Why Librarians Can Help
Ray added that Vancouver is four years into their 1:1 implementation, and though they have a mature implementation, they are still working on personalization. They have created the enabling conditions but, “you can’t take a pill and become future ready.” He explained that districts realize the devices alone don’t personalize learning, and digital content and open education resources still require mediation and planning.
The challenge is to figure out how to leverage technology to really get individualized learning outcomes, and no one has figured that out yet, he emphasized.
“Your schools need a good tech department and overall financial support to make sure these devices will work. Without the base-line infrastructure from the bottom up, devices don’t mean much,” said one broadcast participant.
As a school librarian, Luhtala commented that her concern was that there was a big giant plan that looked great, but didn’t really address the role of the librarian—a position that is best poised to facilitate this movement.
“Although we have a library services department, we receive very little support from them in making libraries real libraries,” noted one broadcast participant.
The Future Ready Librarians Framework
Ray and Trettin discussed how conversations evolved about how to connect librarians to Future Ready work and a growing recognition that librarians were essential to the process, especially when they are trained and provided with devices before the teachers, and are engaged in conversations about digital citizenship. The Future Ready Librarians Framework acknowledges that librarians play a powerful role in:
- Curating digital resources and tools
- Empowering students as creators
- Building instruction partnerships
- Designing collaborative spaces
“We are getting ready to set up 2-3 new library spaces and would love to know what resources are out there to share as a reference for the principals as we start to plan,” said one participant.
Anyone can view the recording of the broadcast at http://home.edweb.net/webinar/future-ready-librarians/
The broadcast was hosted by edWeb.net and sponsored by Mackin Educational Resources.
[Editor’s note: This piece is original content produced by edWeb.net.View more edWeb.net events here.]
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