Fischman, John (October 5, 2012). Why lies often stick better than the truth. The Chronicle of Higher Education, LIX(6), p. A3. http://chronicle.com/blogs/percolator/why-lies-often-stick-better-than-truth/31048
submitted by Kathryn Whitehouse
Lies
and misinformation are a sad artifact of our political process and much
of our news sources. Opinions are given the same weight as facts, and
even ideas that have been debunked as fraudulent, such as President
Obama’s birth certificate as forged, and the alleged link between
vaccines and onset of autism, continue to have traction. Fischman asks,
“why do we like our slanted information and outright lies so much?”
Because rejecting them is hard work, and it is easier to slot evidence
into ideas we already hold.
So
what has any of this to do with school libraries? Students may bring
their own incorrect ideas to the library and approach their academics
with an inadequate skill set or with baked-in information that
is contrary to what they are willing to learn. Worse, their parents may
come charging angrily into the library with misguided ideas on what
types of books are unacceptable in your library and demand their
removal. What can you do?
Colleen
M. Siefert of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor explains the only
way to persuade people to let go of erroneous information is to provide
a plausible alternative (hopefully the truth). Alas, the recipient
needs to be open to changes of view and willing to work through the
process. And does anyone like to admit to being incorrect?
But
in the absence of all that, this article provides a truly useful nugget
of advice when communicating with patrons in the thrall of erroneous
information. Here it is: Do
not repeat the erroneous information back to the patron as you are
discussing it. You run the risk of making the association even stronger
in that patron’s memory.
So
instead of saying, “It is not true that the Harry Potter series
promotes satanism” you might say instead, “the Harry Potter series is
filled with themes from folk tales and fairy tales, from Greek legends
as well as from contemporary fantasy. Traces of Harry Potter can be
found in hundreds of classic and award winning books also in this
library. Our young readers are a lot smarter than some of us give them
credit for, and they enjoy books that entertain them.” And instead of
saying, “Our collection of GLBT fiction is not about promoting deviant
lifestyles” you might say, “We are proud of our small collection of GLBT
titles. Furthermore, these titles enjoy great support from the student
body. GLBT youth are substantially more vulnerable to bullying and
abuse, and are more likely to commit suicide. These books are all about
providing information to GLBT youth and their friends so they can be
safe, healthier, happier, and less alone.”
Or something like that. I’m sure you can devise something more clever. So use those diplomacy skills and bust some lies today!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Reflections on the AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner
Crompton, Marc
American Library Association. (2010). Position Statement on the Common Core College- and Career-Readiness Standards [Brochure]. Author. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslissues/positionstatements/collegecareerstandards
I feel kind of awkward posting on a required reading like this, but it strikes me that this document is worth discussing. It is, by far, the most dense of our course readings and I think that there is a lot to consider here. I couldn't help but thinking, as I re-read it, that this is like a masterwork of art in that every time I come back to it, I get something different. I may bring different experiences and ideas to reflect in it, but I come out with something unique each time.
The first thing that hits me about the AASL standards are the four key elements: Skills, Dispositions in Action, Responsibilities, and Self-Assessment Strategies. This is not a document about teaching; this is a document about learning. It puts the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the learners. It doesn't talk about curriculum in terms of what we need to teach; it talks about the kind of person that the learners strive to become. I would venture to say - and this is not stated in the document - that this applies to ALL learners in the school community, regardless of age or position.
This emphasis on the learner allows those in coaching positions (traditionally, the teachers) to see the students for who they are in order to help them grow to where they should be. This is an individualistic approach. It does not say that students need to be collaborative. It says that one of a learner's responsibilities is to "Solicit and respect diverse perspectives while searching for information, collaborating with others, and participating as a member of the community" and that they "Assess [their] own ability to work with others in a group setting by evaluating varied roles, leadership, and demonstrations of respect for other viewpoints." While the end point is the same, we recognize that learners arrive at different times and take different paths.
