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When searching online to learn about library projects in developing nations, I learned that libraries are essential in providing access to information and resources to help improve quality of life throughout communities and that lack of Internet access through libraries equates to less opportunity. Libraries in developing countries empower people and meet their information needs. For example, access to information through the library allows farmers to better promote their products or students to improve exam results. Libraries offer a place for people to learn and encourages literacy. It offers equal access to information for all members of the community. (World Literacy Foundation, 2020)

Image by Pixabay

A recent study by the Syracuse University School of Information Studies New York states that;

“the top countries with access to the most libraries in their vicinity are predominately in Europe, with the least amount being largely in Africa. This may come as no surprise to many who are aware of the lack of public and social structures in the developing continent, where poor literacy rates directly correlate with lack of libraries.” (The Guardian, 2013)

This statement demonstrates the important role that libraries play in developing countries where poverty and poor education are prominent. The study explains that without access to library spaces people in developing countries are less likely to overcome poverty. Read more about the study here.

Bill and Melinda Gates foundation called Global Libraries works to offer access to the Internet for people in developing countries, particularly in rural and poor communities. Their goal is to provide access to information and knowledge “to enrich lives, inform choices and prepare people for meaningful employment and contribution to their communities.” (Global Libraries, 2020)

Image by Global Libraries

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation aims to promote equality of opportunity where all people have access to online information. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 

While learning about libraries in developing countries, I was particularly moved by the efforts of many individuals to provide access to information and books. It is wonderful to see people going to great lengths to bring technology and books to individuals without access. Although the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is doing incredible things for communities in remote communities, there are also many individuals who are simply doing what they can to promote literacy and knowledge in many places around the world. They help us to understand the impact that resources have on education and creating independent people.

The following video highlights many of the unique ways that books are being brought to communities.

Learn more about the elephant who helps combat illiteracy in Thailand here.

The Camel Bookmobile in Kenya.  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/dec/04/davidsmith.theobserver

Luis Soriano in La Gloria Columbia delivers books by donkey.  https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p063zy12/biblioburro-the-amazing-donkey-libraries-of-colombia

Raul Lemesoffès transforms weapons into a mobile library.

Artist converts old truck into book-disseminating ‘Weapon of Mass Instruction’ tank

The library Boat in Norway https://ideaexchange.org/life/idea/weird-libraries-norways-library-boat

Antonio Lacava’s The Booktruck  https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190125-the-tiny-library-bringing-books-to-remote-villages

The Mobile library in Thailand https://bangkok.unesco.org/content/have-books-will-travel-japanese-womans-mobile-library-mission-thailand

Works cited

1. Hamilton, Stuart. “Stamping out Poverty as Well as Books? How Libraries Can Support Development.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 12 Mar. 2013, theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/mar/12/libraries-power-global-development.

2. Unique Mobile Libraries Around The World, video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM2FIsghhjA

3. “The Power of Libraries.” WLF, 28 May 2020, worldliteracyfoundation.org/the-power-of-libraries/. https://worldliteracyfoundation.org/the-power-of-libraries/#:~:text=One%20thing%20that%20is%20noticeably,journals%2C%20and%20access%20the%20internet.

4. “Global Libraries.” The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 1 Jan. 1AD, gatesfoundation.org/what-we-do/global-development/global-libraries. https://www.gatesfoundation.org/what-we-do/global-development/global-libraries

I truly believe that one of the most important roles of the teacher-librarian is to be able to make connections and build relationships with the staff members with whom they work. It is through this process that the teacher-librarians builds the foundation for working collaboratively with other teachers. The teacher-librarian must first be seen by the other staff members as a competent teacher and one that can demonstrate and provide meaningful help, resources, ideas, and skills.  When the teachers see the TL as capable of providing assistance with technology, they will be more willing to accept help and collaboration opportunities.

Image by Pixabay

Part of that connection is being able to understand and respond to the needs of the teachers including their abilities in ICT. The teacher-librarian must find a balance between encouraging the use of technology and not overwhelming the teachers who have less experience integrating technology into the curriculum. The following video helps us to understand the link between ICT, teaching, and learning.

Here are some ideas that I have used to motivate the teachers in my school to use ICT and how I respond to their technology needs.  

Volunteer to present at a PD Day

Volunteering t present at a PD Day is a great way to showcase technology tools such as Popplet, Wordle, Animoto, Flipgrid, Kahoot, Plickers, Screencast-O-Matic, StoryBoardThat or Padlet. Present a quick overview of how to use these tools and have the teachers participate in a real lesson that uses the tools. This will help them to understand how the tool can be used and the student’s role in the activity.

Create “Collaboration Envy”

In an article about the school library newsletter, Teacher-Librarian Chelsea Simms mentioned the concept of collaboration envy.

