Survival of the Species...

When I tell people that I am getting my Master’s in Library and Information Science to become a school librarian, I usually get one of three responses. Some people (sadly a minority, it seems) are enthusiastic because of their own love of libraries, books, or a particular librarian. However, the two most common responses are first to state with amazement, “I didn’t know you needed a Master’s to do that!,” and then to question whether it is a field worth going into at this point in time (“Aren’t libraries becoming obsolete?”). The first misconception about the degree requirement is just a sign that people really have no idea of all that librarians do—which is why they think that libraries are becoming obsolete. Rarely do I have the opportunity to respond to these folks in the way that I would really like—I just smile and say something polite, like, “I hope not.”  

However, after enough people raise this question, should I begin to question it myself? After years of searching for my ideal career, now that I think I have found it, in the words of the Grail knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, did I choose poorly? I do not think so. We have disproven this question of obsolescence repeatedly this semester. Libraries and librarians in general still have much to offer patrons and communities in terms of free access to technology and information. Teacher librarians are perhaps even more important in that they are helping to mold the next generation of learners—the students of the 21^st century, who will need to know and understand more about technology over the course of their lives than any previous generation. The teacher librarian is the guide to information and technology not only for the students, but also the other teachers in the school. In addition to this, the readings about the Learning Commons this week offer another way that libraries are evolving to remain a central part of the school learning environment by offering a new viable space for collaborative and creative learning to take place.

Perhaps I am being overly optimistic, but I do not think libraries will become obsolete as long as librarians remain willing to constantly reinvent themselves and their libraries in order to adapt. 

A Mind Distracted...

I struggled as I tried to think of topics for my blog this week, which has not been a problem all semester. In general, something in the readings or in the discussion has sparked another thought and I have been able to write out my thoughts very quickly and easily. This week, however, I am distracted. Part of this is I have been focusing most of my school-related energy on completing my presentation before Sunday night. And part of my distraction is that I am scheduled to deliver my second child via c-section on Monday morning. Truly, I have had trouble thinking of much besides this for the past couple of weeks. Anyway, since this is where my mind is, I figured I would go with it, and hope to get back on track with a more appropriate topic in my next blog.
So much has changed about education since I was a high school and even a college student myself. The Internet was a "new" thing when I entered college in the nineties--the dorms at my school had only been wired for Internet use in every room in the previous year or two before I arrived. And yes, there were still wires then. How quickly everything changed and continues to change. Even some of the information in the articles about podcasting that we read this week already seemed "old" compared to the way things are today.
Since I am thinking so much about my new baby and how life will change for me, my husband, and my daughter right now, it has me pondering how much more education is going to change and grow while my children themselves are changing and growing.
It is exciting to think of all the "new" technologies we already have the opportunity to share with our students, and exciting to look ahead and wonder what else is coming.

Copyright Revisited

The article we read this week by Doug Johnson, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bag [Copyright]?" was interesting to me as another opinion about how to handle the teaching of copyright and fair use in schools. We have now read a number of articles about this for class and it seems to me they each fall into one of two categories: either the articles recommend that teachers err on the side of caution, or they recommend that teachers assume a use is legal, unless there are explicit rules stating otherwise. In other words, these articles all seem to represent two extremes. Go for it! or Don't go for it! The Johnson article is certainly a member of the "Go for it!" camp. In fact, he states that it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

A lot of what he says makes sense to me, though there are other points he makes that I find less impressive. For example, he basically says that many definitely illegal uses of media (showing movies as rewards, etc) are so common that if librarians try and stop them it just makes the librarians look like martinets. This may be true, and no one wants to become unpopular as a "tattler," but it seems like a slippery-slope to me. The more things that we overlook, the more boundaries will be pushed. Also, if we willfully overlook certain misuses, how can we enforce misuses by students, or accurately teach them the law? His point about the importance of increasing student understanding of copyright was one of the ideas I definitely agreed with--especially that students need to be able to articulate why a use is fair if a copyrighted work is used in a project or paper. However, we cannot tell students one thing and then turn around and do something else ourselves (especially right in front of them) or we are sending a very mixed message.

Again, as with most articles I have read about copyright laws in schools, I am left with a feeling that of the two extreme viewpoints, neither is wholly right. Johnson says that comfort level should be the deciding factor, and on some level I am agreeing with him. As an information specialist, I am most comfortable when I am well-armed with knowledge. I think the real issue is that there needs to be more education about the law as early as possible, so that teachers do not have to "blindly" decide if a use is okay or not, but are able to make a truly informed decision.

Presentation Preferences

After watching the presentations for the K-12 Online Conference, commenting on the discussion board, and then reading my classmates' comments, one thing that became very obvious is that though there may be effective and ineffective presentation techniques, a good presentation is somewhat in the eye of the beholder.

