Changing the World: One App at a Time

For the last few weeks, this TED Talk, in which Daniel Tammet explores how perception impacts learning and understanding, has been rolling around in my head. From the moment I saw it, I knew I needed to add it to my list of “must watch” TED Talks for school librarians, but that didn’t seem like enough.



Not able to shake the feeling that there was more for me to learn, I checked out Tammet’s memoir Born on a Blue Day from the public library and devoured it in an afternoon. While much of the book is a pretty linear recounting of Tammet’s experiences living with high-functioning autism and savant syndrome, there are moments of stunning beauty in which he describes how he sees the world. For example, the section in which Tammet explains his perception of prime numbers - numerical expressions so beautiful, peculiar and constant, that he often turns to them for comfort in the face of an uncertain and frequently cruel world - is incredibly moving. I’ve read that section several times, tearing up with each new passing. Plus, as someone who has spent her entire life avoiding math,  I couldn’t help but think that if Tammet had been my math teacher in elementary school, my life may have taken on a whole different trajectory, but I digress.

What may be most remarkable about Tammet, however, is not his mastery of languages (he learned conversational Icelandic in one week) or his ability to calculate complex math equations without so much as a number two pencil. Rather, what strikes me as really extraordinary about him is his choice to live publicly and share generously the details of this deeply personal journey. In the book, Tammet discusses his need to have a bowl of porridge each morning that weighs precisely 45 grams (he weighs it every time just to make sure) and how changes to his routine make him nervous and agitated –and yet he goes on book tours and speaks to a room full of geniuses at TED. I mean, let’s face it, most of us aren’t that brave or generous, and our brains don’t freak out if our morning corn flakes are underweight. Tammet’s mission is singular: to open us up to the idea that there’s different ways of thinking and knowing things – and that those differences effect how we learn. By sharing how he learns, Tammet hopes we'll think more about how others do.  What’s more, this message is so important to him, he’s willing to experience personal discomfort in order to spread it.

At this point, I’m tempted to ask if we, as educators, consider and appreciate the various ways our learners perceive the world and how that impacts their learning or even if we're as dedicated to our mission as Tammet is to his. However, I’m afraid I know the answer.

Anyway, as fate would have it, just as I’ve been engrossed in all things Tammet, I also stumbled across a photography app called WordFoto. Essentially, this fun little app provides the user with the ability to create, (what can be really lovely), image/text mash-ups: a digital marriage of self selected words and pictures that I just love. My first experiment with the app was one I created using a found image of Tammet and prime numbers. It started off as creative therapy, a way to produce something from all the ideas that were bubbling inside me.  However, the more I found myself referring back to his book to help me make decisions about colors and shadows, etc., the more I started to think about how this process might look in the school setting. Soon, my mind was buzzing with ideas about students using WordFoto to create images for book jackets, thematic displays or as part of the research process.

Then boom! I get this tweet from super-fab elementary school librarian Beth Redford who was not only reading my mind, apparently, but who had taken the idea to the next level with a creative commons licensing component. So cool!

But really, all of this is just the tip of the, proverbial, iceberg.  For awhile now, I’ve thought I understood the benefits of mobile apps in education. Had I been asked, I would have touted their portability, their relatively inexpensive cost, the ease with which they allow schools to access up to date technology and how they help prepare students for using such devices in the real world. But I’ve been missing the boat… at least in part.

What I’m just now realizing is how mobile apps provide us the opportunity to explore and honor the different ways in which students perceive the world, by giving them chances to interact with and change it. Let me give you an example: Whenever we ask students to locate, explore, discover or create [insert concept/product here], and then give them a stack of resources that we’ve either physically collected or curated online, their responses and creations are limited by our imaginations, perceptions and biases. No matter how good our intentions, no matter how many online options we offer, even the most expertly crafted opportunities for inquiry that tether students to a single room, (even if that room is filled with computers), offer a finite number of outcomes. In the end, more than just bringing the world to our students, mobile apps allow us to bring our students to the world – prompting a messy, but important, collision of ideas and perceptions. Even if that “world” is just our own campus, the insertion of our students into it, (along with their individual ways of knowing things), not only creates an infinite number of possible outcomes, but also, (and  more importantly), sparks conversations and interactions that change that world for the next explorer.

I know I must sound like a broken record, but I believe this is an exciting time to be a school librarian. While much of the discussion surrounding our field focuses on reinvention, (and believe me, some of that is needed), I don't think our overall mission has changed that much.  School libraries have always been about connecting our students to the world. Back in the day, we did it only through books and other print materials. Then the internet helped us exponentially expand those connections with just a few clicks. Now mobile apps present us with the challenge of rethinking those connections and the relationship between our students and the world they explore through research and inquiry.  Instead of just bringing the world to our students, these digital marvels allow us the opportunity to bring our students to the world - and as a result, neither will ever be the same.

