Reflections

1/25/2010 (module 1) What do these videos have to do with my roles as a teacher librarian Who are my patrons? What do they require of me?

After watching the video's in this module I get the overall impression of a fast passed, fast changing world which is propelling forward because of and in pursue of technology. With all the things that we can do with technology to teach students, technology is our vise and our biggest challenge. It was pretty amazing to see visually and concretely how the world has been changing since I was in Elementary school, High School, even College.

Technology as a bridge between the world community and schools was a them that made me think that maybe as teacher librarians we are the toll collector, except we are not collecting but rather providing. Without us information can either over whelm a student or even be lost to them on a huge scale. We are looking at the task of prepare students for a world that is more connected, more digital and highly unpredictable. For the first time even the not so distant future is something we can not clearly describe. He talked about the 3 three converging conditions: Preparing for a future that is unclear, Today's kids are different because they live in a digital world, and information is different and growing with Web 2.0. The idea that new literacy really in composes the exposure our kids have, and inevitably need to know information through technology to learn how to process, expose truth, and employ information productively. The old use of information was to consume information that has been presented and created by others. The new way of thinking of and using information is for empowerment. Kids today are growing up in a world where they do not just simply consume information but are active participants in its creation. This makes it more important than ever to instill ethical use of information starting as soon as children are able to participate in its consumption, as early as kindergarten.

"A Vision of Students Today" really put things into perspective. Its really amazing to think about how much time kids spend using technology and how the simpler ways of interacting with information, such as reading a book, has become a small fraction of their lives. This is something that obviously is not going to change back to the days where kids interact without technology. It is also amazing that teaching doesn't seem to be keeping up. Kids need to learn by interacting with the information in the ways they are most comfortable. We managed without cellphones, game consoles, computers, internet, and more, but as teachers we can not think about what we did but what kids are doing today. This is a huge gap that needs to be bridged and the library is a great place to start. Our students are creators as well as consumers and we need to teach them how to do it all. If we dont know the technology it is impossible to close the divide and so as teacher librarians we are required to be learners as well as teachers. We need to learn along with and one step a head of our students. More than ever we will need to know new things about information and technology in the beginning, middle and "end" of our careers. No longer can we assume that tomorrows world or tomorrows students will be the same as they are today.

2/3/2011 (PLN)

Looking through my PLN this week 1 article from statesman.com really caught my eye. We talk a lot in our classes about being a leader and an educator and how we need to advocate and prove our worth every day. This article is entitled"Why Librarians are essential" It was written by a school librarian in Texas about recent budget cuts. I was shocked, but not surprised to see that the idea's and values school librarians have and those of administrators are extremely different. We know our worth and we know why we are important. We also know how much work we do; but what about those who are deciding our fate? In this particular case 52 elementary librarians managed to convince the board to spare their jobs, for now. But the High School and Middle school librarians were not as convincing. The administrators believe that librarians can operate several school libraries rather than having librarians at each school. I wonder if this is really how people feel or if this is just a justification for pulling something away from our children that might better their lives? Do we really have to explain why hoping between schools prevents us from concentrating on what the collection, school and student's need? Are we destined to be "the keeper of the books" or worse, the story lady? Is it possible to reverse a situation like this if we are not given the time and resources to concentrate on our curriculum and collection in a specific school? I'm not sure of the answers to any of these but am hoping this class and others will help me fill my tool belt to combat this scary possibility of reality.

Stevenson, Sara. "Why librarians are essential." //Statesman//. CoXMedia Group, 01/26/2011. Web. 3 Feb 2011. .

2/12/2011 (Module 2) One of the reoccurring themes that I took special note of in this weeks learning is the idea that 21st Century learning and teaching theories are easier said then done. That Theory is an important aspect of convincing colleagues of your importance, but is often not enough to change how the educational framework operates.Today's schools are year behind what is happening outside of the classroom, there for widening the digital divide among the next generation. Blooms Taxonomy, more importantly the revised version, talks about lower order thinking skills as building blocks towards higher order thinking skills, rather than the end all of education. Yet through government mandates and traditional educational thinking, our fellow teachers are stuck with teaching for standardized tests. That the only way we can be sure students are learning is if they memorize enough facts. As school librarians we need to break through this wall of knowledge based learning and find away to bring the other stages of learning into play. We need to find away to infuse ourselves in the learning process so student's have the opportunity to understand this knowledge, how to use it and why its so important. It so true that you can not understand what comes next if you do not remember what came before. But wouldn't it be a shame if our student's never got the opportunity to ask or see what comes next? Isn't that what 21st century learning is all about? Isn't that what life long learning is all about?