Clearly the presenters for the conference hold a wide range of viewpoints on how to make a presentation and as a class, we have different ideas about what constitutes a good presentation. I, myself, prefer a simple, straightforward presentation style. I would rather listen to a clearly-written, informative script alongside supportive text-based slides, or descriptive images than watch a lot of images with music, but little talking (and little information). In short, when I attend or view a presentation, I am not looking for the same experience I might seek at the movie theater. I am looking to learn something, not be entertained.

This being said, I actually think one of the largest determinants of whether or not I do enjoy a presentation is whether I am initially interested in the topic. If I am already interested in a topic, I am somewhat predisposed to like a presentation about it and will therefore forgive some faults in the presentation method. On the other hand, if I am decidedly not interested in a topic, it takes a superb presentation to win me over.

The presentations we watched for the K-12 Online conference were all about topics that initially I was only "mildly" interested in, which is to say, they were not topics about which I, myself, am passionate about. Therefore, I felt that I was truly able to view the presentations with an open mind and take note of effective and ineffective presentation methods and styles. As a result, I thought that it was an effective way to learn what I look for in a presentation and begin to plan what elements I want to include in my own.

Juggling Spheres of Knowledge

In reading the articles about TPACK this week, one phrase that really stood out to me was from the Linton article: “Implementation of the TPACK model begins with content knowledge…” This statement struck me because, in my mind, this seems obvious. I think all teaching should begin with content knowledge. Without content, the rest of the teaching process would of course be hollow. On the other hand, content by itself is not enough. Content needs to be presented in such a way that students will actually learn it. This is the challenge of teaching.

The PCK model creates a visual representation of this interplay between individual knowledge of something and the ability to pass this knowledge onto others. I think it also highlights that teaching is more complex than many people deem it to be. I think that a lot of people consider teaching to be a simple task of passing along information, without considering just how difficult that “simple task” actually is. There are many people in the world who know a lot; who hold a lot of content in their heads. However, only a very small number of these people are able to teach. Teaching is a skill that is part natural inclination or ability and part skill acquired through years of training and practice. In fact, I would argue that no matter the natural talent of the teacher, the training and practice part of teaching skills are the most important. More than that, this part of being a teacher is (or should be) constant: a teacher should always be learning how to become a better teacher by learning new content and discovering new methods for delivering that content.  

The addition of technology to the model to create the TPACK model adds another level of complexity to the skill (or art) of teaching. As is discussed in the McGrath article, modern technology, by its very nature, is constantly evolving, so keeping abreast of using it requires continually learning and relearning how to use it. Therefore, as I see it, being an excellent teacher requires the ability to successfully juggle three constantly growing and changing balls (or spheres of knowledge). If one sphere is dropped, then the juggling is not successful. Perhaps this metaphor is a bit forced, but my point is simply to reiterate what our articles this week stated, that in today's school, technology needs to be viewed as a standard component of teaching and needs to taught and retaught to teachers, so that they can implement it properly in their classrooms. 

Digital Role Modeling

As I completed the readings about digital citizenship this week, of course they made me consider my own online behavior. Frankly, I am boring when it comes to my own use of the Internet and my computer. In fact, I may just be boring in general, but that is a consideration for an entirely different blog! I use my computer and the Internet mainly for school, to communicate with friends and family, to purchase items (also mostly dull), and to seek information that interests me (mostly related to pregnancy stuff right now--my baby weighs as much as a cantaloupe and the like).My use of Facebook, for example, does not follow the trend of many of my friends, which is to post mainly politically-oriented cartoons/memes that are usually jibes at the opposite political viewpoint, or to post inane cartoons/images that are just making fun of something, someone, or are just plain goofy. I never click on any items in Facebook because I am aware that sometimes things show up that were never really posted by a person, and they can lead to viruses or porn sites, or whatever. At least, that is what I think. If I truly am interested in a link, I cut and paste it to a new window, or I search for the item in Google to get to it. I guess I am paranoid because I had my email, Facebook, and Twitter accounts hijacked a few years ago and I do not want that to happen again.

I am writing this somewhat stream-of-consciousness post to show that even someone as boring as I am really needed more training in smart, responsible use of the Internet--or at least more reminding of how to act when using the Internet. I got lazy, and did not change my passwords as I should have. There are also still aspects of Internet usage that I do not know fully about. If this is the case for me, how much more true it must be for students. At least I know enough about the possible dangers to be paranoid and do my best to keep safe--young people are not that jaded yet, they need our help to learn how to be safe.

