Evaluation and Assessment

Woolls Ch. 13 "On the Job: Managing Program Evaluation and Assessment"

Evaluating your students' learning can seem threatening, while measuring their learning seems less so.  But is assigning grades as effective a method of evaluation?  I do not think grades are as effective.  Grades are often given based off a checklist of requirements, and are a black and white measure.  Evaluation can be so much more comprehensive, letting the student demonstrate his engagement with the material, as well as his eventual mastery of the material..  In class recently we have talked about using badges for evaluation.  The great thing about badges is that they can be given for mastering a skill, and the student then has that physical representation of success. Whereas a grade is only a mark on a paper, clearly marking out whether the student has succeeded or failed.

Woolls talks about how library program evaluation can be assessed by observing rapport between students and staff, surveying staff on how relevant the collections were to their needs, and continuously undertaking the process of program evaluation.  After all, if you only evaluate the program if under pressure of losing your job, what does that say about your job as librarian?  Always be aware of reporting to your principal about your evaluation processes, so that he knows you are taking your job seriously.

Mueller, J.  (2005) Authentic assessment in the classroom…and the library media center.” Library media connection 23(7), 14-18. 

In his article, Mueller discusses the need for assessment to go beyond what students know to how students assess and engage their knowledge.  Students need to develop tools to evaluate their learning.  Mueller says that if teaching something is worth pursuing, then it is also worth assessing to make sure the students grasped the concepts.  

Todd, R.J. (2003). School libraries and evidence: Seize the day. Library media connection 22(1), 12-18.

The beginning of Ross' article is pretty neat.  He talks about a school librarian from Australia who quite effectively captured her passion in the role of a school librarian.  This librarian talks about being at the forefront of information technology and teaching it to students, as well as collaborating with teachers to design best lesson plans.  I think this is cool because right away it demonstrates that with technology in today's world, school librarians around the world have so much going for them because they can keep in touch with each other and discuss best methods of assessment.  Ross goes on to say that evidence is the new best friend of librarians.  When presented effectively, evidence can really shed light on the importance of the school librarian's role as teacher.

Young, T. (2005). “Better data … better decisions.”  Library media connection 23(4), 14-19.

Young discusses the importance of collecting data to improve the services of your library media center.  I think this article is very important, because it asks the reader to assess what kind of data to collect in order to meet his/her library's needs.  Thinking back to our school library defense project, I remember that one of the big studies on the importance of school libraries was actually insignificant because the data was not actually relevant to the issue at hand.  When gathering data about your library program, you really need to make sure that your data is relevant to the points you are trying to make.  You also need to make sure that your data is presented in a logical and meaningful way.  If data is effectively gathered and presented, it can really serve to benefit your library media program.

Overall Thoughts

From the readings today I have concluded that truly effective assessment takes a lot of work.  Although not as effective, grading is less time consuming.  But in the long run, an effective form of assessment could quite possibly be the deal-breaker when it comes to keeping school libraries alive.  Also, a well-designed assessment strategy will probably lead to more passion for the job.  If you care so much about your program, you will continue to assess it in order to make it better.

Class 13

In class last week we chatted with Debbie Abilock about online evaluation for students.  In the midst of discussing TRAPS, Debbie asked us how young we should teach students about online website evaluation.  She also placed before us the idea of starting as young as 2nd grade, and asking these students to identify the WHO and WHY of a website.  Personally, I think this is a great idea.  Technology and the internet are becoming very prevalent, and students are going to need to know how to navigate and evaluate the internet.  If we start students as young as second grade to start evaluating websites, then these second graders will have a basic foundation upon which to build more complex concepts.  This way, as we also discussed in class, we can begin developing the second graders' understanding of terminology relating to website evaluation.

The second half of class we discussed budgeting.  One of the tips discussed was to make sure you always have a wish list handy, because if the principal has extra slush money, he may very well take it to the library, and you will have a day to decide what to do with it.  I thought it was interesting that school libraries tend to have the largest unrestricted funds in the school.  This means that librarians can be more flexible in spending, yet I wonder if at the same time it is more difficult for them to make purchases.  Say a librarian wants to purchase a few iPads for the library.  Will she have a more difficult time getting this through administration because it's a new idea that has not been implemented before in the school?  Finally, district-controlled money often needs to be spent by a certain date.  So basically budgeting keeps librarians on their toes.  They have to be 100% aware of how their money is coming and going.

Class 12

I have read some great blog posts in response to last week's class!  There's a lot of re-verifying the school librarian profession.  Folks have been discouraged about the future - finding a job, and keeping a job.  It is great to not only hear some optimism, but to read some fiery posts about passionately pursuing this career.  It is also wonderful to hear some great encouragement from fellow classmates.

In class last week we had an SI alum come speak with us, who is now working as a school librarian.  She was really upbeat, and had a great sense of humor.  I think our class really appreciated what she had to say, and that what she said was positive.  It has struck me that all the librarians we've visited have told us that we need to be flexible.  This visit was no exception, yet the spin was much more positive.  I think everyone left feeling better.

We also talked about intellectual freedom.  I think that while some schools may have no choice but to place filters on the internet based on certain restrictions, schools should try to keep their internet access as available as possible.  This way, teachers can teach their students how to deal with iffy online sites, and then the students will be prepared when they encounter other iffy material while outside school.  Also, if teachers respect the students' ability to decide for themselves whether content is acceptable or not, students will be more likely to take this responsibility upon themselves, especially if trusted when younger.

The Week's Readings

Blog Series: Johnson, D. (2009). Budgeting for learn, mean times.

Good budgeting is essential.  Usually a school has at least one program that is particularly well funded, and Johnson argues that with expert budgeting, this funded program could be the school library.  Also, the internet as a free resource does not replace print resources, but rather online and print resources complement each other.  Make sure you know and believe in your library's mission - this will ensure your drive to obtain funds for your library.  Also make sure you understand how your district's budget operates, and who controls the budget.  As you budget for your library, understand that you will report to someone else on how you spent your money.  Develop an advisory board to help, get involved in school meetings, local meetings, or politics for advocacy purposes.  Also use technology when crafting budgets - spreadsheets, word processors, and presentations can all help!

