Starting

photo © 2009 Fergus Randall | more info (via: Wylio)
‘There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth…not going all the way, and not starting.’ ~Buddha

We had a great year. There were more opportunities for students to access and manage information in new ways, and our Kindle roll-out that included new ways for students to read, review and blog. There was intense grant writing to expand our e-book resources, more staff development to keep us all at the top of our game, and best of all were the deeper, collaborative  connections with teachers to expand information skills assessment of student work.

Transitioning to a learning commons model  allowed us to think differently, give ourselves permission to try new things and share ownership of the program goals and space. We are an academic center, a classroom, a media production center, a performance venue, a place for relaxed social learning and intense individual study. We are a resource for all learners and fierce advocates for those who read and learn differently. We are the cultural center of our community. And we have so much more to do!

Believing all this was possible was a leap of faith. The change began with committing, and starting.

The Cushing discussion continues

Many thanks to Shannon Acedo, Department Head of Library and Information Technology at the Harvard-Westlake Upper School, for her thoughtful comments to my blog post Cushing: a new model for libraries. I contacted Shannon and she has generously given me permission to re-post her comments.

Thanks for providing the opportunity to revisit “The Cushing Effect” after things have settled down a bit. Your blogpost has engendered a lively discussion among independent school librarians.

Cushing has moved away from a ‘Collection Maintenance Philosophy’. Personally, I’m a firm believer in the ‘Collection Development Philosophy’, and the primary value of our collection (both print and digital) is that it is carefully crafted to support the curriculum at our school. We weed old materials, purchase new materials (print and digital), and work closely with teachers to make sure we have what our students need. Format is not an issue; content is.

Cushing’s print art books are kept because they are hard to get in digital format; in spite of this perceived value in print materials there is no intent on maintaining that collection or adding to it. This must eventually lead to a gap in resources, as the art world is decidedly not static. If a particular area is not easily duplicated in electronic format, doesn’t that emphasize the need for a complete collection consisting of print AND digital resources?

All the work our students do is to prepare them for their future lives, with an immediate goal of success in college. We need to be aware of the resources at the colleges and universities our students will attend and make sure we prepare them to navigate those resources productively. We also must support our students as they do their work here on campus, and our teachers require a variety of different resources for this purpose. We work hard to make sure it is ALL available.

I do love the information literacy curriculum as presented by Cushing—indeed I’m jealous. We are working on defining our 6-year information literacy program, moving ahead a bit at a time, but I’m inspired by what they are doing at the Fisher-Watkins library.

Conclusions
• The library at Cushing is neither a pariah nor (imho) a powerhouse—it’s a library with its own strengths and weaknesses
• There are aspects of the space and program at Cushing that I can benefit from
• The value of a library collection is based on its content and not on its format; format is important only as it impacts access
• One of our most important roles in the Independent School world is to prepare our students for success in college; to do so we must teach them how to use libraries like the ones they will see in college.

Thanks again for inspiring a lively debate on a very timely topic.

Thank you, Shannon, for your wonderful contribution to this ongoing discussion.

Photo credit:
via Wylio
Amazon Kindle eBook Reader

Cushing: A new model for libraries in the digital age

Two years ago Cushing Academy's  Fisher-Watkins Library was at the center of a firestorm. The radical and sudden decision to throw out their library books  polarized school librarians on everything from their philosophy on reading, to student rights, to process, to the fundamental question of whether a space without books had the right to call itself a library. I recently had the unique and wonderful opportunity to visit Cushing, tour their physical space, learn about the changes, explore their virtual space, and gain a greater understanding of the pedagogy behind their evolution. From pariah to powerhouse, the "bookless library" has a lot to teach us, and offers much to ponder.

“When I look at books, I see an outdated technology, like scrolls before books,’’ said headmaster James Tracy. (Mark Wilson for The Boston Globe)

As an early supporter of Cushing I am happy to share my notes, impressions and the big take-away's. Please note that my notes are just that - quick notations. Any errors or misrepresentations are mine alone. I urge those interested in learning more to investigate the Fisher-Watkins portal and email Director Tom Corbett directly. He is a great guy seeking input and would welcome feedback on the site to continue its ongoing development.

Important contact information:

• Cushing Academy
• Fisher-Watkins web portal
• Approximately 450 students, private boarding school
• Facts at a Glance

MISSION
The Fisher-Watkins Library has two main purposes:

1. To promote reading and make sure it survives in a digital environment
2. To promote research and information literacy in the digital age

ARRIVAL -  IMPRESSIONS
Upon entering the Fisher-Watkins Library one is struck by the beauty and elegance of the space. It is an architect designed space, built below grade. Upon entering the original 1865 red brick structure you go down a level. Walking a short distance lit by ground level skylights, you go down again. The path is filled with natural light, lined with student work, class gifts and floor-to-ceiling full color glossy, foam core mounted wall displays of speakers ranging from poet laureate Robert Pinskey to Ishamel Beah.

Descending down to the library is a light filled experience. Bow shaped, it looks out onto a grass semi-circle lawn with treetops in the distance. It may be below grade, but on the cold and overcast New England day we visited (12.3.10) it was filled with light. Students are scattered throughout studying by themselves or in small groups. There are a few teachers working independently or conferencing with students. The vibe is relaxed and scholarly. And there are some books.