I think the readings really emphasize that this is something that we as Media Specialist bring to the educational process. That we need to find away to bring this level of Higher Order thinking without losing site of the fact that those who we wish to collaborate with have different agendas and different goals. But if we do not become leaders and show them that our theories and studies about 21st Century learning is just as important then we don't deserve to be part of the process. This is where I think the cartoon quote resonates. "I forgot to make a back-up copy of my brain, so everything I learned last semester was lost." Students today are bombarded with technology and what comes next. And then they are expected to remember and learn as if that technology doesn't exist. This isn't preparing them for life long learning. Its simply mutling the waters. If they can not remember what came before, how can they reach a higher level of understanding? And if they do not reach a higher level of understanding, then what is the point? And then there is the "Digital Bloom". I think this is to remind us that there are tools out there and a whole world that students will come into contact with, whether they or we like it or not. To ignore it is to limit the learning process. To embrace it is to open up opportunities to teach and learner at a high level. High order thinking is encouraged by all the innovations we see.

The next aspect of the reading that caught my attention is the idea of the Culture of Inquiry. Inquiry as the determining factor of the direction for future research. "Culture, or civilization, taken in its broad, ethnographic sense, is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society"(Gordon, 73-74). Its interesting to think of our continuing learning as part of teaching strategy. We need to be life long learners in order to teach life long learning. Knowledge is creation, creation is inquiring and inquiring is learning. All the skills and information we can infuse into the educational process through the school library.

2/19/2011 (Module 3)

Exploring, playing and leaning on Prezi, Animoto and Glogster was very interesting.

On Prezi I did take a look at the video's but found that most of the simple, beginning actions were better learned by the walk through they have when you begin editing a new project. The one thing the video did do is give me some ideas of more advanced things I can do with the site and a basic overview of how to do them. I think the video's were a bit dry and tedious, making it hard to keep focused on actually "learning" the functions of the site. The hands on user manual and, walk through presentation, and simply pulling up your sleeves and starting are the best way to learn this tool. I do feel you need some basic computer skills to use this tool. However you do not need an extremely creative eye or advances skills as the tool lends itself to make even a simple presentation more interesting. On thing I really liked about the videos is that if you do not have a creative eye there is one video that helps you understand presentation and placement to be most effective. This is unnecessary for someone with a graphic eye, or an experience presenter, but helpful for a complete beginner.

On Glogster I found this was the most user friendly of the tools. Rather than video's and manuals, I found Glogster did a great job of walking you through what you are doing while you do it. And even once you are past the beginner steps the buttons and modes are easy to follow with no complicated layers in actions. The tips on the bottom of the page while you are in editing mode are really helpful and even give you ideas on other actions and elements to add to your presentation. Much more static of a presentation than Prezi it is very similar and would really depend on the type of presentation you want and what you are trying to say about the subject. Gloggster is almost like a living poster rather than a living presentation. For the low tech, beginner user, I think Glogster is the way to go. Its user friendly and easy to learn. Its not only great to add as a picture to a website, or to use for a presentation, but would even be a great way to make really impressive posters in your library or classroom. This is also a great tool to use as an aspect of a student project if the parameters and expectations are well thought out and accompanied by a more detailed element such as a paper, wiki and or speaking presentation.

On Animoto they have a easy to follow "Features" page which is really helpful. Unlike the other sites, you can pick and choose which directions you need to read. This is especially important because some of the features are a little difficult to figure out on you own. Though the fact that they walk you through the steps as you make your video is create. The fact they they walk you through the basic steps of making your video as you make it is great too. I personally like to also have the option to just do the project without being bogged down with the directions, once i have a handle on the technology. Though this is good for students or less technologically savvy teachers/librarians since the features can be difficult to navigate. And the sample videos are great. The just for fun and small business videos gave me some great ideas and really gave me a chance to see what the videos should look like as an end product.

