encouraging change

One of my favorite things about this class has been the way that my eyes have been opened to the use of technology in the classroom.  I am inspired every time I read Will Richardson’s book.  Technology creates a number of creative ways for students to learn and be engaged.  I understand the pressure teachers are under and that they do not always have the time needed to explore the possibilities of bringing technology in the classroom.  However, this makes me more determined that the role of the school librarians should be to assist in bringing web 2.0 tools into the school and helping students learn necessary 21^st century skills.

Looking at Google Earth this week was really interesting.  Although I had heard of Google Earth, I had never taken the time to really explore it.  Now that I am more aware of all that it has to offer, the number of possibilities it has for education is amazing.  It also fit really well with my professional development project theme of virtual field trips.  Part of my reason for choosing the topic was to help busy teachers realize one way that they can incorporate technology into their own classrooms.  I would hope that virtual field trips would be a starting entry into encouraging teachers to build more lessons involving technology and for them to realize how many possibilities there are out there.  Hopefully, teachers are also open to the idea of collaboration with the school librarian.  I feel that collaborative lessons are a good opportunity to involve new technology tools and 21^st century skills.  There are so many new ways for students to learn.  When I am a SLMS, I hope to help integrate and technology and new ways of learning into the school.

21st Century Learning

An underlying theme in my recent readings has been the changes we need to make in education, and the new skills that students need to have.  One example is the National Council of Teachers of English, and their new 21st century literacy that "readers and writers need to manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information."  Other skills mentioned have included collaboration, cooperative work, reading by scanning, being globally aware, be creators and consumers of hypertext, and be able to consume and edit information.  These have moved far beyond focusing on the basics of reading, writing, and arithmatic.

The readings also point out how technology is the cause behind the shift, but also the solution in teaching these skills.  Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis, and RSS feeds, when implemented correctly, can provide students with lessons and hands on experience practicing these new 21st century skills that will be invaluable for them as they continue on in life.  The school librarian plays a key role in this process.  It is up to us to help teach these skills through lessons in the library, collaboration, or providing professional development so that teachers feel comfortable implementing these tools in their classrooms.  It is necessary to stay up-to-date with these skills, and practice them ourselves.  It is hard to teach students 21st century skills if we do not have them ourselves.

Over the summer I began to build up my own knowledge of web tools by setting up an RSS feed through Google Reader.  It was fairly simple to do, and I love the amount of information I able to view regularly without taking a lot of time to go to each site.  I am slowly learning more about RSS feeds and how to fully utilize them.  My experience with this tool has allowed me to feel more confident about encouraging others to use and helping them get started.  I feel that students could really benefit from this tool, and I cannot wait to share this tool, and many others, with them one day.