Lost in a phase...

Module 9: Summarizing and Discussing Phase 2 Topics and Interests

Where did Phase 2 go? I feel like we just started and now it is time to move into the final stages of this class already!

(Pinterest, 2017)

Phase 2 of this course encouraged me to explore some resources and stumble upon types of library environments that I previously did not know existed. Before this course I had not blogged, tweeted, or purchased and downloaded an e-book onto my home computer. So many new experiences; all of them manageable and not scary. Reading the blogs of my peers has also been a valuable exercise in participatory learning and sharing, as I have saved and bookmarked many of the resources my classmates posted. 

If I selected one topic from Phase 2 that resonated with me the most, I would say it was Module 5: Fostering Reading Culture in Schools. I think reading is the basis for everything in life, and often we focus much of our explicit reading skills teaching in the primary grades. I think that we still need to explicitly teach these skills in the intermediate grades, especially as many of our students are EAL learners and newcomers from all over the world. Additionally, during this module my classmates shared so many ideas that I want to try with my own class in the future. I especially liked Brittany Shoemaker’s book circle idea, because I thought that is a lovely way to start the day and encourage students to read books they may not select on their own.

(Lunn, 2016)

Another takeaway I will leave this course with is to allow learning to be messy and to apply design thinking into teaching more often, because success is not a straight and predictable line. ICT 

(Board of Innovation, 2016)

ICT and its use in the educational setting constantly evolves, and teachers have to go-with-the-flow and adapt to changes (I especially enjoyed reading Katy Connelly’s blog on this topic). Thinking about letting learning being "messy" I am curious about STEM education and how a learning commons could provide support.

How could I incorporate that into a library space?
Can the learning commons have a "maker space" or an "unmaker space"?
What would that look like?
How would that be made possible?

(Jolly, 2017)

How would such a space be managed?

These are questions I feel I will probably explore in the near future. A book I am interested in reading is, "STEM by Design: Strategies and Activities for Grades 4-8" by Anne Jolly.

In my own professional practice, I plan to seek out development opportunities so that as the teacher librarian, I can have a solid knowledge base to teach both students and colleagues. I will continue to embrace and explore online resources, and evaluate their educational usage using critical thinking and evaluative resources provided by ERAC.

References 

Board of Innovation. (2016). Insight into our Design Thinking Workshops. [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.boardofinnovation.com/blog/2016/06/22/design-thinking-workshop/

Connelly, K. (2017, October 13). Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy! [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://katyconnelly.blogspot.ca/2017/10/take-chances-make-mistakes-and-get-messy.html

Educational Resource Acquisition Consortium (ERAC). (2017). ERAC achieving together. Retrieved from https://www.bcerac.ca/index.aspx

Jolly, A. (2017) STEM by Design: Strategies and Activities for Grades 4-8. Retrieved from http://www.stem-by-design.com/

Lunn, N. (2016). Want to Be a Writer? Come to Our Smart Women Week Literary Master Class. [Picture]. Retrieved from http://www.redonline.co.uk/reviews/book-reviews/how-be-a-writer-smart-women-week-lliterary-masterclass

National Academics of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2014, March 6). STEM Integration in K-12 Education [Video file]. Retrieved from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlPJ48simtE

Pinterest. (2017). Explore Does It Work, It Works, and more! [GIF]. Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/94505292157346492/ 

Shoemaker, B. (2017, October 3). Fostering a Reading Culture in School [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://bshoemaker12.blogspot.ca/2017/10/fostering-reading-culture-in-school.html

"Peace Libraries" - a place of healing

Module 8: Developing World Libraries

When I initially searched the World Bank’s website for library projects in developing nations, my exploration found multiple reports of basic educational improvement bids that ended unsuccessfully, in many cases due to isolation and an unsettled political climate.

For example, in Zanzibar, a region of Tanzania in East Africa, there was a bid in 2011 to the World Bank (Abdalla, 2011) to help create a school reference library of textbooks for secondary students. When searching for follow-up data, it appears that by 2014 the outcome was unsatisfactory due to political unrest (World Bank, 2014).

Can libraries be successful in a developing nation?

I dug further, determined to find a success story.

It seems that in developing nations libraries are more than repositories of physical books. Other forms of literacies, like financial literacy take precedent over reading for pleasure. Access to government data and assistance completing forms for subsidies is how public libraries help citizens most.

