SLIS 761 Reflection

Final Thoughts

I have enjoyed working on our almost weekly blog assignments.  Now that I see how easy it can be and rewarding it is to accumulate blogs, I want to try something similar with my older students at school.  I love how Dr. Green set up the blog list and I can always go back to it to review my peers’ blogs.  I think my students would love this as well.  Perhaps, I could begin with blogging about books that we read aloud in library, books the students check out (like blurbs to inform others about the books they’ve been reading), and expand from there.

I’ve always wondered about digital bookmarking.  I know it would be beneficial to use with my students.  Often, I give them my library website and I’ve posted links to it for them to review.  Now, that I understand more about digital curation, I want to create resources for my students, but especially for my teachers.  I want to sit down, review standards, and find great resources for my teachers to use.  Emailing a link to a digital curation of Social Studies books, articles, videos, etc. would make life so much easier for many teachers.  One day, I hope to be able to offer things like this to the teachers in my building.

Hosting a website is important and it is also hard work.  I have a website that I dabbled with prior to this class.  My district left the typical website space with teacher web pages in substitution for a district app more responsive to mobile devices. When my teacher web page was deleted, I didn’t know the best way to get information to my students anymore.  I created a Weebly and then weekly, I would post the links I wanted my older students to visit.  This has been helpful, but I’ve learned so many new tricks from this class to make my website even better.  I want to post other digital curation projects to my website (for example-links to 3^rd grade Science topics or Kindergarten ELA concepts) and I want to expand beyond my students to offer resources to both the teachers in my building and the parents of our school children.

This class has helped me read wonderfully relevant articles, listen to timely podcasts, and explore some of the best resources I’ve seen.  I know technology changes daily and what may seem hip today will be an afterthought next year, so I want to try my best to remain current with my students and teachers.  This course has helped to point me in the right direction for this goal.

HoloLens

I’m a complete newbie to the VR and AR world, but I will share that I bought a set of VR goggles at the end of the school year last year with some of my library “tech” funds.  Sadly, I didn’t open the box until I started reading this week’s module.  A few downloaded apps later and I have now decided VR is pretty fun!  I know my students would enjoy using the goggles as well, but my only hiccup is figuring out the mobile device side of things.  I can offer my phone, but that creates a great fear that students may break or mess up my personal phone.  So, at this point I will most likely set the goggles back on the shelf until I am ready or willing to trust my older students. Another idea I have had is to simply set them up at a literacy night or open house for parents to use their cell phones with the goggles.  If I include directions and downloadable app suggestions, I think this would be fun for family engagement.  I also have a lot of work left to do in finding how to use the set of goggles I bought to enhance learning.

In one of our readings, it stated that “VR and AR are not gimmicks, and must be seen as valid additions to the toolkit that may be used by libraries to engage its audience,…” and I think this is a wonderful thought in today’s age of technology and resources (Massis, 2015).  With that thought, I am curious and want to learn how this technology would best benefit my students.  If I can figure out the set of goggles I purchased and also how I could regularly implement this technology, then I may be more inclined to possibly write a grant for something a bit pricier like the HoloLens in our module this week. 

HoloLens-wow!  I love the applications I saw in just the introductory video of the set.  The HoloLens is a mixed-reality device that allows users to see holograms as they investigate concepts and things within the universe through hologram technology.  It is a headset that allows a user to move through new learning without hassle or obstacles.  If students of any age could use this technology to learn how to change parts on a car, or investigate human body—the possibilities for hands-on learning seem endless!  It just seems like a wonderful way to learn and engage students. 

