Monthly Archives: October 2015

phones: a future for literacy ?

Virtual Libraries in Developing Countries

The first article I found tells of one mans efforts to build libraries in developing countries. He created a non-profit society, Room to Read, to carry out this mission. Since its creation, Room to Read has established libraries in many countries, including Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Zambia;

http://www.edutopia.org/global-education-libraries-developing-countries

My research led me to what happened in Nigeria surrounding virtual libraries. An initiative to build a virtual library for a Nigerian university began in 2000. The need was identified to stock their libraries with improved and up to date literature, a need that was not being met by paper books. So, conversation began around using ICTs to bring about better education for its students. A major problem they immediately began to debate was who would front the cost of connectivity and access to information electronically. Because this initiative began so long ago I began looking into Nigerian libraries and university institutions to see what progress had been made since this article was written.

http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=2646&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

I also found an article about the library services offered in rural areas of Nigeria; it mainly suggested that the existence of libraries in Nigeria were hindered due to illiteracy, lack of information and ICT, lack of infrastructure, and poverty. A bookmobile program was introduced in Nigeria in the 60’s however after a successful inception, it did not remain in place for any extended period of time.

http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/posigha2.htm

In looking for initiatives happening more currently, I came across an organisation called the Elsevier Foundation –a foundation that gives grants to developing nations’ libraries. One of their initiatives is called the “E-Library Training Initiative”. It provides online research skills and training to librarians in Africa, Latin America, and Asia. They in turn take the knowledge they’ve learned from their studies, and bring it back to the professionals and students of their own communities. So far, the Elsevier Foundation has helped these nations gain access to 6500 online journals and databases. To hear about the people it has positively effected, take a look at the video below.

https://youtu.be/ErHzxcuYlnY

After searching for information about mobile devices specifically, and how these devices can support developing nations, I came across an article about a “mobile reading revolution.” A year long Unesco study of seven developing African countries, found that 62% of their respondents read more because of their mobile phones. Furthermore, the respondents said they read to their children off their mobile devices. The study concluded that reading on ones mobile devices, let to a “promising if still underutilized pathway to text” (Flood, Mobile Reading Revolution). As I became specifically interested in what was happening in Nigeria, I learned that mobile books cost Nigerian citizens on average 1 to 2 cents, while a paperback book cost 1 to 5 dollars. This seems very promising for the education of people in developing countries like Nigeria. Within this article, Unesco cited U.N. data, that claims of the seven billion people living on earth, “more than six billion now have access to a working mobile phone” (Flood, Mobile Reading Revolution). This data was shocking to me as I felt an immediate sense of promise towards the number of people that potentially have access to a medium of which to read.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/apr/23/mobile-reading-revolution-unesco-study-phones-africa-subcontinent

The above article led me to a partner of Unesco, Worldreader, which aims to bring digital books to citizens around the world. Worldreaders mission is to show people the capacity their cellphone, to act as a digital library. Their goal is to bring digital books to every child, by building on digital platforms and mobile connectivity to make their books available in places where they would not otherwise easily exist.

http://www.worldreader.org

Of all the research I did, I found Worldreader to be the most promising and forward moving initiative of all. Looking at ones mobile device as a library brimming with literature and information is not only innovative and engaging, it is hopeful and exciting for the future of literacy in ALL nations of the world.

References:

Bernard, Sara. Room to Read: Building Libraries, Schools, and Computer Labs in Developing Countries. http://www.edutopia.org Web. 27 Oct. 2015

Y.Z. Ya’U. Nigerian Virtual Library. http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=2646&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html. Web. 27 Oct. 2015

Flood, Alison. Mobile Reading Revolution. http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/apr/23/mobile-reading-revolution-unesco-study-phones-africa-subcontinent. Web. 27 Oct. 2015

Worldreader. What We Do. http://www.worldreader.org. Web. 27 Oct. 2015

Worldreader. Girl reading mobile phone. Image. 27 Oct. 2015

Sharing is Caring

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Supporting Teachers ICT Curriculum and Pedagogy: On-going Pro-D

