Scholarly Article #3
School Libraries & Evidence: Seize the Day; Begin the Future by Dr. Ross J. Todd
After reading the article about information literacy in Canada, I found this article by Dr. Ross Todd who has had the opportunity to also meet with educators around the world.
The first thing that struck me was at the very beginning of the article he quoted a librarian from Australia who talked about how librarians advocate constantly to raise awareness by being involved in the school community, meetings, councils, in-services, assemblies and workshops. There is the theme again of having to justify what we are doing and making sure people know it is important. It seems funny to me that you don’t have to advocate if you are a math teacher or biology or social studies.
This author took a different approach and even though it is important to advocate for our profession we sometimes get lost in the negatives. His view is to “focus on an evidence-based approach, and make this the public voice of the profession”. He states that it is this evidence of student improvement that will demonstrate how libraries make a difference. And he challenges librarians to become familiar with research and to communicate these results to the community.
Some of the International research that he talked about identified some more common themes such as instructional role, informational search processes, student use of on-line technologies, program evaluation and student achievement. Todd also suggests strategies and processes, based on studies done in Australia, which they use to document success.
· Assessment tasks
· Feedback tasks
· Rubric measures
· Interview measures
· More formal school surveys
· Portfolios
· Using available school data
· Undertaking small action research projects
So by using some of these evidence collecting techniques you will be able to proudly demonstrate that libraries and library programs do make a difference. This was an article that made sense to me and left me feeling a bit more positive about the future.
Todd, R. (2003, August). School Libraries & Evidence: Seize the Day, Begin the Future. Library Media Connection, 22 (1), 12-18. Retrieved November 24, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.
http://search.ebscohost.com.login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=105792098&site=ehost-live
Monday, November 24, 2008
Geogrphical Resources
Geographical Resources
As I am also a little late in posting I decided to try Viviana’s lesson plan from the CIDA site. Thank you for sharing, Viviana. I found the lesson to be very timely and useful. Our grade 6 teacher has the students adopt a country for the year and has students compare statistics from Canada and to their chosen country. This will be an excellent way to introduce on-line atlases to the students in a meaningful way. I found the site very user friendly and I have also looked at the other lesson plans and know that this will be a valuable site.
I also looked at Altapedia and like Megan found the ads a little distracting. At first I wasn’t sure how to enter the site and then scrolled to the bottom to find the information. Other sites like the Canadian Atlas were very useful and user friendly. I liked the way you could look up information in themes and find teaching activities for your grade and province. It had a gazetteer and a comprehensive glossary. The students will enjoy some of the games and crosswords related to the different themes.
A couple of other sites to explore:
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/07/08/f-world-heritage.html
Fifteen Canadian sites to treasure and protect: I discovered this site on one of the links and thought it might be of interest. It has an interactive map and shows 15 sites recognized by UNESCO as heritage sites worth preserving.
http://educ.queensu.ca/~ecs/curr/geography/geography.htm
This website has a collection of geography websites all in one place. Definitely a Canadian collection here. Some of the links didn’t work but there was enough selection and topics that did work.
As I am also a little late in posting I decided to try Viviana’s lesson plan from the CIDA site. Thank you for sharing, Viviana. I found the lesson to be very timely and useful. Our grade 6 teacher has the students adopt a country for the year and has students compare statistics from Canada and to their chosen country. This will be an excellent way to introduce on-line atlases to the students in a meaningful way. I found the site very user friendly and I have also looked at the other lesson plans and know that this will be a valuable site.
I also looked at Altapedia and like Megan found the ads a little distracting. At first I wasn’t sure how to enter the site and then scrolled to the bottom to find the information. Other sites like the Canadian Atlas were very useful and user friendly. I liked the way you could look up information in themes and find teaching activities for your grade and province. It had a gazetteer and a comprehensive glossary. The students will enjoy some of the games and crosswords related to the different themes.
A couple of other sites to explore:
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/07/08/f-world-heritage.html
Fifteen Canadian sites to treasure and protect: I discovered this site on one of the links and thought it might be of interest. It has an interactive map and shows 15 sites recognized by UNESCO as heritage sites worth preserving.
http://educ.queensu.ca/~ecs/curr/geography/geography.htm
This website has a collection of geography websites all in one place. Definitely a Canadian collection here. Some of the links didn’t work but there was enough selection and topics that did work.
Database Activity
Database Activity
I also used this activity as a chance to find my last scholarly article. I used Ebsco’s Academic Search Complete. I was able to find an article after I had adjusted the dates and narrowed the search. I was also looking for full text and found several articles and then saved them in a folder. I then printed but you can also e-mail them. The other flexibility you have is you are able to look at the abstract or the complete article.
I then used the Gale Thomson Databases and completed the same search. When you have entered your subject you are then able to choose between Magazines/Academic Journals/Books/News/Multimedia. Beside each choice it had the number of articles found. You could bookmark your choices and there was also a choice of citations.
I also used this activity as a chance to find my last scholarly article. I used Ebsco’s Academic Search Complete. I was able to find an article after I had adjusted the dates and narrowed the search. I was also looking for full text and found several articles and then saved them in a folder. I then printed but you can also e-mail them. The other flexibility you have is you are able to look at the abstract or the complete article.
I then used the Gale Thomson Databases and completed the same search. When you have entered your subject you are then able to choose between Magazines/Academic Journals/Books/News/Multimedia. Beside each choice it had the number of articles found. You could bookmark your choices and there was also a choice of citations.
Databases
Databases
Since our district subscribes to Ebsco, we have a similar bundle to other districts in the province. Our district pays $1.00 per student. Our bundle also includes Thomson Gale which provides access to Canadian Periodicals, Student Resource Centre- Gold, Gale Virtual Library and Biography Resource Centre.
Our local library also subscribes to Ebsco:
Their package includes some of the same access: Academic Search Premier, Novelist, World Book, Consumer Health, Searchasaurus as well as Encyclopedia of BC.
The only sites that were different from the library were Auto Repair Reference Centre, Electronic Law Library, QP LegalEze-provides current laws in BC and BC Codes- building codes.
GreenFILE is one of the databases through Ebsco. Some people may not be familiar with this one. GreenFILE offers information covering all aspects of human impact on the environment.
As mentioned by others, I find it hard to believe that all school districts do not have the same access to services. I agree wholeheartedly with James that negotiating province wide or across Canada would ensure that all Canadian students have equal access to resources.
When I asked our staff if they used any of these sites, many didn’t know about them so I showed them at a ProD session. Some of the teachers are trying them out especially Searchasaurus and World Book.
Since our district subscribes to Ebsco, we have a similar bundle to other districts in the province. Our district pays $1.00 per student. Our bundle also includes Thomson Gale which provides access to Canadian Periodicals, Student Resource Centre- Gold, Gale Virtual Library and Biography Resource Centre.
Our local library also subscribes to Ebsco:
Their package includes some of the same access: Academic Search Premier, Novelist, World Book, Consumer Health, Searchasaurus as well as Encyclopedia of BC.
The only sites that were different from the library were Auto Repair Reference Centre, Electronic Law Library, QP LegalEze-provides current laws in BC and BC Codes- building codes.
GreenFILE is one of the databases through Ebsco. Some people may not be familiar with this one. GreenFILE offers information covering all aspects of human impact on the environment.
As mentioned by others, I find it hard to believe that all school districts do not have the same access to services. I agree wholeheartedly with James that negotiating province wide or across Canada would ensure that all Canadian students have equal access to resources.