There's a lot to deal with when developing and maintaining a budget!  I think that lists are very important.  Lists are important for you to keep track of money you spend and to keep track of new areas to spend money on.  Lists are also important when presenting your budget to somebody else - you won't forget how or why you spent the money you did, and you can show exactly where the money is going.  I also liked the idea of the advisory board.  This is another excellent opportunity to take advantage of talent in your school community, collaborate with those folks, and advocate for your program.

Woolls Ch. 7+9

In these chapters, Woolls discusses how to manage personnel and how to manage your budget.  When managing your personnel, Woolls suggests that volunteers might actually take more management skills than paid staff.  Volunteers are paid by personal appreciation, they require more training and direction, and correcting their actions requires lots of tact.  All true.  I was surprised that Woolls also points out that as the school librarian you might have to help train the teachers.  I think this could either set the librarian immediately up for success or failure, depending on new teachers' first impressions.  Overall, Woolls says that to motivate your staff at its most basic requires listening to their input and developing enough tasks to keep them engaged.

When it comes to managing the budget, Woolls spends a lot of time on grant writing.  I am currently taking the grant writing class in the School of Social Work.  I always enjoy when classes line up to complement each other.  In our grant writing class, we just finished writing our grants two weeks or so ago.  The grant proposal is not a lengthy document, but it takes a lot of thought and preparation.  Every section in the grant needs to directly correlate to make a cohesive whole to even stand a chance of catching a grant funder's eye.  Even though grant writing is a lot of work, the benefits can sure pay off.

From Coatney - "Leadership and your professional school organization" by Blanche Woolls

In her essay, Woolls discusses the importance of becoming involved in a professional school library association.  Should you become an officer (which Woolls reminds us is a privilege) you must become familiar with the organization's rules.  You have to know how to organize and lead groups, and how to meet and talk with media.  I'm wondering how many school librarians do have an encounter with the media at some point in their careers?  Woolls also says that leadership may be as simple as writing a letter to the editor, or submitting an article for publication.  Most importantly, school librarians must remain aware of what is happening in the field.  Finally, in order to attend conferences, you must be able to state your case about why it is important to attend that conference.  All of the above demonstrates your dedication to school libraries.

From the School Libraries eBook: "'Filled with Heart': Characteristics of 21st-century School Librarians," by Michael Stephens

This brief essay seemed fitting to address our recent conversations about the toughness needed to be a school librarian.  School librarians are fighting for their jobs, and it can seem draining and hopeless.  And then we have a reminder like this one that successful librarians are "filled with heart."  In fact, each of Stephens' points seem to suggest that the librarian is just as much of a scholar as her students.  Successful 21st-century librarians are barrier breakers, changing perceptions about the school library; they're curious, wondering about how the outside world can change their school programs; learners, researching how other methods can shape their own programs; they think big, seeing the big picture and not getting caught up in the day to day; learners, in the lifelong sense; and persistent, always looking to positively and actively represent their programs.  Through all this, they are "filled with heart" - they empathize with and look to advance their fellow mankind.  Wow - now there's a positive for school librarians!

Brief Reflection

The readings for this week all have something in common, which would be that adults play a major role in determining youth's online freedom and privacy.  The school librarian of course teaches intellectual freedom and privacy.  At home, parents also have a say in their children's time spent online.  Since this is the case, I think it is very important for adults to be on the same page about what they are teaching their children.  The school librarian should take care to inform parents about what their children are learning in the library classroom.  This can be accomplished via email or classroom newsletter.  Also, making sure that the school librarian keeps parents up to date will establish and continue to foster positive parent relationships with the librarian.  Parents will be more likely to appreciate and stand up for the school librarian, and the librarian will be a more effective teacher when teaching with the support of the parents.  When collaborating in educating their youth in online freedom and privacy, adults must be careful to balance online dangers with online possibilities.  Youth must be educated in the technologies of today to keep current, while understanding that there are some issues to be aware of, such as being mindful of posting content under their online accounts.

Freedom and Privacy

Coatney - "Intellectual Freedom" by Helen R. Adams, pg. 43-66
School librarians have a high level of responsibility when it comes to intellectual freedom.  They have to maintain their knowledge about this topic, so that enforcing rules and teaching online freedom and privacy are relevant and up to date.  A lot of what the school librarian does is just provide access and protect the students' right to that access.  This comes into play when parents and/or law conflicts with educating students in today's technology and online tools.  When developing the library collection as a whole, the school librarian must censor herself to not prejudice against any library materials that students may need access to.  The librarian must also set up a solid challenge procedure for when library materials are challenged by students and parents.  This includes planning ahead, keeping the principal informed, forming a reconsideration committee, and knowing how to respond to the media.  In all this, it is most beneficial to the school librarian to build positive relationships and gather support from administration, staff, and parents, so that when the fight comes, the librarian has plenty of back up.

Knowledge Quest, Vol. 39, No. 1, "Teens and Privacy: Myths and Realities" by Francis Jacobson Harris, pg. 74-79
In her article, Harris draws attention the fact that adults are more concerned about the external threats to teen privacy online.  For example, adults worry about sexual predators, and "technopanic," or teens' lack of knowledge about external threats online.  Teens themselves worry more about how they stand in regards to their peers.  In reality, privacy threats are often more direct, including emailing, messaging, and chat, all of which teens are typically smart to avoid an unknown source. Teens should also be more concerned with possible online privacy when it comes to applying for jobs or schools.  Adult figures should teach teens that potential admissions officers or employers can make decisions based on teens' Facebook pictures and other social media sites.  Since social media sites are now a part of teens' lives, school librarians are aptly placed to address these issues.  School librarians can look at school filtering policies, consider alternatives such as mobile devices, online gaming communities, and virtual worlds, and teach safety training that "reflects reality and enables students to develop positive digital footprints to enhance rather than limit future opportunities" (Harris, 78).

