Digital Resources and The Web

Image Courtesy of Family and Media

The Deep Web

I must say, the size of the World Wide Web boggles my mind! I obviously knew it was huge, but I had no idea that a large percentage of information on the World Wide Web is not even accessible with a search engine! It turns out only a sliver of the World Wide Web is accessible through a "Google" search. This is called the “Surface Net”. The rest of the information is called the “Deep Web”, “Invisible Web” or “Hidden Web” which includes information like online banking and web-mail. Come to think of it, I’m really glad my banking information is not available from doing a Google search!!!  Much of the information on the Deep Web is protected behind a paywall or requires passwords or security codes.

Online Encyclopedias

image courtesy of mainlib.ubd.edu.ph

image courtesy of shutterstock.com

"Wikipedia" or "Britannica" that is the question??? It turns out both Wikipedia and Britannica are both useful online encyclopedias that serve different audiences for different purposes. Wikipedia is a useful place to begin with a general search. For beginners who are searching for basic information on a topic this resource is free and easily accessible. One of the advantages of Wikipedia is that is reaches such a broad audience far and wide. Britannica is useful, on the other hand, for people who are much past a general search and looking for specific detailed information on a topic. Encyclopedia Britannica is written by authors who are qualified "experts" in their fields, some of which are "Nobel Peace" winners. Wikipedia, however is a publicly owned and managed encyclopedia which has thousands of contributors, and editors.

Dictionaries
Are print copies still necessary??? I believe that the consensuses is that in elementary schools it is still valuable to have a few print copies of dictionaries, particularly those with pictures for young students acquiring language skills . However, in middle schools and high schools, print copies of dictionaries are going the way of the dodo bird. Since the advent of the invention of google translate it is quick and easy to check spelling print dictionaries are just not practical. It is particularly amazing to witness new ESL students who cannot speak a word of English communicating with a teacher through an iPad and google translate!

There are two philosophies of dictionaries, the descriptive view and the prescriptive view. In a nutshell, the descriptive view believes that language is constantly changing and evolving and that dictionaries should reflect those changes. The prescriptive view however believes that the role of dictionaries is to set standards to prevent slang and jargon from being used or included in dictionaries. 

Unabridged dictionaries attempt to include all of the words in the language that are currently in use when the dictionary is printed and could contain up to 265,00 words! Abridged dictionaries selectively choose words based on a certain them, such as easy level words for young students, or french-English translation words etc. 

Image courtesy of St. Paul's High School Media Center

References

Riedling, Ann, Reference skills for the school library media specialist: Tools and tips, (Third Edition). Linworth.pp. 37-49; 61-77.

     

  

                    

                      Lib. 467 Assignment 3



The purpose of this report is to provide an analysis of the present Reference Services available in the Library Learning Commons at School X and to outline a plan to improve the Reference Services going forward. For this report, I will be focusing specifically on the Online Reference Services.


Current Reference Services available in Library X

The current online reference resources available through the school district are not currently accessible to students through the Library Learning Commons Website at School X. However, teachers are able to login in to the district website and access the following online resources through the district web-page:

• World Book Encyclopedia
• National Geographic Kids
• KnowBC
• Gale Canada in Context
• Gale Science in Context
• Gale Global Issues in Context
• Gale Virtual Reference Library

As a result, students at School X are not using the online reference resources available through the district unless their classroom teacher has created a link for them and is using the resources in class.


Why is there a need for change?

Students at School X should have easier access to online reference resources and be guided in using those resources by the Teacher-Librarian in the Library Learning Commons at School X. Without access and promotion of these reference resources from the Library Learning Commons, students will be missing out on valuable tools for Inquiry Projects and Resource Based Learning. This lack of use of online resources will also cause students to fall behind in acquiring important 21st century information literacy skills. In the Leading Learning Document-Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada (2014), Appendix 6, it states that “The Virtual Learning Commons needs the same attention as the physical environment. It is an organized but collaborative space for learning. It is not a replacement for the physical LLC but an extension of it to make the LLC available to students and learners 24/7. Organize links to useful technology tools. • Develop a space to plan and curate inquiry learning experiences such as virtual knowledge building centers. (Koechlin and Loertscher, 2014) “