Finally, it puts the library/media centre/learning commons square in the middle of learning. Not by forcing it there as some documents seem to, but by simply recognizing that there is no better place in the school to learn than at this physical and virtual hub. I think that it is easy in this day and age of digitization for us to fear for our personal futures and cling to the past. We get defensive about our roles and talk a little too desperately about how things "should" be. If we simply recognize how things are and that the learning commons is the natural centre of any learning community, there is no advocacy, there is only statement of fact. I read each point in this document thinking about how else learners develop these skills, dispositions, responsibilities and strategies. It is true that many are supported in a variety of places in a learning community, but there is no place in the school that addresses them all and I would venture to say that there are many (most?) that are addressed best in the learning commons.
This is a logical document to be developed by the AASL but it is one that should be adopted by schools, not just libraries. Libraries then are the ideal place in the learning community to foster these ideals and drive their development.
Today marks the second anniversary of the release of this document. I hope that it has been well circulated and adopted throughout the educational community.
OK, there's my two cents worth. What do YOU think?
American Library Association. (2010). Position Statement on the Common Core College- and Career-Readiness Standards [Brochure]. Author. Retrieved October 10, 2012, from http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslissues/positionstatements/collegecareerstandards
I feel kind of awkward posting on a required reading like this, but it strikes me that this document is worth discussing. It is, by far, the most dense of our course readings and I think that there is a lot to consider here. I couldn't help but thinking, as I re-read it, that this is like a masterwork of art in that every time I come back to it, I get something different. I may bring different experiences and ideas to reflect in it, but I come out with something unique each time.
The first thing that hits me about the AASL standards are the four key elements: Skills, Dispositions in Action, Responsibilities, and Self-Assessment Strategies. This is not a document about teaching; this is a document about learning. It puts the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the learners. It doesn't talk about curriculum in terms of what we need to teach; it talks about the kind of person that the learners strive to become. I would venture to say - and this is not stated in the document - that this applies to ALL learners in the school community, regardless of age or position.
This emphasis on the learner allows those in coaching positions (traditionally, the teachers) to see the students for who they are in order to help them grow to where they should be. This is an individualistic approach. It does not say that students need to be collaborative. It says that one of a learner's responsibilities is to "Solicit and respect diverse perspectives while searching for information, collaborating with others, and participating as a member of the community" and that they "Assess [their] own ability to work with others in a group setting by evaluating varied roles, leadership, and demonstrations of respect for other viewpoints." While the end point is the same, we recognize that learners arrive at different times and take different paths.
Finally, it puts the library/media centre/learning commons square in the middle of learning. Not by forcing it there as some documents seem to, but by simply recognizing that there is no better place in the school to learn than at this physical and virtual hub. I think that it is easy in this day and age of digitization for us to fear for our personal futures and cling to the past. We get defensive about our roles and talk a little too desperately about how things "should" be. If we simply recognize how things are and that the learning commons is the natural centre of any learning community, there is no advocacy, there is only statement of fact. I read each point in this document thinking about how else learners develop these skills, dispositions, responsibilities and strategies. It is true that many are supported in a variety of places in a learning community, but there is no place in the school that addresses them all and I would venture to say that there are many (most?) that are addressed best in the learning commons.
This is a logical document to be developed by the AASL but it is one that should be adopted by schools, not just libraries. Libraries then are the ideal place in the learning community to foster these ideals and drive their development.
Today marks the second anniversary of the release of this document. I hope that it has been well circulated and adopted throughout the educational community.
OK, there's my two cents worth. What do YOU think?
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
iPads for Everyone: How a small library program became a runaway hit and reached more than 4,100 kids and teachers.
