Capstone Things 15-21

Capstone Things 15-21

In evaluating what is the most impactful tools I discovered, rediscovered and worked towards mastering all of them are measure against my strengths as a digital age educator.  As a Media Specialist I approached this experience with two goals in mind. 1. What skills can I learn and tools can I master to enhance my educational leadership position with my teaching staff .   2.  Of these tools and skills which ones can I use in teaching information literacy to students.    This approach is slightly different than most classroom teachers who would tend to focus on their curricular needs and adaptability of tools to those needs.  The focus by definition is narrower than what a school librarian focus has to be.  Like a classroom teacher I have to evaluate what I need and what I can use to teach a certain curriculum.  Unlike the classroom teacher I also have to have a more universal perspective.   I cannot dismiss or discard a digital tool or technique because it does not easily replace what I am already using in training students as information seekers, evaluators and users.  What may not work well for me in a library setting may well be the perfect tool for a classroom teacher.  Since I service both groups I must retain at least a working familiarity with as many digital age tools as possible.

The applications of the visual digital assists Thing 20 and Thing 21 lend themselves easily to Marzano’s  stance on non-linguistic representations in the classroom.  Graphic organizers help students visualize relationship between concepts with imagery.   Screen casting uses imagery and motion to tie in what a student is hearing.   Both are very useful in teaching sequence.  In the library accessing information and resources is often done in a certain sequence.  Some of this is due to local restraints of network access but a lot of it is due to the sequential nature in approaching an informational need.  Students must identify the need first but then they have select the best tool for the job.  In years prior libraries used signage to direct patrons to printed material in books, magazines and newspapers.  The 21^st century library has a myriad of digital resources and signage is not what is needed.  A guided approach to opening and searching resources makes sure that the student instinct to stampede directly to the first available thing that looks like it might be useful can be abated.  The instant assumption that Google will provide is difficult to counteract.  Instruction from me needs to be augmented by digital assists that can be student assessed without further coaching if necessary. 

The most transformational  teaching tool, for me,  of the final seven is screen casting.  I foresee using it for instruction of library skills, reference and research skills and for reinforcement of these skills available to students and staff 24/7.  This is not to take away from the value of the things like RSS feeds and visual learning enhancements presented in the other modules.  And, of course, I came to 21 Things well versed in Research and Reference tools as presented in Thing 17.  Screen casting fits very nicely into the need I have to provide instruction even when I am not there to accomplish it in person.  I can post screen casts on the library webpage and link them to teacher’s pages.   There are three main areas which I will create screen casts for:  1. Follett Destiny OPAC – our library management program.  The screen casts will cover both book searches and circulation commands.   2.  Database selection and usage for both MEL.org and for our subscription databases.  3.  Online citation tools like BIBME and Easybib.  This will align with ISTE standards  2. A, 2. B, 2.C, 3. C, 3. D.

At each juncture throughout the 21 things course I evaluated resources with an eye towards what I could share and teach to staff members in my school.  This is an alignment issue that is localized and dependent on my relationship with staff members and an assessment of what they are currently doing and what they are capable of doing.    Some of this can be immediate and flow from me to them as an invitation to investigate a new tool.  Others are to be stockpiled and filed away and used at opportune times when a need is expressed.  Leading staff is not always like teaching students.  Their tolerance for and interest in new tools is predicated on what they can possibly fit into their busy schedule.  With that in mind I can’t say that there is one specific thing in Things 15-21 that I will use with them without fail.  I will pick my time and find something that will work on a case by case basis.

Thing 21

Screencasting

This is my first experience screencasting.  I have seen screencasts many times but I had not created one. 
I used Screencast-o-matic

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cXhYDuFi9

I created a screencast on using Bibme website to create citations.  I found the experience both easy and frustrating.  The Screencast-o-matic site is very user friendly but creating a screen cast was frustrating because of the many times I was forced to restart because I misspoke or the website did not load quickly etc. 

When I shared my screencast with a coleague she was way more interested in Bibme than Screencast-o-matic and that is really the whole point, isn't it?  She didn't notice the medium she was taken with the message.  So all in all even though to my mind the screencast was a littel rough around the edges production wise it was effective.

I will use screencasting to create tutorials related to using databases and operating a the patron features of our circulation system here in the library.  I will also share this with teachers and help them create screencasts for their students.

Thing 20

Gliffy is something I have only dabbled with in the past.  I have never really used a graphic organizer.  Visually I am impressed with the materials that Gliffy is able to put out.  The interface is usable but you have to be careful with trying to change items once text has been entered.  Redoing or correcting is not necessarily quick and easy. I will share this site with staff and students when they have need for graphic organizers.
I chose a Venn Diagram because I am often sent humorous ones so I thought I would give it a try.

I am a Strong believer in the use of humor in teaching and and it education.  I make it a point to include humorous material in most of my staff to staff communication.  Using humor raises the likelihood that my audience (teaching staff) will actually read what I have sent them.  Teachers are notorious for not opening email or leaving it unopened until past the optimal time for viewing it.  Any tool that aids me in that endeavor is worth using and learning.  In so doing I can model the use of this program and then help teachers learn and use it too.

TAGXEDO

I have used Wordle for a few years now and I have shared it with students and staff.  I have not been acquainted with Tagxedo until now.  I like the features it has and I feel that the ability to save and share Tagxedo graphics exceeds Wordle. It is more user friendly in that way. 

Word clouds are entertaining and informative.  They provide a nice graphics for instruction to use with visual leaders.  Tagxedo is easy enough for most any student to use.  Going forward I will show staff and students both Wordle and Tagxedo but I think I will recommend Tagxedo.