Affected student learning example

At grade 4 student at School X was recently doing a report on fossils. He was absent from school for a few days as he had a bad cold. When he returned to school, the library wasn’t open for book exchange so he wasn’t able to sign out any books about fossils. He was trying to answer his inquiry question of how are bones and fossils affected by different temperatures and are fossils preserved longer at certain temperatures? On the weekend he went to the public library to look for a book on fossils and found 2, but one was written for a high school reading level and one for an adult reading level. He still signed them out anyway as he needed some information for his report. At home his mom also suggested doing a google search on fossils on his iPad. He went to Wikipedia and found some information. Although he didn’t understand some of the words as it was intended for an adult reading audience.


If School X had links to online reference resources from the Library Learning Commons, the grade four student could have accessed those online resources from his home on the weekend. Also those online links would have led him to information that is more suitable for a grade 4 student audience. For example, the district online resource of National Geographic Kids is written for students of approximately grade 3-7. After inputting the word fossils, videos, magazine articles and eBooks pop up with information about fossils. A feature I really like about National Geographic Kids is that there is an audio feature to have the text read aloud if desired. Likewise, World Book Kids offers similar research features which yields results of videos and textual information at the elementary level for students.


A Plan of Action for School X

A plan moving forward to improve online reference materials at School X is threefold. The three main items that need to be addressed.include:

• Updating the School Library Learning Commons website to become a Virtual Library Learning Commons including links to the Online District Resources World Book Kids, and National Geographic Kids as well as a link to the Teacher-Librarians email for reference questions

• Adding a new Online Reference called Discovery Education Canada

• Working with the students and teachers regularly in the Library Learning Commons using the online references so students and staff are familiar with the online resources and their contribution towards student learning

STEP 1

The first step involves updating the School Library Learning Commons Website. When a student logs onto the school website and then clicks on library, there should to be links to many other resources , including the library catalog, recommended book lists, internet safety, etc. This is where a link would be useful that would say Online Learning Resources. Upon clicking on that link, students would be redirected to the above mentioned online reference resources. This would make it easy and fast to access online resources. I would also recommend adding a link to the TL’s email so that a reference interview can be conducted on-line. If the student has a specific research request they could email the T-L who can respond at his/her earliest convenience.


STEP 2

Secondly, I recommend adding Discovery Education Canada to the list of available online Resources for students and staff to use. The advantage of Discovery Education Canada is that it includes a board builder program where students can build an online interactive board on a research topic with video clips, images and information. Discovery Education Canada is also linked to the new B.C. curriculum and through the Science tech-book section, students can find particular information about different units of study, learn science vocabulary words, do practice quizzes and watch informative videos. As it can be an expensive addition, I recommend adding it as a 1 year trial and perhaps seeing if other schools in the district would like to add it as well on a trial basis to bring the cost down per school.


STEP 3

The third step in the plan of action is to work with students using the online reference resources. This may look like collaborative blocks with the Teacher-Librarian in the Library Learning Commons using the Online Resources for Inquiry Based Learning Projects. Regular lessons with the Teacher-Librarian in the Library Learning Commons will help students and staff become familiar with the online references and their resource capabilities. As Riedling states, in Reference skills for the school library media specialist, “The Library Learning Commons must connect kids and adults to the wider world beyond the school by providing the audio and video communication technologies that build bridges between people and places all over the world.”


The Timeline

The Timeline for this change is 10 months and is recommended to take place the following school year. The majority of the changes will be implemented by the Teacher-Librarian at School X with the support of the Administrator. The changes will be communicated on the school website, school newsletter, staff meetings and with individual classroom teachers and students while learning about and using the existing and new resources.


“Providing information resources and assistance virtually is important for students who are completing projects and homework assignments after hours” (Riedling, Ann).


                                        References


Canadian Libraries Association. Leading learning: Standards of practice for school library learning commons in Canada. 2014.Ottawa, ON: Canadian Libraries Association.


Riedling, Ann, Reference skills for the school library media specialist: Tools and tips, (Third Edition). Linworth.