When I asked our staff if they used any of these sites, many didn’t know about them so I showed them at a ProD session. Some of the teachers are trying them out especially Searchasaurus and World Book.
Scholarly Article #2
Scholarly Article #2 Canada: An Information Literacy Case Study
I chose this article because I was interested in the overview of information literacy in Canada. This paper was prepared for UNESCO in 2002. It provides background information on the approach Canada has taken as a nation toward access of information. There are also recommendations for ways to enhance and embrace change so that Canada makes progress in this area to benefit all Canadians.
One thing that surprised me as I was reading the report is that Canada was the first nation in the world to provide internet service for its public schools and libraries. This happened in 1999-only 10 years ago and now the information highway has become jammed almost beyond comprehension. The problem with this service was that there was not education to go with the access. It seems to me that this hasn’t changed too much. We are still lamenting the fact that some schools do not have trained teacher-librarians and there is not sufficient time set aside for development of effective research skills.
Another recommendation from the International Information Technologies Panel in 2002 suggested that information literacy is best achieved through integration of “cognitive and technical learning”. In other words it is important that the skills are taught in practical situations where the student has to compare and evaluate the information that is accessed. It is important that authentic experiences are provided in conjunction with information skills. It has always been my opinion that skills taught in isolation do not become part of the learner’s understanding until there is meaning.
One factor that makes a federal initiative difficult is the fact that education is a provincial jurisdiction and there are no national education policies. It was interesting to note that one of the fundamental employability skills was the ability to manage information-access, analyze and apply knowledge.
So where does that leave libraries? Always looking for ways to prove their worth and justify their existence. So often you hear comments about not needing libraries because everything is on-line. That may be true but who is going to be left to help students assess and evaluate all this information? I don’t understand why the justification is necessary when there is research that demonstrates that academic progress is related to the strength of the library program.
Some of the recommendations of this paper included a call for more research and that Information Literacy policies are developed. Educators, administrators must raise awareness to further the support for information literacy.
Martha J. Whitehead, Catherine A. Quinlan, ”Canada: An Information Literacy Case Study,” July 2002, White Paper prepared for UNESCO, the US National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and the National Forum on Information Literacy, for use at the Information Literacy Meeting of Experts, Prague, the Czech Republic.
http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/papers/quinlan-fullpaper.pdf
I chose this article because I was interested in the overview of information literacy in Canada. This paper was prepared for UNESCO in 2002. It provides background information on the approach Canada has taken as a nation toward access of information. There are also recommendations for ways to enhance and embrace change so that Canada makes progress in this area to benefit all Canadians.
One thing that surprised me as I was reading the report is that Canada was the first nation in the world to provide internet service for its public schools and libraries. This happened in 1999-only 10 years ago and now the information highway has become jammed almost beyond comprehension. The problem with this service was that there was not education to go with the access. It seems to me that this hasn’t changed too much. We are still lamenting the fact that some schools do not have trained teacher-librarians and there is not sufficient time set aside for development of effective research skills.
Another recommendation from the International Information Technologies Panel in 2002 suggested that information literacy is best achieved through integration of “cognitive and technical learning”. In other words it is important that the skills are taught in practical situations where the student has to compare and evaluate the information that is accessed. It is important that authentic experiences are provided in conjunction with information skills. It has always been my opinion that skills taught in isolation do not become part of the learner’s understanding until there is meaning.
One factor that makes a federal initiative difficult is the fact that education is a provincial jurisdiction and there are no national education policies. It was interesting to note that one of the fundamental employability skills was the ability to manage information-access, analyze and apply knowledge.
So where does that leave libraries? Always looking for ways to prove their worth and justify their existence. So often you hear comments about not needing libraries because everything is on-line. That may be true but who is going to be left to help students assess and evaluate all this information? I don’t understand why the justification is necessary when there is research that demonstrates that academic progress is related to the strength of the library program.
Some of the recommendations of this paper included a call for more research and that Information Literacy policies are developed. Educators, administrators must raise awareness to further the support for information literacy.
Martha J. Whitehead, Catherine A. Quinlan, ”Canada: An Information Literacy Case Study,” July 2002, White Paper prepared for UNESCO, the US National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and the National Forum on Information Literacy, for use at the Information Literacy Meeting of Experts, Prague, the Czech Republic.
http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/papers/quinlan-fullpaper.pdf
Encyclopedias Part 2
Encyclopedias Part 2
After having a chance to look at some of the on-line encyclopedias and completing the readings, I felt a little more confident about entering the discussion on established vs. citizen built encyclopedias like Wikipedia.
I did find a good article published in Booklist Online which I found very helpful as I fumbled my way through this immense topic of encyclopedias. It was by Barbara Bibel and Shauna Yusko entitled Encyclopedia Update, 2008 and originally published September 15, 2008 in Booklist.
The link is:
http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=2935134
The authors both are librarians and they concisely highlighted the new products or additions to print encyclopedias and online resources. As they reviewed they talked about the commonalities and unique features. I was especially interested in the comments about World Book as I am leaning toward this print version for our school. They said the 2008 version had been updated with 67 new articles and included 400 new photographs and 300 bibliographies have been updated. There have also been revisions to 400 maps including Panama Canal, California and Alberta. They also said the index is detailed and easy to use and there was a Research Guide which helped students organize projects. Also mentioned is that World Book continues to be the first choice for libraries, schools and homes. Looking at the details on the packages offered I also found an offer specifically designed for Canadian schools which offered World Book 2009, Discovery Encyclopedia and Living Green for the price of $1200.00 including shipping and handling. I guess that encyclopedia sales are suffering as well as everything else during these economic times.
After reading the Berinstein and Harris articles, I had a look at the comparison of the citizen- built and the established encyclopedia chart done by Karen. It was interesting to see the information summarized side by side. Like others new to Wikipedia I had no idea it was a citizen built encyclopedia. I didn’t even know that there were so many different kinds of encyclopedias out there either in print or on-line. As I was looking for new reference materials it seemed that there were encyclopedias for just about every subject you could think of. It makes the job of evaluating resources even more important to ensure that the already small budgets stretch as far as they can.
I too found that the reference as to how the Oxford Dictionary was created parallels what is happening now to Wikipedia. I think that rather than choosing one site over another, we must always look back to the definition of a reference source- Does it answer the question or not? As well, the Research Quest or other models we have looked at emphasize that you consider a range of sources and then filter out and decide about the information that will be useful. This is the stage where you look at authority and accuracy to see if the information is valid or not. This is the role of t-l to help students look at information critically and to ask questions.
Another article that I found through the Gale Research data base that our district subscribes to was one by Doug Achterman called Beyond Wikipedia,(using Wikipedia as an educational tool)(Website overview). This was originally published in the Teacher Librarian (Dec 2006).
http://find.galegroup.com/itx/start.do?prodId=CPI
This article takes a look at five features of wikis and how they can be a tool for collaboration among students. Along with the features, Achterman gives examples of how he used wikis in partnership with teachers. The ability for students to work in groups or partners helps develop higher level thinking skills as they compare, contrast and analyze information. This is a subject that I will have to spend more time on to see how or if I could incorporate this into a skills continuum for our school.