Knowledge Quest, Vol. 39, No. 1, "'Tag! You're It!' Playing on the Digital Playground" by Diane de Las Casas, pg. 80-82
Unlike the outdoor playground-loving youth of yesterday, today's youth spend most of their free time using technological devices.  Since her daughter has her own cooking videos and website, de Las Casas monitors her daughter's online presence.  However, schools do not have the same ease in monitoring their students - online access is ruled by district policy and federal and state law.  This results in a battle over online access in pitting teaching technology skills against technology safety and privacy.  As a result, schools should make sure to tailor access appropriately each to the elementary, middle, and high school.  Just like on the playground, adults should teach children to explore and play, while simultaneously teaching them how to play safe.

Class 11

Last class we went to visit another elementary school library.  My first impression was that there were so many books that fit into the smaller space.  The library was set up in a hotdog shape as opposed to a hamburger shape.  This meant that the students began class in one area and then moved to another area to continue their lesson, which may have been helpful in getting some of the squirreliness out.  We sat with the students as they worked on their online comic projects, and then came together as a class after the students left.

The topic of the day was professional development.  I believe that professional development is very important.  It keeps you up to date on what is current and new in the profession, and it keeps you in contact with fellow professionals in the field.  This encourages the exchange of new ideas and best practices.  It is too bad that some folks do not see the value in professional development, resulting in attending events only to gather the required hours for the session.  Also, leadership of professional development conferences needs to be strong to gather support and continuation of the event.  Only if the event is relevant and meaningful to the folks there will it be considered important enough to keep.  When all parts of the professional development puzzle work together, such collaboration can be extremely beneficial to those in the field, if only because it makes us excited to be a part of that puzzle.

Class 10

In class last week we looked at everyone's book reviews.  There are some really cool online resources to take advantage of when publicizing an event or resource.  We saw some animated videos, slide presentations, and comic strips.  Even just in making videos, there are many sites to choose from, and so video styles can greatly vary, which is really nice when you make multiple videos that don't all look the same.  The only downside seemed to be that basic packages which are free don't often allow for a lot of content.  When I made my comic strip, I was only allowed 8 panels.   At first I thought this might be a problem until I realized those 8 boxes would be very time consuming, so I just narrowed down my content and went from there.  As it turns out, if you are forced to narrow down your content or time limit, perhaps your message will be much more succint, and your audience will be more willing to free up time to watch or read. 

We also went shopping for technology - specifically interactive whiteboard with computer vs. document camera, printer, computer, iPad, and projector.  The second option was the cheaper.  Plus it would be really cool to have students use the technology as well, which means the second option is also the more flexible.  It is really important, as we discovered, to take advantage of all options available to get the most bang for your buck, and as it turns out, a better deal!

MAME Conference

The Michigan Association for Media in Education held their conference at the University of Michigan School of Information this past Saturday.  Presenters spoke about what video games have to teach us about learning, creating an information literacy scavenger hunt, and using cell phones in classrooms.  

Barry Fishman was great, as usual, talking about how video games can inform our educational practices.  A couple things that are interesting about this: when kids play video games, they are excited for new challenges, and they are OK with failing.  In fact, they even attempt to fail in order to figure out the parameters of the game and see how they can better complete the task at hand.  If only students could feel free to fail in school in order to connect with the material better.  This way students would also probably be more excited about learning, when they are not focused on getting a good grade.

Meggan's and Jill's workshop on the information literacy scavenger hunt went well.  I helped four librarians around campus, and they were pretty willing to engage in the tasks.  I was also impressed how many of them had iPhones.  Meggan and Jill did a very good job going through how to make the scavenger hunt online, and most of the audience was following along, making their own hunts for their schools.

The cell phone talk was the most interesting to me, because it was my first time hearing the information presented.  How cool that you can create "cells" for classes online and conduct polls and other classroom activities all online.  Also, to have students call in and leave messages online is a great way for students to have easy access to the teacher without the teacher giving away his personal phone number.  I did talk to two teachers about this afterward, and they both said it was an interesting idea, but they would never use cell phones in the classroom - they explained that as soon as students would receive this privilege, they would find a way to abuse it.  

Class 9

We met at the Brandon Center in the School of Education.  It was quite the impressive space, with multiple areas for collaboration and a free drink machine.  If SI had a lounge like that, I would be in there all the time.  The Brandon Center was a suitable space for our discussion on technology.  With a large touch screen, and a sound system, we were perfectly equipped to explore some technology standards, new technology such as the Raspberry Pi, and examples of student work using technology.

The student projects on Glogster were really interesting.  On the one hand, I was impressed that students enjoyed the technology enough to create posters on geography outside of school.  On the other hand, the students were having a hard time with the amount and type of content they placed on their online posters.  The content was mainly copy/pasted from other websites, and there were no clear labels as to what links led where.  The librarian really has her work cut out for her when teaching learning with understanding, especially if the students have previously only completed projects such as these examples from Glogster.

The Raspberry Pi is a neat little thing - just a computer that you can plug into a monitor, mouse, and keyboard.  But it has a lot of uses!  First, kids can see what a computer looks like, and that it is not magic, but a machine.  This may make the computer seem less scary.  Also, Raspberry Pis are cheap.  Schools can keep their old monitors for students to plug their Raspberry Pis into, and this would cost a lot less for those schools struggling financially.  Second, this little computer can do a lot - including programming, such as Scratch for kids.  I think kids would also enjoy having their own little portable computer, and yet parents can still exert control - such as unplugging their kid from the monitor before bed.

Staff Development

The first thing that struck me in the "Teachers and Librarians Collaborate in Lesson Study" article by Linda Bilyeu was the mention that this method of Lesson Study is core in Japanese schools.  This made me very curious about school librarians in other countries.  How do school librarians across the world compare?  Are they valued differently by their schools?  Do their teaching methods vary greatly across countries?  Do other countries even have school librarians?

The second interesting thing about this article was that teachers take a whole day for Lesson Study.  I think this is a great way to really delve in and think deeply about one lesson plan.  Teachers have enough varying activities throughout the day - planning, observing, and reflecting - to hold their attention, and yet all these activities funnel into making one lesson plan the best it can be.  And most importantly, such a group effort really creates an opportunity for collaboration, in which all teachers, including the librarian, are placed on the same level to help each other with the lesson plan.

