A Cyberbulling Video Project

Cyberbullying is a national problem, most people have been cyberbullied, been the cyberbullies or known someone who has been cyberbullied. The anonymity of the internet sometimes allows people to feel as though they can say anything they want on the internet without fearing the consequences. The thing about cyber-bullying is that those who are cyber-bullied can not escape the torment. They are taunted on Facebook, through blogs and message boards, even cell phones are no longer safe.

October is national bullying prevention month and I believe this is a perfect time to start a month long campaign against cyberbullying. During the month of October the librarian can display poems and posters around the school and in classrooms discussing the issue of bullying. In addition, during the announcments the librarian will share inspiring short videos that discuss the impacts and horrors of bullying.  However, I would also take it one step further and encourage students to make come to the library to make their own short videos about why and how we should stop cyberbullying. While I would also encourage students to write poems or create posters, I think that actually seeing a video can have a very large impact. For example, during my fieldwork, I talked to a librarian who wanted to show the spoken word poem by Shane Koyczan entitled "To This Day" (check out the video below). Just watching this video had a huge impact on me and made me want to stand up and stop bullying. In addition, today the bullies are not the only problem, it is also the bystanders. The students, teachers, parents, etc who see the bulling happen, but just turn a blind eye because it is "kids being kids." As a librarian I want to not only to let my students know that cyberbullying is wrong and that it has consequences, but also empower students to stand up against bullies and to report actions of bullies to an adult. I think that this video project and help do just that. The videos will be shown to the whole school and at the end of the month, students will come to the library to sign a pledge against bullying.

Blocked...is filtering really the answer?

I have seen it plenty of times before, talked about it with other teachers and experienced it myself. You have a wonderful idea for a new lesson, it involves getting on a website. Perhaps you are having your students go on the website, perhaps you are just trying to show a video or perhaps you are having your students create new content. But, once at school you try to load up the website and bam...it is blocked. You sit back and ask yourself now what?

The question to filter or not to filter has been bouncing back and forth in the education world for as long as the internet has became a serious resource in student's education. On one hand, the internet is an amazing resource that can provide a wealth of information that will allow students to become better learners. On the other hand, the internet can provide a wealth of information that is not appropriate for students whatsoever. So how do we rectify this conundrum?

While I appreciate that filtering may hurt student's abilities to understand if a website is really good or bad ( for example, how do you find out if a website is bad if you are only presented with good websites to choose from). However, I don't think a lack of filters is the answer. Let's face it, there is material on the internet that is not appropriate for students and there is material on the internet that is not educational and shouldn't be used when student's should be learning. Filter's do have their place in schools, as they can help protect students. Nevertheless, there needs to be a system or a process where websites can be unblocked if they are deemed suitable for educational use by a teacher or a librarian. While most school's have processes like this, they often take forever and are can be such a hassle that teachers and librarians simply decide not to try to get the website unblocked in the first place. I believe that if a teacher thinks a website should be unblocked they should be able to go to the Principal and the librarian, present their case and have the site unblocked within a day or so. The librarian should be involved because he or she is an information specialist who understands how to evaluate websites. Furthermore, I think it might be effective to have a filter committee meet before the beginning of the school year and discuss what new educational websites are available and what changes might need to be made to the filter. Websites that were once considered non-educational may now be used for educational purposes. For example, I know when Facebook first came out many schools blocked it because it was considered not educational; however, now many schools are unblocking Facebook because teachers are using is in classrooms for educational purposes.

Filtering is never perfect. Often information is blocked that shouldn't be blocked and just as often, information is not blocked that should be blocked. Perhaps having less of a filter might be more effective, or it might not. Regardless, it is important to have a clear procedure set up to get websites unblocked. Teachers and students shouldn't suffer by having to wait forever to access a website. 

QR Codes in Libraries

You have seen them everywhere. On a soda bottle, on a flyer, on an advertisement on the back of a bench. Before I had a smart phone I paid no attention to these little black and white cubes. I knew they were there, but never really bothered to figure out what they were. Once I got a smartphone, however, I started to actually use QR codes. I would pull out my phone every time I saw one and surprisingly I saw a lot of QR codes in libraries.

