Your search engine is your best friend

This article is a great window into the autocomplete/autosuggest features of some search engines. It specifically talks about Google and Bing. I will admit that I pretty much just use Google, so I don't know if there are other search engines that also do this. One line made me laugh and I think it is so true:

“Your search engine is your best friend, and you talk to it about everything, even things you might not talk about to your real best friends,” said Danny Sullivan, editor in chief of Search Engine Land, a Web site that covers the search industry. “It’s a way that search engines reflect society. "

I thought this was just brilliant! I have certainly "Googled" things that I wouldn't talk with other people about--or at least, not before Googling the topic and seeing what I could figure out!!

I also think that it's important to think about this type of feature from the perspective of kids who are trying to type one thing in, and another thing comes up. Sometimes autocomplete is helpful because they don't know how to spell a word, but the one they want pops up when they start entering it. But oftentimes it can really sidetrack you or make you think that you are supposed to use their question, when really it's just a suggestion. I believe you can also turn it off, which might be a good skill to teach students.


Hardy, Q. and Richtel, M. (2012, Nov. 21). Don't ask? Internet still tells. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/22/technology/in-search-engine-results-a-peek-at-what-we-wonder.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0

Research Journal -- Musings on action research

This website has a variety of interesting resources, including a bunch of examples of action research. I plan to read through some of them as I design my research proposal.

My research question is as follows: Do one-to-one laptop programs help students to meet the information literacy requirements of the Common Core State Standards?

I am very excited about this  question because I'm excited about the new Common Core State Standards and the role that I can play as a librarian. I am starting to do my own research--so far, through my personal learning network--about the Common Cores, as they are called. I reached out through Facebook and got responses from three different people for three very different types of information. My goal is to use the Common Cores to focus my information literacy ideas and instruction at my school. The other thrilling piece is that in the Nov. 6 election, a parcel tax for my school district was renewed and my job is funded through 2019 if I choose to stay that long. I certainly hope that I keep loving my job as much as I love it now.

I don't see much potential for a 1:1 laptop program at my school, and that's okay. We will move to a new site in a few years with lots of awesome technology. In the meantime, I intend to figure out what I want to do with tablets, and then procure about 10 of them to use in the library for teaching information literacy. Our PTSA is also buying updated, faster computers for the library. Exciting times!! But I still want to envision this project as a 1:1 program, to give students access to the tools they need anytime they need them.

When thinking through my research proposal, I am trying to decide on qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods. I think that maybe qualitative data in the form of interviews of teachers, students, and parents, plus quantitative in the form of analyzing student work before and after, to triangulate the data. Triangulation was something I learned about this semester that I really didn't know about before this. Turner (2011) wrote about an action research project in an after-school program where students conducated community interviews and then developed raps and music videos that critiqued social issues in their community. The students self-reported changes in their information literacy skills and their understanding of community issues. Turner also spoke with students' teachers, and watched the videos, to triangulate the data. I'd like to learn some more about triangulation to see how I could integrate that into a mixed-methods approach.

I am also considering the research methods employed by Spector-Levy and Granot-Gilat (2012) to assess information literacy skills. They designed a set of tasks that required students to select reliable information, write argumentatively using that information, process and represent information, and present new knowledge.They assessed 7th and 9th graders, some of whom had participated in 1:1 laptop programs and some of whom hadn't. They did find that the students who had participated in 1:1 laptop programs completed the set of tasks more successfully and at a higher rate than the students who didn't participate in the laptop programs. I like this idea of a standardized task for all students to complete. Objectively assessing student work for information literacy would be impossible. Of course, there is subjectivity in all research, but looking at student projects that were self-directed seems that it would not be a sufficient measurement for a research project. I do think it could be a component, but a standardized task like that used by Spector-Levy and Granot-Gilat (2012) seems like it could also be useful. I think this would be considered a quantitative measure.

Spector-Levy, O. & Granot-Gilat, Y. (2012). The impact of learning with laptops in 1:1 classes on the development of learning skills and information literacy among middle school students. Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects, 8, 83-96.