One specific library project I explored online was through the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), a global organization founded in 1927 that represents libraries and information services access for everyone. 

(Libraries for Peace, n. d.)

To support the local needs of their communities, twenty “Peace Libraries” were deployed in Colombia after conflict ended with FARC rebels. These libraries became places of healing, where citizens could share their personal stories and lived experiences during the turmoil. They were also places where services could be accessed, and “[a]s one of the first public services to return to these areas, they not only symboli[zed] the re-engagement of government, but [had] a major role in dealing with inequalities. Reduced access to education and information ha[d] risked putting residents of affected regions on the wrong side of a development gap.” People could reconnect, which “allow[ed] them to become part of ‘a national network bringing previously isolated regions together’” (IFLA, 2017). These "Peace Libraries" become launching points for civic engagement, focused on literacy and IT skills using bibliographic, digital, and audiovisual collections, all in an effort to rebuild stable democracy to help the country move forward.

I could not find any specific photos of this "Peace Library" in Columbia, and I am left wondering what the physical space actually looks like – what IT is on-site? Is the access to information unfiltered and uncensored? It is unclear. However, this story captured my attention because the world feels like it is in such turmoil right now, and the idea of a “Peace Library” made me feel hopeful.

References

Abdalla, M. S. (2011). Zanzibar Basic Education Improvement Project supply
Of Library And Reference Books For “A” And “O” Levels. (Notice No. OP000
07949). Retrieved from World Bank website: http://projects.worldbank.org/procurement/noticeoverview?lang=en&id=OP00007949

IFLA. (2017). International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/

IFLA. (2017, September 21). Stronger, More Stable, More Inclusive: Libraries
Around the World Help Build Peaceful Societies. Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/node/11843

Libraries for Peace. (n. d.). In Facebook [Profile pictures]. Retrieved 2017,
October 21, from https://www.facebook.com/pg/librariesforpeace/photos/?tab=album&
album_id=540755816108933

Silva, C., Moncada, J. D., & Avila, J. D. (2017, March 9). Peace and Sustainable Development in Colombia: Reflections and Actions from the Library Sector.
IFLA news. Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/node/11257

World Bank. (2014). Tanzania - Zanzibar Basic Education Improvement
Project. (Report No. ICR3150). Retrieved from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/698101468313200247/Tanzania-Zanzibar-Basic-Education-Improvement-Project


Please note: usually formatting of the references is easy within Blogger, and in past weeks there has not been an issue. For an unknown reason, it keeps adding spaces and breaking links if I change it this week, so I have left it as is. Do any of you know why this might happen? 

Flexible, balanced, and looking towards the horizon.

Module 7: Supporting Teachers’ ICT Curriculum and Pedagogy – On-going Professional Development


Since I am on-call, I will response to this week’s blog prompt from the point-of-view of a high school teacher librarian, drawing on past experiences and what I could do if I was there long-term.

(DevilsApricot, 2008)

Many school libraries have very dusty shelves of “Professional Collections,” and I think it is increasingly beneficial to turn to digital databases for resources, journals, and articles that are up-to-date. Many teacher librarians bring attention to new ideas by having a school website that has a student area, and a staff area where such content is presented. 

As the teacher librarian, it would be my role to be looking out for ICT pro-d opportunities and resources to support an ICT curriculum. One way to do this is to frequently check the BC Teacher Librarians Association page for updates.

I have often thought about (but have yet had the chance to try) creating a collection of “how to” videos uploaded onto all school computers. Initially making the videos could be a class project about communicating information and computer-based skills. A web-based screen capture program like Screencast- O-Matic could be used to record things like: “How to use basic functions in Word”, “How to print in the library” or “How to use key features of Office365.”

(Walker, 2012)

I think it would be great for students to take a leadership role in helping to make these reference guides, and then I would repeat myself less by referring to the video library when someone asks about inserting tables, page layouts, etc.

School-wide, I think that if I found a service that I believe benefitted all students, then I could host a workshop for colleagues to first teach them how to use the platform. If teachers are confident in their use of tool, then they can better support students in their learning. This proactive teaching approach would be advantageous, because I have noticed that students often learn helpful online research tools, like NoodleTools, in isolation for a “library project.” 

