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THE
TEACHING
LIBRARIAN
The magazine of the Ontario School Library Association
volume 16, number 1
ISSN 1188679X
21st-Century Learning @ your library™
THE
TEACHING LIBRARIAN
volume 16, number 1
ISSN 1188679X
21st-Century Learning @ your library™
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Library Updating Tips
Sue Anderson
School Libraries
People for Education and Gay Stevenson
Times are Changing
Gillian Hartley
How we walk the talk in the library at Stephen Lewis
Secondary School in Mississauga
Mary-Ann Budak-Gosse
Food Force
Julie Marshall
Beyond Reading Aloud
Cynthia Graydon
Wikis and Blogs for Student Learning – Why Not?
Bobbie Henley and Kate McGregor
Videoconferencing @ your library
Deborah Kitchener
ABEL Technology @ your library
Rob Baxter
Moodle @ Maple HS
Nadia Sturino and Themi Drekolias
Meet the Author: Vicki Grant
Wendy D’Angelo
2008 Forest of Reading Festival of Trees – Photo Essay
Student Writing Contest Aids the Homeless
Anita DiPaolo-Booth
The Editor’s Notebook
16
President’s Report
Lisa Radha Weaver
33
The Connected Library
Brenda Dillon
36
School Library Seen
Callen Schaub
Professional Resources
Brenda Dillon
Book Buzz
Martha Martin
Drawn to the Form
Christopher Butcher
The Teaching Librarian
volume 16, no. 1
3
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TL
mission
THE TEACHING LIBRARIAN
is the official magazine of the Ontario School Library
Association. It is published three times a year to support OSLA
members in providing significant and effective library programs
and services. The Teaching Librarian promotes library program
and curriculum development that further the objectives set
out for students and teachers by the province, school boards,
administrators, teachers and parents. It fosters effective
partnering with teachers and administrators, and provides
a forum where teacher-librarians can share experience and
expertise.
THE TEACHING LIBRARIAN BOARD
Rob Baxter
Langstaff Secondary School
York Region District School Board
[email protected]
Wendy D’Angelo
Wells Street Public School
[email protected]
Brenda Dillon
Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School
Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board
[email protected]
Derrick Grose
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
[email protected]
Martha Martin
Lasalle Public School
Greater Essex County District School Board
[email protected]
Sharon Mills
Library and Learning Resources
Toronto District School Board
[email protected]
Janine Schaub
Literacy Coach
[email protected]
TL
V. 16, no. 2
V. 16, no. 3
V. 17, no. 1
guidelines
“Evaluation @ your library”
Deadline: September 22, 2008
“Novel Ideas @ your library”
Deadline: February 22, 2009
“Collaboration @ your library”
Deadline: May 11, 2009
Articles of 150–250 words, 500 words or 800–1300 words are welcome.
Articles, when approved, should be accompanied by good quality
illustrations and/or pictures whenever possible. Text must be sent
electronically, preferably in a MS Word (or compatible) file. Pictures can
be printed or digital (minimum size and quality are 4" x 6" and 300 dpi,
approximately 700 MB and in jpeg format if electronic). With photos which
contain a recognized individual, please secure the individual’s permission
in writing for the use of the photo. Photos taken at public events, or crowd
shots taken in a public place do not require permission from the subjects.
All submissions are subject to editing for consistency, length and style.
Journalistic style is preferred. Articles must include in the body of the
text the working title, name of author, and email address. OSLA reserves
the right to use pictures in other OSLA publications unless permission
is limited or denied at the time of publishing. Any questions about
submissions should be directed to the Editor of The Teaching Librarian:
[email protected]
TL
subscriptions
The Teaching Librarian is a benefit of OSLA membership.
Non-members may subscribe for $36.00 per year, plus GST.
To become a member or subscriber, contact:
Membership Services,
Ontario Library Association,
50 Wellington Street East, Suite 201
Toronto, Ontario M5E 1C8
Tel: 416-363-3388 or 1-866-873-9867
FAX: 416-941-9581 or 1-800-387-1181
[email protected]
www.accessola.com
Lisa Radha Weaver Library and Learning Resources
[email protected]
THE TEACHING LIBRARIAN EDITOR
Diana Maliszewski
©2008, Ontario Library Association.
This publication may be reproduced without permission
by OLA members in good standing. All rights reserved.
Agnes Macphail Public School
[email protected]
OLA DESIGN WORKS
Jennifer Marriott
Forest of Reading Festival of Trees, May 22nd, 2008
volume 16, no. 1
5
Thanks to the contributors to The Teaching Librarian volume 16, number 1
SUE ANDERSON
is a teacher-librarian at
Etobicoke Collegiate
Institute in the Toronto
District School Board.
ROB BAXTER
is the teacher-librarian
at Langstaff Secondary
School in the York
Region District School
Board.
MARY-ANN
BUDAK-GOSSE
is the teacher of Global
Studies and Library
at Stephen Lewis
Secondary School in
the Peel District School
Board.
WENDY D’ANGELO
at Wells Street Public
School in the York
Board.
BRENDA DILLON
at Philip Pocock
Catholic Secondary
School in the DufferinPeel Catholic District
School Board.
ANITA
DIPAOLO-BOOTH
is the Strategic
Marketing Leader
at Genworth
Financial Canada, a
company that works
in partnership with
Habitat for Humanity.
CHRISTOPHER
BUTCHER
is the Manager of
The Beguiling
www.beguiling.com
and writes a respected
comics blog,
http://comics212.net.
THEMI DREKOLIAS
is a History teacher
at Maple High School
in the York Region
CYNTHIA GRAYDON
at Hugh Beaton Public
School in the Greater
Essex County District
School Board.
GILLIAN HARTLEY
is the teacher librarian
at New Lowell Central
Public School in the
Simcoe County District
School Board.
BOBBIE HENLEY
at Brantford Collegiate
Institute and Vocational
School in the Grand
Erie District School
Board.
DEBORAH
KITCHENER
is a Curriculum
Consultant responsible
for Literacy, School
Librarieas and ICT
in the York Region
DIANA MALISZEWSKI
at Agnes Macphail
Public School in the
Toronto District School
Board.
JULIE MARSHALL
is the Canadian
Communications
Consultant for the UN
World Food Program.
MARTHA MARTIN
at Lasalle Public
School in the Greater
Essex County District
School Board.
LISA RADHA WEAVER
is the Unit Coordintaror of Technical
Services at the
Library and Learning
Resources Department
of the Toronto District
School Board.
CALLEN SCHAUB
is a student at the
Ontario College of Art
and Design.
GAY STEPHENSON
is the Research
Analyst and website
Manager for People for
Education.
NADIA STURINO
is the Head TeacherLibrarian at Maple High
School in the York
Board.
6
Ontario School Library Association
21st Century Learning @ your library™
Diana Maliszewski
Our editorial board did experience a few glitches getting everyone connected – Rob was able to hear
the conversation but unable to be heard – thankfully he and I were able to use Yahoo Instant Messenger
so he could express his thoughts and I could read them to the group. Others had trouble signing on but
eventually we were able to hold our conference with colleagues far and wide – all while I was dressed in my
pajamas lounging in bed.
How does our editorial board’s technological experience with Skype compare to the everyday technological
experiences of the “digital natives” we teach? Two of my favourite presentations which give a feel for the
fast-paced and quickly changing technological world educators and students now face can be found on
YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U (“Shift Happens” / “Do You Know”) and www.
youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o (“A Vision of Students Today”).
Many educators are grappling with the challenge of how to best meet
the needs of a technologically literate learning community whose
expertise often surpasses its teachers. Educators will continue
to provide students with tools, strategies, and critical literacy
skills but changing technological requirements will push
more and more of us out of our comfort zones so that we
can meet our students’ needs.
In this issue of The Teaching Librarian, you
will read about the many ways in which
librarians and their students are creating a
technologically literate learning community
and a very new kind of classroom
experience. The future of learning is not
just about technology, but about different
teaching approaches. The future is now
– embrace it!
The Editor’s Notebook
The editorial board and I recently pushed our own technology comfort levels
in the name of progress. Instead of co-ordinating the schedules of ten very
busy people from across Ontario to arrange our usual face-to-face meeting, we chose to have an evening
conference call using Skype. On a computer with a microphone, Skype software enables you to make free
calls, including conference calls, anywhere in the world.
TL
T
he first draft of this column was composed on my laptop while on a
plane flying from Toronto to Vancouver to attend the Canadian Library
Association’s annual conference. As far as technology goes, my experience
wasn’t particularly cutting edge, but for a relatively novice flyer like myself, doing
anything on a plane other than staring in awe out of the window is progress.
volume 16, no. 1
7
ONTARIO SCHOOL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
2008 OSLA Council
President’s
Report
Lisa Radha Weaver
President
[email protected]
Marilyn Willis
Vice President
Peel District School Board
[email protected]
Peggy Thomas
Past President
[email protected]
Chantal Barrow
Secretary-Treasurer
Hamilton Wentworth District School Board
[email protected]
Anita Brooks-Kirkland
Website Manager
Waterloo Region District School Board
[email protected]
Diana Maliszewski
Magazine Editor
Agnes Macphail Public School
[email protected]
Sharon Armstrong
Waterford District High School
Grand Erie District School Board
[email protected]
Roger Nevin
Kawartha Pine Ridge
District School Board
[email protected]
Colette Denomme
H.B. Beal Secondary School
Thames Valley District School Board
[email protected]
Paul Kay
Northlea Elementary School
[email protected]
Deborah Kitchener
Newmarket High School
[email protected]
Jim Neill
Gananoque High School
Upper Canada District School Board
[email protected]
Sharon Rowlandson
Rainbow District School Board
[email protected]
8
Lisa Radha Weaver
I
had a teacher tell me recently she
would never provide teachers and
students with reading passages from
databases. It surprised me to think that
in some cases, databases still have not
become integral parts of our collections.
I do not believe online resources are
going to replace our print collections. I
do believe, however, that online resources
are an invaluable part of collections,
especially when we consider their
depth and currency. One of the biggest
challenges for teacher-librarians is to
have the proper resource available for
each student with whom we have the
privilege to work in our schools and
libraries. Sometimes the resource is
out, and sometimes we saw the right
resource the last time we had limited
funds to shop, but it just did not make it
into our collections (see below for more
about library collection funding from the
Ministry).
Database resources are constantly being
updated with primary documents, science
experiments, current country maps,
videos, e-books, along with local and
international newspapers and magazines,
in order to reflect the world around us.
At the beginning of this school year, I
would ask you to consider, if you have
not already done so, making a pledge
that your students will know at least one
database as well as they know their print
library collections. Plan to collaborate
with teachers and students so they will
know how to access, search, cite, save,
print and email a database document or
resource the same way they know how to
photocopy a reference text.
Our databases even have articles on how
to search the Web better. Maybe one day
an article will be published on how to use
databases the same way, since we know
you can! (Spanbauer, Scott. “Advanced
Google: search faster, find more: save
time and effort with our favorite search
shortcuts.(Here’s How).” PC World. 26.2
(Feb 2008): 128(3). General OneFile. Gale.)
Here is an update on Council’s three other
priorities for 2008:
Member Involvement:
Our nomination committee has started
work on encouraging members to consider
Council positions for 2009. Currently,
OSLA Council positions open for 2009
are:
◆ Southern Region Councillor
◆ Vice President
◆ Mid-Central Councillor
◆ Northern Councillor
◆ Website
Nominate your candidate at
www.accessola.com/nominations/OSLA.
