Copyright

Wow. It seems like copyright talk is all over town these days. Well at least for me it is. This topic is most important as a school librarian. Not only do I need to know about copyright-- I need to teach my students and help my staff understand it.

Having worked in a school for the past ten years, it is evident that teachers need more training on fair use and copyright. I think academic librarians should partner with the education departments in colleges to teach this as part of teacher training.

For the past few weeks, I have ironically been teaching my students about copyright. With my sixth graders, we learned about images and the use of Creative Commons. They are wrapping up their projects, so I am excited to see their learning in place. In fifth grade, this week we learned the parts of a book-- including copyright information to set us up for learning about citing sources MLA style.

I found that my students understood the topic better when using real life examples. I pulled up my brother-in-law as a photographer-- and discussed his rights as an artist. I found that aI really zoned in on the parts of the videos that connected to me. The section on fair use, or Creative Commons. I also liked the real world examples of the cases (although I wish we could have seen the slides with the images.)

It really connected me as a learner to what I need to do to tech issues that are tricky. I was reminded why collaboration is so important in school librarianship. Teaching information interact skills alone does not resonate with kids. My sixth grade students were much more engaged with the issues of copyright, because we were creating something where it applied to them. My fifth grade students were learning a skill in preparation for things to come.

**On another note, I found the blog post we read on the Internet and copyright interesting. In many ways I agree with the author. The web is a new way of sharing information. Personally, that is why I don't have issues with sites like Pinterest. I love when people link to my work. If people are concerned, they should watermark their images, or post a do not link. It is a touchy topic, and I am interested to see where it goes.

Does anyone know if when you subscribe to an RSS feed if the website is punted as viewed. I would love some more information on this.

Youth and Technology

This week I went to a training on iPads in education.The keynote was Sue Meyer, a former educator/media specialist who currently  works for apple.

Sue discussed at length how the world is changing. And that change is inevitable, yet it takes a longer in schools. The pace of change is now happening at an even greater rate because of the rate of mobility. Experts have predicted that by 2013 mobile devices will outnumber desktop devices, more people will carry mobile devices than personal devices. She reiterated many of the same statistics that Cody Hanson shared with us.

The workshop excited me to see the opportunities that teachers are currently doing with students--and the opportunities that are coming.

Technology is a wonderful opportunity for personalized learning.

I was also reminded of David's presentation on gaming and learning. The presenters talked about how GAMIFICATION can really help learners. (achievement badges, leader boards, little no consequence for failure, incremental levels leading to mastery). The idea of little chance for failure really struck home with me. Sue talked about not risking the failure by raising your hand--and having the chance to succeed by trying again and again. A game I am excited to try with my students is POCKET LAW FIRM--which teaches students about the Bill of Rights through a game.

Millennial Learners are impatient and expect immediacy, digital natives, social and collaborative learners, experiential and exploratory Learners. They are motivated differently.

A recent survey from (eSchool news) on 'What do students want from school':--September 2011 reported:

5- more technology

4- teachers as mentors

3-learning to be interesting

2-to have choice

1-to do real and relevant work

This shows that students view technology and teaching as important.
I can't wait to see how my teachers and I can collaborate on these things.

Youth and Online Safety

This past week, I have been teaching our 5th and 6th graders my school district's Acceptable Use Policy. Basically, I go over the expectations and give the students some information, and then they have to sign a contract agreeing that they can follow the rules. Believe it or not, this actually comes in handy when 6th grade boys google search "big boobs." It is pretty easy to point out to them that they have agreed to use technology appropriately for educational purposes--I will assume that no teachers are assigning the kids to look at pictures of breasts online.

A couple of thoughts have been percolating in my head as I have been going over the curriculum with my students:

• Using technology is a privilege not a right.

Is it? I'm not so sure anymore. In the age of digital literacies--is it okay to not have some of our students using technology as a tool? If a kid was drawing pictures of breasts--would I not let them use pencil and paper anymore? Technology is becoming more and more prevalent in our teaching (at least it should be).

I have never completely banned a student from a computer before--but the privilege has been revoked for a short time. In this digital age--I think educators really need to start thinking about the ramifications of this.

• The issue my students have been most fascinated by is the issues of online privacy and and your identity online. (I really enjoyed reading the articles Rebecca posted regarding this topic--as it fit right into the work I was doing with my kiddos this week).

