Blog Post 4: Technology Integration in the School Library

Integrating technology into learning is an essential component of the modern educational landscape.  The role of the school librarian is to support that integration of technology by using the resources of the library as a technological extension of the classroom and by collaborating with teachers in promoting best practices of technology integration.  Today’s students are more tech-savvy and require of their instructors a different set of teaching skills than in the past.  In addition, with the ever expanding amount of information available to students via technological advances, it is now an educators job to not only teach his or her discipline, but to also teach the learning skills that a Twenty-first Century student needs in order to responsibly navigate the use of technology in their lives. 

One of the guiding documents provided to librarians, and educators at large, in helping facilitate the teaching of these technological skills, is the American Association of School Librarian’s Standards for the 21^st-Century Learner.  This document outlines four primary goals for 21^st-Century learners to achieve with the support of their educators.  As outlined by this document, every learner should be able to, “1) Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge, 2) Draw conclusions, make informed decision, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge, 3) Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society, 4) Pursue personal and aesthetic growth” (AASL, 2007).  The job of the school librarian is to assist teachers and students in assuring that every learner have the ability to utilize technology in a way that helps them to enhance their learning and achieve these learning goals.

One of the key things that a modern school librarian can do in helping students to achieve their learning goals, is to establish the school library, or media center, as a hub of collaboration and conversation on campus.  As David Lankes (2012) says in his article, Joining the Conversation, “It is time for a new librarianship, one centered on learning and knowledge, not on books and materials… [where] we spend much more time in connection development instead of collection development” (p. 8).  Student learners, and especially those multi-tasking, tech-savvy modern learners, need a space where they can utilize technology in order to create conversations, deepen relationships and build collaborations.  Examples of this in the modern school library would be providing access to conversations with authors and other professionals via Skype, encouraging student collaboration through platforms such as Google Docs and Wikis, and providing outlets for student creativity and conversation through the use of various Web 2.0 tools. 

Along the same lines, professors of education, Eileen Schroeder and E. Anne Zarinnia, write in their article, Creating a Students’ Library Website (2012), that, “schools [must] move beyond focusing on teaching strategies to a deeper recognition of how students learn and develop new knowledge” (p. 29).  They go on to emphasize that people learn through inquiry and conversation, and so the modern library must be a facilitator of learning by creating avenues through which its students can find information, converse, collaborate and share their work and their findings with one another.

References

AASL.  (2007).  Standards for the 21^st-century learner.  American Library Association.  Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards-guidelines/learning-standards 

Lankes, D.  (2012, February).  Joining the conversation: School librarians as facilitators of learning.  Teacher Librarian, 39(3), 8-11.  Retrieved from http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/

Schroeder, E. & Zarinnia, E. A.  (2012, April).  Creating a students’ library website.  School Library Monthly, 28(7), 29-32.  Retrieved from http://www.schoollibrarymonthly.com/  

Blog Post 3: Technology Implementation Strategies

In her article, “Implementing Technology and Gaming Lessons in a School Library,” school librarian Khalida Mashriqi identifies several of the ways that she incorporates technology into her school library.  Mashriqi specifically focuses on gaming and interactive lessons and notes the value in using these tools as a way of differentiating for students with different learning styles and of different abilities.  Mashriqi states that, “Using technology is like breathing for many students” and so must be incorporating into the modern classroom, and in the modern school library in order to keep students engaged in their learning.  Mashriqi also notes that, “the school librarian’s main responsibility is to promote the love of reading and learning.  Gaming and technology are simply great vehicles for achieving this.”  Mashriqi explains that when she incorporates technology into her lessons, she differentiates in two particular ways, by teaching the lesson in a variety of ways and by providing a scope of varying levels of accompanying activities.

Throughout the article Mashriqi details several of technologically based activities that she uses in her school library.  One of the things that she explained that she uses often, particularly with younger students, is the interactive whiteboard.  Because students can manipulate the visuals on the whiteboard, it becomes a sort of game for them when they use it as a learning tool.  Mashriqi uses the white board to teach students about library procedures, practice vocabulary and to enhance learning in particular subject matters.  She also sets up games for older students to learn Boolean search terms and then provides for them laptops so that they may explore using the terms on their own.  Mashriqi also finds specific content area games that support core curriculum and links to them on the library’s website.  She also teaches through the use of instructional videos and encourages student use of technology by allowing students to create their own movies about things that they have learned using the library’s Flip cameras. 

Just like Mashriqi, I feel that technology should be an integral part of a modern students’ learning experience.  As modern librarians, one of our key charges is in finding ways to implement new technologies in schools as a way of enhancing student learning.  In my school library, I would do many of the things mentioned in Mashriqi’s article.  I would definitely utilize a white board in order to make any kind of lesson an instant interactive game and I also think it is very smart to seek out and link to games that can enhance student learning of the various content areas.  In addition, I would have purposeful lessons with students who enter my library about how they can integrate technology into their own learning.  For example, I would showcase interesting sites such as Wordle, BrainPop, Animoto, Glogster and ComicLife, and would provide ideas on how they could incorporate those sites into their studies or projects in their classes.  In addition, I would love to teach lessons on how to create and produce movies and podcasts about things they are learning.  When it comes to technology, the sky is the limit!

