Webinar: Creating Subject Guides for the 21st Century Library

Creating Subject Guides for the 21st-Century Library (ALA TechSource Workshop) – Books / Professional Development – eLearning – New Products – ALA Store via kwout

I am delighted to be presenting a 90 minute workshop, “Creating Subject Guides for the 21st Century Library”, this Tuesday, September 20, at 4PM EST for ALA TechSource.   If you are interested in registering for the webinar, please visit the ALA Store page for more information.  Here is an overview of the webinar:

The subject guide has been a valuable tool for school and academic librarians for decades, first as a print resource and more recently as web pages and web-based documents. In this ALA TechSource Workshop, Buffy Hamilton of The Unquiet Library will show how to revitalize the subject guide as a dynamic, customizable, social resource by integrating it into the web.

Topics include:

• Understanding the concept of social scholarship and the implications for networked learning
• How to use free resources such as widgets, RSS feeds, mashups, cloud computing, videos, and social bookmarking to create streams of quality information
• How to use non-traditional social media sources of information such as blogs, Twitter streams, podcasts, and YouTube in your subject guides
• Free and subscription-based tools you can use to host these information portals/research guides

21st Century Social Media Resume

What if we taught our students to create this kind of resume?  I’m adding this to my “must do” list for lessons related to digital footprints and presentation zen for my Media 21 project.   Thanks to twitter.com/slideshare for Tweeting this one!

AASL Unveils Standards for the 21st-Century Learner

The new AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner were unveiled on October 25 at the 13th National AASL (American Association of School Librarians) Conference in Reno, Nevada. 

“The new standards were developed by some of the best minds in the school library field,” Johns said. “AASL hopes that these standards will provide a foundation for a strong library media program in every school, where our students will research expertly, think critically, problem-solve well, read enthusiastically and use information ethically. Our students will succeed.”

Early in 2006, acting in accordance with the AASL strategic plan, the AASL Board of Directors voted to establish the Learning Standards Rewrite Task Force, whose charge was to develop new AASL standards for student learning in the 21st Century. The task force included co-chairs Cassandra Barnett and Gail Dickinson, Eugene Hainer, Melissa Johnston, Marcia Mardis and Barbara Stripling.

“The new AASL ‘Standards for the 21st-Century Learner’ are both a reflection of the current landscape and a vision for the future,” said Gail K. Dickinson, task force co-chair. “Good standards have to be practical enough to teach today but flexible enough to be able to teach tomorrow.”

The task force began with an intensive face-to-face meeting last September and worked virtually and during conferences over the next several months. To ensure that the new standards reflect the best of our thinking as a profession, the task force gathered input and feedback from the membership and other library media professionals throughout the whole process. Drafts were posted on the Web site for comment, AASL held an open forum for discussion of the draft during the 2007 Midwinter Meeting and a wiki was utilized for further input from the field.

The standards and common beliefs include:

Common Beliefs

The learning standards begin by defining nine foundational common beliefs:

• Reading is a window to the world.
• Inquiry provides a framework for learning.
• Ethical behavior in the use of information must be taught.
• Technology skills are crucial for future employment needs. 
• Equitable access is a key component for education.
• The definition of information literacy has become more complex as resources and technologies have changed.
• The continuing expansion of information demands that all individuals acquire the thinking skills that will enable them to learn on their own.
• Learning has a social context.
• School libraries are essential to the development of learning skills.

The Standards

The Standards describe how learners use skills, resources, and tools to

1. inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge;
2. draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge;
3. share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society;
4. pursue personal and aesthetic growth.

You can download the Learning Standards as an eight-page full-color pamphlet (PDF, 4 mb).

Do our practices as teachers and students truly reflect these beliefs in our school philosophy, learning activities, and teaching practices?  Do the mandates of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) intersect in reality with these new standards and beliefs?   How do we use these beliefs and standards as a framework for teaching and learning at Creekview High?