a unit that utilizes the skills and knowledge of both the classroom teacher and the school librarian. For my project, my partner, Nichole, will be taking on the teacher role since she is currently a high school social studies teacher and I will be taking on the teacher librarian role.
In this pre-planning stage of our collaboration, Nichole and I have discussed creating a unit that she could actually use with her high school students. This discussion led us to select Nichole's law class as the focus of our unit plan since this is her first time teaching the class and she could use new unit plans. In particular, Nichole suggested focusing the unit on court cases relating to the Bill of Rights. For example, the students could research a particular court case, analyze different points of view related to the case, and then present their position to the class.
I thought this sounded like a great idea and responded with questions about how I, the teacher librarian, might assist with the lesson. For example, I imagine I might be able to help students locate resources on their particular court case, cite their resources, and create presentations using Prezi or presentation zen techniques. I also mentioned that we should try to look at what standards, in particular, we wanted to cover in the lesson.
At the moment, I think Nichole and I are off to a good start. We have identified email and Facebook (we both use this site frequently) as our main means of communication and I have begun scouting out possible resources that I would use with the students. I'm a little worried because I'm not too familiar with law resources, but I think if I spend some time reviewing the legal resources available on the Michigan Electronic Library (MeL) website it will help me get a better understanding of what information is readily available.
In terms of past collaboration experiences, one mistake that I want to avoid is not clarifying exactly what the lesson objectives are at the beginning of the collaborative process. I think it is very easy to get distracted by other factors such as technology and forget the true focus of the lesson. To make sure I don't repeat this mistake, I will try to work with Nichole to nail down our lesson objectives early on and to refer back to those objectives frequently as we decide on other elements of the unit.
Finally, the next step in our project, I think, will be to gather our resources (standards, textbook, list of possible databases/websites) and chat online to flesh out our ideas of what exactly we want the students to do. From there, I think we will be ready to start dividing up responsibilities and preparing materials to put on the class wiki.
In this pre-planning stage of our collaboration, Nichole and I have discussed creating a unit that she could actually use with her high school students. This discussion led us to select Nichole's law class as the focus of our unit plan since this is her first time teaching the class and she could use new unit plans. In particular, Nichole suggested focusing the unit on court cases relating to the Bill of Rights. For example, the students could research a particular court case, analyze different points of view related to the case, and then present their position to the class.
I thought this sounded like a great idea and responded with questions about how I, the teacher librarian, might assist with the lesson. For example, I imagine I might be able to help students locate resources on their particular court case, cite their resources, and create presentations using Prezi or presentation zen techniques. I also mentioned that we should try to look at what standards, in particular, we wanted to cover in the lesson.
At the moment, I think Nichole and I are off to a good start. We have identified email and Facebook (we both use this site frequently) as our main means of communication and I have begun scouting out possible resources that I would use with the students. I'm a little worried because I'm not too familiar with law resources, but I think if I spend some time reviewing the legal resources available on the Michigan Electronic Library (MeL) website it will help me get a better understanding of what information is readily available.
In terms of past collaboration experiences, one mistake that I want to avoid is not clarifying exactly what the lesson objectives are at the beginning of the collaborative process. I think it is very easy to get distracted by other factors such as technology and forget the true focus of the lesson. To make sure I don't repeat this mistake, I will try to work with Nichole to nail down our lesson objectives early on and to refer back to those objectives frequently as we decide on other elements of the unit.
Finally, the next step in our project, I think, will be to gather our resources (standards, textbook, list of possible databases/websites) and chat online to flesh out our ideas of what exactly we want the students to do. From there, I think we will be ready to start dividing up responsibilities and preparing materials to put on the class wiki.
Week 3: Website Recommendation
Google for Educators
The Google for Educators website is a good place to visit if you are looking for tools, posters, and activities that relate to web searching or Google applications. (It would be especially useful for teachers at schools that have Google Apps for Education.) The site also has information on the Google Teacher Academy and hosts a teacher community page for teacher discussions.
