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!

Take That! Using Wikis To Pop Filter Bubbles!

Today I had the honor of learning and sharing with educators from Southeastern North Carolina at the New Hanover County Summer Technology Institute. Today's session was on using Wikis as a tool for content curation - a skill I believe both teachers and students need to develop as we become more and more saturated with information. This was a wonderful experience for me for several reasons:

First, this was the first time I was able to trot out an updated version a presentation I've been giving for some time now on wikis.  Lately, I've been thinking about wikis as a tool for content curation - an opportunity for students and teachers to think about how the internet works, about how information is filtered before it comes to us, about who edits it and why.  In the past, I've taught wiki workshops which focused on the benefits of collaboration and the idea that multiple brains are better than one. This presentation, on the other hand, emphasizes how using wikis for "collective curation" can help students/teachers burst what Eli Pariser refers to as "filter bubbles" while also collecting the very best of what the internet has to offer.  It's my own small attempt at transforming research into a metacognitive process in which researchers (of all ages) consider not only what they are learning about the research topic, but also about how their research skills are influenced by external factors.  (Big thanks, by the way, to Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano whose post on Students Becoming Curators of Information pointed me towards some powerful images which I used - with attribution - in this presentation.  Thank you!)

Second, this was a non-library crowd - while everyone in the room was an educator, I believe I was the only librarian.  I find that this kind of experience is good for me because it forces me to look at my message through new eyes, to see how it plays outside the echo chamber of library land.  That said, everyone was so receptive and open and willing to go along for the ride.

Finally, this was an incredibly good looking group of people.  Obviously. :)

Tomorrow I get to do a two part session with a colleague on eBooks.  Again, this is an updated version of a presentation I've given a few times before.  It should be good fun because it will be the first time that I get to do the presentation where the focus isn't simply on eReaders but on meeting student needs (instructional, developmental and emotional) through eBooks (both the eReader kind and the subscription kind).

Lately, I've been feeling a little sorry for myself because I won't be attending ALA or ISTE this summer - but today's crowd helped me feel good about the learning and sharing I get to do right here at home.  Thank you!

PS:  My #2000hour spreadsheet is filling up. 

Scratching The Resolution Itch

As the sun sets on another year, it's only natural to reflect on what's transpired over the last 12 months and to then look ahead to the 12 on the horizon. Indeed, many of the blogs I read are currently sporting New Year's Resolution posts and it's been inspiring to read what others are reaching for in 2011. It is in that spirit of healthy self refection and in knowing that, as someone "of a certain age," writing things down is always a safe bet, that I too started making a list of professional goals for the coming year.

For me, 2010 has been a year of extreme professional growth. Even though the connections I've made have been almost entirely virtual, I feel more connected to my colleagues than ever before.  What's more, these connections keep me constantly striving to do and be more. These days, it seems like not a day goes by when I don't find myself inspired to try something new or to push myself one step further. I love that feeling, but there are things about it that make me nervous too.

Being something of a librarian newbie, (this is only my 5th year in the library, after 10 years in the classroom), sometimes I worry about leaping before really looking - that is to say, diving into to new programs/projects without fully exploring the *why* of it.  This is compounded by the fact that, more often than I care to admit, the time I need, post lesson, to truly reflect on student learning is simply not there.(I'm hearing Mr. Schu's Metacognition song in my head even as I type this).  If nothing else, I am desperate to be purposeful in my practice.  Even if I can't be as formally reflective as I'd like to be, I *can* act with intention.

And so, here I am, with a goal setting itch that needs to be scratched. 

