Library Lion

Wordle Rules!   By using Wordle, I’ve discovered a new way to incorporate an old idea, namely word walls, into an Info Lit lesson.  As our 4th Grade students build their information literacy skills throughout the year, they are introduced to many new and familiar words related to developing their research skills.  So, for a culminating lesson, they will be asked to define, combine, refine, and otherwise solve the virtual puzzle created by Wordle’s Java applet. Cool!

Technical pointer for Mac users:
•    Once you’ve created your Wordle page, select print, then save as the page as a PDF.

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I found Mathew Needleman’s conference presentation for the K12 Online Conference 2008, “Amplifying the Possibilities,” to be interesting, informative and entertaining.  Entitled, “Film School for Video Podcasters,” it presented very specific techniques and tools that will allow even elementary students to produce their own videos.

Mr. Needleman made a convincing argument for teaching students critical thinking skills through video production.  With the ability to recognize the mechanics of the many moving images that confront them each day, even young students will become more media literate.  Teaching media literacy from the “inside out,” as his presentation proposes, can be one of the most effective methods for  students to gain an understanding of the way that media images and audio affect them.

This was but one of the higher level thinking skills that creating a video can foster.  Synthesizing the elements of the story you wish to present into a storyboard format is essential for creating a logical step-by-step process for shooting a video.  Once the production begins, selecting the best shot to tell the story has to be done through an on location evaluation of how each shot should be composed for greatest impact.  The entire process of visually telling a story from concept to completion is replete with opportunities to exercise higher level thinking skills.

As a librarian and media specialist, with a background in film and video production, I hope to implement what I have learned through this online conference into my classes.  So many stories, so little time…

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I’ve included three of the photos from my “Castles of Germany” unit in my slide show, which can be found on Kwik Kwik, my Wiki.  As much fun as the slide show programs are to play with, I think that, when I present this lesson on the Activboard, I will use the new preview capabilities found in the Leopard version of OS X.  With the sidebar function, it allows me to build a slide show in no time and present the images, full screen with no distractions.  However, I do like the steam dissolve effect from Slide.

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In addition to their regular library visits each eight day cycle, our Pre-1st students come up for Library Links. For these classes, I provide a visual journey on our Activboard that relates to the subject they are studying.  Often, it is a country and one of the countries that they study is Germany.  Below, is one of the images from Flickr that will be incorporated into the Library Links lesson, “Castles of Germany.”

Image by KM Photography..

This is the third year for Library Links and I can see a tremendous advantage of combining the search and storage capabilities of flickr with the the licensing features of Creative Commons, for this class, as well as many others that I teach.

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When I followed the link to the copyright chart in the introduction to this lesson, I immediately downloaded a PDF so that I would have that chart to offer as guidance to teachers concerning the fair use of copyrighted material.  I also wanted to create a file for Creative Commons info, as well.  Upon linking to the License Your Work page and viewing the various legal codes for the different methods of use, I discovered that, although it is a brilliantly simple concept, it is comprised of fairly complex legal definitions.  So, I just created a bookmark for the Creative Commons homepage.  The site is comprehensive and the information found within is useful and easily located.

With the advent of Creative Commons, a bridge between the completely open Public Domain and the very restrictive Copyright laws has been created.  I’m certain that, in the long run, this innovation will have a lasting impact on the way teachers use images, audio and the written word in their lessons.  I find it interesting to note that the first federal copyright act was intended to enable the sharing of ideas.  Perhaps the Creative Commons concept can bring us to a new Age of Enlightenment.

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Back in 2002, when I ditched a 30 year career in film and video production to become a librarian, I naively thought that I would be entering a world of books and literature and leaving behind all of that “glorious” technology that had defined my professional life for so long.  Wrong!  I may have entered the ever expanding world of children’s literature, but I have hardly left behind the even more expansive world of audio-visual production, now morphing into its online incarnation.

When I view the brave new world of Wiki’s and online videos, I feel that I have been transported back to the Golden Age of Television.  The production value of some Wikis can be quite sophisticated.  Of particular interest is the Flat Classroom Project 2007.  This project used the talents of students from seven schools in five countries on five continents located in seven different time zones.  They created digital stories based on the six senses of the conceptual age from Daniel Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind, and the central thesis of Thomas Friedman’s book, The World is Flat.  I found that the Wiki was well designed and encouraged collaboration, which was one of the goals of this project and of any Wiki.  This was quite a feat, given that the participants were spread across the globe.  That very fact reinforced Friedman’s thesis.  Within his keynote address for the project, Dean Shareski does a good job of imparting sound design concepts for keeping the videos for the project simple, clean, and interesting.  Since so much of Web content is visually cluttered, this is sound advice, indeed.

Although audio-visual content is an integral part of many Wikis, their most outstanding characteristic is their collaborative aspect.  This is clearly evident in Vicki Davis’ blog post, Wiki Wiki Teaching.  What began as an assignment for teams of students to define six Web 2.0 concepts, evolved into a collaborative study hall where students were able to help each other to study and to work on projects.  This evolution occurred in the space of one week.  The excitement of the students and their enthusiasm for the technology, is clearly attributable to the Wiki’s ease of use and their ability to incorporate it into their projects.