“It is a way to inspire “collaboration envy” and bring new teachers on board. For example, a colleague may read about a member of your team who has been working with you to develop a new authentic research project for sixth-grade students. This idea may inspire your colleague to find out more about how she can scaffold the relevant skills into her own fifth-grade unit.” (Sims, 2016, p.29)

Find the full article here.

This can be applied as a way to encourage teachers to expand their ICT by showcasing the final product of a collaborative project that used technology and hopefully another teacher will want to learn about the technology used to complete the project.

Presenting at a Staff Meeting

Before the staff meeting ask the principal for a few minutes prior to beginning, to share something with the teachers. Use the time to share what the school division has to offer in terms of technology resources. If the school division has subscriptions to websites such as World Book Online or Ebsco databases, make sure that the teachers have the username and password to be able to use the websites. Be flexible and offer your time after school or during a teacher’s prep-time to show the teachers how to access digital resources. Take this opportunity to share new resources and books with the staff. Instead of presenting the new resources in the form of a Show and Tell, I use a tech tool to present them. For example, I presented new books from the library by creating a Google Slides show. I have also used Kahoot to engage the staff in learning about Copyright Matters.

Monthly Library Newsletter

Use the monthly newsletter to tell the staff about the various collaborations and projects you have been working on throughout the school. Highlight new technology that you have used and include pictures, tech tips, fun websites for kids, student and teacher technology successes, and training opportunities. A useful tool for creating a library newsletter is the following Ebsco Best Practices document. https://www.ebsco.com/sites/g/files/nabnos191/files/acquiadam-assets/Library-Newsletters-Best-Practices-White-Paper.pdf

Virtual Tour Sign-up Sheet

Post a sign-up sheet offering help with setting up a virtual tour. Our school division has canceled all school field trips because of the restriction with Covid 19. Offer the teachers the tech-alternative to leaving the school for special learning opportunities. The following website offers great ideas for virtual tours. https://thecanadianhomeschooler.com/5-canadian-virtual-field-trips/.

Send out a Survey

Email the teachers a survey or a form to fill out. Ask the teachers which tech programs they would be interested in learning about. Offer them a list of choices. Examples:

-Blogs, wikis, podcasting, social networking, digital storytelling, digital photography, audio and video, divisional digital resources, etc.

Survey Monkey offers customizable surveys on the following website.  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WZ8MCM6

Works Cited:

Understanding ICT for Teaching and Learning, May 2015, video,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOBnZpeurT8

Sims, Carol, Communication Tools, The School Library Newsletter, April 2016, http://teacherlibrarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/8A-sims.pdf

In my role as a teacher-librarian, I think it is important to communicate frequently with the teachers with whom I work to understand the needs of the students and how I can assist them with their teaching. After visiting the grade 7-8 teachers, discussing curriculum needs, and some big ideas about what the students needed to work on, I decided to explore the topic of research skills. This was my opportunity to expand my knowledge of information literacy/research skills and be able to put my knowledge into practice. I saw this as an opportunity to further my knowledge of digital literacy and research skills. The teachers and I agreed that this topic was a good starting point to eventually lead the students to successfully and efficiently complete inquiry-based projects. The teachers explained that the students had lagging research skills and that attempts at completing inquiry-based projects were somewhat unsuccessful. The key points that we decided to work on are gathering information, assessing websites and information for credibility, search bar skills, and writing citations and bibliographies. To better understand the topic of digital literacy and research skills, I explored the following big ideas:

-Digital literacy in the 21^st century

-Provincial standards and outcomes around research skills

-The fundamentals and framework for research

-Engaging strategies and activities to teach research skills

My research about digital literacy and research skills lead me to many great websites, articles, and blogs that offered the information I needed to move forward with the development of my unit on research skills. The following is a list of resources that I found useful:

1. Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum, Manitoba, www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/tech/lict/teachers/show_me/continuum.html

This website offers information about the Manitoba continuum for literacy and information and communication technology. The site explores the outcomes for students to identify their information needs, construct questions, identify, gather, and evaluate and organize information using effective strategies. This is a very useful tool since I am teaching in Manitoba. This website and information serves as a guide and step-by-step plan for teaching and improving information literacy and research skills. The website offers supporting examples of what the outcome might look like in the classroom, a student-friendly view explaining the student’s role, ethics and responsibility guidelines (example, using respectful language), health and safety guidelines, note to teachers offering further information, ideas for classroom practice and resources.

2. How to Teach Online Research Skills to Students in 5 Steps (Free eBook and Posters), http://www.kathleenamorris.com/2018/02/23/research-filter/, Kathleen Morris | Primary Tech | Resources to help teachers with technology in the classroom

This website focuses on helping teachers create digitally literate learners. The creator, Kathleen Morris is an Australian tech teacher with 10.7K Twitter followers. Her website explores strategies and techniques for teaching research skills to students. The website offers information on how to use search engines, filter information, use Google effectively, and how to keep your students organized during research activities. She also offers a list of student activities to develop research skills. From the website information, I was able to create a list of discussion prompts that I used to have meaningful conversations about information literacy with the students. Here are a few examples of discussion prompts about performing research and using Google:

-Have you ever completed a research project? If so, how did you find your information?

