Well, I haven't been here for a long time...

This blog was a class assignment for my library science master's program. It forced me to be the writer I never was. I graduated in the spring of 2013 and as I look back at my posts and I am amazed at how disheartened I was by the lack of perceived opportunities available to me in my chosen profession.

The good news is that I landed on my feet... twice;)

After a short stint as the Media Specialist at a terrific elementary school in Novi, I ended up as one of TWO Media Specialists (though as a department we have decided- almost officially- that we will now be called "Teacher Librarians) at the BEST high school in Ann Arbor.

I love my job... and they assure me that they love me:)

Every day is different and I love every day. Now with a few years experience under my belt I could add a few more hats... 

• a doctor's scrub hat for the many band aids I pass out
• a banker's visor for managing the budgets I have to juggle
• a top hat for putting my best foot forward in showcasing my program
• a beret for representing the international-mindedness of the IB Programme
• a sou' wester for weathering the storms of budget cuts and curriculum changes
• and a mortarboard for celebrating my students at graduation

Happy National School Library Week!

Week 13 reading: Your Honor, I plead "GUILTY"

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

Better data collection will save our library, but we need to collect only meaningful and purposeful data. The table shows the differences between quantitative data and qualitative data. We should place more emphasis on collecting data on students' wants and needs, collection quality, and higher-order thinking inquiries. This data can then be used to describe library media center services, evaluate the library media center programs, and measure performance.

This sounds great, but I imagine it is hard to do. Numbers are so much easier to provide. It would also be hard to assess these qualitative measures if this type of data has not been collected in the past and you have no baseline to work from. Nevertheless, when we present the data to principals and school board members it must make sense. Simply stated, the data needs to reveal that our library contributes to improved student achievement, “by providing up-to-date instructional materials aligned to the curriculum and instructional practices; library media specialist collaborating with and supporting teachers, administrators, and parents; and extending their hours of operation beyond the school day.” That’s all we need to prove in order to save ourselves;)

Was he trying to sell his book to me at the end of the article???

Woolls, Chapter 13

I was grabbed by David V. Loertsher’s question, “If you were arrested for contributing to the education of a student, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” (Wools, 201). That’s what school librarians need to provide- evidence. Evidence that their program has value and contributes to student learning. I think evaluating a school library would be an extremely useful (and demanding) project for this course. An evaluation of a media program (not just the library itself) would help others to understand the value of and purpose of the media program. If teachers, parents, and administrators can read a document that states, “This is what we should be doing, this is what we are doing, and this is how well we are doing it”, they will know exactly how the media program contributes to academic achievement through it’s inclusion into the curriculum in relation to the school district and the community. Evaluation should also reveal where improvements can be made. I like this.

The table on page 205 really highlighted what the expectations are for most school libraries in contrast to what the expectations should be. The “what should be” measures should be posted in every media center for all to see (in BIG, BLACK LETTERS!)

· This Media Center is not just a place to send students; it is a place with open access for research and reading based on collaborative programming.

· This Media Specialist not only shares lists of available resources to use in instruction, but also collaborates with teachers in planning, conducting, teaching, and evaluating instruction.

Of course other measures need to be considered including, staff performance and appraisal (is it a friendly place?, are librarians eager to help?) and collection measurement (though I feel this will become less and less important as a result of the expansion of Internet resource usage and ILL usage), but the most important aspect to consider in evaluating media program is it’s contribution to student learning. It’s up to the Media Specialist to develop tools such as, checklists, rubrics, rating, scales, logs, and student portfolios to assess and demonstrate the program’s impact. The evidence that a media program contributes to student learning should be “condemning”.

AND- it’s snowing outside:(

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

I’m in LOVE! Finally, a discussion on standards that I can relate too. I’ll just say it, really fast, “Idon’tliketheAASL’sStandardsforthe21st-CenturyLearner!”. They don’t mean anything to me. I keep going back to the MDE Technology standards, I’m a hands-on, process, step-by-step to the end goal, kinda gal. I don’t like the attitude of, this is what we all need to know, but you figure out how you are going to get there- ok hon?

Mueller’s step by step process for assessing standards is right inline with my beliefs of how to guide students in learning to achieve measurable goals- and I thought there was something wrong with me.

He’s right, it is extremely difficult to assess “cross-curricular process skills such as self-assessment, information literacy, collaboration, or metacognitive skills”, but his step-by-step process to create this type of assessment make so much sense to me.

Step 1: Writing Skills as Standards

Identify a good standard, including writing it in observable and measurable language, e.g “How could the students demonstrate that they understand the concept or process? What would that look like?" to develop the skills that will accomplish this standard.