My visit to Cushing Academy was coordinated by our wonderful local educational collaborative of 22 Boston area schools, EDCO.  Fisher-Watkins librarians greeted us and we were ushered to the cafe where we were treated to our choice of coffees and teas. It is professionally and cheerfully staffed, and well stocked with muffins, yogurts and other tidy snacks.

 I was immediately struck by the diverse areas and seating arrangements. Great chairs with swivel desktops, study carrels with sea glass green dividers, silent study areas, group study areas, and at each end of the library are two open classroom areas with touch screen white boards.

I saw students working in collaborative groups, studying individually, and students meeting with teachers. The vibe was relaxed, focused and scholarly. It wasn't quiet, but it the noise didn't distract from the academic feel. The space was filled with student art and three flat screen displays; one with student news, one with student productions, and one with CNN. Very cool.

In this photo you can see down one half of the library. What is now open space dotted with diverse seating and group work areas was formerly low book stacks. The circulation desk was moved from what was once the cafe area and is now open and centrally located in the library. This shift has made the library staff is much more accessible.

There is a designated silent study area, but for those students who want to sit in the main space Fisher-Watkins has 10 Bose noise canceling headsets.  These are very popular and are always checked out during evening hours.

The Faculty Lounge is located at one end of the library and is very popular with staff. Free coffee from cafe staff keep teachers coming to socialize, meet with students, and moving through the space, creating opportunities to talk with the librarians.

There is a wonderful energy to the space.

COLLECTION

Fisher-Watkins did not throw out all their books. What they kept and why:

• Art books because they are not as readily available in digital format. They will not be purchasing additional art books in future.
• Donated nonfiction books because they represent an investment by the Cushing community. The nonfiction collection and reference collections are interfiled. No future print purchases are planned.
• Fiction, YA fiction and short story collections were deeply weeded and the remaining high interest titles were kept. There will be no future purchase or collection development. It is now an on demand collection.

The Kindles
Collection development is based on a patron request model. An ebook is  purchased because someone wants to read it. New titles are promoted via a digital display in the library and on the library website.

The Kindles are cataloged and checked out to students who can keep them for as long as they want.  Of their 99 Kindles, 85 were checked out on the day of our visit. At this time they don't keep track of which title is on which Kindle. Each purchased title comes with six licenses. Once six copies have been loaded onto six different Kindles the license has been fully allocated. If there is a seventh request for a title they buy an additional copy, which translates as six additional licenses.

Amazon Kindle titles are cataloged using print Marc records and edited to reflect it is an e version.

When they started two years ago the process was very confusing but now works well for staff and students.

A few Kindles (maybe five) have come back with damaged screens but were covered by warranty.
Faculty and curriculum planning has increased but like all school libraries it continues to be an area  they would like to see grow. Stats indicate database usage is up. Space is used more by students than before.

Other factoids:

Building DVD collection for curriculum as well as personal enjoyment.

Kept print magazines for a browsing collection.

Nonfiction collection is purely donated books. About 5000 books left are left in the print collection, 2000 nonfiction. Makes it a funny, eclectic print collection.

Reference is purely digital database and e-reference. Paper reference has been inter-shelved an is allowed to circulate.

CURRICULUM

In addition to regular information literacy classes taught to support research activities, Connections is a required class for all freshmen and new students. It is a year long course that covers life and study skills, and Tom Corbett takes a semester which serves as library orientation. Students are trained in a core list of tech tools all students and teachers are expected to use, digital tools, information skills, ethics of social media, copyright. Tom teaches digital literacy skills, gets their computers set up correctly and teaches them to navigate digital information environment of school.

There are also regular library orientation classes in the open classrooms at either end of the library.

VIRTUAL LIBRARY

Digital services are the main front door for delivering support to students where they need, it when they need it, where they live. There is an embedded Illuminate widget on each page for students to text a request for help, questions, whatever. All staff members receive a notification when a student is requesting support and will reply up until 10pm. Sometimes later if a staff member is online when a question is posted.

The school's nonfiction collection is fundamentally entirely online. In addition to databases and ebook purchases from Gale, academic content is purchased through eBook Library (eBL), an Australian group working almost exclusively at the university level - until now. Cushing is their first high school account in the United States. eBL allows the patron to either "buy" a book which provides the patron with access for an entire year, or check it out as a loan. Books can be previewed for five minutes and then the school account will be charged. The cost for borrowing is 1% of the retail price. There is an initial fee to set up the platform. This is new for Fisher-Watkins and they are still in the process of publicizing it with teachers.

This is another example of a patron request collection model. With eBL students have access to over 150,000 high quality university press titles. Resources are paid for as they are used. Purchasing is not just in case, but as needed. There are no costs associated with processing, shelving or, eventually, with weeding. Libraries need to look more closely at this model.

This is the core of the Fisher-Watkins philosophy. The library is not the place students and faculty go to get material. It is the place they go to learn how to effectively search digital resources to find what they need, and it is an environment designed for studious inquiry and work. An example of this philosophy can be seen in a screen shot from their Kindle page. Students are guided to Amazon, the biggest print and digital book vendor in the world, as their personal library.