Members have stepped up to participate in
our wikis. We look forward to the growth
of these resources and sharing them with
the broader education community.
Please remember to use the OSLA
listserv as a way to share ideas, best
practices, and to ask questions of your
provincial colleagues. If you are looking
for other ways to become more involved
professionally, consider applying for a
Forest of Reading Selection or Steering
Committee position, or contact me with
your own ideas.
Forest of Reading
The Forest of Reading® Programs are growing exponentially
and the 2008 year was the biggest and most successful
one to date. These programs are the biggest of their kind
in North America and we need volunteers from OLA to
continue to make these programs an astounding success.
Being a part of these is exciting and it is a volunteer
opportunity that you can thoroughly enjoy.
OSLA Award Nominations:
Many of us are privileged to work with talented
people, like I do with The Teaching Librarian’s
Diana Maliszewski, who is the 2008 Canadian
Library Association’s Teacher-Librarian of
the Year! Take an opportunity to nominate
a colleague, administrator or someone for
exceptional achievement using the following
links:
◆ www.accessola.com/award/OSLAadmin
◆ www.accessola.com/award/OSLAspecial
◆ www.accessola.com/award/OSLAteacher
Awards will be presented at Super Conference.
Resource Funding:
While the dedicated team at Resource and
Knowledge Ontario works for all publiclyfunded institutions to ensure continued access
to databases we are currently using, OSLA
Council continues to advocate with the Ministry
of Education for equitable and accountable
funding for school library collections. On March
11 and April 28, we had successful meetings with
Ministry staff who assured us that a manageable
four-year plan is being organized and we will be
included in discussions.
School Library Document:
Kudos to everyone who participated in the
review of the draft document across the
province. At the time of this printing, the
Ministry of Education has the document and
we look forward to hearing from them about
the next steps. Together we have a lot to look
forward to, and a number of projects and
committees to work with. As a reminder of
what we’re capable of, check out “Whine or
woo – which describes you (and be honest
with yourself ).(educator’s perspective).” Cindy
Schmidt. Teacher Librarian 35.1 (Oct . 2007):
p.73(2). From General OneFile.
Happy 2008–2009 school year. We have another
exciting year ahead together! ❚
We finished off the year with our second Forest of Reading®
Festival at Harbourfront on May 20th and 21st, where 6,500
children and young adults participated in two days
of exciting events and most importantly cheered
on our Canadian Authors and Illustrators. Over
200,000 readers participated in and voted across
Ontario and the success of these programs
is because of the volunteers that run these
programs.
NOW, we are moving on to planning for 2009 and
we need volunteers for all of our Steering Committees
and Festival Committee’s. We are looking for volunteers to
put their name forward to be involved in shaping the 2009
Reading Program.
Information on what the Steering Committee and Festival
Committees responsibilities are can be found on www.
accessola.com/reading. The 2009 Selection Committee’s
are full, but we are accepting applications year-round for all
programs.
APPLICATIONS CAN BE FOUND AT:
www.accessola.com/readingcommittees
We are looking for Public Librarians and School
Librarians for the Blue SpruceTM (K–Grade
2), Silver Birch® (Grade 3–6), Red MapleTM
(Grade 7–8) and White PineTM (Grade 9–12)
Award Programs. Being part of the Forest which
promotes our own Canadian Authors, Illustrators
and Publishers is a fun and rewarding experience and
we need committed volunteers who want to be part of
such a wonderful program.
volunteers
APPLICATIONS CAN BE FOUND AT:
www.accessola.com/readingcommittees
MORE INFORMATION
www.accessola.com/reading
volume 16, no. 1
9
school
libraries
from The Annual Report on Ont
T
eacher-librarians inspire students to read,
teach students how to find information and
help them become competent researchers.
And when teacher-librarians are able to collaborate
with classroom teachers to teach the curriculum,
every student benefits.
Board’s policies changing
There is no provincial policy to ensure all schools
have fully-functioning libraries, and, because funding
for librarians is provided on a per pupil basis, small
schools are much less likely to have teacher-librarians.
This year, a number of school boards increased
the allocation of teacher-librarians by allocating
additional teacher preparation time to the school
librarian. While this contributes to an overall increase
in teacher-librarian staffing, it does not necessarily
mean the library is open and accessible to students for
longer hours during the week in every school. But, on
average, school libraries with teacher-librarians were
open and staffed slightly longer, 16.4 hours per week
in 2007–08, up from 15.7 hours per week last year.
Fundraising for libraries
Nearly one fifth of elementary schools report they
rely on parents and fundraising for more than half
of their library collection budgets. As a result, there
are substantial inequities among libraries across the
province.
10
tario’s Public Schools 2008
Provincial funding for library resources is provided,
for the most part, in the grant for textbooks and
learning materials, though for the last three years,
some additional funding for libraries has been added in
announcements outside regular funding.
Ninety-five per cent of elementary schools spent less
than $25 per student on library collections – far below
the standard set by the Ontario School Library
Association.
Reading enjoyment continues to decline
According to student surveys administered by the
EQAO, the percentage of grade 3 students who say
they “like to read” has declined from 68% in 2002,
to 58% in 2007. In grade 6, that decline is from 55%
in 2002, to 47% in 2007. A study conducted by the
British government found that students who enjoy
what schools told us...
“It has been the same for many years now.
Ever since we lost Teacher-Librarians to run
the library program, Technicians are merely
keeping circulation and cataloguing going.”
– An elementary school in Ottawa-Carleton
“We have a slight decrease in time when
the library is open and staffed. It makes
a difference because without supervision,
students cannot access the library at any time.”
– An elementary school in Thames Valley
reading are much more likely to
be “high achievers,” and a Queen’s
University–People for Education
study has shown that the presence
of a teacher-librarian in a school
has a direct and positive impact
on the percentage of students who
report they like to read.
Regional inequities
There is a wide range in spending
and staffing for school libraries
across the province. In Central
Ontario and the GTA where
schools are on average the biggest,
nearly all schools have at least a
part-time teacher-librarian and
many have full-time staff. These
two regions also had the highest
spending on library resources
including books, other print
materials and software.
Reading and libraries
◆ EQAO surveys show that since
◆
◆
◆
◆
2002, there has been a 15%
decline in the percentage of
students in grade 6 who say
they “like to read.”
Students in schools with
teacher-librarians are more
likely to report they like to read.
Only 60% of elementary
schools have a teacherlibrarian, most of them parttime, compared to 80% in
1997/98.
Just over half of secondary
schools have a full-time
teacher-librarian.
Parents fundraise for school
libraries in 51% of Ontario
elementary schools.
Research demonstrates benefits
The province currently spends approximately $76
million on Literacy and Numeracy initiatives, but none
of that funding is targeted at school libraries. There is
a growing body of research regarding the important
role school libraries play in student learning. In one
2007 study, researchers found that even taking into
account the effects of socio-economic status, in schools
with “better-stocked, better-staffed and better-funded”
school libraries, student achievement on standardized
tests was higher. Ongoing Canadian research has also
found that in schools with exemplary libraries, the
teacher-librarian co-ordinates the curriculum needs for
all the teachers in the school.
“Our school library is housed in the community
library on the military base. The library is open
evenings and weekends. Presently the military
base staff look after the library.”
The Ministry of Education is currently working with
the Ontario School Library Association to develop
policy for school libraries.
– An elementary school in Conseil des ecoles l’est de
publiques de l’Ontario
People for education is a registered charity working
to support public education in Ontario’s English,
French and Catholic schools.
The full report is available at www.peopleforeducation.com
volume 16, no. 1
11
Brenda Dillon
The Connected Librarian
The Digital Teacher:
Integrating Technology into Education
H
elping teachers and students make the best
possible educational use of technology
is an ongoing challenge. While this list
is certainly not exhaustive, the suggestions include
good professional development sites as well as some
useful starting points for those who want to begin
the adventure but are feeling overwhelmed and
uncertain.
Getting Started
2Learn.ca
www.2learn.ca
From Alberta. A wealth of information, tools, and
resources. Well worth exploring!
CLN – Community Learning Network
www.cln.org
From B.C. A specialized subject directory, designed
to help K–12 teachers integrate technology into
education.
From Now On: The Educational Technology Journal
www.fno.org
Jamie McKenzie’s online journal – great reading!
Joyce Valenza’s Homepage
www.sdst.org/shs/library/jvweb.html
Joyce Valenza is a leader in the school library world,
especially well-known for her ICT expertise.
Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide
Lots of reading, resources, and tools – a great
starting point for teachers.
Teaching and Learning with Technology
www.tlt.ab.ca
From Alberta. See especially Online Tutorials and
Professional Reading.
Technology Department, Pembina Trails School
Division (Winnipeg)
www.pembinatrails.ca/program/technology
From Pembina Trails School Division in Winnipeg.
Questions? Get your answers here!
ICT in the Classroom
Microsoft Office
Microsoft in Education
www.microsoft.com/education/default.mspx
Microsoft Templates
12
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates
Tutorials, “how-to” help, lesson plan ideas, and
templates for Microsoft products.
OSAPAC Resource Locator
www.osapac.org/dbOESS/ResourceBrowse.asp
Resources (e.g., templates, lessons, manuals)
created by other teachers for Ministry-licensed
software.
PuzzleMaker
http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com
From Discovery Education. Create and print a
variety of customized puzzles.
Rubistar
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php
Make, edit, save, and print rubrics. Registration
required, but it’s free (use 99999 for Zip Code).
Learning Online
Blogs
Short for Web log, a blog can be anything from an
online diary to a group discussion space.
Kathy Schrock’s Kaffeeklatsch
http://kathyschrock.net/blog
A good read for teachers, and a good example of
a blog.
Joyce Valenza’s NeverEndingSearch
www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334.
html
If you read only one blog, it should be this one!
Blogger
www.blogger.com/start
Ready to set up your own blog? It’s easy to do
using Blogger, from Google. A suggestion – if
you’re setting up a class or club blog, then limit
participation to persons you specify AND select
the setting that allows you to preview posts and
disallow anything you consider inappropriate.
Google Docs
http://docs.google.com
An easy way to collaborate when revising and
editing documents. Save paper – have your
students hand in drafts electronically! Everyone
involved will need a Google account (easy, quick,
and free) and an email account (I suggest setting
up a Hotmail/MSN Live Messenger or Yahoo
account – don’t use your personal or work email
address). *
dateline
* Editor’s Note: Double-check with
your teacher federation and with your
school board about the policy regarding
conversing with students via email.
Some boards prefer to restrict online
communication to board email servers
only and others prefer that teachers refrain
from emailing students in any capacity.
QuickTopic
www.quicktopic.com
Think of it as an online bulletin board.
Registration is quick, easy and free. A good
alternative if you want online discussion,
but don’t yet feel ready to blog.
Web Poster Wizard
http://wizard.4teachers.org
A neat alternative to bristol board!
WebQuests
A WebQuest is a structured, online,
learning activity.
The WebQuest Page
http://webquest.org
A WebQuest about WebQuests
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/
webquestwebquest.html
September 27–October 4, 2008
Banned Book Week
Wikis
A really neat way to share resources or
collaborate on a project.
