#YALSA and the badging program – #ALAMW14

Linda Braun made it clear – this is a work in progress: testers are needed.  Just go to yalsabadges.ala.org

So what do we need to know beyond that?  Badges are a serious learning process, more about the learning than about the badge.  These are tied in to YALSA’s Core Competencies, with the idea that they will help people get the skills they need to be successful.  The following are about YALSA’s badges (my thoughts on this and some badging takeaways will follow):

• These badges are “crowdsourced” – once someone has completed the work, it becomes open to the public, who can then comment and either approve (“thumbs up”) or disapprove (“thumbs down”) for their work.  In other words, earning the badge is contingent not only on completing the various steps and requirements but on peer approval of the work you’ve done.
• The exact number of thumbs up is unknown, it’s based on an algorithm.  There is the danger of someone doing the work and then waiting… and waiting… and waiting… for approval.  Community buy-in is critical, as is community participation.
• The system is (as of right now) a Pass/Fail system, so you could be 100% on several steps but still not “badge worthy”; once you do get approval, you cannot lose it.
• Badges can be exported to Mozilla’s Backpack, which will enable people to show a variety of professional development badges as part of their online portfolio/resume.
• Obtaining badges demonstrating competency is gaining acceptance in the military and at colleges.  They demonstrate actual skills, much more clearly than a grade on a test does.

They are still working on the badges, with only three available right now.  The format for each is Overview -> Goals -> Technology Requirements -> Steps (what you need to do) -> Rubric and screencasts on how to do things like set up a Google Form are included.  An online forum may be set up so that those working towards their badge can communicate with others in the same position as well as with people either already badged or those who are experts/mentors.  Notifications for new content need to be created so that people don’t have to log in daily (and see nothing there).

Linda stressed that this is a soft opening, reminding us that Gmail was in beta for five years (but YALSA’s working on a faster timeframe than Google).  She also recognized that there is work to be done on providing administrators and supervisors with information on the rigor required and the skills learned, so that people recognize this as a credential.

So, my thoughts about these badges specifically:

• The skills skew heavily to the public librarians and their needs; school librarians might not be able to see a need or value to the work needed to complete a badge.  School librarians have the NBPTS for Library Media/Early Childhood Through Young Adulthood and AASL’s NSLPY Award to help them focus their programs and skills. YALSA is going to have to make a really strong case for the school librarian contingent to make this a valuable professional development tool.
• There’s a w whiff of “checking in” here, like Foursquare or Get Glue.  This may skew the process towards younger librarians, or those who want to become a librarian, while those in the middle or further in their careers will not see them as necessary.
• Many school librarians are required to get CEU’s and without getting state buy-in to make a badge the equivalent of a certain number of hours of learning, again, there won’t be as much buy-in from school librarians.  Some states won’t accept CEUs from outside their state, again limiting the desirability of this program.
• While I understand why YALSA feels the need to provide interesting ways to provide professional development tools, particularly those that allow for self-paced, reflective learning, this feels as though YALSA is trying to be LITA Jr.  Perhaps a partnership with LITA to create badges for all ALA members would work better?
• At Midwinter, the Board approved the creation of a badge for Literary Evaluation.  One supposes that this is so that the President-Elect has better information when considering appointments to the various selection and awards committees – but murmurs I’ve heard are fears that this won’t be objective, that people “on the outs” with YALSA’s Board or VIPs won’t get fair treatment even if they have the badge.
• The badge that was used as an example, Leadership and Professionalism, struck me as problematic on two levels.  The first was that there are suggestions of library and related twitter feeds to follow – granted, I didn’t ask how that list could be updated by people, but I suspect that newbies might only follow the ones already listed and thus lead to a privileged echo chamber while interesting, outsider voices go unheard.  The second was that once the badge is earned, what mechanism is in place to ensure that the badgee(?) continues to keep up with this newfound PLN?  Maybe I’m jaded from working with students who tend to forget things quickly after the test, but…