Teacher Librarian as a Person

I would argue a large component of being able to share our learning with the rest of our staff and wider community, starts by looking within yourself and deciding what kind of Teacher-Librarian you wish to be. By nature, the librarian position can be isolating if you let it. You are likely one of a kind at the school and you might even be located further from the classroom “wings” of the school. Teachers may be more inclined to collaborate with similar grade level teachers, while forgetting about the librarian as a major resource of which to collaborate. As a result, being able to share your wealth of knowledge starts with you! As TL’s, we must put ourselves out there, and really promote our willingness to share, collaborate and learn together. This is has been a challenge of mine, as I am not overly confident yet in my skills as a librarian, being only two months into the position; however, I am outgoing by nature and have taken it upon myself to become friends with many of the staff members. This alone will enable me to share my knowledge with others, when I am in a position to do so.

In the meantime, if you are a new librarian like myself, we still have options! Join as many committees as you can manage, and start learning from others. As new teachers this is our time to “take” from other teachers, so one day, we can be in a position to give. Decide you are going to be known by all the staff, and make a point in asking to collaborate. Even it that collaboration means doing book talks, or research skills lessons, you are still contributing.

Teacher Librarian as a School Leader

As ones career develops as a teacher-librarian, it is very possible to be seen as a school leader. Not only do we come into contact with essentially all of the students on a weekly, if not daily basis, but we also coordinate the heart of the school: the library. We have the power to make the library a place where everyone wants to come to learn. We shape the collection, and ultimately decide what enters, leaves, and is central to the collection. We create the physical space, and determine what “makerspace” and technology related activities are available. We also set the tone for how flexible or inflexible the library is on a whole. In a society with ever evolving technology, we as TLs really have the opportunity to be extraordinarily useful and innovative. Developing our own ICT skills, so we can share those skills with others, is what will truly make us leaders. Teachers should be able to use the TL as a technology resource to improve their own practice. But how?

What can I do now?

The first step in sharing is to educate yourself. Educate yourself on every technological app you can. Decide what you think will be useful for the teachers of particular grades. Be aware of the curriculum so you can anticipate what a teacher might want to know/do for his or her students.

Find out a medium you like, for which you can share your knowledge. Then, become an expert at it. Whether you use a blog, host a lunchtime meeting, lead a Pro-D workshop, or rely on social media or app, get your information out there. It is then in the teachers hands to decide to utilize your services or not.

Two alternatives to powerpoint which I like are:

https://www.haikudeck.com

For a more animated presentation, try Powtoon as a way to share with students or staff.

Becoming a great librarian will not happen over night, but there are many steps you can take, starting with your own demeanour, to move in a positive direction. Make yourself available, and educate yourself with every opportunity you get, so you can be a confident and beneficial resource for staff and students alike.

Times are changing….and its important we keep up with those changes.

The good old days?

Goals for the year:

Keep throwing myself into every tech-related club and meeting that arises. Exposure, exposure, exposure!

Create something of my own, related to a repertoire of educational apps that teachers can easily use.

References

Atkinson, John. Library cartoon. http://wronghands1.com. Web. 23. Oct. 2015

www.haikudeck.com: App. 23 Oct. 2015

www.powtoon.com: Web. 23 Oct. 2015

conquering technology fears

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Developing my own ICT skills and networks has been a goal of mine that was just set in motion this September. It began when in a couple main ways. First I was hassled a bit by my family members, for being “technologically inept.” Initially this did not bother me, until I felt I was missing out on certain opportunities and luxuries such as Apple T.V., iPhone possibilities, and the list goes on. Secondly, I felt the shift in education, towards technology, and I realised with a sinking worry that it was vital for my teaching practice to adapt. With these feelings as a backdrop for creating my own support system and developing my skills, I have simply jumped right into every tech related opportunity that presents itself.