-What are some of the problems you might encounter when performing research using information books and online?

-Do you agree that mastering research skills are important for learning? Explain.

I turned these questions into a discussion TIC TAC TOE game. The students enjoyed playing the game and came up with a lot of great answers to the questions. It allowed me to see what the students already knew about performing research. We also completed a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting information found online and in information books. I found that this was a good way to start the unit.

I found that the images from her website are useful for when we start experimenting with the search bar.

Search Tips Poster by https://www.educatorstechnology.com/2018/01/some-very-good-google-search-tips.html

primarytech.global2.vic.edu.au/files/2018/11/Flowchart_-How-to-evaluate-websites-Kathleen-Morris-vx3iho.png.

3. National Council of Teachers of English. (2013). NCTE Framework for 21st Century Curriculum and Assessment. Accessed from https://cdn.ncte.org/nctefiles/resources/positions/framework_21stcent_curr_assessment.pdf(Links to an external site.).

This article focuses on the NCTE Framework for 21^st Century Curriculum and Assessment. I feel this is useful information because the article includes a section on developing proficiency and fluency with the tools of technology. This document helped to build my knowledge of information and digital literacy. I see research skills as part of the framework of student skills needed to become information literate. Here are some examples of the skills offered in this document.

Develop proficiency and fluency with the tools of technology;
• Build intentional cross-cultural connections and relationships with others so to pose and solve problems
collaboratively and strengthen independent thought;
• Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes;
• Manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information;
• Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts;
• Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments. (NCTE Framework, 2013)

Image by Pixabay

4. “Digital Literacy Fundamentals.” MediaSmarts, 20 Feb. 2019, mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/general-information/digital-media-literacy-fundamentals/digital-literacy-fundamentals.

The Media Smarts Canada’s Centre for Digital and Media Literacy offers information, lessons, and teaching resources about information and media literacy. I found this site useful. It offers interactive online lessons for students, links to articles, and a section about literacy fundamentals. One of my goals is to have the students explore the website and play some of the interactive games about using the search bar effectively and finding credible sources.

5. “The 6 Online Research Skills Your Students Need.” Scholastic, www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/6-online-research-skills-your-students-need/.

This website offers ideas and a list of student activities around learning research skills. The activities focus on asking good questions, checking sources, gaining broad perspectives, persisting in searching for information despite challenges, respecting ownership, and gathering information through social networks.

Image by Pixabay

Through the completion of this project, I learned that information literacy is important for today’s learners. Information literacy encourages students to develop their thinking and problem-solving skills and helps them learn to questions effectively to seek answers. Students need the skills to be able to find information, evaluate sources, and form opinions about the topics. Information literacy fosters successful learners and allows them to contribute as responsible citizens. Students need to be able to identify what is real and relevant in the world around them, and this can be achieved by teaching the student’s information literacy skills. I learned that the teacher must have a clear idea of the skills the students need to become information literate. There is an abundance of resources available online to help teachers understand the outcomes. There are websites dedicated to teaching information literacy. There are provincial guidelines available offering tips and ideas, lesson plans, and activities to effectively teach students the skills needed for effective research.

The topic I choose to explore is Digital Literacy – Research Skills. The following websites, blogs, and images have been useful in helping me to learn more about my topic. The keywords for this topic are digital literacy, research skills standards, research skills lessons, research skills teaching strategies, search bar strategies, reliability of the information, note-taking, compiling information, comparing websites, the research process, and forming meaningful questions.

1. How to Teach Online Research Skills to Students in 5 Steps (Free eBook and Posters), http://www.kathleenamorris.com/2018/02/23/research-filter/, Kathleen Morris | Primary Tech | Resources to help teachers with technology in the classroom

This website focuses on helping teachers create digitally literate learners. The creator, Kathleen Morris is an Australian tech teacher with 10.7K Twitter followers. Her website explores strategies and techniques for teaching research skills to students. The website offers information on how to use search engines, filter information, use Google effectively, and how to keep your students organized during research activities. She also offers ideas for research skills lessons. The website includes videos about research skills, images for learning how to do research, and information on how to create a slide presentation. The following is an example of images from her website.

primarytech.global2.vic.edu.au/files/2018/11/Flowchart_-How-to-evaluate-websites-Kathleen-Morris-vx3iho.png.

2. National Council of Teachers of English. (2013). NCTE Framework for 21st Century Curriculum and Assessment. Accessed from https://cdn.ncte.org/nctefiles/resources/positions/framework_21stcent_curr_assessment.pdf(Links to an external site.).