2/27/2011 (Module 4)

This weeks reading made something very clear; its not how well you know the technology but how you use it to inspire students. More than every technology and the ability to not only consume but create is becoming an essential skill for the next generation. It reminds me of the changing world of employment for our generation. When our grandparents and even our parents entered the work force basically literacy (reading and writing) was really all you needed. Then the computer become something that everyone needed to know. But most jobs only required typing and retrieval skills. For most of us we may have needed slightly more advanced abilities but in the grand scheme of things were still simplistic. If we needed something more complicated there was a professional to call. Students need to know how to do it all! But something i want to find out more about is keeping the focus on the skill of understanding and using information. Kids seem to fall into the trap of thinking the presentation and technology are more important then the information. This can hinder them more than help them and its our job to keep them focused.

Storybird is a really great tool to introduce young kids to story telling, ebooks and sequencing. Even as a beginning tool for a more complicated project I think its great. It uses the technology in a way that focuses on the information (the story) not the technology since much of the technology is done for you. The simplicity of the tool is what makes it so amazing, and at the same time its so interesting, engaging and imaginative.

280slides. What a great tool. It takes all the mystery out of making a presentation. It also makes it so students can work on a presentation from any computer so starting it in school and finishing it at home would be a cinch, even if they don't have PowerPoint at home. Plus it seems easier to use than PowerPoint which would be a huge plus for younger users. I like that you can change the order of slides. Same as in Storybird with the pages. Some children thinking in less of a straight line and this feature helps let them follow they're train of thought and organize later. I can see using this for a number of different types of projects including a simple lesson plan of my own. What better way to tell kids how to use a tool then to show them its winsomeness?

Voice-thread really brings a new perspective to teaching literature to students. Even the youngest students who have not reached a high level of writing literacy can show critical thinking and comprehension of the stories told to them. The example of the read aloud re told in crayon drawings and the voice of the 1st grade class is something I might try myself. It really gave a clear picture of the level of understanding and is a great way to share with parents and other students. The best was that they involved the author by sending the project and posting her encouraging response. This is a create way to get feed back from other students, parents and the teachers. Seeing the tool used in collaboration gives me some great ideas. This seems like a fun and educational tool to use in order to connected inquiry and research skills learned in the library to the curriculum in the class room. It also gives a chance for students to get real and honest feedback to improve their understanding and skills.

Love dipity. I think it could actually be used to enhance a webquest I created last year. When you want students to think in terms of order and importance this tool can really help with visualizing the idea.


 * Class:** 9th Grade English Class
 * Unit:** Literature; Text to life connections (duration 3 weeks)
 * Project:** Students will pick an author who's career spans at least 10 years. They will use 3-5 of there books to by this author to track the stories along with their own lives. Using photos, illustrations and text students will produce a time line of which ages each book would reflect a part of their lives. Each book and photo should be accompanied with an explanation of why it falls in its place in the time line. Students can work alone or in pairs. If in pairs 5-7 books should be used. This can be accomplished either as a video time line or physical time line
 * Tools:** Students will have a choose to use __Digty__ for physical time lines using scanned photos and illustrations along with short written captions or __Voice-thread__ for video time lines using scanned photos and illustrations along with spoken explanations. Students will then embed their completed projects on a class website.

3/6/2011 (Module 5) Berger Text Chapter 5: Content Collaboration The text talks about 3 2.0 tools for collaborative learning in schools. Wikis have become something I have grown personally fond of. The text reading reinforced my feeling that wikis can provide a wealth of information in an interactive format which encourages deeper thinking and comprehension of material. The wonderful thing about wikis is that even the youngest of children and the most technological inept parent or teacher can read and contribute to wikis.There is little or no technical skill needed to use this tool beyond some simple setup instructions given by the servers which provide them. This tool can be used for everything from presentation notes (group or individual) to supplimental project information, to being used as a website project in its self.