Thing 19

Creating a plan to extend the classroom is an interesting mandate for a school media specialist.   In many respects it is something that the profession has been stressing for about two decades.  In my graduate program at WSU most of the instructors in school media spent a great deal of time on the concept of a library without walls in both theory and practice.  This was the early 1990's as the cusp of the full impact of the digital revolution was being broached by schools.  Libraries in schools were expected to transform from being static book warehouses to dynamic teaching centers.  A dynamic teaching center lead by a dynamic teacher- the school media specialist.  The media specialist was to act as an instructional leader inside the library and out.  Information literacy were the skills to be taught with an emphasis learning taking place where the student was rather than the student being limited to learning on site in the library.

As the capabilities of digital library resources began to be deployed the goal of a library without walls became less theory and more reality.  24/7 learning could be enabled with the school media center acting as a teaching and learning hub.  Tools included in the package necessary to be an extended digital learning center are an Online Public Access Catalog OPAC.  Online subscription based tools like databases and digital reference works.  Ebooks and assorted online student work enhancing/assisting websites as selected and taught by the school media specialist.  Access to these facilitated by library websites built and maintained the school media specialist.  Training to students to be administered by the media specialist on a project by project basis in coordination with subject area teachers.  Information literacy skills were not to be taught in the vacuum of a library tour or familiarization short course.  Ongoing  instruction tied to the curricular needs of the courses students were enrolled was the model to be pursued.  Training both students and teachers to be efficient information seekers, assessors and users was to be the constant target of efforts.

What does this look at in the RHS library?
OPAC: Follett Destiny - A web based full access catalog to all print materials held by the library.  Accessible 24/7 with features that help the student locate, evaluate and reserve/circulate materials not only in RHS library but all Rockford libraries K-12.  Instruction in the use of this asset is ongoing by the myself and the library staff. 

Online Databases:  MEL databases,  Opposing Viewpoints, ABC-CLIO databases.  As media specialist I spend a great deal of time instructing students and staff in accessing information needs and choosing the best tools available to meet those needs. Instruction in the use of databases is core to this.  Access to these tools is 24/7 with at home logging and password service being taught to students on a project by project basis.  Their need to know is driven by their immediate curricular need and research assignment. 

Online/websites:  Much the same as instruction in databases.

Ebooks: We have yet to implement a full collection of ebooks.  Through MEL I have taught and used ebooks held at the state level but we are still investigating the practicality of a locally (RHS or KISD) hosted ebooks collection.

In the RHS library the plan for extending the learning experience beyond the walls of the school have a NETS alignment  that is strong in 1 b. 2 a.  3 d.



NAVIGATING THE WORLD OF ONLINE LEARNING

The path of the student is in the world of online learning is quite different than the path the student experienced as a traditional student.  There are many up front concerns in the area of course availability, relevance and credit eligibility.  Then, of course, there are technology concerns and access to appropriate and supported computer platforms with full connectivity with storage and retrieval of data.  The student may not be able to articulate these concerns but they must be addressed ahead of time by both the student and the educational entities involved.   These issues tend to be nuts and bolts issues but if they are not addressed they will serve to be deal breakers for the student as they attempt to negotiate the online experience.  Technology roadblocks to a student can seem to be unmanageable.  It will provide a quick failure excuse for the marginal student.  It will poison the experience for even the most motivated students.

It is in the area of student motivation and diligence that the mentor comes most directly into play.  Totally self directed online experiences lend themselves to failure for the unmotivated student.  Even the very motivated student can falter in their progression if the lack focus and the ability to pace themselves effectively. The first online educational experience really benefits the student if it mentored by someone who knows the pitfalls and is prepared to head off problems for the student with early and repeated interventions if necessary. 

To me the greatest risk to the online student is being overwhelmed by the independence inherent in online learning.  Self pacing is difficult for the student conditioned to be paced to a teaching professional.  In the interactive program Navigating the World of Online Learning the questions presented to the student can be answered with a little perseverance and timely assistance.  The intrinsic motivation of the student is key.  This is why the student who is taking online credit recovery is at such high risk of failure in the online educational environment. 

It may be that as we progress into the generation of the post digital learner we may find more and more students who are adept at online learning.  We will likely find that there will be a significant number of secondary level students who prefer the self paced environment online.  Without quality content and quality interaction with instructors there is a hazard that students left to their own devices will either fail or potentially worse yet succeed but succeed in an inadequate program.  The student, even a prescient one, rarely self articulates qualms about the content of what they are being taught and whether it meets their long term educational needs.  Unless there are qualified and involved mentors/instructors the hole that will develop in their educational experience may be difficult to recover from.

Thing 18

RSS feeds have been around for a while and I have dabbled with them in the past.  I have not used them extensively as daily aid in aggregating news and upon reflection I think I know why.  During the course of a typical day I spend between one to two hours a day actively reading online news sources on several topics.  I have a set pattern of reviewing sources.  I also scan for updates frequently depending on my schedule that day.  I feel awareness of current events is a cornerstone of being a prepared school media specialist. 

I suppose it is hubris on my part to think that I can perform the task of news aggregation better than RSS feeds.  One issue that I have had with them is they tend to only do exactly what you tell them to.  If you set up a feed for specific topics from specific sources that is what it does.  I have found that about 30 to 40 percent of the material that I end up sharing with staff is articles I found while looking for other things during my own search patterns.  By in large librarians like the thrill of the hunt and I fall squarely into that profile.  One stop shopping has it's place and I rely heavily on Google News and MLIVE as aggregators.  