The Web Site

The philosophy of the website is really important.

The Fisher-Watkins website was created using Drupal, an open source content management platform. This web interface merges the catalog and databases using a federated search called Deep Web Technologies. They dropped their ILS (integrated library system) catalog!

Why? OPACS are transaction focused. Fisher-Watkins decided they needed a new approach that was not focused on managing inventory. Their platform is designed to focus on patron support. They have moved away from a collection maintenance philosophy. The catalog is viewed as a starting point to launching the student on a quest to find what is needed.

A little more on DeepWeb. This federated search engine was developed and is used  by Stanford University, and they have picked up a number of additional "big users." This is their first high school project. It pulls results from all the databases and digital resources, evaluates them and displays returns based on a ranking algorithm. A sidebar provides metadata for a richer search experience that helps develop skills in evaluating returns.  This is a very Google-like search experience.

The Fisher-Watkins Drupal platform is totally customized and the goal is to make the template available to other libraries. It is still being developed.

The Catalog
Catalogers would have a heart attack over the thinness of the records. No tracings! Basic genre tags. The "catalog" supports students in exploring their wants/needs, and purchasing it on the spot. The library is a gateway to global digital content, paid for by the school.

The Budget

1. Approximately  $50,000 for materials, $20-30 for databases and ebooks. 
2. Former book budget was rolled into digital content, got a small bump for additional ebook purchases. 
3. Kindles purchased with capital funds, not budget. 
4. $30-35,000 now for digital content. 

DISCUSSION
After our tour our group shared a wonderful lunch, and a fascinating and far reaching discussion.

One question was "If you had to do it over again what would you not do?" Tom said it would have been helpful to clarify how they were organizing reading and maybe minimize the initial bad press. However it really got the conversation going. Also, he wouldn't have gone so thoroughly digital all at once, and maybe would have rolled it out more slowly.

Devices
Tom Likes the iPad with Kindle app. It can be distracting having everything available, but this is what we have to teach our students.

My time at the Fisher-Watkins Library was one of the most powerful professional development experiences of my career. As a private school Cushing has more latitude than is possible in the public school sector. What they are exploring is print information evolving in a digital world of what seems like ubiquitous access. They are providing curated access to digital content for academic inquiry and personal reading. They are scaffolding students in developing the critical thinking and technology skills necessary to navigate this environment. They are changing the fundamental model of school libraries.

As I continue to evaluate our curriculum, our collection, our service model and our web presence the lessons I learned at Fisher-Watkins will guide me.

My sincere thanks to Director Tom Corbett, Head Librarian Liz Vezina, and library staff members
Karen Lemieux, Susan Larkin and Jill Henry. The fortitude of the staff during a time of radical change must be commended. A personal thank you for your warm hospitality and the thoughtful time you took with our group.

A Back-to-School Review of Ed-Tech Trends | Hack Education

The 2010 Horizon Report is out and, as usual, provides fascinating reading. I really like the Key Trends because it helps me focus on planning for the future. "Future" is an interesting concept in an environment of such rapid change.

A cheat sheet on trends:

1 Year or Less: 
Mobile Computing
Open Content

2 to 3 Years: 

Electronic Books
Simple Augmented Reality

4 to 5 Years: 
Gesture-Based Computing
Visual Data Analysis

We are gaining experience in a number of these areas, but aren't there yet. Mobile services for the learning commons is my focus this year. Time spent experimenting is what we need to stay on track. Click for the free pdf download. Well worth your time.

Close the library?

This post first appeared as a guest post on Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog. Thank you for the opportunity, Doug!

As we wind up the academic year, I've been thinking about our transition from a traditional school library to a learning commons. It became official this year, and judging by our traffic and circulation numbers, it’s been a big success.

The kind of work that students are now engaged in looks different than it did even just five years ago. Our instruction reflects this and has evolved, with lessons that now include topics such as source evaluation, advanced search skills, web-based information platforms, and fair use media. Our website has turned into a 24/7 support portal featuring tutorials and rich resources for students working out of school hours.

The things that are working:

    * rewarding collaborations with teachers for extended research activities and multi-media projects (instructional class use went up 74% over the past year!)
    * media production - through the roof
    * new informational web tools for :
          o location
          o evaluation
          o synthesis
          o presentation
    * new formats
          o eBooks
          o CD / MP3 audio books
          o web-based sources for free digital content
          o graphic novels of classics and for curriculum related topics

The things that are not working:

    * lines of students waiting to get in because we are often beyond seating capacity
    * requests for extended hours which we struggle to staff
    * learning commons staff stretched t-h-i-n by our increased student and class use

And one thing that surprised me:

    * a few teachers who prefer the traditional library model of silent, individual study

I was genuinely taken aback when someone expressed to me that there were a few faculty members who weren't pleased with the new learning commons model. Where I see engagement, creativity, differentiation, diversity, collaboration, and relevance, they see noisy students. Where I see new sources of information with text-to-speech, translation options, and ways to manipulate and understand digital content, they see students using computers instead of reading books. Where I see innovation, they see distraction.

