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Teacher-librarian as technology leader.

Article Excerpt
MEANINGFUL LEARNING USING TECHNOLOGY: WHAT EDUCATORS NEED TO KNOW AND DO

Elizabeth A. Ashburn and Robert E. Floden, eds.

If a parent asked you, "What difference does technology really make to learning?" what would you say? You might cite "technology as a tool" as a major benefit to learners, such as that from a word processor, which saves time and effort and allows for easy editing. But if your questioner presses you about technology's contribution to learning, what would you say?

This collection of articles is the result of a $5.7 million challenge grant in 1999 where classroom teachers affected learning with whatever technology they had in the classroom. A model known as meaningful learning using technology was developed with six characteristics of how technology can affect learning:

1. Use clear goals as you design learning through technology.

2. Match the learning goals to learning tasks.

3. Design real/authentic tasks.

4. Use active inquiry to have students develop questions that lead to higher-level thinking.

5. Help learners to develop complex and accurate mental models of the content that they are studying.

6. Have students work in groups.

Now, you might say that these are excellent principles for any kind of learning, but what these editors and project planners are saying is that when technology employs this model, technology enhances learning. The chapters were contributed by those involved in the grant, and they present excellent examples of how these principles are to be used. The chapters are realistic, and they recognize major problems that confront teachers. For the teacher-librarian, this read is important because Collaboration with content teachers allows the teacher-librarian to insert three major literacy program characteristics into a learning activity: the amount that students read, information literacy understanding, and the clever integration of technology that incorporates the meaningful learning using technology principles. The transformative power that a teacher-librarian has when collaborating with content teachers to build exciting learning experiences is a major key to success in affecting achievement. (Teachers College Press, 2006. 240 pp. $44.95. 978-0-8077-4684-4.)

Bottom line: Highly recommended. This book is required reading to rediscover the major principles of effective teaching with technology.

INTERNET-BASED STUDENT RESEARCH: CREATING TO LEARN WITH A STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH, GRADES 5-12

Jacqueline Keane

Jacqueline Keane, who has a technology background, expresses concern about the lack of connection of technology to learning, and she describes her journey toward enhancing learning through technology. Like the National Educational Technology Standards from the International Society for Technology in Education, her system is one of integrating technology into major projects that students do--far beyond the quick and plagiaristic PowerPoint presentation so common today. Keane sets up a model that dove tails nicely with teaching kids an information-literacy model. Her system comprises four major steps that a student must do to build deep understanding, coupled with an infusion of technology that she names the CIDE process. First, the student builds a concept (a question); next comes the investigation stage (translated as the research process); then the student enters the design phase, where a product is formulated; and, finally, there is an execution stage, where the product is created and exhibited. Keane's model contains the steps of a normal information-literacy model, but it improves on what many teacher-librarians do not do well, and that is both the teaching of what constitutes design in a multimedia product and the teaching of technological skills. She covers photography, movies, printed brochures, how to add sound to PowerPoint presentations, and how to build a web site. Although she does not discuss plagiarism and the cut-and-paste habit, she has students so immersed in the design and production phase, with the rubrics covering their creative expression, that they are unlikely to fall into the usual trap. Keane presumes that the presentation is the culmination of the learning. I prefer a post-presentation learning activity to cement big-picture thinking, but I can see Keane's point and method as students develop deep understanding because they are designing a major product that requires such an understanding. For those who need students to pursue multimedia projects well, this book will be a boost in the right direction. Think of it as a guide to building understanding through the production of multimedia products. (Linworth, 2006. 178 pp. $24.95. 1-58683-209-3.)

Bottom line: Recommended for teacher-librarians who are emphasizing their role as technology leader in the school.

NEW MEDIA (THE REFERENCE SHELF, VOLUME 78, NUMBER...

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