On the other hand, the idea of badging is one that has interested me for a while.  I love the idea of creating skills-based badges so that students can demonstrate their ability to do things like cite a source, find information in our catalog or a database, and format a paper.  Teachers planning to do a research paper could mandate that the students complete certain badges by a specific time so that they (and the librarians) know what, if anything, is needed in the way of instruction on basic skills.  There were several things mentioned in this session that were very helpful as I think about how best to create a badging program:

• Make the look of the badge simple – not childlike, just simple
• Beware of complexity (perhaps break up a larger piece into smaller elements) and the time it will take (boredom or frustration can prevent completion
• Start small, figuring out what’s most important/needed now and then build
• The LMS needs to be really, really robust (YALSA is using Drupal) and that you have lots of tech support and training on how to use it
• Test, test, test and retest
• Ask the community experts how to assess the “win” and provide peer review

I’ve done one badge on information literacy and it was time-consuming and kludgy.  Not to mention the fact that there were two questions I got right but were marked wrong by the system (luckily I took screenshots of the “wrong” answers and successfully got the grade changed). I can only imagine the work it must take to keep them up-to-date and smooth-running so that students don’t have technoangst on top of everything else!

Maker/Create/Collaborativespace pre-conference – #RUSA #ALAMW14

I was fortunate to get off the waiting list for the RUSA MARS/RSS pre-conference and see what public and academic librarians think about the maker/create/collaborate space trend.

The overwhelming message was the “maker/createspace” was not just about 3D and Audino, it was anything that isn’t reference or readers advisory.  You don’t need to be a coder to be a creator, you can be a knitter, calligrapher or a rubber stamper (or another type of creator).  This is a message that we need to remember as we create our spaces: it’s about the creation, not the tools.  At bottom, doesn’t “maker” meet our mission as librarians, helping people explore their passions?  In schools especially we’re supposed to help students create new things with the knowledge they acquire – and a maker/create/collaborative space does just that.  Thinking about the space is a great way to start the strategic planning process, too, as it will involve people from different constituencies.

One important thing is to not be a closed shop: be open to all platforms (iOS, WinTel, Chrome, Lynix) and allow people to use all those during the programs.  A diversity of experience and resources can spark really interesting ideas.  It’s also critical to remember that not everyone can afford the tools necessary (it’s also important not to go broke providing for people using the space – finding that happy medium can be difficult).

How should you start? Ask the community what they want, and what they can bring to the space.  Consider an Idea Studio (a la Warwick PL). NCSU’s Hunt Library has a 270o Visualization and Teaching Lab (home of the Virtual Paul’s Cross Website).

Final words: balance what the users really do want and need with what they’re told they want and need (by the media, the library administration, etc.).  It’s a difficult process, and an on-going one, but very worth it.

Other pearls of wisdom:

• outside funding, but BYOP[roject] is also good
• Facebook and Twitter are great sources of ideas for what other libraries are doing – see how you can re-purpose their ideas
• helping people with digital curation is as much “maker” as it is “archivist”
• consider putting large windows in the space, so people outside can see what’s inside and get inspired
• students like whiteboards, flexible seating and furnishings

Resources:

• MakerCamp (includes kits and program ideas) and other Google Summer Projects
• Squishy Circuits
• Ice Cube Crayons
• Cardboard Robots
• MakerFaire
• Lynda
• Learning Space Toolkit (especially journey maps)

Minor Musings

Books, Reading, Etc.

• Just discovered Go Book Yourself.  Might be interesting to try to emulate for school, but definitely I’m recommending this to friends and students!
• If you missed this Atlantic article on how Tablets Make It Nearly Impossible for Kids to get Lost in a Story, go read it now.

School Stuff

• We did a Before I Die wall in October… what about using Padlet all year long for similar things?
• I’ve always been a huge fan of Cornell notes (even before I knew what they were) and now there’s Classmint for digital versions.  A “must play with” for me!

Etc.

• Are you reading the Journal of Creative Library Practice?  You should be.
• This video of the creation of a paiting via iPad is just very, very cool.
• Curation’s meaning then and now.
• When you work in a school library, finding focus can be difficult (too many interruptions).  How can you tweak this?

