However you slice it developing a worldwide library collection or digital libraries in developing countries is being seen as a way to provide access for people who are under serviced by libraries. Programs for providing infrastructure in the developing world abound such as Global libraries through the BIll and Melinda Gates Foundation and many others. All over the world cellular technology is putting cell phones in the hands of people faster than land lines. According to water.org more people have cell phone than have a toilet.
Oraganizations such as UNESCO are attempting to create digital collections “in multilingual format, [of] significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world.”
http://youtu.be/xhBYGI6Tfzo
see their site: http://www.wdl.org/en/
Another resource is the Internet Archive: http://archive.org/ founded by Brewster Kahle.
Kahle states: “It’s not that expensive. For the cost of 60 miles of highway, we can have a 10 million-book digital library available to a generation that is growing up reading on-screen. Our job is to put the best works of humankind within reach of that generation. Through a simple Web search, a student researching the life of John F. Kennedy should be able to find books from many libraries, and many booksellers — and not be limited to one private library whose titles are available for a fee, controlled by a corporation that can dictate what we are allowed to read.”[12]
There are digital collections for young people like the International Children’s Digital Library which is particularly interesting because part of their mandate: “The ICDL Foundation promotes tolerance and respect for diverse cultures by providing access to the best of children’s literature from around the world.” The site is available in English, Spanish, French, Mongolian, and Russian. Books are often available in more than one language, and their stated goal is to have all their books translated into 100 languages. They even have a training manual for teachers to use the digital library. The training manual contained this interesting definition of digital libraries:
Digital Libraries
William Arms, creator of D-Lib Magazine, gives a simple yet effective definition of a digital library. He defines a digital library as a “managed collection of information, with associated services, where the information is stored in digital formats and accessible over a network” (Arms, 2000, p. 2). Digital libraries are considered extensions of the physical library, not replacements. They have benefits such as being “open” twenty-four hours a day at a relatively low cost, bringing the library to the user, allowing for powerful searching and browsing, being able to share unique collections, and providing access to up-to- date information (Arms, 2000).
One of the concerns our group, which has been discussing equity and access related to BYOD, brought up while discussing the issue in class was that much digital content available is in English. How then can it be accessed by non English speakers? This is another issue around BYOD that I have been contemplating. If your students are doing inquiry based learning, do we care if ESL students are reading all of their materials in English? If our purpose for the activity is for that student to learn English then yes but if our purpose is to decide which french speaking country they would like to visit if they were given $3000 dollars to go on an adventure holiday, then maybe not. Is it more important to have students learn and understand about the content, than that they use English to do every single task? Having the option of completing some tasks in their first langauge can enable ESL students to complete learning tasks in a timely manner. At any rate if we want tasks to be authentic and if we want students to practice their 21st century skills we are going to be looking at how that student interacts with the internet outside of school and I am sure that will involve them using Google Translate and accessing content in their first languages. Having their own devices with their own apps would help facilitate this.
As a TL this means that we need to create our own libraries digital presence in such a way that it acknowledges and takes advantage of these resources. Teacher Librarians need to draw peoples attention to digital resources just as they promote new print books, and should be mindful of how their materials are being accessed to ensure positive user experiences. Does your school library website have a mobile app?
Merrin, your comments regarding ESL are very interesting. My district is rather boring in terms of language diversity, although there’s been a push to learn Hul’qumi’num. There’s been an increase in materials in that language, but mostly for early learners. I’ve had one ESL student in the last few years that wasn’t on a temporary visit (although, strange for us, his parents were). I’m wondering if one issue with not being able to understand the source material is a source of concern or fear for teachers. I can ask a student to show me the book, or google a site if I have any concerns about plagiarism. If that source is in another language, it adds another step for the teacher to try and figure out. The truly paranoid might wonder what is being written… 😉
As a teacher, I’m not sure where I’d stand on this. The more exposure to English, the better. However, for an older student in an academic course, if it can speed up the process and ease some stress… Hm. I’ve found it interesting that many of our exchange students have had dedicated devices for translation… no smart phones, no iPods, no iPads. I’m not sure if it’s recommended that they do so, or just how it’s happened.
As with everything we talked but the last few weeks with any assignment I think that first question to ask is why are we doing. So for those ESL students if the answer is for them to learn English then of course they should be using materials in English. But if the purpose is for them to learn something else or for them to make sense of complex issues, perhaps forcing them to use English is violating there rights to information?
Hey Merrin,
Wow! There is so much great stuff in your blogs. I’ve read through your last 5 posts and I am super impressed with all that you have explored, and very thoroughly at that! Was interesting to see the different resources and links you found with regards to world libraries. I came across a couple of the ones you mentioned but now have more to add to my repertoire. Thank you.
I really like how you see the role of the teacher-librarian and ICT in the school community. Your ideas to present new technology and resources at staff meetings, to offer “Workshop Wednesday” sessions and to target those staff members who require a bit of a nudge and a lot of support to embark on new technological adventures are all awesome, and I believe, realistic goals.
Lastly, you have got me totally intrigued by Edmodo now. I have been hearing about this resource for quite some time but have never taken the time to investigate it. I don’t even know if anyone in my school is using this platform but I am convinced, after reading your post, that it is high time I got down to doing some Edmodo exploration!
Thank you for your support.
I’m thinking that I really like Edmodo too, and I am thinking that if I do get the classroom job next year that I’m going to start new Edmodo groups for sure.
Before this course, I hadn’t really thought about the significance of developing world libraries. But now, with the discussions in class, and world events (a young Pakistani girl speaking to the UN about education), I can see that developing world libraries is a key activity to ensure everyone has access to digital information to support their learning. I like the idea of networking school libraries, of developing a comprehensive proposal that would position school libraries as providing needed access to educational collections. I mean, now, as I am writing, I am thinking about school libraries, multi-grade levels, networking with university libraries as well. We could address the problem of the value of information students are finding on the Internet by providing them with better and better sources for information.