Blog Post 4: Technology Leadership Role of School Librarians

             Technology brings a new dimension to education and librarianship that is both challenging and exciting. The world is now more than ever connected, and students need to evolve into global thinkers just as the society around them has evolved. Schools and libraries must give their students the experience they need with technology otherwise their students will have a distinct disadvantage as adults trying to work and prosper in a technological world.

            According to the American Association of School Librarian’s (AASL) Standards for the 21^st Century Learner (2007), “The amount of information available to our learners necessitates that each individual acquire the skills to select, evaluate, and use information appropriately and effectively”. Furthermore, the ability to share this information in various contexts is essential for 21^st century learners. Students can communicate with others in different countries with a click of a mouse, so they need to understand how to communicate clearly and professionally. The AASL’s standards states that students need to “share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society” (2007). Team work and ethics are considered essential for most employers today. Fontichiaro (2009) explains, “the pressure to create students who are experienced collaborators with skills needed to work in flexible teams to generate something new…has never been greater”. Therefore, librarians need to provide teachers and students with the tools such as wikis, discussion forums, and other collaborative projects to strengthen their ability to work as a team and use technology. The idea of ethics now becomes important because of all the sharing and teamwork. Brown (2009) encourages the use of essential questions for 21^st century learners, and explains that students are more engaged when they “tap into their own experiences as a means to connect with the topic or issue being considered”. As a result, students need to be able to not only voice their experiences but also accept others’ experiences and meet them with constructive criticism.

            Technology in schools is inevitable. However, students must learn to be responsible and collaborative in their use of technology. As a librarian, one must find every opportunity to provide exposure and experience for their students. Collaborative projects such as creating a blog, a wiki, or a digital product will give students not only technology skills but also valuable experiences of team work and respect. When the combination of technology skills, communication skills, and work ethic is right; there is no limit to the potential for 21^st century learners.

References

American Association of School Librarians. 2007. Standards for the 21^st century learner.

           Chicago,IL: American Library Association.

Brown, K. (2009). Questions for the 21^st –century learner. Knowledge Quest, 38(1), 24-27.                             Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2114

Fontichiaro, K. (2009). More than friendship: social scholarship, young learners, and the standards                 for the 21st century learner. Knowledge Quest, 37(4), 64-67. Retrieved from                                         http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2071

Blog Post 3: Technology Implementation Strategies

According to Anthony Steed’s (2013) article, “Technology in the Classroom”, Business and Economic teachers are embracing the use of technology in their classrooms, and he gives several examples of these technologies. The websites are primarily used for collaboration and communication; therefore, they would be helpful in any classroom or learning environment. Steed (2013) begins by pointing out that teachers in his field have begun to use these technologies frequently, and the conference that he attended allowed them to share their experiences. Although the motivation behind using more technology may have come from district goals or expectations, the teachers have found that they enjoy these tools and find them very useful.

            All of the websites included are interactive and the explanations imply they are user friendly. Some websites are more for the teacher to create products for their students to interact with while others are meant for students to be the creators. These three websites are meant for the former. Socrative can be used on a variety of handheld devices such as tablets and smartphones, and it is used to give students educational exercises or games for the students to complete. On Quizlet and Scoop.it the teacher can create quizzes, flashcards, and magazine articles for their classes to read and leave comments on. Finally, Triptico has tools and resources that can be downloaded onto computers. It has many different templates and resources such as educational, interactive whiteboard games.

            The following websites are for the students to create and collaborate. Popplet allows the students to create and share brain maps, and Go Animate gives the students tools to make their own short animated cartoons. Jing is a website for recording videos and audio, a great resource for ‘flipped’ classrooms. Although all of the websites are interactive, the websites that allow students to create projects seem particularly enjoyable.

            In a classroom Go Animate and Jing would be especially fun and useful for students to use as a 6 weeks project. Right now, many schools in Texas are taking their STAAR tests, so students are just getting off a few weeks of testing blitz and review lessons. Therefore, a project that allows the students to work in cooperative groups to make an animated cartoon or short movie would allow for some creative time and let some of the testing stress go. As an English/Language Arts Teacher, the idea of a cartoon or short movie based on the curriculum’s theme of challenges sounds like a great way to get the students writing and reading without bogging them down during a highly stressful testing season.

            Also Socrative or Scoop.it would certainly help liven up discussions. Teachers are already fighting students to put away their cellphones, so perhaps using the cellphone as an educational tool would alleviate some of the stress. The students get to have the phone out and the teacher gets a little more motivation for discussing and participating in class. It is a potential win-win situation.