I think that to best respond to the needs of our staff, teacher librarians have to be open to delivering the same content in a variety of ways – just like a classroom teacher does for their students. Some just need the information, so an e-mail or Tweet would suffice. Some may need a workshop, where I could give an over-view of key things to know, or advertise upcoming events to attend. Others may need one-to-one support, so I could set-up scheduled times where we could sit together with little interruption. If my schedule was stretched, I could also see if the district or public library was offering any workshops or one-to-one support that complimented the ICT professional needs of my colleagues. 

It really depends on the school culture. I think as a teacher librarian, part of the role is to find a balance between talking with everyone and get a sense of what is needed, and recognizing how the staff like to share new ideas.

References

BCTLA. (2017). British Columbia Teacher-Librarians’’ Association. Retrieved from http://bctf.ca/bctla/info/about.html

DevilsApricot. (2008). Pixabay CCO Creative Commons [Image]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/books-old-dusty-library-vintage-785894/

NoodleTools. (2017). A research platform. An educational mindset. Retrieved from http://www.noodletools.com/

Screencast-O-Matic. (2017). Fast, free screen recording. Retrieved from https://screencast-o-matic.com/

Walker, C. (2012, June 3). Word 2010: Insert Tables [Screen capture of video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mXRd3ZPW0k

Vancouver Public Library. (2017). Events. Retrieved from https://vpl.bibliocommons.com/
events/search/fq=types:(5911fd0447b4863400441277)

Jack of all trades, master of none…

Module 6: Developing my own ICT Skills and Pedagogy

“It [was] a gap that Microsoft Canada [was] hoping to shrink with its KidReach program, which aims to put computers in the hands of kids who might otherwise not have a chance to use them.” This donation came with some skepticism, and “the giant software manufacturer [came] under criticism in the U.S. for similar charitable donations, made through the William H. Gates Foundation. Critics have said that by helping libraries with onetime donations of hardware and software, Gates is simply helping to ensure future sales.” (Shaw, 1999).

You might think this was recent news, but this excerpt is from a Vancouver Sun article written eighteen years ago. This digital divide remains apparent and although I completed the “Math, Science, and Technology” specialization during my BEd, and I feel comfortable around tech, I find that much of the ICT pedagogy I learned simply does not translate to the public school system. There is still such a vast difference in the “haves” and the “have nots” within my district, and a lot of it comes down to PAC fund-raising capabilities and corporate donations.

(Reader's Digest, 2017)

Currently, I am at a school where the library opens twice a week, the SmartBoard malfunctions (it’s just a projection screen), there are eighteen ipads for the entire school, and the library has five very s l o w desktop computers that mostly remain off (they freeze loading the visual content on modern websites). If you observed me during a day of work, you might think it was 1999 and not 2017.

For this reason, my use of ICT skills varies greatly depending on the school. I don’t really know what I need to know. Maintaining connections with colleagues becomes paramount, because although I may not be able to do much now, I may find myself in a different situation in a far more tech infused environment.

I am connected to colleagues using Facebook and e-mail. I am also a part of the B.C. Early Career Teachers Association which posts helpful resources and ways to connect with others. Additionally, I check the UBC Education Pro-D, my district’s Pro-D, and the BCTF Pro-D to further develop my knowledge. Over the years as a TOC any time teachers said, “feel free to e-mail me if you ever have any questions or need help” I have made note of these offers! Already it has come in handy a few times when I find myself e-mailing asking:

What was that great lesson you did using ipads?

Where did you find resources on MakerSpaces again?

How was it you used that technology effectively?

What was the ICT workshop you raved about?

After this class is over, I plan on keeping my Twitter account because I like how it acts as storage of helpful ideas and resources. I may also hold onto a few e-mail addresses of classmates who seem like-minded or extra helpful. I plan to scan a lot of the blogs to seek these individuals out!

References

BCECTA. (2017). The B.C. Early Career Teachers Association. Retrieved from https://bcecta.wordpress.com/

BCTF. (2017). British Columbia Teachers' Federation - Professional Development and Support. Retrieved from https://www.bctf.ca/ProfessionalDevelopment.aspx

Reader's Digest. (2017). My computer is slow, how can I speed it up? [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.readersdigest.co.uk/technology/how/my-computer-slow-how-can-i-speed-it

Shaw, G. (1999, April 29). Computer donations close gap: A Microsoft Canada program puts technology in the hands of youngsters who don't have access. Series: Technology @ School: [Final Edition]. The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.library.ubc.
ca/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/242783418?accountid=14656

University of British Columbia. (2017). Professional Development for Educators. Retrieved from http://pdce.educ.ubc.ca/workshops-institutes/

Vancouver School Board. (2017). Current Opportunities - Professional Development. Retrieved from http://www2.vsb.bc.ca/vsbprograms/Prod/Current+Professional+ Development+Opportunities/default.htm

You mean to tell me you don't know everything? [Meme]. (2015, July 23). Retrieved October 04, 2017, http://blog.glcomp.com/2015/07/avoiding-jack-of-all-trades-master-of.html

“Hands and mouth and eyes and BRAIN, I have reading power!”