I think my use of the Internet and social media, while perhaps dull, sets a generally good example for my daughter. As she gets older, I will be more open with her about why I do things the way I do. Unfortunately, what I see a lot of my peers doing are things that I do not consider to be setting a good example. The constant use of Facebook as a forum for politcal slander and to mock people in various ways just seems like it is condoning the type of bullying and abuse that we read about in our articles. There needs to be a way to show our students and our children that the Internet is a powerful tool that should not be used only to make jokes at the expense of others; one that needs to be used carefully and responsibly. That being said, I think one of the best ways to teach them is to be better role models.  Afterall, we need to make the effort to learn how to be good digital citizens before we can teach others.

Righting Copyright Wrongs-Is it our responsibility?

The two topics which sparked the most thoughts for me this week were the suggestions for creating school library websites and the copyright laws for audiovisual material use in schools. Since the school library website topic was covered in depth on the discussion board, I have decided to focus on the copyright issue. It is truly astounding how tight the copyright rules are regarding audiovisual material use in schools, but really more astounding how loose attitudes are towards breaking the rules. Simpson’s list of illegal scenarios was impressive, because I have been a part of most of them—right down to the specific situation in which a band teacher played Mr. Holland’s Opus for my high school band as we rode to a band competition!  I also was familiar with the problem after speaking to my mentor last fall during my field experience. She explained that there had been multiple times when she tried to persuade teachers (or even the principal or superintendent) that showing movies in certain situations was breaking the copyright laws. They willfully ignored her information and said they thought it was ok because they were not going to charge admission—again, an example straight out of the Simpson chapter.

I really think the problem comes down to lack of education about the law for educators. I have now been exposed to copyright laws in three of my classes in this program, and expect that the issue will come up again and again. How often is this issue broached in other education courses, however? During our discussion last week, it was noted that school librarians are the only people in the school with any copyright or fair use training and so they are expected to police the school. That sounds a great idea, but what librarian is going to feel comfortable chastising a fellow teacher, or worse yet, tattling on them to an administrator? And if the administrator decides to ignore the infringement, what then can a librarian do—she is not going to tattle to the authorities and bring a lawsuit down on the school.

I guess it just all got me thinking about the challenges I will face regarding copyright laws as part of this career. Not only will I need to be constantly aware of my own uses of items, but I may be faced with situations that are very personally uncomfortable because of other teachers’ misuses, whether by accident or on purpose. What will I be able to do about it? Or, should I do anything about it? What is the responsibilty of the school librarian in situations when she knows copyright is being violated?

As I said in one of my discussion board posts last week, I suppose I will have to handle it by having all the necessary information at hand in the library to support teachers when they come looking for copyright law help. I can hope that I will never face a complicated scenario in which I feel a teacher is willfully ignoring my information and my suggestions for how to remain within the law, but based on the Simpson chapter, that seems unlikely. Does it scare me a little to think about facing some of these situations? Yes. But, it also makes me realize that this is another reason trained librarians are so necessary in the school setting, which just makes me want to learn as much as I can, gather my information around me and prepare to meet these challenges head on.

Earning Credibility Credit

There was line from our readings that stood out to me more than all others in the Katrine Watkins & Katherine Elder article, “The Google Game.” In the final paragraph of the article, the authors state that not only were students better at searching Google after playing the game, but that “teaching this lesson has earned [them] increased credibility.” Now, when [they] recommend a book or subscription database as the best place to start researching, our students actually listen to [their] advice.” 

I thought this sentence spoke volumes about the student-teacher relationship. We perhaps think that we automatically have credibility with students because we are teachers—we went to school to be able to stand in front of them (or next to them) and give them information. However, the truth is that students (especially teenagers) will not really listen unless we speak their language. I do not mean that we should try and learn whatever slang is current—definitely not! Rather we should try our best to approach lessons from a viewpoint that will be familiar and accessible for students.

For most young people, Google is their first language when it comes to information. Therefore, before we can teach them other languages and direct them into other research areas and other databases, perhaps it is best to start with their comfort zone. As Watkins and Elder discover, learning successful searching in the familiar confines of Google will hopefully encourage students and tune them into the librarian language, so that they will be able and more willing to expand their newfound searching skills into library databases or books.

References

Watkins, Katrine. “The Google Game”.  School Library Journal (January 2006) 52-54. 

The Road to Hell is Paved with Discarded Organizational Tools

The Berger/Trexler chapter for this week made me think a lot about how I would try and teach students to be more organized.  And how difficult I think it actually is to teach or enforce organizational skills.

The initial description of the student arriving early at school to so diligently check his Start page was so unrealistic that I thought I would have trouble accepting the ideas in the remainder of the chapter. Really, the ideas and tools presented in the chapter are very useful and should, in theory, be very practical and helpful for students, teachers, or really any person trying to keep track of research, projects or events in her life. In fact, I have personally used many of the described tools (or similar ones) either on my own, for school, or as part of a collaborative team at my former office. Though I am in general a huge proponent of organizational methods, and rather like Toad in my love of (and need for) making lists, I have unfortunately found that most people cannot use the tools effectively, especially as part of a group situation.