As interesting as I find the Wiki’s produced by secondary students, our student population is primary.  Upon viewing Mrs. Kubler’s Reading Group and their group analysis of Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting, I thought of our fifth grade’s book club.  This could be the place to begin a Wiki in our school.

Perhaps, with Web 2.0, we are beyond the previous comparison with the the Golden Age of Television.  Maybe we are now at the point of the first color broadcast or even the first satellite transmission.  Nonetheless, production value is bound become more sophisticated, but, as it does, it is paramount to remember that meaningful content and active collaboration are the key ingredients for a successful Wiki.

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There is one thing that I can say for certain.  A lot of people have a lot to say.  As a librarian and educator and generally inquisitive sort, I already have a reading habit.  Rarely do I have time to complete all of the reading that I need and want to do.

To develop a blog reading habit on top all the other reading that I do, seemed a bit overwhelming in the beginning.  I found that sifting through all of the initial blogs was not a productive way for me to develop a blog reading habit.  I did more skimming than reading.  I know that skimming is part of the blog experience, but eventually you want something to draw you in so that you are compelled read on.  I found the Online Education Data Base’s Top 100 Educational Blogs to be a great source.

Once I deleted several of the initial blogs and began focusing on blogs that were more intrinsically interesting to me, like PlanetEsme, I found that, by using blogs, I can have the sources I want delivered to my virtual doorstep.  I’ve subscribed to nine blogs and that will keep me busy, for now.

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After reading student Anthony Chivetta’s recent post, Innovate or Die, on the Students 2.0 blog, I understood that the hyperbolic extremes referenced in the title were aimed at me.  As a teacher, I am the “you” he refers to when he says, “You cannot ignore this. You cannot ignore us.”  And we can’t.  His analysis, although not original, that his is a generation of producers, rather than a generation of consumers, is true.

As teachers of this generation and the Web 3.0 and Web 4.0 generations to come, we must not forget that these students still must be taught to think creatively, so that what they produce is significant.

(The PowerPoint in the above link was produced by Nova Spivack,  http://novaspivack.typepad.com/)

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One of the first things I note about blog writing is that virtually (no pun intended) anyone, with access to the Internet, can write or respond to a blog.  The first Blog that I chose to read was Anne Davis’ Rationale for Educational Blogging.  This was fortunate since she is obviously a thoughtful and long-time blogger.  Due to the colossal number of bloggers out there, I feel that the most important aspect of blog writing is that you select your subjects and placement carefully and that you know your subject thoroughly.  This would seem to be the method that would ensure a thoughtful dialog, which is a major facet of blogs.  Anne Davis certainly meets the criteria I mentioned.

As an elementary school librarian, one of my greatest concerns with blogging is how adept students will be at using this form of communication.  Ms. Edmison’s Class Blog, in which third grade students ask questions of Grace Lin, the author of The Year of the Dog, allays that concern.  Through their thoughtful questions, the students learn about Ms. Lin’s methods and gain a greater understanding for her work.  And since it is a blog post, it is available to anyone with Internet access.  Also, I’ll also have to give plaudits for the simple and uncluttered design of the this blog.

The Ripe Environment post certainly gives us a reason to respond.  In it, the author of the blog raises questions about the validity of using technology for the sake of technology.  The comments generated by this post reflect the many different ways in which other educational professionals have arrived at the same conclusion:  that the focused implementation of any technological tool, especially interactive tools, must be paramount in making the use of such a tool an effective learning experience.

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~How will or how has Web 2.0 changed my professional practice?

Until now, I have been a consumer of information from the Web.  I would say that I am deeply ensconsed in Web 1.0.  We have a Promethean Activboard in our library and I make extensive use of the Web in my information literacy curriculum.  However, our lower school does not have any Web 2.0 programs in place, of which I am aware.  I have read blogs from a variety of sources, but this course is my first effort at creating my own blog.  I do see possibilities for student involvement in the exchange of ideas through blogs, enhanced by the capabilities of sharing, not only thoughts, but images and sound, as well.  With a K-5 population, though, there are definite hurdles to be overcome.

~How might I be able to use these tools to engage digital learners?

Before we can truly engage our young population in Web 2.0 tools, they will need some rudimentary skills.  Without keyboarding skills, writing a blog or editing a Wiki may prove to be tedious, at best.   An alternative would be to record audio, video or share pictures on a blog or through podcasting.  One of the first opportunities for our school might be to set up blogs or podcasts, through which our fourth and fifth grades can share experiences from their overnight field trips.

~Why would I want to?

Since our students are in the primary grades, they have known nothing but the digital age.  They already are engaged in digital learning.  It is our job to be their guides.

~How might you be able to use these tools to support your own learning?

As more and more information becomes available to us in a myriad of ways, how do we choose what is relevant to our own lives?  I see these tools as a way to better focus and organize our endless quest for knowledge. (Remember, we are life-long learners!)  The challenge is to stay focused and not be distracted by an irrelevant tag or other such seductive sidetrack.

In the middle school described in the article,  A Day in the Life of Web 2.0,  seamless integration of these technologies and cross curricular collaboration are the culture of the school and it all seems to work perfectly.  A laudable goal.  But as I read the article, I was reminded of the girl in the Students are Changing video, who held up the sign which read, “That’s a total of 26.5 hours per day.”  When will we have time to do all of this blogging, keep up with all of the podcasts, edit Wikis and find moments when we are not digitally engaged?

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