Library of Congress Goes Web 2.0 with Flickr!

I actually stumbled on this yesterday while working on a pathfinder (and sent an email of pure excitement to my fellow district media specialists!), but in case you haven’t heard this exciting news, the Library of Congress is now on Flickr!  Check out all the tags on the Library of Congress Flickr account!

What is the project about?  Why would the Library of Congress create a Flickr account?  You can read the full scoop here, but here is what you need to know in a nutshell straight from the Library of Congress on Flickr Project Page; you can also learn more by visiting the Library of Congress on Flickr FAQ Page.  The purpose of creating a LOC Flickr page includes these aims:

• To share photographs from the Library’s collections with people who enjoy images but might not visit the Library’s own Web site.
• To gain a better understanding of how social tagging and community input could benefit both the Library and users of the collections.  
• To gain experience participating in Web communities that are interested in the kinds of materials in the Library’s collections.

Here are two “must read” posts detailing the project and the public’s response to this new project from the Library of Congress Blog:

• Post 1
• Post 2

What does all this mean for us as educators and librarians?  I personally feel this is going to make the rich photo collection so much more accessible to our students and the American public in general.  Talk about an easier mode of searching!  Wow!  This new tool is a fabulous way to tap into these amazing primary sources.  To me, this is another example of the power of Web 2.0 tools to ignite learning and get our students excited about history. 

As always, Joyce Valenza has her thoughts and musings on this exciting development, too—you can read more in her post, “Let’s Tag:  Library of Congress Shares on Flickr“.

What do you think about the Library of Congress @ Flicker?  Share your thoughts!

AASL Unveils Standards for the 21st-Century Learner

The new AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner were unveiled on October 25 at the 13th National AASL (American Association of School Librarians) Conference in Reno, Nevada. 

“The new standards were developed by some of the best minds in the school library field,” Johns said. “AASL hopes that these standards will provide a foundation for a strong library media program in every school, where our students will research expertly, think critically, problem-solve well, read enthusiastically and use information ethically. Our students will succeed.”

Early in 2006, acting in accordance with the AASL strategic plan, the AASL Board of Directors voted to establish the Learning Standards Rewrite Task Force, whose charge was to develop new AASL standards for student learning in the 21st Century. The task force included co-chairs Cassandra Barnett and Gail Dickinson, Eugene Hainer, Melissa Johnston, Marcia Mardis and Barbara Stripling.

“The new AASL ‘Standards for the 21st-Century Learner’ are both a reflection of the current landscape and a vision for the future,” said Gail K. Dickinson, task force co-chair. “Good standards have to be practical enough to teach today but flexible enough to be able to teach tomorrow.”

The task force began with an intensive face-to-face meeting last September and worked virtually and during conferences over the next several months. To ensure that the new standards reflect the best of our thinking as a profession, the task force gathered input and feedback from the membership and other library media professionals throughout the whole process. Drafts were posted on the Web site for comment, AASL held an open forum for discussion of the draft during the 2007 Midwinter Meeting and a wiki was utilized for further input from the field.

The standards and common beliefs include:

Common Beliefs

The learning standards begin by defining nine foundational common beliefs:

• Reading is a window to the world.
• Inquiry provides a framework for learning.
• Ethical behavior in the use of information must be taught.
• Technology skills are crucial for future employment needs. 
• Equitable access is a key component for education.
• The definition of information literacy has become more complex as resources and technologies have changed.
• The continuing expansion of information demands that all individuals acquire the thinking skills that will enable them to learn on their own.
• Learning has a social context.
• School libraries are essential to the development of learning skills.

The Standards

The Standards describe how learners use skills, resources, and tools to

1. inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge;
2. draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge;
3. share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society;
4. pursue personal and aesthetic growth.

You can download the Learning Standards as an eight-page full-color pamphlet (PDF, 4 mb).

Do our practices as teachers and students truly reflect these beliefs in our school philosophy, learning activities, and teaching practices?  Do the mandates of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) intersect in reality with these new standards and beliefs?   How do we use these beliefs and standards as a framework for teaching and learning at Creekview High?

Coming Attractions: 23 Things@The Unquiet Library

In the spirit of super librarian Joyce Valenza, I will be rolling out a new learning initiative for our students and our faculty, http://theunquietlibrary23things.edublogs.org.  Our program, which is modeled on the dazzling array of 43/23 Things library sponsored programs across the United States, is designed to help our patrons learn about exciting Web 2.0 technologies and tools that can increase productivity and improve student achievement.  Mrs. Fleet, another super-librarian, will be my partner in this venture as we work to help all of our patrons become lifelong learners!

Of course, the intrinsic thrill of learning is the primary reason for participating in this self-paced program, but we will also be offering prizes to patrons who complete our program. 

Stay tuned as we launch our http://theunquietlibrary23things.edublogs.org/program in November 2007!

Buffy Hamilton

Parent Involvement: Blogs for Homework?

Check out this interesting article from The New York Times called “Spreading Out Homework So Even Parents Have Some.”  Damion Frye, an English teacher at Montclair High School in Montclair, New Jersey, requires parents of his ninth grade students to participate in weekly homework assignments that mirror those he gives to his students.   Parents are given identical assignments as their children and asked to respond on a blog set up by Mr. Frye. 

The point, he said, is to keep parents involved in their children’s ’ education well into high school. Studies have shown that parental involvement improves the quality of the education a student receives, but teenagers seldom invite that involvement. Mr. Frye  decided to help out.

While a few parents have been resistant to the idea, Mr. Frye reports that most have eagerly jumped in and found the experience to be a positive one. 

Tracy Parsons, whose son Danny is the second of her two boys to be a student in Mr. Frye’s class, said that the weekly assignments had changed the way she approached homework with her children.  “In high school, to some degree you have to back off from homework, so they can gain independent learning skills,” Ms. Parsons said. But teenagers, she noted, “leave a lot out. You ask, ‘What’d you do in science?’ and they say, ‘It was fine.’”

While some educators caution against Mr. Frye’s policy of penalizing students’ grades if parents do not do their assigned homework, Mr. Frye reports that only one parent has flat out refused to participate in the three years of assigning parents “homework.”  He states that he is flexible and works with parents who may not have Internet access or who may have challenges dealing with language differences. 

What do you as teachers, students, parents, and administrators think of Mr. Frye’s creative way of involving parents in homework as a means for involving parents to be involved in their children’s education?  The primary suggestion I have is that he have the students blog along with their parents rather than doing all the assignments in the traditional format of paper and pencil.  If students are having the opportunity to blog too, then perhaps more dialogue could be ignited between parents and students.

Let us know what you think! Is this a good idea?  Bad idea?  Somewhere in between?  Teachers, parents, students, administrators—share your responses!