In a short library class--we were barely able to touch on these topics--and we will do more this year as we have authentic experiences.
My students were very intrigued with the idea of password security and not sharing information with friends or boy/girl friends. The ideas of people getting into your online accounts was new for many of them. Sharing real life examples of myself and people trying to get my information via email/facebook and stories of people I know who had shared their passwords and then "broken up" and had their accounts destroyed were very meaningful to my students. They asked meaningful questions and we talked a lot about appropriate people to share passwords with (parents) and how to keep them private.

In our lesson we also talked a lot about posting images and words online and the lasting effects it can have on you and others.  Time flew by--I feel like I could teach multiple lessons on this stuff. Here are a couple of video clips we watched (as well as a couple I will show them at a later time) that helped my students understand these topics. We had great discussions following each one.

Mobile Technology

This week, as I read Cody Hanson's articles on Mobile technology I couldn't stop nodding my head and jotting down notes like, "Yes!" or " "Great Idea!" even, "I remember..."

He laid out a foundation of information of mobile technolgy history that brought me back to my first cell phone my current iPhone and all of my mobile devices that I had in between.

Hansen is correct--mobile technology is here--and it is becoming more and more present as time passes. Just last year, I got my first iPhone, after using an iPad and watching conference attendees at AASL communicate and learn over their mobile devices. I convinced my husband to take the plunge--and it felt like a HUGE financial jump for us....And now, neither of us can imagine life without our devices.

Last year, I attended a conference on digital technology and equity. The keynote speaker was S. Craig Watson author of The Young and the Digital. Watson discussed (as Hansen does in his articles) the research he and his colleagues at the MacArthur Foundation had done about teens and technology. They found that the digital divide did not exist in the same ways of the past--as most teens that in the past would not have had internet access now did have that access in a mobile device. Hansen points out in his article that this is the case for adults as well.

This has big implications for libraries--if many people are only accessing our information online from a mobile device--our information better be usable from said devices. I especially was enamored with the ideas of librarians trying to use the libraries tools only from said mobile devices and experiences things as many patrons do. Internet technology is changing, and libraries need to make their tools user friendly.

As an elementary school librarian, most of my students don't have mobile devices, but many do use their parents. The articles were a good reminder to me to make sure that the things I publish on the web are mobile device readable--especially for my library the videos we publish, as most parents use their phones to get news from the web.

* Photo taken from Creative Coomons: jagelado

"The internet is too open. People now want an internet that is more stable, the same way they want an automobile or refrigerator or hair dryer that's stable. When people have the choice of an appliance that behaves nicely like the iPhone, they'll move to that. I'm afraid we'll lose the innovation and 'generativity' of the internet." ---Zittrain

Photo by Plan de Alfabetización Tecnológica Extremadura

Maybe I heard this wrong--but this quote seems like such an oxymoron to me. 

On one hand, he says we want a more stable internet--and Zittrain has strong arguments for how that could happen. He gives examples of a community working together to avoid the bad things of the internet. Yet, he also says that he is afraid we will lose the innovation and gerativity of the internet. 

And the scary thing is, I understand where he is coming from. His fear of the internet falling apart, creating computer zombies until no one uses the web anymore because there is so much junk out there--could be a valid point. The idea of the community of web users working together to evaluate websites is an interesting one (hmmm... did you catch my Minnesota use of the word interesting there?!) Basically, I'm not too sure what to think of this idea. Part of me says Wikipedia works well, and it is accurate--so maybe this would be a great thing for the internet. Secretly, I think this is the part of me that read Nicholas Carr last week, and is still a bit freaked out by some of the bad things that can happen with the internet.

The other more rational side of me, connects with losing the innovation of the web. Part of what I love about the internet is that anyone can publish. My students love to create their own web sites to show their learning. I also love to publish on the web. I wonder who will decide what is quality and what is not. My students are in the learning process--and I as a researcher would not use their information as a source. However, they love to share their learning in an authentic way with their family and friends.

As a librarian, I feel like it is a big part of my job to teach my students how to evaluate the information they find on the internet. I don't see the internet changing anytime soon--to be regulated. So, we need to teach our students to evaluate the information they find and use on the web--and to make good decisions based upon the tools they have.

Privacy Online??