As I began reading the Bishop and Janczak article, "Conducting Effective Staff Development Workshops," it seemed to immediately bring up the question of how to balance staff development with regular teaching.  In the midst of a lot of teaching, can it be difficult to justify staff development at the expense of more teaching? The article does eventually get to that question, but only to point out how to advertise the workshop.  Perhaps the article should also make a point of justifying how teachers can stand to take time out of teaching - for example, because they will gain skills to better equip them for teaching.  Otherwise, the article was really informative, talking about all the prep work for a great staff development workshop.

I thought the most interesting piece from the Gilmore-See essay in Coatney's book about the librarian's role in staff development (probably because we just talked about technology in class) was about the librarian as technology trainer.  Because the librarian is most likely to have and teach technology in her library, she is responsible for keeping up to date with new technologies, and probably also for purchasing most of the software and hardware for the school.  I think this is a great role for the librarian.  She needs to stay on top of technology to provide her students with the best education in information literacy.  But she can also keep her staff up to date.  Perhaps this is a solid reason why librarians are so important - they keep current, and they are adaptable to change, whether in technology or otherwise.

Elevator Speech

Based on "A Place for Electric Gaming in Libraries?" by David Meyer
From the book School Libraries: What’s Now, What’s Next, What’s Yet To Come

Mr. Brown, high school teacher: Do you have a minute to discuss our plans for Tuesday's class?
Me: Sure! One sec, just finishing up here...
Mr. Brown: Oh, I see you have some computer games out...? 
Me: Yes, some students stayed after school yesterday to play some games - unfortunately they didn't pick up after themselves.  But hey, the library was getting used!
Mr. Brown: You let students play these kind of computer games here?  Can't they do that at home?
Me: Well, gaming and education can really complement each other.  While playing electronic games, students have to plan and problem solve, sometimes under time constraints.  Also, gaming is a social activity, which means students are learning about how to win and lose, fair play, sportsmanship, and teamwork.  And they get to do it with their friends!
Mr. Brown: Hmmm.
Me: You don't seem convinced.  You know, gaming also includes an element of play, in which kids just have fun while developing planning skills and problem solving.  This is rather like all those science experiments you design for those students in biology and chemistry.  And you know how students like to hang out in your classroom after school, letting their curiosity guide their learning while experimenting for themselves?  This is kind of the same thing.  In fact, there could even be some games out there that could benefit your science program.  Would you like me to look into it for you?
Mr. Brown: Well, it couldn't hurt...sure, if you have the time.  I'd be curious to see what you come up with.
Me: No problem.  Shall we talk about Tuesday's class next?

Class 8

This past class we skyped with Peg Sullivan, a consultant for school library design.  She spoke about the AEIOUs of design:

A - Activities
Design the library around the activities that occur there.  If students want to eat, make sure the place has wipe-able surfaces and perhaps tile floors (as opposed to carpet).  If students want to study, make sure there are private and group study areas.  Just make sure the space caters to the activities it houses.

E - Environment
What sort of environment should your library facilitate?  Calm and soothing?  Bold and bright?  Care must be taken when choosing colors, shapes, and artwork.

I - Interactions
The library is a place or interactions.  How will you promote these social interactions in your library design?  Perhaps you can situate furniture accordingly, and make sure that your office is easily accessible for students and teachers.

O - Objects
What objects will be in your library - furniture? technology? desks? shelves? displays?  I think to the libraries we have visited which displayed student artwork, and how nice it was that the artwork was brought in from another discipline showing that the library is a place for all disciplines.  Also the displayed artwork enables students to take ownership of the library.

U - Users
Always focus on the users and their needs.  Users include students, but also parents, school administrators, and fellow teachers.

And last, but certainly not least, ensure the library is set up for growth.

Technology

The blog Free Technology for Teachers seems like a great place to glean new ideas about using and gaining new technology for the classroom.  First, it is a blog for all teachers, not just school librarians.  This means that school librarians can not only use the blog for their own purposes, but they can see how all teachers in all subject areas are making use of technology.  This may help when school librarians wish to collaborate with their fellow teachers in the school.  Second, this blog not only highlights new technology, but it gives tutorials on how to use the technology.

In the NETS (National Educational Technology Standards) for Students (2007), point #5 is "Digital Citizenship."  When I was in elementary and high school, I was never taught this stuff.  To this day, I am still foggy on the legal use of technology.  I do appreciate that letter c. under Digital Citizenship is "demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning."  I find it interesting that "lifelong learning" is situated here - does this mean that lifelong learning is only in regard to digital citizenship?  I rather think it might belong under #1: "Creativity and Innovation," since this a more encompassing category to include the expansive "lifelong learning."  Also, in the teacher's NETS, lifelong learning isn't really mentioned under teaching Digital Citizenship to students.

As authors Fontichiaro, Moreillon, and Abilock point out in "How Do School Librarians Fit In?" the NETS*T maps to the "School Librarian's Bill of Responsibilities."  That's pretty neat - and shows that the roles of teachers and school librarians do line up.  This really promotes collaboration between the two...and perhaps does it sadly suggest that this is one area in which teachers could take over the role of the school librarian?

In her chapter "Pride and Prejudice and Technology Leadership," Fontichiaro writes that "the joyful core of technology leadership is deciding on an adventure, envisioning it, and then empowering others to see and share that vision" (102).  Approaching technology as an adventure is a good way to go about exploring it.  Technology is always changing and offers new landscapes to explore, as well as new buddies to explore it with.  An adventure can be partially planned, but travelers must be prepared for a bit of spontaneity.  Planning and evaluating new technologies is important so that teachers and librarians make sure the technology is educational.  Spontaneity is needed when the technology does not work the way you thought or wanted.  But if a new technology is fun and educational, then all the adventuring has paid off.  The technology can then be incorporated into (or even inspire) a lesson plan.

