Magazine and Newspaper Collection in a Nook

Image via WikipediaI have watched as others bought Nooks, Kindles and other ebook readers for the library, remaining cautiously on the sidelines, waiting for better products and a budget for their purchase. Now I finally have a workable idea as I'm planning the new library for New Tech High School. My new plan is a small collection of Nooks dedicated primarily to Newspaper and Magazine reading. I'm just now exploring the details of this plan, but here are my thoughts on its advantages over other options.

1. The physical magazine/newspaper collection can be eliminated, allowing for a more open library and more efficient use of space.
2. Since magazines and newspapers are meant for shorter reading periods, the loan period for the devices can be short-term and for library use only. With an ebook collection a user would naturally want the device for a much longer time, making it unavailable to other library users.
3. The magazine and newspaper collection could be adjusted very easily and at low cost during the course of the year. Generally, print periodical orders need to be complete in the preceding school year, and additions in the current year are generally are dependent on donations.
4. Library users would be introduced to the e-reader formats and be allowed to easily participate in online discussions related to their interest.

The only downside of this plan that I can think of would be that some teachers accustomed to using print periodicals in their instruction would be disappointed. I would appreciate any feedback, especially on those with experience with ereaders in the library.

Daring Librarian in Action!

I'm continuing my series of posts related to the ISTE SIGMS forum. The only bad thing about the SIGMS forum is that only 250 library professionals got to see it live. It is such a great event and I hope that my work here allows many more to enjoy and learn from the speakers. Here's Gwyneth Jones, the Daring Librarian. Underneath all of that flamboyant wackiness is a woman of substance. In this presentation she gives some great examples of the online learning commons in practice. I have been wrestling with how to implement the online learning commons on my campus, and there are some great, concrete ideas here along with an important general message.

My only regret is that You Tube guidelines do not allow me to include more than 15 minutes in a clip. The result is Doug Johnson's perfect straight man introduction is lost. Oh well. You had to be there to appreciate it.

Video of Buffy Hamilton's Presentation at ISTE

Here's the promised video of Buffy Hamilton's talk at the ISTE Conference. This presentation should be seen by everyone in the library profession.

Sharpening the Saw

Steven Covey was one of the featured speakers at the ISTE conference this year. One of Mr. Covey's 7 Habits is "Sharpening the Saw," which has to do with the spiritual renewal necessary to remain fresh and vital in one's profession. That's why I go to ISTE. I find it energizing to be among like-minded people and to listen to and learn from the shining lights of the library profession.

The truth of the matter is that the last 2 years of my career have been very difficult for a variety of reasons. I have not felt successful in creating a vibrant and dynamic library program since I moved to Dallas. I've even considered moving more in the direction of instructional technology and leaving behind the title 'librarian.'

There were many great speakers, including Mr. Covey, but the most amazing presentation was Buffy Hamilton's on creating enchantment in the library. This is a woman that really gets what libraries are all about and her talk was full of passion and authenticity. I'm very grateful that I was among the 250 people in the room for the SIGMS forum. Ms. Hamilton's talk reminded me of why I chose this career and really got me motivated to make the library program at my new campus something special. I think everyone in the library profession should see her speak. If we all took her message to heart, we could go along way towards preserving the library profession just as it preserved my desire to say in it. Here's her slide presentation, and hopefully the video will be available soon.

libraries as communally constructed sites of participatory learning:   creating conversations and connections through enchantment

View more presentations from Buffy Hamilton

Reflecting on ISTE Keynote

I've always been something of a contrarian. I can't simply go to any gathering and agree with everything that is being said. Rather, I'm always finding some fundamental difference with the conventional wisdom. At ISTE, this is also the case.

While Chris Lehman is a great and accomplished principal who does many things worth emulating, I don't completely buy into his worldview. I'm all in favor of meaningful projects where students construct their own meaning and trusting, caring student teaching relationships that allow learning to flourish. However, he is much more radical than me when it comes to the teacher role.

Lehman likes to say that students don't want to be told anything. No more sage on the stage. His students back him up. His young poet/slammers had a lot of swagger when they pronounced basically that no one can tell them anything. Quite simply I'm not in favor of the teacher abandoning the role as subject expert. Here's why.