Reference

Steed, A. (2013). Technology in the classroom. Teaching Business & Economics, 17(3), 7-9.         Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1470800070?accountid=7113

Online ELA Resources

Blog Post 2: Handheld Devices

            The article provides an in-depth look into the benefits and barriers of using cell phones in academic settings. The literary review gives insight into how cell phone use has been perceived in schools. Due to the affordability and increased capabilities of cell phones, more teenagers and pre-teens come to school with cell phones. Originally teachers considered cell phones just another distraction in the classroom that needed to be dealt with by banning or prohibiting use. However, due to new advancements in technology the cell phone has proven to be a worthwhile educational tool when it is harnessed and monitored correctly.

            The problems with cell phones previously were that they would distract students with texting and phone calls, and they provided convenient ways of cheating for students. Case studies have proven that the phone is not as much of a distraction as educators expected (Thomas, O’Bannon, & Bolton, 2013). Although the cheating concern is valid, there are ways of overcoming it with careful monitoring and providing rules for test time. The other barrier was teachers’ perceptions of cell phones. However, studies show that teachers have seen the benefits of cell phones and are using them more as instructional tools in their class (Thomas et al., 2013). Therefore, few barriers remain besides the concerns of cheating and providing the technology for every student.

            The benefits of using cell phones are vast. There are many ways that teachers can cater the cell phones capabilities to their needs. Students can create projects like podcasts and videos as well as communicate with their cooperative group members in a wiki or blog. Teachers can use websites that poll students and make interactive educational games using their cell phones as clickers. Furthermore, cell phones with internet capabilities provide an endless amount of information for students to study, share, and use to create their own products. With all of the possibilities that cell phones provide the only question is will the teachers use them?

            According to the study (Thomas et al, 2013), the answer is yes. The majority of teachers in the study agreed that cell phones are useful in the classroom, and they are willing to allow their students to use them. The next step to consider is how they are being used. Most teachers informed the researchers that they use the cell phones for communication and collaboration with their fellow teachers and/or parents. This implies that teachers may improve the cell phone engagement by using them for student instructional aides or a means of presenting information to their class. Overall, the use of cell phones in classrooms has increased and has many potential benefits once teachers begin to use it as a tool of learning and not just communication.

Reference:

Thomas, K.M., O’Bannon, B.W., & Bolton, N. (2013). Cell phones in the classroom: Teachers’                      perspectives of inclusion, benefits, and barriers. Computers in the Schools:Interdisciplinary                Journal of Practice, Theory, and Applied Research, 30:4, 295-308.

           DOI:10.1080/07380569.2013.844637

Blog Post 1: Technology Strengths and Weaknesses

        Technology has become not only an important but an imperative skill in today’s world. Whether one works as a cashier or an engineer, technology has its role at work. Therefore, I knew that as an aspiring teacher-librarian I needed to stay up-to-date with technology; especially its uses in education and research. This has proven to be a daunting task. As the work piles up, I find that I am falling behind the new technology.

       My technology strengths are that I am willing to experiment in my classroom, and I try to give my students as many new experiences as I can. I constantly remind them that technology is now a part of life, so they make the connection with they are doing in class to how they will likely be using technology in their careers and lives. I am the first to hand technology over to my students. Even if I am a little uncertain, I let my students take the leadership and become responsible for their learning. My school has a 1:1 technology program in which every Math and English/Language Arts and Reading classes have either iPads or tablets for each student. Students receive personalized intervention through online programs, and I able to track their progress constantly. I also use the tablets for research and resources such as dictionary.com.

       My weaknesses with technology are that I am constantly working so that it has become hard for me to try new products or programs. I hear about great programs or tools, but as a first-year teacher I am still trying to get the hang of every new lesson plan and skill that I have to teach. I spend most of my time deciding how to teach and manage my classroom that sometimes I forget about the technology aspect. I do use my Smartboard for projecting assignments and interactive power points or games, but I know there is so much more I could do. Also I have run into the problem with technology breaking down, and a lack of technology experts to help me fix them. Therefore, my Smartboard has become just a projector.

       I think that overall my strengths lie in being able to explain how and when to use technology and even incorporating it within my lessons are not so difficult when they work, but my real weakness is how to get the products up and running. I need to learn how to troubleshoot and fix my own problems rather than just letting my students lose out because I do not have time to submit a work order for our Smartboard or five broken tablets. Once I get my technology in working order, I need to make time to learn more about the educational resources like Edmodo and Schoology so that I can make them available to my students. I am excited about using a blog during this course because I hope to create a classroom blog for my students. It is just one way of adding to their educational technology experience while I have the time to do so.

Class Projects