Turner, K.C.N. 2011. "Rap universal": Using multimodal media production to develop ICT literacies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58(8), 613-623. doi: 10.1598/JAAL.54.5.6.

safety on the Internet--from 4th graders!

This is a great blog post from Shannon Miller, the librarian at Van Meter school. Her fourth graders created Animoto "videos" about Internet safety, addressing password issues, talking to strangers, the age requirement for Facebook, and being careful of what you say online. It's great to see that young kids are learning these things and then sharing them in interesting and creative ways. This is a great inspiration and certainly a fun use for Animoto. I am curious about what led up to this in terms of teaching the information, what it means, and how to use Animoto.

Miller, S. (2012, Nov. 20). No title. Retrieved from
http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/2012/11/our-4th-graders-created-awesome-lets.html

the Future of Libraries

This is a blog post about the future of libraries in our digital culture. It talks about the R-Squared (risk & reward) conference and what types of things were discussed about libraries in the future. It highlights the fact that 69% of Americans are currently using their public library, and that it is a resource for people in all types of situations. It also explains ways that libraries can consider innovating in the time of Google.

Martin, P. (2012, October 11). The future of libraries in a digital culture. [blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/patricia-martin/.

Research Journal--differences in student achievement

I was reading an article for my literature review that discusses a study of a school district that introduced many laptops into the school (Lowther, Ross, & Morrison, 2003). The researchers studied classrooms where the students each had been issued a laptop by the school district. They also studied control classrooms where students didn't have one to one technology. The control classrooms had five or six classroom computers instead. In order to participate in the laptop program, families had to pay a $5/month lease fee for the computers. I imagine this was to impress a feeling of responsibility on the kids, rather than feeling like they were just getting the technology for free. Families chose whether to do the laptop option or not, and then the kids were divided into their classes after the school determined which students would have their own laptop computer to use in class.

The article made it sound like the researchers had come into the situation after this had all been set up already, so they wouldn't have played a role in having the opportunity to have a control group--it just happened to exist already. However, they probably had a strong interest in the continuing existence of a control group. Ultimately, the students with their own laptops showed increased writing achievement, increased interest and engagement in school (as measured by the researchers), and increased computing skills. The students in the laptop classroom "indicated that the laptop had influenced classroom-level changes in fostering more project work, research, higher-level thinking, writing, and cooperative learning" (Lowther, Ross, & Morrison, 2003, 39). The research was not highly conclusive, but did demonstrate that the laptop students had some advantages over the non-laptop students.

The researchers asked parents for their opinions on the program. One parent stated the following: "The school has made some major mistakes in their implementation of this program. There is a separation between the 'laptop' kids and the 'nonlaptop' kids, and our district makes this separation wider" by doing things like having the two groups in separate halls (Lowther, Ross, & Morrison, 2003, 41). As soon as I read this quotation from the parent, I started thinking about the ethics of the researchers in the study, and also about how it would feel to come out on the other end of your work and realize that some students had been disadvantaged right in front of your eyes. If I were in that position, I would know that I had not caused it, and that I had not done anything wrong, and yet I might feel complicit in the situation. Someone else might have come in, seen the situation, said "this is inequitable" and advocated for all students to have the same materials. The researchers would have had an interest in maintaining the status quo for long enough to finish their research.

As with any research project involving human subjects, the researchers would have gone before the review board and had the work approved. They were simply studying a program that was already in place. The students without the laptop instruction still had trained teachers and even had technology in their classroom. Nothing about the study seems that it would violate the tenet of beneficence which states that the researcher must do no harm, and maximize the possible benefits and minimize the possible risks (National Institute of Health, n.d.) . It is interesting to think of what happens when, at the end of the study, researchers find that one group of people they studied, or one part of the study, ended up having a significantly higher risk or benefit than another. What is the responsibility of the researchers to step in and interrupt a situation that they can identify as problematic, even when it would invalidate their entire research project?

This also made me think about my final project and whether I feel comfortable proposing a research project that grants special materials to some students and not to others. Maybe this situation could be avoided with a pre and post-test on the same group of students, rather than comparing one group to the other (the laptops and the nonlaptops, so to speak). It is also complicated because in a setting like a school, it is highly unlikely that every student could be loaned a device. Does this mean that no one should be loaned a device?