I also looked up the article by Goldsborough that Lorraine referred to and found that he has quite a few other articles. Another one that I found useful is called Wikis Offer Promise and Peril. In this article he discusses comparisons made with information collected from Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia. Out of the number of entries compared there were 162 errors in Wikipedia versus 123 in Encyclopedia Britannica. There are websites to look up the actual study and it will be interesting to investigate this a little further.
After having a chance to look at some of the on-line encyclopedias and completing the readings, I felt a little more confident about entering the discussion on established vs. citizen built encyclopedias like Wikipedia.
I did find a good article published in Booklist Online which I found very helpful as I fumbled my way through this immense topic of encyclopedias. It was by Barbara Bibel and Shauna Yusko entitled Encyclopedia Update, 2008 and originally published September 15, 2008 in Booklist.
The link is:
http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=2935134
The authors both are librarians and they concisely highlighted the new products or additions to print encyclopedias and online resources. As they reviewed they talked about the commonalities and unique features. I was especially interested in the comments about World Book as I am leaning toward this print version for our school. They said the 2008 version had been updated with 67 new articles and included 400 new photographs and 300 bibliographies have been updated. There have also been revisions to 400 maps including Panama Canal, California and Alberta. They also said the index is detailed and easy to use and there was a Research Guide which helped students organize projects. Also mentioned is that World Book continues to be the first choice for libraries, schools and homes. Looking at the details on the packages offered I also found an offer specifically designed for Canadian schools which offered World Book 2009, Discovery Encyclopedia and Living Green for the price of $1200.00 including shipping and handling. I guess that encyclopedia sales are suffering as well as everything else during these economic times.
After reading the Berinstein and Harris articles, I had a look at the comparison of the citizen- built and the established encyclopedia chart done by Karen. It was interesting to see the information summarized side by side. Like others new to Wikipedia I had no idea it was a citizen built encyclopedia. I didn’t even know that there were so many different kinds of encyclopedias out there either in print or on-line. As I was looking for new reference materials it seemed that there were encyclopedias for just about every subject you could think of. It makes the job of evaluating resources even more important to ensure that the already small budgets stretch as far as they can.
I too found that the reference as to how the Oxford Dictionary was created parallels what is happening now to Wikipedia. I think that rather than choosing one site over another, we must always look back to the definition of a reference source- Does it answer the question or not? As well, the Research Quest or other models we have looked at emphasize that you consider a range of sources and then filter out and decide about the information that will be useful. This is the stage where you look at authority and accuracy to see if the information is valid or not. This is the role of t-l to help students look at information critically and to ask questions.
Another article that I found through the Gale Research data base that our district subscribes to was one by Doug Achterman called Beyond Wikipedia,(using Wikipedia as an educational tool)(Website overview). This was originally published in the Teacher Librarian (Dec 2006).
http://find.galegroup.com/itx/start.do?prodId=CPI
This article takes a look at five features of wikis and how they can be a tool for collaboration among students. Along with the features, Achterman gives examples of how he used wikis in partnership with teachers. The ability for students to work in groups or partners helps develop higher level thinking skills as they compare, contrast and analyze information. This is a subject that I will have to spend more time on to see how or if I could incorporate this into a skills continuum for our school.
I also looked up the article by Goldsborough that Lorraine referred to and found that he has quite a few other articles. Another one that I found useful is called Wikis Offer Promise and Peril. In this article he discusses comparisons made with information collected from Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia. Out of the number of entries compared there were 162 errors in Wikipedia versus 123 in Encyclopedia Britannica. There are websites to look up the actual study and it will be interesting to investigate this a little further.
Capstone Activity
Capstone Activity: Evaluation of an Online Encyclopedia
This was the first time I had looked at the EBC and I found it easy to navigate and filled with unique articles about BC.
Encyclopedia of British Columbia
Comments
Scope
The encyclopedia is designed as a reference work for anything to do with British Columbia. There are more than 4000 entries and it contains hundreds of photos, maps, tables and charts.
Emphasis
The emphasis is on BC people and places. It includes articles on every established community in the province.
Reading Entries
The entries are clearly written and use pictures, graphs and charts to enhance the explanation. It is well laid out for intermediate and secondary students.
Authority
The EBC is produced by Harbour Publishing which has produced many other books about BC history and culture. Each entry has been written by an expert in that particular field and then the article was reviewed and checked for accuracy by a team of editors. Also on the team was Daniel Francis who was a contributor to the Canadian Encyclopedia and a contributing editor to the Junior Encyclopedia of Canada. The Ministry of Education has a licensing agreement with the EBC and is providing this resource to many schools in BC.
Style
The EBC also includes an Introductory Teacher’s Resource which includes teaching strategies.
Recency
Originally published by Harbour Publishing in 2000, it was made available on-line in 2001. Information is continuously updated.
Viewpoint and Objectivity
Articles were reviewed by another person who was knowledgeable in that field to ensure that information was presented in a balanced fashion. If opinions were expressed then the opposite point of view was also presented.
Arrangement and Entry
You may search for articles either by keyword or subject.
Index
Links to alphabetical listings of EBC articles and it is cross-referenced. There are links within the articles to other related entries.
Format
The navigation panel has:
Home: returns to opening page
Search: allows complete text searching
Subjects: subject guides and overview articles
Index: alphabetical listing
Videos: index of video clips
This was the first time I had looked at the EBC and I found it easy to navigate and filled with unique articles about BC.
Encyclopedia of British Columbia
Comments
Scope
The encyclopedia is designed as a reference work for anything to do with British Columbia. There are more than 4000 entries and it contains hundreds of photos, maps, tables and charts.
Emphasis
The emphasis is on BC people and places. It includes articles on every established community in the province.
Reading Entries
The entries are clearly written and use pictures, graphs and charts to enhance the explanation. It is well laid out for intermediate and secondary students.
Authority
The EBC is produced by Harbour Publishing which has produced many other books about BC history and culture. Each entry has been written by an expert in that particular field and then the article was reviewed and checked for accuracy by a team of editors. Also on the team was Daniel Francis who was a contributor to the Canadian Encyclopedia and a contributing editor to the Junior Encyclopedia of Canada. The Ministry of Education has a licensing agreement with the EBC and is providing this resource to many schools in BC.
Style
The EBC also includes an Introductory Teacher’s Resource which includes teaching strategies.
Recency
Originally published by Harbour Publishing in 2000, it was made available on-line in 2001. Information is continuously updated.
Viewpoint and Objectivity
Articles were reviewed by another person who was knowledgeable in that field to ensure that information was presented in a balanced fashion. If opinions were expressed then the opposite point of view was also presented.
Arrangement and Entry
You may search for articles either by keyword or subject.
Index
Links to alphabetical listings of EBC articles and it is cross-referenced. There are links within the articles to other related entries.
Format
The navigation panel has:
Home: returns to opening page
Search: allows complete text searching
Subjects: subject guides and overview articles
Index: alphabetical listing
Videos: index of video clips
Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias
Not having much experience with on-line or print encyclopedias, this was an interesting section for me. I also have to decide whether to update the encyclopedias in our reference collection as the most current World book edition is 1999 so I was curious about the information.
I decided to look up the Canadian Encyclopedia since this is a free reference and one that I would like to incorporate in my teaching. It is also important to me that students use Canadian references and broaden their knowledgebase of things distinctly Canadian.