Opportunities at school I have involved myself in include an upcoming coding group, where we will be teaching ourselves to code, alongside the students. I have not the slightest clue about where to start with coding, but one teacher managed to teach his 4 year old daughter how to code, so I am pretty sure I will be able to develop somewhat of a skill set. move the turtle and hopscotch are apps that teach kids (and adults) how to code, in an interactive and fun way. If you want more information about the benefits of coding just click the linked word for a (U.S.) site that promotes the benefits of learning computer sciences.

Secondly, I have joined the Fresh Grade group, where we are experimenting with Fresh Grade in our classrooms, and hoping to implement this program as a main source of assessment next term. We meet every Friday and troubleshoot, share experiences and grievances, and just explore the program. If you aren’t familiar with Fresh Grade, you can use this program through an App on your iPad/iPhone, or you can access it through the website: https://www.freshgrade.com

Thirdly, I have been learning from the 1.0 T.L. at my school, who as I have mentioned, is a wealth of information when it comes to ICT. She inspires me because she too decided to take this jump into technology on her own accord, and has successfully and whole-heartedly embraced it.

A goal of mine is to understand and use Twitter in education; so far I have discovered hashtags to begin exploring librarian tweets within the province and district. Here are a few from the Surrey School district. Perhaps you have some recommendations for me?

To summarize, I am opening doors I used to shy away from, in fear of not knowing how, or not wanting to rely on technology, when I have had difficulties in the past. Encouragement for me comes in the form of the students I teach, who explore the unknown and conquer challenges everyday. I just realised that why should I expect them to take chances, and not expect myself to do the same! This course has challenged me to improve my technology skills, and through the process I am really enjoying it. I think the enjoyment I am experiencing will encourage me to continue developing my skills when the course is over.

REFERENCES

Move the Turtle. https://www.movetheturtle.com: 2015. Web. 10 Oct. 2015.

Hopscotch. https://www.gethopscotch.com. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

Code. https://code.org: Code.org, 2015. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.

Fresh Grade. https://www.freshgrade.com: Web. 16 Oct. 2015.

Watson, Jessica. Grandma Holding iPad. https://www.sheknows.com: 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.

ICT & Fostering a Love for Reading

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At the learning commons at Katzie, we try to foster a love of reading through ICT and non ICT strategies. The 1.0 FTE librarian is a wealth of information for ICT tools, and has taught me many new approaches to fostering the love of reading, in such a short time already.

One strategy we use that I find unique is the use QR codes to access the learning commons blog. The students seem very excited to scan our QR code with their iPads, and see where it takes them. From here we have them search around the learning commons blog for a question we may have posted or a link we may have shared to a reading related game. We also have them look up information about the author of a book we just read together. For example, we are reading Kenneth Oppel’s A Bad Case of Ghosts, and we had the grade 2-3 students scan a QR code, find the Authour section of the blog, find O for Oppell, and then explore his page. We saw looks of wonder and excitement as they explored the authors website, and many students wanted to know of more books we have by this author. We then sent them home with paper bookmarks with the learning commons QR code on the back, so they can easily access our site at home. Simple things like giving the students a challenge to discover where an author is from, helps them understand there is a person behind every book, and I believe this fosters student engagement.

Here is a picture of Kindergarten students enjoying the use of iPads to listen to Stella and Sam. They have not yet mastered their ability to reading independently, but they show their love for reading by listening to and interacting with this App.

Here is a link to the Katzie learning commons blog, created by the 1.0 librarian at our school. Our librarian who manages this offers and shares many great ICT ideas.

http://katzielc.blogspot.ca

Another strategy we use frequently is Tumblebooks and audio books. Students enjoyed hearing the fun Spanish accents of “Caramba” that would have been challenging for me to replicate. They also liked viewing various thanksgiving related books on Tumblebooks.

