Inquiry Blog #4 – Libraries & Developing Countries

Inquiry Blog #4 – Libraries & Developing Countries

Library Projects in Developing Nations

John Woods, an executive at Microsoft and founder of Room to Read, has taken on library projects across several developing countries (Bernard, 2008). His non-profit organization builds bilingual libraries, schools, and computer labs (Bernard, 2008). Since its start in 2000, Room to Read has established programs in India, Nepal, South Africa, and Sri Lanka (Bernard, 2008). Woods gave much credit to the students who volunteered their time towards programs such as Students Helping Students (Bernard, 2008). This program started as a fundraiser for Sri Lanka and raised $400, 000 for the countries rebuilding efforts (Bernard, 2008). The movement has since spread with other school libraries hosting their own fundraisers to create global citizens out of their students and support developing nations in need (Bernard, 2008).  Since the time of its existence the organization has opened 5, 000 libraries, about 400 schools, donated more than 1.4 million English language books, published 146 local language tittles, and touched the lives of about 1.5 million students of developing countries (Bernard, 2008).

Supporting Local Needs of Community

Room to Read is addressing many of the community needs. It starts big with the creation of schools for students to attend and libraries for students to read in. It then goes more specific into resources. For instance, on the Room to Read website, it is clear that the Literacy Program high qualities materials of various types (n.d). In many countries there is a lack of books in the mother tongue and so the organization has developed its own set of language books (Room to Read, n.d). In 2006, it developed 92 books in 13 languages (Room to Read, n.d).

                                 Literacy Program Information from Room to Read Website

Access to internet and databases

Many of the countries discussed on the Room to Read website are without schools let alone internet (n.d.). The organization does however, also build computer labs in developing countries (Room to Read, n.d). It is hard however, to say how the internet access for those computers may be (Room to Read, n.d).

According to authors Ogunsola and T.O Okusaga however, the digital library state is sad (n.d). In their article, “Developing Countries and the Need for Virtual Libraries: Problems and Prospects,” the authors stated that a survey of the University of Libraries revealed that digital libraries in developing countries were  in deplorable conditions (Ogunsola & Okusaga, n.d.). This was due to inadequate funding caused by acute inflation and depression (Ogunsola & Okusaga, n.d.). Many students did not have effective information services, and found it difficult to embark on meaningful bibliographic awareness services (Ogunsola & Okusaga, n.d.). Developing countries were standing isolated from global information systems and the internet (Ogunsola & Okusaga, n.d.).

More Democratic Access to Information using Phones

On a recent trip to India, I was surprised to see just how widely adopted the cell phone had become. Almost every-one I saw had a phone, regardless of if they had a job or not. You could easily buy a cheap cell phone and load it up with minutes, or a balance as they called it in India. Some people had more than one cell phone, since they were not operating on a monthly bill. Even the beggars on the street had a cell phone. This makes sense considering what Simon Sharwood stated in his business report (2018). According to Sharwood, in the developing world more than 200 million more people came online in 2017 (2018). Sharwood is however, quick to also not that just because there are more subscriptions does not automatically mean more people will use the internet (2018).

Work Cited

Bernard, S. (2008, January 11). Room to Read: Building Libraries, Schools, and Computer Labs in Developing Countries. Retrieved February 21, 2019, from https://www.edutopia.org/global-education-libraries-developing-countries

Ogunsola, L., & Okusaga, T. (n.d.). Developing Countries and the Need for Virtual Libraries: Problems and Prospects. Retrieved February 22, 2019, from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.87.8922&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Room to Read. (n.d.). Literacy Program. Retrieved February 23, 2019, from https://www.roomtoread.org/impact-reach/toward-systemic-change/literacy-program/?tab=how we work

Sharwood, S. (2018, March 02). Developing world hits 98.7 per cent mobile phone adoption. Retrieved February 23, 2019, from https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/08/03/itu_facts_and_figures_2017/

Inquiry Post 3- Developing Professionals

Inquiry Post #3- Developing Professionals

How can we, as educators and Teacher-Librarians share what we’ve learned with our wider communities of practices?