Image courtesy of Virtual Learning Commons and Social Media

Use of Reference Resources

For the purpose of this assignment, I will be discussing two fictitious elementary school teacher’s teaching practice. Specifically, I will be looking at their effective use of reference resources with their class and offer suggestions on how the two teachers can evolve their teaching practice to further engage student learning and inquiry.


Teacher X

I will begin by discussing Teacher X who is a digital immigrant (Marc Prensky, “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”. When Teacher X graduated from high school, the internet was just being invented. He has been an elementary school teacher for approximately 25 years. Teacher X’s class does all of their classwork with paper, pencil and textbooks. Their homework is written on the whiteboard daily with term previews sent home on paper to parents. Most of the textbooks they are using have outdated information and the students alternate between 3 different textbooks to find information that applies to the new curriculum. When Teacher X’s class is working on a report, students sign out books from the library to assist them in research. Occasionally the class will visit the computer lab, which is slowly being disassembled with the advent of more laptops being acquired, and the students will go to Wikipedia to find information for their projects.


Teacher X’s teaching practice is routine and he has not attempted to incorporate technology into the classroom although he has been thinking he should try to add some learning that involves technology into his classroom. According to the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) approach to change (Susan Loucks-Horsley), Teacher X is in the self-concerns stage of questioning and asks questions regarding change such as: What is it? & How will it affect me? On the Typical Expressions of Concern about an Innovation table, Teacher X is at a 0.5 level stage of concern about innovation which is in between Awareness and Informational (Awareness being, “I am not concerned about it” and Informational being, “I would like to know more about it”). In terms of Levels of Use of the Innovation, this teacher is at a 0-Non-Use Level of Innovation (The User-has no interest, is taking no action). If we look at the SAMR model of Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (Dr. Ruben Puentedura). ,Teacher X is at Level 1-the Substitution Level.

image courtesy of Dr. Ruben Puentedura

In his classroom, computer technology is used to print out worksheets which are filled out and handed in to Teacher X for marking. There has been no functional change in teaching or learning in Teacher X’s class with the increased amount of innovation and technology available. (SAMR model developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura).



An Approach to achieving a higher level of integrating Reference Resources for Teacher X
As Teacher X is at a low level of integration of innovation, I would offer support by inviting Teacher X and his class into the library learning commons to use the laptop cart to do some research with some of the digital resources available through the district. I would model to the class how to access the digital reference resources online available through the district such as, World Book Encyclopedia Kids, World Book Encyclopedia Students, World Book Science Power and Discovery Education Network, Learn 360, KnowBC.com, Follett shelf ebooks, National Geographic Kids, and Primary Schools Explora. I would also model how to type in keywords to a search engine and evaluate websites for their trustworthiness and quality of information. After guiding the students through accessing digital resources, I would also offer teacher X more support in the following ways as “Learning brings change and supporting people is critical for learning to “take hold””.(Professional Development for Science Education: A Critical and Immediate Challenge," by Susan Loucks-Horsley). One of the ways I would offer support would be to offer weekly lunch-hour technology and innovation workshops for the staff in the library learning commons for hands-on-learning and practicing with the different digital reference resources. To supplement this, I would print out the information for paper takeaways of the names of different digital reference research tools and how to access them along with passwords and step by step instructions. I would also arrange for class coverage so that Teacher X could visit other classes in the school or district that are using digital reference resources in their classroom learning and how it is benefiting student learning. Regularly, I would check in with Teacher X to see how it’s going, and if he has any questions about the online reference resources. I would also let him know about district workshops that are available on using digital resources and try to arrange a small group from the school to attend the workshop so that we could carpool and he would have colleague support. As Susan Loucks-Horsley states in her discussion about The Concerns Based Adoption Model, “kinds and content of professional- development opportunities can be informed by ongoing monitoring of the concerns of teachers”. Through this process, I would also refer to The Leading Learning Standards of practice document for School Library Learning Commons


http://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/fostering-literacies/, in particular the section on fostering literacies and information literacies using reference resources.







