Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Librarians are taking the lead in the digital transformation

Librarians and media specialists are bridging the gap between instruction and technology. One pioneer shares how she does it

For library media specialists, finding high-quality digital resources that align with Common Core and state standards, and that support classroom instruction, is an ongoing challenge. No longer just the keepers of the physical books and card catalogues, these media specialists are being called upon to organize and share content that can then be used to create relevant and personalized learning experiences.

With more than 20 years of experience in instructional technologies and K-12 education under her belt, Joquetta L. Johnson has experienced the evolution of the school librarian firsthand. A library media specialist at Randallstown High School in Randallstown, Md., Johnson says that with the Information Age, librarians have effectively transformed into instructional technology leaders.

“When technology first impacted education, it hit the libraries first—first in the public and then in the school libraries,” says Johnson, whose school has about 980 students and one campus. “Because of this, we’ve been at the forefront of the educational technology movement for a long time.”…Read More

This is how librarians can lead the digital transformation

Despite being pressed for time and resources, librarians can serve as change agents in their schools’ digital transformation

librarians-digitalRecently, as I was serving on a panel at the Texas Library Association’s 2015 Annual Conference, one attendee explained to us how she is trying to keep up with the new technologies coming into her school. How, she asked, could she implement them successfully while continuing to provide the same services for which her library is known?

It’s not an easy question to answer, but it’s one that the panel—part of Follett’s Project Connect, which is aimed at shedding light on how librarians can be a solution to the many challenges that arise from a digital transformation—was well-poised to answer. Based on my experiences as director of library media services for Nebraska’s Lincoln Public Schools, I was able to come up with two suggestions.

First, pace yourself and determine what is coming off your plate. We need to continually re-think why we are doing what we are doing. Yes, we feel we need superhuman powers because our jobs are getting busier, but in order to sustain ourselves, school librarians really do need to determine which pieces of our work can no longer be priorities, and then let them go.…Read More