365 Project: January

I've completed the first month of the 365 photo challenge. I find I'm looking at the world in a different way, searching for interesting angles and different perspectives, trying to balance images of both my personal and professional life.


The photo that received the most views and comments in January was Snowflakes and Shadows.


My personal favorite was Spirit of the Library. If the powers that be don't take care of my library and students after I retire, I WILL haunt them!


You can see a slideshow of all 31 photos here.

The two groups to which I contribute are 365/2009 and 2009/365.

Getting the Lead Out?

Last year, the U.S. Senate passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), in response to consumer panic over Chinese toys with lead paint. Harsh penalties for non-compliance are set to take effect on February 10, 2009, when it becomes unlawful to ship goods for sale that have not been tested.

Testing requirements extend far beyond children's toys, however.

As Walter Olson notes on Forbes.com,

"The law covers all products intended primarily for children under 12. That includes clothing, fabric and textile goods of all kinds: hats, shoes, diapers, hair bands, sports pennants, Scouting patches, local school-logo gear and so on.

And paper goods: books, flash cards, board games, baseball cards, kits for home schoolers, party supplies and the like. And sporting equipment, outdoor gear, bikes, backpacks and telescopes. And furnishings for kids' rooms."

Libraries, schools, and booksellers are pressing for an exemption for books. Emily Sheketoff, associate executive director of the American Library Association, says she believes libraries have two choices under the CPSIA:

“Either they take all the children’s books off the shelves,” she says, “or they ban children from the library.”

Etsy sellers are also concerned. My daughter-in-law, who sells handmade jewelry on the popular crafters' site, forwarded me several relevant links and has decided to handle the issue in this manner:

"I will just end up putting in my listings that they aren't to be sold/given to children under 12 because it certainly isn't worth it to me to get thousands of dollars worth of testing on each item that I make."

There could be repercussions in the antique trade and second-hand shops. Even garage sales might technically be in violation of the law.

Congress is to be commended for seeking to protect the nation's children. However, now that the immediate crisis is over, it's time to examine the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act more closely and decide exactly how far we need to go to provide a reasonable measure of protection.

Update: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today released an announcement to the Federal Register staying implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) until February 10, 2010.

The ALA cautions, "Libraries now have a little room to breathe, but this announcement is not an end to this problem. Since we know children’s books are safe, libraries are still asking to be exempt from regulation under this law."

My Twitter Followers

Here are 592 of my nearest and dearest friends. They challenge, comfort and energize me.

To generate a Twitter Followers mosaic, go to this site. If someone knows of a similar application for Plurk, please leave the information as a comment.

I love all of my PLN!

SLA: The Library

Since I work as a School Library Media Specialist, or teacher/librarian, I was curious to see the library facilities at the Science Leadership Academy (SLA) in Philadelphia.

At first glance, the collection looks meager, the resources limited. There are some standard reference works, popular fiction, magazines. As I found out though, through chatting with students and by observing the dynamics of the SLA learning environment, looks can be deceiving.

The Science Leadership Academy advocates "Project Based Assessment." Emphasis, in every subject area, is on independent study aimed at the achievement of certain benchmarks. Each student has a laptop with building-wide wireless access. Students can, and do, stay beyond regular school hours, only leaving when the doors are locked for the day at around 6 p.m.

Library instruction takes place during a mandatory technology course in grade 9 and is also embedded in core subjects. Students learn how to use databases, evaluate websites, practice good cyber citizenship - all the skills necessary to be a competent, self-directed learner. There are both organized and informal trips to the public library as well.

In the normal course of things, the librarian would be a key collaborator with other faculty members. The position is temporarily being filled by a substitute, due to the illness of the former librarian. Principal Chris Lehmann assured me that, although Pennsylvania schools are not required by law to have a librarian, the city of Philadelphia strongly supports school libraries. Interviews for a new SLA librarian were set to begin today.



Each classroom and hallway at the Science Leadership Academy displays the school's Core Values:

• inquiry
• research
• collaboration
• presentation
• reflection

The first two Values are directly relevant to the traditional understanding of a key purpose of school library programs: to facilitate inquiry and research. The other three Values flow naturally from these two. So in a very real sense, the Science Leadership Academy in its entirety - curriculum, projects, attitude, outlook - is the library, the modern library, the library that's not a room but a mindset.

The title of this posting could refer to the Library as a part or subset of the SLA. I prefer to think of SLA and the Library as being synonymous.



"If a man empties his purse into his head no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest." -Benjamin Franklin

Inauguration Day: January 20, 2009

Some students avidly followed the entire campaign and election process.

Others limited their discussion to the classroom.

Elementary students understood that something special was happening.

And the entire school district, staff and students, witnessed history being made.

"Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations." -Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, Inaugural Address

The ALA: Providing Leadership

Screen capture of ALA Youth Media Services profile page on Twitter

The American Library Association (ALA) traditionally announces the winners of prestigious Youth Media Awards, including the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, during its Midwinter Meeting.

This year, the information will be made available January 26, beginning at 7:45 a.m. MT, in a variety of formats:

• "Unikron, a streaming content provider, will host the ALA Youth Media Awards Webcast. Online visitors will be able to view the live Webcast the morning of the announcements by going to http://www.unikron.com/clients/ala-webcast-2009. This link is not yet live, but those interested in following the action online should bookmark and use the URL. The number of available connections for the Webcast will be limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis."
• The ALA will instantly announce the winners of the 2009 Youth Media Awards using Twitter. Follow ALAyma.
• "The ALA Island in Second Life will also broadcast an encore presentation of the Youth Media Awards Webcast. Visitors can take advantage of in-world viewing later in the day on the ALA Island at the Main Stage."