This article focuses on the NCTE Framework for 21^st Century Curriculum and Assessment. I feel this is useful information because the article includes a section on developing proficiency and fluency with the tools of technology. If covers the specific skills the student should be able to develop around using technology tools.

3. “Digital Literacy Fundamentals.” MediaSmarts, 20 Feb. 2019, mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/general-information/digital-media-literacy-fundamentals/digital-literacy-fundamentals.

The Media Smarts Canada’s Centre for Digital and Media Literacy offers information, lessons, and teaching resources about digital and media literacy. The website has interactive online lessons for students, links to articles, and a section about literacy fundamentals as well as the framework for Canadian schools. Digital and media outcomes are stated by province and territory including a curriculum overview.

4. “The 6 Online Research Skills Your Students Need.” Scholastic, www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/6-online-research-skills-your-students-need/.

This website offers ideas and a list of student activities around learning research skills. The activities focus on asking good questions, checking sources, gaining broad perspectives, persisting in searching for information despite challenges, respecting ownership, and gathering information through social networks.

5. Williams, Addie. “Tips for Teaching Research Skills.” The Secondary English Coffee Shop, 1 Jan. 1970, secondaryenglishcoffeeshop.blogspot.com/2019/11/tips-for-teaching-research-skills.html.

This Blog offers information on how to develop research questions, planning for research, finding sources, and citing sources. It also provides an MLA Handbook.

6. Image: “Get Your EBook.” EBook How to Teach Students to Research Online by Kathleen Morris, www.subscribepage.com/researchskills.

7. Image: primarytech.global2.vic.edu.au/files/2018/11/Flowchart_-How-to-evaluate-websites-Kathleen-Morris-vx3iho.png.

The sources cited above will allow me to gain an in-depth understanding of digital literacy and research skills. They explore the following topics.

-Digital literacy in the 21^st century

-Provincial standards and outcomes around research skills

-The fundamentals and framework for research

-Engaging strategies and activities to teach research skills

Digital Literacy – Research Skills

This school year, I am fortunate to be teaching grades 4-5 in grades 4-8 school. I will be teaching in the classroom on a half-time basis and filling the role of teacher-librarian in the school for the other half of my assignment. This is my first year as a teacher-librarian. I am excited about my new role and all the collaboration opportunities with teachers and, of course, the time with the student working on projects and learning about technology. My experience working as a teacher-librarian is limited but I have a vision of what I want to accomplish in the school library and with the student body. Last school year, I had collaborated closely with the former teacher-librarian on many projects. Her guidance and expertise lead me to understand the role of the teacher-librarian and allowed me to focus on what I want to accomplish for this school year.

Image by Pixabay

As a new teacher-librarian, the first step was to visit the grade 7-8 teachers. After a discussion with them about their curriculum needs and the needs of the students, we decided to focus on digital literacy, in particular, research skills. We all agreed that this topic was a good starting point to eventually lead the students to successfully and efficiently complete inquiry-based projects. The grade 7-8 teachers explained that the students did not understand how to effectively research and that they lacked experience gathering and assessing information. I saw this as an opportunity to further my knowledge of digital literacy and research skills. For this assignment, I would be interested in exploring the following topics:

-Digital literacy in the 21^st century

-Provincial standards and outcomes around research skills

-The fundamentals and framework for research

-Engaging strategies and activities to teach research skills

https://youtu.be/EEuul8hBip

The keywords for these topics are digital literacy, research skills standards, research skills lessons, research skills teaching strategies, search bar strategies, reliability of the information, note-taking, compiling information, comparing websites, the research process, and forming meaningful questions.

I would also like to learn more about why the students have insufficient research skills and how I can help them to develop better research skills.

At the school where I am currently working, the library is a place where students and teachers reunite to present projects, explore new books, discuss teaching plans, collaborate on projects and perform research tasks. Our school library has a lot to offer but important changes need to take place to ensure that the students and the teachers have what they need to reach curriculum outcomes and to learn research skills.

As outlined in Evaluating, Selecting, and Managing Learning Resources: A Guide by the BC Ministry of Education, it is suggested that the best access to reference resources is achieved through effective reference services. To provide the best services, we must assess if we are providing adequate intellectual, physical and digital access. This can be achieved by continuously using best practices in our school library.

Physical access is described as placing resources in a location that will allow convenient access to teachers and students. With this definition in mind, I can assess that our school library space provides adequate access to all users. Our library is spacious and functional. It is equipped with a whiteboard and projector, easily moveable chairs and tables, open spaces for group activities, natural light, and comfortable seating. The library is open every day as well as over the lunch period. It is well-managed, and all students and teachers have access to all age-appropriate reference resources. Our library is a comfortable space that encourages collaboration, community building, and student learning.

