Blog Post 4: Technology Leadership Role of School Librarians

Technology is poised to revolutionize education, sharing its many benefits in engaging students and preparing them for the digital age, and librarians are in the perfect place to help schools make the transition from a traditional to a technology-rich educational environment.  Librarians have long been considered experts in the information field, but as the American Association of School Librarians' Standards for the 21st Century Learner (2007) states, "The definition of information literacy has become more complex  as resources and technologies have changed" (p. 1).  Who better than librarians, the information experts, to change along with the times to include digital literacy alongside traditional textual literacy in an effort to best prepare students for the demands of a digital world?

The first standard that the AASL identifies is that student should be able to "inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge" (American Association of School Librarians, 2007, p. 1)  This involves more than simply assigning students a list of questions and having them find the answers in a textbook.  Instead, students should be forming their own questions, finding and evaluating sources of information, and organizing information to guide themselves to new knowledge.  The library is the perfect place to engage in these activities, and a librarian's technical knowledge can guide students through this process; however, she cannot do it alone.  Librarians must collaborate with teachers so that students are practicing these skills while learning core content, for "curricular content and 21st century skills--rather than separate agendas--need to be integrated" (Martin, Westmoreland, & Branyon, 2011, p. 19).  Through meaningful collaboration across all subject areas, librarians can help craft lessons where art students use Diigo to annotate websites and evaluate artistic techniques learned in class, science groups use previous knowledge to inquire about the water cycle through Sweet Search, and English students critique bias in information sources on a class wiki.  Both teachers and librarians are encouraged to "collaborate with...peers...using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation" (International Society for Technology in Education, 2014b, p. 1), and these strategies are ways to accomplish this professional goal while allowing students to practice key 21st century skills.

Secondly, 21st century students must be able to "draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge" (AASL, 2007, p. 1).  To reach this standard, students need to organize information, work with one another, and create products that express their new understanding.  There is no better way for students to do this than by using the myriad Web 2.0 tools available.  In fact, many students are already familiar with using Web 2.0 tools for academic and personal projects; by 2011, 64% of students had used a Web 2.0 creation tool (Baumbach, 2009, p. 15).  If students are already using these tools at home, why not incorporate them into classroom use?  As the center for information and technology in her school, the librarian can stand at the helm of this move from traditional to technologically-enhanced educational experiences.  To meet these standards, history students could collaborate on research projects asynchronously through teacher-monitored wikis, English students could publish argumentative research papers on blogs, and math students could post videos of the results of their parabolic rocket projects  to YouTube.  These strategies will give students the ability to "communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats" (ISTE, 2014a, p. 1).

In addition, the AASL mandates that students should have the skills to "share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society" (AASL, 2007, p. 1).  Today's technology makes the search for information easier than ever, but it also makes the need for student understanding of plagiarism and copyright laws all the more important.  Because librarians are both technology and information experts, they are in the ideal position to help students learn about the ethical use of information, and their job goes beyond simply teaching students that plagiarism is wrong (Dow, 2008).  As Dow (2008) noted, students need to be taught the principles of ethics: respect of intellectual property, privacy, fair representation, and avoiding harm.  Once they have an understanding of these basics, students can hone their ethical skills by considering dilemmas, crafted by teachers and librarians in collaboration, through ethical lenses.   Science projects about cloning, health classes focused on cyberbullying, and research papers about pirated software are all ways that librarians could work with teachers to begin the process of having students think ethically about technology in today's world.  In this way, students will gain understanding that 21st century digital citizenship requires responsible use of technology (ISTE, 2014a).

Finally, the Standards for the 21st Century Learner encourage students to "pursue personal and aesthetic growth" (AASL, 2007, p. 1), and the technology tools available to librarians today make this goal easier to reach than ever before.  Librarians have always encouraged literacy, reading for pleasure, and the desire to find new information; the availability of Web 2.0 tools just makes this job even easier.  Librarians can use JacketFlap to connect students with books that match their interests, Figment to encourage students to write creatively and publish their stories, YouTube to showcase student talents, and Shelfari to help students respond to their own reading.  Through these means, students can allow their creativity to flourish and create new and interesting products, 21st century learning skills that will serve them well in the digital age (ISTE, 2014a).

A major step that librarians can take to achieve the AASL's goals is to reimagine their library space.  Libraries can no longer be rooms where books are held and students are hushed; instead, librarians must focus on making their libraries the technological heart of the school.  Teacher-librarian collaboration, student research, whole-group instruction, small-group work, technology troubleshooting, and social connecting should all be happening in the library and through the library's virtual offerings.  Martin, Westmoreland, and Branyon (2011) report that Glen Allen High School in Henrico, Virginia was able to do this by focusing on the philosophy of creating a learning commons environment.   Their teacher-librarian made it her mission to encourage both teachers and students to use the library.  To this end, she became adept at using Web 2.0 tools, varied the environments offered within the library to accommodate students' academic and social needs, opened new lines of collaborative communication with teachers throughout the school, and housed the instructional technologist within the library.  The results were amazing: students filled the library to read, work in groups, or just relax, and teachers collaborated with library staff to create technology-rich lessons that allowed students to inquire, research, and apply new knowledge in authentic and social projects (Martin, Westmoreland, & Branyon, 2011).  It is this type of environment that the 21st century librarian should be striving to create, for it is in a place like this that students can gain valuable skills for the digital age.

The school librarian's purpose has changed, yet at the same time, her role can still be viewed as one that is focused on helping students gain powerful information in the best way possible.  Through the Standards for the 21st Century Learner, the AASL (2007) defines the many ways that librarians can positively influence their students' educational experiences.  21st century students learn best when their teachers and librarians work together to "design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop [21st century] knowledge, skills, and attitudes" (ISTE, 2014b, p. 1).  The first step toward this is for the librarian to embrace her role as technology leader, finding new Web 2.0 tools, sharing her expertise with students and faculty, and blazing new collaborative paths with teachers from all subject areas.  Only then can the school library be crafted to "honor 21st century learners who are inspired to solve real life problems, connect learning to relevant concepts, and use technology to share what they learned" (Martin, Westmoreland, & Branyon, 2011, p. 20).  By striving to meet these goals, librarians will best prepare their students for the digital age.

References:

American Association of School Librarians (2007).  Standards for the 21st century 

     learner.  Chicago, IL: Author.

Baumbach, D. J. (2009).  Web 2.0 and you.  Knowledge Quest, (37)4, 12-19.

Dow, M. (2008). Teaching ethical behavior in the global world of information and the 

     new AASL standards. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 25(4), 49-52.

International Society for Technology in Education (2014).  ISTE Standards: Students.   

     Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_Standards-S_PDF.pdf

International Society for Technology in Education (2014).  ISTE Standards: Teachers.   

     Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_Standards-T_PDF.pdf

Martin, A. M., Westmoreland, D. D., & Branyon, A. (2011).  New design considerations 

     that transform the library into an indispensible learning environment.  Teacher 
     Librarian, 38(4), 15-20.