21st century school libraries?

[Alice Yucht]

Joyce Valenza, Doug Johnson, Lisa Perez, David Warlick, Will Richardson, Larry Johnson and I are the panel for a discussion of 'The Changing Landscape of 21st Century School Information Centers' at NECC on June 26.
What do YOU-all see as the big issues/hot topics we should be addressing at this program?

[Mary J. Johnson]

If we as librarians stick with a model of collaboration, we need to think in terms of how the "changing landscape" affects our collaborations. What are our teachers going to be asking of us? I think they'll want to get right down to the nitty gritty work of developing or revising curriculum, assessing learning for 21st century skills, and proving the effectiveness of both.

[Lisa Hunt]

I see my collaboration efforts evolving and changing so much. Face to face time is important and usually necessary to build the relationship of trust that I always thought was necessary for quality collaboration and my role as instructional support. However, I am finding more quick and easy ways to collaborate using digital means. I wonder if I will end up alone in a dark forest? Will I really wake up a year or so from now and find that I no longer spend face to face time. I mean my time is as precious as anyone else in my school.

So, now here is my point. What digital means are you using? I am investigating the use of podcasting and web videos to enhance my connection to the curriculum, students and teachers. Let's talk about how this is affecting others out there.

[Cathy Nelson]

Lisa, I JUST TODAY had a teacher from my old school (I am in the midst of a change) call and ask me to meet with her today to help her understand how to use Windows MovieMaker to make videos. It was an unpaid summer visit back to school to spend some hands on time going through the program. She is interested in making videos to go on her website at school. She is a 30year+ veteran teacher. I see that as progress. I also see it as more and more of my teachers adopting newer technologies.

[Carolyn Foote]

Great commentary, and I agree completely.

And it does become an issue of equity for students who don't have the access because of the school's or library policies.

I think we should encourage our state library organizations to include many web 2.0 workshops in their state conferences as a way of reaching out to librarians who may not have experienced many of these tools.

I just saw Joyce Valenza's presentation on InfoFluency and libraries at NECC, and it was an incredible presentation, chock full of links, ideas, wisdom. I'm going to post a link to it on the main page of Teacher Librarian.

[Susanne Lercher]

My concern is partly personal, but I am sure that others are in the same position. I want to update my skills and become comfortable with web 2.0 and library 2.0 but could use a bit of guidance as to the best way to start. What sources would you recommend? I hope that I can use my summer vacation to read up and become more familiar with the changes due to interactive/collaborative information exchanges. Also, when I attended Internet@schools east this past April, it seemed that changes are being made primarily on the secondary level. I work in an intermediate school grades 3-5. Is there anybody out there who has been able to implement web 2.0/library 2.0 on the elementary level?

[Carolyn Foote]

Susanne,
I'd recommend checking out the California Library Association's School 2.0 or the one from Charlotte Public Library, which is a sort of self paced set of links that will walk you through many of the web 2.0 applications.

I've seen some great examples of elementary schools using these tools.

Jamestown Elementary is doing podcasting.
Room 9 is a blog from a New Zealand elementary classroom.
http://blogs.dalton.org/Edinger/ Edinger is a 4th grade class blog.
http://www.classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=71175 Almighty Bloggers is another elementary blog that is very creative.

[Stephanie Eda]

I am an elementary school librarian trying to improve my technology skills as well. This summer I participated in a free, online staff development course involving technology. It was based in part upon the 23 things you need to know about Web 2.0 that many public libraries have used with their staff. The lessons are available online and you don't have to join any special group to participate. Here is the website in case you want to check it out: http://library2play.blogspot.com/ . Reading the blogs of the people who are participating in this training is very interesting. Some are teachers, some are librarians, and they come from all over. Some seem very skilled with technology and others struggle (like me) to complete the assigned tasks. My blog name in this class is librarylion. I am very close to finishing up the 23 things. I want to implement some of what I have learned in my school this upcoming year. Technology doesn't come easy to me, but I know it is a powerful tool that could really improve our school library program. I would love to hear from other elementary school librarians about how they are using library 2.0 technology and what lessons they have learned in its implementation.

[Susanne Lercher]

Classroom teachers in my building comment that they are so concerned about preparing students for standardized testing that they have no time to commit to spontaneity and creative instruction. Web 2.0 is not a concrete method for them -- they seem to not have any time to spend on learning and utiliizing 21st Century skills. My concern for the panel is this: how can I enlighten them about the Read/Write web without overstepping my bounds and without intruding on their curricular responsibilities?

[Colleen Williams]

Currently I'm looking at AASL's Standards for the 21st Century Learner's 9 beliefs, 4 goals and 83 objectives as another (remember Information Power) great instrument with no authority (in spite of cross-curriculum coverage) and no financing at the school level. Without authority and finances to back delivery, 21st Century will not help us fulfill potential.

[Librarymum]

I would like to see discussions on how to increase access to web 2.0 tools for teachers, teacher librarians and students at their school sites. I am one of many teacher librarians who completed the California School Library Association's School Library Learning 2.0 tutorial and I am eager to use web 2.0 tools at school, but I find that sites such as YouTube, Flickr and even this Ning are blocked. Flickr and nings were not blocked last summer when I began SLL2.0, but one day they suddenly disappeared. Nings came back for a few days, but now are gone again. I am thankful we can still get to Blogspot and pbwiki!

Anyway, I would like to hear some suggestions on how we can make these tools available in my school community. As new and younger staff is hired, and more of us digital immigrants learn to use these tools and share them with our colleagues and students, it's becoming increasingly frustrating to have them blocked in my district. I understand some of the arguments why some sites are blocked, but there has to be a better way than using some of the sneaky ways the students use to get to what they want to use. Let's get some legitimate ideas we can use with our districts to build the case for access. Thanks for asking us.

[Heather Heck]

Well, how 'bout this whole thing with Ning? How about discussing Wikipedia and when it SHOULD be used for research purposes (because my entire English department HATES it). How about utilizing safe social networking (like, well, THIS? But I think I already mentioned that). Just a couple thoughts.

[Jan Radford]

1. Assisting and leading the school community to be comfortable with change.
Schools. curriculum, pedagogies, societal expectations, resource sources and deliveries, are all making quantum shifts, and we cannot expect that this will even slow down. Libraries will need to constantly assess and move with the times. We need to be at the forefront of technology and its use in learning and we need to stay there.

2. The school community (meaning the individuals within the community) all need to be part of the development of the library and its services. The more involved, the more relevant, the more known and the more used it will be. Ownership is the key.

3. I think we need a different mindset. We are not first and foremost librarians in public libraries, We workl in special libraries as information specialists employed by businesses. We need to know the goals our Bosses and help that person reach their goals. The goals are of course, in terms of students learning and that is our core business, so there will be no conflict. As we help all users reach their goals, we will be integrated into the fabric of the advancing structure of the organisation. I see this as the way of the future.

4. The inclusive 24/7 Learning hub... something that is probably well on the way to existing in many schools.