Maybe my project proposal could involve several classes that do a similar type of project several times during the year. One of the times, they could use 1:1 devices in some way. The other time, they would not use 1:1 devices. Instead of having a control group, there could be a control situation within the same classroom. Many possibilities to consider...

Lowther, D., Ross, S., & Morrison, G. (2003). When each one has one: The influences on teaching strategies and student achievement of using laptops in the classroom. Education Technology Research and Development, 51(3), 23-44.

National Institute of Health. (2011, February 4). Protecting Human Research Participants. [online training module]. Accessed at http://phrp.nihtraining.com/users/login.php?l=3.

Myths about 1:1 classroom technology

Andrew Marcinek is an information technology specialist in Boston. He works at a high school that has a 1:1 iPad program--every student and teacher began the school year this year with an iPad. Marcinek points out that there are many myths and misconceptions about the role of 1:1 technology in schools, and he dispels five myths based on observations he's made at his school. His myths are:
1. The digital generation needs technology.
2. The iPad is simply a tool.
3. It's not a distraction.
4. Creating or purchasing textbooks for the iPad is a grant innovation.
5. Going 1:1 with iPads teaches one product.

His ideas seem very valid, but seem to be based only on anecdotal evidence. It's certainly not research study material. He says "My assertions are not based on opinion, but on evidence directly observed in secondary classrooms at Burlington High School and from the students that traverse these halls daily. Our school launched 1,000-plus iPads last year, and we're starting our second year with the device in the hands of all students and teachers." At the end of the article, he restates this point: "Some may strongly disagree with the myth-busting mentioned above, but the evidence posted is not my opinion. As stated before, this evidence comes from my daily interaction with students and teachers working and learning in a 1:1 iPad Environment." He seems a bit emphatic about the idea that it's not his opinion--but either way, his points are worth considering. I won't be using the post in my literature review, though!

Marcinek, A. (2012, Oct. 5). "Dispelling the myths about 1:1 environments." [blog post]. Accessed from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/dispelling-one-to-one-myths-andrew-marcinek.

Beauty

This is beautiful. Exquisite, to my eyes. The polar opposite of my hideous library website.

Okay, hideous is an overstatement and my apologies to Charlotte Gonzales. It's not her fault--the site already existed before she came on board. But seriously. Beauty, personified. How do I make my site simple and functional like this?

There's plenty of information, even though it looks sparse. Each white bar pulls down (click the link above to see the actual template).

Sure wish I knew more web design...doh!

One thing Schmidt talks about in the article introducing this template is what to do about the information below the fold (ie what you would have to scroll down to see). Here are his rules on that:
1. Get ride of it.
2. Go to rule 1.

Next step: How to fix my library's VLC...stat!

Schmidt, A. (2012, September 18). Starting with simplicity. [web log post]. Retrieved from www.walkingpaper.org.

Creating and Maintaining an Online Presence

In my mind, the PLE has a few components. One of these components is keeping track of your information sources. For example, a big part of my PLE is my Google Reader. Anytime I find a blog that I would like to read regularly, I add it to my reader. Then, I check my reader most days. I have different folders--friends/family, local, and professional/LIS. This is a significant source of information for me. I have also started using Twitter as a significant information source, and I'm noticing that it's rapidly getting used more and more, in so many different ways. I'm excited to be reading Twitter--and now I want to start producing content.

All of this relates to a blog post that I read on a cool block called Hack Library School that's in my Google reader. It's a blog maintained by library school students, and a lot of the entries really relate to my experiences and interests in SLIS and librarianship in general.

The blog post of mention is called "Online Presents, a.k.a. You 2.0" (Pho, 2011, February 2). Pho stresses the importance of having a Google-able online presence, and says this is something that she has spent some time discussing in library school. Certain things should be kept private (most likely your FB page) but you should also be aware of what is public--it can be surprising. In this vein, it's probably a good idea to "google" your name once in awhile. One comment that came up on the blog was that if at least one (or more) other people have your name, it can be problematic. People agreed that if this is the case, you have to try even harder to establish your online presence, so that if someone searches your name on Google they will recognize that your online presence is that of a librarian/librarian candidate with your name.