UPDATE:

Even though a link to these can also be found in the comments, I wanted to share these AMAZING shelf labels that my new hero, Eliterate Librarian, made using WordFoto.  They are an incredible addition to her new shelving adventures -sans Dewey that is.  I love these and would steal them, but since she's also licensed them under Creative Commons, there's no need. Bravo, girl!

5 Conversations [About Libraries] I Don't Want To Have Anymore

The other day I ran across this post about educational conversations that have run their course. That is to say, ed-chat (not to be confused with #edchat) topics of discussion that have been discussed to death. We've all heard of educational "sacred cows," well... these are their "dead horse" companions. Naturally, this got me thinking about a similar list of library related conversations that I am tired of having. Don't get me wrong, I've spent plenty of time talking about these things myself and will probably be roped into talking about them again. What's more, I am not at all sitting in judgment of those for whom these issues remain compelling and important. Listen, if you're actively involved in dialogue about libraries, education and how librarians serve the needs of students, to you I tip my hat and say a hearty "bravo!" It's just, I guess I'm ready to see these conversations evolve. For me, at least, it’s time to either move these conversations to the next level, or send them out to pasture. Ok. Here goes:

1. I don't want to talk about copyright anymore. Rather, I want to talk about creative commons, "thanktribution" and the importance of sharing expertise and resources to make, not only better products, but ultimately a better society too. Without question, it's still important to help kids understand that lots of people make their livings and feed their families from the work they create and, as such, have the right to ask for compensation/attribution. However, I find conversations with kids about the process of creating and choosing to share and/or license their own work to be far more meaningful. Rather than just telling kids it's wrong to steal, I'd like to see this conversation move towards helping students add their own works to the collective while also empowering them to license those works in the most appropriate way.
2. I don't want to talk about "21st Century Skills" anymore. Seriously. It seems like I can't be involved with any educational conversation these days without being hit with the importance of 21st Century Skills. That's fine, but I'm ready to talk more specifically about what these skills really are. I want to see school librarians initiating and engaged in conversation that both identify specific skill sets and acknowledge that while the information landscape, and indeed the world, has certainly changed since the last century, many of the skills we should feel most compelled to develop in our students, (content curation, global awareness/citizenship, the ethical use/creation of information, etc.), are not exclusive to the 21st century. “21st Century Skills” is a convenient turn of phrase and, at one time, an impactful one. But that time has passed. Let’s move beyond the label and on to identifying, prioritizing and teaching the skills that will best prepare our students for life in this century and beyond. (Yes, they are going to live a very long time).
3. I don't want to talk about the "digital divide" anymore. Okay, that's not really true. The digital divide is an issue that is important and that needs to remain a part of our collective conversation. HOWEVER, I want this conversation to move beyond issues of simple access. There is no question in my mind that access is important. Having spent much of my career working with students for whom school is the only connected, digital space they inhabit, I understand how access and equity go hand in hand. Still, if there's one thing my time at the reference desk of the public library has taught me, it's that ONLY providing people with access to computers/the internet is not enough. Our efforts to put computers in the homes of families who don't have them, to start "one to one" initiatives at schools with high populations of students with limited/no access beyond the school day, or the ever ambitious (and noble) goal of extending broadband access to areas where there is none, will only be effective if we couple them with instruction. It may seem as though our students are born with digital devices in their hands, but that doesn't mean they know how to use them. I want to see school librarians leading the charge to shape future conversations about the "digital divide" to include an emphasis on both access and education.
4. I don’t want to talk about eBooks replacing print books anymore. I don’t believe this is going to happen. And it’s not because I’m a romantic who believes nostalgia will win the day. Rather, it’s because I understand that once the dust settles and the “new gadget” effect has worn off, schools will ultimately spend their limited monies on the resources that most impact student learning. To that end, I don’t just want to see school librarians acting as the voice of reason in these conversations, I want to see them emerge as curriculum and technology experts who understand that there’s room on the library shelves, and in student backpacks, for both traditional print and e-ink titles because both options address different instructional goals. In the end, I want to see this conversation become part of a larger, more important, dialogue revolving around how to best meet student needs – and this, my friends, is the conversation we should all be clamoring to be a part of.
5. I don’t want to talk about protecting students from the evils of social media anymore. If any conversation on this list needs to evolve, it’s this one. Conversations or initiatives that seek to make a student’s digital footprint invisible are outmoded and, frankly, dangerous. Our students live in a digital, connected world. As fast as we think of ways to block social media, they figure out ways to circumvent the filter. This conversation must evolve to the point where our goal is to help students develop a safe and responsible online presence. As school librarians, I want to us to ask more questions like “what happens when a teacher is not there to keep a child from visiting a “bad” site?” Or “what happens when students are asked to submit personal information for an online profile, but they’ve never been taught how?” Or even better, “how can we expect students to make good choices when we’re not there, when they’re given NO choices when we are?” Filters are necessary. But conversations about helping students create a safe online presence, (one that allows them to take advantage of all the GOOD social media has to offer), are important too.