As a research tool RSS feeds have a great benefit.  Creating feeds that track information and return it to you on specific topics in several online sources simultaneously is a way to cut down on man hours searching,  This is particularly true for large projects involving long periods of time. RSS feeds are excellent people trackers as well.  Flagging a personal name such as a politician or actor will return material on them as reported.  For students doing a biography assignment this has excellent potential.

For this assignment I chose to use IGoogle and Google Reader.  Below are screen shots of both.

To my liking I prefer the Google Reader page to IGoogle for retrieving news.  Although the other information on IGoogle is nice a times it is more noise than I need when searching for material to scan.

Thing 17

Databases and internet resources related to research are my primary teaching resources in my role as information literacy teacher for my school.  In that role I extensively use and teach the MEL databases.
In 2010 I served on an advisory board for the Library of Michigan reviewing the MEL databases with the mandate to evaluate information needs of library patrons across the state.  I worked with librarians from public libraries, college libraries, business libraries, law libraries, hospital libraries and special libraries/archives.  I was the sole school media specialist selected to serve on this board.  With all that in mind I am going to take liberty with the requirements of Assignment 17. 

Best MEL databases for high school age researchers:

Info Trac student edition
Gale Cengage database
Audience : Secondary students
Full text: Yes
Citation Service: Yes
Advanced search: Yes
Default bias search: keyword
Liabilities:  Citation is not MLA 8th edition.  Citations require more than one click to find.

Academic Onefile
Gale Cengage database
Audience: Secondary - College
Full text:  Yes
Citation service: Yes
Advanced search:  Yes
Default basic search: keyword
Liabilities:  Academic Onefile defaults to searching Academic journals - can be a difficult entry point for the young student researcher.  Citation service is not MLA 8th edition.  Citations require more than one click to find.

OmniOnefile
H.W. Wilson Database
Audience: General
Full Text: Yes
Citation Service: Yes
Advanced search:  Yes
Default basic search:  No- defaults to advanced search but dialogue boxes default to All search terms.
Liabilities:  Does not automatically search only full text results - high school students get frustrated with citation and abstract only results. 


If you would have asked me a year ago which was the best MEL database for the high school researcher I probably would have said either Info Trac Student or Academic Onefile.  OmniOnefile is now my first choice.  In my opinion the interface is easier for the student to use and the citation features are superior.  Database scope and coverage is equal with Gale's databases.

Other very useful MEL databases for the high school student:

Helath and Wellness Center - good for medical information and research in the health related fields.  Does not offer citation service - major downer for high school researchers.

Newsbank Michigan Newspapers-Newsbank America's News Magazines is contained within this database.  The search interface is high quality and since it is a smaller database (only newsmagazines) and the search is more precise there are fewer instances of false drop results.

SIRS Renaissance - Good coverage of the humanities and literature. 

Educator Reference Complete - Topics involving school law and other aspects of school life make this a nice resource for students

Thing 16

Learnport

As an off and on spectator/user of Learnport over the years I have found it to be an intriguing resource with potential to be very useful.  The access to Nettreker I have previously commented on in an early blog port.  This is a very nice tool to have at your disposal as a teacher and student.  One of the limitations of Learnport is that the site is not very engaging.  The navigation, to me, is not intuitive.  The overall experience of using Learnport, in my view, is somewhat stilted.

The resources available at Learnport do tend to make up for the clunkiness of using it.  There are course listed for either SBEUs or college credit.  The fact that there are not a wide range of courses targeted at the a school media specialist such as myself reflects that trend across the spectrum of post masters coursework of relevance to librarians.  This lack of choices is not specific to Learnport.  As a media specialist consulting with teachers seeking further coursework or professional development I have no qualms about listing Learnport as a resource worth investigating.

Other resources there include a links page - MEL is a better source for these.  Video and audio resources for teachers - titles seem to be pretty decent but the selection is not huge. Lesson plans - only 39 listed.

Obviously the strength of Learnport lies in it's access to Nettreker and professional development courses.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

A have been a Facebook user for two years.  I use it for purely social reasons with family and Friends although I do belong to the MAME page on Facebook and occasionally I get updates from the association via Facebook.  I am not comfortable 'friending' colleagues and especially students on my private Facebook page.  There are aspects of my private life that should remain just that - private.

So in the the spirit of adventure I test drove Twitter.  This is something I have sort of put off fro quite a while.  The education benefits of following worthy tweets being balance by time constraints.  My day is plenty busy as it is and another tech addiction just might break the camel's back.

The importance of the professional networking can't be downplayed.  The expedient way to do this is to use modern social networking sites.  To me this option is second to face to face interaction. There is nothing like a room of librarians who normally spend their days in a professional isolation chamber getting a chance to interact and speak their common lingo. Very nerd based but highly engrossing for the library professional.

MACULspace

I was formerly a member of MACUL.  In the 1990's a was a regular conference attendee but when the district I was working for at the time cut by on professional development I was force to choose either MACUL or MAME.  I chose MAME.  In 2007 I was selected as a MACUL MI-Champion recipient for St. Louis Public Schools (my prior district) and attended the conference that year.  Upon leaving St. Louis i let my membership in MACUL lapse because once again I was forced to choose between MACAL and MAME.  I don't recall of MACULspace was active at the time.  I can say that as a professional learning network MACUL far exceeds MAME in size and  participation from diverse educators.  I am impressed with the look and navigation MACULspace.  The resources are numerous and the connectivity to fellow professionals appears to be very strong with boards and communication features.  Sharing of projects, information, and lessons is well supported.