Given the information and media literacy focus of our readings this week, there was one page within this site that I found particularly relevant and that was the Digital Literacy Tour page. Basically, this page provides a short curriculum for teachers to use when teaching digital literacy. This mini curriculum contains three workshops: Detecting Lies & Staying True, Playing and Staying Safe Online, Steering Clear of Cyber Tricks. Within each workshop, Google supplies a short animated video on the topic, an instructor's guidebook, a variety of student handouts, and a presentation to accompany the lesson. One nice aspect of these lessons is that they list which standards they address using the ALA Information Power Standards, the C3 Digital Literacy Skills, and the NETS. I also liked that the videos were short, simple, and entertaining. I would definitely recommend this site to anyone (especially those teaching elementary or middle school students) looking for ideas on how to teach a lesson on cybersafety or website evaluation.
The Google for Educators website is a good place to visit if you are looking for tools, posters, and activities that relate to web searching or Google applications. (It would be especially useful for teachers at schools that have Google Apps for Education.) The site also has information on the Google Teacher Academy and hosts a teacher community page for teacher discussions.
Given the information and media literacy focus of our readings this week, there was one page within this site that I found particularly relevant and that was the Digital Literacy Tour page. Basically, this page provides a short curriculum for teachers to use when teaching digital literacy. This mini curriculum contains three workshops: Detecting Lies & Staying True, Playing and Staying Safe Online, Steering Clear of Cyber Tricks. Within each workshop, Google supplies a short animated video on the topic, an instructor's guidebook, a variety of student handouts, and a presentation to accompany the lesson. One nice aspect of these lessons is that they list which standards they address using the ALA Information Power Standards, the C3 Digital Literacy Skills, and the NETS. I also liked that the videos were short, simple, and entertaining. I would definitely recommend this site to anyone (especially those teaching elementary or middle school students) looking for ideas on how to teach a lesson on cybersafety or website evaluation.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Week 3: Media and Information Literacy
Callison, D. and Preddy, L. (2006). The blue book on information age inquiry, instruction, and literacy. Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited.
This week our class readings dealt with 21st century learners and literacies. The reading I selected to read was a chapter from Callison and Preddy's book titled "Information Literacy, Media Literacy, and Information Fluency." Within the chapter, the authors define each concept and provide practical ways to teach it, which I found very useful because I have to admit there are so many buzzwords related to literacy today that they all seem to be merging together in my brain.
This week our class readings dealt with 21st century learners and literacies. The reading I selected to read was a chapter from Callison and Preddy's book titled "Information Literacy, Media Literacy, and Information Fluency." Within the chapter, the authors define each concept and provide practical ways to teach it, which I found very useful because I have to admit there are so many buzzwords related to literacy today that they all seem to be merging together in my brain.
Of all of the concepts discussed in this chapter, what struck me the most was probably the section on media literacy. In particular, I liked the author's inclusion of the Ontario Ministry of Education's 1989 description of what a media literate person should know. In this description, the first bullet point stated the following:
"All media are constructs. Although media appear to be a natural reflection of reality, rather they are a carefully constructed presentation of reality that reflects an intended message or point of view." (Callison & Preddy 2006)
When I read this description, I immediately thought of what happened just this past summer with the whole Shirley Sherrod fiasco in which government officials essentially fired or encouraged Shirley to step down from her position within the Department of Agriculture due to a video that was edited to make her appear unwilling to assist white farmers. I wonder if the people responsible for her resignation ever had someone, such as a school librarian, teach them about media literacy during their education?