As teacher- librarians we have the ability to synchronize a community of learning, by acting as digital curators, who direct what is worth sharing and what is not (Valenza, 2012). We can be the filters that make sense of the vast amount of content that is continually being produced (Valenza, 2012). So, one way to share what we have learned with our community is by creating an informed playlist which identifies, evaluates, classifies, and organizes content for a target audience (Valenza, 2012). Teacher librarians are the most suitable for this function because they understand the curriculum, and the specific needs and interests of their teachers, admin, and parents (Valenza, 2012). The teacher-librarian must first choose a platform on which to curate, and then a selection of resources to meet the purpose and/or needs of the audience (Valenza, 2012). The curation can be either to support teacher professional development, or guide/supplement teaching lessons (Valenza, 2012).

Curation can serve multiple functions, as listed below.

•        Sharing valuable information to a community of learners.
•       Facilitating the discovery of valuable Web content (Valenza, 2012).
•       Promote users back to print material (Valenza, 2012).
•       Strategy for building a reading culture (Valenza, 2012). 

Another way to share information with a community of learners, is similar to the way we have been in this course. We are encouraged in this course to take to twitter to share our classmates’ blogs, but also our own work. By doing so we are sharing information in regards to what we have learned and also informing the community of learners in our class and online.

 How can we best respond to the needs of our staff, in their wide spectrum of abilities and experiences, with the most appropriate and useful professional development?

Professional development can be promoted via “participatory professional development,” workshops (Hamilton, 2011). These workshops would be appropriate because they would promote and provide a space for educators to share their learning and discoveries (Hamilton, 2011). These workshops would take on the role of creating a space for discussion on student learning and impact, and present collaborative learning opportunities (Hamilton, 2011). The teacher-librarian would have an opportunity to have other professionals do the teaching (Hamilton, 2011).

Typically, most school libraries had a “Professional Collection” of resources, journals, articles, publications and even technology that could be signed out by staff members at the school. How can we evolve and adapt this practice to be more responsive to the personalized needs of the educators, staff, admin, parents, and other members of our educational community?

As mentioned above one way to be responsive to the needs of educators is by curating resources based on their needs and interests. Another way is by creating a text set. A text set is a collection of texts, both print and digital, grouped around a common element (Donham, 2013). The resources in the text set can provide multiple perspectives on an issue and also unify a big idea (Donham, 2013). By doing so the educator can get an all-encompassing view on the issue which they wish to explore. When choosing a text set the teacher librarian must keep the following criteria in mind. Firstly, the resources must be qualitative, meaning they interpret meaning on multiple levels. Secondly, the resources must be quantitative, in other words consider sentence length, word length, and sentence structure (Donham, 2013). Thirdly, the text must have a reader and task dimension, meaning text matches the reader. By implementing curation and text sets we can evolve from the traditional professional collection from the library learning commons, to a personalized collection based on the needs of the community.

What can you do differently, or new, this year that better support their inservice?

This year, I would like to spent time curating some resources that would best fit my needs in taking on the role of teacher librarian. I have been learning lots in my courses and would like to save the articles and resources I have found most useful, so that when I am in the library I have a reference point, to which to refer to.

Work Cited

Donham, J. (2013). Text sets, deep learning, and the Common Core. School Library Monthly 29(6): 5-7.

Hamilton, B. J. (2011a). Creating conversations for learning: School libraries as sites of participatory culture. School Library Monthly 27(8): 41-43.

Valenza, J. (2012). Curation. School Library Monthly. 29(1): 20-23.

Inquiry Blog Post 2-Life Long Learners

Inquiry Blog 2- Life Long Learners

Current Professional Development/Exploration

This year I took up the role of being the Learning Support Teacher (LST). I am qualified however, in teaching high school Social Studies, so the learning curve this year has been massive. I have undertaken a number of things to help support my learning.

