Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out: Kids living and learning with new media.

Norma Olsen

ET- blended learning
IL- 21st-century learning

Ito, M., Baumer, S., Bittanti, M., Cody, R., Stephenson, B. H., Horst, H. A., ... & Perkel, D. (2009). Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out: Kids living and learning with new media. MIT press. Retrieved from https://dmlcentral.net/wp-content/uploads/files/Hanging_Out.pdf

In this book, the cowriters report on a three-year ethnographic study that explores how the social and recreational use of digital technology and social media provides a way to develop many of the 21st century skills of collaboration, creation culture, and self-directed learning. Reading this can provide ways which teachers and teacher librarians can harness the natural draw of technology and socializing towards instructional purposes. We must understand what motivates 21-century youths if we are to create learning environments that can direct their energy towards the fields and problems that face our world. 

Motivating Project-Based Learning: Sustaining the Doing, Supporting, and Learning

Andrighetto, Kourtney

Blumenfeld, P. C., Soloway, E., Marx, R. W., Krajcik, J. S., Guzdial, M., & Palincsar, A. (1991). Motivating Project-Based Learning: Sustaining the Doing, Supporting the Learning. Educational Psychologist, 26(3/4), 369.

CA, ET- Project-based learning

Summary

Educational theories, curriculum development, and assessment are shifting from teacher centered to student centered, project-based learning instruction. Project-based learning has gained much attention in the field of education due to self- directed learning methodologies and opportunities for students to engage in problem-solving and evaluation. This article provides an overview of project-based learning theories and how it contributes to learner motivation and relevance in the 21st-century. The authors note that in order for project-based learning to be successful, the selected topics must be high-interest and valuable to learners. In addition, project-based units must be structured to allow students opportunities for activity, creativity, and interaction with technology. When students are moving, doing, and collaborating, high-yield learning will take place.

Evaluation

This source provides an in-depth explanation of project-based learning theories and how technology integration may boost student learning. For teacher librarians, the discoveries in this article highlight opportunities for co-teaching and unit planning with classroom teachers across content areas.

6 Principles Of Genius Hour In The Classroom

Lester,  Debbie

ET

6 Principles Of Genius Hour In The Classroom. (2014). TeachThought. Retrieved 19 December 2016, from http://www.teachthought.com/learning/6-principles-of-genius-hour-in-the-classroom/

Genius Hour in the classroom is an approach to learning built around student curiosity, self-directed learning, and passion-based work. In traditional learning, teachers map out academic standards, and plan units and lessons based around those standards. In Genius Hour, students are in control, choosing what they study, how they study it, and what they do, produce, or create as a result. As a learning model, it promotes inquiry, research, creativity, and self-directed learning.

LABELS: Project Based Learning, Self-directed learning, Genius Hour

How we can assess in a 21st century learning environment

Ramos, Tara

CA

Barnes, M. (2016). SE2R can revolutionize how we assess learning.  Retrieved from

http://www.advanc-ed.org/source/se2r-can-revolutionize-how-we-assess-learning

Summary: This article gives an idea of how assessment can work in a 21st century learning atmosphere.  Mark Barnes, author of the book Assessment 3.0 proposes that narrative feedback is most useful to student learning and he suggests teachers use his SE2R model for providing that feedback.  The SE2R model can be summarized as follows:

• Summarize- the evaluator gives a short statement about what was accomplished with the work
• Explain- the evaluator explains what learning was demonstrated and/or what was missing  
• Redirect- when learning outcomes are not demonstrated, the evaluator redirects students to prior learning, to resources or to seek help from teachers or peers.   
• Resubmit- Students are asked to resubmit their work after making changes.  

Evaluation: I found the SE2R model to be very helpful and I feel that it aligns very well with the type of learning experiences and environments that we are building in the INFO 250 course.  We must not let assessment fall by the wayside as we create 21st century learning experiences.  Narrative feedback and the chance to resubmit goes hand-in-hand with the growth mindset that we are trying to foment.  It views learning as continuous and makes the point of learning learning, not a letter grade.  It also allows for each student to start at their unique starting point and grow as much as possible.  Lastly the SE2R model need not be only limited to teacher use, but students could also learn to use it as a tool to evaluate their own and their peers' work.  I highly recommend this article and this author to others in the INFO 250 course.  