One of the features touted online is that the HoloLens2 offers “the most comfortable and immersive mixed reality experience available” and when I viewed the headset, I thought the design was a thousand times better than the set of VR goggles I purchased.  However, the HoloLens is also a hundred times more expensive than the pair I snagged!  Although expensive, it also seems to be a great tool to introduce users to concepts without wasting resources in some cases.  The set I purchased is front-heavy and bulky.  The HoloLens’ design is balanced.  This design is also “untethered” which allows all movement.  My pair is also, but I had to hold the strap to my head to walk around the library as I was trying out apps, so it wasn’t seamless as the HoloLens appears.  The HoloLens is approximately $3500 for the device, so I know I would need a grant in order to purchase something like this.  Another option would be to combine finances with other librarians in my small district and then share the technology.  Again, I have a lot more research to conduct before trying to implement this technology into my school library.

Check out this resource I found for the HoloLens in regards to application to the classroom.  Some of the ideas of using this device in the classroom include virtual field trips, storying in immersive formats (i.e. comic books), and game-based learning.  One of the tools which stood out to me was the virtual frog dissection.  This was a moment in high school where I felt as if I could throw up and I relied on my lab partner to pull us through.  If I had had virtual access, I think my stomach could have handled the process a bit easier.  Lots of great teaching ideas (more for high school)!

Overall, I’m impressed that there are devices out there and within reach that we could introduce our students to so many concepts!  This module has inspired me to do more research to determine possible benefits for my students and library!

Resources:

Massis, B. (2015). Using virtual and augmented reality in the library. New Library World, Vol. 116, 11-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/NLW-08-2015-0054

Makerspaces and littleBits!

In this week’s module, as I searched for a meaningful blog regarding maker spaces, I was drawn to Colleen Graves’ blog with her introductory questions.  She posed the following questions and although I’m learning/creating a makerspace in my school library, I found myself quickly clicking on her linked questions to read the answers.  Here are the frequently asked questions she addresses on her blog.

·       What is a Makerspace?

o   Graves answers this question with a list of several bulleted points.  Makerspaces are places where people create, not consume.  Makerspaces are places where you can learn and grow together.

o   I never really knew what a makerspace was until I entered the MLIS program.  My school library did not have a designated space for students/staff to explore and create.  I quickly jumped on board and started making a space for the people in my school building to create.  I have several STEM manipulatives, arts and crafts materials, Makey-Makey kits, puppets with a theater, and the list is growing.  I want to offer a creative space to my students especially.

·       What is a Maker Librarian?

o   Graves shared tweets entered into a contest she posted on Twitter.  She asked on social media, what a maker librarian was and offered a tee shirt as a prize.  She had several entries.  One entry said a maker librarian is learning, doing, risking failure, etc.

o   I’m not sure if I can call myself a Maker Librarian YET, but I want to do more with my space in the future.

·        How can I truly run a library AND a makerspace? (I am dying to know this answer.  I honestly feel like I need a library assistant to check books in, check books out, teach a lesson, and offer the maker space to my students.)

o   My burning question was answered and my stress has decreased.  Basically, Graves shares that your library is still your library; the makerspace is simply an extension of the library.  You can have both.  Perhaps, in my own school library, I should focus on offering my maker space more in my flexible afternoon scheduling instead of during my morning classes.  The main thing is to offer a space for learning, reading, and creating to our students!

·        What kind of activities can we do?

o   Anything!  In looking at Graves’ suggestions, there aren’t any prescriptive elements in her answer.  Simply, do what you have the tools to do or offer.  Let your patrons/students use their imagination (along with any tools and materials you have available for use).

Why did this particular blog stand out to me?  I saw in the graphic on the home page, a Makey-Makey kit.  My school purchased 15 Makey-Makey kits and they are housed in the library.  They are in my system ready for checkout, but most of the teachers are nervous about using them solo.  I have partnered with a handful of teachers thus far to create fun projects.  As I moved through the site, I found that Graves has created several Makey-Makey lessons and has helped write a book with Makey-Makey experiments.  Graves’ Collaborative Makey Makey Sensory Maze (check out the video!) blew my mind!