Intellectual access is described as the balance between meeting the needs of the teachers and providing materials that are appropriate to the age and maturity of the students while considering the curriculum, the needs of the students and reading levels. In our library, the existing print reference resources are plentiful and have been somewhat updated over the past several years. There are still, however, many reference collections that date back to 1975. In terms of affecting student learning, the lack of appropriate and current print reference materials doesn’t allow the students to find the answers to their questions, interferes with the teacher’s curriculum needs and the student’s information needs.

Digital access is described as incorporating current or emerging information technologies into educational programs that will assist students in meeting learning outcomes. Although our school division offers access to a great selection of online resources such as World Book and EBSCOhost, many teachers are unaware of these products and do not access them on a regular basis. Student learning is affected by this. Without access to digital resources, students are less exposed to rich learning opportunities and are given less opportunity for self-directed learning.

As stated by Riedling in Reference Skills for the School Librarian, Tools and Tips,

“The primary consideration is providing teachers and students with easy access to a high-quality collection.” (Reidling, 2013, p.17)

Intellectual and Digital access are the two aspects that our school library needs to improve the most.

When planning to make significant changes to the school library, the teacher-librarian should aim to make changes keeping in mind the standards of practice for effective school library learning commons outlined by the Canadian Library Association, Leading Learning, Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada. (ALC).

The ALC states that “The standards focus on key concepts to be implemented to drive best teaching and learning through the library Learning Commons.” (CLA, LL, 2014 p. 8)

The standards are as follows.

Facilitating Collaborative Engagement to Cultivate and Empower a Community of Learners

Advancing the Learning Community to Achieve School Goals

Cultivating Effective Instructional Design to Co-plan, Teach and Assess Learning

Fostering Literacies to Empower Life-Long Learners

Designing Learning Environments to Support Participatory Learning (CLA, LL, 2014, p.8)

Plan to improve library services in relation to intellectual and digital access.

To improve our school library reference services, the teacher-librarian must understand the role that they play in the school and library, have a clear vision of what they want to achieve in the library, be knowledgeable of the library budget, policies and guidelines and have an understanding of the needs of the teachers and students. The TL may consider developing an improvement action plan alone or with the help of teachers and administrators.

The first step in improving the reference services related to intellectual access is to do a direct examination of the existing collection of print reference materials. Before purchasing new reference materials, the teacher-librarian must block time for weeding. Weeding print reference materials can be a very lengthy process. The teacher-librarian may choose to focus on one section of print materials at a time. To better understand if the students and teachers are using the reference resources, the TL can check circulation.  Once the teacher-librarian has a clear idea of what is needed in the print section of reference resources, they can begin searching for quality reference materials that meet curriculum outcomes, the needs of the teachers and of the students. Our current library is in desperate need of more recent topic encyclopedias, current factbooks, and historical atlases. The existing collection is dated, is in poor physical condition, contain bias, and stereotypes. In particular, we need First Nations Aboriginal reference resources. After consulting with the teachers, the teacher-librarian can access online reviews and information about suitable reference resources for the library such as:

First Peoples resources – https://resources.fnesc.ca/

Indigenous resources – http://indiglib.ca/

Native Studies – https://libguides.lib.umanitoba.ca/c.php?g=297503&p=1985757

Books in Print – https://www.booksinprint.com/

Book Review Digest Plus – https://www.ebsco.com/products/research-databases/book-review-digest-plus

Guide to Reference Books – https://www.alastore.ala.org/

Informational Picture Books for Children – https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/picturing-world-informational-picture-books-children

Book Wire https://www.bookwire.com/

Once the new reference resources have arrived, the TL can take the time to introduce and promote the availability, location and relevance of the new books to the students and teachers. The TL can make suggestions for collaboration on inquiry-based projects using the new materials. Weeding and replacing print reference resources is an ongoing task therefore it is difficult to set a timeline for its completion. The TL can consider the budget and focus on one small section each year. Having better quality reference resources will improve student learning in many ways. Students will be able to engage in more interesting reading materials that allow them to cross-reference and compare information. This will encourage critical thinking skills, connections of concepts and exposure to varying points of view.

As for providing better services around digital access, as previously mentioned, our school division subscribes to many online databases.

EBSCOhost

World Book Online

NetTrekker

Atlas Altapedia Online

Visual Thesaurus

The focus of improvement in this case would not be to acquire more databases but rather to develop a plan that would allow the teachers to become more familiar with the digital reference resources that are available to them. The goal of the TL would be to ensure that all teachers understand how these resources can be used, how to use them and to gradually lead the teachers to use them regularly to accomplish research-based, inquiry-based projects. The TL can provide the teachers with in-service sessions, presentations, one-to-one assistance, in-class assistance, and collaborative sharing sessions. The TL must take a pro-active stance and approach the teachers to offer support, assistance and guidance. Presenting teachers with new and innovative resources for learning will, in turn, increase student engagement. It will also allow for more self-directed student learning. As there are many databases and digital resources to introduce to the teachers, the TL can focus on one database and work with one grade level at a time. This is an ongoing goal that should last throughout the school year.

