Competency H

H. Demonstrate proficiency in identifying, using, and evaluating current and emerging information and communication technologies

INTRODUCTION

Our world is driven by technology, students currently in high school are considered digital natives, never knowing a world without the internet, social media, and cell phones. As an information professional working as a school librarian, it is integral that I am well versed in identifying, using, and evaluating, new and emerging technologies in order to provide the school community with access to new and innovative information resources, as well as more traditional materials. In 500 BCE, Pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus declared “nothing in life is permanent, nor can it be, because the very nature of existence is change” (Mark, 2010, para. 4). This concept could not have proven to be more true than in this past year with the way COVID19 and the global pandemic has impacted student learning. Schools throughout the world transitioned to remote learning, with very little to no notice. Our school closed at the end of the day on March 12, 2020, and we did not return until September 14, 2020. Overnight, the library’s entire service model needed revision. We needed to devise whole new ways of keeping the library an active, viable, presence, promoting our services virtually, using a variety of technologies to stay connected. Our school district is extremely fortunate to have a 1:1 system in place, which helped the library’s mission—to stay connected with students and staff. In this document, I will discuss the importance of a school library teacher being able to identify, use, and evaluate, new and emerging technologies.

IDENTIFY

According to Loertscher (2007), the goal of a school library is to be “every student’s and teacher’s essential information system” (p. 109) Therefore it is crucial that school librarians stay abreast of the latest technological advances in order to provide the necessary materials and resources for a 21st century education. Library teachers must assess and identify the technology needs of students and faculty in order to equip the library with beneficial technological resources. With new and emerging technologies being introduced daily, it is not always easy to identify what technologies a school library with a limited budget should invest in.

There are numerous resources available that are dedicated to helping librarians discover and learn about the latest technological advances and trends, such as Computers in Libraries, Library Trends, Stephen’s Lighthouse, and Information Technology and Libraries. Library teachers should also subscribe to various professional publications, blogs, and listservs focused on education, like School Library Journal, Knowledge Quest, ALA Connect, and Future Ready Librarians (FRL).

It is not enough, however, to read about the latest trends in technology, library teachers must “plan for future growth, innovation, and change in the educational and operational environment” (FRL, 2017, p. 2). In order to implement changes and determine what new technologies to adopt, the school librarian must know and understand the specific needs and interests of the school community. School librarians are tasked with using technology to communicate and provide library services, as well as to determine what technology resources to have available for use in the library. This past year, being remote, not having access to the physical library, has given me the opportunity to explore technology in new and different ways. It could no longer be about what was in the physical library, but what resources and services we could provide virtually.

A school library should have an interactive website, with links to all of the library resources, including the library’s catalog. As a district, the Integrated Library System (ILS) we use is Destiny Library Manager, which is an open-source software system. As with any library software, there is the public portal that anyone can see, and the library portal, that only library staff have access to. Designed for schools, destiny has features that allows us to create private resource lists and public “collections” where you can create subject-specific individual collections, up to 100 items, inputting library books, videos, websites, and links to documents. Destiny also offers various sharing options where you can choose to keep a collection private, share it with only the school, the entire district, or make it public. Another feature is that you are able to input additional subject tags to increase access. Students and staff can browse the traditional catalog or the collections, using a computer, tablet, or phone, see what is available, and request items.

When we closed, one of our main goals was to figure out a way to support the school community, providing books and other materials to any students or faculty that needed or wanted them. Due to a lack of interest, and expense, we do not have any ebooks in our collection, and of course we could not access the physical collection. We discussed purchasing them when we realized we were not going back to school, but decided against it. Instead, we emailed the school community and provided links on our website to the Minuteman Library Network and the Boston Public Library, both of which have extensive e-resources. We then began utilizing a variety of different technologies, some I was familiar with, and some not. We have used email, zoom, google hangouts, google docs, google sites, youtube, social media, libguides, and iMovie to stay connected with and provide services for the school community.

