Tough times for public schools, especially where I am. Budget cuts are massive and they can no longer "keep them away from the classroom." It seems like everything in our district has been cut -- across the board, no exceptions. Many elementary schools will be reduced to a half time librarian...including mine. It's very sad, especially for our students.
So, next fall there will be many librarians who will be assigned to two schools. Managing a library, teaching information literacy skills and technology, collaborating with teachers, and providing library services to students, staff and community -- all this is a full time job in any size school.
Which half of my job do I do next year? Do I just do half of everything or leave some things out? What happens to the library when I'm not there? How can we possibly support teachers and students with technology only half of the time?
I know I'm whining. I'm incredibly fortunate in this economy to have a job. I'm just worried about how I'm going to do it all...
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Back in the saddle...
Oh, it's high time I get back to this! Where does the time go?
I'm reading a book I'm very excited about - Teaching Digital Natives by Marc Prensky. I'm reading it for an online book study with other librarians in my district. Prensky's approach to teaching (and learning) is making so much sense to me. He calls it "partnering" and it involves a re-definition of the role of the teacher and the role of the student. The teacher's role is to ask guiding questions, coach and guide students while they look for possible answers, hold them to high standards -- and not lecture! The teacher's job is to know the content and the context -- then give students free rein in how they learn and demonstrate what they know. The student's role is to understand and use technology (and other resources) to find information, share it with other students, and synthesize it into a product.
The teacher does not have to be a technology expert - that's the student's job. This is all done within a Problem-Based Learning Approach. The book is filled with practical information and encouragement. I highly recommend it - it has helped me think about integrating teaching and technology (both of which I love) in a whole new way. I am energized by this book!
I'm reading a book I'm very excited about - Teaching Digital Natives by Marc Prensky. I'm reading it for an online book study with other librarians in my district. Prensky's approach to teaching (and learning) is making so much sense to me. He calls it "partnering" and it involves a re-definition of the role of the teacher and the role of the student. The teacher's role is to ask guiding questions, coach and guide students while they look for possible answers, hold them to high standards -- and not lecture! The teacher's job is to know the content and the context -- then give students free rein in how they learn and demonstrate what they know. The student's role is to understand and use technology (and other resources) to find information, share it with other students, and synthesize it into a product.
The teacher does not have to be a technology expert - that's the student's job. This is all done within a Problem-Based Learning Approach. The book is filled with practical information and encouragement. I highly recommend it - it has helped me think about integrating teaching and technology (both of which I love) in a whole new way. I am energized by this book!
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