So my question to all of you is, how do you establish an online presence? What type of online presence do you have? Whose online presence do you admire? And when do you Google search someone? For what purpose?

Pho, C. "Online presence, a.k.a. you 2.0." (2011, February 2). Blog post. Accessed at hacklibschool.wordpress.com.

Interview with David Levithan

Before reading this article, I had never heard of transmedia. We have the book 39 Clues in my school's library, but I didn't know what it was. Since it's by Rick Riordan, I thought it had some type of relationship to his other series.

I loved this article for a few reasons:
1. I have enjoyed several of David Levithan's books and he writes books about gay teens (among other topics) in a unique style that I have not read before. Plus, there just aren't that many authors writing about gay teenage boys. So he is interesting to me for that reason, plus he deserves serious props for doing so.
2. I got to learn a little bit about transmedia, 39 Clues, and The Infinity Ring. The concept of transmedia is fascinating to me and seems like it could be a way to integrate games and digital media into the classroom.
3. I use Goodreads.com regularly, and it was interesting to read that it is one of the things helping to blur the line between YA and adult literature.

My main takeaway, though, is that I need to see what 39 Clues and The Infinity Ring are all about!


Greenfield, J. (2012). "Scholastic's hit-maker on Hunger Games, digital reading and transmedia." Digital Book World, August 24, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2012/scholastics-hit-maker-david-levithan-on-hunger-games-digital-reading-and-transmedia/

Standards for the 21st-Century Learner

American Association of School Librarians. (2007). Standards for the 21st-century learner. Chicago: American Library Association.

This eight page document created by the AASL lays out foundational beliefs around technology, reading, information literacy, and other literacies, as well as some concepts of learning and equity. It then lists the process that learners go through, over and over again through the course of their (our) lives.

For each step of this process, it lists the skills needed, dispositions in action, responsibilities, and self-assessment strategies (these four terms are defined at the end of the document) needed to succeed in each stage of the learning process.

A teacher librarian can use these standards, in conjunction with the concepts in Empowering Learners, to guide instructional planning, library programming, and collaboration. Just like a subject area teacher would start from the standards, the SLMS can use these as a jumping-off point as well.

The standards dovetail with the fluencies put forth by the 21st Century Fluency Project (http://www.fluency21.com/fluencies.cfm), and could also be used together with that as guidance.

How to create a successful BYOD program

Schwartz, K. (2012). How to launch a successful BYOD program. Accessed from http://www.fluency21.com//blogpost.cfm?blogID=2969.

This blog post piqued my interest because I am very interested in BYOD programs and the use of games and instantaneous feedback for learning. The article discusses a suburban school district outside of Houston that slowly rolled out a mobile device program and ultimately allowed students to bring their own devices to school. The Chief Information Officer, who led the BYOD movement in the school district, said “It completely changed the dynamic of the classroom. The students became excited to demonstrate what they had learned or how they worked out a problem. And they didn’t seem to mind school work anymore — Schad said kids played educational games for hours without realizing they were learning."

I think that this type of program would easily lend itself to an action research project. In the school district described in the article, the adoption process went slowly and began with teachers who were interested and willing to be early adopters. At first, they were using devices provided by the school. They began giving students permission to use their own devices in the classroom. The high schools were able to ease up on the strict policy against electronics at school, because they found that they weren't being abused in the classroom. The middle schools continued to allow the personal devices only in the classroom, but they have begun to consider easing up on the passing period/free time electronics restrictions, based on the success of the new policy at the high school.

The article emphasizes a point that I have now seen in several places, which is that electronics need to be fully integrated into the curriculum in order to be effective. Rather than being an add-on, the curriculum needs to be altered to best utilize the devices. This is where the idea for an action research project comes in. I think a BYOD curriculum probably needs a second adult in a room of 40 middle school students and one teacher--and I could be that second adult, in addition to helping remake the curriculum. I believe that games and digital devices are no longer something that schools can legislate against. Instead, we as teachers and school officials need to harness the immense power of the digital world and open our eyes right now to what students need to succeed.