If you aren’t familiar with tumble books herein a quick sample I found off youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cit5eq9f2w&sns=em

A study of two classes at a middle school in the Midwest of America, looked at literacy success rates dependent on teacher beliefs and practices. The study compared two teachers with relatively different teacher beliefs. The first teacher organised her students in homogenous reading level groups, and used a reading program she chose and implemented. The second teacher created book club groups, composed of students with varying reading levels. They engaged in multiple activities from listening to books on tape, to partner reading; students also chose their own reading material as long as it was appropriate for their reading level. The first teacher had students read 20 minutes silently, and write about random topics in their journals, whereas the second teacher modeled silent reading and read her own novel silently, for 10 out of the 20 minutes her students read for. As well, she connected journal topics to reading content and she linked themes they studied in science and socials, to what they read about as a class during teacher read aloud times.

It is rather obvious to see that the literacy success rates of the second teacher were more successful than those of the first. I think modeling silent reading is a great way to foster a love for reading. Although I have heard about this strategy, I have yet to implement it as a classroom teacher. As librarians we get to model a love for reading during read aloud; however, it would be interesting to see if a casual silent reading group at lunch, where the librarian also found a comfortable place to read alongside the students, would foster a love for reading. Although the second teacher did not use many ICT tools to foster a love for reading, I could see her practices open and conducive to new ICT ideas.

To end, here is a short video about one perspective on fostering a love for reading in the home!

Works Cited

Brock and Boyd. Fostering Meaningful Middle School Literacy Learning: Voices from the Middle, Volume 19, Number 1. Sept. 2011. Web. 9 Oct. 2015. http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/VM/0191-sep2011/VM0191Fostering.pdf

student activism & technology

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Social responsibility is an important element of the B.C. curriculum. If students are socially responsible, they care about society in a global, communal sense, and understand their individual and collective potential to make positive impacts for the benefit of more than just themselves. If we as educators include social responsibility as a integral part of the curriculum, there have to be mediums in place for students to enact these curricular goals and make tangible differences. With this idea as a starting point for inquiry, I began searching for research or examples of how students used technology as a primary medium to create and spread their initiatives. I had the idea in mind that technologies such as apps and social media could be fostered to not only create a philanthropist movements, but also spread messages and have an impact globally.

Initially I found many websites and articles that supported the idea of technology use in classroom for positive learning environments; many articles contained information about the need for teachers to help their students use technology efficiently to aid in their learning process; however, I did not find many examples or research about the use of technology to promote socially responsible students. Many examples included bake sales, book and food drives, car washes, and fasts. These are certainly initiatives that promote social responsibility and contribute to helping society on a global level. But in reading “Why School”, which asked the question why hasn’t education embraced technologies like other sectors of our society have, I wondered if any teachers were using technology to explore the social responsibility competency of the curriculum.

Eventually, I came across the term “globally enabled social change” and the idea of “digital citizenship”. These keywords led me to ideas about citizens using technology to make a difference or build awareness about a particular cause. Some methods included utilizing hash tags and charitable pages, while other methods used facebook private pages as activist chat rooms for those living in undemocratic countries.

In looking for instances that specifically included youth that were given opportunities within their education to make a difference, I came across a few examples. Some examples included students who created apps that helped impoverished people living across the world, while other examples consisted of teachers who were using ipads to allow students to create stories through stop motion, prezi, and the like, to increase engagement, share ideas, and make a difference. The teacher stated, “my students are creative and interested in changing the world.” You can read more about that story here: http://digcitizen.tumblr.com

Overall, it seems as though there is an absent of literature to do with technology and social responsibility in education; although I found examples on blogs and websites, I did not find scholarly articles and journals that touched on this subject in a substantial way; however, I do not doubt for a second that social activism in education which utilizes technology, is not taking place. Massive contributions such as We Day take place yearly, and reach many students across the globe. I know that students change their avatars, update their facebook statuses, sign e-petitions, and make online donations, all to support whatever cause that matters to them.

I do believe that as educators adapt and incorporate technology in the classroom more importantly and frequently, students will naturally use technology to create, plan, organize, support and carry out movements that are important to them. Collective grievances, whether environmental, social, emotional, etc., creates a desire in people to act. Students have the power to male a difference together, and technology can and does serve as a great vehicle for that change.

bronagh

teacher librarian in the making