Cathy Nelson’s Professional Thoughts

• Reading is a window to the world.
• Inquiry provides a framework for learning.
• Ethical behavior in the use of information must be taught.
• Technology skills are crucial for future employment needs.
• Equitable access is a key component for education.
• The definition of information literacy has become more complex as resources and technologies have changed.
• The continuing expansion of information demands that all individuals acquire the thinking skills that will enable them to learn on their own.
• Learning has a social context.
• School libraries are essential to the development of learning skills.

These are the core beliefs behind AASL’s Standards for the 21st Century Learner. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around them, and hopefully there are many educators (and not just media specialists) doing the same. I’m just glad to see that AASL is writing this in a way to let us know we too have to continue our learning.

Here’s my favorite:

The continuing expansion of information demands that all individuals acquire the thinking skills that will enable them to learn on their own.

Why that one? I love that it is written globally so that no one in the educational arena is excused. How can we teach the 21st Century Learner Standards if we can’t even wrap our own minds around them? This is one of many reasons I strive to learn something daily, and seek to expose myself to the newest tool or site. I don’t feel much like an advanced user of any tool, especially when I read a list like this. But it does help keep me grounded. Best, and one thing I find very comforting in this list, reading is first. And I would say the list is somewhat heirarchal too. Cool list, huh?

Image Atribution:

Image: ‘cover.’
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/learningstandards/cover.JPG

Yes I’m on spring break this week, and I’m just sitting here today enjoying the “nothing to do syndrome”–a rarity in my life! I was checking my email, pitying all those school districts who’ve already had there spring break, or worse (like my husband/son’s school district) have yet to have theirs. Yes I’ll be very mad week after next when they come to the beach to stay with me for their spring break–where I will be working! It will be very tough each day I get up and go to work knowing full well they are getting up to go play. Worse yet, I’m pretty sure it will be nice, warm “beach” weather. Bah humbug! I may get “sick” one of those days. ; ) You know, the “mental days” we all take every now and then?

Anyway, I’m reading through my email and across comes a SCASL listserv message from Stacey, a fellow LMS in Spartanburg School District 5 (of South Carolina). She is looking for help with students using PowerPoint, but that is not why I write! I notice in her signature file a link to her blog!! Blog alert! Of course I naturally cruise right on over there. Awesome blog, too. So why is it special enough to give KUDOS to her district? Glad you asked.

In the blog URL, I noticed it read as follows:

I knew right away this little blog of hers is hosted on Spartanburg 5’s own server, and NOT on a commercial blog site! So I emailed Stacey inquiring about the old one, and whether or not the blog–a Wordpress theme no less, was indeed on the school’s site! Of course she replied:

Yes. Our district tech coordinator designated server space for teacher blogs. It is the same blog but has several updated entries.

This just absolutely makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside! Kudos to Spartanburg District 5. I plan to share this with my district too. But it is awesome still to know that South Carolina districts are forging the trail of 2.0 tools in the school environment, especially since our SC curriculum standards specifically call for students to engage in the use of blogging as a way to demonstrate concept mastery in writing. W00T!!

Now in my reader I had an Edublogs site for Stacey that I subscribed too. I new it hadn’t been updated in a while, but i was hoping…I’m proud to report that Stacey has knocked my socks off with her new site!

FYI–Here is how the word “Blog” appears in our standards–as one of the guiding principle–located in Guiding Principles - Principle 8. Also note I did not even search the other curriculum areas, but I bet this term appears there as well.

Guiding Principle 8
An effective English language arts curriculum utilizes all forms of media to prepare students to live in an information-rich society.

In today’s dynamic society, all forms of mass media are used to inform and persuade. Proficient students apply critical techniques to evaluate the validity of the information they encounter. In a culture where persuasive and invasive media messages abound, students need to think critically about what they read, hear, and view. The challenge for students is to respond to these media messages personally, critically, and creatively. The inclusion of media literacy in South Carolina’s academic standards recognizes the powerful force of mass media in the twenty-first century.

Today’s emerging technologies include many multimedia devices and programs that depend on the appropriate application of technology and thus require media literacy skills: digital photography, DVDs, CD-ROMs, high-definition digital television, Internet streaming, MP3 players, nonlinear (computer/video) editing, PDAs (personal digital assistants), PowerPoint presentations, blogs (Weblogs), and more.

The skills of critical inquiry—the ability to question and analyze a message, whether it be textual, visual, auditory, or a combination of these—are a crucial element in literacy instruction. The production of visual media is also a crucial element, enabling students to acquire and demonstrate an understanding of advertising, aesthetic techniques, audience, bias, propaganda, and intellectual purpose. Integrating into the ELA curriculum the vocabulary and skills associated with media presentations helps students develop lifelong habits of critical thinking.

Anyone else with me? Who else is going to show this to your principal and/or technology department and ask like me, “Why aren’t we offering this to our students and teachers?”