Mashriqi, Khalida. (2011). Implementing technology and gaming lessons in a school library. Knowledge Quest, 40(1), 24-28. 

Blog Post 2: Handheld Devices as Instructional Tools

The article, Get Deeper Learning with Tablets, written by Dr. Cynthia Conn, is about how a group of first grade teachers at Thomas Elementary School in Flagstaff, Arizona integrated the use of tablets, specifically iPads, into their classrooms in order to deepen the learning of their students.  Using the tablets, the teachers designed a science unit on animal habitats that would allow the students to access live webcam feeds in order to study several different kinds of animals in their various habitats around the world.  For several weeks the students utilized a class set of iPads to observe animals in their natural or captive habitats and then took notes, made observations and conducted additional research as needed. 

Through the lens of this project, the author of the article, Dr. Conn, makes several observations about the use of tablets in the classroom.  The most important note, in my opinion, is that by using the classroom tablets in a way that allows for “real-world experiences,” the students were able to deepen their engagement and understanding of the content.  As Dr. Conn notes, because the students were able to conduct, “hands-on, independent exploration” using the tablets, they were able to tap into a deeper level of understanding of the concept. 

A second point made by Conn is that having continual access to a class set of tablets is much more convenient, and time efficient, than having to wrangle and take an entire class to a computer lab to work.  The teachers mentioned in the article were able to provide valuable experiences to their students by utilizing only a small amount of class time because of the convenience of the in-class tablets.  Conn makes a third point in asserting that though the technology itself plays a valuable role in the classroom, it must always be effectively integrated through the design of instruction.   By this, Conn means that the lesson design must come first, and then the proper technological instrument can be incorporated in order to maximize the learning of the students. 

As educators, we are always looking for ways to deepen the learning experiences of our students, and incorporating tablets and other mobile devices into the classroom can help to achieve that goal.  Additionally, mobile devices in the media center/library can be an invaluable addition to any campus.  One way that a librarian can utilize mobile devices through the library is simply by providing access to teachers and students.  A district is unlikely to be able to afford class sets of tablets for every classroom, so the library may be an excellent place for teachers to conduct lessons using mobile devices, or to check out for classroom use.  The librarian should be a key point of reference to the teachers on campus for developing exploratory lessons that will enhance the students’ learning through the use of mobile devices.  Additionally, having some mobile devices that students can check out independently from the library could be an excellent way to reach some reluctant readers by enticing them with the interactive experience and “cool factor” of a mobile device.  The librarian can even pre-load the devices with some high interest reading material and can help students set up accounts on websites such as, Shelfari, where they can rate books and share reviews with one another.  Actions such as these would make the reading experience more engaging for today’s students, who are accustomed to the constant sharing of information and ideas as a way to yield a deeper experience.  By establishing the use of mobile devices through the library, the librarian can play a key role in helping the campus facilitate deeper learning experiences for all students.    

Conn, C. (2013). Get Deeper Learning with Tablets. Learning & Leading With Technology, 41(2), 35-37.

Blog Post 1: Technology Strengths and Weaknesses

Serving as a middle school language arts teacher the last six years, I have had the opportunity to be a part of a technology revolution in education.  The way students learn today is different than students of the past, and so our strategies as educators are evolving in order to meet the needs of our learners.  Because of this, I have always found incorporating technology into the classroom is one of the most important things I can do to better engage my students and help them assume ownership of their learning. 

In regards to the ISTE-Nets for teachers, my technology strength as an educator is in facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity.  I have always been one of the first teachers on my campus to pilot new technologies in the classroom and have used various modes of Web 2.0 tools in order to foster creative and innovative thinking among my students.  I believe that anytime you put a new tool that allows for independent and exploratory thinking in front of students, they will generally flourish beyond any parameters you could have set for them.  Allowing the students the opportunity to use technology as a way to engage their imaginations in their learning helps them to take ownership in what they are doing, which in turn fosters a deeper level of understanding and connectedness to the material.  In the past I have had students use Wikis to collaborate on book projects.  I have had students use iMovie to create public service announcements about real-world issues that they chosen and researched.  My students have participated in Skype chats with professionals in various fields of study and have collaborated with one another using Google Docs.  By facilitating the use of these hands-on technology tools, I am able to vastly increase student enthusiasm for creating and learning.  As a librarian-educator I will continue to be committed to inspiring student learning through the incorporation of technology in any lesson I am a part of.  I also hope to relay my enthusiasm for incorporating instructional technology tools to the campus as a whole as a way of increasing student enthusiasm and fostering creativity.

Though I have a strength in using technology to engage and inspire students, based on the ISTE-Nets, my weakness is in promoting digital responsibility in regards to conveying the rules and regulations regarding copyright and intellectual property.  This is something that I know very little about, and that I hope to learn much more about this semester.  I know that as the librarian/media specialists on campus, one of my primary responsibilities will be in educating students and faculty members about the parameters regarding ethical digital citizenship.  I hope to continue to learn more about these issues as I pursue my coursework in this program, and will continue to remain committed to staying abreast of copyright issues after I exit the program and begin my career as a librarian-educator. 

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