More data links (via) – to compliment the Data Driven post

• Fieldtripearth
• Graphingstories
• Floorplanner
• Educreations
• 3dtin

The missing piece

Just after my school went on Winter Break I headed off to my former school (easier to see everyone in one place!).  They, like several schools I know, are struggling with the question of going 1:1 with some device, as well as the question of if they do, what device should it be?  Since my school is nearly 1:1 (they did a slow phase-in, and by next year it’ll be 1:1 with iPads for all grades) some of my former colleagues asked my opinion and for my reaction to what I’m seeing now.  Some of my answer was informed by serving on the Professional Development Committee and hearing departmental responses…

Here’s the thing: yes, using the iPad can be helpful.  There are drawbacks, like thinking about privacy issues (do the apps track student use? what information is being collected and share without our knowledge?) and whether you’re being forced to change a text that works really well but isn’t available digitally  for one that might not work as well but is available digitally, and how to distribute apps/resources to a large number of people.  There are pluses, like lightening the load for students in terms of textbooks.  Cost is another issue, especially if you’re asking parents to pay for an iPad when they’ve just bought a new laptop for their child, let alone replacement/upgrade costs.  Etc.

I don’t need to cover all that here, because others have done it better earlier.  For me, the biggest challenge, the biggest “missing” has been teacher training.  It’s more than merely rethinking classroom management, keeping students engaged in class despite having a machine linking them to the world “outside”.  It’s completely redoing your pedagogy and revamping lesson plans: how does this homework assignment look if we’re using digital resources in class?  should the class “flip” and if so, how?  what multimedia resources should be integrated to best make use of the new tool?  It’s also about training teachers to help students use the new tool: if it’s an iPad, how are they taking notes (using a keyboard? with NotesPlus or Penultimate or ??)? how are they organizing their digital notebooks? how do they access your downloadables and do they really need to print them out? And finally, who is making the decisions, the tech people (deciding what they think will work best) or the teachers (which may mean more work for tech support, but would lead to better teacher experience).

The departments at school all have different approaches, with only one truly embracing the possibilities the iPad presents.  Another department is using it, but the teachers are struggling with all of the above.  Still another seems to be refusing to really use it, staying with “tried and true” for now.  Training would help – having the teacher who really rocks a specific app or process work with those who can see some way to use it but don’t know how to get started.  More than a mere introduction at the start of the year would help (Genius Hours for teachers, anyone?), and when a major application changes (as NotesPlus did just as school started) then PDO time is not just nice, it’s a necessity.

All too often I’ve seen this rollout done poorly: tech department, plus the administration, decides what device and which applications without teacher input.  Teachers don’t get the training or time to effectively integrate the new tools into their curriculum, just a mandate that This Is The Way Things Will Be and are hesitant (or resentful).  Students sense that the teachers haven’t fully embraced the tools and don’t try, either.  Result? Failure.

I’m hoping that we can change and improve what’s going on at my school, and that my experience can help others heading down that road.  Stay tuned as we move forward, finding the missing.  And, as always, if you have thoughts and suggestions, the comments are open!

Minor Musings

Now that I’m tidying up from a year-end reading binge, it’s time to clear out some of my saved links on Twitter and in my RSS feed.  Lucky you!

Books, Reading, Etc.

• Thinking about your collection?  Ponder Why YA Lit Matters to Everyone and What’s New About New Adult
• If last year’s summer reading list didn’t include these 23 books, perhaps they’ll make 2013′s (or maybe a display of “catch up on last year’s best reads”?). And speaking of displays, do you use Pinterest or Riffle?
• One of my new favorite “what do I read next?”/collection development sites: LibraryReads
• We’re thinking of moving from Dewey to LC in our non-ficiton… but what about rethinking our fiction section?

School Life

• Conversations we should repeatedly have with students: who are you online?  How do you clean up your social media profile before applying for college (or a job)?  LITA’s Top Tech Trends discussed privacy and has some hints to share with students. Oh, and in case you missed it, Facebook does track non-users.
• I know three schools with (or starting) Health and Wellness programs.  Let’s teach the skill of concentration and mindfulness.
• I’m getting a certificate in e-learning, and many schools are asking teachers to explore teaching online; here’s a course template and a post with links to free callouts to help get your juices flowing (though let’s not forget the value of blended learning).  It’s also interesting to think about these oxymorons in 21st century learning.
• Much as I don’t trust Pew’s research methodology, this report on library experiences and expectations is worth reading.
• The introvert/extrovert discussion goes on: how to survive as an introverted teacher.