Thing 15

MediaConvert

I am not super impressed with Mediaconvert.  My first attempts to open the site met with repeated failure to even open the site.  This morning in attempting to load a Word document for conversion to PDF the first attempt failed with a message to retry in a few seconds.  The second attempt did not meet with success either.  The circling swirl
highlighted in the screen shot was there for 10 minutes.

In addition the page is quite busy with advertising and while the instructions are workable it lacks the elegant simplicity of the Google search page. 

Third attempt error message Target Server Not Responding ! Retry in a few seconds.

Not to put too fine a point on this but this sort of failure really is not an option when I am demonstrating a site like this to my staff.  They won't use something like this if it fails more than once upon the first usage.  I am not sure if the failure is on our end or on the website's end.  It the long run it doesn't matter to the teachers I serve.

Fourth attempt also failed. 

Not to be stifled I attempted to use Zamzar to convert a Word document to PDF.  The upload was apparently successful but the email did not show up with the converted document.  I am sensing a pattern here.

Success! Zamzar came through.  Wait time approximately 25 minutes.  Not exactly immediate gratification but good enough for teachers who have the foresight to plan ahead.  For my needs the speed issue makes it hard to use and demonstrate to teaching staff.  I might use it for myself, though.

GOOGLE calendar

I first used Google Calendar in 2008.  I created a RHS Library facility sign out calendar.  I have since let that calendar go dormant.  As a district we adopted Outlook as our email program.  At the request of administration all calendars were switched over to the Outlook program.  I have found sharing calendars to be useful in keeping staff informed on the who what where and when of library usage.  The library staff shares scheduling duties on the common calendar for both floors of the library.  The communication is constant and it often leads to very effective idea sharing and lesson planning.  Having the library paraprofessionals share in the duty of maintaining the calendar maintains good internal communication and limits surprises like classes showing up unannounced.  Google was a great training ground for us and the transition to Outlook was not difficult.  As of the fall of 2010 for the first time in my library career I do not keep a paper calendar - even as a backup.  The time this frees up is useful and the discipline of maintaining an online calendar is no more difficult than maintaining a paper calendar.

Google Library Calendar Circa spring 2009

Outlook Calendar

Capstone Things 8-14

Capstone Things 8-14

Creative Commons

In my own practice as a Media Specialist Thing 8 offers an opportunity to reflect on my own practices.  Creative Commons is a tool I was only vaguely familiar with prior to this course. In accessing materials online I was always careful about plagiarism and giving attribution in all concerns except for images.  I am not proud to say that quite frequently I would use images without permission for my own use and sometimes for academic pursuits. 

Like most Media Specialists I function as the de facto copyright awareness officer.  I would always carefully explain to my staff the ramifications of copying videos or of showing videos without public display license etc. etc.   I didn’t do a good job however on instructing them on their copyright over materials they created.  Mostly out of indifference and lack of opportunity.  I plan to use Creative Commons for myself and to teach my staff to use it. 

Digital Images

The availability of digital images suitable for curricular applications has exploded in recent years.  There are plenty of resources that offer them for use.  There are still other resources allow the either the adult or student user to be an originator of content. The online sharing and storage capabilities of sites like Picassa  have created huge educational image creation usage and retrieval opportunities.  As a teacher the resources present themselves as good curricular assists.  Visual learners benefit from teachers having access to such rich resources.  Hands on learners benefit from the opportunity to be content providers and sharers.   Non- linguistic representations of curricular content offers a direct boost to student achievement and mastery of material. 

The end user of digital images goes from passive to dynamic with the use of digital story telling.  Obviously the teacher as a digital image story teller has many curricular applications from original to remedial.  For the student the digital image story telling possible through the use of something like Photostory 3 or Animoto gives them a chance to express their learning in a non-written format

A plan for the future – applying digital story telling

Digital story telling holds a great deal of interest to me as a Media Specialist.  In working with staff and students a very common issue is timeliness of instruction and the need for 24/7 education flexibility.  So much of what is done in the high school is teacher centric and tied to seat time.  Curriculum is delivered in set pieces to a captive audience.  Learning, however, takes place in many non- traditional settings and at all hours.  I am not a classroom teacher so it would be difficult to attempt this solo.  I will team up with teachers who are looking to expand their instruction outside the walls of the school and outside of the constraints of the school day.

As I envision it I will work with teachers who have research projects that require out of school work by their students.  The teacher and I will give original instruction in resources and techniques needed for research.  We will also create digital story telling assists at key junctures in the research project.  Students will be able to refer to these short instructional videos/photostories as needed and in the own time at their own convenience. 

The plan will to be to build up a library of student research assistance videos that will be linked on school website.  Topics to include using various databases to the fullest, citations generators,  online searching tools, MLA format instruction and the like. 

This activity aligns with NETS standards 2a, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4d, 6b, and 6d.   The NETS alignment moves toward promoting both self-sufficiency and flexibility in receiving instruction for the student.  For the teachers involved the initial time consumption in producing the enhanced instruction will offset by the saving of time re-teaching to individuals who may have missed the instruction originally or my need self-directed rather than teacher directed remediation.

Thing 14

Video Streaming and Video Resources

When teaching information literacy my techniques tend to run to the demonstration and hands on practice models.  Embedding video from sources like Discovery United Streaming could be useful for original individual instruction and for recovery or practice applications.  The segment featured in the Jing capture above is about using Google Advanced Search.  I have always liked the feature at Discovery United streaming that allows for viewing in segments.  I have spent some time teaching staff  how to search this resource and how to avoid disrupted service by downloading either segments or whole films well ahead of time during off peak hours for traffic reasons.  Bandwidth and the limitations it poses is the one great road block to full implementation of video and audio available on the web to our teachers.  The unfortunate truth is that when training staff to use a tool such as video streaming you really only have one shot at buy in.  If the technology fails for whatever reason teachers a loathe to go back to it.  Particularly if they had a lesson disrupted.