Books are wonderful, but they aren't necessarily accessible by all learners. Common decency, and the US  Federal Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 Universal Design Law, demand accessible alternatives. While handing out a xeroxed reading packet may be a comfortable tradition, it does not allow access for all students nor does it allow them to learn the skills of navigating links to original sources, annotating for web-based collaboration, or seeking alternative perspectives. These are critical thinking skills, and it is our job is to advocate for students who are otherwise locked alone in an analog world.

During moments of self-doubt, when I wonder if perhaps we've gone too far, I look around at other programs in our state where a number of traditional libraries have been closed due to budget cuts. At the same time, many other districts, including some in highly cash-strapped towns, are protecting their learning commons. Why?

Perhaps it’s because the learning commons has taken the lead in educating not only students, but also faculties, in new informational technologies. Perhaps its because the learning commons has become a leader for incorporating special tools for students with learning disabilities. Perhaps it’s because the learning commons has become essential to the educational mission of the school.  

As I have been thinking about these things, an interesting blog post appeared in my RSS feed. In YALSA Blog: Save Libraries? Linda Braun posted her recent discussion with  YALSA Blog manager MK Eagle. They talked about the Save Libraries Campaign, advocacy, and the quandary of what to do about bad libraries. They gave voice to the unspeakable. Do all libraries deserve to be saved? What is our obligation to advocate for poor programs?

This to me highlights the perception gap between a "traditional" library and a modern learning commons. Here we have professionals in the field of librarianship talking about the difficulty of supporting library programs that fail to maintain their relevance to modern educational needs, and yet I know there are a few people in my own building who long for the days of books, hard-copy periodicals, and silent individual study.

For the next academic year, I will continue to try to improve communication with the remaining holdouts in our building. I will continue to build collaborative bridges with these colleagues who question technology and the new terrain of information literacy.

Nevertheless, I know that no matter how hard I try, I will not be able to convince everyone. I sometimes feel like a missionary who finds a few souls that do not wish to be saved. So they won’t be.

Nor will traditional school libraries. They will continue to close.


Photo credit:
R. Cicchetti
CCHS Learning Commons

It's not about the books

Books have become a lighting rod in the discussion of libraries. People have very strong opinions and relationships with their books, and the idea of books. The emotional and sensory aspects, the relationship of the reader to print material, and the balance, or should I suggest battle, between formats. This is a crucial discussion but may be distracting us from the bigger question.

It's not about the books. It is about the content. And content is the business of libraries. Not format. We need to offer material in all possible formats available now, as well as formats we can't anticipate. Books are still an integral format as there is much information still found only in print, and we should no more rush to discriminate against paper than we should close our eyes to new formats. What this discussion is drawing attention to is the work of libraries. Is this work relevant? Will libraries as we know them survive? Should libraries as we know them survive?

Some content is only available in books. We need books. Some content is only available in digital format. We need digital. Some students with learning disabilities can better access content through audio versions. We need audio books. Graphic novels present ideas that aren't available elsewhere, and appeal to students who respond to visual representations of ideas. We need graphic materials. A diverse community requires a diversity of formats. As librarians we need to be agnostic about formats and content. 

Students are accessing information through a myriad of digital devices. We need to support those devices. It isn't about the libraries of the future. It is about the libraries of today. YouTube just turned five years old. The volume and diversity of information found on YouTube is simply astounding. In a blink it has become  vital component of learning and an integral part of our national and cultural archive. Who saw that one coming?

Just this past week one of our most avid readers stopped by to stock up on books for vacation week. She quickly assembled a stack of nine books, and as I checked them out to her, she sighed "I wish I had a Kindle. You could just check out all these books to my Kindle, and that way I could take them all  on vacation with me. I'll never get them all in my suitcase." (The flaw with her wish is of course, Kindle is still proprietary. But she has the vision! She gets it!) As a reader who lives for "getting lost in a book', the paper format impedes her access. Her reading is limited to what she can lug. She was absolutely thrilled when I whipped out a yellow 4-way H band to hold the stack together, and chattered on about all the "quaint" little supplies and gadgets that were found only in libraries. As she threw her 30 lb. backpack loaded with textbooks and sports gear over one skinny shoulder and tucked her nine hardcover stack under the other arm and staggered out the door, I couldn't shake the feeling that we could be doing a better job of introducing new reading technologies.

Reading has changed. It is time to stop wringing our hands over books. We need to be clinical, not emotional. Books are a content delivery system. What are the best systems for diverse content and diverse needs?  More than ever before we are positioned to provide leadership and instruction for students and faculty in the quickly evolving terrain of text. Just ask the students interviewed in the recent New York Times Room for Debate article, The Library, Through Student's Eyes. They present a diversity of opinions that embrace the traditional role of libraries as well as the new, and they clearly lay out the various and diverse needs of the reader, and how formats facilitate or hinder their work. Understanding the format and instructional needs of our students and our community is our mission. 

We need to be more than a quiet place to study.