Check out Joyce Valenza’s wiki.
teacherlibrarianwiki
http://teacherlibrarianwiki.pbwiki.com
Want to start your own wiki? Check out
these sites:
PB Wiki
http://pbwiki.com
October 5, 2008
International Teacher’s Day
October 20, 2008
Forest of Reading 2009
Titles Announced
October 20, 2008
National School Library Day
SeedWiki
www.seedwiki.com
October 24, 2008
Third annual RA in a Day
full-day workshop for adult and
teen librarians in Toronto
www.educationinstitute.ca
Wikispaces
www.wikispaces.com
October 27, 2008
International School Library Day
Next Steps…
Web 2.0, from Shambles
www.shambles.net/web2
Want more? Check out this list of Web 2.0
tools!
January 28–31, 2009
OLA Super Conference You Live/
You Learn at the Metro Toronto
Convention Centre
SCHOOL LIBRARY SEEN—A COMIC PERSPECTIVE
Callen Schaub
“If she uploads to Teacher
Tube, we’re busted!”
volume 16, no. 1
13
Library Updatin
An Interview With An Exper
H
ow do you transform a school library into
a teen destination and the place to be in
a school? Recent studies have shown the
importance of creating an inviting library environment
and how it impacts positively on student learning (e.g.
Braxton). Together for Learning: Transforming School
Libraries in Ontario (2008 draft), describes school
libraries as “the physical and virtual learning commons
where inquiry, imagination, discovery, and creativity
are central to personal, academic, social, and cultural
growth”. Wow, what an awesome responsibility! How do
we create an “inviting and aesthetically pleasing space”
that is “safe, inclusive and welcoming” and “offers a
variety of work and activity areas for individuals and
groups to teach, present and learn”? How do we update
the library on a fixed budget?
I decided to ask Maureen Casey, a Toronto District
School Board librarian, about her approach to this
topic. She has had lots of experience. In fact, she has
overseen the updating and reconfiguration of several
secondary school libraries in the Toronto Board. I
asked her what is the single most important tip in
undertaking a library update and she said, “planning,
planning and more planning.” Never jump into
anything before thinking it out or you may end up in
a bigger mess than what you started with and fixing
those mistakes can be very costly in terms of time as
well as money. Start with an attainable goal, such as
making the library a welcoming and productive space
where students can be successful. Assess all the current
procedures and “set up” before changing anything. See
what works and what doesn’t. Prioritize what needs to
be done: (1) security and safety, (2) curriculum needs
(3) library promotion, and then assess each of these, in
order. The assessment stage is critical so that staff and
student opinions can be heard.
Communicate with teachers to establish the present
use of the library. What is the status quo? She suggests
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ng Tips:
rienced Librarian
updating the reference and the fiction collections first
as these changes tend not to ruffle too many feathers.
The reference books should be organized by Dewey and
easily accessible as they are for quick consultation and
the first step in research. She believes the Reference
books anchor the whole collection and should be a
focal point for the library and close at hand for teaching
purposes. At one library, the reference collection was
hidden away in a locked seminar room and at another, it
was organized by size of book. Textbooks and expensive
books should not automatically qualify as “reference”
material. As all libraries have reference sections, it is
important that the students learn how to use it.
One easy and cheap overhaul to the fiction collection is
to organize it by genre rather than Dewey. Display it on
browsable spinners and use some of your book budget
to buy appealing fiction to use as a hook to attract
people into the library. Students will be able to browse
a collection organized by genre (horror, sci-fi, romance,
etc) and are therefore more likely to read another and
another. Promote your fiction collection to staff by
hosting “Books and Bagels” events and describing new
acquisitions in the staff newsletter.
Weeding is important. The TDSB’s deselecting
guidelines state: “Readers, both young and old, are
encouraged to read when the library collection contains
the best and the most up-to-date materials available. …
All materials should be accurate, current, and relevant
to the curricular and recreational needs of students and
staff.” In bold, the document states that libraries should
not be used for archival purposes. Weeded material
should fall into one of three groups: (1) redistributed
to classrooms or other libraries, (2) recycled, or (3)
recycled or distributed freely to the community.
Maureen described one library where books dated
back into the 1960s and others that contained
statements such as, “AIDS is a homosexual disease.”
Clearly, material that is offensive, exclusive, politically
incorrect or just plain out-of-date should be weeded and
discarded. However, she cautions that weeding should
not be limited to a particular cut-off date, as some
material, such as history or Canadian content, can still
be relevant. The size of any particular collection should
Sue Anderson
be influenced by the size of the school, the physical
space available and the curriculum. If you are new to a
school community, it’s good to wait for a full year before
weeding the non-fiction collection. Until curricular
needs are known it is wise to wait. Starting with fiction
and reference is best.
Another factor is where to put the books. The physical
arrangement is key. Clear sightlines are a main concern
for two reasons: for security and so students have
clear choices and become independent library users.
It’s good to organize the library into definable areas
such as computers, silent study, reading area, fiction
and classroom area. This allows the person walking
into the space to choose which area suits their needs.
Maureen likes it when art books end up near the
windows so they can be viewed in natural light.
I asked her about her present school and what changes
she has spearheaded. These included replacing the old,
dirty carpeting with tiles, consolidating the fiction to
one area by genre, updating the computer lab area,
References
weeding almost 30% of the books, creating a silent
study room, a professional library room for
Braxton, Barbara (2008
teachers, and a book processing room, and
February). The teacherexpanding the classroom area by decreasing
librarian as literacy leader.
the shelving for Dewey books by using wall
Teacher Librarian,
shelves. The last change was creating a relaxing
[35(3)], 22–26.
reading area with leather couches, wing back
chairs and a leather ottoman. This has become
Toronto District School
a favourite spot for staff and students alike to Board. (2006). Developing
relax, read magazines and books. Two walls School Library Collections: a
were faced with brick veneer to create a
Community Guide [Brochure].
cozy, restful nook. As Lisa Wilson points
Toronto, ON: Tim Gauntley.
out in an article describing the opening
of a brand new school library, “Consider
(2008). Together for Learning:
the comfort of your patrons. Soft seating
Transforming School Libraries
sofas and chairs create a welcome reading
in Ontario (Draft).
retreat.”
Wilson, Lisa (2007). Bringing
Finally, some last words of advice: “The
vision to practice: planning
essential element in all library updates is to
and provisioning the new
use your professional judgment to help the
library resources centre.
library play an indispensable role in staff
Towards a 21st -Century
and students’ quest for success.”
School Library Media Program.
volume 16, no. 1
15
ei
FALL 2008
EDUCATION INSTITUTE
Welcome back to a new school year!
Looking for some new ideas and fresh thinking to stimulate your library
program?
5 Easy YA Programs You Can Use Now!
Monday September 15th at 3:00 pm ET
RoseMary Honnold, is the creator of See YA Around (www.cplrmh.com) and
the author of 101+ Teen Programs That Work, More Teen Programs That Work,
The Teen Readers Advisor, and Get Connected: Tech Programs for Teens.
Write What You Know – Write What You Love
Thursday, September 25th at 3:00 pm ET
Faye Reineberg Holt, Canadian author
How do new writers get started in their craft? How do they grapple with
“writer’s block”? Find out how to aspire young writers.
Creative Commons (CC) Copyright Alternative?
Tuesday, October 28th at 1:00 pm ET
Michael Sauers, Technology Innovation Librarian for the Nebraska Library
Commission
Hear about the principles of Creative Commons and how to use CC to find
material that you can legally reuse in the creation of new content.
The Twitch Generation and Jacqueline Guest
Thursday, October 30th at 3:00 pm ET
Jacqueline Guest, Canadian YA author
Learn where her ideas come from and how her books materialize.
Recent Trends in Digital Licensing
Thursday, November 6th at 1:00 pm ET
Dr. Tom Lipinski
Professor Lipinski speaks on various topics within the areas of information law
and policy, especially copyright, free speech and privacy issues.
Shaking up Shakespeare:
Contemporary and Classic Young Adult Literature
Monday, November 10th at 2:00pm ET
Shannon Babcock, Babar Books, Montreal
Discover new editions of older classics! Discover connections between old and
new favourite titles! And discover new books for YA readers!
Introduction to Media Literacy for School Library Teachers
Monday, December 1st at 2:00 pm ET
Belinha De Abreu, Media Literacy Educator
Today’s digital environment offers exciting opportunities to make media
literacy connections in a variety of curriculum content areas.
And check out RA in a Day – the face-to-face workshop in Toronto. This year
encompasses Readers’ Advisory for teens, and highlights Diana Tixier Herald,
and Canadian author Helen Humphries. Friday, October 24th.
Talk to your colleagues – learn together! The price is the same for one or
for 20 at the same site!
New this Fall! EI-to-go!
Have a wonderful fall,
Liz Kerr, OLA Education Director
To register or for more information visit
www.educationinstitute.ca
16
TL Professional
Challenging Silence,
Challenging Censorship:
Inclusive Resources,
Strategies and
Policy Directives for
Addressing Bisexual,
Gay, Lesbian, TransIdentified and TwoSpirited Realities in
School and Public
Libraries
Alvin Schrader and
Kristopher Wells
2007
0889893608
The subtitle of Challenging
Silence, Challenging
Censorship says it all. Part
I, “Ethical and Legislative
Framework for Social Justice
Advocacy in Schools and
Libraries,” provides a vitally
important Canadian
framework for these
efforts. Part II is
a list of selected
educational resources,
again with a Canadian
focus. This Canadian
content distinguishes
this book from others
on the topic, making
it a valuable resource for
Canadians in both school
and public libraries as well as
all Canadian educators.
Schrader and Wells have
written an important and
useful book, one that
is essential reading for
everyone involved with
the education of children
and teens, especially
school and public
librarians. Challenging
Silence, Challenging
Censorship is an
essential purchase for
all school and public
library collections.
NOTE: This title is
a publication of the
Canadian Teachers’
Federation and is available
from the CTF, not the
OLAStore.
Toward a 21st-Century
School Library
Media Program
Esther Rosenfeld and
David V. Loertscher, editors
2007
9780810860315
Toward a 21st-Century
School Library Media
Program is a collection of
articles previously published
in Teacher Librarian and
VOYA. Edited by David
Loertscher and OLA’s very
own Esther Rosenfeld, these
articles are by some of the
leading figures in school
librarianship. The articles are
organized into
seven sections:
Collaboration;
Curriculum
Design and
Assessment;
Technology
Integration;
21st-Century
Skills; Literacy
and Reading; Partnerships;
and Issues and Management.
The first part of each title
is “Learning Leadership,”
which can be read two ways.
Teacher-librarians provide
leadership in learning, but
these articles will also help
teacher-librarians learn
leadership.
Teacher-librarians to whom
these articles are
new will find this
collection very
useful indeed,
but even teacherlibrarians
who have easy
access to both
journals will find
this collection
convenient. Any
Resources
teacher-librarian ready to
move beyond mere survival
will find Toward a 21stCentury School Library
Media Program a stimulating
and inspiring professional
development tool. This
collection would make an
excellent text for the School
Librarianship AQ Specialist
course.
A necessary purchase
for district professional
collections – and vital
reading for all teacherlibrarians.