McCall-Bramley, Julianne
Foote, Carolyn (2012, October 2). iPads for Everyone: How a small library program became a runaway hit and reached more than 4,100 kids and teachers. Retrieved October 7, 2012, from The Digital Shift: http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/10/ebooks/ipads-for-everyone-how-a-small-library-program-became-a-runaway-hit-and-reached-more-than-4100-kids-and-teachers/
While spending a lot of time investigating and thinking about what kind of content to put on the Experimental Learning page of my group’s VLC, I came across this interesting article from School Library Journal via The Digital Shift. The VLC that my group is working on is for a school that is currently utilizing a one on one iPad program for the middle school aged kids (grades 6-8). This consists of approximately 90 ipads (30 per grade). Since the VLC we are developing is for one of my partner’s schools, I personally haven’t had the opportunity to see how this program works. My partner did mention that she knows that the students are using the iPad right now in order to access their textbooks as well as eBooks. I hope that this is just the beginning. As a new iPad owner, I have only just begun to understand and utilize the many, many bells and whistles that accompany this technology. This librarian, Carolyn Foote, started this revolution two years ago with only 6 iPads and the ratio has now grown to become a 1:1. Foote walks readers through her program and all of the various roads that she traveled to evolve and find her role in this revolution. She piloted and experimented and is still working to define the iPad use. She also recognizes that this will be a continuous cycle of growth as students needs' change, classrooms change, and technology changes. I really needed to share this since after reading it, I felt that it was applicable to our existing goals of creating, promoting, and utilizing VLCs in our schools. Foote's beginnings were small and grew by leaps and bounds because of her dedication and determination. She is an inspiration!
Foote, Carolyn (2012, October 2). iPads for Everyone: How a small library program became a runaway hit and reached more than 4,100 kids and teachers. Retrieved October 7, 2012, from The Digital Shift: http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/10/ebooks/ipads-for-everyone-how-a-small-library-program-became-a-runaway-hit-and-reached-more-than-4100-kids-and-teachers/
While spending a lot of time investigating and thinking about what kind of content to put on the Experimental Learning page of my group’s VLC, I came across this interesting article from School Library Journal via The Digital Shift. The VLC that my group is working on is for a school that is currently utilizing a one on one iPad program for the middle school aged kids (grades 6-8). This consists of approximately 90 ipads (30 per grade). Since the VLC we are developing is for one of my partner’s schools, I personally haven’t had the opportunity to see how this program works. My partner did mention that she knows that the students are using the iPad right now in order to access their textbooks as well as eBooks. I hope that this is just the beginning. As a new iPad owner, I have only just begun to understand and utilize the many, many bells and whistles that accompany this technology. This librarian, Carolyn Foote, started this revolution two years ago with only 6 iPads and the ratio has now grown to become a 1:1. Foote walks readers through her program and all of the various roads that she traveled to evolve and find her role in this revolution. She piloted and experimented and is still working to define the iPad use. She also recognizes that this will be a continuous cycle of growth as students needs' change, classrooms change, and technology changes. I really needed to share this since after reading it, I felt that it was applicable to our existing goals of creating, promoting, and utilizing VLCs in our schools. Foote's beginnings were small and grew by leaps and bounds because of her dedication and determination. She is an inspiration!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Lowering the voting age: Children’s choice awards are a great way to get kids excited about reading
Von Drasek, Lisa (2012). Lowering the voting age: Children’s choice awards are a great way to get kids excited about reading School Library Journal, 58(5), 38-40.
submitted by Kathryn Whitehouse
Some years ago, I performed a volunteer project of creating and administering a California Young Reader Medal contest. I read the nominated picture books to each classroom over a 5 week period-- one book per visit. At the sixth week I passed out ballots. I created paper ballots with color thumbnails of the book covers and I verbally described each book to remind the kids of the story. I collected their votes, tallied them, and announced a winner. It was a fun project for me, and an engaging project for the kids.
Von Drasek repeats this experiment every year for her New York City elementary students, and has never found the experience to be anything less than impactful. Students are thrilled to be consulted for their opinions, bring enlightened discernment to their deliberations, and take ownership of the process. They eagerly await the award announcement to see if their choices matched the award results. But Von Draske sees an even bigger payoff in how these events support the Common Core by encouraging critical thinking. Van Drasek also finds these events an obvious avenue of collaboration with teachers as they use the both the content of these nominee titles ( for language arts and social studies connections) and the voting process (for math and graphing connections) for deep curriculum support. She also finds teachers appreciate working with newer quality titles as a pleasant break from older titles, and are invigorated by their students’ intense engagement. Many states offer young readers’ choice awards (including California). But schools could easily customize an event to support their curriculum and examine nominees from Caldecott, Newbery, Geisel, Belpre, or Coretta Scott King.
submitted by Kathryn Whitehouse
Some years ago, I performed a volunteer project of creating and administering a California Young Reader Medal contest. I read the nominated picture books to each classroom over a 5 week period-- one book per visit. At the sixth week I passed out ballots. I created paper ballots with color thumbnails of the book covers and I verbally described each book to remind the kids of the story. I collected their votes, tallied them, and announced a winner. It was a fun project for me, and an engaging project for the kids.
