You+Know+You're+a+21st+Century+Librarian+if...

@http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/2011/05/01/manifesto-for-21st-century-teacher-librarians/

Some ideas for your vision!!

Under her header of "information landscape," Valenza states that Teacher-Librarians should "exploit push information technologies..." My colleagues and I are eager to utilize push technologies at our school to avoid unnecessary emails and copies of attachments. 'Exploiting the cloud' is another means toward this end that I will apply to our school library vision. I am also currently brainstorming how to best start the web presence that Valenza refers to as mandatory. I will update the class when I decide what resources I'll use (and what name) to take steps toward this goal. I'm currently thinking of starting accounts on GreatReads, Twitter, and CASL (CT's Association of School Librarians). The "new technology" section is one of my favorites in this article; this section puts me at ease with being open to new options and encourages me to "scout"

Word play makes me happy; "libratory" is one I've seen twice in Valenza's writing and I love the word. As long as I'm at my current site, my biggest push will always be reading advocacy, however I now know that I'll be adding in a lot of information and technology instruction. I'm really excited about podcasting, digital storytelling, maintaining an strong web presence, and implementing e-readers in our school. I am becoming more and more comfortable with some of these formats as we use them this week. While her list of to-do's is daunting, it is becoming gradually less formidable and I can't wait to implement a lot of the list. I agree with Debbie; I'll have to narrow my focus a little. In case anyone is going to peruse the WLMA journal, //Media//, look for Jodi K. in the Joan Enders article, "Our Secret Reading-Promo Weapon." This journal was one of the WLMA emails Teresa sent to us. - Kim


 * Reading this, I don't think I was a 21st Century classroom teacher. Oops. Guess it's always time to start. As mentioned in class, I do like how she organized the information, making it slightly less daunting. I would choose one bullet from each category and set those as goals. The more I become comfortable, the more I would take on at a time. Some are easy fixes, like promoting reading with screensavers and desktop images, this is a great idea that would be easy to complete. Sticking with the theme of today's class, I would also like to become familiar with options for digital story-telling and publishing student work. Baby steps are key to learning how to run! - Debbie **

One thing that stands out as I read this article is that I can actually understand it! J Had I tried to read this two weeks ago, I wouldn’t have understood most of the phrases within the article…this digital immigrant is beginning to assimilate! As we’ve seen with many of her other articles, this list is ambitious; however, there are many ideas and themes that I would like to immediately embrace and implement once I become a teacher-librarian. I love the phrase about 21st Century librarians understanding that the “//library// is not just a place to //get// stuff, it is a place to //make stuff, collaborate on// and //share// stuff. Not a grocery store, but a kitchen!” Maybe we should updgrade our name to Library 2.0 or maybe even Library 3.0 once we’re able to customize our services based on interests, habits, and history. I also really like the phrase about the 21st Century librarian’s ability to “recognize that the work your students create has audience and that they may share newly constructed knowledge globally on powerful networks. You help them see that they have the potential to make social, cultural, and political impact.” This is what I believe teaching is all about – helping our students grow up to be lifelong learners and productive citizens. This directly impacts students’ readiness to be productive in our world. When I think back to my education experience, I studied what other people did to make social, cultural, and political impact. Or, I learned how I could have impact if I wanted to, but very rarely was I given opportunities to put what I learned into practice. I think the 21st Century LIT program can give students these opportunities starting at a very young age and I’m really excited about playing a role in that process. -Trisha


 * There are __ALOT__ of great concepts in this article. I read thought the reading section and thought wow, I think I could handle most of those. Then the list kept going and going...... I have to agree with the others about the idea that you would focus on one or two things from each section of the list . With that in mind, I would probably start with learning the things that would help me most with collaborating with other teachers like compiling resouces by using pathfinders and choosing some of the programs that can help students create multimedia reports. I also really enjoyed the comparison of the library to a kitchen, not a grocery store - Michelle **


 * The vision I articulated in our last class was that my library would be run by students for other students. The idea that the students become the ones who create their space is consistent with some of the ideas that Valenza is promoting. She describes the physical space as one in which multiple activities are taking place at once. My Teacher Librarian (Joan Enders, of the WLMA journal fame--thanks Kim) has created a vibrant Library Science program. I see this as a wonderful opportunity to influence a new generation of librarians. It also occurs to me that it necessitates teaching students how to collaborate without copying. - Jodi**
 * I felt like Michelle when I started reading this article. As it went on, I started to think "holy cow...how will I ever be able to accomplish all this?" But then I reminded myself it's all about baby steps! Joyce Valenza herself said that her library program today looks drastically different than it did even in 2007/2008. That got me thinking...even Joyce Valenza had to start somewhere! What I can take away from this article are a lot of ideas to get me started on the path to becoming the 21st-Century librarian that I hope to become one day. One of my favorite things that Joyce says in this article is "You don't stop at 'no.' You fight for the rights of students to have the tools they need. This is an equity issue. Access to the new tools is an intellectual freedom issue." WOW! She is really bold and dedicated to kids. I LOVE that.**