Integrating Literacy and
Technology: Effective
Practice for Grades K–6
Susan Watts Taffe and
Carolyn B. Gwinn
2007
9781593854522
In Integrating Literacy and
Technology, Watts Taffe
and Gwinn deliver exactly
what the title promises. The
authors view technology
as a tool which, when used
effectively, can enrich literacy
instruction and improve
student learning. The authors
combine theory and practice,
covering topics such as
the learning environment,
effective technology
integration, integration
planning, effective teaching
with technology,
using assessment
to inform decision
making, the teacher
as change agent,
and the impact
of technology on
teachers.
This approach
makes Integrating
Literacy and Technology
a powerful professional
development tool for both
new and experienced
teachers. While individual
teachers (and teacherlibrarians) will certainly
benefit from reading this
book, the authors
make clear that the
most powerful way
to use Integrating
Technology for
professional
development
is to read and
discuss it with
colleagues, working
collaboratively to integrate
literacy and technology
in classrooms (and school
libraries).
Essential reading for
K–6 teachers, elementary
principals, literacy
consultants, and board
administrators responsible
for curriculum/program
AND ICT. An indispensable
purchase for district
professional collections.
When possible, individual
copies should be provided
for interested teachers
to facilitate professional
reading/study groups.
Internet-Based
Student Research:
Creating to Learn with a
Step-by-Step Approach,
Grades 5–12
Brenda Dillon
She puts it all together in
an approach she calls the
“Creating to Learn” method.
Specifically, she’s developed a
four-stage approach
to Internetbased learning
called the CIDE
Process: Concept,
Investigation,
Design, and
Execution. InternetBased Student
Research introduces
and explains this process and
grounds it in learning theory.
Teachers and teacherlibrarians interested in
integrating technology
into better learning
experiences for students
will find Internet-Based
Student Research of both
philosophical and practical
use. High schools offering
interdisciplinary studies
courses will find it especially
useful.
Highly recommended
Should also be purchased
for school-level professional
collections where warranted
by local interest.
Podcasting at School
Jacqueline Keane
2006
9781586832094
Kristin Fontichiaro
2008
9781591585879
Keane’s work
combines
information
literacy, technology
integration, critical
thinking, constructivist projectbased inquiry
learning, authentic
assessment, accountability
(for both students and
teachers), multiple
intelligences, and more.
Podcasting at School is
divided into two parts:
Podcasting Basics and Ideas
for Teaching and Learning
with Podcasting.
Fontichiaro begins Part
I with an explanation
of Web 2.0 and a
definition of podcasting
and goes on to explain
how to create and
publish podcasts
and get started on
podcasting at school. Part
II includes lessons and
projects – lots of ideas for
using podcasts to enrich
learning. Fontichiaro also has
a Podcasting at School wiki
(http://podcastingatschool.
seedwiki.com), which serves
as an online companion to
this book.
Fontichiaro writes for a
general audience – teachers
and teacher-librarians
reasonably comfortable with
computer technology, but
who are not ICT experts.
Podcasting at School is
a practical, easy-to-read
manual for anyone interested
in educational podcasting.
Highly recommended
Purchase for school-level
professional collections
where warranted by local
interest.
Handheld Computers
in Schools and Media
Centers
Ann Bell
2007
9781586832124
Ann Bell has no doubt that
handheld computing devices
can be integrated into
education to the benefit of
all concerned, and she has
written a comprehensive
guide on the topic. Handheld
Computers in Schools and
Media Centers is divided into
13 chapters: Using Handheld
Devices to Meet
National and
State Standards;
Selecting Hardware
for eBooks,
eAudio, eVideo,
and Podcasting;
Selecting
Software for the
volume 16, no. 1
17
TL Professional Resources
Handheld Device; Locating
and Downloading Online
eBooks; Accessing Websites
on Handheld Computers;
Writing eBooks and Notes;
Circulating eBooks and
eAudiobooks;
Utilizing and
Preparing
eAudio; Utilizing
and Preparing
Podcasts; Locating
and Downloading
eVideos and
Vodcasts; Digital
Media Copyright
Issues; Incorporating eBooks,
eAudio, eVideo, and Podcasts
into the Curriculum; and
Record Keeping on Handheld
Devices. Canadian readers
will have to do some
supplemental research and
reading as the educational
standards to which Bell
refers are American, as
is the copyright law she
references. Although it’s
reasonable to expect that
anyone investigating the use
of handheld computers in
education will be reasonably
comfortable with computers,
Bell does write for a general
audience – readers need
not be ICT specialists.
Bell certainly presents an
interesting alternative to
banning personal electronic
devices from schools.
Handheld
Computers is highly
recommended
reading for anyone
involved in
integrating handheld
computing devices
into schools and
school libraries.
18
101+ Great Ideas for Teen
Library Web Sites
Miranda Doyle
2007
9781555705930
101+ Great Ideas for
Teen Library Web Sites
is an excellent guide
to creating school and
public library websites
teens will actually use.
Although Doyle does
suggest some programs
and shortcuts, she
doesn’t focus on the
technical aspects of website
creation – that is, this isn’t a
guide to HTML or website
creation software. Instead,
she focuses on design and
content. 101+ Great
Ideas is divided into
six parts: Essential
Website Know-How;
Communication;
Information;
Imagination,
Inventiveness,
and Ingenuity;
Tech Companion
Pages; and Help Pages: 101+
Great Ideas for Teen Library
Websites. Doyle covers
the gamut, from a basic
website that provides static
information about the library
to an interactive website that
makes use of a variety of Web
2.0 tools.
district collection is difficult,
then teacher-librarians
interested in website
development should consider
buying school copies.
Get Connected: Tech
Programs for Teens
RoseMary Honnold
2007
9781555706135
Get Connected: Tech
Programs for Teens
provides lots of interesting
– and field-tested – ideas
for tech-themed library
programs. Part I covers
recreational programs,
including gaming, creating an
interactive Internet presence,
audiobooks and
music, art and film,
and reading. Part II
covers educational
programs, including
resource instruction
(e.g. databases),
technology
instruction e.g. social
networking), and
special audiences (e.g. ESL
students). Part III deals with
programs for Teen Advisory
Groups. Honnold also
includes several appendices
with useful information.
Although a few school
libraries are used as
examples, Get Connected
is
focused on public library
Any teacher-librarian
programming.
involved in the
These programs
development of a
school library website are probably not
practical in a school
will find ideas and
setting, although
inspiration in these
teacher-librarians
pages even though,
might well be able
realistically, many
to adapt some of
of Doyle’s ideas will
the ideas. Teacherprobably be unrealistic in
librarians in shared
school settings.
school/public libraries will
find lots of ideas here for
An essential purchase
partnerships with their public
for district professional
collections. If easy access to a library colleagues.
Because Get Connected is
so public-library oriented,
interested teacher-librarians
might want to try borrowing
copies from their local
public library systems rather
than purchasing copies.
Optional purchase for district
Library 2.0 and Beyond:
Innovative Technologies
and Tomorrow’s User
Nancy Courtney, ed.
2007
9781591585374
Library 2.0 and Beyond is a
collection of articles about the
role Web 2.0 tools can play
in libraries. Topics covered
include blogs and wikis,
social networking and tagging
technologies, folksonomies,
podcasting, gaming, digital
storytelling, Web 2.0
catalogues, and virtual reality
libraries.
Most of the contributors
are academic librarians. The
rest are public librarians and
library consultants. None of
the contributors are school
librarians. As a result, while
Library 2.0 and Beyond is
fascinating reading, it’s not
really applicable to school
libraries. On the other hand,
if a school board is actually
willing to give teacherlibrarians the freedom to
explore the use of Web
2.0 tools, then this
book would be highly
recommended reading
for that group.
Optional purchase for
district professional
collections.
Food Force
The Computer Game That Teaches Students About World Hunger
Julie Marshall
T
he United Nations World Food Programme
(www.wfp.org) has created Food Force (www.
food-force.com), a game developed specifically
to help children between eight and 16 years of age learn
more about the fight against world hunger, as well as
the importance of humanitarian aid.
4. Locate and Dispatch: solving the jigsaw puzzle of
food logistics, against the clock.
5. The Food Run: a series of mini-challenges along a
convoy-style drive to the feeding camp.
6. Future Farming: “Sim City” in Sheylan, using food
aid to help the island get back on its feet.
Available in 11 languages, Food Force is a free Internet
download from its dedicated website. It has quickly
become an international success, with over six million
copies in circulation across the globe to date.
At the end of each mission, the WFP characters present
feedback on the player’s performance and encourage
repeat play where necessary. When players complete all
six missions, the game is over and they can submit their
scores to an international high score database on the
dedicated Food Force website and compare with other
players around the world.
Food Force opens with a full-screen video sequence
where the player is briefed on a hunger crisis affecting
the fictitious island of Sheylan. The WFP Food Force
team appears as a set of animated characters that help
guide the player through the game.
Delivering food aid often involves a complex series
of tasks. Before each mission begins, the player is
presented with an educational video segment about the
reality of the WFP’s work in the field, allowing them to
learn and understand how the WFP responds to actual
food emergencies. It shows where food originates, its
nutritional breakdown and how it is delivered. Then, it’s
the player’s turn to take up the mission challenge, with
each one reflecting a key element of the food delivery
process, from emergency response to building longterm food security for a community.
In addition, the site provides information on the WFP’s
recent work, teacher packs and other ways for children
to get involved with the WFP. The game is designed
to run on a standard PC or Apple and features 3Danimated movie sequences to ensure a rich multimedia
experience.
When you’ve played the game from start to finish, it’s
hard not to get caught up in the urgency of its message.
By the end of it, you want to do something to help the
hungry, and that’s where the website comes in useful
again. Students and teachers alike
For further information, please
can find ideas on how to help, and
contact Julie Marshall:
update themselves on the World Food
905-818-2664 or
Programme’s global challenge.
[email protected].
The six missions are:
1. Air Surveillance: a classic “find-‘em” game,
involving piloting a helicopter to count hungry
people, all timed against the clock.
2. Energy Packs: a
combination guessing
game to create a
balanced diet with
limited funds.
3. Air Drop: a cargo
plane drops food into
the crisis zone, with
the playability of a
classic golf game.
volume 16, no. 1
19
T
Gillian Hartley
IMES ARE
A
s I reflect fondly on my childhood memories
of school, I recall being taught subjects such as
reading, writing and math. We also had science
and social studies, history and geography as well as
music, art and gym. Nowhere in my memories do I
recall being taught “character,” at least not at school.
In those days, characters at school were people or
animals in a book who we wrote about in our book
reports. I remember some of my favourites were
characters named Shane, Madeleine De Vercheres and
Johnny Tremain. Today character takes on a whole new
meaning. Yes, we still teach characters in books, but
character education has come to the forefront in our
curriculum.
Suggested Titles
Growing up, I learned my
I Like Myself. Karen Beaumont. (2004). values and morals from home,
Franklin Fibs. Paulette Bourgeois. (1991).from my peers and through
Fly Away Home. Eve Bunting. (1991).
my Sunday school lessons. My
A Circle Of Friends. Giora Carmi. (2003). teachers would also instill these
Princess SmartyPants.
important lessons and indirectly
Babette Cole. (1986).
taught me these values through
The Golden Rule. Ilene Cooper. (2007). literature studies, but I never
ella takes the cake.
recall having formal “character”
Carmella & Steven D’amico. (2005).
classes or lessons. In those days,
Gandhi. Demi. (2001).