Step 2: Design Tasks to Assess the Skills In Step 1

How can students demonstrate that they have acquired this skill and apply it in relevant contexts? Give them opportunities to do so. Create simple or complex tasks by asking questions such as "When would someone ever use this skill?" or "Why would someone ever need to know how to do this?"

Step 3: Identify the Criteria for the Skill

Identify the specific criteria of good performance on a task. What are the behavioral indicators of proficiency on a particular skill?

Step 4: Create Rubrics for Rating Skill Performance

Once the criteria for a task have been identified, a rubric, or rating scale, can be used to judge how well someone has met the criteria for performance on that skill task. Authentic assessment of skills does not require a rubric, but the use of rubrics can increase the consistency of application of the criteria (Marzano, 2006). Additionally, by articulating the criteria and the characteristics of good performance at each level, those learning and performing the skill and those teaching and assessing it will share a clearly defined picture of what proficiency should look like.

This is exactly what I’ve been trying to express as my own opinion this entire semester, but I didn’t know how to explain it!

Jon- where have you been all my life?

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

Todd asks questions about the efficacy of a school library:

· How does an effective school library help students?

· How does it empower student learning in and out of school?

· What does an effective school library enable students to do and to become?

· What difference does an effective school library make to students and their learning?

These are the questions we need to ask ourselves instead of focusing on the barriers that are in front of us to function as school librarians. Todd points out that we need to move beyond “selling ourselves” and focus on an “evidence-based” practice approach. We should let the evidence speak for itself, acting as the voice of the profession.

To do so we need to answer the following questions:

· How does your school library make a difference to student learning outcomes?

· How do local outcomes affect decisions relating to staffing and budgets?

· How can we “analyze and synthesize research into meaningful generalizations with practical utility” in order to present relevant findings?

In doing so, we will hurdle the barriers we see in front of us and move our libraries (and the profession forward). We need to focus on the big picture, not our individual problems. That sounds like a great idea to me.

Class Reflection 4/6/12 "Truth? You can't handle the truth!"

We talked about so much in class, it was amazing how many topics we covered and how fast 2 hours went by while chatting with Debbie Abilock. Kristin does an excellent job as moderator; putting up links to other sites and resources as soon as they were mentioned in the conversation.

So many topics were discussed, but I’d like to focus on just one- how do we teach our young students (grades K-2) to “trust” or not trust information they find on websites, as an introductory lesson to website evaluation.

We talked a lot about website evaluation using the “TRAPS” protocol:

Time

Readability

Authority

Purpose

Summary

Debbie talked about how our bias is to trust (and not just kids). I totally agree with her. Print used to be the standard for whether or not information was accurate and worth our trust. Unfortunately, for many, this trust has also been applied to websites. Some never consider that there are few standards for the information that is put on the Internet.

The TRAPS evaluation protocol can help determine the accuracy of the information presented. I wonder, how can these concepts be taught to children in a simplified manner that is understandable, yet can be scaffolded to future lessons about website evaluation?

Debbie mentioned filter search engines, such as, SweetSearch. These types of search engines (whether for websites, photos, etc.) can be very helpful, but they don’t introduce the concept of evaluation to students.

I liked Kristin’s suggestion of Google Custom Search. It could be a tool to let younger students (as a class) build their own custom search engine that will search sites the class has identified as “useful” for a specific topic.

To do this, a discussion could be opened by using the analogy of junk books vs. good literature (as Debbie suggested) as an introduction to junk websites vs. good websites.

The tricky part is what terms do we apply to this lesson that can be carried through to more advanced lessons? What is junk? What is good?

Debbie suggested starting out with asking, “Who?” and “Why?”. These terms could easily be translated (with a few additional easy to understand terms) to the TRAPS protocol.

Time = When?

Readability = How? (hard or easy is it to read and understand)

Authority = Who?

Purpose = Why?

Summary = Thumbs up? or Thumbs down?

Hopefully these simplified terms (which can be easily translated to TRAPS terminology for future lessons) will be a good starting point for getting kids to question the validity of the information they are finding online and not just taking it for granted. Truth is tricky though. Debbie stated, “Wikipedia says there is no truth just verifiability.” I think that is the unfortunate “truth” of where the direction of information on the Internet is headed. We need to make sure that are students understand this too- through introductory lessons to website evaluation.

Week Twelve Reading

Budget:

Johnson, D. (2009). Budgeting for learn, mean times. 12-part series of blog posts that begin at http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2009/12/19/budgeting-for-mean-lean-times-part-1.html .