Photo Credit:
Source: Nevins Memorial Historic Collection
Nevins Library First Librarians.
16 May, 2009. JPEG. file
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nevins_Library_First_Librarians.jpg
Wikimedia Commons
Attribution license

2010

"It's not the rats you need to worry about. If you want to know if a ship is going to sink, watch what the richest passengers do... If your ship is sinking, get out now. By the time the rats start packing, it's way too late."

Seth Godin's very smart post highlights the importance of paying close attention to your "market," adjusting your service model, and remaining relevant to your customers. In the world of school libraries the rats leaving the ship is analogous to finding your job on the cut list. By the time your program is on that list it is too late.

How do you avoid this fate? Be curious, be bold, find out what the smartest school librarians and educational tech visionaries from around the world are doing and saying, and see how it can be implemented to the benefit of your students and faculty.  Embrace the unknown, and be prepared to jettison the familiar if it fails to move learning and student achievement forward. Be a crucial voice in discussions of change and innovation and the first to roll up your sleeves to make it happen.

As we embark on the second decade of the 21st century, these are a few of the projects I believe will keep the school library central and indispensable.

1. Transform the "library" into a "learning commons." Libraries are crucial in this age of abundant information, but only if they provide relevant support for those actively navigating the digital environment. Hang up your "shhh," stop fussing over the coffee cups, welcome students in with wide open arms along with their mess and Facebook. Give them new tools so that they can find, evaluate, and create. Teach them how be ethical and productive citizens. Teach them how to communicate responsibly and publish to the world. Creativity can be messy and loud. Get over it. Welcome to the learning commons.
   
2. Stop paper training students. Push information out to students digitally and also teach them the critical skills of finding and evaluating it for themselves. Paper is our orientation, but doesn't do any favors for our digital natives. The age of the reading packet is gone because it can't be accessed by students with reading disabilities. It can't be posted to a collaborative platform for analysis and discussion. It can't be linked or embedded, and it isolates the learner. Students need to manage their information and materials using  RSS feeds, web portals, and collaborative platforms. They deserve the opportunity to share learning with an authentic audience made up of peers, experts in the field, or a global audience. Use paper only as a last resort.
   
3. Be a leading voice in bringing new ideas to your community as a tool for evaluating current practice. Change is hard. Be enthusiastic of innovation and supportive yet positive with those who may feel overwhelmed.  There is no such thing as a "dumb question". Recognize and value the best of "old school" methods with the same vigor you use to promote the new.
   
4. Advocate for the diversification of formats.  Planning for the future still involves books, but collections should also include ebooks, MP3 books, graphic novels, and collections that are rich in media. This means leading investigations into new technologies that will allow us to manage, catalog, and curate media productions, media files, student artwork, student performances and more. This means researching vendors, piloting digital textbooks, and supporting hand held digital devices for students.
5. Treasure and promote curiosity and creativity in our students. Bringing new tools  to teachers as a way to provide alternate ways for students to find information, create meaning, and share their learning is a unique skill librarians can bring to their schools.

Wishing everyone curiosity, joy, and healthy budgets in 2010.

Robin

Blog inspiration:
Seth Godin
Seth's Blog 
It's not the rats you need to worry about

Photo Credit:
2010
R. Cicchetti
Using LiveBrush

Emerging Technologies Every Administrator Should Know in the Next 5 Years

MassCue Session 4
Emerging Technologies Every Administrator Should Know in the Next 5 Years
Joseph Mastrocola, Assistant Superintendent, Peabody PS

ppt download:
www.teacherweb.com/ma/eea/educationenlightenment

Important Links:

• Horizon Report - good data on emerging technologies
• Fool's Gold - Alliance for Childhood - critical about computers and tech for children
  

• Edutopia.org - The Digital Generation

• Digi Teen - digital citizenship

• Flat Classroom Project - connecting to the world, empowering students to connect globally

• Tim Berners Lee on the Semantic Web - vision of Web 3.0 and the changes that are coming.

Educational tech has been most effective in assistive technology. Ed tech has made a difference in developing 21st century skills for students.

Skills important in hiring a high school graduate:
• Work ethic 80%
• Collaboration 75%
• Good communication 70%
• Social responsibility 63%
• Critical thinking 58%

What skills will be important for HS grads in 5 years?
• Critical thinking 78%
• Health and wellness 76%
• I.T. 77%
• Collaboration 74%

• Innovation 74%
• Personal financial responsibility 72%

5 Emerging Technologies

1. Cloud computing – create and store content on web. Free up resources that used to be spent archiving. Web is infrastructure.

Applications: gmail, googlewave (interdisciplinary Google)
Creating & Presenting: Prezi, Vuvox, Slideshare
New Apps: splashup, jaycut

2. Increased mobile devices
Note: need to update policies, procedures and protocols

School district doing this well highlighted:
Edutopia.org
“The Digital Generation” – empowering students to be thinkers.

Digi Teen – study digital citizenship
Flat Classroom Project – empowering students to connect globally

3. Assistive Technology – continues to be one of the brightest stars of technology integration.
www.cast.org
www.landmark.edu/institut/assistive_technology/index.html
www.ataccess.org

Hospital and clinic partnerships coming to 9-12 high schools.
Neuroscience and artificial intelligence – big academic growth area that are tech rich and will help special needs students.

