Blog Post 4:Technology Leadership Role of School Librarians

21^st century learners and building a 21^st century learning environment does not happen overnight. Patrons need to understand that librarians are not just the person sitting behind the circulation desk, they are much more.  Librarians hold numerous roles.  Librarians are information specialists who keep up with the constant changes in information and technology. (Mashrigi, 2016)   With the technology age becoming the norm, librarians need to focus on building this community by maintaining the love of books, but also brining in the technologies needed to entertain this 21^st century learner.

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) standards for the 21^st century learner build off of common beliefs of how and why students learn.  With these beliefs the AASL built standards on how learners use skills, resources and tools in these four items.

1.       Inquire, think critically and gain knowledge. 

2.       Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to how 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, p2)

Librarians use these standards to help build their collections and activities in their library.  It is their job to make sure that all elements of the 21^st century learner are embedded and utilized.

By carrying over theses 21^st century skills and being a librarian that believes in these skills will show the patrons of your library that it is a place of more than just reading and researching.  It becomes a place of true hands on learning skills.  Students will be willing participants, when their ideas are utilized more than just on paper, giving them an opportunity to make the library their own.  This participatory culture has also transformed learning, particularly in skills that are needed to ensure productive participation such as collaboration, self-direction, systems thinking, information literacy and design thinking. (Subramaniam, 2016)

Learning these aspects and finding ways to use them in the library will benefit all involved.  It will bring people together and help in the common goal of becoming a 21^st century learning environment.

References

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

Association of School Librarians.  p1-8.

Mashriqi, K., 2011.  Implementing technology and gaming in a school library.  Knowledge Quest, 40(1).

P24-28. 

Subramaniam, M., 2016. Designing the library of the future for and with teens:  Librarians as the

“connector” in connected learning.  The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults, 7(2). P2-18.

Blog Post 3: Technology Implementation Strategies

As a librarian, teacher and media specialist for my campus is a huge responsibility.  It is our job to insure that our students are becoming twenty-first century learners.  We accomplish this by embedding technology is all aspects of our curriculum and learning styles.  Though it may be hard at first it is important to remember that this is where our world is taking us and it needs to start were our students begin, in school. 

The article, Piloting the Learning Commons, gave me a new perspective on the design of a library and media center.  Having this learning commons integrates technology right away and makes it readily available for students and staff when needed.  There is no waiting time because the equipment and sources are right at their fingertips.  Though this could be an ideal way to set up your library and media center, it does and will take time to get there.  With this, we need to make sure that we are utilizing our technology with our students to get them ready for such an event.

The learning commons is set up with the students in mind.  There is a variety of furniture and equipment for the students to use.  They do not have to wait as much because everything they need is at their fingertips.  The use of different design software to enhance projects and research is also available.  The learning commons becomes a place not only for reading; it becomes a place for thinkers and problem solvers.  Students collaborate with each other, teacher and media specialist.  They develop their ideas, brainstorm and plan.

This kind of environment also helps in units of study.  The students are excited to use the space and become excited in using all the technology and print sources available.  Teacher collaboration also falls in this category.  When students are excited about the lesson or project, the teacher is also excited and it makes the lesson flow better. 

The article discusses makerspace, Tinkercad, Cubify, Schoology and Google Documents.  Utilizing the makerspace area gives the students ideas, examples and lessons to explore.  Tinkercad and Cubify were used with their 3D printer technology and Schoology was the learning management system they used for assignments, discussion threads, questionnaires and quizzes.  Google Documents was used in a similar way, to keep students and teachers collaborating with their lessons and assignments.

Reading this article helped me understand more about learning commons and the use of technology as a tool for learning.  Some strategies that I took away and will use in my classroom will be the open seating model, google documents and a type of learning management system. 

The open seating model, though it is not a technology, is a strategy that will benefit my students by giving them some independence as they work.  This will help them become comfortable with our classroom and gain interest in the assignment.  Having this seating available will make the use of technology more open and interesting.

Using Google Documents and a learning management system will alleviate some stressors for the student and teacher.  Having assignments done online will help with a paperless classroom.  Being able to do assessments online will help with grading.  Using shared documents will benefit student groups and collaboration.  They will also help with teacher notes on the assignments.  Having these in my classroom will make my teaching a little easier and become a facilitator and the students become the teachers. 

Reference

Murry, E. (2015). Piloting the learning commons.  Teacher Librarian, 43(1), 18-24.