World Libraries and Use of Mobile devices

Developing World Libraries and  Use of Mobile devices

Libraries have moved from being only a physical structure to accessible online worldwide allowing accessibility to more people in their language creating a more equitable world with access to information on shared devices and also on their own personal device. allowing use of personal devices for high school aged students really frees up  to be more in control of their learning and use of  their own apps they are familiar with.

 I found the LibWeb with collections from 146 countries and use of keyword searches here;library online;  you can click a country or region of the world to narrow down your search. I checked out the Public Libraries of Greater Victoria and the new library which will be near me in James Bay which is being built and open early 2018. I liked the flexible and varied seating arrangements natural light and outdoor wifi. it seems like they are incorporating aspects of a Learning Commons.James Bay Library 2018
The Global Digital Library is a collaborative compilation of high quality reading resources for primary ages children through the web; mobile;apps/games and print for under served languages. Book creation gatherings are outlined in this blog using Blog software which is usable and an open source; what's great is this use of technology creates authors in their own language to share their books ; for example African languages; Arabic etc,. For the blog and details to create a local book check out;Using Bloom software to create local stories in their language.
The GDL is in its beginning stages with the focus first being primary reading and it will formally launch April 2018 .

Google Images

Ranking World's best digital libraries is a great list of resources ; noteworthy was ERIC; worlds largest for educational literature; Universal digital library with a million book collection and Google books which I did not know they had a searchable database.

I found this Techsoup for Libraries blog based on a webinar with helpful tips in creating a welcoming space for use of personal mobile devices. I liked the device lockers as this would help keep devices safe if students want to leave their mobile device;like a tablet or personal computer and come back later to work in the library. He suggests using cheap power bars and just attaching to furniture and charging bars for a variety of chargers and web based spaces.
of course logistics need to be taken into consideration such as what is the power capacity and is the network scalable? For all the tips read;Welcoming Mobile Devices.

Looking into use of mobile devices in schools I found Edutopia had a lot of resources to delve into at Edutopia Mobile Learning Roundup from use of mobile phones like using the QR quick response code as a tool to connect students to  resources and mobile devies apps to appropriate use of E readers and how to integrate BYOD (bring your own devise)policy into a library or classroom . In the blog Teaching the Essential Skills of the Mobile Classroom; she suggests four important skills;

COMMUNICATION-students have a variety of choices for mobile communication from email; twitter; mobile phone,text;google hangouts etc; students need to learn how best to communicate for the purpose not just how with so many choices.(face to face; audio ; video and print communication)

COLLABORATION- a skill of the 21st century  in this digital age students need to learn to work with diverse teams with shared responsibility and value individual contributions. Students can collaborate with Google docs, Evernote  and Edmodo apps which works with Google apps for Education. I found the Bruce Tuckmans group development model steps helpful for teachers to guide students through to reach this collaboration goal.Bruce Tuckman's Group development Model

CONNECTING-With mobile devices students need to learn how best to connect appropriately with a variety of people; classmates; teachers; workplace;  Students now can give instant responses for teachers on quizzlet so teachers can make connections to their learning; classmates can safely connect their learning with others on  the Edmodo app on Google Play and with the Edmodo parent app;parents keep connected with their child's learning and assignments .Teachers can give quick feedback strengthening the student teacher connection with instant comments seen by students on their mobile devices like on Google classroom and Edmodo which operates together with Google apps and MicrosoftOne Note too. For details click on ;Edmodo . From what I read the web is till better then their app so far but still a good choice.
Skype mobile is available on all platforms and allows connections to be made more easily for students who want to interview and learn from others. Check out;Skype for mobile devices

CREATION-mobile apps allow students to be creative and share their work with  a wider audience from anywhere.Commonsense best creative apps is a great list of possible creative apps. creation has evolved from the physical to the digital world. Buncee Mobile is available on ios platform iphones;ipad and gives students the ability to work on their creative presentation from their own device at home or anywhere with the use of a graphic library' drawing. stickers; audio and video capabilities. The creative product then can be shared and there is seamless syncing between app to web.
World Libraries and access to mobile learning allows learning to take place anytime anywhere and with the right direction from teachers this access can contribute to students using it to better their lives and their learning.