USE

Future Ready Librarians (2017), an expansion of the Future Ready Schools initiative, declares “all students deserve equitable access to qualified technology leaders, digital resources, and innovative learning environments” (p. 2), which is the responsibility of a school librarian to provide. A growing trend in school libraries has been to provide a makerspace, where students are able to become creators, experimenting with different materials, and building their knowledge. This is something we have discussed implementing, but due to the restrictions in place for the pandemic, we are not able to consider something to that effect right now.

One advantage of the pandemic has been the ability to experiment with various technologies for providing remote library services. We first had to inform the students and staff that our databases were still available, and that we were happy to help with any research or reference questions. We also let staff know we were able to collaborate, and willing to join their classes remotely. I created a google site (see evidence) with information and links to a variety of educational resources for faculty, which also included links to our website, catalog, and passwords to all of our databases. We also regularly use twitter and instagram to promote the library and provide library information.

One of the favorite parts of my job is reading to the preschoolers (we have a preschool housed inside the high school). When we went remote, I recorded myself reading stories to the preschool using imovie, as well as joined classes remotely using google meet to read “in person.” Over the summer one of my classes was Info 281 Seminar in Contemporary Issues—Booktalking & Booktrailering, so I began making book trailers for the HS using Adobe Spark, imovie, and youtube. I taught one of my colleagues, who was eager to learn, how to make them as well. The library staff communicated and collaborated with each other regularly, and on a more frequent basis than before. We had zoom meetings with just the high school library staff, and ones that included the middle and elementary school library staff as well. We were also in constant communication through email and text messages, sharing ideas, resources, and information.

My internship was scheduled for the fall semester, and my original placement fell through due to the coronavirus. I then made arrangements to complete my internship at one of the middle schools in my district. Although we did physically go back to school in September, it is at a limited capacity, socially distanced, hybrid model. Teachers do not bring their classes into the library, and we do not go into classrooms, and we definitely are not able to go to other schools. Therefore, my internship was completed completely virtually. For three months, I joined the 5th grade Media Lit class and the 6th grade Research Skills daily through google meet. Luckily, we were all on google meet, as my district is only allowing core classes to meet in person. All specials are conducted virtually, and “library” is considered a special. We used google classroom to post assignments, give feedback, and answer questions. I created several lesson plans for the 5th grade class, using google forms, jamboard, and YouTube. During the 6th grade class, we used break out rooms, each taking a group of kids in order to help them with their research. In both classes, students were able to present their screens, which is an extremely helpful piece of technology.

As for the high school, the library is still in use, but in a very different capacity. Due to space constraints, part of the library is currently being used as a classroom, where the teacher is teaching live, albeit remotely. The rest of the library is being used for up to 25 juniors and seniors who are on “priv,” students who do not have to attend study hall. Our first hour of every day is dedicated to checking every student’s “ruvna” code, a QR code, that means their parents have attested they are healthy enough to attend school. Recently, we have been collaborating on various projects with classroom teachers, using email and google docs, providing libguides and reference help, as well as carts of books they can take to their classrooms. We look forward to a time when we can go back to meeting with students and staff face-to-face, without restrictions, but in the meantime, we are very grateful for all of the ways technology has enabled us to provide services virtually.

EVALUATE

School librarians must regularly evaluate the effectiveness of the library’s technology, those technologies that are already in use, and those that are being considered for use. Deciding to Implement new and emerging technologies in a school library can be an expensive endeavor. According to Breeding (2018) “after piloting and evaluating new technology, the technologies that organizations incorporate into their operations must be well proven and reliable” (p. 309). Therefore, it is essential that library teachers evaluate all technology carefully to avoid implementing something that may not be used, doesn’t work properly, or that may soon become obsolete.

EDUCAUSE, a higher education technology association, suggests libraries consider the following questions to assess the impact on introducing new technology:

• How useful will it be in addressing issues of equity and inclusion?

• What is its potential to have a significant and positive impact on learning outcomes?

• What is its risk of failure?

• How receptive will faculty be to adopting it?

• What level of institutional funding will be needed to adopt it? (Brown et al., 2020, p. 13).

Using these questions as a guide for evaluating new and existing technologies should be helpful in determining whether it is something that would be beneficial for the library.