As an example, I was the production or project manager at a small publishing services company for six years before I entered this program. At my company, we sometimes had hundreds of books to keep track of, and each book had about twenty steps to be completed before we were done with it. It was my job to create a production plan, and ensure that every person in the office knew what he or she was to be working on at any given moment to get everything done on time. We tried many different project management systems, but never hit on one that worked better than a simple to-do list sent every morning by me. The problem always seemed to be that maintaining the organizational tool became another job that took time away from the tasks that needed to be completed, so no matter the good intentions at the start, the organizational tool always fell by the wayside. 

I think what it boils down to is that being organized is a highly personalized skill. Everyone has their own system. Some people are lucky enough that one of these online tools may fit in nicely with their own system, but many may find that creating and attempting to maintain the organizational scheme or tool is as much or more work as the project being organized. 

That all being said, I do believe that as a teacher librarian trying to create information literate students, it will be part of my job to teach organizational skills, because they are extremely important for research in school and for life beyond school. Therefore, I value the suggestions made in the chapter and plan to evaluate (or reevaluate) many of the tools personally so that I can share them with students to help them find the tools that work best for them. This is actually one reason why I like the idea of a wiki or a blog for a classroom collaborative/organizational tool—the class could create it together and tailor it to fit the needs of the group, but then continue adjusting it as needed so that it continues to be useful and does not become just another chore.  

A Shy Students Speaks (Writes) Up

I have a confession to make. Throughout my life I was a top student who did all the work, read all the readings, usually aced all the tests, but to whom teachers always said, “I wish you would speak up in class, Malinda.” I was (and am) shy. Shy, perhaps, does not exactly explain my particular issue. I am absolutely terrified of looking stupid. My brothers have a favorite topic of (wishful) conversation concerning a “life highlight reel.” Anytime something particularly wonderful happens they add it to their reel. When I look back over my life, the moments that stand out most in my mind are those moments where I felt that I made myself (in my eyes) look stupid. It is not even a comic bloopers reel, but rather those horrible moments when I know I did not make the right decision, or do the best I could do, because of course I was always supposed to be perfect. Ironically, at least one of my moments was a time in class when I could not get the nerve to give my professor the answer I knew he wanted.

Graduate school, teaching, some conference presentations finally helped cure me of much of my fear of speaking aloud. Don’t get me wrong, I still perspire and get shaky when I raise my hand or voice my opinion, but at least I can do it now. That being said, I wish there had been an online classroom format like a blog or a wiki for me when I was younger. One of the key reasons I would try and incorporate blogs or wikis into my own classroom would be for the students, like me, who fear to speak without first editing. Richardson makes this point as well, and he adds that this enriches the class learning experience, because “everyone has a voice in the conversation.” That was what my teachers always told me—the rest of the class would benefit from hearing what you have to say. I could not help myself, but hopefully as a teacher, I can help my own students recognize the value of their ideas and how important they are to the class conversation. 

Understated Assistance

                The readings this week introduced the concepts of universal design and universal design for learning and also provided some practical ways to locate and utilize technology in order to benefit all students. The information about where to find apps, software, and devices will be extremely important as I move forward in my career as a school librarian. 

                However, as I reflected on the readings, one of the thoughts that kept occurring to me was simply related to the terminology being used. The devices intended to aid students with disabilities are called assistive devices or assistive technology, but to me these terms seem like gross understatements considering the doors the devices can open for these students. After all, what is all technology, but assistive? We are so immersed in technology and surrounded by devices that assist us in our daily tasks that sometimes it is easy to forget just how hard things would be for all of us without this help.

                Also, as our articles point out, utilizing technology correctly in the classroom means that all students should benefit, not only those students with disabilities. Finally, more than being just assistive, the devices that help students with disabilities are equalizing, confidence-building, and integrative. They allow disabled students to compete on equal footing with their peers. They help the students prove that their disability does not mean they are not as capable as other students and therefore help them to succeed, not only in school, but throughout their lives.

Back to School Nerves

I have always loved "back to school" season. Don't get me wrong--I never liked bidding farewell to summer and all of its freedoms and fun, but I have always loved being a student. Plus, for me, going back to school also meant reunions with friends, the possibilities of new relationaships and experiences, and the return of the fall sports season. (I played soccer, and am a Notre Dame alum--"GO IRISH!").

This semester, I find myself excited as usual, but my normal excitement is tempered with a healthy dose of trepidation, because I am pregnant and only two months away from welcoming my second child into the world. My pregnancy weighs heavily on me--both physically and mentally--and I hope to be able to balance everything and still maintain my high standards as a student, complete my responsibilities to my home and family, and stay healthy.

New challenges and experiences were always part of what I liked about going back to school, so I will meet this as I would any challenge and hopefully greet success (along with a new baby) at the end of the semester.