Clearly, a lack of understanding about media and information literacy is a problem today for people of all ages, but unfortunately it is a concept that it isn't receiving much attention in schools. According to Callison and Preddy, "A few more aggressive schools, often in an 'alternative' setting, have pushed media and information literacy to the forefront of the curriculum rather than see these literacies as add-ons. " I know that when I was teaching, I certainly did not make time for these literacies mostly because I was unaware of them and because I was too busy focusing on my own curriculum. As a school librarian, I will definitely have to make a point of educating my staff and working these literacies into the school curriculum.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Week 2: Thoughts on Critical Inquiry
Johnson, K. K. (2007). Critical inquiry: Library media specialists as change agents. School Library Monthly, 23(9), 42. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/237137765?accountid=14925
In this article, the author discusses how school librarians, with their unique role as supporters of the school curriculum, have the ability to practice critical inquiry. According to the author, critical inquiry involves the school librarian encouraging students to take inquiry to another level by asking them to consider the social and cultural issues surrounding their topic. Simply put, it means teaching students to question their questions. From there, the school librarian may even be able to help students identify possible solutions and take steps towards achieving them thereby acting as an agent of change. Finally, the author asserts that by becoming change agents school librarians will make themselves more valuable in the eyes of the school community.
One of the aspects of this approach to inquiry that I particularly like is the idea that we need to shift our thinking towards students. Rather than viewing them as passive receivers of information, this approach calls on students to be active participants and for the school librarian to more of a facilitator of learning. As Johnson puts it, “Instead of thinking of students strictly as receivers of information, students become teachers who are capable of raising important questions and investigating real life concerns and, in turn, educate their community.” (Johnson 2007) This view is in alignment with what I consider to be 21st century learning and, as 21st century librarians, it is a view I feel we should support whenever possible if we are to remain necessary within schools.
On the downside, I fear this type of inquiry would be difficult to implement in schools at present. Most of the teachers I work with feel overwhelmed with the number of standards they are required to teach and pressured to make sure their students do well on standardized tests. While lessons involving critical inquiry would be great, they also appear to be time consuming and few teachers are willing to lose out on time that could be spent covering their own curriculum. That being said, I could see some schools, particularly high schools where students sometimes have more room in their schedules for electives, instituting a graduating requirement or senior seminar class that required students to select and work on an individual project aimed at improving some aspect of their community. A school librarian could be very instrumental in helping students in such a class practice the type of critical inquiry proposed in this article.
In this article, the author discusses how school librarians, with their unique role as supporters of the school curriculum, have the ability to practice critical inquiry. According to the author, critical inquiry involves the school librarian encouraging students to take inquiry to another level by asking them to consider the social and cultural issues surrounding their topic. Simply put, it means teaching students to question their questions. From there, the school librarian may even be able to help students identify possible solutions and take steps towards achieving them thereby acting as an agent of change. Finally, the author asserts that by becoming change agents school librarians will make themselves more valuable in the eyes of the school community.
One of the aspects of this approach to inquiry that I particularly like is the idea that we need to shift our thinking towards students. Rather than viewing them as passive receivers of information, this approach calls on students to be active participants and for the school librarian to more of a facilitator of learning. As Johnson puts it, “Instead of thinking of students strictly as receivers of information, students become teachers who are capable of raising important questions and investigating real life concerns and, in turn, educate their community.” (Johnson 2007) This view is in alignment with what I consider to be 21st century learning and, as 21st century librarians, it is a view I feel we should support whenever possible if we are to remain necessary within schools.
On the downside, I fear this type of inquiry would be difficult to implement in schools at present. Most of the teachers I work with feel overwhelmed with the number of standards they are required to teach and pressured to make sure their students do well on standardized tests. While lessons involving critical inquiry would be great, they also appear to be time consuming and few teachers are willing to lose out on time that could be spent covering their own curriculum. That being said, I could see some schools, particularly high schools where students sometimes have more room in their schedules for electives, instituting a graduating requirement or senior seminar class that required students to select and work on an individual project aimed at improving some aspect of their community. A school librarian could be very instrumental in helping students in such a class practice the type of critical inquiry proposed in this article.
Week 2: Website Recommendation
New Tools Workshop Wiki
This wiki on new tools for school librarians was put together by Joyce Valenza, a school library media specialist in Pennsylvania and author of the NeverEndingSearch blog. The number of great resources in this one wiki is amazing, almost to the point that it is overwhelming. Examples of some of the resources that can be found here include explanations and/or links related to QR codes, Twitter, iphone apps, digital storytelling, screen capture, Skype and many more. If you are ever want to experiment with some new technology, this is definitely a great place to start.