I knew that when I got in trouble
Strega Nona. Tomie dePaola. (1975).
at school, it would be even worse
Little Tad Grows Up.
when I got home. I remember
Giuliano Ferri. (2007).
the strap that hung behind my principal’s
Clancy The Courageous Cow. desk and the fear it would evoke in me
Lachie Hume. (2007).
knowing that it was a possibility if I had
Swimmy. Leo Lionni. (1963). to make the trip to “the office.” Times are
Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon. changing and change is good; it is both
Patty Lovell. (2001).
positive and progressive.
Guess How Much I Love You.
Sam McBratney. (1994).
Our current provincial government,
The Three Questions.
under the leadership of Dalton McGuinty,
Jon J. Muth. (2002).
supports character education being
The Little Engine That Could. taught in publicly run schools throughout
Watty Piper. (MCMLXI).
Ontario. They recognize that character
Who Will Tuck Me In Tonight?. development is the primary responsibility
Carol Roth. (2004).
of families, but feel that schools
Scaredy Squirrel. Mélanie Watt. (2006). should play a supportive role in
There’s Room in the Forest for
this capacity. With this in mind
Everyone. Udo Weigelt. (2002).
our Board (The Simcoe County
Seven Blind Mice. Ed Young. (1992)
District School Board) has
20
CH
adopted a Character Education Mandate. On our Board
website for teachers, it states that “character education
is a deliberate effort to nurture universal attributes that
transcend racial, religious, socio-economic and cultural
lines. It is a whole-school effort to create a community
that promotes the highest standards of student
discipline and citizenship. The attributes are promoted,
modeled, taught, expected, celebrated and consciously
practiced in everyday actions. Character education will
facilitate the development of a positive school culture
in an explicit and intentional manner.” (Character
Education Document, 2) The website goes on to state
that “Character education is not a new curriculum;
it is a way of life. In implementing this initiative, all
members of the school community seize the ‘teachable
moments’ to reinforce the attributes which will be
determined in co-operation with a wide cross-section
of the community”(Character Education Document, 2).
As a new teacher-librarian with the SCDSB, I wanted to
seize the moment and help develop character education
within my school. What better place to do it than the
library, a place all students in the school regularly visit?
Part of my role as teacher-librarian is to purchase and
develop a collection of books that meet the standards
of today’s curriculum. Our board has been aggressive in
developing our character education collections. In this
capacity, I have met with fellow teacher-librarians and,
under the leadership of our library consultant, we have
developed lists of character titles that would be suitable
for our libraries. My collection is developing and I have
a number of books for each of the 10 character traits
our board has adopted: Honesty, Caring, Courage,
Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Empathy, Cooperation, Inclusiveness and Optimism.
My problem, within my library, was how to display
these books so they were easily accessible to both my
staff and students. I decided to dedicate some of my
library bulletin boards to character. The first year I did
this, I chose a book to represent each of the character
traits and I had a talented parent volunteer draw one of
the characters from each book. I used these characters
to put on my “Our Library has Character” bulletin
board with a heading for each of the character traits.
HANGING
At the beginning of each month I read the feature
character book with my classes and we discussed the
character trait. Utilizing some of the shelf space under
the bulletin boards, I purchased some book ends and
made a separate section for each of the character traits.
I collected the books that were in the library, and new
ones I purchased, and placed them according to their
character traits. This instantly became a very popular
place in the library for both staff and students. This year,
as I no longer have my talented parent volunteer, and as
I am not as creative, I chose 10 new books and went to
a local print shop. I had them photocopy the front cover
of each book and blow it up as large as possible.
This initiative has been a very successful venture and
a great way to introduce character into my library
activities and to seize those teachable moments. It is
my small way of helping to develop positive character
within my school.
Teachers now come regularly at the beginning of each
month to locate books on whichever character
trait we are concentrating. They enjoy the
accessibility of these books as they are readily
available. What is even more exciting is that the
students regularly visit this section to check out
books. They look forward to the beginning of
each month and enjoy guessing which book we
are going to read!
volume 16, no. 1
21
How we walk t
in the library at Stephen Lewis Secondary Scho
B
efore the opening of Peel’s newest secondary
school in the spring of 2006, all newly-hired
and acquired staff members met at several fullday P.D. sessions to discuss the vision we were going
to build. I remember our first session very well, when
our principal, Martha Wood, set the wheels in motion
with the speech that defined us as a true community.
As new members of the Stephen Lewis Secondary
School community, we were being called upon to build
a vision for our school intended to include hope, faith
and respect for the diversity brought by every single
individual that would walk into the building. I knew
then that my decision to join Stephen Lewis Secondary
School was a wise choice and that Stephen Lewis
himself was at the heart of our school’s philosophy.
When Stephen Lewis walked into our school in
September 2006, he was greeted with the following
speech by one of our students:
Mr. Lewis, we know and respect the work that
you have done as the UN Secretary General’s
Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. Your
courage and dedication to humanitarian social
action is reflected in the foundation and vision
of our school which is named in your honour.
It is also our commitment, as ambassadors
of the new Stephen Lewis Secondary School,
to pursue excellence, personal growth and
individual success, built on the foundation of
social justice and equity.
(“Stephen Lewis,” 2006)
“
The theme of social justice and equity became
the foundation for curriculum building. The
Peel District School Board’s document, The
Future We Want (2003) was
the “go to” resource for
all departments.
We were also
provided with
useful ideas on developing an inclusive curriculum
from the leading North American expert in this field,
James A. Banks (1988). The plan was to re-construct
each course curriculum by weaving social justice and
proactive equity into all aspects of the course. This had
a profound effect on the job of building the new school
library. Our full-time teacher-librarian, Sandy Svatos
and myself, the new .5 teacher-librarian, were very
excited at the prospect of building “a comprehensive
library program infused with a spirit of social justice
that would fire up” our new students (Satterthwaite 12).
We had the wonderful advantage of having a “clean
slate” to start from – literally. The actual library space,
including shelving and circulation desk, were still under
construction when we opened in September 2006. Staff
and students were assigned to one of four “villages”
named after four Canadian heroes of social justice: June
Callwood, Craig Kielburger, Agnes Macphail, and David
Suzuki. In addition to some obvious reference materials
(encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.) we started our nonfiction collection by looking to our village namesakes.
We included Race Against Time (Lewis 2005), Me to
We (Kielburger 2004), The Sacred Balance (Suzuki
2002), Good News for a Change (Suzuki 2003), June
Callwood: A Life of Action (Dublin 2006), and Agnes
Macphail: Champion for the Underdog (Wyatt 2000).
We continued to grow (and grow to this day) by liaising
with our course teachers, building relationships that
foster the growth of resources offering social justicerelated information.
Our Grade 9 Learning Strategies program has taken
on bullying as its focal point of study. To support
this program, we have included various children’s
picture books on bullying (Just Kidding by Trudi
Ludwig, Hooway for Wadney Wat by Helen Lester),
many teen and YA fiction titles as well as useful
reference resources including Barbara Coloroso’s Just
Because It’s Not Wrong, Doesn’t Make It Right (2007),
…if you’re not struggling for social justice
and equality, why are you on the planet?
– Stephen Lewis
22
”
the talk
ol in Mississauga
Extraordinary Evil (2007), and The Bully, the Bullied
and the Bystander (2002). Similarly, within the Grade
9 Geography program, students examine genocide,
starting with Canada’s involvement in Rwanda followed
by the present day situation in Darfur. Again, Coloroso’s
Extraordinary Evil (2007) becomes useful, as does the
autobiography of Paul Rusesabagina (An Ordinary Man
2006) and Genocide: Modern Crimes Against Humanity
(2007).
The library plays the role as host for numerous
workshops for students that relate to social justice
and equity. In the Grade 11 HSP3M0 Sociology unit,
sexism is examined through discussion of gender
roles and stereotypes. The library was the hosting
location this year for a workshop entitled Beauty and
the Beast. Students participated in discussions on the
role of media in gender stereotyping. The Grade 10
Civics program runs its charity competition (based
on the Youth Philanthropy Initiative project in which
students learn about the importance of grassroots
charity work) in the library. Free The Children came
to our school in April 2008 as part of their Millenium
in Motion tour. Once again, the library played host to
a full-day workshop run by Free The Children leaders
who were impressed with our students’ commitment
Mary-Ann Budak-Gosse
to stewardship of their local
and global community. In May
2007, we were also fortunate
enough to take several students
to our local public library, to
hear Deborah Ellis book talk
Jackal in the Garden (2006).
References
Satterthwaite, A. (2007). “Be the
Change Continues to Inspire.”
The Teaching Librarian,14(3), 12-14.
Stephen Lewis Visit on
September 5, 2006. (2006)
Retrieved May 12, 2008 from
http://stephenlewis.peelschools.org/
sl%20visit.htm
In light of the cultural and
religious diversity of our
student population, Stephen
Lewis Secondary School
has embraced an inclusive
The Future We Want.
approach to education that
Peel District School Board. (2003)
emphasizes the importance
Retrieved May 11 2008 from
of social justice and proactive www.gobeyondwords.org/The_Future_
equity. Together, we recognize
We_Want.html#resources
that “ours is an interdependent,
‘people-help-people’ world”
(Future We Want 2003). Our school library is an integral
component in supporting the vision of the school.
Through programs that drive integrated collection
development and co-ordinated classroom curriculum
support, the library walks the talk at Stephen Lewis
Secondary School.
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volume 16, no. 1
23
Beyond Reading Al
Alo
The Teacher-Librarian as the Core of A Balanced
Cynthia Graydon
“
Balanced Literacy,” the use of technology,
“Differentiated Instruction” and the differences
between boys and girls’ literacy are all current
concepts being discussed in our regular classrooms.
Previously, the teacher-librarian was often on the
outside of these initiatives, rather than at the centre.
Thanks to Together for Learning, the new Library
document, things are changing. “Technology-enabled
learning partnerships foster the mutual exploration of
ideas, and lead to innovation and creativity” (p. 10).
My role as a first-year teacher-librarian was to “keep
the library busy at all times,” according to my very
supportive administrator, and included finding ways to
encourage student literacy by using technology, like our
SMART Board and computers.
Once Upon A Cool Motorcycle Dude
by Kevin O’Malley
This literacy project began in a very simple way, with
me laying my hands on a unique book. As a beginning
teacher-librarian, somewhat unfamiliar with my own
inventory, one night I found myself just sifting through
the Easy Read section. I was looking for a picture book
that would appeal to both boys and girls in a particular
grade two class. I stumbled upon the book, Once Upon
A Cool Motorcycle Dude, by Kevin O’Malley. With a
fairy princess on the top and the baddest motorcycle
dude I had ever seen on the bottom, I knew it would
be a sure hit. I decided to read it to both of my grade
two classes. Talk about success! My students reported
their favourite parts of the book were “the voices Miss
uses,” “the cool motorcycle dude” and “the girl parts.”
The book aroused my student’s interest to a point that I
knew this could be a much larger project.
The Project Expands
and Technology Comes into Play
In the weeks to come, students were paired up into
mixed gender groups, where they began creating their
own girl/boy fairy tales following the same structure as
in Once Upon A Cool Motorcycle Dude. Using a Venn
diagram, we discussed the differences and similarities
between what boys and girls enjoy reading and writing.