Class 7

Another field trip!  We went to the East Middle School library.  First we had a chance to look around a bit.  The library is divided into a couple sections.  One section has tables for individual students or groups of students to sit at.  Another section is a bank of computers that could seat a class.  The last section is enough tables to seat a class.  Around most of the perimeter of the library are bookshelves - fiction toward the front, and nonfiction towards the back.  As we wandered the collection, it appeared that much of the nonfiction was old.  However, the fiction was nice and new, and even had some books that I've been wanting to read.

We spent a lot of class talking about book fairs.  When I was young, the book fair was the best thing in the world.  My parents would actually give me money to buy a book.  It was so hard to choose just one.  But the process of choosing was so much fun.  Many librarians have bad experiences with book fairs, but the trouble is worth it for children who get excited about reading and choosing that one book to take home.

School Library Advocacy

It is great that AASL has given a guide for responding to a crisis.  Of course, AASL also points out in its "Crisis Toolkit" that it is always better to prepare for crisis prevention before the crisis, but for librarians who find themselves suddenly at the crisis point, this page provides some helpful tips as well as tools for further help.  When navigating through a crisis, it is important that librarians get as many folks on board with them as possible.  This includes people not in the librarian profession.  The more people to back up the importance of the library, the more likely the library will pull through the crisis.  When reaching out to these people, librarians must be sure to communicate their purpose effectively.

AASL also defines advocacy, public relations, and marketing on its site.  I really like the advocacy definition: "On-going process of building partnerships so that others will act for and with you, turning passive support into educated action for the library program."  This definition further reinforces AASL's point about making sure to always reach out to your library community in order to prevent crisis before it can happen.  The "educated action" bit is nice too - it ties in to the whole point that school libraries are there to provide the best education for their students.  Once the community is educated on the importance of the library, they will make sure the library continues to provide education for its students.

The AASL "School Library Program Health and Wellness Toolkit" is the place to go when taking measures to prevent the crisis in the first place.  AASL lists many additional resources on this page.  School librarians should really take a look at this page.  At the very least, school librarians will be made aware of how important it is to take action to make sure their library is important to its school community.  AASL certainly draws importance to the issue by dedicating several web pages to advocacy and crisis prevention.

In the article "How Does a Culture Mean?"  the authors discuss the importance of always being prepared with an elevator speech.  Such an attempt to promote the library could gain some very important relationships with fellow educators or other members of the school community.  Being prepared to speak about your library is important, but so is knowing when to take advantage of an opportunity to speak about your library.  The authors give an example of someone stopping by to reserve a room in the library.  The librarian skillfully turns the conversation into an opportunity for collaboration and promotion of the library.

The Coatney essay also mentions maintaining an online web presence, doling out grant writing responsibilities, getting involved in library committees, and participating in legislature.  All of the above are great opportunities to reach out to multiple folks at one time on behalf of the school library.  Grant writing especially will raise awareness - not only will grant writers get to know the school library really, really well, but funders will now also be made aware of the importance of the school library. 

Many of these tools for promoting advocacy are right online - librarians certainly have many tools at their fingertips!  We should take advantage of literature and other online resources to help promote our libraries.

Furniture, Color, and Overall Look Ideas

Here is a general idea of the furniture, color scheme, and overall look for my library media center:

http://pinterest.com/namuld/school-library-design/

School Library Media Center Design

Before:

After:

I wanted to get rid of the cross shape and open everything up.  I placed all the offices along the same wall, so that library staff would have easy access to each other.  Plus everyone has their own office.  The circulation desk is still in front of the librarian's office for easy access.  The librarian has a pretty clear line of sight to all areas of the library from the circulation desk.  In general, I kept like areas alike.  The bookshelves are all together, offices are together, techy areas together.  Hopefully this makes things easier to tidy up and put away.  Yet at the same time, all the areas should be easily accessed.

I got rid of a classroom, because it seemed unnecessary with 2 other potential classroom spaces.  I kept one classroom for a closed space, in case teachers needed to teach students in a quiet, uninterrupted area.  One of the laptop carts would be kept in this room at all times, yet laptops could remain on the cart until students watched any demonstration without distraction.

I also kept a workroom in case the library was the only place in the school for a conference area.  Otherwise this room could also be used for student group projects, meetings with parents, etc.  This would hopefully facilitate more collaboration with staff, parents, and students by bringing all into the library space.  The movable laptop cart could also be brought here.

With an unlimited budget, I decided that outlets would not be a problem.  Students could plug in laptops at any of those table areas, which are all located along walls.

Speaking of furniture,  the intent is that all furniture is on wheels.  The small tables can be moved around.  The classroom rectangular tables can also be moved.  This means that if the library holds a meeting, all the furniture can be utilized for seating in the center common area.  The common area is pretty wide open for this purpose.

Overall, the main points for the new media center:

1. Open, flexible, and portable design.

2. Focus on technology.

3. Public and private areas available.

4. Promotes collaboration with students and staff.

Class 6

When we looked at the Technology Plan for the Ann Arbor Public Schools, I was impressed by the amount of detail, including budget, kinds of technology, curriculum, collaboration, and professional development.  Even the appendices took up a good chunk of the document - about half of the pages.  So much planning!  It must take so much time to come up with such a solid document, yet then you reap the benefits.  You have written documentation of what your plan is, and there is not much left up to the air.  Everyone is on the same page.

We also talked about designing the school library media center.  The image of the completely red space in the Seattle Public Library makes me nervous.  When analyzing children's literature, isn't the color red for anger?  I'm not sure the library needs to make its patrons on edge with such a bold color covering every surface.  So I really do think that color schemes are important.  Also, electrical outlets need to be placed strategically.  Just the other day, I watched the tech guy run around the library with extra power strips because there were not enough outlets in the furniture/study area.  I myself have been annoyed when I finally find a free table in the library only to discover that there is no outlet nearby.

Collaboration Like Motown

Preddy talks about school librarians taking a cue from Motown.  Lead singers Diana Ross and Smokey Robinson were good, but they needed their backup singers to fill out the sound.  Likewise, school librarians need collaboration for a complete teaching experience.  Librarians should collaborate with teachers and students - and whoever is best at the task at hand takes the lead, while everyone else backs them up.  In such a model, communication is important!  Everyone involved must be sure to respond in a timely manner.  I think this is a great analogy for collaboration.  It does not place more emphasis on the librarian or the teacher, but instead both use their postitions and gifts to the benefit of the team.