Since starting this post, I've placed and deleted this image multiple times. I keep changing my mind because I’m not sure the connection between this work of art (by graffiti artist Borf) and my thinking is clear. In the end, I worry about the conversations we are having in education. Not because I feel they are the wrong ones to be had or because I’m afraid the wrong people are having them.  In fact, if I'm honest, then in general I'm heartened by the amount of discussion that's being generated by and about educators/education these days.  School librarians have long been part of the quiet and polite crowd in the corner, heads down, doing our work, but not making a big fuss about it, so... believe me when I'm say I'm thrilled to see so many of my tribe kicking up the dust and (dare I say it?) showing off. If anything, I'm just nudging the conversation forward a little, because I, for one, am ready to see certain conversations evolve to a point of greater relevancy - lest they (and we) become obsolete.

It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's Our Annual Report!

I've been getting a fair amount of (friendly) grief this week as I've been toiling away on my library's annual report.  Why?  Well... because annual reports are not required in my district.  Apparently, to some people (and you know who you are!) crunching numbers, making graphs and reflecting on school years past (when you don't actually have to) is tantamount to madness. But the truth is, I love this stuff. Digging through data, discovering correlations and proving (or disproving) that what you believe, in your heart, to be true about your work is, well... fun!

Of course, my joy and naivety related to this process may be (at least partially) attributed to the fact that I've never done one before.  Yes.  This is my first annual report.  And since there was no one around to tell me how I should do it or what to include, I got to make up the rules as I went along, which was great, because it made me REALLY think about who my audience was going to be.  In the end, I realized that the group I most wanted to target with this information was administrators - both at my school and at central office, which reminded me of one of the first budget related conversations I ever had with my current principal (who is super supportive, by the way).  I remember going into her office armed with file folders full of evidence and research, ready to blow her high heels off with data proving that whatever I wanted deserved her time, attention and (most importantly) money.  After about 2 sentences she stopped me and asked "what's the bottom line?"  She wanted, what I might now refer to as, a tweetable budget request:  Short, sweet and to the point.

So... I wrote my annual report with this personality type in mind, making certain that:

1. All data is organized into bite sized chunks.
2. It's visually interesting and fun.
3. The "bottom line" is easy to recognize
4. What few narratives there are, are short, sweet and to the point.
5. I tried to focus on data they would actually care about.  (For example, instead of bemoaning the state of my 400s or shouting about the number of times A Diary of a Wimpy Kid was checked out, I focused on student impact, the relationship between library services and academic success and how our library meets the identified needs of students at our school). 

And finally, I took a page from the book of Gwyneth and decided to, if nothing else, lend a comic nudge/wink to my report.  I didn't use Comic Life (as Gwyneth swears by) and I'm nowhere near as talented as she is, but I did try to capture the spirit of her SPECTACULAR comic tutorials, in the hopes of making this report fun and easy to digest.

And who knows, Batman!  Somebody might actually read it! :)

MGMS annual report 2010 11

As always, everything I do, this is licensed under Creative Commons, so please feel free to use, share, mash-up and/or make this better.  Also, it's worth noting that lots of other FANTASTIC annual reports can be found here.  Have fun!

When Life Hands You A Lemon...

Lots of state library associations sponsor kid-lit book awards – that is to say book honors that are decided by readers, as opposed to a panel of bespectacled judges.  I love these awards because they open up lots of discussion among students (and teachers) about why certain books are nominated and what criteria should be used to pick the “best” out of the list our little readers have to choose from.  Often, to get teachers involved in the promotion of these books, I create curriculum and multimedia materials for each book.  I also compile existing resources to share with students.  This year, I am really excited because a high interest, moderate reading level work of urban fiction made the list:  A Boy Called Twister by Anne Schraff (who is responsible for several of the books in the incredibly popular Bluford High Series).   This is great for some of my students who don’t see themselves as readers or who are intimidated by the 600 page Harry Potters of the world.

But here’s the rub: in comparison to most of the other “big name” titles on this year’s list, Twister is a small book and there’s just not a lot of resources out there.  No fun webpages with interactive games, no interviews with the author and no book trailers.  So… we decided to make one. 