What I noticed:
The site home page is laid out well and contains links for the different collections: Canadian Encyclopedia, Youth Encyclopedia, and Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, Feature Articles and Maclean’s Magazine. The feature articles contain historical topics written by Historica staff and other guest columnists which appeared in CANWEST newspapers. The Maclean’s magazine has articles from 1995 to current issues. There are over 40 000 articles with also visual components, interactive activities such as Canucklehead which contains 60 quizzes on Canadian topics. It has been online since 1999 and is maintained by the Historica Foundation and Heritage Canada.
I also liked the links on the homepage at the bottom to quick facts like History by the Minute, On This Day in Canadian History, Quotes and How About That! These are designed to pique the student’s interest and to also encourage students to find out more about a specific topic.
There is also a section for teachers with access to lesson plans which I found helpful. When you look up articles you are also provided with a list of suggested readings and links to other sites.
In the Explore section, you can find a Gallery which features Canadian Art, History, and Nature, People and Science and Technology. There are interactive resources, quizzes and timelines of events from Canadian and World History.
In summary the Canadian Encyclopedia is an excellent reference source about Canada. It is only found on line with the last print copy published in 2000.
After looking up this site, I decided to look at the Encyclopedia of BC for the capstone activity and have also posted a copy to my blog:
Not having much experience with on-line or print encyclopedias, this was an interesting section for me. I also have to decide whether to update the encyclopedias in our reference collection as the most current World book edition is 1999 so I was curious about the information.
I decided to look up the Canadian Encyclopedia since this is a free reference and one that I would like to incorporate in my teaching. It is also important to me that students use Canadian references and broaden their knowledgebase of things distinctly Canadian.
What I noticed:
The site home page is laid out well and contains links for the different collections: Canadian Encyclopedia, Youth Encyclopedia, and Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, Feature Articles and Maclean’s Magazine. The feature articles contain historical topics written by Historica staff and other guest columnists which appeared in CANWEST newspapers. The Maclean’s magazine has articles from 1995 to current issues. There are over 40 000 articles with also visual components, interactive activities such as Canucklehead which contains 60 quizzes on Canadian topics. It has been online since 1999 and is maintained by the Historica Foundation and Heritage Canada.
I also liked the links on the homepage at the bottom to quick facts like History by the Minute, On This Day in Canadian History, Quotes and How About That! These are designed to pique the student’s interest and to also encourage students to find out more about a specific topic.
There is also a section for teachers with access to lesson plans which I found helpful. When you look up articles you are also provided with a list of suggested readings and links to other sites.
In the Explore section, you can find a Gallery which features Canadian Art, History, and Nature, People and Science and Technology. There are interactive resources, quizzes and timelines of events from Canadian and World History.
In summary the Canadian Encyclopedia is an excellent reference source about Canada. It is only found on line with the last print copy published in 2000.
After looking up this site, I decided to look at the Encyclopedia of BC for the capstone activity and have also posted a copy to my blog:
Print vs.Non
Print vs. non-print
In her introduction to reference services in Chapter 10, Riedling says that answer seeking has not ended but the process has changed. She states that there are two basic dimensions to compare print to electronic resources:
1. Unlimited storage capacity
2. Ability to select what is needed
If we just look at the first dimension, it is difficult to argue that it is possible to house the amount of information now found on the web in print form. The information is more current on line and it is possible to locate information on any question you might have. It is now an accepted part of our language that if someone wants to know something just Google it.
So the difficulty for the school library media specialist becomes how to help students access information efficiently and to part the waters so to speak to find the answers to questions they might have or information they need.
On page 102 of the Riedling text there is an exercise on search engines. Not knowing too much about the different sites, I decided to have a look.
www.dogpile.com
Searched for Alexander Graham Bell.
Just as the name implies it is a metasearch engine with entries or articles from Google, Yahoo, Live Search, Ask.com, Looksmart and more.
The first thing I noticed is that there are at least 4 advertisements before you even see the results of your search.
The first entry is from Wikipedia and then you have the other results. It does have a section on the right hand side “Are you looking for…?’ which I found helpful.
Dogpile was named top consumer search engine for 2007 and it uses Metasearch special technology to remove duplicates of searches completed.
Ask Jeeves now called www.ask.com
It has a simple background and not too many choices and is very simple to use. It offers information first with no advertising. Smaller database than Google or Yahoo with over 2 billion documents on the web.
It was voted one of the “coolest” websites by Time Magazine in 2004.
Ask.com also offers choices about where to go e.g. official sites, encyclopedias, news and blogs, etc. You need to keep your searches simple to access these options.
It also offered suggestions as I typed the name and then I was able to highlight the one I wanted which speeds up the process.
www.lycos.com
Lycos is similar to Dogpile in that it accessed 6 websites. It was one of the earliest search engines and was established in 1995. I found this one too busy. The sections were small with games and lots of advertising which was also similar to Dogpile.
If I was using this sort of search engine with students, I would probably at this point use www.askkids.com. It has good answers for simple questions. It is safe for students at the elementary age and also has games and news sites appropriate for specific age groups.
It also has links to other resources such as Study Tools- Dictionary, Biography, Science, Atlas, Math Help, History and more which would be helpful for further reference on related topics or for ready reference.
While I was examining and looking for comparisons of search engines, I found this site which is a Library workshop information site and it contains some Web Page Evaluation sheets which might come in handy at a later date.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Handouts.html
Riedling says that it is not technology that is important but the sense of connection between individuals and groups. It still amazes me how quickly information is posted on the web. Whether this is a positive aspect or not only time will tell. We do know that the information is so vast we can’t possibly know what is there. So the challenge to find information and the lack of standardization of that information requires the t-l to spend a great deal of time and energy to ensure that students become efficient information seekers.
I agree with Reidling that we must embrace the changes in Technology. It is, however, our mission to seek out the appropriate resources so that the needs of the student can be met. For some students this may mean they need print materials rather than electronic. The point is to answer the question. I am becoming more convinced though that the starting place is print first. Once the student has some background knowledge and has refined his/her question then expanding the search becomes more realistic. I have seen more computer classes wasted and more student frustration because the students can’t find what they want. It is time consuming to search for information and some of the sites are hard to navigate. This is where the job of the t-l becomes more important-teaching the students to access information efficiently.
It was interesting to talk to students about their preferences between print and electronic resources. Last year the t-l had an exercise where some students looked for info using internet and some used the books in library. Some of the internet users were frustrated and didn’t complete the task. Book users for that assignment were more successful. But I wondered at the same time was the assignment designed to illustrate this?? Were the groups given the same task? I thought it was set up for the students with books to be successful because this was the bias of the t-l.
In her introduction to reference services in Chapter 10, Riedling says that answer seeking has not ended but the process has changed. She states that there are two basic dimensions to compare print to electronic resources:
1. Unlimited storage capacity
2. Ability to select what is needed
If we just look at the first dimension, it is difficult to argue that it is possible to house the amount of information now found on the web in print form. The information is more current on line and it is possible to locate information on any question you might have. It is now an accepted part of our language that if someone wants to know something just Google it.
So the difficulty for the school library media specialist becomes how to help students access information efficiently and to part the waters so to speak to find the answers to questions they might have or information they need.
On page 102 of the Riedling text there is an exercise on search engines. Not knowing too much about the different sites, I decided to have a look.
www.dogpile.com
Searched for Alexander Graham Bell.
Just as the name implies it is a metasearch engine with entries or articles from Google, Yahoo, Live Search, Ask.com, Looksmart and more.
The first thing I noticed is that there are at least 4 advertisements before you even see the results of your search.