Then there is the all empowering blog. this is a great way to map student progress o a subject. A great tool to use as a space where students can share sources, thoughts and interesting information on a designated topic. This is a great tool because a teacher, parent or fellow students can "follow" a student's blog. I'm not sure how well this works as a group effort tool, but it is a great tool for receiving feed back. Unlike a wiki commenting can occur with a blog which as an element of learning from others. This allows students to receive feedback which can be from letting them know they are on the right track to steering them back to where they should be on a project. Before we had this tool students would do their research, write there paper and get a feedback at the end of the process unless they asked questions. This forces students to let the teacher and others know where they are in the seeking out of information process and guides them every step of the way. It also slows the process down showing students the important of allowing time to search and process information before compiling a final product.

Finally the text talked about Group spaces. This is the tool I have the least personal experience with but have heard it used in several schools. This is a form of technology and collaboration that I personally have limited experience with. Another issue is that in many of the schools I have been in I hear that some of these tools, such as Skype, are not allowed in the schools in district policies. Google docs and the other note taking tools are really interesting. Reading the text I was a bit overwhelmed by the different types of note taking tools. It seems many of them are all too similar to decide which one to use. It would be really important to ask around and find out what others have tried. Its also a bit intimidating because these tools require students to have email address and are really only good for older students due to technical knowledge needed and age limitations of the tools. I think in the digital age it is important to use these tools as we are become a society that collaborate more and more but meet face to face less and less. I like the idea of using google docs to allow students to work together "meeting" to work on projects and compiling a final project together. Even if in the same space (classroom, library, computer-lab) these tools give an opportunity for fluid compilation of ideas and final product. I think this can possible take some of the frustration out of group work. And also gives the educator an opportunity to see who is doing what in the project. Much like wikis and blogs for individuals, these tools give the opportunity to guide groups into the direction you want them to be going in and encourage members to work cooperatively and equally.

4/1/2011 (Module 6)

I don't really have much new to say about the UBD resources as we learned about this is detail during LIS620. However since then I love the UBD model. It is my favorite template to use when preparing a lesson plan project. It really lends itself to the information process of teaching found in the Library Media Center as well as collaboration to link activities in the Media Center with a lesson or activity taking place in the classroom.

The reading in the text on Media Sharing and Social networking really highlight much of what we've been talking about for the last 3 months and beyond. Bring any sort of collaboration, visual and or creative element to teaching will engage students and therefore elevate their level of learning and thinking. I'm not sure if I was surprised at the number of teens who are using and creating on the internet, but it really emphasized for me that this is the way to link educating them and introducing them to information in schools. I think we also underestimate even the youngest of students and should be integrating media sharing even at the elementary level. Media sharing is also a natural tool for differentiated instruction some students are simply going to absorb more when they are part of the process and/ or when audio and visual elements are incorporated into a lesson.

The discussion on Porcasts and Voicethreads brought a new light to how and why we should use such tools. What's so wonderful about these tools is that it provides a "safe" environment for discussion/ It also allows for replay and multiple viewings which could be helpful with more complicated topics or even to encourage more in depth discussion among student. Again, another good tool when looking to differentiate. The idea that more visual students have an opportunity to show their understanding with drama or visual efforts is also a great reason to consider these tools.

Then there is Social Networking. It is something that is not often thought of as an educational tool, but if you can harness the interactive appeal than it can prove invaluable. The idea of combining interactivity, socialization, and creative license can really help students own there education and improve the outcome of information retention with that ownership. I was not aware of many of the available social networking sites and services that are education and interest oriented. I'm not sure how this would work with a large group, but if broken down into small or medium size groups I think students would really enjoy taking ownership of their own lesson.

My PLN Gems Have gravitated to two themes this semester. How to advocate for your program and why. And technology for teaching and interacting with students. I have become in-particularly a fan of Buffy Hamilton's blog "The Unquiet Library" and Joyce Valenza's "Neverendingsearch" Blog. Both of these women talk a great deal about how important it is to get the entire school and community involved. They have some great ideas, some of which I have collected for future use such as Buffy's story about getting the custodial staff involved. What a simple concept, yet I never really thought of getting non educational staff involved in the library program. And then Joyce's discussion on book trailers. I've seen these in action and they are great. Even with kids who are reluctant readers or bellow level readers, or rather especially with reluctant and bellow level readers. Its great to see Joyce agrees with the power of this tool. I also found several other articles that were insightful on how to advocate or promote for your program. And then there were cool little articles, like how to use wordles productively that really emphasize what we have been learning and what I have been seeing from some of my favorite librarians over the last year.