Marcoux mentions that collaborating in schools is really good for the novice teacher.  As we graduate and become teachers in the field, collaboration really does become really important.  My roommate who is a teacher started at her school a year ago, and that first year she really valued her relationship with her mentor teacher.  Viewing this more as collaboration, rather than I-have-more-experience-than-you-so-listen-to-me, may be better appreciated by the novice librarian.

Todd's point no. 5 for collaboration is to plan with mutuality of intent.  When you collaborate with others, it is best if everyone has the same end goal.  This hopefully means that everyone feels strongly about achieving the end goal, and will work harder to attain it.  This could also mean that everyone involved will set aside any differences, be open to new ideas, and bring their own unique thoughts to the table.

Roles of the School Librarian

Class 5

Field trip to visit a school library in action!  School librarian Julie taught a first grade class in the library, and we observed as she read the students I Want My Hat Back.  First, Julie asked the students what animal they thought was the main character.  Once it was established it was a bear, Julie proceeded to read the book, asking students questions along the way to keep them engaged.  Since the first graders were learning rhyming words in class, Julie asked them to come up with words that rhyme with hat.  Students illustrated their own covers with the bear wanting his (insert rhyming word) back.  Students were also able to check out books from the library, and it was great fun watching the flurry of excited activity as students raced to find good books.  In particular, there were two boys who knew right where the military books were, and even though the books were too old for first graders, those boys were sure excited to page through the pictures.

Such excitement was refreshing to watch.  In my travels through graduate school, learning does not excite me as it used to.  It was so good to watch kids excited about books, comfortably using the library space, happily interacting with the librarian and with each other, and learning in the process.

School Library Design

"Planning considerations for library media center facilities"
In terms of seating, Baule says that the 10 percent rule of the students body no longer applies.  Instead, libraries should be able to seat 2 classes at once, with a bit of extra seating for drop-in students and small groups.  Libraries should not waste space on study halls or seating that does not get used, especially with wireless laptops getting used in classrooms.

Also, Baule thinks the school library should have its own outside entrance, since events are often held in the school library.  This way students and parents have easy access to learning materials.

"Library media center facilities access"
There are so many details that go into planning a school library, such as what colors to paint your walls.  I would not have thought much about this, but it is true - colors must be chosen that create the atmosphere you are looking for.  Trendy colors must not become dated in 10 years.  Also, we talked in class about having a line of sight control, and I can see where this is important.  The librarian should be able to monitor the students' behavior.  Finally, this article mentions climate control.  When thinking about the school library, monitoring the temperature does not come first to my mind, yet it makes sense - after all, this is still a library housing books and other materials.  Librarians still must take care to maintain and preserve their school library collections.

"Divine design"
Margaret Sullivan offers many examples of what the school library media center should look like, including movable furniture, wireless technology, and numerous electrical outlets.  She also mentions to make sure that natural sunlight does not take over to make screens and projections harder to see.  All this is good - however, when I got to the final point, #5, I was surprised.  Sullivan makes a case for ensuring students still spend time outdoors.  A school library should not dismiss the idea of an outdoor reading patio.  After all the movable furniture and advanced technology talk, all of a sudden she advocates the great outdoors.  Is an outdoor reading patio entirely effective when half the school year it is winter outside (especially in northern states)?  The outdoors is not conducive to screens, or recharging, or concentration.  Anyways, the great outdoors, while still important for recess, may not be as important specifically to the school library.

I love the comparison of the library to the home kitchen.  Libraries are meant to be lived and worked in.  Librarians should not be afraid to get messy (or let their students get messy) in the library.

"There is knowledge to be gained"
In his article, Todd talks about the design of the library media center not as a physical space for information, but rather as a "physical and virtual learning commons."  It is here that students come to practice learning with inquiry and use their imaginations to discover new things.  Therefore, the library should be a place of intellectual quality.  Back to our ordering a school librarian tasks a couple weeks ago, I remember I placed the task of creating a rigorous learning environment near the top of the list.  I am happy to see it placed near the top of this list as well.

Woolls Ch. 6
Woolls says that school librarians should take before and after pictures to document the changes in their school library media center.  This way, they can go back to pinpoint exactly what worked and what didn't work.  They can also share their discoveries with other school librarians.  Before entirely rebuilding a school library, Woolls also says that librarians should consider how to remodel their existing space, or else relocate to a more appropriate room somewhere else in the school.

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Overall, much thought goes into the planning of the physical space of the school library.  Libraries must be fully functional, purposeful, pleasing to the eye, and adaptable across time.  This will enable the library to best meet the physical and academic needs of the students.

Moving Forward

Now that our class has attempted to define the school librarian, what comes next?  The school librarian must always be up to date with the times and thinking about how to better library services to meet the needs of students.  For example, one school district decided to completely revamp their library curriculum, and standardize it across the district.  The librarians in this district spent a lot of time in meetings discussing how to change their curriculum.  It was great that these librarians took the time to first come up with what they thought was important to teach their students, before they adopted the model which would best fit their needs.

The type of curriculum being adopted is centering around learning with inquiry, in which students can drive their own learning based off their questions.  The inquiry process includes questioning with a sense of wonder (I remember our 641 field trip to the natural science museum), student collaboration, solving problems, and assessment/reflection.  This actually sounds a lot like the roll of the school librarian, who must keep her job fresh by always questioning how to serve her students better.  She also collaborates with teachers, solves problems, and constantly assesses and reflects on her teaching methods.  In the case above in which the school district adopted a new library curriculum, the school librarians went through this same sort of process.

My favorite quote of the day, from Things That Keep Us Up at Night: "Our libraries should not be grocery stores. We need to use those groceries, to open the boxes, pour the milk, mix the batter, make a mess."  The library should not just be the place where students check out books, but where students receive instruction on how to locate and navigate the resources available to them.  Librarians should always be trying new recipes in order to stay on the cutting of things in providing the best possible education for their students.

