The School Librarian Reads

 

 After this week's readings, the two things about cyberbullying that I think are the most insidious are the anonymity and the speed with which posts and messages can spread.  In the Faucher, Cassidy, and Jackson article (2015), the authors mention these nuances of cyberbullying, in addition to others like a detachment from the victim's response and the permanent nature of online messages, that make it different from face-to-face bullying. This offers some explanation as to why it can be so virulent among young people (and of course, adults too)—the lack of connection to the person who sees the message makes it so much easier to say things one would never say in person.  What's encouraging to me, however, is that anti-bullying programs do seem to work, at least according to both the Cyberbullying.com site and the JMIR article. I found it interesting that the results of the study discussed in the JMIR article found that males seemed to learn and be more likely to adopt pros...

When I was considering assistive tools that would be useful for students in the school library, I tried to begin by first thinking about the learning activities I would lead with students, and then considering what types of tools would bring those activities more in line with the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The readings and videos this week emphasized the advantages of inclusion and assistive technology and tools for all students, not just disabled students, and I wanted to use that framework as a way to evaluate potential options. The activity I ultimately decided to examine was read-alouds. What kinds of tools could help students, both with and without disabilities, engage more actively with the librarian during a read-aloud? At my children's school, read-alouds in the classroom are often done by the teacher without any visual aids. In the library, the librarian often uses a projector so the students can also see the images and text, but the text isn't ...

 For this blog post, I'm looking at incorporating a headset into library lessons, guided by the Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology. This hardware can be wired or wireless, and consists of headphones and a small microphone that reaches down toward the student's mouth. These are used on a 1:1 basis, so each student must wear a headset in order to use it. Students can record their voices to a computer, listen back, and listen to other audio material as allowed by the teacher.                                                                                      One of the areas of school library services I am most   passionate about is literacy, so I wanted to consider how these ...