Although intrigued by her Makey-Makey resources, I really enjoyed learning about littleBits.  In a resource created by Graves (littleBits for Librarians), I found a new learning tool I never knew about.  LittleBits are electronic bits that snap together using magnets and allow users to create and learn while having fun.  I read the document created by Graves and everything sounded wonderful.  It included that students and adults were fascinated by littleBits and could play and tinker all day.  There were tips from several reputable librarians with pictures showing the littleBits in action.  However, I didn’t fully understand how they worked because I’ve never tinkered with them in real life.  If you haven’t seen this technology, watch this quick video above!  LittleBits are amazing!  I think students and teachers would have a great time using them to make, create, or learn a bit about science and engineering.

This week’s module has pushed me to reflect more on the tools and materials I have offered my school library in my maker space.  While I have wonderful resources, I think I need to take a step back and figure out how to offer more time with the materials in this space.  I’ve been challenged and inspired this week by the reading, exploring others’ maker spaces, and finding Colleen Graves’ Create + Collaborate Innovate blog.

Resources:

Graves, C. (2019).. Create + Collaborate Innovate. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://colleengraves.org/

littleBits Electronics. (2013, April 2). What is littleBits?  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPHj2H1C8JE

Cyberbullying

In 2017, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that approximately 20% of youth ages 12-18 were victims of bullying at school.  Bullying examples included rumors, insults, a student being pushed, a student threatened with harm, and the list continues.  As an educator, I unfortunately face instances when a child bullies another child.  I am educated and equipped to help the children in the situation if it occurs in the library.  What frightens me is that a lot of bullying incidents happen on the school bus, in the bathroom, on the playground out of ear’s reach of teachers.  As well, I’m concerned that 20% is on the low end and I think the true percentage could be higher.  I wonder if this survey was administered to all students in the United States.  Students deal with a lot in today’s society.  The aforementioned study only included “school” as in on the bus, in the classroom, etc.  It doesn’t begin to identify if students are bullied in other ways, especially cyberbullying.  With the use of cell phones and devices, students are around their peers more than while they are just at school.  This leads to many instances of cyberbullying through email, text, and social media.

According to research from 2016, nearly 1/10 students (middle through high school) have sent a sext.  This isn’t surprising and I actually thought it may be higher regarding the widespread use and ownership of cell phones by teenagers.  What surprised me is that this rate significantly increased if a young person was simply asked to send one.  It increased and nearly 6/10 young people sent a sext when propositioned or asked to send one.  This shows how young people can be easily influenced or pressured into activities they may not intend to engage in through normal circumstances.

Bullying lasts long beyond the playground.  There are workplace bullies and “queen bees” who want to see coworkers fail or removed from positions.  Of advocacy groups for bullying I saw in the resources, there was even a “Workplace Bullying Institute” and this was something I never knew existed.  While I have never felt personally threatened by a colleague, I know some of my colleagues have.  As educators, we must complete modules each year for topics like blood borne pathogens, proper use of a fire extinguisher, and bullying (in regards to the children we work with daily).  It is good to know resources are available to adults who have felt threatened or bullied in the workplace.

Interestingly, as October is Bullying Prevention month, my guidance counselor and I are co-teaching this week in the library.  With our older students (2^nd-4^th grade), we are going to cover topics related to substance abuse because it is Red Ribbon Week.  Also, we are going to cover bullying, what to do if you are being bullied, and how to avoid being a bully.  We are going to show the Brain Pop, Jr. video (which was mentioned by AASL), but we are also going to use some of the videos seen here!  We will be reading You’re Mean, Lily Jean and Llama Llama and the Bully Goat to our younger students (K4-1^st grade).  We will also use some of the videos previously mentioned.  I found it so interesting that one of the resources from AASL mentioned guidance counselors and librarians teaching together for the topic of bullying and I am engaging in this activity this week!

Resources:

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Indicators of          School Crime and Safety: 2018 (NCES 2019-047), Indicator 10.  Retrieved from                 https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=719

Patchin, J. W. (2019, July 17). Youth Sexting in the US: New Paper in Archives of Sexual              Behavior. Retrieved from https://cyberbullying.org/youth-sexting-archives-sexual-behavior

Workplace Bullying Institute: Retrieved from https://www.workplacebullying.org/

Vibby!