4. Using technology to be entrepreneurial
School is a one-person circus – administrators have to do everything.
• Storefronts for raising big amounts of money to generate income to support work in classrooms.
• Ads – “this mid-term sponsored by Walmart” – this is HAPPENING! Field Day sponsored by companies
• Ebay for educational materials – trade ed supplies for school districts
• Selling on professional development materials – create it for you district and sell it on.

5. Personal web
• Personal coaching for kids – virtual counselor
• Developing and organizing online content
• 8,8,8 initiative – virtual contact outside school
• Virtual backpack (in addition to print material)
• Tools for tagging, aggregating, updating and tracking – aka formative assessment. (He mentioned the ALA and school libraries here – go us!)

Translation to the classroom
• Smart boards
• Internet drive research and web apps
• Web based admin activities
• Wireless networks
• Heavy graphics and convergence

Other technologies to watch
• Semantic-aware applications, tools designed for making meaning
• Smart Objects – link virtual to real world. Link it to student management systems.
• Data mash-ups – new ways of looking at information
• Web 2.0 to 3.0
• Desktop videoconferencing – Skype, Oovoo
• Instant messaging – Meebo
• Microblogging platforms – Twitter, Plurk
• Virtual workplaces
• LMS – Moodle
• Social networking – Nings, Pageflakes
• 3D Virtual Worlds – ActiveWorlds, Second Life, HiFives

Key Trends:
Technology isn’t going away, so teach skills that will help students, empower them, teach innovation, creativity, critical thinking, citizenship.

Planting Seeds: How to Create Sustainable Technology Professional Development

MassCue Session 2 – 11:15 – 12:10
III. Planting Seeds: How to Create Sustainable Technology Professional Development
John Doherty, Asst. Superintendent, Reading PS

(PD= Professional Development)

Students and teachers are the same – now more stuff is free.

Why the change? Quick pace of technology change. Teachers are freaking out. Reading is in a time of transformational change right now.
Global changes in world or work, information, increased impact of media.
MEDIA CENTERS HAVE CHANGED and are hearts of technology and training for LMS – kids go to libraries first to look for something.

Voluntary 6 credit class:
Expanding the Boundaries of Teaching and Learning
Teachers who take this get tech infusion and laptop. Started the “buzz” in Reading. Initiated culture change because people are developing new language, staff are reading the same books.

Lots of blogging for staff and students to share thoughts. Info in new books being disseiminated and talked about.

Partnership for 21st century skills – keeps learning standards as always but incorporates new unique skills.
Wagner’s 7 Survival Skills – what works best for kids?
Keep PD central when considering learning needs of students.

What is at stake?
• Future of our economy
• Strength of our democracy
• Health of planets ecosystem
• Is it sustainable?

Kaplan University / Talent - good inspirational video advocating for educational change

How do we reach these new learners?
Transformational Leadership
(need energy, accept risks, don’t stop student learning)
• Realize the vision at all costs
• Organization is a moral system
• Reflects core values
• Leaders must walk the walk
• Action consistent with vision
• Risk taking encouraged and welcomed
• Symbolic communication important
• Leaders actions are beyond normal and outside the rules of self interest
• Look at educational change systemically
• Lot of work to organize path forward

Setting directions
• Vision
• Goals
• Practices
• Expectations

Developing people
• Intellectual stimulation
• Individualize support
• Modeling professional practices
• Values

Redesigning Organization
• Developing collaborative culture
• Creating structures to foster participation in school decisions
• Creating productive community relationships
• Get the right people on the bus, and the wrong people off the bus
o The wrong people are the ones you need to actively watch

Reading is under-staffed, like everyone else. Moving forward the best way possible, keeping positive, and support as much as possible.
Collaborative culture is helping save time and moving training forward.

Maintenance costs very high so keep reserves to keep tools available for teachers.
Reading has 5 year plan of growth and success to validate their plan.

The key is changing the culture – it won’t happen overnight. Talk about technology all the time. Keep up the mantra. Talk about positives to highlight and keep from getting bogged down in the problems, important to culture.

1. Work with community to develop/change mission and vision – these may/will change.

• i. Develop the process, working with stakeholders – ongoing evaluation and course correction.

2. Develop and maintain infrastructure – budgets make this tough. Might have to choose spending on network above other instructional tools (ex textbooks) but the network gave more bang for the buck.
3. Identify tech gurus in district and develop a plan. Make your plan a working document. Don’t print it and put it on the shelf. Use Google doc.
4. Identify resources to upgrade and maintain.

• Outreach to parents/community highlighting student work.

• http://donorschoose.org/

5. Put tech tools in hands of right people (Concord already did this for everybody)
6. Provide access outside of school time

• Community/Parents – classes for community

• Teachers

• Students

7. District leaders model use of technology – the whole shebang. Use it anticipating that it will always be changing. Need to learn new apps all the time, teach the skills/conventions that are portable.

• Use tech in admin meetings

• Start discussion of 1:1 computing in school

• See how other districts are using technology

8. Get Administration on board – Already on board in Concord!

• Run admin only trainings

• Run admin book group

• Visit districts that use tech effectively

What should learning look like?
Change the classroom – Alan November – build teams

Tech Planning for the CCHS Library

Sometimes I get stuck, because I am not a nuts-and-bolts techie. Start talking about bits per mega watts, IP address emancipation, and "the server doesn't communicate with the T bandwidth mega-whoosis" and I am lost.