Great Video on Behaviorist Theory

Jeselyn Templin

CO

G., C. [Caitlin G.]. (2015, September 20). The breakdown: Behaviorist theory [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywfwHL18nFM

Summary:
Caitlin G’s video on Behaviorist theory effectively breaks down the finer points of both Behaviorism and Constructivism by explaining their relationship to one another and how they differ.

Evaluation:
The way she breaks down Behaviorism and Constructivism is very accessible to novices in the field. I appreciate the examples she uses, like Pavlov's dogs to explain response to stimuli, to make sure her viewers understand what she is talking about. By the end of the video I felt well-versed in the basics of Behaviorist theory and ready to research more in the form of scholarly articles.

Genius Hour in the Library

Debbie Gibbons

IL

Rush, E. B. (2015). Genius hour in the library. Teacher Librarian, 43(2), 26-30. Retrieved from

http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=llf&AN=111875244&site=ehost-live

Summary:

This is a reflection by one elementary librarian on her first year of implementing a Genius Hour in her school library. Students in grades 3 - 5 were allowed to explore, research, or study any topic during their weekly library period. The librarian, the classroom teacher, and the students all had responsibility for monitoring and evaluating the process and progress. One key factor was to encourage the students to take risks and turn “failures” into learning opportunities. The article offers a checklist to implement a Genius Hour in your own school.

Review:

In the same way that students were encouraged to take risks, the author took on a new endeavor in starting a Genius Hour in her library. She admits that not everything was perfect, and there were things that she would do differently the second year. The checklist allows the reader to learn from the author’s missteps. I especially appreciate that she revealed that there were a handful of students who looked like they were diligently working all along and then had no work to show at the end of the project. She then offers a practical suggestion for how to better support those students the next year.

7 Things You Should Know About Personal Learning Environments (PLE)

Friel, Holly

Educause Learning Iniative. (2009). 7 Things You Should Know About Personal Learning Environments. Educause. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7049.pdf

Summary:

This article defines a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) as “the tools, communities, and services that constitute the individual educational platforms learners use to direct their own learning and pursue educational goals.” A PLE is an interactive environment (often online, such as a blog or site where a lot of other blogs, sites, newsfeeds, can be connected) created by a learner, where that learner can post their own work, connect with others who share related interests, receive feedback from their peers, collaborate on projects, etc. PLEs represent a shift from the traditional teaching model of teacher-transmitting-information to student and into a student-centered, student-driven “collaborative exercise in collection, orchestration, remixing, and integration of data into knowledge building.”

Review:

Through repetition of concrete examples, this short article really helped me to understand – and see the value of – Personal Learning Environments. 

Self-Directed Learning

Ortiz, Amy

ET

Douglass, C. & Morris, S.R. (2014). Student perspectives on self-directed learning. Journal of the scholarship of teaching and learning, 14(1), 13-25.

Douglass and Morris (2014) collected data from undergraduate, upperclassmen control groups. They sought to answer the following questions: “How do you direct your own learning and how can we best help in that effort?” The information gathered during this exploration helped me better understand a constructivist approach to educational theory. “According to the constructivist theory of learning, students build their own understanding of a subject through engaged activities, rather than passively accepting information presented to them” (Douglass & Morris, 2014). Intrinsic motivation to learn is more powerful than extrinsic motivators like grades. Intrinsic motivation is about satisfying personal goals. When the locus of control is far removed from the student, the student begins to lose intrinsic motivation. The authors identified strict assessment practices as one factor that reduces a student’s perception of autonomy in his or her learning goals. A constructivist approach is ideal for keeping students engaged in their own learning, however several barriers exist. Administration is forced to comply with certain performance measurable outcomes, which can minimize a student’s intrinsic motivation. Additionally, the way faculty designs curriculum and structures classes has a huge impact on a student’s motivation to learn.

After reading this article, I felt I had a better grasp on constructivist educational theory. This was important for me because we discussed this theory so much in class and I wanted to fully understand the meaning of this approach. Self-directed learning was a buzzword I picked up during our workshops and though it seems fairly self-explanatory, there are many nuances that were necessary to realize before I could claim sufficient comprehension.

By Terry Funk

CA 

McCormack, J. (2014). Rock self-directed reading with student book awards. Library Media Connection, 32(4), 48-49.