RESOURCES;

Skype.com. (2017). Download Skype Mobile App | Video Chat App | Skype. [online] Available at: https://www.skype.com/en/download-skype/skype-for-mobile/ [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].

 Commonsensemedia.org. (2017). Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. [online] Available at: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/best-creative-apps [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].

Edu.buncee.com. (2017). Buncee | Mobile. [online] Available at: https://www.edu.buncee.com/mobile [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017]
.En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Tuckman's stages of group development. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckman's_stages_of_group_development [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].Holland, B. 

(2017). Teaching the Essential Skills of the Mobile Classroom. [online] Edutopia. Available at: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/essential-skills-of-mobile-classroom-beth-holland [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017]
.Anon, 
(2017). [online] Available at: https://allchildrenreading.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/IREX-Local-Stories-Fast-10-Bloom-Tips.pdf [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].

Digitallibrary.io. (2017). Global Digital Learning. [online] Available at: http://digitallibrary.io/ [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].

Edmodo. (2017). Edmodo. [online] Available at: https://www.edmodo.com/ [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].

Woollard, J. (2017). Branch in James Bay. [online] GVPL.ca. Available at: https://www.gvpl.ca/branches-hours/branch-in-james-bay/ [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].

Supporting Teachers Learning with ICT

Supporting Teachers Learning with ICT;

Supporting teachers learning with Information, Communication and Technology in order to  bring about an active learning pedagogy that supports the literacy needs of the 21st century learner is crucial for a better more equitable world where tools shown by teachers can bring down access barriers. For example allowing English Language Learners ; students with disabilitiesand lower income students who may not have access at home to use free public spaces like schools and libraries to make connections/access information etc; the world is at their finger tips!  Teacher librarians are the front guides in the purposeful use of ICT and therefore we need to take a leading role in how and for what purpose we use technology in the classroom/library. By first interacting and understanding the tools first and demonstrating their use to students so they too can use technology for their  continued educational learning and tools for life long learning outside of school.

When I think about supporting teachers learning to create an active engaging pedagogy I thought about four major areas:

 1.The framework and structures which technology can be aligned with pedagogical intent 

 2.Tech developers connection and support they provide in teaching teachers in application of their apps and listening to teachers

3.School division support of use of ICT and professional development opportunities online and on location such as the Google Classroom Convention that happened in Victoria or web google hangouts to connect with PLN's..

 4.Finally with the use of technology educators can easily learn from other educators beyond the staff room  with a PLN Personal Learning Network check out a ;Edublog on Personal Learning Network .PLN can be created with Twitter in choosing whom to follow; and which groups to follow like EdTech; Buncee etc and then interacting by commenting; retweeting and then sharing your own knowledge with personal blogs and links to create a global network.

A support to educators is using frameworks/structures and terminology on ways to use and view digital tools such as; flipped lessons ; blended lessons; lesson flow/app flow and SAMR. I will explain a little about each;
      1.Flipped classroom where students  use technology like a video; online lecture to get the big picture first and students interact online and pose questions this creates interest and activity with the use of technology as a starting point.Then students use class time more to collaborate and master concepts introduced.This can be enhanced if students also have control of error in their learning and/or to check their own work so the emphasis is on mastery not just completion. This is commonly done in the elementary Montessori classroom; like the Great Lesson of how the earth was made using a very long piece of cloth  to unfold with major events. Then later information is given realted to their inquiry. Graphite is an interactive tool that is a practical way for teachers to introduce students students to a variety of apps in a meaningful structure.Click below for a video:
2. Lessonflow/app flow

Use of Graphite  for teachers to incorporate Digital apps in a lesson flow;you can discover tools on Common Sense Education and then align them to each part of your lesson –- the hook, direct instruction, guided practice, independent practice, and wrap-up –- thinking with purpose about your lesson redesign. For examples click on; Graphite and commonsense for alignment to Lesson Flow. App flows can also be shared with other teachers helping them..