Module 5: Fostering Reading Culture in Schools

The benefit of being on-call is seeing an array of how reading cultures can be fostered in schools in so many different ways. In a high school I experienced a designated Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) time throughout the entire school. This means that everything is quiet and calm, with no announcements and no interruptions so that everyone, teachers included, can read.

A few other things I have seen that I would use in my own classroom are:

(Knoesel, 2017)

Instead of “Silent Reading” I was in a class that chunked reading time into two sections:

“Read-to-Self”

and

“Read-with-Another” 

(Knoesel, 2017)

Students were able to select any type of reading material they wanted, as long as they were reading. Periodically, the teacher would have students write a few notes in their reading log about what they were reading and their thoughts and connections with the story or subject. Students were engaged, and as the teacher, I was able to read their log and ask further questions to continue the conversation. I also noticed that it is a useful way to get to recognize patterns of student reading and to get to know their interests.

Another practice I saw that I would like to use in my own classroom one day was reading boxes. Each student had their own personalized magazine box.

(Reilly, 2013)

These reading boxes were always stocked with at least: 1 chapter book, 1 picture book, 1 graphic novel, 1 information book, and 1 magazine. What I liked about this is it encourages students to borrow a variety of materials from the school library. I also liked that students had many books to choose from depending on their mood/interest that day.

A reading program that I have been learning about is Reading Power, created by Vancouver teacher Adrienne Gear. I had the good fortune of being a TOC in a classroom at her school, and she came in to do a reading and writing activity with the grade 2 students. I really like her reading strategies of: connect, question, visualize, infer, and transform. I would love this use this one day as a school-wide reading program. Currently, I see a lot of schools made the book bins, but then do not follow the lessons school-wide.  Consistency is an importance piece to this program, because it makes a common language used in all grades, which supports student success throughout their journey, as mentioned in this video posted by The Balanced Literacy Diet.

In the future when I am permanently at one school, I would love to implement Gear’s program school-wide to encourage young readers to think about what they are reading, zoom-in, and make connections.

References

Balanced Literacy Diet, The. (2011, November 19). Reading Power: Building Comprehension Skills (Virtual Tour) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5gxSIVanmM

Gear, A. (2010). Reading Power. Retrieved from http://www.readingpowergear.com/index.html

Knoesel, L. (2017). Reading [Photographs]. Retrieved from http://knoeselknews.blogspot.ca/

Reilly, M. (2013). Independent Reading Book Boxes [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://maryannreilly.blogspot.ca/2013/02/preventing-literacy-difficulties-in.html

Reading Review - Part C - Research Synopsis

Reading Review - Part C -
Research Synopsis

In the process of collecting files, links, and resources from Part B, I learned that there is a lot of information relevant to the issue of copyright and data storage. I found a lot of helpful documents and guides that clearly explain what teachers need to know.

When searching for resources, I noticed that I had to click around to many different pages. School districts do not seem to provide one document that covers all of the issues in one place. Some extremely helpful takeaways I stumbled upon by accident, like the Copyright Decision Tool. This was a bit of a frustration for me, because I feel that Digital Information Literacy is something that all educators should know about, but if you do not know where to look, how do you know you need to know?

Furthermore, for TOCs I could not find one place that alerts us to know and understand our legal obligations when it comes to copyright and online resource use and data storage. I searched the BCTF website, as well as the B.C. Early Careers Teachers’ Association. In reflecting on my own teaching experiences, I think I have followed day plans created by other teachers where I may have accidentally been in breach of copyright laws. When you work on-call, there are so many pieces to “how the school operates” that you miss – like knowing what consent forms have been signed, technology rules, and protocols are in place at every school you work.  This assignment has really got me thinking about what teachers need to know themselves first, and what they need to know confidently so that they can explain it to students.

