What’s On the Horizon for 2010? Peer Into the Future with the Horizon Report 2010 Preview

The New Media Consortium recently released the Short List of Horizon Topics for 2010 and the Horizon Report 2010 Preview.  These documents, which you can view by visiting the Horizon Report Wiki, are the result of the rounds of discussions and voting by the Advisory Board members.  The final report will be officially released on January 20, 2010.

The report preview organizes topics by “time to adoption” and  includes a description of the topic; the relevance for teaching, learning, and creative expression; examples of how the topic is being applied, and suggestions for further reading.  In addition, the preview version of the report includes a section called “Critical Challenges” as well as a section for “Key Trends.”

Consider the six final topics:

• Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less
  • Mobile Computing
  • Open Content
• Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years
  • Electronic Books
  • Simple Augmented Reality
• Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years
  • Gesture-Based Computing
  • Visual Data Analysis

Where are we as K12 libraries in preparing to utilize these technologies, particularly that of mobile computing and open source applications?  How can we as school librarians help lead the way for the integration of these tools not only into our libraries but also in our school classrooms?   What are K12 vendors doing to help school libraries prepare to adopt and integrate these technologies effectively?

I also find the “Critical Challenges” particularly interesting and encourage you to read the details of each challenge.

• The role of the academy—and the way we prepare students for their future lives—is changing.

• New scholarly forms of authoring, publishing, and researching continue to emerge but appropriate metrics for evaluating them increasingly lag behind or fail to appear.

• Digital media literacy continues its rise in importance as a key 21st century skill, but there is a widening training gap for faculty and teachers.

• Institutions increasingly focus more narrowly on key goals, as a result of shrinking budgets in the present economic climate.

These challenges leave me with many questions:

• Will it be school librarians who lead the resistance and coup d’etat, against the test driven school culture that is diametric to 21st century learning that values inquiry, creative expression, and collaboration?
• Are we teaching our students and teachers about new forms of scholarship?  How do we redefine authority and find new ways to evaluate and assess authority?
• How do we help posit new literacies (media, digital, transliteracy) as mainstream literacies for students and for teachers?
• How do we as school librarians turn budget crises into innovation?
• How do we tap into emerging technologies to create even more effective programs in the face of financially challenged circumstances?

What might happen if we as school librarians formed inquiry circles with public librarians, academic librarians, teachers, technology personnel, administrators, students, parents, and vendors to explore these questions, challenges, and trends?  How could we work together to find inventive and meaningful ways to harness the powers of these technologies?  What might learning look in both K12 and higher education if we engaged in inquiry and problem solving together?

Although these documents represent the “preview” and not the final draft of the report, please read the draft forms and put these ideas on your radar if they aren’t there already.  What is your response to the report preview?  How do you see K12 libraries meeting the challenges outlined in the draft?  How do you see the key trends impacting the 21st century school library and our practices?  I have cross-posted this entry on the AASL blog; please share your responses there as well as here.

Buffy Hamilton, Ed.S.
School Library Media Specialist
Creekview High School, Canton, Georgia

Custom EBSCOhost Mobile Links Now Available in GALILEO

Dear GALILEO Users,

Beginning today, you will find the following custom EBSCOhost Mobile links appearing in  GALILEO:

- EBSCOhost Mobile Academic

http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zbda

-EBSCOhost Mobile Espanol

http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zbdb

-EBSCOhost Mobile Public Library

http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zbdf

-EBSCOhost Mobile High School

http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zbdc

-EBSCOhost Mobile Middle School

http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zbde

Each of these interfaces has been configured to provide a direct multi-database search of EBSCOhost databases that are appropriate for the indicated audience.  For detailed information regarding which databases are included in the search, please see the “More” link that follows the database name within the Databases A-Z list.

If you have any questions about the EBSCO Mobile Interfaces, please submit a comment to GALILEO via our Contact Us form: http://www.galileo.usg.edu/contact

Thanks,

Katie

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Katie Gohn

GALILEO Support Services

Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia

We the People

Dear Library Media Specialist/Teacher Librarian:

The ALA Public Programs Office is pleased to partner with the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for the seventh We the People Bookshelf project. This year’s theme, A More Perfect Union, invites reflection on the idea of the United States as a union, a One as well as Many and will complement library programs observing the sesquicentennial of the Civil War.

To stimulate programming, the Bookshelf features a DVD edition of The Civil War, the award-winning documentary by Ken Burns, including the rights to show the series to public audiences.. Public and school (K-12) libraries are invited to apply online through January 29, 2010 at http://publicprograms.ala.org/bookshelf. A single application may be submitted on behalf of multiple libraries within a library system, school district or community. Individual branch and school libraries are also encouraged to apply.

In spring 2010, NEH will award 4,000 libraries a collection of 17 classic hardcover books for young readers, related to the theme, “A More Perfect Union”, as well as the option to receive Spanish translations of three titles, and bonus materials for readers of all ages. Successful applicants will also receive accompanying materials for programming, including bookplates, bookmarks and posters.