• Lesson Flow/app flow is a framework for use of aligning digital tools into a lesson; as explained here Reading Rockets App flow which involves these steps;
• Hook that engages
• Guided Practice
• Individual Practice
• Wrap up

Blended lesson is a combination of tradional face to face instruction and use of technology in a lesson for more details check out;Blended Lessons.
With all of these frameworks and use of so many apps; I 
found the SAMR model a useful way for teachers to categorize how your use of the digital tool is being used:  SAMR model with examples

1. Substitute  
2. Augmentation
3. Modification

Redefintion; this is the best goal to strive for;

For teachers professional development being connected to the Tech industries is also helpful in providing feedback to them and reviews/blogs of their apps for other teachers on Twitter or commonsense media etc; to assist in their chooses and application. I appreciated when Buncee did a Webinar just for me for an hour and was so helpful; this was new to me!

                                                      

        

1.blogblog.com. (2017). Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. [online] Available at: https://img1.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png [Accessed 15 Oct. 2017].

Fostering Cultural Change with ICT

Fostering Cultural Change with Information, Communication and Technology;

Cultural change can be greatly influenced by transmitting of information through communication with  the use of technology in this knowledge economy of the 21st century we have many tools to facilitate positive cultural change through human interactions.The world is a lot more accessible with the use of video Google hangouts; Skype calls; Facetime and Messenger  to interact individually and as a group to became more open minded and aware of how other people live differently then their own family by personally communicating with and seeing them thereby creating a cross cultural relationship. This creates more empathy and understanding of different cultural views and beliefs therefore attempting to create a culture of respect even if you don't believe the same way. Generally humans are afraid of what they don't understand so technology tools help to break that barrier because we can view and comment on events from all over the world  instantly on Utube; Twitter  and news feeds on our smartphones.

Cultural change is happening with the use of  online tutoring with the use of technology which connects tutor and student in a learning relationship  that can be across the globe for example connecting a family in China with a tutor in Canada. ELL students in particular benefit from technology with the use of video recording and graphics such as in Buncee where the child can see and hear English speech with pictures to reinforce the learning and have the words translated below in their language. This cross cultural exchange creates understanding and connections across the globe.

Pexels Pictures;Understanding life in a different culture 

 A great resource is Buncee with ELL students and Skyping other Buncee classrooms ; in the Buncee Buddies Global Collaboration project  which connects classes from around the world.Students can share about their country and customs with the Buncee presentation which students can add pictures; audio and video recording to share their culture and learn about another different country by watching theirs and interacting in person through Skype. 

 Teachers can search out Skype interviews with Skype in the Classroom  to connect with children in a classroom who have a different way of living then there own to become aware of contrasting perspectives and possibly help problem solve together. Check out;Finding Skype Guest speakers for the classroom. Classrooms can then exchange email letters and use Vimeo to upload and share videos with each other to share with their global classroom;.

A really useful list of multi cultural /diversity resources I found here and bookmarked for future use because its a thorough list from apps; book lists and recent projects such as following a twitter feed #WeNeedDiverseBooks. Check out;New Media Resources;Multi-Cultural apps and Digital Resources for Diversity for this  multi cultural list .CommonsenseMedia was mentioned a lot in this list and they have reviewed cultural digital apps; books and games at Common Sense Cultural Appreciation Reviews.
Everfi has an African American course that would be especially helpful to address  race relations with high school students.Everfi African American course.

On my twitter feed I received an EdTech e-newsletter  with a  resource from Commonsense Media on developing empathy with digital tools. Empathy is being able to perceive and  use perspective taking on how others feel is  a step in understanding and creating cultural change.
For example; making a digital presentation(imovie; Buncee etc;) on how it looks and feels to be bullied for looking or acting differently (racially or otherwise) I like the tip to turn empathy into action with sharing their work with an authentic audience. For example; creating a e book using the bookcreator app with the help of a child with a disability and what their live is like; using their voices and pictures with permission. Share the book with other classes. Bring a veteran or a person who has immigrated from a culturally different country such as Sudan in to talk or use Skype;  research background information and use the personal connection to create a Buncee presentation and share it! For the full tips click on Turning Student's empathy into action with digital tools.

I checked out the Casel organization resource  listed online; Casel organization;collaborative for academic,social and emotional learning; this was helpful list of social and emotional learning.(SEL) that included books; downloadable guides and tools;research projects and videos for elementary and high school levels social and emotional learning.