I am curious to know what other school districts in B.C. are doing to inform teachers (and teachers-on-call) about copyright & ownership of content, and storing/privacy of what you create at school.

What is your school/district doing?

References

British Columbia’s Teacher’s Federation (BCTF). (2012). Copyright Guidelines
     for Teachers. Retrieved from https://teachbc.bctf.ca/docs/CopyrightGuidelin
     esForTeachers.pdf

Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). (2017) Copyright Decision
     Tool. Teachers and Copyright. Retrieved from http://www.copyrightdecision
     tool.ca/DecisionTool/

Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). Copyright law impacts
      teachers and what they can use in the classroom. Retrieved from http://
     www.cmec.ca/docs/copyright/CopyrightLawImpactsTeachers%20_EN.pdf

Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). (2016, October). Dealing
    Fairly With Copyright-Protected Works of Others [Video file]. Retrieved
     from https://vimeo.com/72374059

Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). Fair Dealing Guidelines.
     Teachers and Copyright. Retrieved from http://www.copyrightdecisiontool.ca
     /fdg/default.aspx

Creative Commons. (2017). Share Your Work. Retrieved from https://creative
     commons.org/

Educational Resource Acquisition Consortium (ERAC). (2017). BC Digital
     Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.bcerac.ca/about/background-info.aspx

 Government of British Columbia. (2017). Guide to Good Privacy Practices. Retrieved
     from http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/services-for-government/
     information-management-technology/privacy/good-privacy-practices

Media Smarts. (2017). Media Smarts: Canada’s Centre for Digital and Media
     Literacy. Retrieved from http://mediasmarts.ca/

 Noel, W.,& Snel, J. (2016) Copyright Matters! Some Key Questions & Answers
     for Teachers. (4th ed.). Retrieved from http://cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/
     Publications/Attachments/291/Copyright_Matters.pdf

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. (2016). Technology and privacy.
     Retrieved from https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/technology-and-privacy/

University of Toronto Libraries. (2017). How do I spot fake news? Retrieved
     from https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/faq/how-do-i-spot-fake-news

Valenza, J. (2014, July 26). Librarians wanted for smashing, blending, toolkit
     building. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/neverending
     search/2014/07/26/librarians-wanted-for-smashing-blending-toolkit-building/

Vancouver School Board (VSB). (2016). AI-R: Acceptable use of Technology.
     VSB Policy Manual. Retrieved from http://www.vsb.bc.ca/district-policy/ai
     -r-acceptable-use-technology

Vancouver School Board i3 Learning Technologies. (2016). Copyright
     Resources. Retrieved from http://go.vsb.bc.ca/schools/ltm/curricular-  
     resources/copyrights/Pages/default.aspx

Vancouver School Board i3 Learning Technologies. (2016). Office 365
     for Education. Retrieved from http://go.vsb.bc.ca/schools/ltm/curricular- 
     resources/o365/Pages/default.aspx

Reading Review - Part B - Literature Research and Data Collection

Reading Review - Part B -
Literature Research and Data Collection

Perhaps I was a bit excited starting this assignment, and posted a few possible resources in Part A of my blog post. What I will do this week, is spend time focusing on 3-5 key resources. I used my keywords generated in Part A as a guide. In an attempt to narrow down these topics, I thought of my big idea of Digital Information Literacy in two subheadings: copyright & ownership of content, and storing/privacy of what you create at school. Here are the resources that helped me better understand my topic.

Copyright & Ownership of Content

I read the following resources concerning copyright in greater detail. As a TOC it is something we are never fully trained in understanding our legal obligations. TOCs should know this, because we have to recognize if we are being asked to do something that is in breach of our legal responsibilities. Also, I am starting to wonder -- if schools are increasingly sharing student work in an online format, should teachers be applying Creative Commons license codes to our student’s work?

Here are the resources I am looking at in more detail:

Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). Copyright law impacts teachers and 
     what they can use in the classroom. Retrieved from http://www.cmec.ca/docs/copyright/

     CopyrightLawImpactsTeachers%20_EN.pdf

This document highlights changes in copyright in the context of education after the 2012 passing of the Copyright Modernization Act. Specifically, it provides information regarding the use of internet materials. It states:

“The copyright law provides a clear legal framework that supports the use of the Internet in classrooms. The Internet provision establishes that teachers and students can legally perform routine classroom activities such as downloading, saving, and sharing publicly available Internet text or images, incorporating Internet materials into assignments, and exchanging works electronically with one another.  

