Laundry list of ideas to try for your school library June 28, 2006
Posted by pmoser in : ALA2006 , 2 commentsI’m sitting in the New Orleans airport along with about 100 other school librarians waiting for my late plan to arrive so we can fly back to destinations in the northeast which is being inundated with plane-delaying rains. The airport wireless signal is too low to continue checking my email or trying to understand Web 3.0’s “Second Life,” so why not blog? I pulled out my conference notebook and decided to write up the ideas I got at the conference that I hope to try or explore later this year. In no particular order, here they are:
Elephant on a trampoline: Find the video David Warlick showed at the start of his talk on flat worlds of an elephant jumping on a trampoline and show it to my principal as a metaphor for getting some of our faculty to think in a new way. Might be a great thing to show at the first faculty meeting when we return to school in September.
Wiki for library instruction: I liked Warlick’s explanation of a history teacher who had students create their own study guide for upcoming tests which would then be used by students the following year and improved upon. I want to play with how I might be able to use this with information literacy instruction. What about a little cooperative learning using a wiki? I could ask a tech savvy history teacher to assign each of his students to practice using one of our databases and write up helpful hints on a wiki I create. Students would then come to class in the library, read another’s wiki, try their tips, and then add their own. The next semester we can improve upon the first wiki. I want to experiment with this with at least one class this semester and compare it to my traditional way of teaching about the databases.
Technorati and tag clouds: Explore the Technorati (http://www.technorati.com/)web site and learn to use it for checking on topics in blogs. Learn more about tag clouds.
“School Library” on Wikipedia: I’m told the entry for “school library” on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_library) is not very flattering. I haven’t had a chance to look it up yet but want to remember to read it, perhaps with a good stiff drink in my hand.
“The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life”: A book by Richard Florida that says there will be more jobs available in the creative areas than in the science and technology areas. This would confirm the information in “A Whole New Mind” by Daniel Pink and would really be an interesting discussion to have with our head of school and Arts Department.
Mashups: Try using BuzzTracker.org (http://www.buzztracker.org/) to learn more about mashups and their usefulness.
“Stop thinking about library as place and start thinking about places where library should be.”: from the ACRL workshop “Use What They Own – Go Where They are” with Nancy Davenport and Lynne O’Brien.
Parents as our allies: Nancy Davenport reported that a University of Rochester study found that college students called their parents within the first three steps when beginning their research. I think this is true for my students too. I want to ponder how I can make use of that fact enlist the parents as allies as I try to get my students to stop using Google and start using my subscription databases. Possibly hold library orientations for parents, or parents and children together? Tried parent workshops before but need to get a larger turnout. Maybe offer mini workshops before and during back-to-school night when parents have “free periods.” Attach some sort of attention-getter to the back-to-school night program and ask the principal to announce it at the gathering before they all go to their “classes.” Perhaps offer a longer workshop in advance and announce that in the parent newsletter before back-to-school night. Also see about doing a workshop for incoming freshmen parents perhaps with their children in tow.
Facebook and MySpace: Consider setting up the library as a Facebook and MySpace participant. Other libraries have done this and gotten a lot of “friends” this way. Ask a student or two to help? Might be difficult since we have banned it from the school network.
Email is out; IM is in: Students only use email for formal communication and IM for everything else. Explore how we can use this fact. Some libraries are doing IM reference.
WIRED magazine and EDUCAUSE: Pay attention to these resources as good ways to learn about the newest technologies and their applications. (http://www.educause.edu) and (http://www.wired.com/)
IPods for Development: Tell out Development Office about Colorado College’s outreach efforts to donors that include sending them IPods with the college logo on them and fully loaded with podcasts of notable lectures, faculty bios, concerts, pictures with how donated money has been used, etc.
Podcasts: Lynne O’Brien from Duke explained the IPod program. They got initial faculty interest in participating in the program by telling faculty that if they came up with a viable idea for podcasts for their curriculum they would be given an IPod. The first year they had eight faculty members who participated. Now the uses of podcasts include “Radio Theater of the Mind,” audio flash cards for Spanish classes, automatic recording of lectures for those professors who want them available for their students, and a 500 word dictionary of neurobiology terms which includes audio pronunciation and brain images optimized for the IPod screen. What sorts of podcast applications would work well for our students? Who are the teachers who are likely to use them? How can the library make use of them? I want to have podcasts of the principal, head of school, popular teachers and students reading parts of their favorite books and link them to the library web pages. I could also do this with my seniors for National Library Week when we ask them about their favorite book and immortalize them on our READ bookmarks and posters.
Focus Groups: I’ve heard Joyce Valenza talk about this before and heard her mention it again: focus groups for exiting seniors. I really want to set this up and learn more about what our seniors found useful and what they did not. There may also be a way to get some of this information by setting up a blog or wiki for students to contribute their ideas to. The problem will be in getting them to take the time to add their thoughts. Some incentive might be to incorporate the task as part of a teacher’s assignment or to offer prize incentives.
Collection policies and donation policy online: I know lots of school libraries have already done this, but we just haven’t gotten around to adding links to our newly formed collection policies, donation policy, and newsletters to our web page.
