Hey, Library Lady!

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Resources for Accessibility

Accessibility is often taken for granted, but for a student who has special needs, accessibility is not always available. Copeland states "Whether a child is officially labeled as being differently able (having one or more characteristics that society labels as a disability)(FN1) or whether she is perceived as typically able, each of our students needs for us to be on the cutting edge of information resources and access. Moreover, our students need us to help them understand how their differences make them specially able. It is through this process that we also discover the child's gifts and abilities, and can use her differences to help her develop the information literacy skills and multi-literacies necessary for lifelong learning" (p 64-69). This past year, I worked in a middle school library and was very fortunate to become very well acquainted with some exceptional students. I served classes with moderate intellectual disabilities (MID) and profound mental disabilities (PMD), with ages ranging from 11-21 years old. I quickly learned these students needs were not being met. These students enjoyed story time with books mainly in the preschool through the 2nd-grade level. Pete the Cat was a favorite, and as the IMD class came daily, I often had requests for that same Pete the Cat book to be read several times each day.

As these students have mental and physical limitations, the information provided by the State Library in the South Carolina Book Services caught my attention. I began thinking of ways my students could read text that was on their reading level and for my students who do not have the mental capacity to read or the physical capacity to hold a book. The Amazon Kindle Fire Kids Edition would be beneficial to my students. The Kindle Fire has ports for headphones, and the noise canceling ones could be used as the students could listen to the stories being read aloud to them. This particular Kindle can be purchased in bundle sets, and they come with the kid-proof cases. They also come with a 2-year guarantee if they are dropped or broken, they will be replaced for free. Please click on this link Fire Tablet Accessibility for more information regarding the accessibility of the Fire tablet.

As these two classes have different needs, the MID class could use the Fire tablets independently to access books, audiobooks, movies, games, and educational content or listen to music while working in free time, or if they can work better while listening to music, the Fire tablet could be used for that. The PMD class does not have the mental capacity to read, but they would be able to listen to audiobooks, listen to stories or informational texts, listen to music, and for those who have the physical ability, they could access interactive games that are on their intellectual level. One of my students in the PMD class would become agitated and cry and hit himself because he was not verbal, but if he listened to music or I sang to him, he would calm down and give me the biggest smile.

For all of the students, the case including the stand is beneficial because it can be used in an upright position on a student's desktop, or for the students in wheelchairs, be placed on their accessible desktops, or on a freestanding stand that is height adjustable. This link to Fire tablet stands will take you to stands that can be used with the Fire tablet, which renders the tablets more accessible to students. The price of the Kindle Fire is less than a Play Away, Play Away Launchpad or iPad. After the one year of Free Time Unlimited has expired, the price is $2.99/month which is very economical. If you are a Prime Member, it is possible to borrow books for free, and there are many free apps that can be downloaded. Books, audiobooks and educational games can be downloaded from the teacher or librarian's Amazon Prime account, and control settings can be put in place. When purchasing books, one book can be shared with six Fire Kindles, so you pay for one book, but it is accessible by five other devices. This is a huge saving when purchasing class sets. The built-in dictionary helps a student quickly get the definition of a word they do not recognize or understand.

Photo by Porapak Apichodilok from Pexels

It is up to us to make students not only successful but to feel successful and for everyone to have accessibility to resources and technology. The following video links show how the Fire Kindle can be used in the classrooms.
Kindles in the Classroom
Kindle Fires in the Classroom
Setting up the Kindle Fire for Library and Classroom Use
The Kindle's World at School
Homeschooling with Kindle Fire

References

(2011). School Librarians of the 21st Century. Knowledge Quest, 39(3), 64–69. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=llf&AN=503009229&site=ehost-live

Sunday, June 9, 2019

Technology in the 21st Century Library

The role of the school librarian has changed immensely in the twelve years that I have been employed by my school district. Long gone are the days of just reading stories to students, collaborating with teachers, pulling materials for teachers and reshelving books before the end of each school day. The past four years we have seen major growth with the use of technology with both teachers and students. With our new role as a teacher librarian, it is important for us to keep up with the changing pace of technology and be able to integrate what we know and learn to our students. Johnson states "School librarians have a vital role to play in integrating technology to help students develop 21st-century skill to enable them to use technology as a tool for learning and ensure they are prepared to succeed and participate in a digital society "(p.3).