The Internet provision applies only to material that is publicly available on the Internet and has been posted on-line with the authorization of the copyright owner. For instance, the provision does not apply to pirated textbooks or films. Also, teachers and students must respect any digital lock (such as encryption or password-protection) that restricts access or use of the Internet content” (CMEC).  

According to this, teachers should be aware that if students use a resource in their own work that is originally pirated, then the teacher must inform the student that they cannot use that resource. This can become an issue when using music in the background of videos that students create. Or for example, I take this to mean a student could not use a YouTube clip of Finding Nemo that is clearly someone filming their own television, because this is a pirated source. If this was observed, the teacher is legally obligated to inform the student that this is outside of copyright law.

Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC). (2016, October). Dealing Fairly With      
     Copyright-Protected Works of Others [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com
     /72374059

This resource is a video that outlines what teachers can and cannot do when it comes to using copyright-protected works of others. A similar PowerPoint presentation document can also be read online. This video clearly outlines the legal obligations, explains the Fair Dealing Guidelines, and explains that a “short excerpt” is no more than 10% of a work. This video also explains the history of how the Fair Dealing Guidelines came to be, and what to do when the use of a work falls outside of the guidelines. 

It is interesting that one of the principal’s responsibilities is to ensure the Fair Dealing Guidelines and the poster is displayed by all photocopiers, printers, and scanners. However, with the increase of portable digital devices that allow freedom of movement, I wonder where this poster should be placed to act as a reminder to staff and students about proper protocol.

After watching this video, I wonder how often the teacher librarian is the designated staff person who is to fully understand copyright laws along with the principal. The TL seems like the natural person in the building to be the “go to” when colleagues have questions. Also, for TOCs when do we learn about this? Are we supposed to learn it on our own? I can see how it would be easy to make a mistake in a long-term TOC call because you simply just didn’t know.

Vancouver School Board i3 Learning Technologies. (2016). Copyright Resources. Retrieved
     from http://go.vsb.bc.ca/schools/ltm/curricular-resources/copyrights/Pages/default.aspx

This resource provides a basic overview of copyright. On the right-hand side further links for many documents and posters regarding copyright, compliance, and resources are provided. Something I found particularly interesting is: “Students’ intellectual property rights are protected.  That is, any original work – for example, an essay, video, sound recording, website, art piece – requires authorization for further use. Authorization in VSB schools requires both the student’s and the parent’s signed permission to re-use in a publication, workshop, or web posting, or as an exemplar.  Email is considered a legal document for this purpose” (VSB i3, 2016). So if I understand this correctly, the first consent form at the beginning of the school year only covers one copy, or one posting/use of digital sharing. For further use, a second authorization is required. This is also mentioned in item #23 of Copyright Matters!

An interesting tool I stumbled upon from this site is the Copyright Decision Tool (“Compliance Checklists for Principals and Teachers” > “copyrightdecisiontool.ca” > “English”), which helps teachers decide if their learning activity follows the Fair Dealing Guidelines for classroom use of materials. This is a helpful tool for anyone who is new to thinking more deeply about this important legal responsibility. The tool is easy to navigate, you simply click on what it is you plan to use, and it helps to narrow down results, until finally letting you know what is permitted. For example, it points out that technically, music should not be played in the background at school events until the SOCAN fee has been paid to obtain proper licenses – it feels like this rule is broken often… accidentally? However, as these documents point out, it is the responsibility of the principal and teachers to ensure there is copyright compliance within a school. I find that the “3 Things for Teachers to Know about Copyright” poster clearly alerts teachers to be aware that reproducing and sharing material is something they have to consider constantly.

Storing/privacy of what you create at school

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPCC). (2016). Technology and privacy.
     Retrieved from https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/technology-and-privacy/

This Government resource provides a lot of information regarding privacy and online safety. A few of the links I found to be the most useful when thinking from the point-of-view of a teacher librarian are:

Privacy Education for Kids

12 Quick Online Privacy Tips for Parents

Social Smarts: Privacy, the Internet and You

Discussing Online Identity and Reputation

Cloud Computing and Privacy

In reading a lot of the content provided by the OPCC, it seems like teachers and teacher librarians really need to pay attention to teaching students about using password protected areas & keeping the passwords safe, creating usernames that are not obviously identifiable by “outsiders,” and paying attention to privacy settings. If these steps are followed, and the student’s parent/guardian has signed the school consent on using online learning tools, then it should be okay to use web tools in the classroom. In regards to Cloud Computing, it seems like the district I work in is using a version of Office 365 that is mostly based in Canada, except for a few features that staff are warned about on this page Office365 for Education.