My husband was teasing me the other day, asking if I would want to go on and earn a Ph.D. in library and information studies. At this moment, in the midst of two classes and full-time work and a 15 month old kid and a job that's on the line if a local parcel tax doesn't pass, I said "no way." But I don't think a master's thesis is totally out of the question--and maybe a Ph. D. someday, too.

Google Apps for Education

Nevin, R., Melton, M., & Loertscher, D. (2011). Google apps for education. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Publishing.

I was initially skeptical about this book, thinking "Oh, I know how to use Google apps. I use them all the time for work and my personal life. I bet I can just find all of this information on the web." The last part of that statement is true--but this book is filling a knowledge gap that has been really holding up my understanding of how to build and use an interactive VLC and how to design collaborative online experiences for lessons and units. The authors write realistically about how technology is used in schools right now, acknowledging that teachers are in many different places, and implementing something like Google Apps for Education is not automatic and easy.

In addition to a general logistical introduction to Google Apps for Education, the book has chapters about the applications and numerous suggestions and examples on how to use them to do collaborative work in the classroom, often using one of the curriculum models presented in Beyond Bird Units. It is really helping me understand what types of collaborative work I could have students do in KBCs and just in general in class.

The book also explains administrative concerns, and gives practical tips for getting started with Google Apps for Education.

Wikis for action research collaboration and library services improvement

Burger, S. & McFarland, M. (2009). Action research and wikis: An effective collaboration. Library Media Connection, 28(2), 38-40. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier. Permalink: http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=44773682&site=ehost-live

Three library media specialists in a suburban school district outside of St. Louis used a wiki to collaborate on an action research project. They recognized that their school district's central library services office was spending a large percentage of their budget each year on electronic databases. The researchers were concerned that students and teachers were not using the databases enough to justify the expenditure, and so set out an action research project to investigate the usage at each of their schools. They used the action research process of developing a research question, conducting a literature review, collecting data with three tools (triangulating data), forming conclusions, and applying their conclusions and learnings to improve their practice. In some cases they conducted trainings for students on various underused databases, and in other cases made recommendations to teachers of which databases they should encourage their students to use.

This article caught my attention for two reasons:
1. it gives a great example of how teachers at school can use collaborative tools (in this case, a wiki on pbworks) to work together and improve practice; and
2. it addresses the realistic issue that some districts have underutilized electronic resources.

It also gives suggestions on how to investigate uses of these resources.

I am already training students on using our database plan to access BrainPop, and I plan to create several screencasts this year for the school library website that demonstrate how to use other electronic references resources such as the Khan Academy videos and Encyclopedia Brittanica.

Research Journal: Building ICT skills for all students

Turner, K.C.N. 2011. "Rap universal": Using multimodal media production to develop ICT literacies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58(8), 613-623. doi: 10.1598/JAAL.54.5.6.

I wrote an abstract for this article, but I found that it resonated with me beyond inclusion with my abstracts and in my literature review. The article describes a qualitative study conducted in a media-based extended-day program at a middle school. The school is described as being in "one of the most impoverished school districts in Northern California" with 75% of the students on free or reduced lunch. I work in what would be considered an impoverished district right now, and the other two school districts I've worked in would also fall into that category. While the school and district aren't identified by name, I immediately felt a connection to the school environment described in the study, especially as I continued to read the article and the researcher described the challenges that many students at the school face in terms of technology access and skill.

The students in the study were participating in a program where their teacher taught them critical literacy skills and they did media analysis of different videos, such as documentaries or hip hop videos. Then, they went out into their community, did some research, and created their own videos. Based on the article, it appeared that each student created a hip-hop song where they wrote the lyrics, created the beats, and related it to a community event or issue. Even though I don't think that this program took place at any of the schools where I've worked, having that vision in my head really brought the study alive for me and I think it is a valid mental reference point for understanding the study. I see so many students in a similar situation, who don't have the information and technology literacy skills that their higher income peers have, for such a variety of reasons. It is one of my deepest convictions as a teacher librarian that I need to find a way to help kids develop these essential skills. I don't have the power to implement a 1 3/4 hour extended day program at our failing computer lab, but the results that Turner published are a very compelling. The students, and their teachers, said that the students developed ICT and critical thinking skills that they were then applying in class. The teachers specifically said that kids in the program were showing better progress in class than students who were not enrolled.