Library video: We have started work on a library orientation video for freshmen, when it’s done, post it online so it is always available to our students and parents too.
Joyce Valenza’s blog: Read it and her wiki too! (http://joycevalenza.edublogs.org/)
Google Librarian: Sign up for the Google Librarian’s Newsletter. Several of my colleagues said this is well worth paying attention to. (http://www.googlelibrarian.com/)
ICT test: Contact ETS to see how I can take the ICT test (http://www.ets.org/) to find out for myself what it is like. Begin exploring the possibility of a pilot project for our students, or a sample of our students, to take the test. ETS is working on a similar test for 8th to 9th graders. Continue to follow their progress.
Assessment idea: Instead of looking at all the works cited pages for all two hundred sophomores and juniors, ask for a sampling of papers from each teacher that represents a variety of grades. Look over the entire paper to get a sense of the final product and then check the works cited pages to see how many actually used the resources I’ve taught them about.
Library blog: Check out the blog from Northfield Mount Hermon School. (http://nmhlibrary.typepad.com/) Alison Ernst says it has pictures of “lounge lizards” – students in the library which are archived so kids can look for their friends, write-ups about new books, info on speakers, etc. Students can add their own comments. Consider doing something similar for our library.
Gaming night: Seek out the gamers in the school and set up some gaming nights in the library. Have them teach me what it’s all about and provide a new way to appreciate the library. Consider having a student or two do a quick demo in a faculty meeting or maybe even run a faculty workshop at lunchtime just for fun.
Milennials and their brains: Read more about recent research that shows how our current students’ brains learn differently than we do and how that is becoming hardwired into their brain circuitry.
Second Life: Continue to explore what this is all about and comprehend it as an intro to Web 3.0???!!!!! (http://secondlife.com/)
Well, I made it into the air and am now heading for home in soggy Washington DC. When I get back to school I will share these ideas with my principal and my library and technology colleagues to see if any of them are interested in collaborating on any of these projects. I will also print them out and keep them on wall space near my desk to constantly remind me of all that I want to try. I consider these ideas well worth the price of admission to ALA 2006.
Tag: ala2006
Council II June 27, 2006
Posted by tkirk in : ALA2006 , add a commentTeri Switzer, ALA treasurer, says that 2007 is the year of the member and financial support will go to membership, professional development, and the implementation of member driven, technology based initiatives. The focus is on member satisfaction, retention and recruitment. Teri says that we have been flat funded at ALA for the last five years. That means that the increases we’ve seen are taken away by inflation. Passing the dues increase was one step to get ahead instead of being “a day late and a dollar short” as Teri just stated. Revenue streams are meetings and conferences, publishing, and dues. Publishing has a projected total revenue of $12.5 M and, because of a couple of new products, hope to be at $13.3 M in 2007. Money is going back into publishing to do some r&d so that they can make products that we want and need for our members. Meetings and Conferences are making money but are vulnerable to issues at different sites. New Orleans attendance is a little lower than Orlando but the costs are cheaper. We are going to Washington, DC next summer and ALA will have to pay for terrorism insurance! Future dates of ALA Annual and Midwinter conferences.
Freedom to Read Foundation Chair John W. Berry told about the program on June 26, where the librarians who had challenged the constitutionality of the National Security Letter provision of Section 505 of the USA PATRIOT Act. Four librarians in Connecticut were under a gag order and were referred to in the challenge and collectively known as “John Doe”. Because they won the suit, they were finally allowed to become public. More about this at this site.
Resolution on the Darfur Genocide. I know that we’ve all heard of the genocide in Sudan and this resolution encourages libraries and librarians to work on collections, programs, displays, etc. that will help educate their populations about this horrible situation. It passed. See the Human Rights Video project which would help school librarians get the video “Lost Boys of Sudan” without a rental charge.
Tag: ala2006
Invited Keynote Speaker First Lady Laura Bush June 26, 2006
Posted by mkowalsky in : ALA2006 , add a commentLaura Bush, First Lady of the United States, spoke in the convention center auditorium on Monday. Sponsored by the Scholastic Foundation, “School Libraries Work! Rebuilding for Learning” was a bit of an unusual event, with doors closing 30 minutes prior to the first speech, and with attendees’ bags being inspected and even sniffed by dogs prior to entering the auditorium. Secret Service men watched all the entrances and protected the stage, and while I only saw one National Guardsman inside the convention center, their presence and procedures alone was an excitement.
The event included a keynote introduction by high school senior Caitlyn Clarke, a poised, well-spoken young lady from Jefferson Parish, LA, who described the importance of libraries in her life. Leslie Burger, President-elect, was one of the many people who thanked us for coming to New Orleans and helping to rebuild its schools with our various efforts as an association. Mrs. Bush referenced Tomás and the Library Lady, by Pat Mora, and described how its message is traveling around the country to students in the form of a play. Schools are at the heart of recovery, she explained; until there are schools, families won’t return to New Orleans. Often, schools are the only comfort for families who’ve lost everything — their house, their possessions — and rebuilding schools without a tax base to fund reconstruction would be a challenge for anyone, she explained.