The Goal	The Why
1.  Explore/begin using Evernote & Diigo: I know there are plenty of high schools that have integrated both of these tools as a part of their instructional programs, but I'm unaware of middle school examples. That said, I'd like to take the Evernote plunge PERSONALLY and implement it as a cloud replacement for MS OneNote (which has, sadly, gone from life changing to increasingly clunky as of late) but also as a research tool for my students.	I feel that one of my strengths as a librarian is teaching students how to locate and evaluate resources - particularly those online. However, I also know that I am weaker at showing them how to stitch all of of the information they find together together into a useful, ever evolving tapestry of resources. I believe (hope!) a tools like Evernote & Diigo might help me help my students collect and organize information.  This has been on my radar for awhile, but 2011 feels like the year to do it!
2. Increase visibility/validity of library Facebook Page: I've already taken the plunge and created a facebook page for our library, but in 2011 I'd like to see the followers increase to 450 (half our students population) and I'm committed to updating the page at least once per week.	I'll admit the why of this goal is partly selfish. I believe strongly that this kind of promotion and branding of our library will be an essential part of our survival as we head into budget talks this year. However, I'm also committed to connecting with students in the digital world where they already live and to proving that social media can be a force for good in education.
3. Complete 365 Photo-A-Day Project:  As a part of our library's FB page, I'd like to start a photo a day project (Diane Cordell Style) to include as part of the FB feed. Some of the photos may be personal, but I'm planning to make those taken on "school days" in particular related to the library so that they can become a feed for students to access.	There are so many opportunities for me to enhance the connections I make with students via digital images. As I'm planning to have students both access and contribute to the feed, I'm hopeful that this project will provide another avenue for students to feel connected to the library, its resources and to me.
4.  Explore/Implement QR Code program:  Truly, I need a whole other blog post to talk about how excited I am about QR Codes, (thank you, Gwyneth Jones and Steven Anderson - and thank you Ryan Redd for showing me the way) but I plan to integrate them into NUMEROUS collaborative projects *and* as a means of transforming my library into a creation station - (more on this later).	Following Joyce Valenza's assertion that the library is a place to learn and create, I believe QR Codes will provide my students with a creative, innovative means of sharing their digital, "library-made," creations. I can't wait!
5.  Continue to grow Nook program, explore other options for student use, grow Nook wiki: Project Nook will continue in 2011. As they cannot be checked out in my district, my work will be focused on their continued integration into content area instruction.  Further, I want to grow the Nook wiki to include student and teacher reflection videos.	I believe our Nooks provide the perfect opportunity for students to engage in open choice reading. Following Donalyn Miller's example in The Book Whisperer, it's my goal to both encourage and actively collaborate in literature projects that afford students the opportunity to choose what they read. Frankly, this will require a shift in thinking for some of our teachers, but I'm ready to "direct the Rider, motivate the Elephant, and shape the Path" in order to make this a reality.
6.  Continue to grow "You Might be a 21st Century Librarian in NHCS" wiki: I have the specific goal of increasing participation in my district's "You Might Be A 21st Century Librarian" wiki to 80% by the end of the school year. I will also add pages for links to artifacts (with a nod to Kathy Kaldenberg for the idea!)	Like many districts around the country, ours is facing even deeper cuts into budget and personnel next year, I believe our wiki will provide us with a means of focusing our instructional efforts and provide documentation of our "value added" for shareholders. Plus, I love reading about what others are doing and implementing some of those same ideas with my own students.
7.  Continue to grow/promote Gators Read Everywhere Project: I have the specific goal of increasing participation in my Gator's Read Everywhere Project to 250 students with at least 10 classes having used instructionally - by the end of the school year.	I love this project and want so much to see it grow in 2011. I started the map because I truly believe that the Gators Read map is the perfect marriage of 21st century skills, reading promotion and connecting the library to the learning that goes on in every class.I feel there's so much potential in this project, I just need to stoke the fires a bit.
8. Help Develop and grow a long distance Collaborative Book Club:  I wish to implement a collaborative book club with at least one other librarian and his/her students in 2011.	I have learned so much by connecting with others from around the world, I can only believe that the same would be true for my students. Plus, collaborating with other libraries from around the country/world would provide my students with another opportunity to use tools like wikis, blogs and skype as a part of the book club process.
9.  Maintain and update Library Girl blog with more frequency: I have the specific goal of updating this blog once per week.	This blog provides me with a platform for reflection. It's a place when I can think about my own learning (queue Mr. Schu again). I believe this makes me better at what I do. At least, I hope so. :)
10.  Write monthly "Professionally Reading" column:   I have the specific goal of contributing one review, of a professional resource, to our district's employee newsletter - our district PR officer has named this column "Professionally Reading w/Jennifer LaGarde"	I often joke that I never read books for anyone over 4ft tall. This project gives me an excuse to step out of the world of YA fiction and read some of the professional titles that I've been longing to dig into, but that I keep putting off!

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah.  That feels better. :)

Happy New Year, everyone!