4/5/2011 (Module 7)

Thie Internet saftey video was a bit long but had a lot of great points. The idea that kids are seen as "potential victims" but that's is not how they feel about themselves on the internet is a very powerful idea. Rather than victimizing, we should be empowering our kids online. We've moved from interenet saftey meaining shielding from adult content, to interent safety as sheilding from ciber bulling to internet saftey as both and so much more. We've been reading and talking about the gab between how students are using digital media and how we learn with digital media and this point was once again highlighted. Online socializing reflects real life. "The environment is school, not Facebook, or world of world craft, etc." The idea that digital media is not an add on but rather part of the lives of students today really grabbed me. Its something that we as library media specialist should keep in mind and live by when thinking about digital media and our students. Another idea that really resonated with me is that we have to change the way we think of kids online because our impression is not reallity. That the way they act and interact online mimic real life and is an extension of their community rather than and addition. I also never really thought about the fact that activities online are largily about school and there for the extension to school projects and lessons is a natural connection rather than an artificial integration. And also the fact that the same good and bad things that happen in real life happen online.That the good kids and the bad kids are the same way in their behavior online as well as at risk kids online are the same tat are at risk in life. We think all kids are at risk online, but online is not the big bad world we assume it is, at least not any more than the world outside of the computer. If we educate kids, and nurture them, they'll be just fine. The Playground analogy was so true and one I had never heard before but will be sure to keep in mind in the future. That the online environment needs to be more of a self patrolled environment for fun, enrichment and education. The more important education for online safety is helping kids see that the digital world can easily blur the lines between public and private. That privacy no longer public vs private but rather control of your image. It is important for students to understand online is the same community, that it is real. In this vain the that high energy and an positive environment not only helps self esteem but overall learning environment for students. That digital media can be used to enrich that environment rather than perpetuate negativity. I found it interesting that they said that a no tolerance policy where bulling and other inappropriate online and off line behavior may be too drastic, causing further victimization, that retraining and teaching about cyber bulling, bulling in general and sexting is a better solution. "Media, text and life skills." Greater freedom in school, less vulnerable to online danger. "Whole School-community Approach"

I'm really loving inspiration.com. The combination of its intuitive nature, training resources, professional development events and funding and grants page really makes this a valuable resource. Many of the features of this sight can be found as other, separate tools but the combination of all of these features along with the great activities and tools for students is immeasurable. One thing I really love about this site is that it is community oriented, just as we need to be in our library programs which makes this service a natural partner for us. A tool which has tools within it is great, but more important it that the standards are built in an explained, the thinking is inline with our teaching, and their are boundless examples built into the site. Why recreate the wheel if it already exists and is accessible to you. Can we live without inspiration.com? Yes, Yes we can. But if we have the money in our budgets, then why should we have to? It's like living without ice cream; we don't need it for its nutritional value, but it sure makes life more delicious!

As for noodletools.com. I've seen this used in libraries I've observed and took a second look at this site for this module. Though I am impressed and it has some wonderful tools to aid student and teacher through the search and learning process, I'm not sure if it is the best use of resources. The tools here can easily become a crutch for students and walks the fine line between helpful and hindering. Once again their are free services out there that can help with the same tasks and skills and cost no money. I've seen these other tools used as well and find they are just as effective and may even be better. Although noodletools is another one stop shopping source and if purchased can be a great resource if used in conjuction with educating students on what exactly the tools are doing for them.

The learning commons seems like a no brainer and yet to many schools have not seen "the light". There were so many ideas that I have seen in libraries I've observed would love to try in my own library/ learning commons one day. I think one important thing to remember is many of these aspects are needed to create a true learning commons, but just one does not make a learning commons. Though just one is the way to start one the road to the needed change, which seemed to be one of the themes of this weeks article readings. A comfortable and inviting space, with programs that encourage the entire school community to use and be involved in the school media program, as well as the technology to move learning into the 21st Century are all needed to make a true learning commons. It seems frustrating that the change from the old to the new can take so many years and then need continuing changes to keep up with an ever changing educational environment. But the ideas in Lorchester's article "Flip This Library" really put it into perspective. If we change our thinking to be user oriented we can't fail and the rest can begin to fall into place.