Tech Stuff

• As the start of this post says, “When I find a really interesting new blog, I often find myself reading six months or more of postings at a time.  ” – so I’m busy with Ebook Glue!
• Why writing with our hand is still important (part of the discussion any school should have when going 1:1 with computers [tablets or laptops]).
• In keeping with my webinar and Digital Literacy chapter, here’s more on how to help students use Twitter to write papers.
• End-of-year tidying? Think about curation. And personal digital archiving.
• Brilliant idea for research/reader’s advisory meetings with students – use Calendly
• Considering 23 Things? What about 10 Mobile Things?

Etcetera

• If you haven’t seen this yet, here’s a great infographic about 12 Things I’m Doing When You Think All is Shhhh
• Just for fun: Shakespeare’s characters as a London Tube map and Litographics posters and t-shirts (via)

Minor Musings

For those about to go on Break, some things to explore and/or ponder.

Books, Reading, Etc..

• Maybe some of Sarah’s ideas will help create the culture of reading I’m hoping for!
• Breaking up (with books) is hard to do…
• Very glad I have a break, so I can seriously peruse these Best Of lists and catch up on my reading! (If I’m really ambitious, I may take on this spreadsheet)

School Life

• The introvert/extrovert conversation is still ongoing – so here’s a timely post about designing with introverts in mind (via)
• Elizabeth’s rethinking rules in her library.  We only have three: respect the space… respect the resources… respect others in the space. So far, so good.  Although the smushed mini-marshmallow in the carpet tonight may lead to a “no minis in the library” rule!
• One of the bigger problems: what do I need to do to prepare the students for their first year of college?  and can I get the teachers to buy into this?

Tech Stuff

• FlipGrid looks like an amazing tool for both reader-to-reader advisory and in class collaboration for online learning.  (via)
• Are you Sleepless in Cyberspace?  Maybe this vacation is a good time to try to rethink things.

Etcetera…

• Doug ponders Age, Energy, Privacy and Morals – I’m a little more concerned about privacy (perhaps because of my age) than he is… it’s interesting to note that many of my students don’t think about it, but when you start talking about the lack they get very concerned.
• For those of my friends traveling, some tips on how to get through the airport fast.  Bon voyage!

Turning off, or the dark side of social media

One of the questions Angela Carstensen asked her author’s panel at AASL was about their use (or lack thereof) of social media in their books.  The responses were very thought-provoking and left me with much to ponder as my school shuts down for Thanksgiving Break.

The first response that made me really think was Kimberly McCreight’s (she’s the author of Reconstructing Amelia, which heavily uses social media as Amelia’s mom searches for the reasons behind her fall from the roof of her school).  At the risk of spoiling, I’ll just say that there is some bullying involved in the plot, as well as a tell-all blog.  Ms. McCreight’s response was that bullying has been intensified by social media – in decades past, home may have been a safe space for the bullied but now text messages can arrive at any time, spoiling sleep.

“Just turn if off” may be great advice, but is it realistic? The bullied know that the messages are still coming in and will be there when they wake up and turn it on.  What before used to be perhaps graffiti in the bathroom or painted onto a locker is now posted not just locally but globally.  There is no safe space, thanks to social media.

It also got me thinking about the not-quite-bullying, almost the opposite of the negative attention: no attention.  The socially insecure whose “friend requests” are ignored, the public posting of photos of parties and events that they’re not invited to, the comments on others posts and photos that are met with deafening silence or are deleted.  Yes, it’s easier to find like-minded people further from home but don’t we all really want to be known and accepted in school?  And I also thought about two kids I know, one a junior in high school the other in 8th grade (they’re siblings).  For a variety of reasons, their parents have severely limited their at-home interaction with “screens” to one hour a day (not including educational use).  The two have to make decisions about whether they want to go on Facebook or watch a tv show or play Xbox or post to Pinterest.  I’ve never asked them how they feel about this, or how it may be affecting their interactions with their peers.