     Tell me, teacher.  Have you ever found the “almost” perfect video to show your class, but there is a minute or two of irrelevance that turns you away?  Vibby is your answer!  Vibby is a “lightweight video editing tool” used by thousands of teachers to make the most of their time and their students’ time.  With Vibby, anyone can edit a video as long as they have the web link from YouTube, Facebook, Google Drive, Dropbox, Vimeo, and the list goes on!  Once the link is pasted, the next part is a breeze.  The user can edit/shorten videos to clip out the most important parts they want to show a class.  For example, I recently found a clip to show my class on bats, but there is a distracting part near the beginning.  With Vibby, I can create a new vib of the same video and clip the part I don’t care to show my students.  Vibby allows the user to pause the video to add comments or guiding questions.  Once edited and saved, the user can then share the link to the new video.

Steps for Getting Started:

·        Visit Vibby to learn more about this tool and how it could work for you!

·        Sign in with your Google (or other email account) and use the tool for free!

·        Find a video that is “publicly hosted” such as a YouTube video.

·        Copy/Paste the web link of your video into Vibby and click Start.

·        Edit your video to remove distractions and add comments.

·        Save and share your new video!

·        Follow others on Vibby to find more edited videos that work for you/your class.

Quick Education on Vibby (as seen on the website):

Applications for Education:

     As I opened this tool during my module review, I knew I had to try the tool.  I used a quick video on bats that I showed to one of my classes recently.  This video is publicly hosted on YouTube.  The video is fun, it shares some basic facts about bats, and it shows great video of bats eating.  However, there is about five seconds at the beginning that could cause some students to go crazy because there is a horse with large teeth laughing.  While it may not seem like a big deal, if one or two students think it’s hilarious, it could set the tone for the complete video and the time would be wasted trying to settle the class.  So, I pasted the link, deleted the distracting part, and voila, was ready to go.  I didn’t have to “play” with the video in front of the kids and have them ask why I was fast forwarding, etc.  Also, goodbye YouTube ads and other distractions!

     So, a basic application of this tool is to remove unwanted or unnecessary content from a video to deliver a cleaner version to students.

     Another perk of this tool is that you can add comments or guiding questions at various points in your video.  As a teacher or librarian, this would help add purpose to using a video during instructional time.  You could use it as a review to ask a question, or you could use it as a chance to make students stop and discuss something in the video with their neighbor, etc.

     Students can use Vibby themselves!  As most schools are one-to-one with technology, if a student has a device, they can use this tool.  The tricky part would be if students don't have access to YouTube or other sites.  If they do, I had this thought.  If a teacher is teaching the students about the phases of the moon, he/she can direct students to a specific video about the content.  The teacher can then tell students they must create a vib to show their understanding of the phases.  A student can copy/paste the moon phase video into Vibby and then edit it however they creatively see fit.  During editing, students can add comments.  I can see a student adding comments like “I see the moon in the such-and-such phase because this is happening” and so on. 

Final Thoughts:

     Vibby allows you to save your vibs (edited videos)—how nice to have things streamlined in one place versus having to search year after year.  Also, Vibby works like Twitter, etc. where you can follow others who create vibs.  You can then use/watch their vibs and get more ideas from awesome people!

     Why waste five minutes of instructional time when you can change a video and show your students what matters most in three minutes?  This tool could be a game changer for your classroom or library!