I think Cultural change starts with me so when I was packing I came across the book;Who Moved My Cheese and it occurred to me that this book about the process of change was timely in my  journey with accepting that the skills needs for 21st learning has changed so I  made the choice to adapt to change so I can teach best to the digital citizens of the 21st century. In the Who Moved My Cheese Book  the last step is especially important to me which is to: Be Ready to Change Again and Again. The learning curve of the 21st century is a constantly adapting and changing as new technology apps come and go and/ or modified and as Teacher Librarians we are the gatekeepers to review; curate and categorize for students and teachers so they can  access the best uses for meaningful higher order thinking and creativity.

  Steps of Change ;Who Moved My Cheese Book

Resources:

Author, A., MD, A. and Fame, A. (2017). Spencer Johnson, MD - Bestselling Author – Small, Invaluable Books That Help Millions Of People Around The World. [online] Whomovedmycheese.com. Available at: http://www.whomovedmycheese.com [Accessed 11 Oct. 2017].

EVERFI. (2017). 306 – African-American History™ - EVERFI. [online] Available at: https://everfi.com/k-12/306-2/ [Accessed 11 Oct. 2017].

 Commonsensemedia.org. (2017). Cultural Appreciation Apps, Games, and Websites. [online] Available at: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/cultural-appreciation-games [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

 Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: http://www.flls.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/New-Media-Resources-Multicultural.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: https://d1e2bohyu2u2w9.cloudfront.net/education/sites/default/files/tlr-asset/sel-cheat-sheet-pdf.pdf [Accessed 13 Oct. 2017]. Education.microsoft.com. (2017). 

Find guest speakers - Microsoft in Education. [online] Available at: https://education.microsoft.com/skype-in-the-classroom/find-guest-speakers [Accessed 13 Oct. 2017].

 Buncee Blog. (2017). Meeting the Needs of Language Learners. [online] Available at: https://www.buncee.com/blog/edubuncee-for-meeting-the-needs-of-english-language-learners/ [Accessed 13 Oct. 2017].

Fostering reading cultures in school with ICT

Fostering Reading Cultures in School with Information; Communication and Technology;

As a preamble to fostering reading cultures in school with ICT  I believe its important to give children the best environment to learn how to read;(emergent readers) fostering their love for reading for life then giving them confidence to expand further in expressing themselves through their creative use of digital apps to show their unique reading and writing expression and learning of  literacy skills.

From my experience and pedagogy in a Casa Montessori class with ages 3 to 6 I have witnessed the development of reading phonetic words by 4 year olds  and  then phonograms, diphthongs etc by the older students and reading leveled  little books- BOB BOOKS ; which is very exciting for them to say they read a book! The first set is the number one best seller for Amazon their site claims; for more details check out Bob Books for emerging readers and App   Bob Books now has 4 levels of  phonic based books on an app for ipads and android .
The children then progress to Usbourne series and choosing books from the library; etc .  Children are naturally motivated by the mixed age groups in which they are observing different levels of reading happening around them.Children at 3 are at neurologically at their prime- sensitive period to receive phonetic sounds and are interested in attending to them; Maria Montessori called this the Absorbent Mind; so we introduce the sandpaper cursive letters which we model tracing and saying the sound. After they know about 10 sounds they form phonetic words with the movable alphabet and bring letters to a mat on the floor that has the matching objects and cards to check their work after. Reading progresses to harder phonetic words like piglet etc and common groupings of words (oo; oa; ch sh etc) while reading leveled books so its scaffolded and practicing cursive so they can start to write their own stories they form with the movable alphabet and sharing them.To learn more; read one book written by Maria Montessori;The Secret of Childhood

Example of emergent readers use of Montessori Materials. This is a  google slide from my previous Library Assistant course.

Phonetic words using movable alphabet

forming OO words; 5 year old

sand paper letters

 I  believe  and have  seen that children under the age of 6 learn best sensorially and with movement; for example they touch the sandpaper letters ; see the shape hear and say the sound to bring the abstract out of their concrete manipulation; so I feel the use of technology should be limited for children under 6 for their brain development ;though I see that it can be used in specific purposes younger such as ESL language learning for a young child through a Buncee slides with the use of video recording to show pronunciation and use of assistive technology for special needs as well.

I'm not in the loop to be aware of reading technology other then scholastic online talking books which the elementary students use so I went to investigate online; twitter and my e newsletters from Ed tech and edtuopia for insight to how  digital apps were being used now to support/foster reading literacy.
A useful list of  assisitive technology resources came from Reading Rockets Assistive Technology for children with Learnnig disabilities and from teachthought.technology15 assistive technology tools- such as the apps Ginger; Ghotitt for dyslexia; kurzwell300 for many disabilities; Intel reader which is a hand held device that reads text aloud.

