CLRN

One of the highly rated session at the conference was called "Fifty Free Online Reference and 2.0 Tools." This session highlighted some of the favorite web resources found on California Learn Resource Network (CLRN).

CLRN is a state funded initiative which lead to gathering, cataloging and reviewing educational resources online and the establishment of the free web database: http://www.clrn.org/ 

I wasn't aware of this site until this workshop. Previously, I relied on libGuides, IPL, Open educational Resource Commons (OER Commons: http://www.oercommons.org/) to find quality educational web resources online. CLRN is my new favorite place to find free web tools because:

- its entries are up-to-date and thoughtfully cataloged,

- each reviews captures the essence of the site recommended

- recommended sites have rich information and is mostly advertisement free

- provides an area for user feedback, which I hope teachers and library will start posting how they used the particular resources.

Some of my favorite recommendations are:

Household Products Database

http://www.clrn.org/weblinks/details.cfm?id=1002

Sixty Symbols: YouTube Video Descriptions of Math and Science Symbols

http://www.clrn.org/weblinks/details.cfm?id=3707

2 Page Plays

http://www.clrn.org/weblinks/details.cfm?id=2334

Newseum

http://newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/

Flipped

I read a blog article by Joyce Kasman Valenza on VOYA:

http://www.voya.com/2012/09/21/tag-team-tech-october-2012/

The article, titled "The Flipping Librarian," serves as a good introduction to the concept of "flipped classrooms and libraries" as well as resources of information and technology necessary for the implementation of this concept. (Of course, teachers, especially English and History teacher, have been using non-hightech ways to flip their lesson for a long time. They front load the content by assigning readings.)

The concept of a flipped classroom was not foreign to me. I have previously adopted it in teaching Mandarin to adults and home-schooled students. I uploaded my slides and recorded the lesson on VoiceThread, where my students could also easily record and add verbal and textual answers to my mid-lesson questions. We then used class time for group activities and pronunciation corrections.

The "flipped library" was a rather new idea to me, however,  I could see it working quite naturally in school libraries. A video guide introducing students to new databases could be viewed at home, and then in classes, students would form groups and work on search challenges. Groups would present their findings and describe how they used the databases. Practice activities, group discussions and presentations would work as interactive tactics for reinforcing and integrating the newly obtained information.

However, even in the well-to-do school district where I work, there is still a significant difference between the haves and have-nots in terms of technology resources at home. With the implementation of flipped classrooms and libraries, it is even more important to make sure we are sensitive to the digital divide. Our library offers over-night laptop checkouts for students who need them. If we encourage  teachers to try flipping lesson, which I think quite a few teachers would come abroad right away, I am afraid we will not have enough laptops for all of the students in need.

Who are they and what can we do for them?

This year I am working in a high school library as an assistant of a very progressive librarian. Previously a beautiful, but under used facility, our library has been transformed into a vibrant space and a central place of the school community. I am excited to help service hundreds of students everyday, but I wonder what I can do to truly touch their lives. Being in a very academic public school, the school library is a place where teens come to do school work by themselves or with friends, use computers for academic and personal purposes, or simply find comfort in the library ambience and between walls of books. Beyond providing a space and resources for traditional library usage, what else can a school library do? As an unique space for formal and informal learning, what can we do for teens as their classrooms become more and more dominated by standardized curriculum? How can school and public libraries work best together? What are some efficient and sustainable ways to facilitate communications and colleborations among all professionals serving our local youths? What are some successful models of school library which help foster not only academic growth, but also social and emotional well-being of the teen in the midst of this growing stress pandemic? How to work with chronically stressed teachers and parents to support youth? These topic and more are what I am setting out to explore.