1.     Professional Development Workshops- In recognition that many new LST teachers had been hired the district increased the amount, of workshops being offered this year. My administration was very supportive so I was able to attend many workshops. This included a new LST orientation that went over the LST handbook, and practises. I also attended workshops on how to write an IEP, the info session on the new MyEd IEP system, and all workshops relating to the Fountas & Pinnell reading program. I am grateful to have attended these workshops because they helped me to establish my routine, and set me up for my role. The Fountas and Pinnell workshop was particularly useful because I utilize the program regularly. I find workshops are a great way for professional development, and are easy to find in our weekly memos, which highlights them.
                                  
                                            Fountas & Pinnell Website Resources

2.     District Support- I am one of the three new LST team members this year at my school so I find there is always an unanswered question, for which I cannot find the solution in the handbook. This is when I turn to the district helping teacher for support. They are a great resource, as many times they come in to the school to work/support you one on one. I have called mine a few times this year, and have found that every time she comes I learn something new to assist me in my role.

3.     Additional Coursework- In recognition that I am not qualified to do all of the assessment required in LST, I have taken an additional course offered by the district. Almost every other Thursday I go to the Surrey Welcome Centre to attend class on how to administer the level B test. It is a lot of work, but very helpful in that it allows for the level B test to be conducted in support of evidence for a psycho-educational assessment. At this point only one person out of the four is qualified at my school, and so this professional development will assist me in my role as an LST teacher.

4.     Collaboration- Last year, I was an Early Literacy Teacher and so although the role of LST is new to me, I do have some background in how to conduct early literacy intervention. I have games and activities that I have brought from previous experience. I am finding that having this background is helpful in collaborating with the other LST team members. We meet weekly to discuss new ideas/literacy games. By doing so we are able to bounce ideas off of one idea and fine tune what we are doing and why.

Other Educators Professional Development/Exploration

What are some of the ways that educators and professionals are connecting and sharing their learning?

1.     Twitter- In almost all of my Teacher-Librarianship diploma there has been made mention of Twitter, and its use as a professional networking platform. I am aware that professionals from around the world are using the platform to share ideas, and connect, but I have yet to become an active member. I can see the use in Twitter as many educators gain new insight and ideas from other members.

2.     Pinterest/Teacher Pay Teacher- I have also been told not to reinvent the wheel but rather work with what is out there. As a high school teacher, I had never used the internet to find resources, but when it comes to early literacy games and activities many different lesson ideas are shared on websites like Pinterest & Teachers Pay Teachers. I have recently started using the reading mama. Link below:

https://thisreadingmama.com/

                                                Reading Mama Website 

3.     Facebook- Facebook has a Surrey Teachers page where people are constantly asking one another questions and providing assistance. It is a great learning online community.

4.     Participatory Professional Development Workshops- I had mentioned collaboration, but I do this solely with my LST team. As I learned in a previous course the library could be a place for “participatory professional development workshops” (Hamilton, 2011). In these workshops teachers could share the positive outcomes and challenges they encountered on their learning projects on the use of blogs, wikis, and Web 2.0 content-creation tools, and other topics of interest (Hamilton, 2011). These workshops could also generate discussion on the impact of student learning, provide tips for adapting projects, and ideas for future collaborative learning (Hamilton, 2011).

Beyond The Course

What strategies, tools, resources and networks can you implement to maintain your explorations and development? What can you do during this class and after it is over to maintain your connections and networks, to further develop your knowledge, experience and skills?

1.     My first goal is to become more active on twitter, and connect with educators who have similar goals, and are teaching similar subjects. I know from my co-workers that twitter is becoming a great way to share and find resources, and ideas. Educators I search for will be both for TLs and LST teachers.

                                             Step 1: Twitter Created!

2.     My second goal would be to collaborate more with co-workers in a “participatory professional development,” workshop. This means I would present my ideas and they present theirs.

3.     My third goal for this year would be to attend more workshops in regards to teacher librarianship. I have never been in the library and am almost done my coursework so recognizing that I enjoy workshops after this course I would like to engage more in workshops.

My professional development was based on my current role as LST, not as an TL.**

Work Cited

Becky. (n.d.). The Reading Mama: A developmental approach to literacy. Retrieved January 31, 2019, from https://thisreadingmama.com/.

Hamilton, B. J. (2011a). Creating conversations for learning: School libraries as sites of participatory culture. School Library Monthly 27(8): 41-43.