4/19/2011 (Module 8)

As an LMS there is so much to remember, and we must not forget about our special needs students. It curious to me that the readings this week only focused on disabilities when special needs can be anything from slow readers, to ELS students, to LD (learn disabled/difference), to mental and physical disabilities and let’s not forget our gifted students. But I think what we need to keep in mind is really the same for all of these groups. We need to keep equitable access in mind regardless of the students’ individual needs. We need to make sure that all students have physical and intellectual access to all the information they may need or want in regards to their education. We can easily forget that the physical space of our library is just as important as the information and media it holds. Wide enough isles, easily reached shelves and even how our computers are set up need to be taken into account when thinking of the needs of ALL our students.

When reading about Equitable access and flexible scheduling it seems to me to be a sort of “obviously” kind of moment. Yet I suppose it’s not so obvious in the movement and important to be conscious of what we are doing to make sure these things are happening. I’m not sure how to assure flexible scheduling but there must be a away to even use non flexible scheduling to our advantage to link it to instructional need and curriculum integration rather than simply as a planning period for teachers. We need to make the teachers and administrators see the time in the library as an educational opportunity not just another activity during the day.

It’s important to remember to make the library welcoming to children with special needs. I actually have a close friend who is a Special Education teacher. The readings this week reminded me of her. She talks about how the librarian in her school is constantly collaborating with her and the other special education teachers to make sure specific student needs are meet. This includes collaboration on materials needed for the collection as well as discussing lesson plans to make sure they include all student learning styles and needs. The reading talked about in-service training sessions that special education teachers might hold for teachers within the school. I agree its important for the LMS to participate in these sessions and it might even be a good idea to inquire about them if they are not taking place.

Free or low cost solutions can be found by thinking creatively and informing yourself about individual students’ needs. Universal design- access and usability for all users. Universal design planner- free website, find design flaws that may exclude of prohibit student with disabilities from learning. Expanding access as complicated as special tools, keyboards and furniture, but as simple as computer settings, and arrangement of furniture can make a big difference.

We are no longer “Keepers of the collection and books” rather part of the teaching staff. It is becoming increasingly important as trend changes to integration of curriculum. Special needs students integrated into classroom and entire school environment making it inevitable that such students will enter and use the library.

The Autism Article does not only bring some light to something that should almost be instinctual these days the article on autism brings up some really helpful hints which we should all make a check list of, from creating visual schedule cards of what to expect when visiting the library, to how to spot an autistic child, and even how to handle a behavior or emergency with an autistic child. It’s important to work closely with the special education teacher to figure out the best educational plan for a child to control behavior issues and best provide for that student. Interesting comments was about parents. That as media specialist we can help parents with children who have autism to learn how to find the right sources to help them.

CAST's research is really expansive there projects range from articles on literacy to web resources for parents and educators. The entire focus of CAST is a great resource to have in your filing cabinet of sources to refer back to as you develop your library program and run into situations with students and their needs. Not only does the website give you some useful information, but it also gives ideas on how to modify lessons and how to approach the needs of special needs students.The learning tools and professional development sections of their website are really interesting and useful when planning everyday activities in the library as well as lesson plans and incorporation of special services for those special needs students in your school."teaching every student" can be a valuable resource for any parent, teacher or librarian. The activities and ideas are something that should be kept in mind. Also the specific subjects and age levels can be useful in coming up with ideas to teach and engage students with special needs. I particular like the model lessons. We are not experts in students with special needs, so why reinvent the wheel when we don't even know what its made of. The model lessons can be a great resource to start the process off in the right direction to assure we are addressing the issues of our users.