While this was my favorite article that I read out of all of them, it also had the smallest sample size and warrants much further study because of that. The results were inspirational, so it would be great to see something like that duplicated on a larger scale. Maybe a study could be conducted in an entire school district, or at least the whole school, with more researchers and the capacity to have more focal students. The reading we've done so far in this class helped me look critically at the methods of the study and see that there are advantages and drawbacks to this type of qualitative research, that has high detail but a small sample size. It also helped me understand the concept of triangulation--the student comments were triangulated with information from the undergraduate tutors and the classroom teachers.

This article should add value to my literature review by demonstrating that multi-modal media production and critical media literacy can have a positive impact on learning outcomes.

Media production and ICT literacy development

Turner, K.C.N. 2011. "Rap universal": Using multimodal media production to develop ICT literacies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 58(8), 613-623. doi: 10.1598/JAAL.54.5.6.

Information and communication technology (ICT) literacies are now essential skills for most employment and recreation. Many low-income youth do not have the resources at home or school to develop these crucial literacies, putting them at an academic and/or occupational disadvantage. The researcher studied an extended-day program in an impoverished, low-performing school district in Northern California, looking at whether the experience of producing media would develop ICT literacies in the middle school students. The students were taught ICT skills in two ways: first, they practiced viewing media critically and becoming aware of stereotypes and strategies used; second, they produced their own public service announcements based on community research projects. Turner conducted qualitative research before, during, and after the program with a particular emphasis on five focal students who had very consistent attendance, and triangulated her data with the students teachers and the program instructors. Using technology to do multi-modal media production, the students developed ICT literacies that they then applied to their schoolwork. They also articulated ways that they could utilize the skills outside of school and apply the concepts they learned to other types of analysis. While similar research with a larger sample size would provide more conclusive data, providing avenues for students to develop ICT literacies is needed in schools. Youth from low-income families especially need opportunities to build skills through critical media consumption and production in order to be academically and professionally competitive.

Mobile Serious Games

Sanchez, J. & Olivares, R. (2011). Problem solving and collaboration using mobile serious games. Computers & Education, 57, 1943-1952.

Mobile games designed for academics and learning are called mobile serious games (MSGs). Mobile learning activities are beneficial because they allow students to do learning activities outside of school, either on a school activity like a field trip, or on the bus, at home, etc. The researchers designed the study to determine the impact of MSGs on problem solving, collaboration skills, and understanding of biological science concepts. They utilized a quasi-experimental design with ten 8th grade classes from five different schools in Chile. Half of the students played the MSGs as part of their science curriculum, and half did not. The games were collaborative and were integrated with life science instruction, so that students understood the concepts that were being reinforced via the games. After the three-month study, students in the experimental group playing the MSGs showed slightly higher collaboration and communication skills, and had a slightly better opinion about science class, than those in the control group. The authors recommend a longer-term implementation of similar learning activities to see if more exposure would produce more conclusive results. Developing and implementing mobile serious games for secondary education is challenging but also necessary to keep pace with modern technology.

Using 1:1 technology for primary science students

Looi, C. K., Zhang, B. B., Chen, W. W., Seow, P. P., Chia, G. G., Norris, C. C., & Soloway, E. E. (2011). 1:1 mobile inquiry learning experience for primary science students: A study of learning effectiveness. Journal Of Computer Assisted Learning, 27(3), 269-287. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2010.00390.x

One to one mobile technology is gaining popularity in K-12 classrooms. Innovative schools and educators see the possibilities for increased engagement and deeper learning in the use of personal devices. For two years, the researchers collaborated with a 3rd grade classroom teacher to design and implement an inquiry-based science curriculum that utilized 1:1 technology, providing every student with a smartphone computer. The researchers distinguish between occasional or short-term use of 1:1 devices in the classroom, and integrated, long-term use that transforms the curriculum. To further describe this long-term project, the researchers provide examples of lessons and curriculum using the smartphone laptops. Qualitative and quantitative data collected revealed increased learning and deeper engagement with the material. The science test scores for students in the class increased after one year of mobilized curriculum.  The teacher also developed confidence in her ability to teacher primary science curriculum and gained an understanding of student needs and experiences through the process of teaching with the mobile devices. One to one mobile devices can greatly enhance science instruction by increasing student understanding and building teacher confidence.

