The Whole Enchilada: Visioning, Planning, and Implementing Media Programs for Learning and Teaching

We are bombarded with talk about the information age and the importance of information and information technology in education. But, there’s a gap between recognition of need and having vibrant, essential media programs that meet the needs of students and teachers. In this keynote, Mike Eisenberg challenges media specialists to be true innovators and agents of change with the “A-B-C” approach: Articulate a vision, Be strategic, Communicate! (This presentation is based on a seminal article that appeared in the September 2002 issue of School Library Journal.)

Here are my notes from this session:

The next president will be the Google president – government information, world news and events – so much will be available online in this information age.  We need to equip students to navigate this environment.

Students – need to gain essential information knowledge & skills

Will we ever adopt the Teacher-Librarian label used in Canada?  This places an emphasis on the teaching role we preform everyday.

The A-B-C approach

Articulate a vision and agenda – “to ensure that students…are effective users of ideas and information”

Teach information skills, Advocate reading, Manage information resources and services.  What is the percentage of your total work time that is devoted to each of these areas?

Be strategic – Attitude is everything.  What if North Carolina created a core collection and provided it to every school in the state?  Wouldn’t this free up the Teacher Librarian to do things other than collection development and selection? Teacher-Librarian’s can give a context to all the technology tools.  What does a wiki do?  How does these tech tools connect to educational goals? Don’t be isolated! Look for the “Big Juicies” – the major projects that each teacher really is concerned about doing.

Communicate continuously – progress reports to administrators (10 week memo).

In summary – Embrace the vision & strategy, deliver an active engage program, be systematic, communicate, meet with all stakeholders, set up advisory committee.

I missed the slide handout – it should be available here soon and includes useful forms, documents, templates, and resources. Now the hard work – embracing these ideas and completing the planning documents!

Implementing the new standards brings changes in emphasis and relevance to evolving 21st century concept-based curriculum and technologies.  This session will highlight some of the standards and how they might be implemented in your program.

The American Association of School Librarians has recently launched National Plan for Implementation of the new AASL Learning Standards called Learning 4 Life.

North Carolina’s State Board of Education is busy working to revise the state’s approach to teaching and learning that will incorporate standards such as AASL’s. This is expressed in the new Framework for Change.

All of this connects to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills Framework

Standards are not curriculum, they support the development of curriculum.

Information literacy is one of the many educational goals we are addressing as educators.

Ending Topical Research.  Are we ready to change the research process to meet the demands of the 21st Century? Here’s a quote to think about

If we keep assigning topics, students will drive their earth moving equipment through the information landfill, pleased by the height and depth of the piles.

Putting an End
to Topical Research

By Jamie McKenzie

read the full article here: http://www.fno.org/feb07/topic.html

This article addresses the problematic nature of easily answered topical assignments. There is a wealth of information that can be found on most topics – if students are just finding the facts we aren’t asking them to critically think about the information they are finding and put it into a unique product.

One participant mentioned the need for student responsibility and accountability as being vital to achieving these Learning Standards.  The new Learning Standards address this through ethical behavior, reflective practice, and group based work.

“the library is a growing organism” – Ranganathan from the Five Laws of Library Science.

All of the presentations from DPI staff should be available at http://www.ncwiseowl.org/zones/professional/Conferences/Spring08/default.htm