The Peebles Reading and Research Activity Center in Killeen, Texas is a place where students have open access and visit independently in small groups to work in centers, check out as many books as they want, or research at point-of-need. One of the past ideas they have implemented to engage students is to hold an Academy Awards type ceremony for favorite titles (both fiction and non-fiction). Students and teachers keep track of titles read throughout the year and then when nominations are called, students from each class vote. Winning titles and nominees are reviewed using online tools and also a posted in the library hallway. The finalists are entered into a Keynote presentation and students or authors emcee the ceremony. Students are in charge of the show – costumes, posters, drum roll and envelopes. Needless to say, it boosts circulation of favorite titles.

Evaluation: I enjoyed this program review because the school, Peebles Elementary, has kept the focus on reading for fun. The awards and ceremony are student centered – with their choices for best reads and students put on a red carpet performance. This is an example of a school wide effort with students taking ownership of both subject matter and the process. It seems to have become a tradition and the silver lining is that it encourages reading.

By Terry Funk

CA

Ciampa, K., & Gallagher, T. L. (2013). Getting in Touch: Use of Mobile Devices in the Elementary Classroom. Computers In The Schools, 30(4), 309-328. doi:10.1080/07380569.2013.846716

Summary: This study shows perceived benefits including increased self-directed, autonomous learning with the use of IPod Touch devices in elementary schools. Other perceived benefits included: greater student motivation, increased productivity and engagement (students were able to work at their own pace), immediate feedback gave individuals challenge (competing against oneself) to improve and stick to tasks, and promoted inclusion (students struggling as well as gifted). Students became experts, and were tech savvy (even in primary grades when teachers thought they would need more direct instruction on using the devices, students were  knowledgeable of how and what to do). Buddies with 5^th graders and Kindergarteners also helped students learn from one another. Students were able to use the apps to find their own means of supporting the curriculum. Assessment tools helped teachers track student progress, and work individually with students who needed more instruction. A majority (82%) had access to mobile devices at home and the IPod Touch tool was considered a bridge between learning at school and at home and a tool of their generation. Negative perceptions included 1) access at school does not necessarily compensate for the lack of it at home, and parents felt pressure to acquire similar devices for home 2) parents were concerned about safety and access to the Internet without filters and 3) parents want a balanced approach to learning that includes tech tools as well as manual methods for acquiring basic literacy and numeracy skills 

Evaluation: This research is important because there are too few actual studies of mobile devices in the classroom. It points out both perceived positives and negatives of mobile device use by parents, teachers and the principal at one elementary school. More studies with larger populations and feedback from students over the long term are necessary. The use of mobile devices in classrooms needs to involve not only drill and practice activities but also spark creative enterprises whereby students become producers of content. This study shows that teachers often lack the technology training to integrate its use efficiently and innovatively, and need more collaborative professional learning opportunities. 

Use of Technology in Real Classrooms

By Terry Funk

CA 

Moreillon, J., Hunt, J. & Ewing, S. (2009). Learning and teaching in wanda wiki wonderland: Literature circles in the digital commons. Teacher Librarian 37(2), p. 23-28.

Summary: This article discusses the collaborative experience of teacher and teacher librarian (as well as student teacher and graduate information and library science students) designing 8^th grade literature circles – allowing students to work in four small groups on books (selected by the students) for a period of 6 to 8 weeks each. Themes included 1) American Southwest 2) Fantasy and Science Fiction 3) Historical Fiction and 4) Author Study. The teachers encouraged self-directed learning while meeting predetermined standards, objectives and deadlines. Successful characteristics of online collaboration includes openness, integrity and self-organization which the teachers modeled, taught through lessons in content, netiquette, design, Web. 2.0 tools, assessed with rubrics and checklists and then faded from as students took more ownership of the process. The students made the most progress in the fourth literature circle, and became more aware of their own thinking and learning processes during the year.

Evaluation: This is a good example of using both traditional print materials (books in literature circles) and Web 2.0 tools to collaborate and create new products digitally. The teachers adjusted teaching to help students become more sophisticated over the course of a year-long project – that is so that they would become better users of fair use, and copyrighted materials (citing when needed), and try new tools rather than leave it to students to learn on their own (self-directed learning). Going to the actual wikis, I see that students were able to participate and share new tech tools, teaching each other how they were able to use them, as well as discuss content (characters, plot summary, setting, defining and using vocabulary) and share original creations (such as artwork).