Laura Warren-Gross tried a new recipe when her school was failing.  She chose to rise to the challenge and change aspects of her program to ensure the library did not fail.  She placed multicultural books in all the classrooms of her urban school, had teachers booktalk them, and watched as students eagerly took them home to read.  While Laura lost circulation stats in the library, she succeeded in immersing the library throughout the rest of school, ensuring that students overall read more, and paved the way for more collaboration with teachers.

School librarians are also taking on roles of leadership.  Rather than fitting in with teachers' lessons, librarians can initiate the development not only of lessons, but of school curriculum.  Librarians must make sure that their collection fits with the school's curriculum, is up to date, and authentic.  Librarians should facilitate inquiry-based learning, and partner with students for instruction - by guiding, not dominating, their learning.  The school librarian can be a driver of education, always looking for ways to better meet the needs of students.

Class 4

In class we talked about different kinds of assessment.  There's the rubric and the checklist.  As it turns out, determining which form of assessment to use is difficult.  First, you have to decide which form of assessment is most effective for the assignment and the grade level.  Then, you have to create the rubric or checklist to effectively assess students' work.  Students also have to be able to understand the rubric, so they can better meet the criteria of the assignment.

In some ways, a rubric or checklist may be confining.  Students could work only as much as it takes to get a good grade.  Rather, students should be wanting to learn because they are naturally curious, not because a rubric is forcing them...however, assessment is necessary to assign students grades.  Assessment is also necessary for ensuring that students learn from mistakes and revise those mistakes along the way for an even better final product.

My roommate is currently working on report cards, and I just learned that her school does narrative report cards.  This means that students do receive a couple "grades" in the form of numbers.  For example, the numbers grade the amount of participation in class.  However, students are mostly assessed in five paragraphs.  The first paragraph is a general overview, followed by a paragraph each on math, writing, reading, and behavior.  Interesting. I just asked my roommate if she thought this method is effective, and she said that she's not sure all parents even read them.  Wow.  This means the assessment is worthless, because the writing is meant for adult readers, the bulk of which young students will not be able to understand.

Class 3

Last week in class we discussed the definition of a school librarian.  We went through a bunch of possible duties and descriptions of the school librarian, sorting them out for ourselves which tasks we valued as most important, and which we valued as least important.  Once the class brought our lists together, we noted that those tasks/descriptions we valued most are how school librarians perceive themselves, while those tasks/descriptions we least valued are how school librarians are perceived by others.

Here is my sorting.  I split the tasks/descriptions into 3 sections: important, medium important, and not important.  Then I numbered within each section going from most important to least important.

It proved difficult to order tasks based on importance, because some tasks are essential to the librarian's job but do not seem as important.  Perhaps this is because these essential tasks do not directly relate to teaching students?  For example, collection development and weeding are quite necessary, yet initially did not seem as important as teaching website evaluation to students.  Given another chance, I may have moved these sorts of tasks up to the important category.

Definition of a School Librarian

As I read through this week's articles, the authors all seemed to be calling for a reworking of the definition of what it means to be a school librarian.  I'm wondering if school librarians started out with intentions such as those listed on the School Librarian's Bill of Responsibilities, got sidetracked somewhere along the way, and are now going back to their original intent?  Or if school librarians are just now coming up with an entirely new perception of their job descriptions?  Are school librarians always attempting to redefine themselves in an effort to help their students and stay current, or is this attempt entirely new? 

In any case, school librarians are attempting to redefine themselves and their work, and why are they attempting to do so? - perhaps it is an effort to keep up with new technology.  Such new technology offers a multitude of ways in which to access information, which students often have easy access to.  School librarians view their jobs as important in order to guide students in their use of technology by "supporting multiple paths to understanding," "fostering the free exchange of ideas," and "providing open access to unrestricted resources for intellectual growth and personal enrichment."  Technology makes skills such as these much more useful and necessary in today's world.

Also, there is educational theory. I do not know much about educational theory as a hopeful future public librarian, but the educational classes I have taken have all emphasized the importance of active learning by engaging students rather than giving them busy work.  These many skills from the readings for today certainly support this current educational theory: "cultivate creative and critical thinking," "value experimentation and risk-taking," and "promote questioning and curiosity."

There's the idea of learning from and collaborating with others.  Students should learn from each other as a result of librarians successfully collaborating with teachers.  However, I was struck by the Bad Business Practices from the Zmuda and Harada article, which stated that you must make sure not to define success by the number of staff members you collaborate with, but rather by the quality of that collaboration.  In some ways, I would argue that you can determine success by how many folks you collaborate with.  The more you reach out to teachers, the more likely they are to trust you and collaborate with you.  Of course, the quality of collaboration is still important.  Going along those same lines, the article also says that success cannot be defined by helping students find what they are looking for, but again, I think success can in part be defined by helping students find a book they want to read for pleasure, or helping them locate resources.  Helping students find materials is important in addition to helping them learn from those materials.

Last, but not least, is the attempt to redefine school librarians more for the use of the school librarians themselves, or for the teachers they work with?

Revised Mission Statement

Mission: To complement the school in encouraging and preparing students to become life-long learners, teaching them to effectively navigate and synthesize information, by offering a variety of informational formats and media, quality instruction, and a safe and comfortable environment.

I decided to revise my mission statement in my previous post after our class discussion last week.  The concern was raised of whether having a mission statement alienated the school library from the rest of the school.  So, in my new mission statement, I tried to make it clear that the school library is working with the school as part of the school.  But I'm still not sure if mentioning this helps the situation any - it might just make it worse.

I also dropped the collaboration statement at the end, because it was awkward and related more to the librarian than the students.

Planning is Important

The theme for the readings this week is planning.  Woolls Ch. 5 talks about strategic planning - developing a mission, policy statements, needs assessment, collaboration with teachers, and planning for each day of the week.  The mission gives an overall purpose for the school library, the policy statements and needs assessment help enact that mission, and collaboration with teachers and planning each day help keep school library media folks on track daily to help with living out the broader mission.