For programming ideas and tips, access to the guidelines and application, book titles, and further details, visit http://publicprograms.ala.org/bookshelf. With questions, contact publicprograms@ala.org.

Sincerely,

American Library Association Public Programs Office

50 E. Huron – Chicago, IL 60611

http://www.ala.org/publicprograms

Exquisite Corpse

From the Library of Congress:

Ever heard of an Exquisite Corpse? It’s not what you might think. An Exquisite Corpse is an old game in which people write a phrase on a sheet of paper, fold it over to conceal part of it and pass it on to the next player to do the same. The game ends when someone finishes the story, which is then read aloud. Our “Exquisite Corpse Adventure” works this way: Jon Scieszka, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, has written the first episode, which is “pieced together out of so many parts that it is not possible to describe them all here, so go ahead and just start reading!” He has passed it on to a cast of celebrated writers and illustrators, who must eventually bring the story to an end. Every two weeks, there will be a new episode and a new illustration. The story will conclude a year from now. To get biweekly updates with new Exquisite Corpse Adventure chapters, click on the subscribe link at the top of the page. “This story starts with a train rushing through the night….” No one knows where or how it will end!

http://www.read.gov/exquisite-corpse/

Share: Library Profiles for the GLA Home Page

from Sarah K. Steiner of the Georgia Library Association

Hello Georgia Librarians-

Very soon we’ll be launching a new section on the Georgia Library Association homepage–a “Featured Library” section. We’re borrowing the idea from the Tennessee Library Association, and you can see an example on their page: http://www.tnla.org/

Please email me if you’re interested in having your library profiled on the site. We would just need a picture and a brief 2-3 paragraph article on why your library is wonderful!