Major corporations, private foundations, and individual donors have helped donate money to the Laura Bush Foundation’s Gulf Coast Libraries cause. Scholastic, Dollar General, and Time-Warner have donated money, and ALA has raised over $300,000 for the Laura Bush Foundation. This should remind librarians that they should reach out to corporations in our own areas and ask for help; many are willing to assist our cause in a variety of ways. Specifically, IMLS Libraries for the 21st Century funds are giving $20 million to support 3900 library science students at 35 universities, insuring that librarians have the training they need to keep libraries and education central to life, the First Lady explained.
Next, Lester Holt, NBC News Anchor, moderated a discussion about how successful school libraries teach 21st Century learning skills, and how we can recover when an essential learning center in a school is damaged or lost totally. Panelist Norman Francis, President of Xavier University, explained that since all of the quality of life issues have to be reconstructed — housing, education, health services — many pieces of the puzzle are still in progress. “You need to use a full-court press in order to get administrative support,” he explained. “Be sure to constantly teach your administrators about the vital role librarians have in teaching and learning.”
Panelist Keith Curry Lance of the Colorado State Library explained that many teams of researchers have shown that well-staffed, well-stocked, well-funded libraries help raise test scores, as well as certified school librarians who are school leaders and collaborators with teachers. Since school librarians are not only teachers of students but teachers of teachers, a great opportunity exists for librarians to influence the entire school. “In an economy of scale, libraries can affect all classrooms,” he said, remarking that this would be an important benefit to principals.
Jennifer Koehl and Hannah Rucker, LMS and Principal of St. Tammany Junior High school in Slidell, LA, described their experiences and the essential role of the library media specialist in recovery efforts in hurricane-affected areas. J. Linda Williams, President of AASL, said that school libraries can help bring normalcy back to students. By helping students learn about their grief process and giving them hope and skills for the future, we can properly serve these students and their needs during this difficult time, she explained.
This event evoked a variety of reactions in attendees; please post a comment to assist us in capturing the range of reactions experienced before, during and after this event.
Tag: ala2006
Emerging Technologies with LITA
Posted by mkowalsky in : ALA2006 , add a commentLITA’s Emerging Technologies Special Interest Group met Monday morning and reveled in a successful audiobooks panel which discussed Playaway devices, Netlibrary offerings and other items in a well-attended session. It was interesting to hear how Apple has not been involved w/ ALA & has not had a booth in 4 years; they did not wish to participate in the panel.
A discussion ensued about podcasting and how it can be seen as a narrowly focused term. Eric Ipsen, outgoing chair of the SIG discussed a need to discuss “push” technologies which get library information into the hands of users without having them come to us in physical libraries. He remarked that we need to use a term like “pod learning” to truly describe all of the possibilities of podcasting. Since kids communicate in bursts, Eric says, through IM’s and cell phone text messages, they have an ongoing knowledge of what others are doing in a way that is not simply “pinging” each other just to say “hi.” This has important implications for learning.
Maurice York from Emory University discussed podcasting at ALA Annual 2007, as a possible preconference program or concurrent program in Washington DC. If you would like to help him plan and/or present a podcasting session, email him at mcyork@emory.edu — and tell him you’re from AASL! The group liked the idea of partnering with us on technologies for learning.
Joe Ford, incoming SIG chair, discussed the updated charge of the SIG, which is to identify technologies with automation and information and user services and their impact on library services; if you have any ideas on what needs the ALA membership may have, all are welcome. Podcasts as e-reserves, RSS delivery to cell phone, wi-max and broadband metropolitan wireless, patron book purchase request tracking and real-time delivery of video were items mentioned to start in the short time the group had together, and more discussions will occur online. Check the LITA blog page, and web page, at http://www.lita.org
Tag: ala2006
The Kids Are Alright! Millennials and Their Information Behaviors
Posted by fharris in : ALA2006 , add a commentAfter hearing him at yesterday’s LITA program, it was exciting for me to hear Stephen Abram’s talk at the YALSA Technology for Teens Committee program on Sunday morning. Beth Gallaway did an admirable job of covering the content on the YALSA blog, so I’ll just add a few choice snippets here.
It’s not just MySpace, it’s MyNation.
Girls were raised by boomer mothers who weren’t going to raise unassertive daughters. So girls are very direct, though not impolite. (If I’d had daughters instead of sons, I’m sure I would have done just that!)
E-mail is asynchronous ping-pong. Teens use it only for formal communication. Text messaging and IM are the way to reach this generation. IM runs up the technological evolutionary path.
MySpace is transformational. It won’t survive as such, but is the model of what is to come. It represents a sustainable social network that is both global and personal. Instead of blocking it, we need to teach our students to use it wisely and safely.
Abram call Second Life and other virtual environments “deeply collaborative multi-user online applications.” They give us a glimpse of Web 3.0, the world kids will hit but not the they live in now.
The point isn’t to increase delivery of information but (for legislators, anyway) to increase scores on standardized testing. Increase scores by having school libraries and partnering with public libraries. Lower scores by removing libraries (as was done in California, where they are “measurably stupider.”
Tag: ala2006