Copyright solutions for institutional repositories: A collaboration with subject librarians

Blaylock, Solomon

CO, IL

Leary, H., Lundstrom, K., & Martin, P. (2012). Copyright solutions for institutional repositories: A collaboration with subject librarians. Journal Of Library Innovation, 3(1), 101-110. Accessed 27 September 2014 from EBSCOhost.

Summary

The authors discuss the recently implemented practice at Utah State University’s

Merrill-Cazier Library of librarians performing copyright clearance on behalf of faculty submitting to the institutional repository. The article deals frankly with the opportunities and challenges posed by the new arrangement.

Evaluation

I have both positive and negative feelings about this article. On the one hand, I think the spirit of it is right on, and very timely. By addressing a process-related need, subject librarians at Utah State are creating opportunities for interdepartmental and library-faculty collaboration as well as expanding their individual capacities in the currently vital areas of copyright, metadata, scholarly publishing, and open access. On the other hand, the continued relevance of the homegrown institutional repository can hardly be taken for granted, and the opportunities for capacity building in this area are not especially broad or deep. I do like the way the authors are thinking though, and those of us in academic libraries cannot afford to neglect this kind of thinking at this pivotal time.

Be the Learner You Wish to See in the World: Steve Hargadon

TL Editors. (2013). Be the Learner You Wish to See in the World: Steve Hargadon. Teacher Librarian, 40 (3), 59-60.

IL, CO

Link: http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=85445401&site=ehost-live

An opinion piece in Teacher Librarian from Steve Hargadon, he promotes the use of Web 2.0 tools in the class room, to help students learn more about lessons and the world around them. He also bemoans the trend of the national discussion on education is so focused on teaching and high-stakes testing, rather than focusing on learning. In order to help students learn using technology, Hargadon
argues, teachers and parents should use the software and hardware they promote and provide a living example of how useful technology can be. Hargadon briefly touches upon Personal Learning Evironments, and how they help students constantly evaluate, store, and contribute to the learning experience. Finally, Hargadon explains that by teachers and parents serving as examples - what he calls "you, first" it helps to break down the traditional highly-directed teaching methodology and transform it into a self-directed affair where students take control and responsibility of their own education.

Evaluation:

This is a great article to introduce students new to the field of education to Steve Hargadon. Besides explaining who he is, the reader gets a good sense of what Hargadon is about, where his values lie, and what he feels is important. The article also makes important commentary on Web 2.0 tools, how useful they can be, and how they transform education. Hargadon also peppers the article with potential roles teacher-librarians can take in the instruction of technology, and how they can contribute to the learning process as a whole.

Montessori Education: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Montessori Education: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

IL-Creative Thinking

IL-Critical Thinking

IL-Integrated or Separate

IL-Other Literacies

ET-Inquiry and Problem-based Learning

ET-Learning Styles

ET-Standards-based Education

Torrence, Martha. "Montessori Education: An Idea Whose Time Has Come." Montessori Life Summer 2012: 18-23.

Summary

What future will our children face, and how can we best prepare them for it? What changes in the educational landscape are essential in order to prepare them? Education has changed throughout the years, always with the best intentions, but not always with the best results. Changes like “No Child Left Behind” has led to relentless testing and the idea that the only knowledge worth gaining is testable and measurable; and that successful students are repositories of knowledge rather than processors of information, creative thinkers and problem solvers.

With the introduction of Common Core, 21^st Century skills have become a major focus. These 21^st Century skills shift the role of the child to become central to the process and an active co-constructor of knowledge rather than a passive vessel waiting to be filled.  These ideas are beginning to sound like what has been going on Montessori classrooms for decades; student-directed learning, where the center is the child.    

Opinion

I decided to add this article to the blog because as we started learning about QuickMOOCs and student-directed learning, the more it started sounding like a Montesorri classroom to me. I think that traditional education needs a major overhaul and I’m not sure that Common Core is the right answer. Although there are aspects of Common Core that are a great improvement ( 21^st Century skills), there are others (enormous amount of standardized testing) that defeat the idea of education reform. I am very interested in alternate ways of educating and testing children, and I find the Montessori approach fascinating.