Thing 5a

The School Library Journal blog has a link to a spot called Common Talkback Threads http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6640367.html#talkBack. Here, I found a great article and accompanying video on the duties of a library media specialist in the 21st century. The New York Times featured the article, "The Future of Reading: In Web Age, Library Job Gets Update" on a front page edition in February. I saw myself and my school’s library in some parts of the article but not at all in others. I could NOT believe it when I read, “At the end of every week, Ms. Rosalia opens the library for classes to come in solely to check out books. . . . . By the end of one period, more than 30 students stood in line at the circulation desk. This is an everyday occurrence at my school.” At my school, we check out books throughout the instructional day for the entire school year! Not to belittle, by any means, any of the technology/Web 2.0 “stuff” that this librarian and others are doing, but if they only open the library for check out one day a week, then I’m sure there is plenty of time to show students how to create videos, blogs, and Powerpoint presentations.

As a media specialist, I think it is incumbent upon me to go with the flow of what my teachers and principals “want from” the media specialist. My group is big on the reading component – far more so than on technology. So I need to approach Web 2.0 applications in concert with inspiring a love of reading, with the objective of serving a two-fold need for students. However, at my school, we are in a place where the reading takes precedence.

Thing 3

http://www.ted.com/ I found this to be a fascinating site. It presents approximately 18 minute talks (speeches, presentations) of provacative people from many walks of life. TED (Ideas Worth Spreading) is actually a venue that gives these speakers an opportunity to present their ideas, causes, platforms, knowledge, etc. at a common site. I recognized people like Al Gore and Jane Goodall and saw many others whose names were unfamiliar to me. There are notables in fields like music, business, brain structure. I was hoping to find some talks that might be informative for my students, but most of the offerings appear much too advanced for most K-5 students.

However, I had several thoughts "rush" through my head as I learned about and explored this site. Although the talks I visited were not suitable for my students, what a great idea this whole thing is! What if we did TEDs for students' show and tells? How about as a means for teachers to share professional learning experiences? What about as a book sharing medium? Some things to think about.