The first entry is from Wikipedia and then you have the other results. It does have a section on the right hand side “Are you looking for…?’ which I found helpful.
Dogpile was named top consumer search engine for 2007 and it uses Metasearch special technology to remove duplicates of searches completed.
Ask Jeeves now called www.ask.com
It has a simple background and not too many choices and is very simple to use. It offers information first with no advertising. Smaller database than Google or Yahoo with over 2 billion documents on the web.
It was voted one of the “coolest” websites by Time Magazine in 2004.
Ask.com also offers choices about where to go e.g. official sites, encyclopedias, news and blogs, etc. You need to keep your searches simple to access these options.
It also offered suggestions as I typed the name and then I was able to highlight the one I wanted which speeds up the process.
www.lycos.com
Lycos is similar to Dogpile in that it accessed 6 websites. It was one of the earliest search engines and was established in 1995. I found this one too busy. The sections were small with games and lots of advertising which was also similar to Dogpile.
If I was using this sort of search engine with students, I would probably at this point use www.askkids.com. It has good answers for simple questions. It is safe for students at the elementary age and also has games and news sites appropriate for specific age groups.
It also has links to other resources such as Study Tools- Dictionary, Biography, Science, Atlas, Math Help, History and more which would be helpful for further reference on related topics or for ready reference.
While I was examining and looking for comparisons of search engines, I found this site which is a Library workshop information site and it contains some Web Page Evaluation sheets which might come in handy at a later date.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Handouts.html
Riedling says that it is not technology that is important but the sense of connection between individuals and groups. It still amazes me how quickly information is posted on the web. Whether this is a positive aspect or not only time will tell. We do know that the information is so vast we can’t possibly know what is there. So the challenge to find information and the lack of standardization of that information requires the t-l to spend a great deal of time and energy to ensure that students become efficient information seekers.
I agree with Reidling that we must embrace the changes in Technology. It is, however, our mission to seek out the appropriate resources so that the needs of the student can be met. For some students this may mean they need print materials rather than electronic. The point is to answer the question. I am becoming more convinced though that the starting place is print first. Once the student has some background knowledge and has refined his/her question then expanding the search becomes more realistic. I have seen more computer classes wasted and more student frustration because the students can’t find what they want. It is time consuming to search for information and some of the sites are hard to navigate. This is where the job of the t-l becomes more important-teaching the students to access information efficiently.
It was interesting to talk to students about their preferences between print and electronic resources. Last year the t-l had an exercise where some students looked for info using internet and some used the books in library. Some of the internet users were frustrated and didn’t complete the task. Book users for that assignment were more successful. But I wondered at the same time was the assignment designed to illustrate this?? Were the groups given the same task? I thought it was set up for the students with books to be successful because this was the bias of the t-l.
Reference Materials
Rielding’s Approach
I am going to evaluate the library where I am currently the new Teacher Librarian. Our school has 200 students and an operating budget for our library of $3000.00. Out of this we need to pay approximately $800.00 for our automated system. Our school is a Grade 4-7 school and I am in the library .4 and teaching Grade 5 the rest of the time. The previous librarian would alternate years between the purchase of fiction and non-fiction. I am just starting to learn what is on the shelves and it is obvious that it hasn’t been weeded in a long time.
As a new TL, I found Riedling’s approach to be straightforward and easy to understand. I did like the sections highlighting the important features of each reference material and like our classmate, Maria; I had already copied them into a binder for quick reference. Like others in the course, I have been a little dismayed at the state of our reference section. None of the encyclopedias are current and the most recent is 1988. We also have a set of science books from 1971. Since I took over in September no one has gone near the reference section unless they wanted the latest copy of the Guinness Book of Records.
When I looked at the A.I.L. standards we are at the exemplary level for size of book collection.
Periodicals: As far as periodicals go we are below standard. We do subscribe to several magazines such as National Geographic Kids, Sports Illustrated for Kids and Kayak but we certainly have less than 20-30. In our case we don’t have space to keep more than a year’s back issues of the limited magazines we do subscribe to.
Newspapers: No newspapers are in the library. We do subscribe to our small community paper but this is used to cut out pictures of students in the community. We did receive a free month from the Vancouver Sun one year but sadly these just sat in the staffroom unused.
Videos and DVDs: We have a large collection of older VHS tapes and a few DVDs but this has not been a priority. We do have a District Resource Centre which maintains more up to date titles and teachers access this as needed.
Non-print resources: We have a large selection of posters but they are seldom used by teachers or students. I think the vertical file hasn’t been touched in years. Many articles and posters are outdated or tattered and torn. Another project to add to the list of things to do.
Electronic and digital: Our district subscribes to Ebsco and World Book online.
Computer Software Programs: new Smart Board, programs such as All the Right Type and other links through our district webpage.
Assignment #2 will be a valuable project as I will need to order new resources and weed others.
After posting this to the discussion I noticed that others such as me - new to the library or others exploring the reference materials for the first time with a more critical eye or should I say more informed position were a little discouraged with what their libraries had to offer in the way of reference materials. Quite a few found their libraries below the AIL standards. When I looked again at the number of books we had in our library some of the figures were misleading as the number included textbooks too. The way it was set up on our computerized system all textbooks were included with the fiction total so I will have to set up a new category in June when we all the books are in to rectify this.
Although I was not surprised we were below standards it saddens me to see the state of the other libraries in BC. Where is the focus on literacy from our government? Why do we not have a standard list of essential reference materials for all libraries? Once you have at least the basics then the t-l can enhance and personalize his/her collection to meets the demands and requirements of each specific school.
Also looking at our library, it is evident what happens when a person who is not trained is running the library. Although that person may do his/her best it sometimes leads to an uneven distribution of resources or some resources not being updated as required.
I am going to evaluate the library where I am currently the new Teacher Librarian. Our school has 200 students and an operating budget for our library of $3000.00. Out of this we need to pay approximately $800.00 for our automated system. Our school is a Grade 4-7 school and I am in the library .4 and teaching Grade 5 the rest of the time. The previous librarian would alternate years between the purchase of fiction and non-fiction. I am just starting to learn what is on the shelves and it is obvious that it hasn’t been weeded in a long time.
As a new TL, I found Riedling’s approach to be straightforward and easy to understand. I did like the sections highlighting the important features of each reference material and like our classmate, Maria; I had already copied them into a binder for quick reference. Like others in the course, I have been a little dismayed at the state of our reference section. None of the encyclopedias are current and the most recent is 1988. We also have a set of science books from 1971. Since I took over in September no one has gone near the reference section unless they wanted the latest copy of the Guinness Book of Records.
When I looked at the A.I.L. standards we are at the exemplary level for size of book collection.
Periodicals: As far as periodicals go we are below standard. We do subscribe to several magazines such as National Geographic Kids, Sports Illustrated for Kids and Kayak but we certainly have less than 20-30. In our case we don’t have space to keep more than a year’s back issues of the limited magazines we do subscribe to.
Newspapers: No newspapers are in the library. We do subscribe to our small community paper but this is used to cut out pictures of students in the community. We did receive a free month from the Vancouver Sun one year but sadly these just sat in the staffroom unused.
Videos and DVDs: We have a large collection of older VHS tapes and a few DVDs but this has not been a priority. We do have a District Resource Centre which maintains more up to date titles and teachers access this as needed.