Assisting Students (and Teachers) with Snap and Read Technology

     Students who are differently abled need inclusion and statistics prove that this type of academic setting is beneficial for both mainstream students and students who receive special services.  As I read information for this week’s module, I reflected greatly on my work experience.  I have been an educator for 14 years and I have worked with students from special services each year.  As a 5^th grade Science and Social studies teacher, I taught general education classes.  However, daily students from a special education classroom would join us for these subjects.  These students each had an IEP (individualized education plan) with accommodations.  Close proximity of seating in relation to the teacher inside the classroom, oral administration of quizzes and tests, abbreviated tests, use of overlays during reading, and verbal prompting were often included on each IEP.  These accommodations were vital to the overall success of each student.  However, when a teacher is tasked with differentiating instruction for 25 students and then additional accommodations are added, it is sometimes difficult to pull a small group or individual for testing while administering a test to a full class of students.  My district recognized the needs of the students and the teacher in this type of situation and purchased Kurzweil.  Teachers were able to monitor students and ensure that students who needed oral administration were able to receive this service during testing.  Many other resources have become available in recent years to aid students who are differently abled and this has been such a positive change for students and teachers.

     After searching for a web tool which could be used as adaptive technology, I came across a tool called Snap and Read (Click here to go to the site!) which encompasses many of the technologies needed to assist students with the aforementioned needs/accommodations. The tool, Snap and Read, includes the following:

·        Read Aloud (It will read aloud websites, PDFs, etc. and in different languages.)
·        Text Leveling (It can adjust the level of text within minutes without changing meaning.)
·        Translation (translates into 100+ languages)
·        Study Tools (can put text into outline to allow for note-taking)
·        Remove Distractions (will remove unnecessary content from a webpage)
·        Color Overlay (allows a user to change colors to highlight text)
·        Picture Supported Dictionary
·        Bibliographer (allows citing on the spot)
·        Screenshot Reader (users can select a box of text and it will be read aloud)
·        Readability Analyzer (gives text level of a web page)
·        Data Collector (allows the teacher to see how much students read and grade-level of text)
·        Annotation (allows note-taking and saving of text from PDF or web pages)

     It is employed in over 3,000 school districts, benefiting students greatly.  It can be used in many formats (Google Chrome extension, iPad app, online, PDFs, and the list goes on).  The pricing is also very reasonable ($4.99/month per subscription or $0.50-2.00 per student annually if purchased for multiple students within a school district).  I signed up for a free trial and tested the product out!  I really enjoyed the “Remove Distractions” feature and think this would be beneficial for students, especially the young students I teach.  I also changed the text on one website to simplify vocabulary.  It changed the word astronaut to “space travelers” in one part of the text.  I am not sure if this is totally helpful as most students would know what an astronaut is, but they may be more likely to know the word space before astronaut.  I used the overlay feature and screenshot reader features and both worked well.  I think this tool would be helpful overall but students (and teachers) would need a tutorial to know how to use it.  As well, it would be important to train students to actually use the tools in their toolkit.

     In conclusion, I am thankful that there are tools like this one available.  Students have such an opportunity today that wasn’t around even 10 years ago to aid their educational careers.  Also, teachers are the beneficiary in this situation as well and are now more equipped to help students with various needs.

“Makey-Makey” Technology Part of your Classroom as you Replace, Amplify, and Transform Learning

Educators want and need technology integration in classrooms today.  Our world is in constant collision with technology and to prepare 21st Century learners, teachers must develop lessons with technology integration.  As many schools push to become 1 : 1 with devices, technology integration is easier than ever before because students have access.

Originally, the RAT (Replacement, Amplification, Transformation) Model, was created for PK-12 education.  It has been implemented in higher education as well to help preservice teachers and teachers increase technological decision-making (Hughes).  The RAT acronym is a manageable way to remember your expectations for student learning.  The graphic below is great at explaining the process of the RAT model.

Using a technology tool and the RAT Model can lift your lessons to new heights!  Using Makey-Makey kits can allow students to take ownership in their learning as you help them move through the RAT model.  If the students can have a learning experience that is comparable to a flying car (as seen above in the model), the retention of the lesson will be a wonderful bonus.

What are Makey-Makey kits?

I found a great explanation of what these kits entail in a free resource from the Makey-Makey site in the section of FREE lesson plan ideas (Did someone mention FREE lesson plans?).  Here is a snippet of what a Makey-Makey kit is and how it can be used in the classroom.

