Merry Christmas!

Last Post of 2011

Library Vision will resume on January 3, 2012. If you are interested in sharing an idea, website, teaching tool, instructional strategy, organizational technique, or professional research, please feel free to email it to me. Most posts average 200-300 words and images are always nice if you have them. This blog is a social learning network, so the more contributors we have, the more meaningful it will be for all.

Much love to you all, dear friends. I wish you much joy, laughter, and many hours of reading time over the next few weeks.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! 

Happy Hanukkah!

Gettin' Digi with It

Over the next few days, you ladies and gentleman (especially elementary level folks) may find the following links/activities useful for working with excited students on the verge of the holiday break!

• Read Jan Brett's Gingerbread Baby, and use one of the following link to decorate a gingerbread house:
• http://www.janbrett.com/trim_a_jan_brett_gingerbread_baby_house.htm 
• http://www.highlightskids.com/flash/gingerbread-house (*shared by Jennifer Anders at West Jefferson Elementary)
• Facilitate a discussion among students about how Christmas is celebrated in various countries around the world. Direct students to gather some research about a country of interest to them and compile their findings in a video clip, poster, or Wordle. 
• Provide time for students to use the AVL or other sources to research prominent winter holidays (Kwanzaa, Christmas, Hanukkah, Chinese New Year, Eil Al Adha, Three Kings Day, Mardi Gras, etc.) and create a chart, table, or graphic comparing the various celebrations. This would provide great practice in using information ethically! 
• Guide students in completing this internet scavenger hunt on various winter holidays around the world: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/internet-field-trip-holidays-x2019round-world-wide-web
• Pull up a few of the sites on this blog on your interactive white board and let your students head off to Winter Wonderland! 

Alabama Virtual Library: SIRS Discoverer

SIRS Discoverer is one of the nine databases featured on the Alabama Virtual Library specifically for elementary students. 

One of the best features of this database is the alphabetical listing of global nations. When students click on a country, they are directly linked to scores of articles, multimedia resources, etc. supporting their research on that particular nation...all with nicely formatted citations at the end!  

There is also a specific link for the world almanac...which is one of those reference sources in which students continue to demonstrate a weakness. 

The real strength of SIRS, however, lies within the maps feature. Need historical maps, outline maps, topographical maps, continental maps....any kind of map? Hit up the SIRS Discoverer for a pleasant selection of maps of every shape, size, and intent. 

Wicked Wikipedia?

Wikipedia (to most librarians) is the devil. We spend hours teaching students how to evaluate information sources, how to disseminate what is worthy information apart from the gobs of goo out there on the WWW. We teach students over and over again that databases are the most reliable electronic resources for solid information, and are dismayed when some simple Googling is necessary that the first results (ugh) in a search list include Wikipedia. Ew. I have spent many hours of my life explaining why we must FLEE from this evil, Wicked Wikipedia.

Here's the deal...Wikipedia entries can be edited by anyone. ANYONE. Quickly. With fact-checking completed only by others who read and edit the article. This is dangerous. I use the example of  myself as an editor of the entry on algebraic equations as an example to illustrate the dangers of such practice. (Those who know me well will get this.) Bottom line: people who are far from experts are passing themselves off as such when they edit a Wikipedia entry. In the criteria for evaluating information, this would be called a major risk of authenticity. For me, (working with little, impressionable minds), it is not worth that risk. I want to fill their noggins with good, proven, tried and true, accurate information...not "Eh, maybe it's right."


But there's no doubt about it...Wikipedia isn't going anywhere. It is a piece of the information pie at which students are chomping away every stinkin' day; so, using this example of the To Kill a Mockingbird entry, let's consider for a moment a few ways Wikipedia can be used effectively when teaching information literacy.

• First off, each entry is structured with a Table of Contents. That's a handy reference skill every student needs to master, most especially when utilizing digital resources. 
• The various elements listed in the Table of Contents can be thought-provoking for students as well. This list could be of assistance to a student attempting to determine their three points for an essay on the novel. 

•  The "See also" section in each entry provides links to other Wikipedia entries related to this particular topic. Again, though researchers should think long and hard about citing Wikipedia, the tool itself can be helpful in providing some varying or even deeper points of view regarding a particular topic or issue. 

• The "Notes," "References," and "Bibliography" section toward the bottom is supposed to provide citations or further research for the work included in the entry (again, by various Joes from Anyplace, USA). The links quite possible could be reliable information, but then again, it is Wikipedia...who's fact-checking?

• "External links" is most commonly where students can find the gold Wikipedia has to offer. Non-wiki links are provided here which, hopefully (but not assuredly) verify the information within the entry. Students should not cite Wikipedia, but should consider these external links as potential sources for solid information. 

• This feature allows the article to be read to the student. This is a tool becoming fairly common on most websites, and is of great use to assisting students with exceptional learning needs or even English deficiencies. 

There you have it. What say you? Are you teaching your students to FLEE from the perils of Wicked Wikipedia, or are you allowing them to use the source within certain contexts?

For more info on the use of Wikipedia in the academic realm:

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/01/26/wiki

http://library.williams.edu/citing/wikipedia.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/wikipedia-founder-discourages-academic-use-of-his-creation/2305

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20071101/042649.shtml

Resource for English Learners

Mary Downey, one of our ESL coaches for the district, shared this resource with me recently. I was uber-excited because this resource is exactly what I've been searching for in the library realm. Colorado has created this website in support of English Learners and their families. Included on the website is everything from the latest research on supporting English Learners to free resources specifically for school librarians. The website is available in English or Spanish, and would be a good resource to share with teachers, students, and their families. Here are a few of the tools the site provides:

The part I loved the most was this section on the vision of the position of the school library in supporting English Learners: 

*There are translated documents available on this site, but we must always remember to go through OUR district's process for obtaining translations for our students. For more info, see your Handbook (pictured below) or check out the wealth of information posted on our ESL department's page.