In comparing and contrasting video and audio resources the key features are pretty evident.  First is accessibility - is it available at the venue in which you plan to use it.  Any resource that is not available because of security or bandwidth issues is virtually useless to the classroom teacher.  As a Media Specialist I always have to screen any resource before I recommend it to subject area teachers.  Unfortunately in our district audio and pod casting sites are not available.  And having students having access to either be a user or a creator is obviously not available either.  Notable exceptions are Youtube, Teachertube and Schooltube. 

The second major feature to comment on is the potential for differentiated learning.  Video and audio resources certainly provide content in differentiated manor.  Over reliance on it can be a distraction but for students it can provide access to curriculum content in interesting and effective ways.  The audio features found at various sites offer assisted reading potential and remediation.  Video can be remedial as well.  The content at these sites can enrich curriculum for all  but can be of particular use to teachers in teaching concepts to students with attendance issues. 

This unit coincided with instruction I was giving in conjunction with a teacher who assigned students informative speeches backed by research.  I found that both Teachertube and Schooltube were excellent resources not only for teaching students the content but also for giving them direction on how to teach it.  Their assignment was to give a short demonstration speech or in effect teach their classmates about something.  There was one student who immediately found a short video on Schooltube about solving a calculus problem.  The subject matter was beyond me but the student was able to watch the video not only to master the problem but also to see a professional teach it and to learn some of the techniques used to place emphasis and direct effort. It was the first time I guided students into using Schooltube and I was pleased with the results.

Thing 13

Using Google Earth i was able to locate my home.  This is Jing shot.  This exercise should have taken a few minute to accomplish but do to the fact the RPS computers have some sort of phobia about running Google Earth it took much longer.  Eventually after trying to load Google Earth on two different work laptops i was forced to do this on my old desktop at home.  I have been using Google Earth for a few years and I fine it both very interesting and useful. 

This is a screen shot of Google Earth showing the Big Sable Point lighthouse which is located on the Lake Michigan shore north of Ludington.  Getting there requires a walk up the beach from the Ludington state park of just over a mile.  It is one of only two structures on the beach in a stretch of about ten miles.  It is earmarked with a yellow pin showing the point on the beach where my wife and I got married.


QUIZLET

This is the first time I have ever used this resource.  It is easy to use and offers some nice features.  I believe that it would be useful for drill and practice activities with students.  I created a small collection of flashcards on the topic of RHS Library information resources and ran it with a few students.  They picked up on the usage very quickly.  In the future I will recommend Quizlet to teachers more than I would likely use it for myself in the library.  Quizlet offers a chance for teachers to diversify and individualize drill and practice instruction.  It might also be a tool of formative assessment with individuals or groups.  Students could be instructed to create their own flash card sets and share them with each other. 

Thing 12

Google Doc Survey

I used Google docs to survey a segment of the RHS class of 2011 about their experience as library patrons.  I have done a similar survey with paper in the past and always found it cumbersome.  This format is easier for the students to complete.  The results are nicely packaged and easy to retrieve.  I will use this survey further in the coming weeks to gather more data from our outgoing senior class.  I will try to sample about 30% of the class.  The adaptability of this format promises to be of use in other pursuits as well.

 

Below is a rubric for an information literacy assignment.

This rubric will be used by me as Media Specialist in conjunction with a classroom teacher to assess information literacy skills accrued during an assigned research project.  This assessment will be part of the over all assessment for the project.  The assessment is meant to be formative but aspects of it can be used to do a summative assessment as well.  Information literacy is always a work in progress.  Students may make progress but without follow up and reuse of skill there will be atrophy.  Teaching of information literacy skills is not down well if the end goal is purely an summative  assessment.  Information literacy is best supported during the course of teaching content and research materials within course curriculum.  The formative assessment requires observation of students as they practice research skills in pursuit of a real information need in a class.  

At Rockford Public Schools (RPS) teaching staff has the use of student record management provided by Educator Access.  This is partnered with a component called Family access.  This is a student record access for grades k-12.  It tracks attendance, performance and assessments with the idea being that the information is to be recorded and tracked 24/7 throughout the school year.  It is FERPA compliant but allows for access by necessary parties to record and study the data.  Privacy of medical records present in the student record is protected and HIPAA compliant.  Educator Access appears as an icon on the teacher computer image.  It is available as coded access to student and parents through the district website.

Another icon that appears on the teacher computer image is Curriculum Crafter which helps teachers create, align and share curriculum pieces.  The alignment aspect of Curriculum Crafter  informs instruction and allows for teachers to make adjustments in course materials and activities in an informed and logical way.  There are also information sharing pathways available in the RPS Intranet and through shared access drives.  Curriculum pieces get shared and worked on through that pathway. 

There is not a district standard for course management software/website.  Access to Kent ISD Moodle is available but market penetration within the staff for Moodle is limited

Thing 11

http://prezi.com/50ognvrm_eme/edit/#0_2742515

This is a screenshot of the Prezi presentation.  It is a user friendly presentation site. I found loading the pictures easy and laying the path/progression of images to be flexible.  The navigation within the presentation is a little awkward because of the scroll in and scroll out effects.  When  loading objects or text you have to be aware of the scale of the original and the size of the object you are loading in comparison with the rest of the presentation.  It took me a few attempts at loading things to master that.  In comparison to PowerPoint Prezi is a lot less linear in orientation.  The regimentation of PowerPoint forces a certain pacing.  Prezi looks to be more flexible in pacing and sequence.  As a teaching tool Prezi combines high quality graphics and non linear pacing so that visual learner get the imagery they need but are not locked into a pacing that hurries them faster than is beneficial. The navigation allows a presenter to go forward and backward easily.  Prezi also has potential as a personalized presentation tool for self directed learner or credit recovery.