Attribution:

Image: ‘flyawaynow‘
www.flickr.com/photos/34361916@N00/108507291

Image: ‘w00t‘
www.flickr.com/photos/51035597898@N01/2330475408

Picture title: 21st Century Learning Library-Style

Here is my contribuiton to the ever growing meme of our passion quilt. I could not decide on any one photo, so created a collage of sorts to reflect a few of the things I am passionate about. I am showing what happens in a 21st century library, and how it can serve as a bridge to connect learners to learners in this global environment.

I was tagged by Diane Cordell, Joyce Valenza, Lisa Parisi, and Sharon Seslija. Before I get tagged again, I’m making my contribution. Thanks girls! You people are making me feel terribly guilty!!

Here are the rules:

1. Think about what you are passionate about teaching your students.
2. Post a picture from a source like FlickrCC or Flickr Creative Commons or make/take your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about…and give your picture a short title.
3. Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt” and link back to this blog entry.
4. Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network or whom you follow on Twitter/Pownce.

Now I will tag the following friends:
Liz B. Davis
Heather Loy
Robin Ellis
Mary Haddon
Valerie Byrd Fort

Image Attributions:

Image ‘Four heads are better than one‘
www.flickr.com/photos/26406919@N00/279625345

Image ‘Mill Bridge - Tempe, AZ (HDR)‘
www.flickr.com/photos/53264726@N00/355350560

Image: ‘at the library‘
www.flickr.com/photos/35034353562@N01/1035137792

Image: ‘Red iPod Nano‘
www.flickr.com/photos/26572975@N00/268673268

Image: ‘National Library of Ireland 022‘
www.flickr.com/photos/43017881@N00/6822035

Back in early January my principal, Mary Clark, asked me to help her set up a blog. She wanted to explore this “blogosphere” I speak of so frequently, and she wanted to begin with her own blog first. That has finally happened, and now she is the author of her very own blog, appropriately titled “So Little Time; So Much to Do.” In the next few days I will assist her in setting up a reader, and show her a few blogs to subscribe to in the beginning to get her a solid understanding of a reader and how it helps manage reading from the blogosphere. These will also be ones that will excite her about 2.0 tools, show her that there is a network filled with educators who believe in higher order learning, engagement in the classroom, and authentic use of 21st century tools. If you have a recommendation, please comment.

I am delighted to no end that she is interested in something I am an avid fan of–blogs. I have so many in my reader I’m embarrassed to share (287). How do I manage so many? My bloglines account has my subscriptions organized in folders, and some of the folders are meaningful only to me. Sometimes I mark everything in a folder as “read” if I feel it is material or information I won’t miss, fall too far behind in, or will be able to get some other way. A perfect example is my “News” folder. Most of the time the news is easy to get elsewhere, be it tv, radio, or the talk of the town. And my news folder fills up quick. Marking it “read” knowing I can get it another way removes the guilt of subscribing and not reading. I also hear about some blog posts through Twitter, and so mark them as read right away too. So having that many subscriptions is totally doable if you have a management plan. (But I won’t recommend it for my beginner blogger principal!)

We are only just beginning to set it up, so we selected a simple design to start with.  I want her to see that a blog is a conversation about today’s learner. Now I can say my principal is a 21st century learner too! W00T!

Attribution:

Image: 'Mac Keyboard - High Resolution - 4494‘

www.flickr.com/photos/70194213@N00/1973910

Okay slowly but surely I know my presence is being felt at my school. Can’t take credit all by myself though, except that I have PURPOSEFULLY involved myself with three teachers at my school who seem to “get it.”

“Get it?” you might ask. Yes, they get it. My school for reasons that are beyond my control or understanding runs a block A-B schedule for exploratory classes, and then extended time academic area classes-some as long as 70 minutes. This post is not to debate the pros and cons of such a schedule, but rather to tell about three teachers at my school who understand how to work in such a schedule.

You see they plan accordingly, and make sure their students have engaging work for the duration of their classes. Two of these three teachers (Mr. Granito and Ms D. Williams) both teach social studies. In casual observations and lengthy conversations, I know kids like to be in these classes. These two teachers seek ways to mix up their plans, have high interest interactive components to their lessons, and keep the excitement going for their content area. I won’t take a lot of credit, but I will acknowledge that the two of them do bounce ideas off me, and that key piece of collaboration gives me the right to say yes–I am impacting their classes too. But of course I want to give them the credit!

The other teacher (Mrs. A. Porter) has her classes for 90 minutes (one being 95!) Wow how does one manage a 90 minute class with middle schoolers? It’s an insane amount of time! At least in my opinion it is. But this teacher tackles it with gusto, and not only has engaging lessons each day, but being a rookie-first year teacher–is a model for other teachers struggling to properly use their time. (I blogged about her once before here.)

What is it they do? The have engaging lessons with exciting activities. They do not lecture for a full period, but instead have student practice, complete readings, as well as work a fair share of worksheets, but in the mix you will find high interest projects, authentic discussion about content where students are encouraged to express their opinions–and feel they are a valued contributer in class, and students who surprising want to be and LIKE being there.