1. I know I have an ethical obligation to submit a budget even if it has not been requested or the chances of it being fully funded are slim.

-A budget should always be ready to go, because your principal may call you in at the last minute with offering extra funds. If you build it, they will come.

2. I can counter the argument that the free Internet will replace libraries, books and purchased online information sources.

-Can I? It’s going to be harder and harder to convince people that technology enhances print material, that different formats fit different learning styles and that online resources are really not free.

3. I understand the concept that school district budgets are a “zero sum” game.

-Be familiar with, but look beyond your district’s budget to provide you with options for funding.

4. I can describe the “consequences” of an under-funded budget in concrete terms.

-Knowing how the media center contributes to student achievement will identify areas that cannot be cut in order to maintain standards.

5. I can write an outcome driven budget that is specific in supporting curricular and school improvement goals.

-A thorough understanding of curriculum goals and how they relate to school library resources will drive the creation of a budget.

6. I know a variety of sources for budget dollars and who controls those dollars.

-Be familiar not only with district funding, but also with alternative funding sources in case traditional funding sources are cut or eliminated.

7. I can list the areas for which I need to budget.

-Keep track of what works in your library and what doesn’t. Keep a prioritized list in case cuts need to be made.

8. I can create a maintenance budget.

-There is a need to be familiar enough with the operation of your library to understand the costs of maintaining it, and always know where cuts can and can't be made.

9. I report to budget decision-makers how past budget dollars have been spent.

-Keep track not only of expenditures, but how they resulted in improved student learning as a part of established curriculum goals.

10. I know how an advisory committee can help build budget support.

-Advisory groups can sing your praises when it is not appropriate for you to put yourself on a pedestal. They also can lead you back in the right direction if you start to move away from the mission and goals of your school and media center.

11. I know the importance of serving in school, professional and political organization leadership roles.

-This helps to gain allies and have a say in future decisions and the procedures in which they are made.

12. I can use technology to improve my budgeting and communication skills.

-Presentations that foster effective communication skills and that showcase the technology used in the media center can provide justification for the costs related to procuring or maintaining these technologies.

Woolls, Chapter 9

It’s always important to be aware of your library’s needs (what funding is required to maintain and develop a library) and your library’s wants (what funding would be necessary to create the “dream” library). Both needs and wants need to have supporting rationale to justify continued, as well as, increased funding.

The media specialist is a manager of a small business and needs to be cognizant of budgetary concerns such as, your district’s fiscal year, writing specifications to ensure that you get what you paid for, accountability for costs determined, and writing effective proposals to procure additional funding.

Personnel:

Woolls, Chapter 7

Ahh, the volunteer conundrum..there’s a fine line between getting volunteers and maintaining them. They are not paid staff and that is the most important thing to remember. They are also not trained professionals and if you put them in positions that require training, you need to be aware that your volunteers’ time is valuable to them and that they are doing a favor for you and they are not your employee. To keep volunteers coming back (and to continue getting more), make your volunteers feel needed. Give them duties that they find value in. Make the “working” atmosphere an enjoyable one. Let your volunteers know that they are appreciated through your actions, your words and even gifts. Be aware that you might need to correct or redirect volunteers to make sure that they are an effective and positive addition to the library, but make sure that you are not critical of any volunteer. Word gets around when that happens and you will loose volunteers down the line. Be friendly, welcoming and encouraging, while maintaining leadership and guidance for all staff, but especially for volunteers.

Professional Associations:

Coatney: Leadership and your professional school library association

I identified most with the “finding a mentor” section of the chapter. As I am a “non-traditional” student, it can be awkward to find a mentor in a librarian that is fifteen years younger than you. That being said, it is so important to always be looking for new inspiration from others who you can learn from and who can lead you in the development of a new career through introductions to new methods, new technologies and new people, all of which can help you improve your librarianship skills leading to a better and more supported career.

"WE’RE WORKING ON THAT" by Susan D. Ballard

SCHOOL LIBRARIES: WHAT'S NOW, WHAT'S NEXT, WHAT COMES AFTER

Summary

• There is a need to find and connect with other professionals committed to the continuous improvement of school library media
• This need will not change, though communications methods will
• Representative organizations are promoting an accurate picture of who we are, what we do, and our vital and unique contribution to teaching and learning through these new communications methods.
• To remain relevant now and in the future, these organizations will have to identify meaningful conversations, even from among their critics, to best represent their members
• It is important for professionals to keep expressing their collective opinion and to be continually involved with professional member organizations to continue to elevate the profession