When I first thought about QR codes libraries weren't what came to mind. But there are so many ways to use QR codes in libraries, especially school libraries, that it seems a little crazy that I didn't connect QR codes to libraries before. QR codes are wonderful ways to link the users of your library to information you think they may want. For example, QR codes on library books can link to author's websites or to websites discussing that genre. Imagine a elementary student picking up a book with a QR code, scanning the QR code and finding themselves looking at a book trailer of a book by the same author. QR codes in libraries can connect students to book trailers, pathfinders, websites on that topic, a Goodreads review of a book or even information about a book's sequel that is coming out in a few months, etc. You can also place QR codes directly on your bookshelves. For example, place a QR code that links to the video on the Declaration of Independence, on the bookshelf that holds all the American Revolution books. And don't forget about using QR codes to connect to parents. Does your school have a monthly newsletter that is sent home to the parents? Why not place a QR code on that newsletter, linking parents to their student's work. The opportunities are endless.

Don't just stop there, check out other librarian's blogs or pinterest for some great QR code ideas. There are some really creative ways to use QR codes in the library out there. For example, one school librarian decided to put QR codes on all of the magazines, linking students to the online version of that magazine (Malespina, 2011). Another librarian actually got students involved in creating the QR codes. Students were asked to think of websites that would go along well with a particular book. Students would then write down the book title and the website and give it to the librarian to approve. Once approved these QR codes would be placed on the actual books themselves for other students and teachers to look at. These QR codes linked to everything from fan fiction, to websites on that genre, and even student made book trailers (LaGarde, 2011).


Above is a QR code that links to interesting idea on how to use QR Codes. Take a look!

And here is the URL in case you don't have a QR code reader handy
http://www.thedaringlibrarian.com/2013/05/qr-code-loo-reviews-pocket-videos.html

LaGarde, J. (2011, July 4). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.librarygirl.net/2011/07/holy-bodacious-barcodes-using-qr-codes.html

Malespina, E. (2011, Nov 29). Qr code presentation . Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/elliotel/qr-code-presentation-10390078

School Librarians and the Power of Blogging

  Blogging in education is still a relatively new topic. More and more people in education are creating blogs and posting ideas, sharing lesson plans, etc. However, blogging actually in school, not related to professional development is still  a relatively new concept. While some schools are trying it, there are still a majority of schools that wouldn't even consider blogging. But blogging is something schools should consider. Blogging is a magnificent way to share thoughts and get responses.

 For example,  as a school librarian I would most create a blog that links to the library website. This blog would be for teachers, faculty, administrators, students, and parents. With this blog I would to post information relative to the library, perhaps there is a new shipment of books just in or the library is hosting an after-school inventor's club. I would also blog about student achievements or events happening in the library as well as any new additions or changes to the library. Now this sounds like something that could be accomplished by sending out a newsletter or an email. This is true, however; one of the best things about blogging is that a blog can get responses and comments and these comments are not just seen by the blogger, but anyone who views the blog. So perhaps I write a blog post about a second grade class who made their own stories using Story bird. Now a parent reading the blog about their child's class may want to comment about how awesome the stories were. Or an administrator reading the blog may comment that the library should have a story week where all students create stories. This is not something that could happen with a newsletter. While some people may have sent an email to the library in response to the newsletter, this email would not have been visible to anyone else but the librarian. With blogs responses can be viewed by all.

                The ability to get a response is one of the reasons why I think blogging should be encouraged not only for librarians, but for students as well. If, as an adult, I can get really excited that someone had viewed my blog, imagine how excited a sixth grader will be to learn that other people are reading what he/she has to say. There is something very empowering about blogging. It gives a person the ability to share their thoughts and opinions, not just with the person they are seated next to, but with hundreds of readers on the Internet. Blogging can give students a voice, and it is also a wonderful way for them to be motivated and feel accomplished. As a future librarian I could see myself having my students create a blog so that they could reflect on and post all of their web 2.0 projects. For example, if a class of sixth graders have just finished making an Animoto video on the Egyptian Gods. I would have each one of them write a short blog post reflecting on the project. How do they think they did? What did they like about the project? What didn't they like? How did they like Animoto? Would they use Animoto again? Students would answer questions like these in a blog post and then link to or embed their project on their blog. Parents or teachers could view the student blogs and make comments. I feel that this is a better reflective process than just writing down one's thoughts in a journal. Now students can interact with other people and perhaps think about their project in a different light.

While student blogs are a great idea, it is important that the platform used to create the blog be a safe environment for students. Librarians should encourage students to create blogs using sites like Edublogs or Kidblogs, where students are safe from spam or unwanted visitors. Student blogs aren't just a way to motivate students, they also fit many of the standards set down by the AASL and the Common Core. Below are just some ways blogging can fit with the standards.

AASL Standards

 2.1.6: Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings.

3.1.2 Participate and collaborate as members of social and intellectual network of learners.

3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use and assess

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.6 With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.