I was surprised to learn that the topic of world libraries was hard to search for. I assume that there have not been many successful attempts at starting a world library. I can envision global school libraries in the near future. If school libraries could connect, a true global understanding could be achieved.
Jenny sparked an idea for our Inquiry project. For our inquiry project we are looking into using technology outside to assist in learning about the environment. We are looking at the many ways to use technology outside. We would also like to turn this into a community service learning project. Students would connect and share what they are learning about the environment or spread announcements to the community. This of course being done with social media!
Now lets take this a step further…
Lets turn what the kids are learning about their environment into books. The books would be focused on environmental theme or as simple as taking digital pictures of native plants in their school yard. The students do research about the pictures they took and turn their findings into a class ebook. The ebook goes into a global digital library for schools from other countries to access. Using technology?…yes! Meaningful?..yes! Authentic?…absolutely!
Oh wait. Back up. Lets start a little smaller. Before we connect with schools from other countries, we should begin by trading our ebooks with other schools in Canada. Lets connect Canadians to Canadians first then reach out to other countries. These books would be added to the other schools library and our own library. Global school libraries are possible!
As I found out from the CBC podcast about ebooks and libraries, publishers really interfere with permitting libraries to make ebooks widely accessible. If students are creating the ebooks, than there are no publishers involved, which means no cost, and no restrictive licensing agreements.
Pen pals 21st Century style with a twist!
Tess, you are coming up with some great ideas! I was thinking about this, too. If students are producing the content of their learning, and these contents are widely available online, then there is no reason other students couldn’t access that content and use it in their learning. Older students could be producing learning materials for younger students. By doing this, they would not only be deepening their understanding of their topics and inquiries, their learning would count for educating a new generation of learners. I am very excited by the idea of students self-publishing their own e-books in the form of websites and blogs. Their publishing would ultimately be part of developing world libraries.