What to expect from libraries in the 21st-century

Kourtney Andrighetto

IL, Z

What to expect from libraries in the 21st-century: Pam Sandlian Smith at TEDxMileHigh (December 16, 2013). TEDx Talks. [youtube]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa6ERdxyYdo

In this TED talk, Pam Sandlian views the evolving role of libraries in the 21st-century through the lens of empathy and compassion and supports the belief that libraries are more essential to build community than ever before. Sandlian Smith provides examples of how libraries are the hub of communities and encouraging patrons to create, innovate, and dream. She provides a brief tour of her library in Colorado and an overview of the various programs available to patrons in efforts to build a community of life-long learners.

Evaluation:

This is truly an inspirational video to view and reiterates why libraries are essential in building communities of innovation and compassion. One crucial point that Sandlian Smith makes is how the mission of libraries is to create happiness before education. This idea can be applied to educational theories that support developing the whole child rather than focusing strictly on academic developments. If people feel unappreciated, ignored, and unsafe in their environment, how can learning possibly take place? I highly recommend this resource to anyone who supports this philosophy.

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.

Seven Surprising Benefits of Maker Spaces

Brandt, Alisa

Barron, C., & Barron, A. (2016, August 2). Seven surprising benefits of maker

    spaces [Blog post]. Retrieved from School Library Journal website:

    http://www.slj.com/2016/08/technology/seven-surprising-benefits-of-maker-spaces/

ET - Maker Spaces

IL - Motivation

This article reveals the seven physical and psychological benefits of maker spaces in libraries beyond meeting curriculum standards.

Focusing on making brings people into the present moment giving them a break from focusing on the past or future too much. Making is physical and gets people moving, stretching, and standing, which gets blood flowing. Making is dependent upon self-directed engagement and gives people motivation to complete a task rather than having to do a required task. This means that people are learning what interests them and leads to a greater sense of satisfaction. Making uses hand-based activities which gives people a deeper connection to their brain and the development of skills such as visual thinking and problem solving. Making improves mood, giving people a boost of happiness. Maker spaces in libraries create a sense of community and connection which can prevent loneliness. Making “prevents the habit of wastefulness” by salvaging old materials and creating something new (Barron & Barron, 2016).

Evaluation: We are all familiar with the ways that makerspaces in schools enhance student learning and help to meet curriculum standards. It is also helpful to understand the ways in which making, whether it is simple or complex, provides so many mental and physical benefits to makers. In a time when people are increasingly disconnected from others and from the physical and mental processes that keep humans healthy, making provides an opportunity to gain some of this back.

7 Things You Should Know About a Flipped Classroom

Boyer, Allison

ET

7 things you should know about a flipped classroom. (2012). Educause. Retrieved from https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli7081.pdf

Summary: This is more of a brochure set-up, but it still offers a lot of information in a short space.  Educause released this to detail 7 important facts about a flipped classroom, which is when the instruction and the the homework is reversed.  With this method of instruction, the teacher (and/or teacher librarian) prepares video lectures (either original or compiled from other sources) for students to view on their own.  This way, classroom time is devoted to hand-on, practical, active learning activities.  With this, students are responsible for their own learning.

 

Review: While this isn’t exactly an article, this brochure gives an excellent and quick debriefing on flipped classrooms.  The seven points are clearly defined and explained.  The layout makes it easy and quick to read.  The scenario they use as an example is also beneficial to understanding the idea of a flipped classroom.  It gives a “real life” example of how to use this method of instruction. The 7 facts contain both the positives and downsides to flipped classroom, which gives a fair representation.

New Technologies and 21st Century Skills

Boyer, Allison

IL

New technologies and21st century skills. (2016). Retreived from http://newtech.coe.uh.edu/

Summary: This website is part of an ongoing project by the Laboratory for Innovative Technology in Education.  This site provides an explanation of what it means to be literate in the 21st Century, what skills are considered 21st Century, as well as an ongoing lists of resources to help teachers understand 21st Century skills and ways to incorporate these skills in the classroom for student development.

Review: I found this website to be quite helpful in understanding 21st Century skills.  Not only does it provide an in-depth explanation of these skills, especially in relation to the education field, but the list of resources is extensive and ever-growing. It’s this aspect that I found most interesting.  This website is part of a project organized and maintained by LITE, and the list of resources will only continue to grow.  Resource include links to outside website, videos, Google Docs, etc.  This website is definitely one to remember.  

Marlonsson, Snow

IL

Chant, R. H., Moes, R., & Ross, M. (2009). Curriculum Construction and Teacher Empowerment: Supporting Invitational Education with a Creative Problem Solving Model. Journal Of Invitational Theory And Practice, 1555-67.

Chant, Moes and Ross (2009) advocate combining the Creative Problem Solving Model with the Invitational Education model to foster teacher-creativity to blunt the effects of copious standardized testing. They assert that it is administration’s role to design a curriculum thus so that teachers can exercise the freedom to delve deeper into some content despite pressure to teach to the test. The paper outlines a case study of this model at the elementary level. The goals of the study were to shift students’ work products from individualistic/ product-oriented tasks to process-focused collaborative endeavors using inviting processes characterized by trust, optimism, care, respect and intentionality.

This article solidly illustrates its premises by referring to the case study. The ideas represent another way to break away from bird units and add complexity to lessons.

The references used to support the research were consistently old, which raises some concern about the accuracy of the brain and psychology-related research referenced in the article.