THINGS THAT KEEP ME UP AT NIGHT

Things That Keep Us Up at Night

Economic concerns
I agree that we are moving from a time of “ information scarcity” to a time of “ information abundance”. The job of a TL will now be to show students where the can find the needed information and how to wad through all the information that is available on the internet. Should students believe everything they read? This is yet another important lesson that needs to be taught.
“Libraries need to change from places just to get stuff to places to make stuff, do stuff and share stuff.” It is my hope that current libraries are not just “places to get stuff”. Libraries should always be a place where you can learn and share information. Now a days, however instead of posting book reviews and requests on bulletin boards this can be done on web pages or blogs.

Intellectual property shifts
I find the discussion on copyright, quite interesting. My first reaction is one of shock. How can we not continue to teach students about copyright and copyright laws. At least once a semester I have a colleague approach me to ask me what should be done if a student handed in an assignment the student did not write. On the other hand, after Copyright and Fair Use link, I can understand the need to be able to use copyrighted material for Media Literacy Lessons or to repurpose in the form of a video etc.
Earlier in this course, I had played a bit on the Creative Comons site, but I had not heard of the Copyright and Fair Use in Teaching Resources. During an upcoming staff meeting, I hope to share some of the video clips found on this site.

The challenge of keeping ahead
This is defiantly a challenge that I am experiencing with this course and technology as a whole. I have waited to long to try and embrace some of these new concepts and find that I have lots of learning to do. Once I have completed this course, I will lead a technology cohort group, during with I will inform teachers how to update their courses a bit. I think I will try to use a catchy title like, how to raise students interest in your classroom. If I am lucky enough to move into a TL position next year, this will be done out of the library. Perhaps I will be lucky enough to be able to team teach a lesson with an eager teacher. If not, I will simply offer my services to those who wish to try. I hope to ask the AO’s for some sub time to provide staff members school time to experiment. We often have subs in the school who have a spare block. With some advance notice, the sub can be used to provide a classroom teacher with some valuable collaboration time.


Failing to embrace networked media
My school is lucky and we do have a PLN, however he is shared with four other schools. Basically, he updates and repairs computers. He is knows of Blogs, Wikis etc, but never teaches us about them. Part of the problem may be that he is quite shy, or perhaps he has never been asked. The next time I see him, I am going to ask him for some help with my blog and see if he would be willing to present something to the staff. It never hurts to ask, does it?

Advocacy by nonlibrarians
“In times of budget cuts, it cannot be only librarians who speak on behalf of libraries. Teachers, administrators, parents, and students must demand the essential services we provide.” This is very true, however as a librarian one must be sure to be providing essential services. This means working for both the teachers and the students.

Our national expectations that ignore critical learning skills
It is my opinion that curriculum often lags behind in the new trends. For example, formative assessment is a buzz word in my school district. However, the government still has students writing provincial exams and teachers still need to write traditional report cards. Much is the same with 21st century technology. The administration often asks how we are updating our courses, yet there are only two computer labs in my school. One lab is generally used for computer, photography or graphic arts courses. The other lab is available only to the elementary students in the afternoon. The struggle to find available lab time is frustrating. I know that is a little off topic, but it is a concern. The library only has four computers therefore, it is hard to do the hands on work with the students.

Missing the potential of reading 2.0
This is one that worries me quite a bit as a Literacy Teacher. New information keeps increasing daily and I never seem to be able to keep up. Many of my students do not like reading, will Web 2.0 make it easier or more interesting for them? I sure hope so. What about writing? Will working on blogs and wikis peak their interest? Time will tell.

Realizing that Internet access is an intellectual freedom issue
What an interesting title. I was not sure what to expect under this subtitle, but this is where I tend to be weak. I would fight for a budget issue that I felt strongly about, I will need to do the same with the Internet. Taking on the fight may come once I am more familiar with the tools and learn how powerful they will be in a classroom?

Recognize that modern practice is directly connected to equity.
The comment that there are students who can “ effectively access, appreciate, understand and create quality information in all media formats; on the other hand, there are those who cannot.” is something that I must keep repeating to myself. When thinking of Web 2.0 and teaching it in the classroom, I am one of those people who sometimes thinks, well students taught themselves how to use Face Book, they will teach themselves the rest. Stereotyping is what causes problems and creates problems. How would I feel to be stereotypes as a 45+ year old teacher who does not care about creating interesting lesson plans. It would make my blood curdle. I must try not to do the same. Taking this course is my first big step to becoming a Tl who is not still in the 1960’s but moving forward toward the 21st century.

Define the brand
Does an administrative officer know what the role of a TL is? Good question, although I must admit that this question does not keep me up at night. Do teachers and students know what I have to offer them? This is the question that I would worry about more.

Plan for one-to-one computing or ubiquitous computing.
Leaving the library is essential to working with teachers and students. Teaching about blogs will not be able to be done in the school library at my school. We would need to move to a computer lab. Perhaps one day we will be fortunate and have lap tops for the students, but today we do not.

Become an online presence.
Currently our school library does not have an online presence. Our school does not even have a functioning web page. However, this does not mean that the situation cannot be changed. A library webpage could be constructed before a school one is. My library webpage has already been planned out in draft form. There will be links to our town library as well as other near by college, university and public libraries. Students would be able to find links that will help them to complete school assignments. Teachers would have access to lesson plans, curriculum, literacy lessons etc. I would also like to make the website useful for parents, but have not figured out how as of yet.

See obstacles rather than opportunities.
I thought that this should have been worded see opportunities rather than obstacles. My dream is for staff, students and parents to see me as irreplaceable once I become a Teacher-Librarian. Hopefully, they will not hearing the words “yeah, but” come from my mouth and if they voice the words, I will be able to help change their opinions.