Does your school use Follett’s Destiny Quest? If so, you are going to LOVE this!

[Jeff Hoffart]

As teachers, Tosca Killoran and Jeff Hoffart, are well aware that many students, faculty and staff are unfamiliar with all of the functions that Destiny Quest offers or are unsure of how to implement the use of this great tool in their classes.

We have worked hand-in-hand with a large team from Follett to develop an eBook that supports the use of Destiny’s latest version 11.0, released on March 26, 2013. Destiny Quest: An Educator’s Guide, is a comprehensive tool for your classroom, school, or learning community to help get the most out of your Destiny Quest® experience!

This guide includes a simple step-by-step guide to understand the components of Destiny Quest®. As IB educators, we have developed sample lesson plans that are inquiry-based, and follow the U.S. Common Core State Standards. The eBook also provides access to a website, which includes extension activities, printable worksheets, assessments and how-to videos.

The eBook is available on Follett’s TitleWave (#5161FB1) or via www.DestinyQuestGuide.com. The book is available under the unlimited license, which means that purchasing this resource one time is the same as buying unlimited copies and gives each and every student, teacher, and member of your school access to learn about Destiny Quest, and all that it has to offer, at the same time!

We hope this helps your learning community. If you find it useful and know of other schools using Destiny Quest, please share it, or help us to spread the word via Facebook, Twitter, or any other network!

[Mary E Collins]

If my school uses Destiny Quest, is the book free?

[Kate MacMillan]

Why would anyone pay for this information... there are directions on the Follett website.  We have used DQ for years and in fact included it in our Follett webinar  we gave in March 2013. You can access the archived webinar "Common Core Meets One Search".

Kate MacMillan

Coordinator Library services

Napa USD

[Jeff Hoffart]

Hi Kate, that is a great question.

When I worked as a teacher-librarian at an International school in Taiwan, I put a proposal together to the school to purchase and subscribe to Follett’s Destiny Quest. I then implemented the use of it in our school and realized how great of a resource it is!

What I found is that, as a teacher-librarian, I was well aware of its capabilities and how I would use it as an integrated tool within the teaching and learning occurring throughout the school. The problem that I faced is that the teachers and students were not fully aware of all that Destiny had to offer.

I searched the internet endlessly for resources and found that there were nuggets of greatness all over the place, but there was not one centralized, comprehensive resource to help Destiny users get the most out of their experience.

I decided to launch into research mode and began to scour through blogs, forums, and began networking with teacher-librarians throughout the globe. I used surveys, polls, and informal interviews to find out if I was the only one experiencing staff and students who needed to be up-skilled in the use of this great tool. 

I found an overwhelming response that schools had discontinued their use of Destiny or switched platforms due to the lack of use, as it is an expense that must be considered when looking at a school’s budget. I also found a huge number of teacher-librarians that were very interested in a comprehensive resource and many that were not fully aware, themselves, of all that Destiny had to offer.

The perspective that came from many teachers is that this was, yet again, something extra. That teaching students how to use Destiny or using it with their students was time that they could not afford. We all know that this is a common concern, but is one that can be easily addressed. We wanted to help support teachers and the learning community see Destiny as a tool that should be integrated within the research process and within the teaching of literacy, as well as the education of digital citizenship.

We are aware that many teacher-librarians are comfortable with Destiny and would gladly educate students and teachers on how to use it. We also know how valuable a teacher-librarian’s time is and that there are many exciting and useful components to Destiny to explain. We also believe in students and trust that they can be very independent, and that, with a resource that caters to them, they are able to teach themselves.

Thus, we developed a resource that goes well beyond the information on the Follett website or a single webinar on one component. This resource comes from the perspective of teachers, with the students kept in mind. It includes:

1. A visual how-to guide that uses language targeted at students, rather than the teacher-librarian. The resource includes the most up-to-date information as we worked with a large team from Follett and were able to get information on updates that were not yet available and that have no available resources on the internet.
2. Detailed Lesson plans that span from Primary through to Secondary and that encourage the use of Destiny in a variety of contexts. The lessons come with printable worksheets to use in the class, as well as assessments (e.g. rubrics, checklists) that allow teachers to assess research or literacy outcomes, using Destiny as a tool in the process.
3. An online resource that includes curated videos that focus on each of the components of Destiny and how to easily and successfully use them. 

I applaud you and your school if everyone is currently able to use Destiny in the most effective and creative way. This is a large accomplishment that you should be proud of. Unfortunately, this is not the same situation at all schools, especially those that have recently adopted the use of Destiny and need some additional support. 

We are simply two teachers that saw a need and decided to collaborate with a great team to help solve it. Since the book is available through an independent publisher, there is a cost. The unlimited license does allow all patrons within the learning community to have equal access, but we have reflected on this and will also soon be offering the book as a 1-1 purchase for lower cost investment.

 We feel it is a small price to pay, given the large investment that schools contribute to use Destiny, especially since it allows the entire learning community to get the most out of their Destiny Quest experience!