Thank you,
-Sarah
GLA Public Relations Committee Chair

~~~
Sarah K. Steiner
Assessment and Social Work Librarian
Georgia State University Library
100 Decatur Street SE
Atlanta, GA 30303

ssteiner@gsu.edu

Catch the Wave?

Empowering Learners encourages to become early adopters of digital sources of information to better serve our stakeholders.  I’ve never considered myself a “tech” person but have always liked to stay relatively current and aware of the exciting and ever-changing digital landscape.  I blog, I wiki, I can hold my own in a discussion of cloud computing or mashups or whatever.  But I’ve never considered myself an early adopter.  I didn’t get a DVD player until the price came down and it was easier to rent a DVD than a VHS.   I didn’t get a Gmail until 2005.  My blog archive only goes back to 2007.  I was a late adopter (and early abandoner) of Twitter.

But now I feel all special and “early adopter”-ish with my invitation to Google’s new digital platform, Wave.

I know, I know, some of you are saying “Huh? What’s that?” and a few might be saying, “I want in!”

Well, for those who don’t know I’ll explain a bit about it and what I think it’s going to be good for, but for those desperate others, don’t get too excited just yet.

Google Wave is in “preview” mode which is even earlier than “beta.”  They say it’s their idea of what email would be like if someone were to invent email now rather than 40 years ago.  It’s part email, part chat, part wiki.

There’s good and there’s bad.

The bad is that if you get an invite you may sign in and find there’s nobody else in your contact list available to “wave” with you and it can seem like a big lonely place.  I’m sure that’ll be corrected as soon as they’ve tweaked it and are ready to roll it out to the public.  But there are ways to get into the water, as it were, and soon enough you’ll find yourself figuring things out.

The other drawback to instant domination is that it’s not as immediately intuitive as, say, blogging or most social networking sites.  With those you sign up, create a profile, and you’re off.  With Wave, you would do well to read something like this which can give you the what’s what on the best way to get around.  Yes, that’s an online book that will probably be updated constantly as the bugs in the system are worked out.  But unlike most other platforms, Wave isn’t strictly chronological, so it takes a bit of a different mindset than a straightforward up and down list of posts or emails.  At it’s best, it’s the best parts of  the powerful collaboration tools you’ve been using online.  At worst, it’s the worst parts of online chat and discussion forums.

So if you’re still reading, you’re probably asking what’s the good and why should teacher-librarians care?

The good is that when you get it going for you, you realize that this will be a fantastic collaborative tool on many levels and that’s what we are all about.  It will blow some current tools out of the water.

When you open it up, it looks kinda like an email platform.  You have an inbox and folders.  You have contacts.  You can use it like email, click on one of your contacts, type a message and send it.  They can respond.  But instead of separate emails, this “wave” can go on and on as long as you like.  And if your friend is online at the same time you are it’s like instant chat.  And I do mean instant because you can see each other type and edit live. No more “X is typing” messages as you listen to the clock tick.   But it gets better because you can start a wave with one person and start collaborating on, say, a document.  Then you can add another contact and they instantly have access to the entire wave and can immediately collaborate.  So now it’s like email and/or chat and/or online document collaboration and/or a wiki all at the same time.

You think back-channeling at the AASL conference was cool with Twitter?  Just wait until you have the ability to do a wave instead.   I don’t have a Twitter account, but I wanted to see what I’d missed so I went there and did a search on #aasl2009 and scrolled through pages and pages of interesting but incredibly repetitive tweets and retweets.  With wave a presenter could throw up a wave, and you could all collaborate, take notes, comment on and edit the entire thing live.  As it’s happening.  And keep it for future use or collaboration.   No, really.   Check out this post for more on that.

But that scenario won’t happen until Google Wave is out of Preview and at least up to Beta.   So don’t rush into it yet unless you don’t mind a little mess and confusion.   But do keep it on your radar so when it comes to you, you can be ready to catch the Wave.

Thanks,

Jim Randolph

GALILEO Annual User Survey and iPod Nano Prize

Dear GALILEO Users,

How useful have you found the GALILEO Toolbar? Would you like to search GALILEO from  your mobile device? How would you improve GALILEO? Your answers and your students’ and patrons’ answers to these questions matter.

When you open the GALILEO website today, you will see an invitation to participate in a the annual user survey. Don’t miss this chance to provide your feedback on your experience with GALILEO and to enter the drawing to win an iPod Nano. Be sure to encourage your users to complete the survey to be entered into the drawing. The survey will be conducted November 9-15, 2009. Just click on the GALILEO User Survey link on the GALILEO home page to participate.

Thank you for taking the time to contribute your opinions and ideas and for encouraging others to participate.

If you have any questions or need more information, please use GALILEO’s Contact Us feature or contact OIIT Customer Services at helpdesk@usg.edu.

Thank you and good luck!

Karen

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Karen Minton

GALILEO Support Services

Library Services

Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia

2500 Daniells Bridge Road, Building 300

Athens, GA  30606-3539

Phone: (888) 875-3697   Fax: (706) 583-2294

LMC One Question Survey

Hello LMC Friends!

Want to know if others are serving their school community in the same way that you are?  This month’s LMC one-question survey asks “How are you acting in a leadership role in your school?”

LMC One-Question Surveys provide practical research-based answers to advocate for strong school libraries.  The more responses, the more valid the data.  Respond today!   Any questions, please contact LMC@LibraryMediaConnection.com.

Gail Dickinson

Editor, Library Media Connection

By way of Judi Repman, Associate Editor

AASL News from Charlotte

I’m taking just a moment from the conference to make an on-the-spot blogpost (since today is my normal posting day).

The pre-conference meeting called Treasure Mountain just wrapped up.  In this one-day meeting focused on SLM research, scholarship, and innovation, we talked about several interesting things:

• Ross Todd gave a presentation last night, boldly asserting that we need to find better ways, more evidence-based ways, to show our impact on student learning.  He’s advocating ten new principles for organizing our work – be on the look out for these.
• Valerie Diggs described her media program, which has been designed as a Learning Commons. If you look for her on GALILEO, you’ll find a fascinating article about how a traditional program can become  a learning laboratory and learning space with never an empty seat.  I really enjoyed what she had to say, and wondered how her ideas might translate into elementary programs.
• Had a Skype visit from Peter Cookson, who talked about his Learning Sphere idea, recently published in Educational Leadership.  A centerpiece of this design is a big real-world problem, collaboratively attacked by learning teams distributed over the world (supported by technology, of course) – with the possibility that big problems could actually be solved.  He named John Dewey as one of his inspiring theorists, and I was reminded of the Creative Problem Solving model created by E. Paul Torrence at UGA.  The school library could become a resource center full of the tools, information, technology, and coaching needed to support such an idea.
• A couple of questions came up with sometimes heated discussion.  First: what are the dispositions media specialists need to be effective, and how do we support those through the process of professional preparation?  Second: what should we call ourselves these days?  Consensus is not forming around any one label, although many are being used all over the world.

This is the kind of stuff we’re doing here in Charlotte.  I hope to hear many more ideas over the next two days!

Mary Ann Fitzgerald

University of Georgia

North Central GLMA District

GLMA North Central District held their second meeting of the 2009-2010 school year on October 29, 2009 at the North Georgia RESA facility in Gilmer County.  Ruth Fleet, media specialist at Rusk Middle School, introduced the attendees to Wordle and all the wonderful changes Wordle has implemented, including the ability to change colors, fonts and shapes.  We were then delighted to have ReLeah Lent speak to us about Intellectual Freedom and Censorship.

ReLeah is the author of At the Schoolhouse Gate: Lessons in Intellectual Freedom, Engaging Adolescent Learners and Literacy Learning Communities as well as Literacy for Real: Reading, Thinking, and Learning in the Content-Areas.  ReLeah won both the NCTE and ALA’s Intellectual Freedom award for her publication of At the Schoolhouse Gate: Lessons in Intellectual Freedom (resisting censorship)

 Donna Harrington from the Sequoyah Regional Public Library (Pickens County Branch) concluded the day’s activities by demonstrating Overdrive, the library’s free service that provides downloadable books.

 The afternoon wrapped up with reminders that our January 28th meeting will be at Coker Elementary in Murray County with special guest Kara Leonard, technology guru from Murray County, sharing new and exciting technology tips, tricks and resources.
 

Esther Brenneman
North Central District Chairperson