One way of involving students with technology is the use of Flip Grid. I had never heard of it until earlier this year at a professional development meeting, and we are currently using it to share weekly videos with our classmates and instructors. I can see where I will be able to integrate Flip Grid for use with book talks, and for students to ask general questions when they need help or to share new media materials with others. I learned from Ditch that Textbook, I can use Flip Grid to plan education escape rooms. See the link here Ditch the Textbook Escape Room for more information. I did some further digging with my district and found we are able to check out one of the escape room boxes the district owns. Students could be divided into teams to work on figuring out the clues to see if they can unlock one of the locks. Clues would be printed out and placed around the library. Questions to be answered could come from newer materials that have been explained in the library, or vaguer such as the location of a certain book in the library based on the Dewey Decimal system to see what they remember from that lesson, which would be a great one to start off the school year. Obviously, for younger students, this would need to be made easier so the students would not become frustrated and give up. As escape rooms are very popular right now, and students like a challenge, I think this would be a great way to incorporate teaching with technology and collaborating with fellow team members to see which group can unlock the box first. Selection of rewards inside the box could vary, but most students prefer candy or a toy, but maybe some extra time outside would be appreciated as a break from being inside the majority of the day. Perhaps for older students (high school), small gift cards could be the reward.

Smith states "It is essential for technology to effectively meet students' needs and keep them actively engaged during instruction (p. 619). As teacher librarians, it is important to implement technology and skills as much as possible in our lessons and lesson plans. Some students might not have access to WiFi, so activities on Flip Grid might need to e used with the phone app. We should not only actively participate in district professional developments, but also become aware of and subscribe to technology websites that contain apps and activities that we can use in our learning environments. Team librarians, we can do this!

References:

Johnston, M.P. (2012). Connecting teacher librarians for Technology integration

leadership. School Libraries Worldwide, 18(1), 18-33.

Smith, D. (2010). Making the case for the leadership role of school librarians in

technology integration. Library Hi Tech, 28(4), 617-631.

Sunday, May 26, 2019

The Importance of Library Standards

Helen R. Adams article, 65 Years & Counting: AASL and School Libraries Still Champions of Intellectual Freedom sheds light on several alarming concerns that are trending in school libraries. Students are being limited to information through strict district filters, books being challenged due to content that is diverse and goes against the norm for some families (religious beliefs and non-traditional LGBTQ literature), and students privacy rights are being violated.

As future librarians, we need to stand up and protect the privacy rights of our students, have access to materials that are potentially controversial to some families, and protect intellectual freedoms. According to Adams, "Self-censorship and labeling and ratings systems continue to be concerns; however, the most serious issue is the shrinking number of school librarian positions in schools, reducing the number of voices protecting and advocating for students' intellectual freedom and privacy." This article also addresses the continual lack of appropriate funding for school libraries, which directly affects students and teachers, when there is not enough money to provide appropriate resources. As future librarians, we have guidelines provided by the American Association of School Libraries (AASL) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ITSE).

The AASL standard is based on the principles of Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curae, Explore, and Engage. This framework is based on students, teachers, and the librarian working together to support inquiry based learning. The common beliefs in the standards of AASL are as follows:
1. The school library is a unique and essential part of the learning community.
2. Qualified school librarians lead effective school libraries.
3. Learners should be prepared for college, career, and life.
4. Reading is the core of personal and academic competency.
5. Intellectual freedom is every learner's right.
6. Information technologies must be appropriately integrated and equitably available.

The ISTE standards, as stated on the ISTE website "are designed to empower student voice and ensure that learning is a student-driven process." This standard is composed of seven principles that consist of the empowered learner, digital citizen, knowledge constructor, innovative designer, computational thinker, creative communicator, and global collaborator.

Both standards can be used together with a crosswalk guide found here National School Library Standards crosswalk with ISTE Standards for Students and Educators, which explains how each standard is paired with each other. Librarians should use both standards when helping students to find materials or online websites to use to find the information they are seeking.

As librarians, we must strive to protect students' privacy and intellectual freedom. Adams states " we must continue to teach them that they have the right to privacy in this digital world, give them the skills to protect their own privacy, and help them understand the importance of safeguarding their privacy." We must also protect students' privacy as much as we can when it comes to the materials they check out, and questions asked when seeking information on a topic. The most challenging part is protecting privacy when it comes to being shared with outside parties, such as the system used by libraries to check in and out books to students. Adams also states "In the realm of intellectual freedom, we will protect students' right to read, of course, but beyond that, we will continue to advocate for students' right to access to information of all types and in all formats." To achieve all of this, we must stop the decline of librarians and have ample certified librarians in our schools who will fight to protect student rights.

References

Adams, H. R. (2016). 65 years and counting AASL and school librarians — Still champions of intellectual freedom. Knowledge Quest, 45(1), 34-41.

AASL Standards Framework for Learners. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AASL-Standards-Framework-for-Learners-pamphlet.pdf

AASL Standards Framework for Learners. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/AASL-Standards-Framework-for-Learners-pamphlet.pdf