|
School library media centers keep up with technology — and keep on teaching
School library media programs have been revolutionized by technology in the past decade, according to a 2007 survey conducted by the American Association of School Librarians. Internet-capable computers, both in the library media center (LMC) and throughout the school, are now often networked to provide access to library catalogs, licensed databases, and the vast information resources on the Web.
The AASL’s “School Libraries Count!” longitudinal survey is being conducted annually to gather data on changes in the field and gain understanding of the state of school library media programs nationally. Almost 4,000 regular public schools and more than 200 independent schools completed the first survey. The AASL is a division of the ALA.
Half of responding schools report at least 16 computers in the LMC and at least another 100 elsewhere in the school, and the top 5 percent have at least 64 LMC computers and another 450 elsewhere in the school. The numbers of computers of both types tend to rise dramatically with grade level, the survey showed, and with the size of the school. LMCs in the Midwest average the largest number of LMC computers (27), but the South outpaced other regions in terms of networked computers elsewhere in the school (150).
About two-thirds of survey respondents reported offering remote access, with the highest proportion among the upper grades and larger schools. Still, in-person visits to LMCs by individuals and groups remain an important indicator of a library media program’s activity. Half of responding schools reported that at least 20 classes or other groups and 150 individuals visited their LMCs during a typical week, and some schools with 2,000 or more pupils reported as many as 1,000 individual visits per week.
The survey also showed that significant teaching takes place in the LMC, where staff at all types of schools spend more time delivering instruction to pupils than on their two other principal activities, overseeing budget and planning with teachers.
Half the responding schools reported spending on information resources (e.g., books, audio and video formats, and periodical and database subscriptions, but not salaries or benefits) and operating costs of at least $11.24 per student, with the top 5 percent reporting $44.49 per student. The per-student median, $11.24, is about half the cost of a single work of fiction and about one-third the cost of a single non-fiction title.
School LMCs had an average of 12,000 books (18 books per student) in their collections, 22 periodical subscriptions, and 15 computers. They had 150 visits from individuals and 20 visits
from groups per week and spent an average of $10.76 per student each year, according to the survey.
Half of responding LMCs had almost one full-time equivalent certified school library media specialist (LMS) — 37 hours per typical week — and total library media center (LMC) staff hours reflecting full-time coverage of 40 hours per week. This suggests that, while a full-time LMS was present about half the time, they typically had only three hours a week of staff support, making that the only time they were free to meet with their principals, attend faculty or committee meetings, deliver in-service professional development opportunities to teachers, or work with teachers and students in their classrooms.
The top five percent of responding LMCs had more than one full-time LMS — 50 hours per typical week — and almost three FTEs of total staff — 115 hours per typical week. The staffing tended to be more complete at the high school level than in elementary and middle schools and in larger schools than in schools with fewer than 1,000 pupils. LMC staffing was lower in the West and in schools serving lower-income populations.
Educational networking and online homework become more accepted
Click here to do homework
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
School district leaders report that teachers routinely assign homework that requires Internet use.
96%_____ of all U.S. school districts say that at least some of their teachers assign homework that requires Internet use, and 35% of all school districts say more than half their teachers do.
95%_____ of districts say that at least some of their teachers are using Web pages to communicate assignments, curriculum content, and other information.
94%_____ of school districts of low socioeconomic status say that some of their teachers assign Internet-based homework, and 27% of those districts say more than half their teachers do.
88%_____ of school districts subscribe to online educational services or learning management systems, or both; of those, 87% allow students to access these services from home.
Source: National School Boards Association, “Creating & Connecting // Research and Guidelines on Online Social — and Educational — Networking.” |
While most schools have strict rules about online social networking activities, many sanction educationally packaged social networking such as student Web site programs (69 percent of school districts), online collaborative projects with other schools (49 percent), and online pen pal or other international programs (46 percent), according to a study by the National School Boards Association. Thirty-five percent say their schools and/or students run blogs, either officially or in the context of instruction, and 22 percent says their classrooms are involved in creating or maintaining wikis, according to the study, “Creating & Connecting // Research and Guidelines on Online Social — and Educational — Networking.”
“Standards for the 21st-Century Learner”
The AASL in October released its “Standards for the 21st-Century Learner,” “Standards for the 21st-Century Learner,” intended both to shape school library programs and to serve as a tool for library media specialists to use in shaping the learning of students in the school.
One of the nine “foundational common beliefs” defined in the document is that school libraries are essential to the development of learning skills. The others are that:
-
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 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.
The Standards, the AASL said, “offer vision for teaching and learning to both guide and beckon our profession as education leaders.”
|
schoollibraries