Planning is a thorough process, and Woolls lays out the plan for planning.  For long-term planning, Wools advises librarians to develop a 3, 5, or 10 year plan.  Policy writing also involves a lengthy process of drafts, revisions, and collaboration with others.  Daily planning seems to be about keeping the school librarian sane - begin and end the day with quiet planning, start the day with one task that can be finished quickly, keep the planner up to date, meet all deadlines, etc.  Through all this planning, there is always the added mention of collaboration - collaborate with administrators, peers, and teachers during the planning process to have everyone on the same boat and striving the meet common goals.

Likewise, Doug Johnson argues that fixed schedules offer many advantages over flexible schedules.  A planned schedule enables school librarians to meet with all teachers/classrooms should they choose, cooperate with standards-based curriculum, promote life-long reading habits by regular library visits, more collaboration with teachers on continuous projects, and maintain job security.

In her article, Kathy Hribar discusses the advantages of taking time to go to a conference on Standards for the 21st-Century Learner.  She planned to take the time to learn from and collaborate with her peers, and as a result her school library benefited.  Kathy learned to carefully plan her lessons to revolve around inquiry in the midst of her fixed schedule.  Students became more curious, open to learning, and had a desire to come to their classes in the library.

Since I am a planner, this sort of talk makes me feel good.  I like scheduled days and scheduled goals.  Also, having regularly scheduled days and goals seems like it would be easier for collaboration between the school librarian and public librarian.  The school librarian is able to quickly assess her calendar for time and fit in the public library with her library's mission and policy statements.  However, what happens if there is no room for the public librarian in the school library's mission, or no time in the school librarian's schedule?  Hopefully calendars and planning are not so fixed as to prove disadvantageous to the school library, both internally and externally.

Mission Statement

Mission: To encourage and prepare students to become life-long learners, teaching them to effectively navigate and synthesize information, by offering a variety of informational formats and media, quality instruction, and a safe and comfortable environment, as well as internal and external collaboration.

In my school library mission statement, I wanted to present the idea of a continuous learning process which does not end with graduation from the school and its library.  This means students should be made excited learn.  Students should also be equipped to learn effectively, by making use of the resources available to them, and knowing how to extract and apply information from those resources.  The library should be up to date with its resources, offering a variety of formats and media, so that students are comfortable with current resources, and with accessing new formats and media.  The school librarian should always strive to be the best teacher possible, making herself available to students inside and outside the classroom, and making sure the library is an inviting place.  The school librarian should make sure to collaborate with teachers to provide the best education possible and share common goals.  The school librarian should also collaborate with fellow professionals and other types of librarians to become well-rounded and to bounce ideas.

Classes 1 & 2

Since I had not yet joined the class as of its first meeting, I listened to the audio and enjoyed hearing all the questions everyone had about what they wanted to learn from the class.  Some folks were interested in collaboration with school administration, some wanted to know about how best to work with library volunteers.  I myself am not specializing in School Library Media, but rather Library and Information Science.  I hope to work in teen services in a public library.  My question for this class is how best to collaborate with school librarians.  My hope is that this class will give me a basic understanding of the work of a school librarian, enabling me as a future public librarian to have a greater appreciation for the field, as well as a better idea of how to collaborate with school librarians.

I'm also excited for all our field trips to area school libraries!  This will help me envision the daily life of a school librarian, as well as observe how students make use of the school library.

In our second class, we talked about standards.  A problem we talked about was when we conform to state or national standards, what happens to those students that get left behind?  Measures must be taken to catch them up.  In a class semester, I thought it was curious that we talked about how there are all these enrichment programs now for smart kids, and discovery centers for struggling kids, yet what about those average kids?  We don't do anything special for them.  So the school library can become a place to which all students at various learning stages can go for additional learning.  I also think this can be an area in which school and public libraries can collaborate.  If students feel self-conscious seeing their peers in the library because it makes them feel too smart or dumb, then they can come to the public library to satisfy their curiosity.

As we talked about standards, in general I believe they are nice things to have, but I do not like standardized testing, since students not only learn differently but they also test differently.  I believe that testing is not always an accurate representation of what students have learned.  I wish that standards could be in place without the standardized testing, so that all schools would be striving to give students the same education without adding the pressure of testing on students or working to meet deadlines or gain benefits for their school.  This is how some students do get left behind, and ironically not all students receive the same education.

Standards and Missions

It seems to me that educational standards can be a tricky thing.  On the one hand, standards can prove negative by forcing teachers to make sure that the majority of their students are up to the standards - but then what about those few students that are deemed hopeless cases?  These students do not get the time and effort allotted from their teachers to their learning.  On the other hand, standards can ensure that students state-wide are receiving the same sort of education with the same end goals.  All students get the same fair chance at learning the material.

The AASL standards may be more friendly by not always setting specific goals.  For example, one standards is "Determine how to act on information."  Another standard is "Recognize new knowledge and learning."  No matter what stage of learning the student is at, he/she can probably be taught to recognize new knowledge and learning, as well as how to determine how to act on information.  Students can continuously be taught how to do this, building on previous knowledge.  Standards more difficult to integrate in teaching are the more specific ones such as dealing with copyright and technological tools.  These are specific outcomes that some students may have a more difficult time grasping.

Unfortunately, a tricky thing about standards which set less specific goals is that the outcomes are hard to measure.  How do we know if a student can determine how to act on information?  So, is standardized testing really necessary?  Going back to the TRAILS assessment test from 641, I remember I was rather panicky trying to fill out the test because I felt pressured by the time constraints, and my brain was trying to jump from topic to topic to answer each question.  Is a standardized test even going to be the best indicator of standards assessment?

School librarians can use standards to their advantage by showing how their teaching fits in with the standards.  In order to make their work more personal, school librarians can also create a mission statement for their school library media center.  A mission statement can express the librarian's own goals in teaching her students.  In order to make a mission statement more meaningful, the more specific the better.  This will make sure the mission statement does not sound generic, and more like a heartfelt vision.  A mission statement can also be tailored to a specific school.  The librarian will have clear clear guidelines from her mission statement that she understands completely, since she drafted the statement based on her educational values.  In this way, the school  melds both internal and external goals in the hopes of offering students a thorough education.