Due to the constant development of new technological advances, school libraries must continue to evolve and change, considering “themselves as fluid enterprises, not fixed monoliths” (Foote, 2015, p. 10), in order to help students become efficient users of ideas and information. Therefore, it is crucial school librarians do not shy away from embracing new technologies, we “have to adapt to the fact that our students live in a networked world” (Foote, 2015, p. 11). There will be times when something does not work as expected, or simply does not catch on, but it is important to continue to learn about and experiment with new technologies.

EVIDENCE

Info 281 Seminar in Contemporary Issues—Booktalking & Booktrailering - Booktrailer 3

For this course, we were required to create 3 book trailers. This was the 3rd book-trailer I made, which is for Samira Ahmed’s book Love Hate and Other Filters. This book-trailer shows my ability to use a variety of technologies such as Adobe Spark, YouTube, and various creative common websites such as free stock music, unsplash, and pixabay to find resources to use in the trailer. Before I took this course, I had never used Adobe Spark or iMovie before. I ended up having a lot of fun with it, and I have been using it regularly to promote books at the high school ever since. It is very gratifying when a student or staff member comes in and says I saw the book trailer, can I check out the book? I recently made this one, Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer DeLeon, which we posted on twitter and received this response from the author:

I believe that this shows I have a good understanding of how to use technology to promote the library, literacy, and reading for enjoyment.

Professional Experience - Google Site & LibGuide

When everyone went remote last year, we wanted to support the faculty in the transition to online learning. I made a google site with various links in a variety of subjects, and sent it to all of the high school and pre-school staff. I also created a couple of different libguides for staff this past fall. One was for all staff, with numerous reading resources, while the other was for one teacher’s film analysis class. I believe that these resources show my ability to use technology to support faculty, provide essential services, and promote the library.

Professional Experience - Preschool Read Alouds: We’re All Wonders, The Very Impatient Caterpillar, & Bad Dog

These are three of the many read alouds I did for the pre-school when we were shut down. I feel this shows I am capable of using technology to provide remote services, interact with students, and promote early literacy. Of course, the times when I was able to join a live remote class and read to the preschoolers in real time was more enjoyable. However, I know that having access to videos of myself, my boss, and the various preschool teachers, was a great resource to provide to the preschoolers—who were very confused about why they could not be in school.

CONCLUSION

School librarians should be “tracking, aware of, and acting on trends to which our schools and libraries need to be responsive” (Foote, 2015, p. 10). Being a remote student at sjsu, living 3,000 miles away in MA, coupled with the unique remote situation of the past year, I feel I have a good grasp of using technology to provide library services to both students and staff in a variety of different formats. I also know that it is important to assess the specific needs of the school community, when evaluating existing, and emerging technologies for use in the library. As a school library teacher, I will be proactive and committed to staying abreast of technology trends and developments in order to provide the best possible resources for both students and faculty.

References

© Alliance for Excellent Education. (2018). Tech leader flyer [Brochure]. Future Ready Schools. https://futureready.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Tech_leader_flyer6.16.17.pdf

Breeding, M. (2018). Managing technology. In S. K. Hirsh (Ed.), Information services today: An introduction (2nd ed., pp. 298-313). Rowman & Littlefield.

Brown, M., McCormack, M., Reeves, J., Brooks, D. C., Grajek, S., Alexander, B., Bali, M., Bulger, S., Dark, S., Engelbert, N., Gannon, K., Gauthier, A., Gibson, D., Gibson, R., Lundin, B., Veletsianos, G., & Weber, N. (2020). 2020 EDUCAUSE horizon report, teaching and learning edition. https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2020/3/2020_horizon_report_pdf.pdf

Foote, C. (2015). School libraries: Leading the way into the future. School Library Connection, 10-12. https://schoollibraryconnection.com/assets/mediaserver/SLC/2142/2142539.pdf

Loertscher, D. (2007). The digital school library: A worldwide development and a fascinating challenge. In E. Rosenfeld & D. V. Loertscher (Eds.), Toward a 21st-century school library media program (pp. 108-117). Scarecrow Press.

Mark, J. J. (2010, July 14). Heraclitus of Ephesus. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.ancient.eu/Heraclitus_of_Ephesos/