Non-print resources: We have a large selection of posters but they are seldom used by teachers or students. I think the vertical file hasn’t been touched in years. Many articles and posters are outdated or tattered and torn. Another project to add to the list of things to do.
Electronic and digital: Our district subscribes to Ebsco and World Book online.
Computer Software Programs: new Smart Board, programs such as All the Right Type and other links through our district webpage.
Assignment #2 will be a valuable project as I will need to order new resources and weed others.
After posting this to the discussion I noticed that others such as me - new to the library or others exploring the reference materials for the first time with a more critical eye or should I say more informed position were a little discouraged with what their libraries had to offer in the way of reference materials. Quite a few found their libraries below the AIL standards. When I looked again at the number of books we had in our library some of the figures were misleading as the number included textbooks too. The way it was set up on our computerized system all textbooks were included with the fiction total so I will have to set up a new category in June when we all the books are in to rectify this.
Although I was not surprised we were below standards it saddens me to see the state of the other libraries in BC. Where is the focus on literacy from our government? Why do we not have a standard list of essential reference materials for all libraries? Once you have at least the basics then the t-l can enhance and personalize his/her collection to meets the demands and requirements of each specific school.
Also looking at our library, it is evident what happens when a person who is not trained is running the library. Although that person may do his/her best it sometimes leads to an uneven distribution of resources or some resources not being updated as required.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Scholarly Article # 2
The second article that I read is called 10 Reasons Why the Internet Is No Substitute for a Library originally published in American Libraries, April 2001, p.76-78 and is by Mark Herring who is the Dean of Library Services at Winthrop University in South Carolina.
This is a more light-hearted look at the reasons why libraries are important. Herring opens with the idea that given reading test scores and the rush toward the computer it isn’t hard to understand why reading is falling by the wayside. He says that libraries are in trouble when officials start saying that libraries are obsolete and to make way for the internet. He came up with the ten reasons why this is not so.
1 Not Everything Is on the Internet.
He states that a lot of journal articles are not accessible on the internet. Judging by the number of times I’ve found an article I would like to read and have been asked whether I would like pay with Visa or Mastercard, I would have to agree. He says that less than 8% of journal articles are on the Web
2 The Needle (Your Search) in the Haystack (the Web)
He compares the Internet to a “vast uncatalogued library” and says that no matter what the search engine is, the information is not updated nor are you searching the entire Web. To me a lot of time is sacrificed looking for just the right site or an article you need.
3 Quality Control Doesn’t Exist
Anyone can put anything on the web and there are few safeguards to protect the innocent. Granted there are more filters for inappropriate sites but it is still easy to stumble across those x-rated sites or political sites such as the Klu Klux Klan. I often think of a poor grade 4 girl who was trying to find out information about birds and ended up on a site called Hooters. You can imagine what that site advertised.
4 What You Don’t Know Really Does Hurt You
Sometimes articles are missing key parts of information like charts, graphs and formulae, so Herring cautions the reader not to have total confidence in what is published.
5 States Can Now Buy One Book and Distribute to Every Library on the Web-NOT!
Herring states that less than a couple thousand academic books are available on line. What is the advantage of checking out e- books from a library when they are allowed one copy per library and you can only have one user? You still have to wait your turn.
6 Hey, Bud, You Forgot about E-book Readers
Even if you have your e-book reader it is difficult to read from a computer screen. Most people tend to print out longer articles and I know I am just as guilty of doing this as I find it tiring to read from a computer screen.
7 Aren’t There Library-less Universities Now?
Herring discusses that a university in California tried to open without a library and soon found out that they couldn’t find everything they needed on the Internet.
8 But a Virtual State Library Would Do It, Right?
Right now the cost is too high and the copyright fees are prohibitive.
9 The Internet: A Mile Wide, an Inch (or less) Deep
Another problem that Herring states is that the information on the internet is only about 15 years old and that it is very expensive to have access to older information.
10 The Internet Is Ubiquitous but Books Are Portable
The last point made is an obvious one. It’s a little tricky to curl up with a laptop and we are not apt to change our ways in the foreseeable future.
Herring ends by saying that to say that libraries are obsolete “is as silly as saying shoes have made feet unnecessary.”
This is a more light-hearted look at the reasons why libraries are important. Herring opens with the idea that given reading test scores and the rush toward the computer it isn’t hard to understand why reading is falling by the wayside. He says that libraries are in trouble when officials start saying that libraries are obsolete and to make way for the internet. He came up with the ten reasons why this is not so.
1 Not Everything Is on the Internet.
He states that a lot of journal articles are not accessible on the internet. Judging by the number of times I’ve found an article I would like to read and have been asked whether I would like pay with Visa or Mastercard, I would have to agree. He says that less than 8% of journal articles are on the Web
2 The Needle (Your Search) in the Haystack (the Web)
He compares the Internet to a “vast uncatalogued library” and says that no matter what the search engine is, the information is not updated nor are you searching the entire Web. To me a lot of time is sacrificed looking for just the right site or an article you need.
3 Quality Control Doesn’t Exist
Anyone can put anything on the web and there are few safeguards to protect the innocent. Granted there are more filters for inappropriate sites but it is still easy to stumble across those x-rated sites or political sites such as the Klu Klux Klan. I often think of a poor grade 4 girl who was trying to find out information about birds and ended up on a site called Hooters. You can imagine what that site advertised.
4 What You Don’t Know Really Does Hurt You
Sometimes articles are missing key parts of information like charts, graphs and formulae, so Herring cautions the reader not to have total confidence in what is published.
5 States Can Now Buy One Book and Distribute to Every Library on the Web-NOT!
Herring states that less than a couple thousand academic books are available on line. What is the advantage of checking out e- books from a library when they are allowed one copy per library and you can only have one user? You still have to wait your turn.
6 Hey, Bud, You Forgot about E-book Readers
Even if you have your e-book reader it is difficult to read from a computer screen. Most people tend to print out longer articles and I know I am just as guilty of doing this as I find it tiring to read from a computer screen.
7 Aren’t There Library-less Universities Now?
Herring discusses that a university in California tried to open without a library and soon found out that they couldn’t find everything they needed on the Internet.
8 But a Virtual State Library Would Do It, Right?
Right now the cost is too high and the copyright fees are prohibitive.
9 The Internet: A Mile Wide, an Inch (or less) Deep
Another problem that Herring states is that the information on the internet is only about 15 years old and that it is very expensive to have access to older information.
10 The Internet Is Ubiquitous but Books Are Portable
The last point made is an obvious one. It’s a little tricky to curl up with a laptop and we are not apt to change our ways in the foreseeable future.
Herring ends by saying that to say that libraries are obsolete “is as silly as saying shoes have made feet unnecessary.”
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Scholarly Article 1
The first scholarly article that I would like to share is one by Daniel Callison entitled, “Key Words in Instruction: Inquiry” which was published in the School Library Media Activities Monthly, Volume XV, Number 6 (February 1999): 38-42. I looked up this article because it was referred to as part of the suggested readings in Leslie Preddy’s website: (www.lesliepreddy.com).
Callison views inquiry on four levels which also fits with the developmental stages of the student and is also reminiscent of Bloom’s Taxonomy as each stage is increasingly more complex.
· Controlled Inquiry: involves skill practice and generally research topics are chosen by the teacher.
· Guided Inquiry: students may work in small groups, deal with the same information and are judged using the same rubric.
· Modeled Inquiry: students have more freedom of choice in their research topic and are viewed as research apprentices.