 As a tool for students to use it holds promise because there is a tendency with students when they create presentations in PowerPoint to emphasize presentation over content.  Students tend to pay more attention to graphics, music and transitions in presenting PowerPoints.  Prezi can inspire them to be creative but content seems to suffer less than PowerPoint. 

Thing 10

Story board for a Photo Story 3 project on what the school library has become in the modern day.

The experience of using Photostory3 was new to me.  Certain aspects of it were very easy.  The loading of the pictures went smoothly. The slide transitions and music were easy to add.  I particularly liked the quality of the music available from the Photostory library.  Recording the voice over was very difficult and I struggled for a couple of days before I finally switched to a different laptop and then it worked fine.  Apparently the microphone is disabled in the original laptop.  I should have thought to switch earlier.  Saving the project was no problem although since Photostory3 is not a standard option on RPS computers I had to load it on two different machines which toke a little time.

Embedding the video into my Face of the Library web page was somewhat difficult.  Weebly does not allow for the video to be inserted unless you upgrade to a paid site. 
I did embed the video but I don't think it will play.
http://www.weebly.com/weebly/main.php

The Blogger.com Blog will not load the video either so this is frustrating.

While I was creating the Photostory3 video I did share it with library staff members.  They felt it looked great but that my music choice was not to their liking.  The boogie woogie jazz piano music was not appropriate.  I considered switching it to classical music but you can't please everyone.  

I am a bit reluctant to share Photostory 3 with the staff at large due to bandwidth problems here at RPS.  Also the fact that each teacher would have to request to have loaded on their machine might raise hackles in our operation technology department.  Given the difficulties I had with Photostory3 I think I would seek out a different presentation tool to work with staff.  i don't think i would have occasion to use this with students other than to assist staff in planning units around the use of this type of software. 

Thing 9

Using Fotoflexer for editing provides a nice set of tools for manipulating pictures.  This is the first time I have used the site.  There many features that you would expect on a pay site or from a software package.   The transitions are not very fast when saving the images but other than that for the price this is one very cool tool. 

This is a jing capture of a photograph taken first hout 4/18/11 in the RHS library.  One class is onthe computers and another is sitting in the lounge area reading.  A typical quiet morning.

The same picture after a few simple modifications at Fotoflexer.  This is a new feature at Fotoflex borrowing the popular format of the common inspirational posters.  The title and text are added in a side box and quickly applied.  the outcome has a very nice professional finished quality.  Fotoflex fosters a nice amount of creativity and I could see using it with students and staff.  For teachers the chance to produce quality classroom graphics/posters/ signs would be welcome.  With students the creativity they could express could be transformative as an assessment.  A high student buy in by those students who feel stifled by traditional written assessments could result. 

This is done in Draw on Fotoflexer. With some cropping as well.

Original

A picture of the new books display.

Jazzed up a bit with one of the features in Fotoflexer.  Also textbox was added.  Saving this and the drawing above required afew extra steps opening up the image in paint and then saving  as a png file.  For some reason Fotoflex saved the images as an all file file which Blogger.com did not recognize as a picture file.

I have a some staff members who will find Fotoflexer very useful.

I have used Picasa a few times in the past - mostly to mine for images for projects or to explore images of places I have visited or plan to visit.  Below is a link to a Fotoflexer enhanced picture I took of the front of the RHS library cafe.
https://picasaweb.google.com/113198490372300830406/RHSLibraryPictures418?authkey=Gv1sRgCN3AjOqd_sbZ8QE#5596983766572948594

Thing 8

The issue of copyright has been a topic of discussion with my colleagues for a very long time.  I have served as a Media Specialist in four school districts in six different buildings.  I have dealt with hundreds of teachers on this matter.  And the one constant in all that time is a general lack of concern/knowledge about copyright underpinned with either indifference or willful non-compliance with copyright law.  Those parts of the law that are not convenient to what a teacher wishes to accomplish in the classroom are often ignored.  There are exceptions to the rule but many teachers tend to be like someone who consistently speeds at about 8 miles per hour over the speed limit.  They know they are breaking the law but they are counting on the fact there are not enough cops to catch everyone and that the nature of their offense does not merit much of a punishment.  And since I am not a copyright police officer I usually limit my role to information giver and gentle reminder of where the clear bright lines of the law lie.

Towards that end I designed a non-threatening quiz to share with my current staff about copyright.  The goal is to get feedback and to promote the ongoing dialogue.

A quick copyright quiz

True or False

1.            A teacher may print copies of internet pages to keep in a folder for student reference   __________

2.            A teacher may use clip art and images obtained from the internet to create a lesson plan and post that plan on a lesson plan sharing website __________

3.            The copyright for material created by a teacher for use in school to teach students belongs to the institution ___________

4.            It is permissible for teacher to copy a school owned  VHS tape on to a DVD disk so that they may continue to use the material in class as the school switches from VCRs to DVD players__________

5.            It is not permissible to record student performances of copyrighted musical works and sell the recordings to parents ___________

6.            It is fair use for a teacher to make copies of pages of math problems from old workbooks to use as worksheets in their classroom __________

7.            Any image found in a Google image search may be used in any way by students for school projects ________

8.            After winning a state championship a football coach may create a season highlight video using Queen’s “We are the Champions” as the soundtrack and sell it to parents to raise money to send players to camp _______