"Computer systems are not at their core technologies of emancipation. They are technologies of control" (The Big Switch--pg. 191).

photo from Creative Commons: ckschleg

As I read this section, I honed in on "You have zero privacy." I guess I have thought this for a while, but I didn't totally get what it meant. AND for a pretty boring person like me, it's not really that big of a deal. I mean, I erased my history when I knew I was pregnant, and didn't want my friends and family to know yet, but it wasn't anything that was that damaging. This knowledge that we don't have privacy--that computers actually have control of all we do is a bit frightening. The scariest part, is most of us don't even know how much freedom we have given up (I certainly don't think about it that often--or I just brush it off, for the convenience of the web!)

So what does this mean for libraries?? In schools, it means we need to be doing a better job of teaching our students about privacy issues on the internet. Most kids know not to give out their private home information--they don't probably know that they are connected to a search history in which they can be identified (wow--I didn't know it was that easy!). It may mean that library computers and the multitude of people that search on them can help keep some patron privacy--letting the user have some control back..

As I sit here and type this blog post, I am logged into google--I've now searched privacy, keep out, and did some reading about the same sex marriage debate. Yikes--what are they collecting about me? And, even if I log out, I am still identifiable. I'm now wracking my brain about all the stuff I have researched on my own computers. 

We have a BIG job ahead of us--perhaps with education, more will jump into the fight.

"We see the interplay of technology and economics most clearly at those rare moments when a change takes place in the way a resource vital to society is supplied, when an essential product or service that had been  supplied locally begins to be supplied centrally, or vice versa" (p. 23).

I found it remarkable that so many inventions changed the way society worked. I was quite surprised that Edison had started Electricity as a small powerhouse--and that later it was expanded to be the service that it is. As I read this quote, I kept thinking about the long tail--and how companies like Amazon have changed the way business works. Business on the internet really connects with what Carr was talking about. The internet is changing the way that businesses work.

Blogging

"The blogosphere is the greatest vector for new voices ever created. The convention of linking to ideas and information of merit, wherever they come from, be it professional or amateur, is a powerful force of diversity. The main risk with blogs is the distraction o too many leads to pursue, not too few" (The Long Tail p. 190). 

I would agree with this quote. However, I would note searching the internet, and getting blog posts can be difficult--which was my aha for this week. Web browsers often do not show blog entries in their top results. While getting ready for my textpert presentation, I knew that I had recently read a blog post great school librarians to follow on Pinterest. If memory serves correctly, I had linked to this entry for another blog article that I was reading. Unfortunately, I read it on my phone--and through Flipboard, so I did not bookmark/pin/star in any way. While trying to recover this information I spent much time searching on the web and reading my RSS feed--to no avail. 

This risk of distraction can be powerful, or a total time suck (Yes I have spent an entire evening reading a woman's story from Utah that was in a car fire--Yes this was a random link from a quilting blog--) Did I enjoy my reading, obviously I did. Was I fulfilling my purpose--not really. Sometimes those detours are wonderful--and at other times, there is just too much out there to know where to begin. I love seeing who other bloggers follow, and giving credit to great ideas so that we can create professional learning communities.

Is blogging the end all to the internet--no it isn't. But it is a real and authentic way that many people have their voices heard. And many of those voices are worth hearing.

A Niche for Everything

"It is now possible to offer a massively expanded variety of products. Simply offering more variety, however, does not shift demand by itself. Consumers must be given ways to find niches that suit their particular needs and interests" (The Long Tail--p. 53).

I believe in supporting local business and the community around me. As I read The Long Tail I couldn't help but think of my own purchasing trends, as an individual and as a librarian. I began to realize that while my personal beliefs point me to local independent stores--there is a reason I keep buying online and through larger retailers. It kind of makes me sad, but I am understanding some of why I buy the way I do--and perhaps what I can do about my purchasing trends.

This massive explosion of the internet abounds. Even when I want to purchase local--it is difficult when finding the niche online is so much easier and convenient. I can purchase a suit for my three year old at 10pm, and have it arrive 3 days later. After multiple trips to local businesses and the mall--with no success, Kid's Formal had all that I needed with a click of my mouse and my credit card number.

On another note, I am not a huge music purchaser--but Apple has my credit card number already, and if I hear a song and I want it, they have found a way for my need to be met quickly. For me to drive to a store to purchase music would probably never happen--but for me to click buy on my phone is easy. Apple has met my needs in a way that would make a purchase happen when otherwise it would not.