· Free Inquiry: students pose their own questions and are expected to analyze and synthesize data to produce a unique project.
The rest of Callison’s article talks about the new emphasis of inquiry and information literacy sweeping the United States at that time. He also cautions that a shift in emphasis does not mean we abandon the old but that we build on the former practices to enhance the new. I found this to be an interesting article because Callison seems to be forecasting what is now happening with regards to the inquiry process.
· Past- Teacher directed New- Student collaboration
· Past- Locating Information New- Evaluating information
· Past- Printed material New- All sources of material
· Past- Secondary sources New- Primary sources
· Past-Single perspective New-Multiple perspectives
· Past- Paper product New- Variety of formats
I agree with Callison when he talks about the library media centre’s job as being more than just the location of information. Once the students have found the information it’s more what do they do with the information that is important. This brings the level of inquiry to the evaluation and synthesis stage. With reference to print material, it is the job of the teacher-librarian to determine which resources will be the most beneficial. When he discusses sources he refers to the “why” questions of two year olds and encourages the use of primary sources to help students be more specific with their facts rather than to rely on secondary sources such as encyclopedias. Where I think that the inquiry process has changed the most is in the product. Students now conduct their own surveys, debate results and write plays. At our school the students have conducted inquiries about where our food comes through research, interviews and have produced a short documentary.
Callison views inquiry on four levels which also fits with the developmental stages of the student and is also reminiscent of Bloom’s Taxonomy as each stage is increasingly more complex.
· Controlled Inquiry: involves skill practice and generally research topics are chosen by the teacher.
· Guided Inquiry: students may work in small groups, deal with the same information and are judged using the same rubric.
· Modeled Inquiry: students have more freedom of choice in their research topic and are viewed as research apprentices.
· Free Inquiry: students pose their own questions and are expected to analyze and synthesize data to produce a unique project.
The rest of Callison’s article talks about the new emphasis of inquiry and information literacy sweeping the United States at that time. He also cautions that a shift in emphasis does not mean we abandon the old but that we build on the former practices to enhance the new. I found this to be an interesting article because Callison seems to be forecasting what is now happening with regards to the inquiry process.
· Past- Teacher directed New- Student collaboration
· Past- Locating Information New- Evaluating information
· Past- Printed material New- All sources of material
· Past- Secondary sources New- Primary sources
· Past-Single perspective New-Multiple perspectives
· Past- Paper product New- Variety of formats
I agree with Callison when he talks about the library media centre’s job as being more than just the location of information. Once the students have found the information it’s more what do they do with the information that is important. This brings the level of inquiry to the evaluation and synthesis stage. With reference to print material, it is the job of the teacher-librarian to determine which resources will be the most beneficial. When he discusses sources he refers to the “why” questions of two year olds and encourages the use of primary sources to help students be more specific with their facts rather than to rely on secondary sources such as encyclopedias. Where I think that the inquiry process has changed the most is in the product. Students now conduct their own surveys, debate results and write plays. At our school the students have conducted inquiries about where our food comes through research, interviews and have produced a short documentary.
Research Models
This week's lesson was a steep learning curve for me as I had not done much research or reading on the different models. One area that I would like to address is trying to ensure that there is a consistent research model used throughout the grades. In our school some teachers did their own research and some maybe had a turn to do some activities with the teacher-librarian.
In comparing the models I did find similarities and differences but for our school and situation I think that the one I would choose would be the Research Quest. Like one of our classmates, Richard, commented on it is already in kid friendly language. I also like the model because there are only five stages and it does include opportunities for reflection. I found the Stripling and Pitts research process had too many stages and even in simpler language for the students might be overwhelming and a bit daunting. One thing that is similar is the reflection process. The Information Seeking model by Carol Kuhlthau is different by recognizing the emotional state of the student. Indeed I could relate to the confusion stage as I tried to wade through the many articles and synthesize my own thoughts and reflect on my own understanding. I am hoping to enter the confidence stage soon.
I also did some more reading and searching for models and found another called the I-Search by Ken Macrorie where students choose a topic of interest. They then proceed through a five step process with similar steps to the others but the final product is written in the first person and includes their own thoughts and feelings. Another website that you might want to check out is www.lesliepreddy.com. Leslie Preddy is a Library Media Specialist who developed a "Student Inquiry in the Research Process" based on the work of Dr. Daniel Callison. This is also a five step process which contains Orientation,Exploration,Strategy,Investigation and Conclusion/Reflection. The website contains an Educator Resource section and is also related to the Big6.
Another good article to look up is one from the Library Media Connection, April/May 2004. The article is called 'Destination Information-A Road Map for the Journey' by Peggy Milan. It does describe a few more models but what is interesting is the venn diagram at the end of her article which shows how the various models are connected. At the centre is how they are all resource based.
In the end no matter what model you choose, I think consistency within the school is important as well as a specific way the model will be incorporated throughout the grade levels.
It was interesting to read the pros and cons of using a school-wide research model. Megan M. agreed that consistency was important while others like Roberta M. and Marilyn R. found the “Research Quest” had too much written detail. Perhaps at the high school level, students could learn about the different models available but at the elementary level I still think that one model should be used at least from Gr4-6. I am lucky in that I work in a smaller school and we only have 8 classes. I know that the “Research Quest” is not the only model but to me it is the most concise. If the model is taught through the library, there is still room to modify or adapt the process to meet the needs of specific students in the classroom.
In comparing the models I did find similarities and differences but for our school and situation I think that the one I would choose would be the Research Quest. Like one of our classmates, Richard, commented on it is already in kid friendly language. I also like the model because there are only five stages and it does include opportunities for reflection. I found the Stripling and Pitts research process had too many stages and even in simpler language for the students might be overwhelming and a bit daunting. One thing that is similar is the reflection process. The Information Seeking model by Carol Kuhlthau is different by recognizing the emotional state of the student. Indeed I could relate to the confusion stage as I tried to wade through the many articles and synthesize my own thoughts and reflect on my own understanding. I am hoping to enter the confidence stage soon.
I also did some more reading and searching for models and found another called the I-Search by Ken Macrorie where students choose a topic of interest. They then proceed through a five step process with similar steps to the others but the final product is written in the first person and includes their own thoughts and feelings. Another website that you might want to check out is www.lesliepreddy.com. Leslie Preddy is a Library Media Specialist who developed a "Student Inquiry in the Research Process" based on the work of Dr. Daniel Callison. This is also a five step process which contains Orientation,Exploration,Strategy,Investigation and Conclusion/Reflection. The website contains an Educator Resource section and is also related to the Big6.
Another good article to look up is one from the Library Media Connection, April/May 2004. The article is called 'Destination Information-A Road Map for the Journey' by Peggy Milan. It does describe a few more models but what is interesting is the venn diagram at the end of her article which shows how the various models are connected. At the centre is how they are all resource based.
In the end no matter what model you choose, I think consistency within the school is important as well as a specific way the model will be incorporated throughout the grade levels.
It was interesting to read the pros and cons of using a school-wide research model. Megan M. agreed that consistency was important while others like Roberta M. and Marilyn R. found the “Research Quest” had too much written detail. Perhaps at the high school level, students could learn about the different models available but at the elementary level I still think that one model should be used at least from Gr4-6. I am lucky in that I work in a smaller school and we only have 8 classes. I know that the “Research Quest” is not the only model but to me it is the most concise. If the model is taught through the library, there is still room to modify or adapt the process to meet the needs of specific students in the classroom.