Students expressed opinions about why they thought
they were different from one another, as well as what
their shared interests were. We decided that each
student should have their very own author’s page at
the back of the book expressing themselves as student
authors.
When the rough drafts were completed, the students
wanted to create a more polished draft on the
computer. This was truly the point for me when
amazing things began to happen. I started off modeling
with the SMART Board how to open and save a new
text document. As a shared process, we decided on a
title and students seemed to be surprisingly engaged
as I modeled how to centre and underline that title.
Suddenly, like a light bulb turning on in my head, I
realized the unlimited learning potential of this project.
During each session I taught mini-lessons on the
SMART Board, modeling how to highlight text
segments, change font, change point size, spell-check,
cut, and paste. Students took turns on the SMART
Board, practising these concepts with their own
documents. The keyboard function was used to model
various functions, like using the Tab key to indent a
paragraph, as well as to illustrate the difference between
the Backspace and Delete keys. I never knew I could
have such success introducing these things to students
at such a young age. The SMART Board really was
24
oud
Literacy Process Integrating Technology
responsible, I believe, for making all the learning seem
fun and incidental.
The project began to take on a new shape yet again,
when both grade two homeroom teachers became
involved, utilizing the guided reading table for the
editing process. The enthusiasm of their students made
the collaboration enjoyable for all.
great literature resources, collaboration, and a balanced
literacy approach. We took a simple idea from a read
aloud, through shared and guided reading, into a modeled
and interactive writing process extending into independent
reading and writing. I believe that, with experiences
like this one, teacher-librarians are well on their way to
enriching students’ learning lives in the 21st century, and I,
for one, am glad to be a part of the journey.
The last phase of the project had students illustrating
their fairy tales, then laminating and binding their
final products. Feedback on the project has been very
encouraging, with statements from homeroom teachers
like “the students are really pumped,” and from parents
telling me “all my son keeps talking about is his Cool
ATV Dude story.”
My administrator clearly got her wish for a filled
library: we had two classes of grade 2s, homeroom
teachers, three grade 8 special education helpers,
and myself whenever we met! Many library resources
were being accessed at once, including a variety of
fairy tale and picture books as models, dictionaries,
desktop computers, guided reading tables and the
SMART Board. Looking around, I was thrilled to say
my elementary school library was truly a Learning
Commons functioning at its best! We had all the key
elements, including technology (e.g. SMART Boards),
volume 16, no. 1
25
Wikis and Blogs for Stude
Bobbie Henley and Kate McGregor
A
s teacher-librarians, our role has always been
all about change and growth. Depended
upon to be both curriculum and technology
experts, we embrace change as we lead the way in
school, board and province-wide initiatives and in the
implementation and use of new technologies.
The primary mandate of the teacher-librarian has
always been to meet the needs of learners in their
library. Although this hasn’t changed, our students
have, as have the methods we use to meet their
educational needs. Often referred to as “millennials” or
“net-geners,” students today seem to be “programmed”
differently from those of generations past. They
function best when networked; they like to parallel
process and multi-task, expect to be able to gather
and share information in multiple devices in multiple
places, and share it in ways that allow them to act
quickly and without top-down direction. For them,
reality is no longer real, doing is more important
than knowing, and learning more closely resembles
Nintendo than logic (Prensky).
In order to really connect with the way they learn, we
need to “meet them where they live” and where they
will continue to live in the workplace when they move
on from high school. One powerful way to accomplish
this is to incorporate the social Web into the school
library program, to tap into its potential for developing
the critical learning skills that will serve them well in
the years to come. “Today’s students will be working in
a global marketplace and living in a global society. In
order to succeed and become leaders in this new world,
they must acquire a far different set of knowledge,
skills, and perspectives than previous generations…”
(Educating Leaders for a Global Society). Carol
Koechlin has identified these skills to be:
◆ thinking critically and creatively
◆ applying knowledge to new situations
◆ analyzing information
◆ comprehending new ideas
◆ communicating
◆ collaborating
◆ solving problems
◆ making decisions (“Assignments That Work”
PowerPoint)
26
There are an increasingly significant and growing
number of resources and teacher-librarian advocates
supporting the use of the social Web to teach these
skills. Students are already familiar with the Web 2.0
platform because of the hours they spend on such sites
as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. Creating a social
Web forum such as a wiki or a blog with an educational
angle allows students to participate in discussion and
the sharing of ideas both in and out of school hours,
wherever they have access to the Internet.
Wikis
A wiki is simply a collaborative website that allows
registered visitors to create, edit and link content. We
all know about Wikipedia, that online encyclopedia
which anyone can edit and which kids most often
turn to for information first. A wiki adopts the same
principle, except the teacher or teacher-librarian sets up
and monitors the information to be shared. According
to Brian Lamb (2004), there are five characteristics
separating wikis from other collaborative technologies:
1. Unique – student created, includes links to other
sites and sources
2. Collaborative – synergy created by multiple
authors working as a virtual team
3. Open editing – anyone with a password can add
anything at any time
4. Simple coding – even young children can create
and edit pages and add links
5. Evolving – wikis are in a constant state of change
It is this synergy and constant flux that makes the wiki
experience unique.
Using pbwiki.com, we developed our first wiki in
May, 2007, for a Grade 11 University English class,
to study the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
in its social and historical context. Together we
designed the assignment which involved students
creating a collaborative website through group
research, comparing life in the 50s and early 60s to life
today. From the home page, we were able to give an
introduction to the assignment and instructions on wiki
use, and provide links to pictures, articles and music in
preparation, or to whet their appetites for their group
research topics. In the sidebar, we provided links to a
ent Learning – Why Not?
separate page for each of the topics, a list of who was in
which group, and a rubric for assessment. In less than
an hour, using the instructions given on the pbwiki site,
we had our wiki up and running. It really was almost as
easy as making a peanut butter sandwich!
As the students worked together on building the site,
they practised literacy skills. Writing was made more
dynamic with the incorporation of hyperlinks and
multimedia. They developed a deeper understanding of
themes and ideas in the novel as they built upon what
others had posted and as they reflected on connections
between themselves and the world around them.
When asked to reflect on their first wiki experience, our
students provided almost entirely positive feedback,
and reinforced what we had expected:
“You can always edit and add more. It can be done on
your own time.”
word webs to generate and compare ideas. Indeed,
the collaborative and supportive nature of the wiki
provides an opportunity for all students to have their
voices heard, particularly those who would not normally
participate in a conventional face-to-face discussion. The
interdependent and multi-threaded nature of the wiki is
ideal for many types of learners.
Joyce Valenza, in her article “Something Wiki This Way
Comes… Are You Ready?,” says that “wikis are perhaps
best used as a tool for writing, especially when the
project involves collaborative authoring. Their major
advantage over the paper notebook… is that wikis
prepare students to write collaboratively in an authentic
networked environment…. Wikis are good vehicles for
classes engaged in peer-reviewed projects; they function
as archived portfolios for classes serious about the
writing process.” (131) Obviously, the process of learning
has a significant impact on the product. Allowing the
“This makes it so it isn’t just a
single person effort and you can
work off of other’s thoughts.”
“It gives us the chance to let our
opinions be heard by everyone
in the class”
“It was a creative idea and
much better than doing
something like writing an essay.”
This first wiki can still be found
at www.mygenerationtoo.pbwiki.
com and Kate’s latest and much
improved version is now posted
at http://mrsmcgregorscuckoo.
pbwiki.com.
Wikis can be used for a variety of
purposes including collaborative
research, writing, analysis
and discussion of books and
literature circles, exploration
of local interests, creative
writing, and mind-mapping/
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volume 16, no. 1
27
References
Educating Leaders for a Global
Society Retrieved May 2, 2008
from www2.goldmansachs.
com/.../educating-leaders-forglobal-society.pdf
Koechlin, Carol. “Assignments
That Work.” PowerPoint
Presentation. April 2008.
Lamb, A. & Johnson, L.
(2007). “InfoTech: An InfoSkills Workout: Wikis and
Collaborative Writing.” In E.
Rosenfeld & D.V. Loertscher
(Eds.), Toward a 21st-Century
School Library Media Program
(pp.133-138). Maryland:
Scarecrow Press.
Lamb, Brian. (2004). “Wide
Open Spaces: Wikis, Ready
or Not.” EDUCAUSE Review,
39(5), 36–48. Retrieved March
3, 2008 from http://connect.
educause.edu/Library/
EDUCAUSE+Review/WideOpe
nSpacesWikisReadyo/40498.
Prenksy, M. (2001). “Digital
Natives, Digital Immigrants. On
the Horizon,” 9(5). Retrieved
April 28, 2008 from www.
marcprensky.com/writing/
Prensky%20-%20Digital%20N
atives,%20Digital%20Immigra
nts%20-%20Part1.pdf.
students the opportunity to apply
technology that is second nature to
them helps them learn on their own
terms.
Blogs
Blogs, short for Web logs, are another
excellent avenue for sharing ideas,
reflection and journaling reading.
“Blogs engage readers with ideas
and questions and links. They ask
readers to think and to respond. They
demand interaction” (Richardson 18).
Different from wikis in that there is
no collaborative building of a website,
they do offer a venue for discussion,
feedback, and building on ideas of
others. Blogs designed around books
and reading are extremely popular as
students post ideas, quotes, thoughts
and questions that arise as they read,
and others join in the online, ongoing
conversation.
After doing a bit of research into
other school library blogs from the
Tecnorati site (www.technorati.com/
blogs/tag/school+library), we decided
to try our own. Our first blog at
Brantford Collegiate Institute was
designed to offer a venue for White
Pine members to discuss the book,
to tell what they loved about their
favourites, and offer advice on what to
read next. Due to the extra-curricular
nature of our White Pine book club
blog, students didn’t feel pressured to
follow the conventions of grammar
Richardson, Will. (2006) Blogs,
Wikis, Podcasts and Other
Powerful Tools for Classrooms.
California: Corwin Press.
Valenza, J. (2005). “Something
Wiki This Way Comes…Are
You Ready?” In E. Rosenfeld &
D.V. Loertscher (Eds.) Toward
a 21st-Century School Library
Media Program (pp.129-132).
Maryland: Scarecrow Press.
28
expected in class. They expressed their ideas on their
own terms, in their own words, and in their own time.
It also proved to be user-friendly for special needs
students, many of whom would likely find the virtual
environment more suited to their strengths. One of our
participants who posted regularly on our White Pine
blog this year has Asperger’s Syndrome.
The relative anonymity of the blog (you aren’t in the
same room as your peers when discussing online) also
makes asking questions more comfortable. Perhaps
most importantly, conversations are ongoing – students
can come back to topics or ideas posted hours or days
before and comment further. They can build on each
other’s thoughts and revisit and revise their ideas and
opinions, deepening their understanding of the text.
Designing wikis or blogs to incorporate critical
thinking, collaboration, solving problems and
communicating is easier than you might think. In
our school, after presenting our wiki to staff last year
and posting our blog on our school library website,
including the use of these Web 2.0 tools in developing
units, wikis and blogs have become extremely popular.
