Fake News
The horror stories of young people not grasping the reach and influence of the content they put online are familiar to all of us. From the loss of job opportunities due to unprofessional pictures or comments on social media, to the more serious threats of abduction, and even the self-harm inspired by cyber bullying, the stakes are high. While students may often seem clueless to these dangers, some are starting to understand the risks. Still, millennials know just as well as any other demographic just how important digital literacy is and will continue to be to their working lives. Teaching digital citizenship means embracing the reality that we’re all interconnected through the Internet, and that we therefore need to understand the responsibilities and risks that come with life online. Image courtesy of Flickr and Thomas Galvez Why Digital Citizenship Matters Neither educators nor parents have the means to completely control how students use technology. Online Safety Information Literacy
Toolkits
Open Educational Resources (OER) Toolkit School librarians have observed open educational resources (OER) take root in higher education and have grappled with how to translate the OER movement to K–12 educational settings. The AASL OER Implementation Task Force’s charge was to position school librarians in OER efforts that will help extend their role as leaders within their schools, align with the AASL Standards, and provide professional development and make school libraries Future Ready. This toolkit can be used to help school librarians understand the process of curating and creating OER for their school, district, and/or state. Developing Inclusive Learners and Citizens Activity Guide To aid school librarians in nurturing inclusive learning communities, AASL tasked a 2019 ALA Emerging Leaders team with developing a guide of reflection activities and resources based on the Include Shared Foundation in the National School Library Standards. AASL Advocacy Toolkit Crisis Toolkit
School Library Marketing 101: It's About Students Not Stuff.
Librarians are not born horn tooters. At least, I'm not. I know that might sound contradictory for someone who a) calls herself "library girl" and b) spends most of her time running around the countryside spreading the gospel of library. But it's true. Tooting my own horn does not come naturally. In fact, it wasn't until the world started to turn upside down and libraries became a frequent flyer on the fiscal chopping block that I decided I needed to learn how to advocate for kids by promoting what I did to support them. Let's face it. The problem, however, is that most marketing is focused on tools: the slogan, the brochure, the newsletter, the infographic, the wiki, etc. I know. And that's the problem. School library marketing has to begin and end with impact. Step 1: Set some goals. I cannot stress this enough: marketing is meaningless unless you have a product worth selling. Step 2: Seek alignment. Step: 2.5 Do the work. This is the tough part. Step 3: Pick some tools. Aaaah!
How Teens Can Fight Cyber Bullying
About ETR Community EdTechReview (ETR) is a community of and for everyone involved in education technology to connect and collaborate both online and offline to discover, learn, utilize and share about the best ways technology can improve learning, teaching, and leading in the 21st century. EdTechReview spreads awareness on education technology and its role in 21st century education through best research and practices of using technology in education, and by facilitating events, training, professional development, and consultation in its adoption and implementation.
Advocacy
What Is Advocacy? Definitions developed by the AASL Advocacy Committee. Events Information on AASL sponsored events including Banned Websites Awareness Day and School Library Month. Intellectual Freedom AASL-created resources and contact information in the event of a material challenge. Legislation Information on school library specific legislation and the ongoing legislative efforts of the ALA Washington Office. Resources Information to facilitate the school librarian's role as advocate for their program - this includes position statements, AASL developed professional development, relevant reports, and research and statistics. Tools Materials to facilitate school library program advocacy - this includes advocacy brochures and toolkits.
5 Ways to Advocate without Being in Your Face
Recently, a colleague and friend reminded me that sometimes the louder we get the less people listen. As librarians we know the importance of advocating for our profession. It is our responsibility to share with others what we do to help students and how this looks different from librarians of the past. Since we are often the only person in our building who does our job we have to be careful how loud we get. If we push too hard, sometimes all we get is those who push back against us. Share This is probably the most important thing you can do! The importance of sharing was solidified when I started in my current position five years ago. It was not just about sharing with parents. Data Data is powerful! Programs Some of the best advocates of the library are teachers. Displays Displays are, in my mind, one of the most valuable parts of the library. Anticipate What’s Coming Anticipating what is coming next can be hard! Being subtle is not always easy. Author: Kelly Hincks Like this:
Internet Copyright Infringement - 5 Myths vs. Facts
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Ten Things Your Administrator Needs to Know as the School Year Begins
10. That you are a teacher who teaches not content but process. You teach children to be information literate, digitally literate, media literate, and visually literate. The skills that you teach, the dispositions that you help children to develop, the responsibilities that you foster, and the self-assessment strategies that you instill will serve children not only in school but also in life. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. If your administrator already knows these things, wonderful! Author: Audrey Church, Leadership Development Committee Chair and 2017-2018 AASL Past President Like this: Like Loading... Categories: Advocacy/Leadership, Blog Topics, Community, Presidential Musings
January 2016
Six Ways To Build Your PLN Using Twitter Since becoming active on Twitter over the past year and a half, I have noticed some best practices that users with a large following seem to have in common. There are many benefits to having a larger professional personal learning network (PLN). More connections equals more information coming across your Twitter feed. Before you can attract followers in your profession, be sure to have a photo of yourself on your Twitter account. Let's examine some of the methods that tend to draw Twitter users to follow you:1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Final Thoughts These simple practices will help you find followers and continue building a strong PLN that will constantly recharge your education "batteries". I have an email newsletter for the subscribers of the Library Media Tech Talk blog.