9.            To protect your copyright you must file with the government before you post anything on the internet.  Otherwise anyone may use what you created without your permission.  _________

10.          Something called the Sonny Bono Act has extended copyright protection to corporate authored works to 120 years.  This is also referred to the as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act. __________

11.          When a school is found to have multiple violations of federal copyright law the Media Specialist is beaten with sticks by FBI agents in front of the school at high noon.  _________

21 teachers responded to the quiz.  (correct responses are listed with the number of respondents who answered thus)

1.       19 answered true

2.       17 answered false

3.       18 answered true

4.       7 answered false

5.       15 answered false

6.       10 answered false

7.       17 answered false

8.       16 answered false

9.       18 answered false

10.   9 answered true

11.   Several recommend true and further punishment as well.

I believe the questions 4 and 6 indicate the level of willful indifference to copyright that most teachers practice at times.  Those questions are the subject of the most frequent circumnavigation of copyright practiced by teachers.  Question 4 is about conversion of formats of owned materials.  Teachers often just shrug it off when I explain that they do not have the right to convert formats.  I turn a blind eye to it even though I know that violation is fairly common.  It is not the role of the Media Specialist to be the copyright cop - acting as one tends to interfere with good communication necessary to to me to do my job in other areas of my job.  Question 6 is more of an old school issue but still widely practiced violation.  When teachers are told there is no money for curricular materials they adapt by playing fast and loose with the law. 


CREATIVE COMMONS

Below is the screen shot of the Creative Commons copyright for the Rockford HS Library webpage.

Thing 7

http://rockfordhslibrary.weebly.com/index.html

Creating a web presence is very useful in providing library services.  I have had a webpage devoted to student research needs for some time now.  I took the opportunity in this exercise to create a web page for teaching staff that directs them to technology and web tools that they would find useful as they work with students. 

Library web pages are indeed very useful but there is a liability or two in establishing that presence.  The first of which is creating an overly elaborate or too full page.  It has been my experience that simple is better.  Too many links can confuse the user.  Difficult navigation is another liability to avoid.  Burying a website inside a larger website such as a school district site is common example of this.  If it can’t easily be found then it might as well be invisible.  Library web pages should foster access to materials and tools.  They augment the information literacy skills the media specialist is actively teacher students and staff.  The webpage presence should not supplant the media specialist.  It should foster user confidence in building skills in information literacy.  It should be a portal to the tools that in conjunction with the media specialist the user is prepared to utilize to maximize their ability. 

The page that I set up has a target audience of staff but it could be easily adapted to the student audience.  One of the features that a webpage lacks is element of the reference interview.  When I interact with students I work with them to define what their information need is and what sources might best fit their need.  A webpage is rather static in comparison.  It does not adjust to the nuances of shifting understanding.  Webpages can’t brainstorm or idea map with students.  Therefore the webpage is a tool that comes into play after the primary teaching has taken place. 

21 Things Portfolio Capstone Reflection For things 1-7

The role of Media Specialist requires service two distinct but very interconnected clients within the school setting.  Both are of equal importance.  The library services both students and staff.  As a Media Specialist I work with both clients.  In working with staff I am actually servicing both.  As I work to maximize staff information literacy and increase their expertise as information seekers and users I know that they in turn use these skills to impact the students they are charged to educate.  Towards that end for this capstone review of the first third of 21 Things I will focus primarily on how I will use what I have learned to assist classroom teachers in my building/district.

I am looking forward to sharing what I have learned with the teaching staff in my building.  I have already shared information about Moodle and Jing with staff members.   The model for this role out is one of selecting key staff members who are actively seeking new tools to infuse into their daily practices.  A more wide spread introduction and training will follow.  The model that works best in my experience is to identify specific needs of individual staff members and then to work with them one on one to meet those needs.  There tends to be a disconnect from information released widely with little follow up individually.  Mass demonstrations tend to be viewed by many classroom teachers as just so much noise.

In reviewing Marzano and the NETS standards I feel the strongest message I can bring to my staff is one focusing on diversified learning and reaching students with multiple strategies.  With this also is information on how they can maximize their efforts in course material management/access and achieve diversified assessments.  As I have already presented to many of them Google Docs and seen some adoption of that tool I can expect that where they will best respond will be to the tools that they can master quickly and apply ASAP. 

One of the key obstacles to overcome will be to test the new tools and see whether or not they are compatible with the district’s operational technology.  There will be some campaigning needed to get clearance from OPTECH to allow for some of these tools to be accessed and utilized.   Then I will have to work with individual teachers training them and brainstorming where they can best apply these new tools. 

The tool I have the most hope for in the first seven 21 things module is Jing.  The video capture element will be very helpful to teachers who have subjects where student have a high level need for constant assistance on individualized projects.  I have already the media production teacher ready to try Jing.  Also there is some interest in the foreign language department for use in reinforcement learning exercises – most likely as a quick reference on pronunciation and usage.   This aligns with Marzano’s point on the use of technology as a homework and practice aid for students.  Learning going on outside of the classroom 24/7 is enhanced for the student using tools such as Jing. 

Another program that I hope to share with teachers is Read-Write-Think.  The need for quality lesson plans involving writing prompts is an ongoing dialogue I have with English teachers.  We are in agreement that students master writing as a way of learning to think critically and expansively.  Tying the active writing skills with enhances the skill of organizing their thinking.  Marzano stresses reinforcement of paired skills like writing and organizing thoughts through the use of various programs that require both.  Towards that end I would like to see what graphic organizers are being used with students a prewriting tool and explore with staff how to locate and utilize the best available online tools for that practice.