In terms of our readings for this week, this wiki is a good fit because it reflects how the role of the school librarian has changed in terms of technology. In the past, the school librarian might have been called on to fix technology problems. Today, while some fixing still does occur, the school librarian's main technology focus is how to use technology to improve library services and classroom instruction.
Lastly, one of my favorite pages within this wiki is the page titled, "You Know You're a 21st Century Librarian If...". Basically, Valenza has created a manifesto for current and future librarians that elaborates just what a 21st century school librarian should look like and it seems to reinforce most of what we read this past week. I know this is the kind of librarian I want to be and when potential employers ask about my philosophy of teaching I will definitely be pointing them to this website.
Week 2: The Instructional Role of the Library Media Specialist
Hello again! This week the focus of my posts will be on the role of the library media specialist. To examine this role, I have selected two readings from our course folder that I will reflect upon. Today I will be discussing a chapter titled “Foundations of the Library Media Specialist’s Instructional Role” from Callison and Preddy’s book The blue book on information age inquiry, instruction, and literacy.
In this chapter, the authors describe how the role of the library media specialist has developed and changed over the years. One section of the chapter, in particular, caught my attention and that was the one that discussed Kathleen Craver’s 1986 literature review on change in the instructional role of media specialists. According to Callison and Preddy (2006), Craver believed that it would take two to three decades before the instructional role of media specialists envisioned in what was then the latest standards would be visible in actual practice - meaning they should be visible today. Callison and Preddy, affirm this belief by writing, “While one can find excellent examples of school media specialists who have given tremendous amounts of time and energy to retooling for the challenges of the Information Age, the full evolution to instructional media specialist over the next decade rests more with attitudes and skills held by those who are entering the schools as teachers of library media and information technologies now.” (2006 Callison, p. 137)
As a student, who that recently entered a school to become a school library media specialist, I must say that this is both an exciting and frightening time to be entering the library profession. It is exciting in the sense that the way we read and access information is changing dramatically. Overall, I think these changes can be good for libraries, but here’s the scary part: it means changing our conceptions of reading, education, school libraries, and media specialists. And that’s a lot to change. What also worries me is the lack of new media specialists in schools today due to the recent economic downturn or the failure of school administrators to see the value of library media specialists. Bringing about Craver’s “full evolution” appears difficult when many schools are not hiring certified media specialists and therefore fewer students are pursuing the degree.
I am not without hope, however, and agree with Callison and Preddy’s recipe for change. They believe, “Fresh ideas, combined with new technology skills and successful teaching experiences seem to be the right mix, but the next decade is critical to the long-range future of those who want to expand the role of the school library media specialist as a teacher of information literacy.” (2006 Callison & Preddy, p. 137) There are definitely some great media specialists in the field right now that are, I believe, nudging the profession in the right direction. Hopefully, my generation of school librarians does have the right “mix” and will continue to promoting this updated role, but I also think that a lot will depend on how well we can convince other educational stakeholders of this change. It does us little good if we are the only ones aware of this change.
Callison, D. and Preddy, L. (2006). The blue book on information age inquiry, instruction, and literacy. Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited.