In conclusion, good reference services are only possible if good library practices are in place. By maintaining the school library, we allow library patrons the opportunity to seek the answers to their questions which leed them to become lifelong learners.

Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools & Tips, Third Edition. Santa Barbara, Linworth, 2013.

Canadian Association of School Librarians. (2014). Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada.

Evaluating, Selecting, and Managing, Learning Resources: A Guide. 2002, British Columbia, Ministry of Education

After taking the time to explore the various indexes, abstracts, databases, bibliographies, biographies, directories, encyclopedias, thesauri, fact books, almanacs, and yearbooks suggested through this course, I now see that there are many excellent research resources available to teacher-librarians, students and teachers. There truly is an overwhelming multitude of print, non-print, and electronic information resources. Choosing appropriate reference resources is a task that takes time and effort on the part of the school’s teacher-librarian. They would need to take the time to review the content of these types of resources and to decide which resources are a good fit for the school while considering the needs of the students and teachers. Reidling states the following:

“The selection of resources for a school media center situation depends on the needs – both known and anticipated – of the school, community, and student population served. Meeting curriculum needs is a major criterion for placing items in the media center collection. One of the most important tasks of a school librarian is to help students and teachers find the best materials available – in all formats – to support teaching and learning.” (Riedling, 2013, p. 32, 18)

Image by Pixaby

Reidling also offers useful tools to assist school librarians in evaluating reference resources. These tools allow the TL to ensure that reference resources meet the students’ and teachers’ informational needs. She suggests using the following evaluation tools and criteria:

Content Scope, Accuracy, Authority and Bias, Arrangement and Presentation, Relation to Similar Works, Timeliness, and Permanence, Accessibility and Diversity, and Cost. (Reidling, 2013, p. 22, 23)

The school division I am currently working with subscribes to the EBSCO databases. Based on Reidling’s criteria, EBSCO databases are a good choice.  Sources are current and accurate. The subscription includes a multitude of databases covering a wide range of topics. Our current subscription includes 11 databases;  Explora Canada, EBSCOhost Databases- Science and Literary Research, Explora Primary Middle, Canadian Points of View – Understanding Current Affairs, Canadian Reference Center, Canadian Literary center – Professional Development Collection, Science Reference Center, EBSCO Host, Consumer Health Complete, Explora Educator’s Edition and History Reference Center.

Image by Pixaby

Each database provides links, images, videos, articles, and other resources. The only difficulty with the databases is that finding the information the students are looking for can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Using these databases offers an excellent opportunity for the TL to teach research skills such as how to narrow down the search by using specific words, choosing specific publication dates, by choosing only Canadian search results or by selecting only information from magazines. As for younger students, EBSCO offers Explora Primary Middle. This database is easy to read and navigate, offers read-aloud, create a note, create a citation and other useful tools.

https://www.ebsco.com/products/ebscohost-platform

Another great database for biographies is the online resource Dictionary of Canadian Biography. This website allows the user to search by region of birth, the region of activity, the region of activities and other features and by character’s name A – Z. The site provides images, timelines, and articles. This database is very easy to use and would be appropriate for students in middles school based on the reading level and content. This is a free database.

http://biographi.ca/

DK offers an interesting online encyclopedia for kids. The encyclopedia comes in the form of an e-book. Throughout the book, there are special keywords and features that, when clicked upon, lead the students to images, articles, streaming videos, and other online information. This type of format would be very appropriate for younger students who are learning how to search for relevant information. The keywords are already chosen for the students and they lead the student to specific information on safe websites. The e-book retails for CA $19.99.

https://www.dk.com/ca/book/9780756673734-online-encyclopedia/

image by DK.com

Another worthy online database is Britannica Kids. The website offers information at various reading levels, it is accessible across all mobile devices, it has 100 000 articles updated regularly, offers a text-to-speech option, articles, images, videos, an interactive world atlas and access to multiple types of dictionaries. There are three search windows on the main page organized by grade and the information is categorized by removing the guesswork in narrowing down a search. This database is appropriate for all students.

https://kids.britannica.com/

The LLC is a learning hub for all members of the school community. All members throughout various age groups can expect that the library is equipped with the tools needed to efficiently seek needed information. Teacher-librarians have a large collection of databases from which to choose. Using specific criteria and by investigating reference resources, and by making choices based on the needs of the students, they will be able to create a virtual and physical space for optimal learning.

Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. “Reference and the School Library: An Overview.” Reference Skills for the School Library: Tools and Tips, 3rd ed., 2013.