Definitions
As a new teacher librarian I didn’t know some of the glossary terms. Although some of the terms were self-explanatory, I was still puzzled by terms like OCLN, RLIN and the Union Catalog and where I would use these in our small Grade 4-7 school.
I liked the terms ‘Ready-Reference Questions’ and ‘Reference Interview” and I can see that I can organize my time in the library a little more efficiently using these terms. It would be great if I could schedule some of these interviews when the library is open for book exchanges. I see this more at the Grade 7 level as the teachers in the other grades are more specific in topics and what they want their students to research. At the Grade 7 level our students complete a debating unit and design their own questions to research.
The process of weeding will be one that I will have to tackle soon as possible as the library shelves are a little crowded and some non-fiction sections have material that is out-dated. The previous librarian has not weeded for a long time and I noticed some of the book jackets are worn and torn. I wonder also what to do with the books when they are out of circulation. Do you just recycle them or give them away? Someone suggested sending them to schools in Africa but how will outdated materials help them learn about the world now? I also seem to have inherited many different atlases and am trying to make sure that each class has a current atlas. One teacher doesn’t want to part with his particular atlas because it has two good pages on latitude and longitude. How does a teacher-librarian deal with this???
Weeding seemed to be a popular theme in our discussions as there were many postings about this topic. As the discussions evolved I noticed some of the same questions from other classmates. It was interesting to read the reply of Karen L. who discussed what her district does with weeded books. She mentions the Lion’s Club and maybe other charitable organizations but are the books really worth the effort and should they like John T says be sent to ‘the bookshelf in the sky’.
One area that I needed more information on was the “Big6 Information Model”. It was comforting to know that I am not alone as many others commented on this as well. It was also beneficial to see the different sites mentioned by Roberta M. on almanacs.
Right now I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with so many definitions and I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn about how they all fit into information literacy. I am also finding at this point that I don’t seem too have much to comment on as this is my first library course and it is all new to me.
I liked the terms ‘Ready-Reference Questions’ and ‘Reference Interview” and I can see that I can organize my time in the library a little more efficiently using these terms. It would be great if I could schedule some of these interviews when the library is open for book exchanges. I see this more at the Grade 7 level as the teachers in the other grades are more specific in topics and what they want their students to research. At the Grade 7 level our students complete a debating unit and design their own questions to research.
The process of weeding will be one that I will have to tackle soon as possible as the library shelves are a little crowded and some non-fiction sections have material that is out-dated. The previous librarian has not weeded for a long time and I noticed some of the book jackets are worn and torn. I wonder also what to do with the books when they are out of circulation. Do you just recycle them or give them away? Someone suggested sending them to schools in Africa but how will outdated materials help them learn about the world now? I also seem to have inherited many different atlases and am trying to make sure that each class has a current atlas. One teacher doesn’t want to part with his particular atlas because it has two good pages on latitude and longitude. How does a teacher-librarian deal with this???
Weeding seemed to be a popular theme in our discussions as there were many postings about this topic. As the discussions evolved I noticed some of the same questions from other classmates. It was interesting to read the reply of Karen L. who discussed what her district does with weeded books. She mentions the Lion’s Club and maybe other charitable organizations but are the books really worth the effort and should they like John T says be sent to ‘the bookshelf in the sky’.
One area that I needed more information on was the “Big6 Information Model”. It was comforting to know that I am not alone as many others commented on this as well. It was also beneficial to see the different sites mentioned by Roberta M. on almanacs.
Right now I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with so many definitions and I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn about how they all fit into information literacy. I am also finding at this point that I don’t seem too have much to comment on as this is my first library course and it is all new to me.
My New Role
So far I haven’t found anything in our District that would be called a policy or a job description for teacher-librarians. There is a statement for our District Resource Centre which just tells about the services offered at the DRC. They also go on to give a short summary of how resources are selected. I asked our co-coordinator and she says there has been some discussion about developing a policy but it is a work in progress. Budgeting has really affected our district and 3/6 library positions are filled by administrators.
There are a lot of things that I would like to see in our library. At the very least a binder with expectations and some kind of scope and sequence of library skills. Over the years our library program has been a bit hit and miss. Some teachers have already indicated that they always ‘do’ a research unit and others just say they want me to organize literature circles. Some say the teacher-librarian was always too busy to fit them in. When I took this job I just assumed there would be a library skills continuum so I would know what to do. I was a little surprised at how empty the file cabinets were.
I have always felt that the library should be the hub of the school. I have many ideas and after reading articles and working my way through some of the coursework I know I am on the right track.
So my legacy for the next teacher librarian will be a binder-From how do you organize textbooks so they are ready for teachers as quickly as possible to what do you say about library expectations during the first class visit? This would certainly have been appreciated. So now that I am at least feeling a bit more confident I can turn my attention to developing information literacy.
There are a lot of things that I would like to see in our library. At the very least a binder with expectations and some kind of scope and sequence of library skills. Over the years our library program has been a bit hit and miss. Some teachers have already indicated that they always ‘do’ a research unit and others just say they want me to organize literature circles. Some say the teacher-librarian was always too busy to fit them in. When I took this job I just assumed there would be a library skills continuum so I would know what to do. I was a little surprised at how empty the file cabinets were.
I have always felt that the library should be the hub of the school. I have many ideas and after reading articles and working my way through some of the coursework I know I am on the right track.
So my legacy for the next teacher librarian will be a binder-From how do you organize textbooks so they are ready for teachers as quickly as possible to what do you say about library expectations during the first class visit? This would certainly have been appreciated. So now that I am at least feeling a bit more confident I can turn my attention to developing information literacy.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Beginning the Course
The first day of school was also the first day of the sign in for the online course too. If I thought that the course would be a little tricky I was not prepared for the number of new computer skills I would have to master before I even looked at the coursework. When asked to reflect about the journey and think about what I knew about information literacy and reference materials, I have to admit I knew next to nothing. My idea of having the students look for information was to say,"Let's just Google this"and see what we can find. Even the previous librarian was not much help. I don't want this to sound like I am criticizing everything she did but I intuitively knew that there was much more to be offered in the library program than just a weekly book exchange.
Monday, September 22, 2008
First Entry
This is another new experience for me. I have never written on a blog let alone have my own blogspot. I am a Grade5 teacher and have taught for many years in rural BC. This year I am assigned .4 teacher-librarian and .6 in the classroom. I love the Grade 5 curriculum and have always enjoyed incorporating themes as much as I can. This year I was able to keep my favourite subjects and I teach Language Arts, Social Studies, Art and Personal Planning. The part of the Social Studies curriculum that has evolved over the years is immigration to Canada during the 1800s. I have integrated all subject areas and the students complete research, write diaries and poetry and weave, quilt and folkdance. We have a wonderful Multi-cultural evening where all the projects are displayed for parents and the community.
I have always loved to read and I was one of those kids who read with a flashlight underneath the covers. The students in my class recognize my passion for literacy and I believe they are inspired by this. It was a natural assignment for me to take the library position. My friend who retired said that she knew I would love the job but that there was a lot to learn. Boy was she right!
I have always loved to read and I was one of those kids who read with a flashlight underneath the covers. The students in my class recognize my passion for literacy and I believe they are inspired by this. It was a natural assignment for me to take the library position. My friend who retired said that she knew I would love the job but that there was a lot to learn. Boy was she right!
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