Here’s how it went:

I started by passing our one copy of the book to a few students who I thought would enjoy it - saying that I had an idea for a movie that I wanted them to star in.  Soon, other students were clamoring to be a part of it.   I only had 2 rules for my budding movie stars:  1) I needed permission from their parents to share the finished product on the interwebs  and 2) each student had to actually read the book.  It wasn’t long before I had a small, but mighty, group of 8 students ready to for duty.

Our pre-production meetings occurred during our 20 “enrichment” period at the very beginning of the day.  After getting off the bus, students grabbed breakfast in the cafeteria and met me in the library where we talked about the book, created a list of all the details we felt were important to include in our trailer and then cobbled together a VERY rough story board. 

“Shooting” occurred at the same time.  Often students were taking sips of orange juice or downing a blueberry muffin between takes, but we managed to shoot every scene and take every picture in a 2 week period.  Early on, the crew decided they wanted their movie to be primarily in black and white and to consist of both still and video shots.  Every picture and every video segment was blocked, directed and/or shot by a student. 

Our post-production regiment (which happened mostly during lunch/recess or whenever I could find a few minutes with the kids) utilized (all but one) free resources, including Picnik for photo editing, Windows Movie Maker and Pinnacle Studios (our one paid for resource) for video production and YouTube and Wix for online hosting.  Although I did the video editing, students edited 99% of the photos and sat with me as I stitched together the video, giving me strict instructions as to the order of the footage and their vision for the finished product.  Then they chose a teacher to narrate the script - which they wrote.  Finally, we talked about where/how to host it and licensing their work under creative commons so that others could use and share it.  (Then I burned them each a DVD to take home).

To say that I *love* the finished product is an understatement.  I am so proud of these students and what they have accomplished – and not simply because many of them are struggling readers, but because what they’ve created is just plain good.  I’m proud to share it with others and look forward to future projects with my new crew of book trailer creating READERS. 

I have to be honest, this has been a tough week for me professionally.  But these kids have reminded me of why I do what I do.  Connecting kids with books, helping them discover new interests and talents, and teaching them that along with the privileges and benefits of the connected world we live in comes also the responsibility to contribute (positively) to it – these are heady and intimidating responsibilities.  But they are also joyful and incredibly rewarding.

Enjoy!   

Some Reflections on Sharing

One of the things I love most about our profession is how generous so many people are with their resources, creativity and expertise.  I was a classroom teacher for many years before donning a library hat and even though I loved that part of my career and remember those days with great fondness, I never felt as supported or as much a part of a community as I have since moving to libraryland.  I truly believe that when we share, we all become better and our practice, as a whole, is strengthened.  What's more, it's fantastic to be part of a profession that truly understands and embraces that philosophy. 

Whenever I talk to kids about citing their sources and giving credit where credit is due, I strongly encourage them to, whenever possible, use resources that are licensed under Creative Commons - not because this will keep them out of the hot seat or to prevent the dreaded copyright police from knocking in the night - but rather because it shows them how much better we all become when we share.  My hope is that they'll not only learn about attribution, but that they'll also grow up to become generous contributors to whatever fields they choose to tackle for work or pleasure.  Sometimes I feel like we miss the boat when talking about copyright by focusing more on the law and/or the bad feelings that can result from someone else pilfering your work(s).  Those things are important, of course, but I find I have better results from stressing the positives of sharing your talents and of using the works of others who are willing to do the same.

But, that's a post of a different color.

That being said, it was truly an honor to be a part of the sharing that went on during the TL Virtual Cafe Session on Adding eReaders to your Library Program. Honestly, I am still pinching myself.

And, in the spirit of sharing, here are my slides from the presentation.

Diving Into Digital Books: TL Virtual Cafe 5/2/2010 

View more presentations from Jennifer LaGarde

Coincidentally, some people were asking about the images used in the session - I'm actually pretty stoked (do people still use that word?) because every last one of those images was my very own!  I tackled a 365 photo project this year that has turned out to be decidedly non-library related (but a great creative outlet!). So... when I learned I'd need to do a Power Point for the TL Cafe session, I decided to break out the camera instead of trolling the internet.  It was great fun and helped me realize that Power Point doesn't have to be a substitute for Ambien.  And, of course, all the photos (that do not contain students) are  licensed under creative commons, so please take, use, alter and share.  What's mine is yours. Similarly, some folks in the room expressed interest in the list of dystopian novels that I mentioned in the session.  Feel free to email me at jennifer[dot]lagarde[at]nhcs[dot]net and I'll share the google doc with you!  Finally, if you weren't able to make it to the session, an archived audio version as well as a text version of the comment thread are housed  here.  

Thanks again to everyone who shared their time, talents and experience with me last night.  It's amazing to be part of a profession that embraces the philosophy of sharing for the benefit of the whole.  I know I'm much better at my job as a result of this generosity.