Excerpt from Howard Gardner's New Book of Educational Technology

Barseghian, T. (2014, January 27). How can we maximize the potential of learning apps? KQED Mind/Shift. Retrieved from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/01/how-can-we-maximize-the-potential-of-learning-apps/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

I generally find the Mind/Shift Blog to be full of ideas that are both rich and practical; this post was ne exception. I follow Howard Gardner’s work closely—he is best known for his work on Multiple Intelligences and currently works at Harvard’s Project Zero, an incredible educational organization.  His most recent book—co authored with Katie Davis—is titled The App Generation: How Today’s Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World.  I read two reviews earlier this winter in which the reviewers found Gardner’s tone a little preachy and vague, pitting “youth” against “adults” and creating a false dichotomy between a generation reliant on electronic devices and a generation accustomed to communicating differently. Surprised that Gardner would draw such a sharp distinction, I hesitated to rush to put the book on hold at my public library. However, after reading the excerpt Tina Barghasian selected, I may go back and read the book, but slwoly0- and with an eye to my 75-year-old father’s increasing tech-savviness.

In the excerpt reprinted, Gardner and Davis warn against the majority of educational apps that they say serve an outdated model of “factory-style” automation, rapidly and sleekly delivering digestible educational content with a rewards system that they compare to behaviorist B.F. Skinner’s. However, they also point to the promise of emerging web 2.0 technologies as far richer and more engaging. They claim that “as we transition from web 1.0 to web 2.0 and beyond, there is no reason anymore simply to respond to stimuli fashioned by others, no matter how scintillating and inviting they may be. Rather, any person in possession of a smart device can begin to sketch, publish, take notes, network, create works of reflection, art, science — in short, each person can be his or her own creator of knowledge.” (Gardner and Davis, 2013). They use Scratch as an example of a potentially wonderful app for fostering ingenuity and engagement, yet also warn that, like a hammer, even an engaging app can be misused—in this case, for hacking. This excerpt concludes with a reminder that mindful, attentive adults need to be attending to children’s engaged learning rather than offering mindless consumption in the name of education. The authors choose a Sesame Street word finding app as an example of a tool that could potentially be a path to greater engagement with words in the world for young children, or a mere electronic babysitter.

I was hooked—again—by Gardner’s thinking and will be reading the whole book this summer. 

Things that keep us up at night.

Valenza, J. K., & Johnson, D. (2009, October). Things that keep us up at night. School Library Journal, pp. 28–32.         Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/2009/10/future-of-libraries/things-that-keep-us-up-at-night-the-future-of-the-school-library/

Summary: Although written almost five years ago, this article is a still timely discussion of the changing role of the school library and school librarian. Framing their argument in terms of economic changes, intellectual property shifts, the challenges of embracing the role of technology expert, and the need for advocacy from stakeholders, Valenza & Johnson describe straightforward ways to assess and improve your position as a 21st century librarian.

Evaluation:
The call to "evolve, adapt, and thrive" is inspiring and overwhelming. The authors' assertion that this is a critical time in the history of libraries resonates with me as I envision transtioning our school library to a learning commons. I appreciated their succinct discussion of the important trends and concrete ideas on how to adapt to a new role. Many of the ideas echoed strategies discussed in 233.

    

    

Design Thinking in the Classroom: From Ideas to Practices.

This blog post is about changing units of instruction to make them more engaging to students. These interactive and collaborative units are called “Design Thinking”. “Design thinking is used to solve design challenges, or units of study structured around real world problems linked with interdisciplinary academic studies”(2014). The units are broken into five parts that include Gather, Glean, Generate, Gauge and Go.  The blog describes each of these stages. Students collaborate all the way through the project and end up with a product that has real world applications.

While this blog post is geared toward classroom teachers, teacher librarians would find the information useful. These units would benefit from the collaboration with a teacher librarian. Students need a place to gather to brainstorm their assignment and the physical learning commons would be the perfect place. A virtual learning commons would allow them to gather their information in one place, for all to share.

Ott, L. & White, E. Design thinking in the classroom: From ideas to practice. Part I. P21Blogazine. Partnership for 21st Century Skills, April 24, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/news-events/p21blog/1403-design-thinking-in-the-classroom-from-ideas-to-practice-part-i

Grit Over Grades

Jack, Gordon

Smith, Tovia. (March 17, 2014). Can focus on ‘grit’ work in school cultures that reward grades? MindShift. KQED. Retrieved from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/03/can-focus-on-grit-work-in-school-cultures-that-reward-grades/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29.