ALA Midwinter Meeting participants can attend a press conference to hear the announcements in person; no doubt some will be live blogging and microblogging as the awards are presented.

Those who don't choose to utilize digital applications will learn of the awards winners via more traditional media sources, like television or newspaper and journal articles.

The American Library Association was founded in 1876 and is not known for being particularly innovative or cutting edge. However, the ALA's stated mission is “To provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.” By using modern information-sharing tools, this organization is modeling modern librarianship for its members.

What a grand start to the new year!

The Form of Information

"US Airways Flight 1549 Plane Crash Hudson in New York taken by Janis Krums on an iPhone" by davidwatts1978

The January 15 crash-landing of US Airways flight 1549 dramatically demonstrated the value of cool heads and intense preparedness training in a time of disaster.

It also provided a real-life illustration of how modern technology can be used for more than trivial messages and inane video clips.

Passengers on the plane sent what some thought might be farewell messages to their families. Witnesses on the ground, in the metropolitan New York area, relayed the sights and sounds of the incident via text messaging and Twitter. Pictures, like the one above, were taken with cellphones, then shared on Flickr and other online photo-sharing sites.

Although emergency personnel were already aware of the situation, eyewitnesses were able to share information with the world-at-large in real time.

The public followed the unfolding drama and rejoiced at its happy ending.


“In this electronic age we see ourselves being translated more and more into the form of information, moving toward the technological extension of consciousness.” -Marshall McLuhan

What are you teaching in 09? (a meme)

Dr. Joyce Valenza recently blogged about "some newer things I need to share with learners." She spotlighted

• Creative Commons
• Rethinking Fair use
• Telling a digital story
• Pushing information
• Considering digital footprints
• What are you holding? [determining the original format of information sources]
  

then challenged other librarians to similarly reflect on their focus and content.

Cathy Nelson accepted the challenge by composing a "letter" to students and co-workers listing her targets:

• Web evaluation
• Searching databases
• Creative Commons/Fair use
• Copyright
• End of PowerPoint

In the spirit of true friendship (!) Cathy has, in turn, tagged me.

As SLMS (School Library Media Specialists), all three of us deal with the needs of a diverse population of staff members and students. We need to evaluate media center collections, stay current on appropriate information resources, and guide our own professional development. We also teach classes, both individually and collaboratively.

With this in mind, my focus list would have to include

• Cyber bullying, cyber safety I will be integrating lessons in my high school Current Events class and teaching a dedicated unit to our two 6th grades.
• Good digital citizenship Addressing online manners and integrity, including respect for the original content of others.
• Technology evangelism Whenever possible, I mention and demonstrate my favorite tools & apps to my colleagues and, where appropriate, students. Many people now know of the existence of blogs, wikis, Google Reader, Flickr, Animoto, even Plurk (Twitter is blocked at school). Even if they don't use them - yet - they are becoming more aware of possibilities.
• Literature appreciation The library will always be a repository for the creative literary works that form an integral part of our cultural heritage. Some people need the tactile, visual delights of a physical book in their hands. As a library professional, I need to track current trends in literature so that I can provide the titles that will interest my young patrons, making shelf space for classics, old and emerging.
• Lifelong learning Who better to model this than a retiring Baby Boomer? I share my projects and plans with my school "family" and try to show them that there are no endings, just continuations and new beginnings.
  

Since this is a meme, I invite fellow librarians Judy O'Connell, Doug Johnson, and Carolyn Foote to add to the conversation.

"I am what the librarians have made me with a little assistance from a professor of Greek and a few poets." -Bernard Keble Sandwell

"Silhouettes" by Jeremy & Susanne

Tools

"Man is a tool-using animal. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all." -Thomas Carlyle

Patrick Higgins, a member of my PLN on Twitter, recently advised a follower to

"take the focus away from the tools. Ask them [teachers] what they want their students to do first, then find what best fits."

This is a message that I've heard - and used myself - before, but it bears repeating.

Too often those who are technically adept, or at least aware, try to convince others to try new technology tools, teach new skills, to their students. This may lead to failure for a number of reasons:

• the listener is less knowledgeable about the digital world than the speaker
  
• the listener perceives the tools as an add-on rather than an integral part of teaching process
• the speaker overwhelms the listener with too much information
• the tool is inappropriate for the task

Sometimes technology is intrusive. If the purpose of journaling is self-reflection, a simple, inexpensive, portable, composition book might be the best "tool" to use. When interaction and collaboration is the focus, then an Internet-based blog, wiki, or Google Document is a viable alternative, provided the teacher possesses the requisite knowledge of how to use these tools successfully and the students have access to necessary hardware and applications.

As with clothing, one size rarely fits all.


"A tool is but the extension of a man's hand, and a machine is but a complex tool." -Henry Ward Beecher



"Inside a Toolbox" by Siomuzzz

Balance

"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony." -Thomas Merton


No resolutions this year, just a plan of action: decide what's important in my personal and professional lives and begin to adjust my schedule accordingly.

Retirement is six months away. I don't want to be a juggler, multi-tasking is not my goal. There must be time for family, friends, hobbies, exercise, and work in my daily life. My house and my mind need to be decluttered.

Author Melinda M. Marshall has said that

“True balance requires assigning realistic performance expectations to each of our roles. True balance requires us to acknowledge that our performance in some areas is more important than in others. True balance demands that we determine what accomplishments give us honest satisfaction as well as what failures cause us intolerable grief.”

"Realistic performance expectations" are just what I'm after, in everything from housekeeping to blogging to online facilitating.

"Honest satisfaction" is what I hope to feel at the end of this transitional year.






"Balance" by Brent and MariLynn