Web 2.0 and multicultural education

Md, M. H., & Aydin, H. (2011). A web 2.0-based collaborative model for multicultural education. Multicultural Education & Technology Journal, 5(2), 116-128. doi: 0.1108/17504971111142655

Web 2.0, in contrast to Web 1.0, allows users to easily create their own content and engage with others electronically. In particular, students can communicate with those who are different from them, which promotes multicultural exchange. Multicultural teaching and education is needed in schools in order to effectively educate the increasingly multicultural K-12 student population. The authors propose a model for using Web 2.0 to enhance multicultural instruction. The model will engage students from different cultural backgrounds and help them feel more integrated into the education environment, and also help them develop understanding and compassion for others from different backgrounds. Web 2.0 strategies can be effectively used in increasingly multicultural classrooms to improve students’ educational experiences and outcomes.

Web 2.0 and learning

Eteokleous, N. (2011). Developing youth's cultural and social skills through a social-virtual curriculum. Multicultural Education & Technology Journal, 5(3), 221-238. doi: 10.1108/17504971111166947

The Internet, particularly Web 2.0, is changing the face of educational and providing opportunities for students to learn in new ways. It has the potential to greatly enhance multicultural education. A study was conducted in six countries of a program that used Web 2.0 to teach social-virtual curriculum. The study administered a pre- and post-measurement quantitative survey that measured three factors of students’ appreciation of multiculturalism: Diversity of contact, Comfort with differences, and Relativistic approach. The study found that the use of Web 2.0 tools in the social-virtual curriculum increased students’ positive attitudes and perceptions towards others from different cultural backgrounds, and also helped increase their learning by engaging them in the learning process. The study recommends that educators integrate Web 2.0 tools into educational practice to enhance learning and social skills, rather than trying to resist using the tools (233).

Articles to read for 233

A few things I want to read (with abstracts written by de Groot)

Branch, J. L. & de Groot, J. (2011). Personal learning networks and participatory culture: Getting teacher-librarians connected in the 21^st century. In L. Marquardt & D. Oberg (Eds.), Global Perspectives on School Libraries (pp. 44-56). Berlin: De Gruyter Saur.
Abstract
This chapter explores the implementation of courses and assignments that prepare students in a teacher-librarianship program to work with 21st century technologies and with the ideas behind participatory culture and connectivism.  The authors explain the development of information and communication technology courses for teacher-librarianship education, the first forays in Web 2.0, and the evolving thinking and reading about participatory culture, connectivism and personal learning networks. The purpose of these changes was to encourage students in the Teacher-Librarianship by Distance Learning program at the University of Alberta to create personal learning networks and to participate in global conversations about teaching, 21st century learning, school libraries and technologies. The authors recommend that education programs for teacher-librarians incorporate assignments, assessments and opportunities for exploration of Web 2.0 tools and that instructors in these programs model the creation and maintenance of personal learning networks using social media.
Branch-Mueller, J. & de Groot, J. (2011).  The power of Web.2.0: Teacher-librarians become school technology leaders. School Libraries Worldwide, 17(2), pp. 1-13.
Abstract

This paper reports on a study that sought to understand the impact of a graduate level Web 2.0 course on the personal, teaching, and professional lives of teacher-librarians. An online survey asked teachers and teacher-librarians about their experiences before and after completing the course. After taking the course, participants were familiar with a variety of Web 2.0 technologies and were able to use these tools personally, for teaching and for professional development.  Participants gained confidence and competence in their technology skills and have taken on leadership roles in terms of technology integration and are often the “go to” person in their school for Web 2.0 technologies.