One of the things I’m thankful for is that when I was growing up, during that socially awkward, personally awkward stage, broadcasting those moments and that torment was limited to prank “I’ve got a crush on you” phone calls (and laughter in the hallways the next day) and mean girl graffiti.  The parties you didn’t get invited to?  Only your classmates really knew, not their friends across the globe.  As an adult I have the strength and mental equipment to deal with anything like that that might happen, but back then?  Not even close.

As someone who works with girls going through that stage in their lives, it’s something I need to be more aware of and watchful for because it can feel so much worse now, given the reach (and permanence) of social media.

Data driven at #AASL13

Most of us are not math people, but even the numerically challenged should question this:

“‘We Hate Math,’ Say 4 in 10 — a Majority of Americans” | Degrees of Freedom, Scientific American Blog Network via kwout

But when such thoughtful and challenging speakers as Debbie Abilock and Kristin Fontichiaro are giving a presentation entitled “Slaying the Data Dragon” it’s difficult to resist going.  Trust me when I tell you they brought the awesome and then some – and at 8am, no less!  Despite my “bed head” (as Deb called it) I manged to take copious notes…

The first thing to remember is that it’s not just about collecting data, it’s about interpreting the information as well as being aware what data is being collected (by whom? for what purposes?).  Scientists and techies are not just being required to submit their interpretation of their data but all their data sets so that others can learn from and expand upon them.  Big Data builds on past experiments – but we need to always question the data we didn’t collect ourselves.

(QUERY: if that’s the case, why do we blindly accept the data and interpretation provided by the Pew Internet & American Life surveys? are any of their data sets statistically significant?)

It’s also important to remember that computers can unearth connections we don’t see (or don’t think of to look for) but that they can’t made a distinction between good data and bad data; humans also need to interpret the correlations but can’t assume they understand the causations.  Privacy concerns may be something that our students don’t share, but when our data is being tracked by the politicians, sports teams, stores, financial institutions and others in addition to the NSA, one has to ask the question, “how will we weigh the trade-off between privacy, consumerism and security?”  What are the implications for the future, both immediate and longer term?  Why do we share our data so freely?  An extreme example of the downside is the ease with which the Nazi’s identified even assimilated Jews, based on data given freely to the government decades earlier.

Private browsing?  Not so much.  Acxiom is one data aggregator tracking your movements around the interwebs.  Try downloading and using ghostery to see how many others are using trackers, monitoring your movements from site to site, feeding the data back to… whom?  Don’t want to use the download but on a PC?  Try right click / view source / ctrl F .gif to see who’s hidden trackers on the site.  You can block and control who sees what you do!

But what about apps and tools like Fitbit and Jawbone?  The data they collect from you isn’t just included in your profile, it’s shared with everyone else using those programs.  Health data is protected, but what about our other data?  Target can predict when you’re pregnant (assuming you use either an affinity card or your credit/debit card).  Is that ok?  It may be helpful to get recommendations on shopping sites, but isn’t it also a little creepy?  Here’s a new term to learn: algorithmic regulation, which is supposed to help solve public problems without having to justify or explain by using personalized “nudges”.  Some seem benign, like your doctor or dentist reminding you to come in for a check up, but what about reminders to floss, or take a walk, or purchase milk?  Not reminders you set, but those that come from “elsewhere” based on data input from you and others?  Or what about glasses that can fool you into thinking that broccoli is really cake?