The collaboration process begins with the teacher-librarian (TL) making genuine and personal connections with the teachers in the school. This partnership sits at the root of experiencing successful interactions with teachers and implementing a successful library program. The TL must take the time to get to know the teachers and make it a priority to become a respected instructional partner.  Being an instructional partner involves understanding the needs of the teachers and students, suggesting new ideas, and working with them to encourage information literacy and inquiry-based learning.

The teacher-librarian can offer specific research instruction, help with connecting curriculum content, provide reading materials and other resources, and create inquiry-based and research-based projects among other things. Although the teacher-librarian can offer a multitude of reference resources and services, the fact remains that some teachers are hesitant to enlist the help of the teacher-librarian. The following explains how changes in classroom practices and the implementation of new innovations can take time and that the feelings of the teachers towards the new innovation play a role in the process.

“Change is a highly personal experience, involving developmental growth in feeling and skills. More to the point, people need sustained help along the way if they’re going to fully implement a new idea, and they’ll require different kinds of help as their needs change.”  (Morris, P. 1975)

An effective tool that provides a deeper understand of how teachers view change and new innovation is the Concern-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) (Hord, Rutherford, Huling-Austin, 1987, p.55). CBAM is comprised of seven Stages of Concern and eight Levels of Use.

Stages of Concern: Enables leaders to identify attitudes and beliefs toward a new innovation.

1. Awareness: What is the innovation?
2. Information: How does the innovation work?
3. Personal: How does the innovation impact me?
4. Management: How can I master the skills needed for the innovation and fit it all in?
5. Consequence: Is implementing this innovation worth my time?
6. Collaboration: The implementation of the innovation is working fine. How do other teachers use it?
7. Refocusing: Is there any other innovative teaching strategies that might be better?

 Levels of Use: Determines how well the staff is using the innovation.

1. Non-use: The individual has little or no knowledge of the innovation, no involvement and is doing nothing towards becoming involved.
2. Orientation: The individual has or is acquiring information about the innovation and/or has explored its value and what it will require.
3. Preparation: The individual is preparing for the first use of the innovation.
4. Mechanical Use: The individual focuses most effort on the shot-term, day-to-day use of the innovation with little time for reflection. Effort is primarily directed toward mastering the tasks required to use the innovation.
5. Routine: The use of the innovation is stabilized. Few changes are made in ongoing use. Minimal effort and thought to improve innovation use or its consequences.
6. Refinement: The innovator varies the use of the innovation to increase the expected benefits within the immediate sphere of influence.
7. Integration: The innovator is combining own effort with related activities of colleagues to achieve a collective impact within the collective sphere of influence.
8. Renewal: The user re-evaluates the quality of the use of the innovation, seeks major modifications of, or alternatives to, present innovation to achieve increased impact, examines new developments in the field, and explores new goals for self and the larger community. (Hord, Rutherford, Huling-Austin, 1987, p.55)

Change can be described as “a process, not and event” (Hall, Hord, 1987) and that “personal concerns are legitimate” (Hall, Hord, 1987). CBAM is a unique tool that can be used to measure how people learn about new innovative teaching strategies and the stages they go through when presented with new educational resources.

For this assignment, I will relate the Concern-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) to a fictitious teacher with lagging technology skills. Throughout, I will discuss the plan of action taken by the teacher-librarian to guide the teacher through three CBAM Stages of Concern and Levels of Use.

Teacher: Mrs. Johnson

Mrs. Johnson is a well-respected teacher with 26 years of teaching experience. She is currently teaching grade 4. Mrs. Johnson is a contributing member of the staff and is dedicated to her students. She attends the occasional professional development session to learn new teaching innovations but she prefers not to take risks in class. Mrs. Johnson begins her journey in the CBAM Non-use Level of Use regarding the effective use of a digital reference resource, in this case, World Book Online, suggested by the teacher-librarian.

When preparing for research-based projects with her students, Mrs. Johnson emails the teacher-librarian and asked if she can round up all the reference books on a specific topic. She then goes on to sift through the information in the reference books, marking the pages with sticky notes where the desired information can be found. Mrs. Johnson wants the student to easily find specific information about the topic. Mrs. Johnson has used the print materials in the library for this project and for many others. She is comfortable using print materials and has never considered how her methods are affecting student learning. It is important to consider if the learning materials she chose are meeting the needs of the students. Using print reference resources allows the students to easily understand how the information is organized. There are, however, many limitations to using print reference resources. They do not allow the student to have an interactive experience. The information may be dated and may not allow the student to learn about new information and points of view. Reading levels may be too difficult for students. Using World Book would allow the students to expand their reading experience. World Book provides articles, colourful images, clear illustrations, and links to relevant videos and clearly presented current information. World Book allows the students to compile and save all their information as well as email information to others. There is also an option to turn text into speech which would be very useful for students with reading difficulties. World Book offers a more enhanced learning experience to the students.