Here is what a Makey-Makey kit looks like!

You may be thinking that a Makey-Makey kit looks complicated, but I assure you that once you use it and experiment a few times, you’ll have no problem using all those wires (all wires are not necessary by the way)!  Also, trust me when I say your students will catch on with no problem—they’ll most likely figure out things you haven’t and teach you!  Of course, to use the Makey-Makey kit, you will want to use a computer and most likely the platform of Scratch to help with coding your student projects. (Click here for the Scratch coding site!)

How can I use a Makey-Makey kit with the RAT model?

Original Lesson Plan: After extensive teaching of story elements within picture books, students create books of their own with paper, pencil, crayons, and markers.  Students include character(s), setting, events, problem, and solution in their creation.  Students read their stories aloud to the class or peers..

 

Replacement: The teacher still teaches story elements and book-making, but uses the tools of Makey-Makey, Scratch, and a chrome book to show students how to code characters (sprites in Scratch) talking and how to create characters in a story.  This is more of a modeling stage to helping students understand how the Makey-Makey kit can work with the coding program of Scratch.  In Scratch, there are functions for voice recording, backgrounds, dialogue bubbles, etc.

Amplification:  Students work together using the aforementioned tools to experiment and create a story with a scene (setting) and it can change during the story which is nice.  They will create characters and dialogue for the story as well.  As they work, they will have to test codes to see what works best to bring their stories to life.  Students can work individually or in pairs (really dependent on how many Makey-Makey kits the teacher has available).

Transformation: Students will set up the Scratch stories to fit with codings of the Makey-Makey kits.  This will allow students to have an interactive station for other students to visit and listen to their stories.  Students can attach cards (with conductive materials like a banana, play-doh, or copper tape) that say Character(s), Setting, Problem, Solution to the Makey-Makey kit.  These cards can also be picture representations.  As visitors come to listen, they can enjoy a student-created story and then tap the various cards to learn more about the story elements present in their classmates’ stories.

Ultimately, students will need a good bit of time to experiment with the chrome book, Scratch, and Makey-Makey kits, but once students complete a project, future projects go very quickly!  .

Helpful Links to Get Started with Makey-Makey and Scratch!

For more information, ideas, and resources for Makey-Makey kits, click here!

For more information, ideas, tutorials for Scratch, click here!

Scratch Interactive Stories

Resources:

Hughes, J. (2010-2019). Replacement, Amplification, and Transformation: The R.A.T. Model.                   Retrieved from https://techedges.org/r-a-t-model/

Kelly. (2016, March 1). The RAT Model. [Blog post]. Retrieved from                                  https://instructionaldesignbykelly.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/the-rat-model/

“Scratch” Paper and Pencil! Let’s “Makey” Learning Exciting with Interactive Posters!

Calling all teachers, but specifically ELA teachers!  Have you heard of Makey-Makey invention kits?  I am new to Makey-Makey as well, but I’ve found some great instructions from The Techie Teacher and she gives a wonderful explanation of how these kits work in the classroom.  After attending a professional development, a few of my colleagues returned to school with a mission: to locate funds to purchase Makey-Makey kits.  My administration bought 15 kits and tasked me with the job of helping classroom teachers with Makey projects this year.  As I’ve been searching for ideas and help in tackling this project, The Techie Teacher, was instantly my new BFF!  Julie Smith blogs on many ed tech topics, but in her post about Makey-Makey (Academic Ways to Use Makey-Makey), she gives an in-depth overview of the kits, lesson ideas for how to use them from introductory stages to student-exploratory stages, and finally, some links to fun projects with Makey-Makey in action.

