Wanderings…

Basically I am looking – again – for my dream catalog.  I sense that we are not there yet – but I have to wonder why not.  If Google Book Search can do it – why can’t we?  I am hoping that there is a product out there that I just don’t know about yet.

I would like marc records and an automated catalog that would search/do the following:

1.  The traditional standard subject areas
2.  The table of contents
3.  The index of the book
4.  The full text of the book
5.  Allow students to comment & rate the books they read (the ubiquitous 5 star and reader-reviews we see on Amazon et al)
6.  Allow students to view & print chapters online.  I know… even Google & Amazon (Googlezon?) do not allow folks to print.  But if a library owns the books, and if the chapters are only printable by entering a library card – then why not?

I would want to be able to expand or contract the search according to my needs.  For instance, if I am searching for information on Renaissance artists – a standard subject heading search would do.  If I am searching for Albrecht Durer, I would want to be able to do a table of contents search and perhaps an index search so I could find out which art encyclopedias have information.  And finally, if I want to find the effects of violent media on children, I might want to search the full text of the books our library owns.

If Google Book Search and Amazon can do it – why not our library catalogs?  For those of us who might not want features 3-6 – they could be turned off.  Personally, I would KILL for those abilities.

Yes – I know folks can search Googlezon or World Cat, locate a book and then see what libraries own it.  Why should they have to do that?  There is a big advantage for our students to search our own library collections which have been carefully assembled and weeded to meet their unique needs.

Please tell me that the promised land is in sight!!

Many schools are purchasing mobile computer labs.  A possible downside is what a recent LM_NET post referred to as a “library detour”.  Teachers bypass the library (and the librarian) in favor of having kids researching in the classroom …. sans librarian.

One practical suggestion to avoid this downside to mobile labs……?  Volunteer to be in charge of scheduling the labs.  I do not have mobile labs – but we might have them in the future.  I plan to handle that situation the same way I handled computer labs when they were added.  Volunteer to take over the scheduling duties.

Right now, the teachers come to me to schedule the stationary labs.  If they are doing an online lab etc.,  I simply schedule their classes into a lab.  However, if they are doing research, I schedule the computer lab AND myself, AND the library (or at least a cart of books).  I have a form that references information literacy standards, so it is immediately obvious that there is a curriculum requirement that needs to be met.

When/if we have mobile computer labs, they will also be scheduled via the library department.  I am hoping to have one mobile lab that stays here (for the most part) to add to the current 15 library computers.  This will allow students to work with books and laptops at tables, providing a more seamless research experience.  The other mobile lab will be reserved for classroom use.  BUT – mobile labs will have to be scheduled by us, and returned to us for recharging.  Yes … I know….that will be a lot of work.  I am blessed to have an assistant.  Not every one is so fortunate.  I also know that many schools schedule lab use via a lab assistant.  If that is the case, then the librarian can check the schedule regularly and make teacher contacts where appropriate.

It is a matter of a small shift in mind-set – research and libraries are no longer bound by library walls.  Research means information literacy, and information literacy should automatically involve librarians.  Furthermore, the library and the librarian are NOT synonymous.  The librarian is as mobile as any mobile lab – and a whole lot smarter! He/she can, should and does travel to where the need is – whether in the library, in a stationary lab, or in the classroom with a mobile lab.  Teachers and librarians have worked together with students in the library for years.  Teachers and librarians can work together just as easily in the classroom.

This might be a big paradigm shift for some teachers – but it isn’t a big leap for us.  We are used to being flexible …… not to mention mobile!

Chris Potter (my partner in Web 2.0 Geekdom) just sent me this video – The Networked Student.  Naturally – it’s blocked at school.

It is how we both want to teach.  What’s holding us back?  The content filter, aka “Bess the Barking Dog”.  I’d actually like to use a synonym that would add some satisfying alliteration to that phrase.  Oh well.  Keep it PG.

Yes – it is frustrating.  But it is not totally insurmountable.  To quote & paraphrase from my reply to his email

We CAN’T throw up our hands and say “if I can’t use Delicious (Wikispaces, Blogger etc etc), then I am taking my toys and going home.”  We HAVE to make compromises to get a little of what we want – and hopefully get a little more another day.

Student Accountability – We do not do nearly enough with holding kids accountable.  We simply block things to make  our lives easier.  As teachers in charge of such a project, we would have to craft a realy tight “acceptable use policy” for collaborative projects.  There would need to be specific, swift and significant consequences to violation of the policy.  We would have to do memorable teaching about the ramifications of signing such a contract and what all the parts of it mean.  Then – “violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Probably blocked by BESS, our beloved filter.  Incredibly well worth watching – at home if you have to.

My favorite part:

“This is what we need….  If you want to see what kids have learned – give them a project.  Dare them to show you what they can do with the work of their own “head, heart and hands”. That’s when you’ll get kids engaged.  That’s when you’ll get kids learning, and that’s when you’ll get kids who can change the world.

…and Technology needs to be like oxygen – ubiquitous, necessary & invisible.  We need to not think about it – it just needs to be there.”

The Schools We Need – Video

The Schools We Need – Slide Show

I went shopping today after school and ran into a former student.  He was always one of my many favorite students. This student – I’ll call him Oliver – was not the kind of ideal student our education system seems driven to produce.  I have a real soft spot for students like him.

Oliver was a student who struggled in a school where every student was expected to be above average…. Where every student was expected to finish with a Regents diploma…. Where every student was expected to go on to college.  School discouraged him.  But somehow he soldiered on so he would meet our above average graduation requirements.  At several points in his career, I really thought he would lose hope and give up altogether.   I tried to be a cheerleader for Oliver over the years.  And yet – every time I saw him, he seemed a little more discouraged.

Let me tell you – meeting Oliver today was truly a joy.  Not only am I thrilled that he got that diploma – but I realize that he has found his niche.  He greeted me with great enthusiasm and told me how much he loves his job.  He is now working full time in a retail store.  He told me how the time just flies by and he never feels exhausted like he did in school.  He is already in line for promotion, and it is no wonder given the enthusiasm he has for his work.  Way to go Oliver!

I can’t help but wish we had been able to do more for him at school.  Why was school an almost insurmountable hurdle for him to get over?  A meaningless exercise…  Surely we could design a curriculum for the Olivers of the world.  A curriculum that would provide some practical math, business communication, basic science, etc.   New York used to have a curriculum that was supposed to meet those needs.  It was called Non-Regents.  Nothing like being defined by what you are not

Hey, I’ve got a news flash.  Not everyone should go to college.  Why don’t we value other career paths?   Why are we such educational snobs?  Why can’t we recognize that the happiest people are those who get to work at something they love.  Surely we can find a way to provide an education that will fit many different career paths!

Anyway – I am so happy for Oliver.  I hope he bears us all no ill will.  We really intended to help him…..