Classroom application

I am planning to use Google docs with in conjunction with a teacher to have student complete a group assignment.  We have many teachers who have a research assignment that requires a group produce either a written document or presentation/debate.  We will set up the students in group and require as part of their assessment that they submit a work via Google docs.  Tracking of participation and assessing individual contributions by tracking who added what and when.  This aligns with Michigan Curriculum Standard English Strand 1.  Specifically strands 1.1, 1.4 and 1.5.  Fostering the writing process, inquiry and research and finished products. 

Thing 6

Hoax websites

http://www.bigredhair.com/boilerplate/intro.html


The credibility of websites is something I have been teaching for many years.  Several of the websites listed by Joyce Valenza are ones I have used in the past.  Boilerplate the Victorian robot is a clever site which to most viewers is very well done.  Using the CARDSS evaluation process, though, most students would be able to discredit the site.  Paul Guinan is the creator of the site but the fact that his address is something called Bigredhair.com should call into the question of his credibility.As far as accuracy it is difficult to fault the internal references but most of the links can be traced back to the creator.  Independent verification is lacking.  Reliability lacks because a simple review of the creator's resume in robotics will show he is not a source of legitimate information - nor does he have credentials as a Victorian era historian.  Guinan's self biography shows that his background is in graphic arts.  Relevance is a little tricky because of the fact that the history of robotics is topical but the technology gap between what robots are capable of doing today as compared to the story of this supposed early robot show clear gaps in the feasibility of the claims.  The original date of publication is 2000 with an update in 2011 -so it is an active and maintained site.  The main source behind the Boilerplate is Robots of the Victorian Era page - created by the same author.   The creator of the Robot does not pass examination - Archibald Campion is fictitious.  A critical viewing of the content of the page and the material linked to the page shows the scope and purpose to be one of comic intent and a little bit of marketing thrown in.  The site is intended to entertain not to inform of real events or people.

http://www.codoh.com/revisionist/tr03butzhr.html


The second selection is not at all of comic value and in fact perpetuates a crime against humanity.  It is a holocaust denial site.  It is hosted/created by the Committee For Open Debate on the Holocaust and it's founder - one Bradley Smith.  A search on Google makes it apparent that Smith's record of Holocaust denial is well known.  The Accuracy of the claims made at the site are highly questionable.  There is no legitimate mainstream historical source that lends creditability to the basis of the claims and it flies in the face of long established statistics and the historical record produced by decades of investigation.  The lead article on the first page is posted by Arthur Butz whose credentials are that he is a associate professor of electrical engineering.  His reliability is questionable as a historical researcher.  As an example of revisionist history it is relevant as a thoroughly documented account of the holocaust it is dubious.  Most 'facts' are cherry picked and presented in questionable context.  The lead article is from 1993 but since this is a historical examination that is not an issue the remainder of he site appears to be active and up to date.  The author of the site presents the site as one of fostering debate.  The materials that support his claims seem to either be self generated or borrow from the Holocaust denial publishing industry.  The scope and purpose of the site is to provoke a response from  legitimate historians researching the holocaust and also to perpetuate antisemitism.  Through a call for open debate the creator strives to gain legitimacy by baiting mainstream researchers into a debate on his dubious beliefs and facts.


Upon reflection the two examples of bogus/hoax websites reviewed here are on the opposite sides of the spectrum on false and misleading sources available on the general web.  The comical Boilerplate website is fun and clever.  The Revisionist is a very bleak example at best of the insidious nature of the web.  In a wide open marketplace of ideas with no real gate keeping going on it is easy to float out the blatantly untrue and to seek legitimacy by trapping the reader under the pretext that a manufactured controversy is just as real as true history.  Snopes does not list either page as a hoax.  It does take a bit of prying to divine what the pages are really about.  To the casual or less than cautious pages such as these can pass enough muster to be accepted as legit.  Students tend to casual users so it is up to teachers to instill skepticism.


Acceptable Use

At RHS library staff are the coordinators of Acceptable Use Policy clearance.  We maintain the files and process the paperwork submitted.  It is a huge undertaking for a building of 2000 students.  One of the things that I regularly do is orientate new students to the policies and procedures re AUP.  I remind all students that they are being monitored and that they will be held accountable for their actions while in the school setting and using school equipment.  Unfortunately this also makes me a key part of the Internet police forces at Rockford.  Periodically I do have to revoke privileges because of misconduct.  It is a fine line between promoting usage but also limiting the students access to insure that inappropriate usage does not occur.  The Child Internet Protection Act is guidepost in our policy and procedures.  Not every aspect of that law is compatible with concepts of the American Library Association Freedom to Read policies and as a member of the ALA I balance my professional code of ethics with the necessity to be CIPA compliant in the school setting. 

Cyber Bullying

Awareness is always being taught on bullying of any nature at my school.  I find that by paying attention in the library to the conversations of students that I can sometimes head off potential bullying. The library is a public space and students often forget there are adult staff members present.  It is not policy to eavesdrop on students but when presented with a blatant violation of AUP (it does cover bullying online) we have to take action.  I have found that special education students in particular find themselves involved in this as both victim and bully.  They often lack the wherewithal to understand what their digital footprint is likely to reveal.  I make it a practice to consult with those students early on when I see that they are drifting into trouble online.  I also work with special ed. staff to make sure the message is getting out.  Still, at least two times a year we have a case where either there is bullying going on or a student has made themselves vulnerable on the web.  You can never assume that kids will get the message the first time or even the second.  All too often it becomes a serial behavior and then we have to restrict use and limit access to computers.