Some staff members have expressed the notion that
the students might grow tired of assignments that
incorporate wikis and blogs. Our answer is simple: “Do
you ever see your students get tired of corresponding
with one another online?” Our next challenge is to get
our heads around podcasts and the wonderful teaching
and learning opportunities they will provide. The rapid
changes brought about by technology continue to
compel us to change our teaching methods to meet the
needs of our learners. After all, as Benjamin Franklin
once said, “When you’re finished changing, you’re
finished.”
VIDEO CONFERENCING™
@ your library
Deb Kitchener
Y
ork Region District School Board’s mission
is to inspire and prepare learners for life in
our changing world community. Advanced
Broadband Enabled Learning (ABEL) is a board
initiative that truly supports this mission. Through
this partnership with industry leaders in educational
technologies, teachers and students are provided the
opportunity to use many different elearning tools.
Video conferencing tools are just some of the many
different collaborative etools available to teachers
in our school district. I have been using video
conferencing tools for many different purposes in
school libraries with great success.
What is needed is a high speed broadband connection
to the Internet, video conferencing software, a
computer with a high speed processor and a Web cam.
If these terms speak to your inner geek, then you know
what to do… if they don’t, contact your school district
IT department and seek their support and advice.
With access to this type of hardware, you can conduct a
video conference.
There are many benefits to using video conferencing
in any classroom. Bringing experts from far afield
and across time zones into the library classroom
environment is a great way to enhance any curriculum.
Allowing smaller groups of students to have greater
interaction with these experts ensures that your
audience is engaged in the virtual discussion. Using
video conferencing technology allows teachers to have
in-school field trips more frequently, with fewer
disruptions to the school day and they are generally
more cost efficient.
As of the writing of this article we will have had three
video conferences with a goal of five before we vote for
the White Pine Award. Don Aker, author of The Space
In Between was our first conference, Lesley Choyce
author of The End of the World as We Know It, our
second, followed by Susan Juby author of Another
Kind of Cowboy. The authors generally do a short
reading from the nominated title and then engage in
discussion with the students. The video conferences
are never longer than one hour. The students have
loved the experience, I have attracted a few boys to our
reading club (no small feat with so many other choices
of activities) and the authors have been thrilled to be
a part of an interesting and innovative activity that
connects them to their readers and pushes them to
explore a new technology.
The addition of this elearning tool has provided our
White Pine readers with a focus to read specific titles
in order to be informed for the discussions with the
authors; many of the students have made the effort to
read additional titles by the same author to be even
better prepared. Personally, I feel the use of video
conferencing between students and authors has created
a dynamic environment for the White Pine reading
program at Newmarket High School. The White Pine
readers are truly engaged in an activity that models
active reading and literate discussion and
For more information about
connects our students to the greater community
the ABEL initiative visit:
www.abelearn.ca.
through the use of technology.
I was looking to use video conferencing as a
means to enhance my White Pine Reading Club.
Newmarket High School is a very busy school that
offers many different co-curricular programs. In
order to encourage students to read the nominated
titles and enjoy discussing them for pleasure, I felt I
needed to offer something extra to keep them coming!
On a whim I decided to contact all of the White Pine
nominees, explain my idea and see what came of it. I
was thrilled to receive responses from five adventurous
authors!
volume 16, no. 1
29
ABEL Technology @ Your L
The Sky is NOT the Limit
Rob Baxter
C
ollaboration between the teacher-librarian
and the classroom teacher is not a new idea
for anyone in the teaching profession these
days. A new approach or dimension can be added
to this concept, however, through the use of ABEL
(Advanced Broadband Enhanced Learning) technology,
a powerful tool that heightens learning through
webconferencing, and makes a lesson or unit a truly
authentic situation for students at the primary and
secondary levels alike.
For Christine MacIsaac, teacher librarian at Dr.
John M. Denison High School in Newmarket, ABEL
represents “huge learning, and opportunities for
learning for both teachers and students, and tons
of resources that I didn’t know existed before and
wouldn’t have known how to use before. And so now
being able to bring them to my job and then bring them
to students is really exciting.” (For the full RealPlayer
interview, go to www.abelearn.ca/about_us).
Alison Mann, exemplary teacher at Ursula Franklin
Academy, Toronto District School Board, and winner
of the 2006 Learning Partnership National Technology
Innovation Award, has also used ABEL extensively with
her students: “Usually the projects entail some sort of
innovative technology, some sort of different approach
to teaching and one of the approaches I do take is a
constructivist approach where the learning is student
centred, and I will give tutorials and show students how
to use technology, but in effect students direct their
own learning and they really have a say on what kind
of projects they’ll work on.… It’s amazing what value it
[ABEL] brings to the classroom.… We’ve had so many
opportunities to speak with people who never would
have an opportunity to come to our school. It’s amazing
the amount of video conferencing we can do in a year
and all the visitors, the virtual visitors we can have…”
(www.abelearn.ca/about_us)
Thanks to ABEL, students, teachers and teacherlibrarians can now be in touch with each other all
across Canada, North America and beyond. To use
the technology, you need access to the Internet.
High broadband speed is desirable, although lower
speeds are possible, provided you have the patience
to wait. You’ll also need a camera to connect you and
30
your audience to your computer, a microphone, a
blank screen, and some software installed in certain
instances. However, all you need is a basic Internet
connection to use most of the ABEL tools such as
United Streaming, Turnitin, Moodle, blogs and wikis.
A full list is available at www.abelearn.ca/tools_
resources.
Ian Gowans, currently a Computer Resource Teacher,
York Region District School Board, has been using
ABEL for five years. One of the most impressive
moments for him was when he connected his students
live to the space shuttle orbiting the Earth: “I was
fortunate enough to participate with NASA in a video
conference with my Grade 12 Exercise Science class.
They do a number of pre-planned conferences and I
saw one that was targeted for intermediate students
[about] the effects of gravity on a person in space. I
emailed the contact and asked if that presentation
could be adapted for my senior students.
The NASA contact got back to me and stated that
they would indeed prepare a presentation specifically
for us. On the day of the event I was astounded. The
presentation was fantastic and, as it drew to a close,
the presenters noted they had some extra time for
questions. My students asked what was happening on
the space shuttle at that specific moment. Unbelievably,
the presenter flipped a couple of switches and up on
our screen came a live camera feed from the shuttle.
All of our jaws just dropped. The students and myself
talked about it for the rest of the year.
I also found that Vanderbilt University in Tennessee
offered a program called Physiologist on Demand.
The presenter would answer questions posed by the
students within a video conference. Whenever I had
a question I couldn’t answer, the students would just
file the question away until we talked to Dr. McCombs
again. He would research the questions and then come
into the video conference with detailed explanations
for each question. Our rapport built up and he actually
emailed my class, offering to do a demonstration of
some human hearts that his lab had just received. It
was incredible. And unbelievably, neither of these
situations cost one penny!”
Library:
In November 2007, 15 teacher-librarians facilitated
a board-wide writing seminar with students in the
Grade 12 Writer’s Craft classes across York Region.
Three White Pine authors, Sharon MacKay, Richard
Scarsbrook and John Wilson, 2006 Governor General’s
Award nominee for young adult literature, spoke about
the writing profession, then put the students to work
with a few writing tasks. Students interacted with the
authors from school to school, and among each other.
At the end of the event, one student from Aurora High
School remarked, “This is totally awesome. Why don’t
we do this more often?”
After a smaller version of a “Hot Writing” session on
April 24, with Teresa Toten, award-winning young
adult writer, Mark Przemieniecki, teacher at Stouff ville,
commented: “The workshop was great … because it
gave the kids an opportunity to not only experience, but
also put to use, a ‘real’ writer’s expertise. The pointers
that were given to them were also immediately put to
use and that proved of great value as well. The workshop
was an awesome experience for the kids and they really
enjoyed it, which is all that much more significant, given
that she wasn’t even in the room!” In fact, Ms. Toten was
hosted at Langstaff Secondary in Richmond Hill where
she spoke to a live audience, but was simultaneously
“webinared” with ABEL to Newmarket and Stouff ville.
The ABEL program was founded in 2002 and is funded
and led by York University. Its five main goals include
the delivery of professional learning; providing access to
learning tools and services; providing access to learning
resources; building effective and beneficial partnerships;
driving innovation through research. To learn more
about them, go to www.abelearn.ca/about_us.
The ABEL Summer Institute program took place
in August at York University’s Keele Campus. This
year’s theme was Breaking New Ground: Designing
Learning Landscapes, with keynote speaker Chris Dede,
Professor, Harvard University, and George Siemens,
University of Manitoba, Complexive Systems. For
more information: www.abelearn.ca/cms; click on
Professional Learning.
volume 16, no. 1
31
Moodle @Maple HS
Course: Politics-Mr. Drekolias-Maple High School
Participants
Students using
Moodle portal
and print
resources in the
school library.
Assignments
Forums
Resources
Grades
Nadia Sturino and Themi Drekolias
M
oodle is an online class management
system (CMS) that can provide another
opportunity for collaboration between
classroom teachers and teacher-librarians.
The York Region District School Board is part of
the ABEL (Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning)
Program, through York University. This affiliation
gives all teachers in our board the ability to set up
ABEL accounts to access various tools. One such tool
is Moodle, which allows educators to provide online
learning environments. Using Moodle, classroom
teachers can set up their courses online, post events,
and even add new categories for student use. Students
can tap into the site to check course work, review
assignment due dates, etc.
Mr. Drekolias teaches history at Maple High School and
had been actively using Moodle for his courses. Ms.
Sturino is the teacher-librarian. When it came time for
his senior history class to begin their culminating task
for “West and the World,” we decided to add a little
more than the traditional library visits. In addition to
having the students come to the school library to use
print sources, we decided to add a library button to
their course Moodle site.
For more
information about
Moodle, visit
www.abelearn.ca.
32
We selected a few links the students might need to
help them with their research. We included a direct
link to our IPAC so students could check our holdings
at any time. We also included links to online resources,
such as our history encyclopaedia, Europe, 1450-1789:
An Encyclopaedia of the Early Modern World, in ebook format, the EBSCOhost historical database, and
various reputable links to specific figures and topics.
A link to our local public library was posted so that
students could check other resources and request books
from home. Students liked having access to the school
library “at their finger tips”.
How to Moodle
Sample Demonstration
West & the WorldMaple High SchoolDrekolias
Poitics-Mr Drekolias
News forum
Student Help Forum
Useful Political Resources
Political Scrapbook Assignment
Political Scrapbook Rubric
Careers in Political Science
Mr. Noudelman’s Postings
Maple High School Library
Vaughn Public Library
Opposing Viewpoints
Instructions-ISP Essay
Topic Selection
Politics Research Notes
Citation Machine
Political
Political
Political
Political
Culture
Values Powerpoint-Noudleman
Socialization
Socialization- Jesus Factor Assignment
Moodle can provide a customized extension of the
school library, which allows for use all day at school and
at home during the evening and on weekends. Another
valuable Moodle feature is blogging, which is excellent
as it allows students to interact with information,
with the teacher-librarian, and with each other. The
teacher-librarian can indicate specific times that he
or she would be available online to students to answer
questions or guide them through their research. This
is invaluable to those students who might be too shy to
ask questions face-to-face or who simply do not have
time to go to the school library during the day. Both
of us found that Moodle kept students engaged and
interested in their course and their research.
