Week #3 - 1st Lessons

Whew. Busy week.

My first two lessons went pretty well. They were quick, only about 20-25 minutes, but that left some time for the kids to go back and look at the research they'd already done and compare it to the resources I showed them. I did a comparison between Google and Science Online and World Book so they could see the value of databases, how they provide reliable sources, accessible images and pictures, citation info, etc. (1.1.4, 1.1.5, 1.1.6) Initially we had some trouble with the videos loading, the filter was trapping them because they were stored at a different domain than Science Online itself, but we got that worked out with the tech people pretty quickly. Between the first lesson and the second I had a few periods to consider what could have been better, so I came up with a few more examples of citations. All told, I think it went well, and after each lesson I saw a few students jumping on Science Online or World Book, so there was some interest there. The class was mostly finished with their project already, but they got some good resources and a little info on citing electronic resources properly, for next time. (1.3.1, 1.3.3) 


I spent a day with the elementary librarian (EL) for the district when my host librarian was away at a seminar. At the time, we hadn't had the opportunity to clear it with the principal my being there alone with students, so I opted to shadow the elementary librarian. Since then I've had more opportunities to fly solo, just not for the length of an entire day. The EL in Xenia has a very different, and much more administrative position because she oversees all seven elementary schools, keeping her attention constantly divided. It was an interesting glimpse of what it must be like to be the one certified librarian in a district. I can see it being rewarding, but I can also see it being very trying, and I don't like the decreased emphasis on student interaction. Unfortunately, many districts put librarians in this position because funding a certified school librarian in every school is difficult. I definitely prefer the more localized positions, though, where you get more time with students.

I was concerned that I wouldn't get to see much of the ordering process because the fiscal year for schools ends in June and most of the ordering is usually done by this time. In a once-in-a-lifetime anomaly, a fund that hadn't been used by the administrators last year was handed over to us, so I got to help spend a boatload of extra funds, $4500 of materials some $1100 of which I selected. It was pretty exciting, and we consulted a large variety of resources to get some pretty excellent titles.

Also happening this week and next, one of the English teachers has started her sophomores on their research projects. This is exciting not only because they're spending a fair amount of time in the library right now on research (lots of teachable moments) but because the project can be done in a variety of mediums and formats (many opportunities for technology literacy too). One pair in particular wanted to set up their project in MySpace (3.1.4, 3.1.2), which I thought a very interesting choice. On the one hand, it's using a social network that affords them some unique opportunities and challenges. On the other hand, schools tend to hate social networks, especially MySpace, and the filter blocks it vigorously. The teacher was fine with them doing the project through MySpace, provided we could set it up in a way to be visible through the filter without being a problem. I had a great opportunity to discuss the project with them and help them determine what they wanted to do (2.1.4). After they explained the reasons for wanting to use MySpace, we went over the privacy guidelines to make sure that the project wouldn't be violating any policies or inviting trouble. It took a little finagling, but we were able to get them set up so they could create a unique project, utilizing social media, that was secure to the point that the teacher was comfortable. That's pretty exciting considering the typical stance toward MySpace. A student had been suspended just last week for getting on MySpace through a proxy server. Given, she wasn't suspended for MySpace but for using the proxy. Which reminds me, I need to do some research on proxy servers...