As a librarian, I thought about my book buying for my school library. While I have high intentions of shopping at small local stores--it is much easier for me to do otherwise. I purchase most of my materials from Mackin (a local book jobber). I make these selections online. They offer a niche that bookstores cannot. My books come bar coded and library ready. They even have MARC records sent with each book if I desire to use them in my catalog. Mackin fits a niche that other stores cannot. They have reviews for the books I want to purchase and more information than I need. If I have trouble, their customer service is phenomenal. Their prices are also great. It is difficult for me to have similar feelings about smaller stores when I don't get the same services--and it costs more.

There are times when I do purchase in person. As a consumer the has the ability to spend thousands of dollars on books, I expect a certain kind of service. I might not be the biggest buyer that a store has--but I want to be helped and treated well. My local Barnes and Nobel makes it really hard for me to shop around. I know they are BIG business--and yet, they make me feel like it is my neighborhood store. They are trying hard to get that feel. Their children's book workers know me, and they send me free author visits. They upped my district discount to 25% off--and give me freebies to hang in my library. When my school need book donations--they always step up to the plate. I would imagine it is difficult for a small business to match this kind of service and have the same selection.

This idea of the long tail has had me thinking and brewing as the week has progressed. An aha for this week surround the advance of so much selection and the small niches to be filled. I was especially fascinated with the ideas of common experiences experienced by a group of people. We can no longer expect everyone to have watched last nights "Cosby Show."

This morning I was discussing The Long Tail with the Social Committee at my School-as we were discussing the need to have common events that we could all relate to as a staff(such as attending a movie together--or a Twins game). My colleagues right away could grasp onto the idea of no more "shared water cooler events." Someone even mentioned that we had been trying to discuss a show two of us watched, and our conversation was stopped by those that had DVRed it, and had yet to watch it. Everyone wanted to know what the solution was. Hoping to find one soon.

 "A professional often becomes a gatekeeper, by providing a necessary or desirable social function but also by controlling that function ... Professional self-conception and self-defense, so valuable in ordinary times, become a disadvantage in revolutionary ones, because professionals are always concerned with threats to the profession" (Clay Shirky--Here Comes Everybody).

Shirky hit home with this one. Do we as librarians feel a threat to our profession. I sure do. As a school librarian, I feel like I am constantly explaining my job to people. Even the people I work and teach with. Sometimes even the people that employ me. Always justifying my presence in a school that is short staffed. 

Yes, I do more than read books to kids. Yes, I can work with technology. No technology is not all I do. Yes, it is important to have a licensed media specialist in our schools....

Could a lot of people do my job? Yes. Do a lot of people have the training to do all parts of my job--no. School libraries run by library assistants don't have collections that go with grade level outcomes and curriculum. Assistants frequently aren't reading professional journals to know the latest on children's literature--and if it is appropriate for our patrons. Assistants are not finding a book for every reader, and they most certainly have not been trained on censorship and weeding. Collections in many schools are falling by the wayside, because there is no gatekeeper to watch over what is being pulled, what materials are allowed to be purchased.  Don't like gays--pull the books. Don't want to deal with parents on books about sexuality--don't buy it. Collection development alone is reason enough for me to think that school libraries need a librarian. And don't even get me started on what kids are allowed to read--and the comments I hear  from assistants that think they are helping students-- but are really making reading choices for kids that they are not trained to do. 

Let me justify myself some more, and let people know that as a school media specialist, I teach students library skills, reading skill, and technology skills essential to their learning. I collaborate with teachers to help students learn information seeking skills that are embedded into their curriculum outcomes. I help teachers think of tools that let students use web 2.0 tools or other technology tools to create projects to show their learning. I manage our library, and teach students the 21st century skills that will help them be life long learners. I am a librarian--and I am a professional.

Could anyone do my job--sure. Do they need a degree and/or education to do it--I firmly believe they do. Am I concerned with threats to my profession--yes I am--but not because I think others can do the job as well as school librarians can--it's because I fear schools are being faced with tough decisions right now...and often times they are choosing non professionals to do the work of those that are highly trained.

On another note--thinking about my aha moment of the week. 

For me, while reading Shirky, I was surprised and yet disappointed with the use of social networking tools to organize a group. It seems so simple in the book--and yet--with the upcoming Constitutional Amendment to the Minnesota Constitution I am surprised with how many people still don't know of the damages that are facing the rights of the people in our state (can you tell where I stand??). I follow some of these groups on Facebook, and many people I know have similar feelings as myself. Yet, I have yet to see those that are uninformed being reached. I started to think--that the people of our state need to start SHARING the information more freely, because it has not yet reached social networking capacity. The text talked about emailing others and sharing to groups. I think there is still a lot to be learned about social networking/web 2.0 and politics/social justice. I am excited to see where we move.