I can see the role of the teacher-librarian being “the monitor” of all of the above topics within a school setting – what do you think?

Reading Review - Part A - Issue, Personal Interest, or Opportunity Identification and Keyword Generator

Reading Review - Part A -
Issue, Personal Interest, or Opportunity Identification and Keyword Generator

Currently, as a Teacher On-Call (TOC) I am often at a different school daily. I had the opportunity to work in an elementary school library for two weeks, and a high school library for two months. These experiences provided to opportunity to observe a variety of student practices when researching, and exposed me to a lot of ideas, pedagogies, types of projects, etc. This is both wonderful and overwhelming. Sometimes it feels like too many possibilities are floating around in my head, and since I am not grounded in a “home” school, I am finding it difficult to commit to an idea for this assignment.

That being said, when I have completed the teacher librarianship diploma, I hope to work in an elementary school library. Therefore, I will try to approach this from the point-of-view of -- WOOHOO! I landed my dream job! Now what?

When I start, as the teacher-librarian what will be my role in training students to use digital technologies ethically and responsibly? How will I best assist colleagues in their use and exploration of on-screen education? What is going to be the most important thing I want students to learn? How will I keep them safe?

I created a mess of a brainstorm when beginning to think about this part of the assignment:

As I was writing the keywords, I was imagining them like a large digital footprint...

My thoughts kept returning to how will I teach students to search for, evaluate, use, and properly cite information ethically and responsibly? I have observed so many students relying on "Googling it" when working on projects, and I think we owe it to our students to teach further.

I am interested in exploring Digital Information Literacy, specifically information ethics and research & library skills. I would like to explore copyright, privacy, finding "good" or “real” resources, and citations. I have also been thinking about what information should be shared with TOCs so that when we are with a class long-term, we understand and know our responsibilities regarding consent, class websites, using password protected learning tools, and posting student work online.

To summarize my early thoughts for this section…

Ideas, topics, and keywords so far:

Ethics, responsible and purposeful usage

Storing and retrieving information

Online privacy of minors

Databases vs. “Googling in”

Judgement and critical thinking

Strategies for sifting through data, identifying, determining

Servers outside of Canada

Creative Commons

Ownership of knowledge, resources, product


Government guidelines and policies:

British Columbia’s Teacher’s Federation (BCTF). (2012). Copyright Guidelines for Teachers. Retrieved from https://teachbc.bctf.ca/docs/CopyrightGuidelinesForTeachers.pdf

Government of British Columbia. (2017). Guide to Good Privacy Practices. Retrieved from    http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/services-for-government/information-management-technology/privacy/good-privacy-practices

Noel, W., & Snel, J. (2016) Copyright Matters! Some Key Questions & Answers for Teachers. (4th ed.). Retrieved from http://cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/
Attachments/291/Copyright_Matters.pdf

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. (2016). Technology and privacy. Retrieved from https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/technology-and-privacy/

Vancouver School Board (VSB). (2016). AI-R: Acceptable use of Technology. VSB Policy Manual. Retrieved from http://www.vsb.bc.ca/district-policy/ai-r-acceptable-use-technology

Relevant curriculum resources:

Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies

Grade 4+ “The choice of technology and tolls depends on the task.”

Social responsibility, personal awareness, critical thinking

Relevant pedagogical resources:

Symbaloo

VSB subscription to databases

Personal Learning Environments/Dashboards (PLE)

A few other resources I have found so far:

Educational Resource Acquisition Consortium (ERAC). (2017). BC Digital Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.bcerac.ca/about/background-info.aspx

Media Smarts. (2017). Media Smarts: Canada’s Centre for Digital and Media Literacy. Retrieved from http://mediasmarts.ca/

University of Toronto Libraries. (2017). How do I spot fake news? Retrieved from
https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/faq/how-do-i-spot-fake-news

Valenza, J. (2014, July 26). Librarians wanted for smashing, blending, toolkit building. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2014/07/26/
librarians-wanted-for-smashing-blending-toolkit-building/