You may be curious as to where you can take this, and I have decided to begin with my ELA teachers.  Some Makey project ideas I have brainstormed with teachers are: interactive posters, book blurbs, and biography research projects.  We’ve also considered teaching students the nature of the Makey-Makey control panel and showing them how it is similar to game controllers.  If students understand this concept, then they could turn topics into games.  What student doesn’t love a game, even if it is on the topic of cause and effect?  Of course, this will require modeling from the classroom teacher and myself, but I know that students will find engagement with projects like these instead of creating paper graphic organizers or book reports.

Interactive Posters

A colleague and I finished a project with students this week!  This was our first time working with the kits and a computer-coding program, Scratch.  The students researched animals and used nonfiction books from the library and an SC Discus source, Britannica Elementary.  The students were asked to locate specific information to avoid sharing everything they read.  We asked students in each group to find information on the animal’s body, movement, adaptations, habitat, and diet.  In this way, we linked ELA (research skills) with Science (the animal study).  First, the students used their sources to locate information.  They recorded notes along the way.  After they found the information they wanted to use, they created a poster with limited text.  It was mostly pictures except the part where we labeled the posters to give the students guidance.  We then introduced them to Scratch (super awesome coding site—your students will surprise you with how quickly they catch on) and recorded them reading their research pieces.  Once all of the audio pieces were recorded, we learned how to code (connect space bar with animal diet audio recording, connect right arrow with animal adaptation recording, etc.).  We attached conductive material (aluminum foil) to the poster elements and connected the Makey-Makey wires to each part of the poster.  Students were then ready to present their research.  They invited other students from other classrooms to come and try out their posters.  As students tapped the aluminum foil points, others were amazed at the “talking posters” the students created.  It was a fun project and now that I know how to use the kits and the computer program, Scratch, I look forward to working with others in my building to create interactive presentations.  The sky is really the limit for Makey-Makey.  I can see story element posters, book blurbs in the library (my idea is to connect a laptop/Scratch and Makey-Makey to actual books so that when students tap a book they will hear about it from another student who has already read it), and biography briefs (like news commercials to highlight famous people).

My first project was with a third grade class because I have a great relationship with the teacher and class.  I felt like they would catch on quickly and really, the results were wonderful.  Of course there were hiccups along the way (you really need a silent place to record and the wires are sensitive, so conductors need to be spaced out), but I would say our first collaboration with Makey-Makey and Scratch went smoothly.  Why am I advocating for these tools with such little experience?  The students can tell you every part of their research (and other student projects) from memory and are BEGGING to work on another project.  Other students who visited the classroom to interact with the “talking posters” have already asked their teachers when they will get to work on projects like this one.  The integration of Makey-Makey and Scratch took us away from the typical reports and graphic organizers.  Lastly, I think teachers would benefit from using tools like these because sometimes ELA can be viewed as boring.  Let the students create a product they have most of the ownership of and it won’t be as boring! 

We pushed ourselves to learn about two new tools and alternative products to show learning.  It took a lot of planning and work, but the end product was worth it!  I am looking forward to leading in my school as we integrate more technology (Johnson, 2012).

Here are the proud Penguin researchers!

Resources:

Johnston, M. P. (2012). School librarians as technology integration leaders: Enablers and barriers to leadership enactment. School Library Research, 15, 1–33.

Smith, J. (2017, June 2). Academic ways to use the makey-makey in the classroom. [Blog post]. Retrieve from https://www.thetechieteacher.net/2017/06/academic-ways-to-use-makey-makey-in.html

Informational Literacy and Our Responsibility

It is evident from our learning module this week that teachers and teacher librarians have an enormous job: assisting young people with the skills necessary to make understanding from all types of sources.  Information literacy is imperative in today’s world as technology and information are at our fingertips and search results can be produced within seconds.  People of all ages, especially young people, need to learn how to find information, read it, check sources, question material, and make judgments.  I think the concept of The Big6 Skills are excellent in providing a foundational education in how to work with information (Big6 Skills Overview).  As I read through the skills, I decided the steps made sense for how I am currently working on a project in another SLIS course.  As librarians, these skills would be wonderful in introducing research to young people just as teachers use the Scientific Method with students to conduct experiments and science projects.  Also, I really appreciated the tip for checking out the Big3 included in our module.  I found the Super3 model online (https://thebig6.org/) and thought this would be simple to create signage and to implement in my library classes.  Plan, Do, and Review seem to be more user-friendly for younger students and I plan to add this model to my resource list for when I begin research in a few weeks with my older classes.