The problem is that Big Data isn’t neutral, mostly because it influences policy decisions – policies made by people who, like most of us, don’t know how to interpret the data they’re given.  An example of this is InBloom, a Gates-funded organization taking data from students without their permission or knowledge.  Decision makers also need to look at both macro- and micro-levels, as data provided for a neighborhood or town may look very different when compared to larger areas.  Infographics may be fun ways to represent data, but we need to learn how to read them.  A good start are the ACRL visual literacy standards, which can be walked down to K-12.  Working with teachers to create lessons that incorporate data interpretation also helps.  We were left with a number of sites that either have collected data or are still doing so, good places to start with both colleagues and students:

• Google Flu Trends
• Captcha
• Health Map
• Socialexplorer (a paid and free version are available)
• Opportunity Index
• Learn Chemistry
• PhotoSynq
• eBird
• GalaxyZoo
• Google Correlate
• Google ngram
• Outbreak (an infographic)
• Duck Duck Go (search engine that does not filter/track – results are very different than those found in Google)
• NPR’s digital trail series
• Prey iPad app

Reading List:

• The Human Face of Big Data (Smolan and Erwitt)
• To Save Everything, Click Here (Evgeny Morozov)
• Nudge (Thaler and Sunstein)
• The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (Tufte)
• The Filter Bubble (Pariser)
• Who Owns the Future? (Lanier)

Minor Musings

Sorry I missed September – here’s two month’s worth!

Books, Reading, Etc..

• Who doesn’t love a good fairy-tale update?
• In case you missed it, my old friend Jandy links to Neil Gaiman’s defense of libraries.

School Life

• A recent project about the Republican Party’s ideas about debt and fiscal planning led me to give my “sometimes, it’s ok to use biased information” speech.  This time I also added “but if you use social media, you’re going to need to verify what you’re reading”.  Of course, as always, Joyce puts it far better than I.  And HT @lbraun2000 for 10 Ways Students Can Use Twitter for Research.
• One goal for the year is getting colleagues (some, not all) to see us as “embedded” in their courses, and much of the work will be done on-line.  This article about feedback will help me  work with both students and faculty.  We also need to work on improving the library experience for them.
• Don’t you love the video tours here?  Think we need to try doing some for my library!

Tech Stuff

• As I begin to play with my iPad and watch students intently focused on their iPhones, I’ve begun deleting that which is not used.  Cleaning the crap makes it just more usable – and I’m not alone in this thinking.  (I’m also working on learning to type – thx Doug for these tips!).  That won’t stop me from seeing which of these apps I should recommend to everyone!
• Research season is fast approaching, which makes this the perfect time to revisit what Archipelago said about her Adventures with E-books. Even better (from my viewpoint) is the opportunity to test-drive some of this with students and talk to vendors at AASL and ALA Midwinter.
• The Atlantic gives advice about the iPhone signature far too many people haven’t yet changed.  Go now and be creative.
• Usually it’s my librarians who give away the good Google search tips.  This time, it’s Wise Bread (so maybe now more people will get the hint[s]).
• Badging is becoming a big thing these days, and I’m inspired by Laura’s blog to consider ways we can integrate badging and library skills.

Etcetera…

I bookmarked this a while ago, and having just finished meeting several parents during Families Weekend, it’s worth remembering that not everyone is, or thinks like, a librarian.

Minor Musings

Books, Reading, Etc.

• Starting to think about welcome= back-to-school displays and  helping students figure out what to read now?  NYPL has some great YA book recommendations.  (also a great collection development tool re: summer orders and what we forgot to buy!)
• Oldie but still good: platforms for students to share book thoughts and recommendations.

School Life

• Looking for great program ideas/tie-ins for movies?  Or just wondering which books will be on  screens near you in soon?  Look/wonder no more.
• From the always-inspiring Ellysa, how Penn State is revising library instruction.
• Got planning time with colleagues?  Maybe this year is the year to kill the term paper.  Ditto the narrated PowerPoint (teaches ‘em good habits for the future).
• Time to remind ourselves about the learning cycle of a 21st century student.  Very different from my school days (so last century!)

Tech Stuff

• Interesting information on computers and our bodies (“We tend to breath-hold or shallow breathe when we sit at a laptop. The computer becomes animated and we become less animated.”)  Something to think about as we return to school life.
• Great collaborative tool: CoSketch.  I’ll be using this A.Lot.
• Upgrading before the school year starts?  How to ensure all your information is erased off the old one before recycling or selling to My Laptop Broke.
• As more schools move to the flipped classroom model, here are some great apps and site for that.