Some of the older articles on assistance technology where interesting. I never thought of low tech options like magnification sheets, key guards and even adjustable work stations. There are also some wonderful sounding medium and high tech options that I would defiantly want to explore more and keep in my check list of ideas for when I have my own library and come across special needs students. Some of these are the Reading Pen which seems really easy to use yet extremely helpful, its also something that can help a wide variety of needs from dyslexic students, to low level readers, to ESL. There are even free online tools which we have used throughout the semester that I think would be important to keep in mind when dealing with special needs students. Some of my favorite are Bubbl.us- which can be helpful to help students organize their thoughts, Animoto and Masher are great for visual students. And lastly Jing is a great resource to use in Universal Design to show students how to navigate through different activities within a class project. Really, I can't come up with just five but these are my top: Reading Pens, Bubbl.us, Animoto, Jing, and Key Guards. I also really like the ideas about picture schedules for autistic children, this may even be a useful item for the really young students (Kindergarten and first grade).

Kurweil is also a great tool. Not only does it help challenged students whether with learning difficulties, reluctant reading or physical impairments such as visual or otherwise. This like a wonderful software package if you have the budget but is a rather expensive product. which is why it might not make my top 5. Zoom text on the other hand is a really nice and relatively inexpensive tool, but I'm not sure how necessary it would be to purchase this tool as there are other, built in features of computers than can accomplish and easier to read document for students without having to engage special software.

4/29/2011 (Module 9)

Hmm. An interesting not to end on, Social network in the library, Reading and learning at a deeper level, and Digital Image. I think in a way these things have been interwoven throughout this semester but never actually mentioned specifically.

Social network has become such a large part of daily life for our students and yet we don't often consider it for use in our library. But, what a better way to get our students involved in the library. As we've said before, if they help create it they will want to be apart of it and use it. I've seen Destiny Quest in action and think its great. Some librarians may shy away from it because it has a sort of "Google" feel to it, but if that's what they want, give it to them. If we show students that they have input and that we can use a platform they are comfortable with then we should. Fish4info sounds intriguing with its multitasking and integrated capabilities is something I would defiantly like to explore further to incorporate into my own catalog or see if my local Boces can do so. And Tagging with a tool like Auto-Graphics is something that needs to be explored further as well. Our students are growing up in an age of self input and constant connectivity and we have to offer the same feel and functionality in our library if it is going to have a chance of becoming a place they feel can be incorporated into their educational lives.

Reading and Learning at a deeper level. I often wonder myself if students today are being exposed to to much digital information to soon. I wonder if this could do more harm then good. But maybe that's because I grew up in a time when computers, video games and the internet where still in their infancy. And so I wonder why kids today need to be on the social networking sites like facebook, have video games at the finger tips all day long, and even have a cell phone when they aren't even old enough to drive, not for several more years! But the article we read this week really put it into a little perspective. The idea that the Greeks felt the same way about the printed word and how far we've come since then makes it all make a little more sense. Our brains are such interesting machines and we are constantly learning that we can handle so much more. Imagine when people did not know how to read and so they only knew what they were told. Now we see that when people only new how to read, but not respond or create, we only know what we were given. And then today we can read, create and reflect and so what we can know is virtually limitless. Its interesting to read how both my original thought of today's digital world and my last thought. Print Media is so important for early literacy development, but the deep order thinking involved with digital media is becoming more and more important and the early children are exposed the more proficient they will be in living in a digital world.

Read design from ALA is actually something that looks really wonderful. What better way to combine low tech advertising with the high tech world. We have talked about how the posters and signs we have on display are just as important as the functionality (both digitally and physically) of our space and collection. So why not create posters using the latest book covers or even students who are interested in being a larger part of the library community. If they see they're fellow students and the books they want to read represented in the library space, they will be drawn to be a part of the larger picture as well as to pick up a book. Isn't that one of our biggest goal?

And So we come to the reflect question: How are these three topics related? Well I think its pretty clear. We need to understand how our students learn, what they need or want to know, while preparing them for a digital society. There for we need to use whatever we can to do these things. That means understanding that we are becoming a more and more digital society. We also need to remember that Print is still powerful. That if we can combine the best of both worlds we may have a winning formula for preparing our students with the skills, desires and connectivity they need. We want them to use and feel connected to our library while we infuse their education with the skills and information they need to survive in an ever changing world.

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