This is what Educon 2.0 was all about. The learners and learning. I commented on another blog tonight (Liz Davis) about how the 21st century has totally blurred the defintion of student and teacher, and it could well be said those titles no longer exist, but instead have become sysnonymous with the term “learner.” And “learner” applies to adult and child alike in the 21st century. Look back at the picture selected to enhance this post. Is that the teacher or student? Neither, I say. It is the “learner.”

This is a great staff I’m working with, and I am excited to know for sure that three of them “get it.” They understand the concept of learners in the 21st century. It is not about the tools, but rather the learning. Now off to cultivate more meaningful relationships with our students, faculty and staff that from this day forward will be called “learners.”

Attribution:

Image: ‘EZBERİTİME EVET DEMEYELİM‘
www.flickr.com/photos/51886338@N00/2088096239

I read where Kathy Schrock and Doug Johnson recently provided a history or timeline of sorts to document their careers, so thought I’d take a moment to do mine. I am no comparison to those two who are quite accomplished educators. But it does help me when I reflect over my growth. In taking this walk down memory lane, I realize my professional growth has only just started to be independent of my husband’s career. You see he is a retired football coach, so the several moves I’ve made have been a direct result of his job changes as he moved from assistant to head football coach, and then from small schools to larger ones. Now that he is out of the coaching world, and is working as a school administrator, my work does not seem to revolve around where he is working. It is shocking to realize how big an impact it has had over the years I’ve been teaching. But now I am the driving force behind where I work and what I do. It almost feels “grown-up.” For anyone who knows me, this year I am working 170 miles away from my family, but am happier professionally than I have ever been. Some day I will share why I was so unhappy before coming to my current job, but the purpose of this post is just to walk down memory lane, and create a professional history of sorts. Specifics about this list can be gleaned for my resume, or curriculum vita here .

My professional history:
• 1986 – began teaching (5th grade) in Orangeburg County (South Carolina)

• 1988 – Enrolled in graduate school (University of South Carolina); looked into specialty areas like Guidance, Reading Specialist, Administration. None interested me so I chose a generic Master’s degree. After all, it was simply a pay raise, nothing more. I drove back and forth for every class–roughly an hours drive. During my last class, a math methods course of all courses, I realized the library was a place where I felt I could make a difference.

• 1990 – Master’s Degree in Education; plan in place to re-enroll in graduate school in five years when time for recertification – work towards library certification. (In hindsight, why did I wait so long? It could be that I had two children by now, both small.)

• 1995 – Re-enrolled in the Library & Information Science program at USC; seeking certification as a school library media specialist. I was in luck though as most othe classes were offered through distance education methods, so I only drove to Columbia for a few classes. The rest were taken using viewing sites and Blackboard.• 1997 – Certification in school library, family relocated to Aiken, SC; first job as school librarian in a middle school that did not even have a full time slms. I taught two classes of ELA (7th grade) and worked the rest of the day in the library. After one nineweeks, my principal hired a part time teacher to take over my ELA classes so I could work full time in the library. Implemented school news program, created school website from scratch, and began a quest to get innovative programs and equipment through grant writing. Was awarded teacher of the year. Also attended first SCASL and EdTech conferences, and decided I had MUCH to contribute. Since then, I have presented at either/or (and sometimes ALL 4) SCASL, SC EdTech, SCASA, and SCMSA conferences each year. My last three years I was the vice pres (1 year) and then president of the Aiken County Media Educators Association (2 years).

• 2001 – relocated for family purposes. Worked in a high school library one year. Continued successful grant writing, and presenting at state conferences

• 2002 – transferred to district closer to home—went against my heart and accepted a position in an elementary school. Continued presenting at various state conferences, but branched out to larger conferences, and presented at FETC in 2005. Attended my first NECC in 2005 as well—Philadelphia. Attended NECC in 06 San Diego and 07 Atlanta as well. Continued successful grant writing; expanded presentations by adding arts education conference to my resume. Developed skills as video editor, podcaster, & blogger. In 2004 was awarded teacher of the year; earned National Board Certificate in Early Childhood through Young Adult Library Media. Taught several teacher education professional development courses. In 2005 was invited to Nashville to give a three day workshop to LMS’s –>topic: the LMS as a Catalyst for Technology Integration. I worked as the Instructional Technology Chair for SCASL in 2005, earning me a spot on the SC Association of Educational Technology planning board for the annual conference (SC EdTech).

• Presently – Blogger, budding (once again) Podcaster; presence in Twitter (Cathyjo) and Second Life (Bentley Noel). Middle school librarian in new district. Enrolled in Educational Administration program, but interest waning once again….

As I reflect, I have to wonder where I will grow next…

Attribution:

Image: ‘Lane.Over‘
www.flickr.com/photos/45559843@N00/455574354