In these difficult economic times, the people that manage to thrive are people with expert knowledge in a specific area. How does one become an expert? Generally by learning from the experts in the field, either by working with them, reading their writings or listening to lectures. I believe it is essential for every young scholar to appreciate intellectual mastery as a worthy end, and that means respecting their teacher as the expert in their subject. A student that is never humble before someone of greater knowledge really doesn't have much of a chance of acquiring subject mastery. I believe very deeply as an orthodox Jew that one must revere the scholar and that the highest form of learning is 'lishma' which loosely translates to 'for its own sake.' The love for the scholar and the love of learning much go hand in hand.

Maybe I was the weird one, but in High School I had no respect for teachers that did not know their subject. Typically these teachers would show a lot of videos instead of teaching anything themselves. On top of that they never assigned any meaningful work. From my experience, the best teachers were the most knowledgeable and gave students assignments that required thinking and creativity. As a student I needed both things to do well. In college and graduate school I had some professors that were more facilitators of learning, rather than scholars. I didn't feel like I learned as much than I would have if they were teaching me from a position of expertise. Sometimes I would actually feel cheated if the professor was not teaching in a subject matter in which they were an expert. In contrast, I remember being absolutely enthralled by a lecture at the University of Minnesota by a special man who was a scholar in death and dying issues. I could have tried to grasp death and dying in a constructivist type project, but I felt that having a sage on the stage was far better. His lecture left me with a strong desire to learn more about the subject.

I'm not an advocate of lecture-only classes. Students need to work with the material in a meaningful way. Sometimes this means reading in depth in isolation, but it could also mean working with partners or groups or listening to a teacher and asking questions. Time on task has long been the biggest factor in student learning. So, yes I believe teachers need to adjust to today's students, who are more difficult to engage in truly academic, rigorous work, but that does not mean teachers should back off completely from their role as an authority on the subject they teach. Furthermore, I believe the highest outcome for our students is for them to become real scholars, those that love to learn. That means they need role-models that are experts and scholars.

Librarians, Media Specialists and New Tech

Today I confirmed what I long suspected...I am the only Library/Media Specialist at the New Tech Network training in 2011. This is very worrisome to me. Most of all, I am concerned about what this says about the library profession.

I'm personally very invested in this profession and I've called myself a librarian for a full decade now. I've always bought into the idea of a librarian as a leader in teaching 21st Century skills. There are many of us that play this role and I'm proud of many of my colleagues, but the writing is on the wall. Not enough librarians are making the leap into the 21st Century.

Many of the people from New Tech Schools that I have spoken with recently cut their library positions after their librarians retired. Others have librarians, but they have not made themselves critical to the mission of the school. One person said that it took 3 years for the administration to figure out the librarians role in their New Tech school. That is so sad.

I am not just concerned about the profession, but our entire culture. Libraries represent so much that is critical for the continuation of Democracy. I don't think the Internet by itself is a substitute. I believe the future needs reflective people that understand complexity and the many perspectives of different people and cultures; people read widely and deeply. Nicholas Carr has called the human mind of the Internet era "The Shallows." I think he's correct. I'm concerned that there won't be enough people capable of deep and abstract thought to sustain this great country as a bastion of freedom. Ignorant people are prone to tyranny.

The New Tech model of teaching is wonderful, but I think every New Tech school needs a library (even if it is called the Media Center or the Learning Commons). The library is nothing without a passionate and skilled librarian. Without such a person, who will advocate for students to read full-length books in the course of their high school careers? Who will teach how to find and process quality information in the vast sea of propaganda and who will man the information hub of our schools? It's possible that teachers can fill this void, but it is equally possible that no one will do so.

I'm proud to be a part of the New Schools Network, and I don't blame anyone within the organization for the state of affairs in public education and school libraries. I simply urge more of my librarian colleagues to get involved and be a part of the future of education.

New Tech Network 2nd Day

I'm now starting to settle in and get familiar with the group, the instructional model and the software of the New Tech Network. One thing I noticed today is that most of the schools at this training are from smaller cities or rural communities. My school of Dallas and another school from San Antonio are the only truly urban ones represented here. This is actually something I'm very proud of. We have a great group of people on our staff, and I really think we can make this school of South Dallas into one of the crown jewels of the New Tech Network, and encourage more urban school around this country to adopt this excellent model.