Moving the CCHS Library forward in providing information and media services to the students and faculty is an exciting challenge. Every single day holds a technological hurdle of some sort. Luckily, I don't have to do it all by myself, and can call on our talented library staff, CCHS students (students are great guides and teachers in figuring stuff out), tech support and colleagues to help. It takes a village, every day. I know for a fact that I am not alone in wrestling with information services, education, and emerging technologies.

This article, The Top Ten Things Library Administrators Should Know About Technology came via my Twitter account and has good points for anyone involved in moving organizations forward in planning for and incorporating technology. These are the bullet points. Please click the link for the fuller presentation.

1. Technology isn't as hard as you think it is.
2. Technology gets easier all the time.
3. Technology gets cheaper all the time.
4. Maximize the effectiveness of your most costly technology investment -- your people.
5. Iterate, don't perfect.
6. Be prepared to fail.
7. Be prepared to succeed.
8. Never underestimate the power of a prototype.
9. A major part of good technology implementation is good project management.
10. The single biggest threat to any technology project is political in nature.

The Top Ten Things Library Administrators Should Know About Technology | TechEssence.info

An Open Letter to the Concord Education Fund

Dear Concord Education Fund,

Today was the final day of the Building Learning Communities '09 conference. I want to thank you for funding our eight person team, and one of the most profound learning experiences of my professional life.

For three days our team was immersed in an extraordinary journey of challenge, discussion, and vision. I felt like my head was going to explode with fresh ideas, new digital tools, links, collaborative groups, and new ways of looking at familiar concepts. Each night I returned home beaten to a pulp by the best thinkers in education. Awesome!

The generosity of this grant enabled a group of teachers and administrators to gather for three days, and learn about the possibilities of education fueled by new technologies. Ways to engage students in their learning and prepare them for a global economy that seeks innovation, flexibility, creative thinking, collaboration, extraordinary communication and presentation skills, and authentic opportunities. It is incredibly exciting!

Our team would gather and fire ideas, questions and proposal at one another. "Did you hear this..." "What if we tried something like..." "Would you partner with me in trying this out..." "I get it now..." "Wait, you have to hear this...""This app is so cool you have to download it - now!"

Our vocabulary changed as we were introduced to the evolving educational practice of this new age. Informate, Fantastic!, radiating possibilities, Twitter Fall, cloud computing, Bump, back channel, project based learning, Rule #6 - the list goes on.

Good work is already underway in our schools, and our task is to build upon our strong base to form a fresh path for the students of Concord, Carlisle and Boston. We can accomplish so much in guiding our students toward learning about their global community, giving them the skills to become fluent in the new ways of the digital future, partnering with students and their families in looking forward and embracing the changes that are upon us.

There is much work ahead, and it is a privilege to be a part of it. My conference notes (rough as they are) can be found on this blog. Search the tag BLC09 for all notes, all with links, if you care to take a peek at this journey.

Thank you again for supporting this grant. Have a wonderful August, take a trip to the library to pick up some books, join CCHS One School One Book in reading Three Cups of Tea, and don't forget the sunscreen!

Robin

Restructuring Schools Through Design - Think CCHS Library!

Raw Notes
Session #9
Alan November, Restructuring Schools Through Design

Washington International School
Student News ActionNetwork - example of publishing facilitated by librarian - a global Ning

Future University, Hakodate, Japan

Build libraries to:

• big presentation space (big screen)
• internet capabilities for presentations
  
• social and engaging space
• global communication center
• librarian - global communication facilitator - get beyond the limits of paper, connecting children to the real world, design to build connection to authentic audience around the world. Cameras, high speed, big bandwidth pipe, projecting people out to the world from the library.
  
• role of educator is global communication facilitator
• library on first floor, own entrance, accessible at all times by students and communities
• library open on weekends, open at night, equity issues so kids can stay late. Flex time for librarians to have flexible hours and support.
  

"Don't build a new, old building."
Build different kinds of spaces in library.

1. global communication center
   
2. online learning center - kids can go there to take courses from all over the world. Facilitate whole courses in the library. Librarian as course-broker.
3. smaller spaces for small group work - (multi-media design center, noisy and messy) studios for creating content. Studios for 12/8/4/4 group sizes. Each space should have its own story/purpose.

Emerging use of library - place for students to create. Revolution of the Internet - everyone learns to publish. Kids need to make added value, make the world better, smarter. Library should be center for where this happens. Small, intimate design labs - really great idea! Collaborative spaces. Glass walls for social kids as well as supervision. Noisy environment. Mix of mediums needed to make these global connections (books, web, tech tools, e-tools, projectors, diverse spaces). Make sure technology infrastructure is easy to use and not easy to screw up.

Learning Commons - all IT people have offices in library. IT people out of labs and into classrooms to work with teachers. "Easier to build a computer lab than take one apart." - Alan November.