Teacher Y

Teacher Y is a digital native. He used the internet for research at University and is very comfortable with technology including i pads, i phones, laptops, blogs, and social media, including twitter. He has been an elementary teacher for 5 years. Teacher Y has a classroom that uses technology daily. He posts daily homework on the app Edmodo where students can access homework using a electronic device as well as ask the teacher questions. The students in Teacher Y’s class do most of their writing and reports using google docs. They can access their work with any device as long as they remember their password.Teacher Y uses his laptop to write morning messages and news on upcoming events for the students as well as uploads interesting videos tidbits of information for students to watch as the morning message is played by a rotating student helper. Teacher Y regularly has his class do inquiry projects and signs out the laptop cart for students to do online research. To date, his students have done online research with World Book Encyclopedia Kids accessible through the school districts digital resources.


Teacher Y uses formative assessment in his classroom and his students are constantly viewing their progress and uploading samples of work to Fresh grade. Through formative assessment, students know what goals they are working towards and are active managers of their learning.


Teacher Y has seen how teaching practice has changed the last few years and he has tried to make it his practice to incorporate many of the new models and techniques into his classroom. According to the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) approach to change, Teacher Y is in the Impact Concerns Stage of Questioning and asks questions regarding change like; Is this change working for students? And Is there something that will work even better? On the Typical Expressions of Concern about an Innovation table, Teacher Y is at a #4 Consequence level stage of concern about an innovation and he is asking questions like; How is my use affecting learners? And How can I refine it to have more impact? In terms of Levels of Use of the Innovation (Po-Sen Huang), this teacher is at a IVB -Refinement stage where the user is making changes to increase outcomes. If we look at the SAMR model of Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition, Teacher Y is at Level 3 -the Modification Level. In Teacher Y’s classroom, common classroom tasks are being accomplished through the use of technology. (ie, homework on the classroom blog, or Edmodo, students submit writing assignment through google docs, etc.). Students are able to proofread each others writing on google docs, and may be collaboratively writing something with a partner, while each being at their own house. Students are taking more ownership over their learning at this level.



An Approach to achieving a higher level of integrating Reference Resources for Teacher Y


An approach to taking Teacher Y to the next level would be first of all to begin sharing some of his Principles of Learning and Teaching techniques that he’s been using with the rest of the school community. I would ask him if he would be willing to co-present at a school pro-d with myself, some of the technology and innovation he’s been using in the classroom and how he’s been using online reference resources to support his student’s learning. I would ask him if he’d like to schedule some time in the library learning commons with his class to explore online reference resources such as Discovery Education Network. Although he has frequently used online World Book Encyclopedia and other online encyclopedias with his students for research, he had not explored the capabilities of the interactive student boards on Discovery Education Network. With this type of inquiry learning, students can create an interactive online board for a subject they are researching and asking questions about. They can attach video clips, images, and notes on the board regarding their topics.

Example of digital student research board created using Discovery Education Network Reference Resource

This type of activity takes the facts that they gather from online reference materials and makes a online presentation with it which further solidifies the students understanding. We would also look at Discovery Education Science Techbook which is linked to B.C.'s new curriculum and teachers can go into the grade level and use it to supplement teaching. Students can use it to learn more about vocabulary words, listen to video clips take practice quizzes and explore the topic further.

Discovery Education Science Techbook

Once Teacher Y is familiar with some of the other learning opportunities from reference resources, he could collaborate with another teacher in his grade and team teach using these resources. The students from his class could partner up with a students from the other class to create a digital board to share or collaborate on or team teach Science using Science techbook. I would also continue to check in with Teacher Y to answer questions and show him any new reference materials that were available online or offer new suggestions on how to further student engagement and learning. I would also support Teacher Y by collaborating with him on the Leading Learning document. We would focus on cultivating effective instructional design to Co-plan, Teach and Assess Learning. We would focus on various themes by looking at the leading into the future column as Teacher Y is well on his way to evolving his practice and incorporating change to strengthen student learning and engagement.




References


Huang, Po-Sen. Concerns-Based Adoption Model-Levels of Use. This is the Levels of Use website Link.


Leading Learning- Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada. 2014. This is the Website Link


Loucks-Horsley Susan Loucks. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM): A Model for Change in Individuals. 1996. This is the website link.


Puentedura, Ruben. SAMR Model-Technology is Learning. This is the website link