*Photo taken from Creative Commons-- National Archive
*Vote No--taken from MN United For All Families

Web 2.0 Optimist

Hmmmm. Am I a Library 2.0 optimist or pessimist? I think I can easily answer that I am an optimist. After watching William Powers, I was even more persuaded that web 2.0 and Library 2.0 is necessary and a wonderful way of communicating. I loved what Powers had to say about the conundrums of new technologies not being anything new--and that people had been through this before with other types of technologies. His message of finding a balance was what I really took away from this week. Michael Stephens asks librarians to "evolve, let go of control, and be visible." He was a great proponent of how libraries are using web 2.0 tools to do these things. I would agree with him that for libraries to stay present we as a group need to meet our customers where they are at--which is partially on the interactive web. When libraries became hyperlinked patrons let librarians know that there needed to be a balance (cell phones in some places--quiet in others). Libraries need web 2.0, but we also need the book, and the conversations.

We need to find a balance in our workplace just as we do in our personal lives as Powers discssed. Library 2.0 needs to be staffed by real people that can "do it all," and meet our users where they are at.

This past couple of weeks has been incredibly busy for me with the start of the school year and grad class. I have found myself on my phone or laptop after my children are in bed, or making movies to upload to You Tube to show my students while my own kids were out at the Farmer's Market. In a sense I have been disconnected from my life. I could blame my busy schedule--or I can start to take responsibility in be need to be connected.

What I saw after supper at my house tonight.

I need to ask myself if I am present in my family life--probably not so much. In fact...I feel a bit of guilt as I sit here and blog while my husband talks to the kids and prepares dinner. Am I ready to declare some unconnected time for me and my family? I think so. As I listened to William  Powers, I really reflected on my connectedness to the world. I thought about a recent article I read in the Huffington Post, What You Don't See in My Instagram Photos (which If I'm totally honest with you I read on my phone found from a link on a high school classmates Facebook Wall). I have a desire to be connected to my friends and family. Sometimes my desire in connecting is make myself notice that my life is good, and in noticing I want to remember. And yet, and yet...maybe I'm missing something. God forbid it is my children growing up, or my relationship with my husband. So I will work on disconnecting, and being present around my kids. I'm going to talk it over with my husband. I'll keep you posted on how it is going. I'm nervous--but excited to reconnect with my whole self and my family.

Anna Zbacnik--Blog post 1

me
Welcome to a to z learning. My name is Anna Zbacnik. I am particularly fond of alphabets, as my initials are both the beginning and end of the alphabet. I am a wife and mother of two (Frankie--age 5, Oliver--age 3). I have been in the grad program at St. Kate's for what feels like an eternity. I have had a baby, worked full time, and switched jobs while in school--I literally feel like I can do anything if I set my mind to it.

I am also a school librarian in Roseville, Minnesota--at Brimhall Elementary School. I regularly blog at my school library blog a to z library. Before I was a media specialist, I taught both fifth and 2nd grades. I have been teaching since 2001. I consider myself to be both a teacher, and a librarian. I love being a librarian--I think I have the best job in the world. I get to work with kids, work with books, technology, and information. Really I am a pretty lucky person!

web 2.0
I would love to gain more web 2.0 tools that I can use with both students and staff. I teach grades pre-K - 6th each day, and work with over 700 students. With such a large school, it is essential that I am using computer times to the best ability. When my students are using web 2.0 tools, I want it to be meaningful and useful to their learning. I want my teachers to feel that web 2.0 tools benefit their teaching and the learning of their students. My fellow media specialists in my district are working to create online tutorials to many web 2.0 tools. I am excited to learn of new tools I can share with my staff.

Web 2.0 tools are exciting. I use many regularly.  Follow me on Twitter at @a_to_z_library. I mainly use twitter for professional use only. I use Facebook for personal use. I also blog as mentioned above (I have a book club blog as well!). Tools like Pinterest and diigo are great professional and personal web 2.0 tools.

I use web 2.0 tools to teach my students (glogster, Flipsnack, animoto, dropbox, storybird, google apps...). I have typically used tools where I do not need to know coding language--so I don't really know it--although I can copy and paste it into my website and blog to embed something.

I am very excited for this class and what I can learn.