High Tech High, San Diego - examples of beautiful design
Learning.com - design examples - give every kid their own computer and cubicle to personalize
3 years and millions to build this space. Kids were not self-disciplined enough to work at their own space and get things done. Role of teacher was to move and kids sits still. Kids didn't want to work on their own in their own space. Didn't work. Tore it down and started again. Reverted back to classrooms and it is going well. Built glass walls so maintained some transparency, HUGE hallways, student art, murals. Moral: whatever school you build won't work.

What does work in good design? Good space planning for community. Daily get-togethers by grade level. Kids take big leadership roles. Games, team and community building, based on responsive classrooms.

Chairs - pilates balls aka Swiss balls
Teacher designed standing desk

Family / Community
Scotland - abolished Education Dept, merged with Health & Family Services. One organization serves the entire family, and education is a sub-set of family services.
MET School, Providence RI - poverty stricken area, high test scores, school every other day, because they are in the community working. Campus divided by roads, so community drives through the campus. Campus not cut off from community. Embedded in school are offices for health and human services to encourage families to incorporate into their life.

Big Picture Company - Architect / educational consultant that also supports school for future years. "Transforming education - one student at a time." Architect understands curriculum.

Merging family service - put public library in school (!) - don't like this idea. Pedophiles and oddballs would love this idea. Different missions.

Alan November - Managing the Transition

Session #7 - Alan November
Leadership: Managing the Transition
alan@anovember.com

Raw Notes
Age of the Smart Machine, by Shoshanna Zuboff (1989) - study on technology and the return on investment, very poor in education. Technology has not increased productivity in schools or improved test scores.

Technology

• Automating research shows incremental improvement with no real increase in productivity. Critical thinking on decline because of distraction of technology. Zuboff would make this case. Train teachers to understand assessment, and design of assignments. Stop training which button to push.
• "Informating" - 3 things:
  

1. Give people access toinfo they havent had before. Info is life blood of solving problems.
   
2. New ways of people working together - more powerful than giving indivuduals tools. The power is the network not individual.
   
3. Depends on first 2. Empower people to take more responsibility for quality of their own work. The ultimate organizational goal is that everyone feels responsible for quality. Culture of schools based on teachers owning the learning. The longer you stay in school the more dependent on teacher managing learning for you, and you lose self direction, self initiation.

The systems that manage the organization needs to change. Ex. role of teacher - classes limited by children learning what the teacher already knows. Teacher evaluation - industrial model looks at ability to control behavior and manage classroom. What if teacher is asked to leave room and students given a problem they should have learned, and evaluate capacity of students to initiate and perform independently. Zuboff's research says systems/processes need to be changed in order to use technology effectively. This is classroom level, the closed loop. Open the loop and break the capacity to stay the same.

Family - schools aren't designed to help but keep family out of school. UK much more concerned with all-family services (and are now one system in Scotland). How do we help parent's get info they never had. Ex. Skype parents in and watch a student during a classroom presentation.

Automation means you are not shfting the locus on control. It does shift when you informate. This is a lever to get better quality. Ex. Japanese tolets gives them access to their own medical analysis - raw data. They can take more ownershp of their own body because they have better data. In education kids will have access to more info than we can control. How much are we automating and how much are we informating at CCHS?

Key leadership point - make sure technology is aligned to curriculum. Give students new role - redefining job description is a system change. Pioneering educators give students new jobs and are more in charge of their own learning.

IDEAS

Suggestion Google Custom Search to engage parents and open loop. DO THIS FOR CCHS LIBRARY! Builds capacity in the home to support learning. This is where we need to pay attention. Invite faculty to same search engine and add all favorite websites. Right now teacher websites look like individual classrooms. Need collective wisdom to be available to all students at all times. Ex. post all vocab for all grades for all students for instant feedback via free online sites - this is a shift of control. When you build one search engine everyone needs to be in the same room. Do this by department/content area. Custom search generates unique URL, invite (99 limit)> collaboration > email to contribute BEST resources to search engine. Harness team to work well together. Embed code as widget > get the code > insert in textbox / html box.

Cloud Computing - tools, content all moving toward web, end of hard drive. Business demands this because collaboration is more powerful than individual word processors. Collaboraton is the power. Microsoft betting the company on this. New Office will be collaborative. NOW is the time to teach students collaboration.
GoogleDocs - example of cloud computing. Try this with Chairs. Also create Ning.

High Tech High - students own learning, highest minority test scores in USA. At start of school kids asked to tell teachers how to teach 10 most difficult concepts.

Sub-Committee on Globalizing Curriculum - Students need to learn to play nicely with the world.
site:ac.uk "general gage" "american revolution" universities in UK for results, get UK perspective. Find out how UK teachers teach American Revolution.
Way Back Machine http:web.archive.org to find dead URLs
Use internation domains for searching

SUGGESTIONS:
Get to Informate - organizations fight this shift in control because they want to survive they way they are.
Teach children to work with people around the world, teaching them collaboration, the number 1 global skill. Every classroom a global communication center.
Change job description of kids to become responsible for own learning, custom search engine and collabortaive platforms are examples.

Teacher Observations: family involvement and engagement with new technologies, teacher evaluation in class with students and teacher out of the room