Summary

This is a print version of a piece that ran on NPR’s Morning Edition examining the role of “grit” plays in education.  Educators increasingly see “grit”, or persistence in difficult tasks, as a key indicator for school success.  The question this story explores is whether this character trait can be taught or not.  The article profiles schools that are shifting away from focusing on achievement and towards a system that rewards effort, persistence, and even failure.  These schools are eliminating words like “gifted” and “smart” from their interactions with students in favor of language that emphasizes a growth mindset.

Not all educators are on board with this trend, however.  Alfie Kohn argues that this is another education fad that is keeping us from making the reforms we really need to make. “The benefits of failure are vastly overstated,” Kohn argues, “and the assumption that kids will pick themselves up and try even harder next time, darn it — that’s wishful thinking.” When schools begin to evaluate kids on these kinds of character traits, we run the risk of sending the message that if you don’t have grit, you’re not a good kid.

Evaluation

I found this article interesting because it presents a balanced view of this topic that I haven’t seen before.  Evaluating a student’s work is easy compared with evaluating character traits like grit.  Still, I favor the shift away from emphasizing results and focusing instead on process.  By promoting growth mindsets, we help students see that being smart isn’t something one is born with, but rather something one works at.  I also like the comment by Angela Duckworth, the researcher who coined the term grit. “I don’t think people can become truly gritty and great at things they don’t love,” Duckworth says. “So when we try to develop grit in kids, we also need to find and help them cultivate their passions. That’s as much a part of the equation here as the hard work and the persistence.”  Helping students develop their passions is something teacher-librarians are well suited to do. By working with teachers, we can incorporate more choice into assignments to allow students the chance to pair an interest with the subject being learned.

Breaking Out Of The Library Mold: Library Evolution

Jolene Kemos

Seelye, K. (2014, March 07). Breaking out of the library mold, in Boston and beyond. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/us/breaking-out-of-the-library-mold-in-boston-and-beyond.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

Descriptive Summary:

This article profiles the evolution and expansion of the Boston Public Library.  Emphasizing both architectural and service focused changes, the article not only discusses the happenings in Boston, but the evolution of library service globally.  Successful models for participatory service, evolved and unconventional library collections, virtual and physical space improvements, digital and physical collection considerations, and shifting philosophies are presented.  Modern libraries now emphasize not only finding information, but creating it, and emphasize community focus and collaboration instead of merely information managment. 

Evaluation:

This is an exciting and inspiring article.  While focused on The Boston Public Library, the evolutions discussed are relevant to libraries everywhere.  Of particular interest to me is outward facing architecture, including large amounts of glass, with the intent of infusing the library space with the energy of the community, and the emphasis on the evolution of the teen space of the library.  The BPL has created a new teen space that will be known as a “homago” space (“hang out, mess around and geek out.”)  They have focused this space with consideration to the things that teens really want to do including lounging, eating, gaming, and employing highly creative digital offerings to edit and record music and video, and to create comic books.  It is exciting to see an institution built in 1848 embrace “eco-urban chic” in the interest of providing relevant and desired resources and services to its patrons. 

Edmodo: A Great Tool for School Librarians

Edmoto: A great tool for school librarians. (2013). School Library Monthly, 29(8). Retrieved from:

http://www.schoollibrarymonthly.com/articles/Holzweiss2013-v29n5p14.html

Edmodo is a great way for librarians to being their school library into the 21^st century. It takes us from the basic one-way school library website with the typical research tools, links to databases and pathfinders, and lists of books for suggested reading, to school librarians interacting with their students in and out of the library. It also provides a way to collaborate with and reach teachers that may not use the library otherwise. Perfect for a virtual learning commons!

Common Core's Effect on Publishers

Jessica King

Rosen, J. (2013, October 25). Publishers respond to common core. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/59720-publishers-respond-to-common-core.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly&utm_campaign=a7952de79a-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0bb2959cbb-a7952de79a-304458421

            This article by Rosen offers a look at what individual publishers are doing to meet the increasing needs Common Core is presenting as it is being implemented in many of the states. It is interesting to see the effect this change in curriculum focus has on the industry as a whole; in terms of what books are going to be published, how they will be marketed, and even new authors that are published. Little Brown is working with educators “to develop two-page teachers’ guides that focus on how a book aligns with the standards.” A majority of the publishers, however, are creating resources on their sites for educators to identify the title and to give ideas on how to use them in the classroom. Each page that is discussed is given a link to that page, making this a great resource for any educators that are looking for that information. A remarkable quote from one of the publishers is that, “ ‘a selling point for picking up a new author is certainly that he or she has Common Core knowledge and/or experience.’” This is not something that all publishers talked about but the fact that it is now being used as a determining factor in whether or not a new author gets signed on is startling. I did like that Rosen chose to end the article with a quote from Simon & Schuster Canada, who do not plan to alter the books that they have been publishing. For them this will continue to be about bring great literature to children, whether or not it is ‘Common Core aligned.’