Teaching Literacy in the Digital Age- Inspiration for all levels and literacies; from this e book I found the example of a Book Talker and use of Animoto; like a short trailer video for books.  As well as making digital movie stories that work on storyboarding and scriptwrting.This e book or hard copy resource is helpful because it connected the lessons with AASL and ISTE standards. I agree with the author; Mike Gura on the rationale for use of technology not being the prime focus but;" Rather, the technology and its application to a teaching and learning need represent a significant advantage or improvement to established traditional instructional approaches." This short book trailer is an example of using Animoto; click on link below:
Example of a Book Talker using Animoto; these short video clips highlighting the characters and plot in the books can be created by librarains as well as students encouraging  their classmates to read their choice and learning new skills in explaining it to others like the plot; main events; theme;seting etcmotivating and can create exitement/ connection for reluctant readers to read!

One resource I was encouraged to found on my twitter feed was the
Book Creator App ;         ; it has lots of creative options for students such as adding pictures and using a digital pen; adding audio and video to their book. This app can be used across curriculum and with projects with students around the world-collaboration. The first 40 books are free then there is 2 options per year ; check out bookcreator App. for more details and examples of books created by students and teachers.

Book Creator App

Inspiring Readers and Writers with Virtual Reality: Point of View Activities; I found this embedded in a twitter feed and by giving students  an understanding into a characters viewpoint or writers point of view with virtual reality is an inspiring hook for a novel read/ history lesson etc. Nearpod provides many VR lessons ;7 Favorite Nearpod Virtual Reality Lessons ; some examples are ,The Boston Tea Party and The Maya . Students use a mobile device in a  Google cardboard(under 10$) and lessons are 2.99$. Nearpod provides many lessons filtered  under subject and grade and their price varies from free to 14.00$ to purchase. These are examples of their ELA lessons; Nearpod ELA lessons; for example a free lesson was on Revising and Editing with short quizzes throughout for assessment. I also checked out the Nearpod's Big word Club 5 series of singing story books and listened to one; it was very catchy and Young children would love it; to learn vocabulary and concepts. I like that it gave students a choice to freely respond before and after with a blank digital page with text or drawing tools.  At the end they sing it together and there is a short assessment. This is a good starting point if students then wanted to write a story about a rainforest or use the Book creator app  ; this is an example to listen to Nearpod; Big Word Club.

As mentioned in my previous blog Skype in the classroom is also useful in creating excitement for reluctant especially students through live author talks  some are through Penguin Young readers group and Candlewick which is live connections with illustrators and authors. Skype in the classroom also offers  a collaboration hook that can get students excited to read and write for a specific audience or a common problem with the; Share their Work with the World tool.students are linked to another class anywhere in the world. This is a real life application of reading others work and writing back which is very motivating and connected to real life For more information click on;.Skype Collaborations; Share my work with the world .
Goodreads.com is a recommended list of books when students have a difficult time getting into choosing what to read.

This was a learning curve for me and this blog topic allowed me to expand my knowledge and understanding of the varied options available including reading events like Drop everything and read and Reading riot as well as digital tools to excite students to read and see it as relevant!

Bibliograghy;

 Childhood and Montessori, M. (2017). The Secret of Childhood. [online] Goodreads.com. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/920412.The_Secret_of_Childhood [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].

Reading Rockets. (2017). Assistive Technology for Kids with Learning Disabilities: An Overview. [online] Available at: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/assistive-technology-kids-learning-disabilities-overview [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].

https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Literacy-Digital-Age-Inspiration/dp/1564843394; edited by Mike Gura

Bobbooks.com. (2017). apps. [online] Available at: https://www.bobbooks.com/apps/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].

http://classtechtips.com/2017/10/01/virtual-reality-point-view-activity/

Nearpod.com. (2017). Nearpod. [online] Available at: https://nearpod.com/s/top-ela-lessons-F798 [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
 Education.microsoft.com. (2017). Share work with the World - Microsoft in Education. [online] Available at: https://education.microsoft.com/Story/SkypeCollaboration?