Von Drasek repeats this experiment every year for her New York City elementary students, and has never found the experience to be anything less than impactful. Students are thrilled to be consulted for their opinions, bring enlightened discernment to their deliberations, and take ownership of the process. They eagerly await the award announcement to see if their choices matched the award results. But Von Draske sees an even bigger payoff in how these events support the Common Core by encouraging critical thinking. Van Drasek also finds these events an obvious avenue of collaboration with teachers as they use the both the content of these nominee titles ( for language arts and social studies connections) and the voting process (for math and graphing connections) for deep curriculum support. She also finds teachers appreciate working with newer quality titles as a pleasant break from older titles, and are invigorated by their students’ intense engagement. Many states offer young readers’ choice awards (including California). But schools could easily customize an event to support their curriculum and examine nominees from Caldecott, Newbery, Geisel, Belpre, or Coretta Scott King.
If
I were to repeat my previous project and had only one day to accomplish
this activity, I would consider something different. I would employ as
many readers as classrooms. Each reader would visit each classroom to
read his or her book. In an hour, a classroom would have had four
visitors and have had four nominee books read aloud. The students would
then vote using a Google forms survey instead of paper slips. This could
be done on the teacher’s lap top one at a time, or with laptops in the
classroom. The survey results would already be collected and ready for
sharing. On a practical level, it would be done one grade at a time.
But
I much prefer Van Drasek’s less hurried approach for its ability to
impart varied and significant curriculum connections over a longer time
period, and for its ability to sustain young readers’ interest.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
New York State assessment rubric for teacher librarian
Donna Curley-Izzo
Dr. L posted this link in a class email and suggested someone post it here as a topic of discussion, maybe not right now but when we get to assessment.
http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/
However I would like to post a comment right now. From what I have been reading, 21st century learning is moving away from lengthy lists of discrete descriptors and instead, focuses on deep understanding of broad concepts and essential skills. In my opinion this rubric is the opposite of 21st century learning is supposed to be. It is too wordy and rather intimidating. I am wondering who will be evaluating the teacher librarian. It certainly can't be one administrator since it would take multiple observations and examination of a tremendous amount of data to assess each of the descriptors.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Helpful Google Sites How to website
https://sites.google.com/site/iteachgsw/what-is-google-sites
I found this website to be really helpful for creating my Google Site.
I found this website to be really helpful for creating my Google Site.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Using Twitter to build a personal learning network
Lesesne recommends finding a few trusted voices, following their conversations and exploring who they’re talking with. John Schumacher (@MrSchuReads), Donalyn Miller (@donalynbooks), Paul Hankins (@PaulWHankins) and Katherine Sokolowski (@katsok) all are excellent choices for teachers and school librarians. Start by listening to their conversations and exploring links they share, but then try jumping in and adding your perspective.
Finally, Lesesne recommended checking out a regular Twitter chat such as #titletalk. Titletalk is a monthly chat hosted by Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp, held on the last Sunday of every month at 8pm Eastern time. Each month, teachers and librarians from across the US (and beyond) gather on Twitter to share their favorite children's books. Just last weekend, the Titletalk focused on book talking as a way to recommend books (archive available here). One great way to follow a Twitter chat such as this is using the website TweetChat.
Check out more of Lesesne's excellent points through her SlideShare presentation. Follow her on Twitter (@ProfessorNana) - she shares a wealth of information. And stop by her blog (Professor Nana) to get great reading recommendations.
I really enjoy using Twitter to connect with librarians, teachers and children's book lovers. It's a wonderful resource for when I'm trying to think of new titles to share with kids. And the best is connecting with others who are just as excited about sharing books. Come say hi to me on Twitter if you get a chance - I'm @MaryAnnScheuer.
Lesesne, T. (2012). "Don't Be a Twit: Building a PLN using social networks." Talk delivered at KidLitCon. Slides available on SlideShare at http://www.slideshare.net/ProfessorNana/dont-be-a-twitt
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