 

I reflected upon my information diet this week, especially after I listened to the Liturgists’ podcast.  I truly think I try to balance my information intake, but sometimes I can become a mindless consumer that scrolls through social media following clickbait as the hosts of the podcast shared.  While my political leanings may align with one news agency more, I actually have several of its opponents within my apps as well.  Each day, when I view the news, I make a point to view each agency to see what they are saying about the same topics.  I have found this to be very informational and it has helped me to recognize how my news outlet may lean a little too much at times or vice versa.  I also really appreciated the hosts of the podcast saying that there is a news outlet that can give you immediate information and you can walk there.  I often look at national and world news reports more than I do with my local news.  I really have no idea why I have never noticed this until this week’s module.  I spend an incredible amount of time keeping up with national news and rarely investigate local reports that potentially affect me more!  I think one of the reasons is that to view my local news online (where I do most of my reading and reflecting), my local news charges an access fee for the news.  I just don’t feel the need to pay for news.  I occasionally click on their free or released articles online, but mostly it’s out of sight and out of mind because of the access fee.  After reflection, I am considering a purchased subscription to stay more connected locally.

An information diet for a librarian should avoid bias.  As a librarian, you are charged with the task of informing your patrons through print sources, media sources, and more.  While a librarian cannot know all answers, a librarian should be able to point patrons to sources that will help them gain the information they are interested in reading.  If a librarian has certain political leanings or personal beliefs, he/she must be careful to share resources with patrons without a personal agenda.  Librarians should share sources that can help patrons gain information in an unbiased way, so they are allowed to form their own opinions and draw their own conclusions about the information they are ingesting.  As well, librarians should encourage patrons to view multiple sources for the information they seek.  Librarians should be trained in research methods to help patrons to consider sources for bias, cross-check articles or reports with other reports, and to determine if sources are credible.  In Truth, truthiness, triangulation: a news literacy toolkit for a “post-truth” world, Joyce Valenza states that “it has always been up to the reader or viewer to make the reliability and credibility decisions,” (Valenza, 2016).  Librarians should make it a goal to help patrons search in the same manner.  A school librarian, in my opinion, has a greater responsibility with this issue than other librarians because school librarians are definitely influential in the lives of their patrons.  Students are impressionable and many will take a teacher’s word or librarian’s word as fact without questions.  It is important for school librarians to realize the role they play in students’ lives and to be careful when helping students find information.  As models for 21^st Century Learners, librarians are tasked with helping students to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills (P21 Partnership for 21^st Century Learning, 2015).  Teaching students how to examine sources, fact-check, and search for bias is important to these skills and to a librarian’s job.

In a world that is overwhelmed with information, it is our job to help others know how to locate and process information!

 

Resources:

Framework for 21^st century learning. (2015). Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/athompson/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/IE/53C5XBND/P21_Framework_Definitions_New_Logo_2015.pdf 

 

 

Gungor, M., McHargue, M., & Matthews, W. (2017, March 7). Fake news and media literacy. The Liturgists.    Podcast retrieved from https://theliturgists.com/podcast/2017/3/7/fake-news-media-literacy

 

 

Super3 Model and Graphic: https://thebig6.org/

 

 

The Big6 Skills Overview: file:///C:/Users/athompson/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/IE/53C5XBND/Big6+Skills+Overview.pdf

 

 

Valenza, J. (2016, November 26). Truth, truthiness, triangulation: a news literacy toolkit for a “post-truth” world. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2016/11/26/truth-truthiness-triangulation-and-the-librarian-way-a-news-literacy-toolkit-for-a-post-truth-world/