In this chapter, the authors describe how the role of the library media specialist has developed and changed over the years. One section of the chapter, in particular, caught my attention and that was the one that discussed Kathleen Craver’s 1986 literature review on change in the instructional role of media specialists. According to Callison and Preddy (2006), Craver believed that it would take two to three decades before the instructional role of media specialists envisioned in what was then the latest standards would be visible in actual practice - meaning they should be visible today. Callison and Preddy, affirm this belief by writing, “While one can find excellent examples of school media specialists who have given tremendous amounts of time and energy to retooling for the challenges of the Information Age, the full evolution to instructional media specialist over the next decade rests more with attitudes and skills held by those who are entering the schools as teachers of library media and information technologies now.” (2006 Callison, p. 137)
As a student, who that recently entered a school to become a school library media specialist, I must say that this is both an exciting and frightening time to be entering the library profession. It is exciting in the sense that the way we read and access information is changing dramatically. Overall, I think these changes can be good for libraries, but here’s the scary part: it means changing our conceptions of reading, education, school libraries, and media specialists. And that’s a lot to change. What also worries me is the lack of new media specialists in schools today due to the recent economic downturn or the failure of school administrators to see the value of library media specialists. Bringing about Craver’s “full evolution” appears difficult when many schools are not hiring certified media specialists and therefore fewer students are pursuing the degree.
I am not without hope, however, and agree with Callison and Preddy’s recipe for change. They believe, “Fresh ideas, combined with new technology skills and successful teaching experiences seem to be the right mix, but the next decade is critical to the long-range future of those who want to expand the role of the school library media specialist as a teacher of information literacy.” (2006 Callison & Preddy, p. 137) There are definitely some great media specialists in the field right now that are, I believe, nudging the profession in the right direction. Hopefully, my generation of school librarians does have the right “mix” and will continue to promoting this updated role, but I also think that a lot will depend on how well we can convince other educational stakeholders of this change. It does us little good if we are the only ones aware of this change.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Hello World!
My name is Mari and welcome to my blog "BiblioTECHaria." Now you might be wondering..."What kind of title is that? Well, it was actually my husband's idea. You see, I taught high school Spanish for several years before deciding that what I really wanted to do with my life was work as a school librarian. So I enrolled in the Library Science program at Wayne State University and here I am nearly two years later. The word "bibliotecario/a" is the Spanish word for "librarian." My husband, who happens to be an English teacher and good at coming up with witty sayings, suggested I add the "h" to form the word "tech" inside the original word and the idea grew on me. What I like about "BiblioTECHaria" is that it represents my transition from a Spanish teacher to a school librarian and my view of what a school librarian's role in a school should be, which is someone with expertise in teaching, information literacy, youth/young adult literature, and technology. (More on the role of the school librarians to follow later.)
So, why I am blogging? Well, the main reason is that it is required as part of a class I'm taking - LIS 7320: The Media Specialist as Teacher and Instructional Consultant. Aside from the fact that it's a requirement, I do believe reflection is an important part of being a good teacher and I am interested in becoming a more active participant in professional conversations regarding school libraries.
So, what will you find in this blog? Primarily, I will be writing weekly blog posts in response to class readings, but I will also be including some posts on how my collaborative unit project is progressing. (This is a unit I will be doing with another class member and will simulate the process of a school librarian and classroom teacher working together.) Additionally, I will be posting evaluations of websites that relate to topics we are discussing in class.
Lastly, I want to make it clear to everyone that I am a novice blogger. Although I read many blogs, this is my first attempt at blogging and I will definitely be learning as I go. As such, I will gladly welcome any suggestions/comments on how to improve my blog.
So, thanks for visiting and stay tuned for more posts!
So, why I am blogging? Well, the main reason is that it is required as part of a class I'm taking - LIS 7320: The Media Specialist as Teacher and Instructional Consultant. Aside from the fact that it's a requirement, I do believe reflection is an important part of being a good teacher and I am interested in becoming a more active participant in professional conversations regarding school libraries.
So, what will you find in this blog? Primarily, I will be writing weekly blog posts in response to class readings, but I will also be including some posts on how my collaborative unit project is progressing. (This is a unit I will be doing with another class member and will simulate the process of a school librarian and classroom teacher working together.) Additionally, I will be posting evaluations of websites that relate to topics we are discussing in class.
Lastly, I want to make it clear to everyone that I am a novice blogger. Although I read many blogs, this is my first attempt at blogging and I will definitely be learning as I go. As such, I will gladly welcome any suggestions/comments on how to improve my blog.
So, thanks for visiting and stay tuned for more posts!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)