worldbook.com/digital.aspx

While Mrs. Johnson is in the library, the teacher-librarian approaches her and performs a “reference interview” (Reidling, p.99) to gain knowledge about the project and topic. They have a short discussion about the research project at hand. The TL takes advantage of the opportunity to ask Mrs. Johnson if she would be willing to learn about a useful digital reference resource. Mrs. Johnson has no knowledge of digital resources available through her school division. This is an indication that she is at the CBAM Non-Use Level of Use. The teacher-librarian makes her aware of what the library has to offer and suggests that she try using the digital encyclopedia World Book. She explains that the digital encyclopedia is easy to use, fun for the students and contains current information. Fortunately, Mrs. Johnson responds positively and her body language indicates that she is willing to learn more. This indicates that Mrs. Johnson is at the CBAM Awareness Stage of Concern. Mrs. Johnson has been made aware that such resources exist. The teacher-librarian makes more suggestions on how to use the resource and suggests working together on a small cooperative project. Mrs. Johnson, always polite, explains her concern that she is not “tech-savvy” and that she has difficulty understanding how to use digital materials. Although Mrs. Johnson doesn’t like the idea of using digital reference resources, she allows the teacher-librarian to show her some of the features of the World Book digital encyclopedia. At this point, Mrs. Johnson is at the CBAM Informational Stage of Concern. She would like to know more about the new resource but she is not sure if it will be a good fit for her. Mrs. Johnson is at the CBAM Orientation Level of Use and she is taking the time to look at the innovation to see if it’s something that she wants to learn more about. It is important at this point, that the teacher-librarian encourages and supports Mrs. Johnson in the implementation of the new innovation. After listening to Mrs. Johnson’s concerns, the teacher-librarian reassures Mrs. Johnson that she will assist her in learning how to use the new resource. The teacher-librarian offers to block some time to sit with Mrs. Johnson and explore the new resource. Here, the teacher-librarian offers informal training and is “modeling and demonstrating the use of the innovation, reviewing information, providing feedback and clarifying misconceptions.” (Hord, Rutherford, Huling-Austin, 1987, p.55). At the computer, the TL briefly shows Mrs. Johnson the digital resource. She was pleasantly surprised at what she saw but she still had concerns about how she will be able to effectively use the resource and help the students who are having difficulty. Mrs. Johnson was concerned about how using the innovation will affect her because she feels that her technology skills are lagging.

“It’s normal to want to know how something new will affect you, and to feel a threat to your competence, comfort, control, and confidence.” (Morris, P. 1975)

Mrs. Johnson explained that the students will most likely need help navigating through the digital encyclopedia and that she lacks the skills to help the students. This is an indication that Mrs. Johnson has progressed from the CBAM Informational Stage of Concern to the CBAM Personal Stage of Concern because she is considering how the use of the innovation will affect her. The teacher-librarian offers to provide “personalized technical assistance” (Hord, Rutherford, Huling-Austin, 1987, p.55) by spending time giving an orientation to Mrs. Johnson. After the orientation, Mrs. Johnson feels more confident with the use of the new teaching innovation. The teacher-librarian then offers an orientation to the students with the help of Mrs. Johnson. Maintaining a positive connection with Mrs. Johnson, the teacher-librarian verbally praises her for taking a risk and stepping out of her comfort zone, “communicating and acknowledging successes” (Hord, Rutherford, Huling-Austin, 1987, p.55).

Together they decide on the best time to work with the students on getting to know the digital encyclopedia. Together, they will guide the student through how to use the digital encyclopedia. At this point, the teacher-librarian is carrying Mrs. Johnson through the CBAM Orientation Level of Use to the CBAM Preparation Level of Use. Mrs. Johnson has made the decision to begin the first use of the innovation with the help of the teacher-librarian.

Throughout the encounter, the teacher-librarian offers “reinforcement and encouragement” (Hord, Rutherford, Huling-Austin, 1987, p.55) by offering to assist Mrs. Johnson from beginning to end regarding implementing the use of the World Book Digital Encyclopedia.

Going forward, the TL’s goal should be to focus on the strategies that support change among the teachers. There are many ways to encourage the teachers to try new innovative ideas. As an example, the TL can facilitate a small learning group where new technology will be presented, demonstrated and modeled by the teacher-librarian. The TL can regularly share tips, demonstrate how the technology links to curriculum content and provide one-on-one technical assistance. Most importantly, the TL should strive to make meaningful connections with the teachers, prioritize their needs of the teachers and offer services that will lead the students to develop information literacy skills.

Hall, G.E. & Hord, S.M., (1987). Change in Schools: Facilitating the Process. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Marris, P. (1975). Loss and Change. New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday.

Hord, S.M., Rutherford, William L., Huling-Austin, Leslie and Hall, G.E. (1987) p. 55

Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. Reference Skills for the School Library: Tools and Tips, 3rd ed., 2013.