As part of our examination of student engagement in
learning, Mr. Drekolias surveyed the students, asking
whether they liked using Moodle for both their course
and their research. When students were asked whether
they wanted to keep using Moodle, 100% of them
responded YES. Most of them said they liked it because
they could refer to their research or other assignments
at any time and could catch up on missed work. Well
over half of the students surveyed said they liked being
able to ask for help with their research.
This first attempt at adding a school library component
to Moodle opened a door, allowing us to look further
into 21st-century learning at our library. We are now
exploring re-designing our school library page to make
it interactive for students, allowing them to not only
look for information, but also to be active participants
in creating information and discussing what they
find with their peers and their teachers. We hope our
efforts with this new platform will give our library a
new vision, allowing us to tap into the needs of today’s
learners.
TL
BookBuzz
21
st-Century
Learning @
your library is
exciting, multifaceted, and
innovative. The Together for
Learning document demonstrates that resources need to
provide differing viewpoints,
engage readers, offer choice,
feature different formats, and
foster critical literacy. That’s a
tall order for collection development – but Book Buzz will
offer you some print materials
to get you started this fall!
Martha Martin
Media Power
(Viewpoints)
Alison Cooper
2005
9781932889611
Other books in the series:
The Right to Smoke
(Emma Haughton)
The Rights of Animals
(Deirdre Rochford)
Drug Abuse
(Emma Haughton)
Equality of the Sexes
(Emma Haughton)
A Green World?
(Nicola Baird)
A Punishment
to Fit the Crime
(Alison Cooper)
The Right to Die
Dear Jo: The Story
of Losing Leah… and
Searching for Hope
Christine Kilbourne
2007
9781897073513
Sample Curriculum Links:
Grade 8 Healthy Living:
Personal Safety and Injury
Prevention
Grade 9 English: Reading and
Literature Studies
(Richard Walker)
Once Upon a Cool
Motorcycle Dude
Kevin O’Malley
Illustrated by Carol Heyer and
Scott Goto
2005
9780802789471
Primary Language Arts:
Reading and Writing
Intermediate Language Arts:
Writing
Summary:
A battle of the sexes ensues
as a boy and girl share the
storytelling role in a rousing
and humourous twist on
fairytales, gender equality,
and the right to have a happy
ending after all.
Junior-Intermediate
Language Arts: Reading
Intermediate Healthy Living
Grade 12 English: Media
Studies
Summary:
Each of these books provide
alternative perspectives on
social justice and current
affairs topics, using a mix
of full-colour photographs,
historical and current media
images, quotations by
famous and everyday people,
and expository text. They are
left to discuss the pros and
cons of different positions on
each topic, and directed to
Canadian and international
organizations, culminating
facts, and websites that can
be helpful in additional
research. The reading level is
approximately grade 6, but
the topics are appropriate for
readers from grades 5–12.
Summary:
Maxine and Leah, two
school friends, explore the
world of Internet forums
and chatlines from the safety
of their screen personas.
Unfortunately, the safety
they believe they’ve created
turns out to be an illusion.
Although Maxine is saved in
time, we learn through the
entries in “Jo,” her diary/
journal, that Leah wasn’t so
lucky. The journal entries
begin six months after Leah’s
abduction.
Bifocal
Deborah Ellis and Eric Walters
2007
9781554550364
Intermediate Language Arts:
Reading
Grade 9 English: Reading and
Literature Studies
Grade 12 English: Writing
Summary:
When a local high school
experiences a security
lockdown because there’s
a possibility one of the
Muslim students has terrorist
affiliations, members of the
school community quickly
take sides. The story is told
from alternating viewpoints
and readers are taken on a
journey through a post 9/11
world of suspicion, prejudice,
and racial and religious
intolerance. The high school
is a microcosm of the world
at large, and readers gain
new perspectives by seeing
the situation from opposing
points of view.
volume 16, no. 1
33
Wendy D’Angelo
T
he productive children’s author Vicki Grant
received her third Silver Birch Award
nomination in 2008, for PigBoy. This fast-paced
and hilarious novel about bullying is part of the Orca
Currents series. PigBoy makes a good read-aloud and
appeals to both girls and boys. Wendy D’Angelo and
Vicki discuss winning, writing, readers and the future.
and Night, novels that grabbed him with a good story.
So when I write, I try and grab readers.
Wendy: Vicki, you have been nominated for many
awards, including the Silver Birch Award and CLA
Book of the Year. You won the 2006 Arthur Ellis Award
for Quid Pro Quo. What do these awards mean to you?
Vicki: I was never bullied as a kid. My older brother is
a year older than me and because he was big man on
campus I may have been spared because of that. I was
really one of those kids with the thick glasses, buckteeth
and wild hair. By the time I was a teenager, I had fixed
myself up on the outside but I think I always had an
inner sense that I was vulnerable to bullying. Certainly
at the school I went to, I saw kids tormented by bullies.
I think I felt I was always just a hair away so I think I
have a sense of what bullying is like without having
really experienced it.
Vicki: It does feel good, I have to say, getting a pat on
the back and recognition in the publishing world. I
spend all of my time by myself writing these books and
I don’t know what the reaction to my books will be.
Writers are probably one of the more insecure groups
of people in the world. In practical terms, Silver Birch
makes a huge difference to my income and is often the
reason a bookstore will consider stocking my book.
Wendy: Your publisher, Orca, promotes Current
Books for the middle school reluctant reader and Orca
Soundings for the teen reluctant reader. You mentioned
your son inspired you to write because it was so
difficult to find books he wanted to read in junior high.
Do you write with boys and/or the reluctant reader in
mind?
Vicki: I would much rather feel that I got one kid to
read a book who won’t normally read than a kid who
already loves books. I know some authors write for the
kids who go to the library at lunchtime but that’s not
whom I write for. I don’t feel that I’m dumbing down or
aiming low by trying to write for the kids who aren’t big
readers. Reluctant readers are actually a harder market.
I remember when my son was that age I thought I’d get
him hooked on reading by giving him trashy things to
read. He wasn’t interested. He loved Catcher in the Rye
Wendy: Many of your characters, especially Dan Hogg,
suggest you have an insight into the challenges and
angst of today’s teens. What prompted you to write
about bullying?
Wendy: New technologies are changing the way we
live and learn. How has technology impacted you as a
writer?
Vicki: I’m not a big techie. I don’t use a Blackberry or
Facebook and I certainly don’t blog. Life is too short and
I have enough writing to do as it is. I do use the Internet
all the time though. It’s made research so much easier
and, unfortunately, goofing off too! The editing process
is a lot easier because of technology as well. I do a great
deal of my work online, sending edits back and forth by
email. There are no longer any big clunky manuscripts
to cart around.
The best part of technology though is that it’s allowed
me to work from home in Halifax. When I was in the
advertising and television business, most of my clients
were in Toronto but the distance was never an issue. I
just zapped all my stuff to them by email. Twenty years
ago, I would have had to live there.
Vicki Grant
34
Meet the Author
The downside of technology for me – and probably
for most other people – is that it’s sped everything up.
People expect you to reply immediately. I get lots of
email from kids saying they’re doing a project on me
and they need to answer 10 questions right away. I’m
not kidding. I actually get kids saying they need a reply
“A.S.A.P.!”
Wendy: What are your thoughts about the impact of
new technologies on the book publishing industry? I’m
thinking of e-books, online print on demand, online
subscription services, self-publishing websites.
Vicki: I recently got a royalty statement and saw that
a couple of my books are now available as e-books. It
doesn’t look like I’ll be getting rich that way but nobody
goes into writing to get rich. I think self-publishing
websites and print-on-demand services offer some
wonderful opportunities but probably not for someone
like me. I’m happy to have a publisher to do the
distribution, marketing and promotion for me.
Wendy: What do you think books will look like in the
future?
Vicki: Books might look different than they do now but
I think we’ll always have books. I really hope we don’t
move entirely to e-books. Reading on a lit-up screen is
hard on the eyes. You can’t lie in the bath with a laptop.
E-books would take all the coziness out of reading.
Wendy: Thanks Vicki for taking the time to share your
thoughts.
Some of Vicki Grant’s titles include: The Puppet
Wrangler, Quid Pro Quo and Dead End Job, I.D. and
PigBoy, Res Judicata (forthcoming), and Not Suitable
For Family Viewing (in progress).
volume 16, no. 1
35
TL DRAWN TO THE FORM
Comics: Content and Comment on the Internet
M
any librarians know the value of using the
Internet to build on traditional educational
methods – and the ones who don’t are
slowly coming around. But one of the very first
things that we learn about the Internet is that it’s
potentially just as harmful as helpful, a tool that
can be used in any number of ways – including
unsavory ones. Incorporating it into 21st-century
learning is more and more becoming a necessity,
but the pitfalls – like pornography, copyright and
plagiarism questions, and a general lack of personal
accountability – present a number of challenges
to the gatekeepers. Comics on the Internet are no
exception.
Generally referred to as “webcomics” online comics
encompass as many genres as their print cousin, the
graphic novel. Webcomics come in all shapes and
sizes, resembling classic newspaper strip comics like
Peanuts and Calvin & Hobbes as often as they do
traditional graphic novel or manga pages, and the
most popular comics have weekly readerships that
dwarf many of the prose books on the bestseller lists.
The only problem? With no newspaper syndicates
or CRTC to dictate what can or can’t be said (i.e.:
censor) on the net, certain language or themes or
art make many of the most popular strips wildly
inappropriate for classroom use. The webcomic is
a medium, with material available not just for older
teens and adults AND for kids, but also material
appropriate for classroom use.
Better still, there are a number of Internet-based
organizations that promote kids comics and
webcomics online, each providing resources for
parents, teachers, and librarians on everything
from what to buy, how to read graphic novels as a
class, and lesson plans and more!
Getting Started: Online Resources
There are a number of great organizations worth
being aware of when it comes to using print comics
and webcomics in your classroom and library.
Good Comics For Kids
www.goodcomicsforkids.com
A newish blog that takes some of the best
writers about kids comics from around the net
and puts them all together in one place! The
site runs reviews, news, and regular features
on webcomics. Good Comics For Kids has
also been endorsed by The School Library
Journal, and is set to expand and deepen
its coverage in the next few months; get on
36
board early! (Also of note is another blog that offers
similar coverage though with a smaller staff, http://
graphicclassroom.blogspot.com.)
All Ages Reads
www.allagesreads.blogspot.com
Teacher and mom Tracy brings along her two
pre-teen daughters to engage and review the best
of comics and graphic novels for kids! The All Ages
Reads blog is actually an archive of posts made by the
trio at the general-interest comics site
Newsarama.com, but pulled onto its own site both
for ease-of-browsing and to ensure that some of
the racier content at Newsarama doesn’t make an
impression on impressionable youth. The columns
are thoughtful and engaging, the reviews are fantastic
and feature the kids talking about work in their own
words! An outstanding resource to find out what’s
best, and what’s next.
Comics in the Classroom
http://comicsintheclassroom.net
Canadian teacher Scott Tingley has taken on the
monumental task of not only generating great
content of interest to educators looking to use… well,
Comics in the Classroom, but has also decided that
he is going to provide links to every single review,
interview, and article on the Internet when it comes
to comics for kids! All of those features plus lesson
plans, links to family friendly comics retailers across
North America, and more features being added all
the time makes this site an indispensable resource for
any teacher or librarian.
Flummery.com Teaching With Comics
www.flummery.com/teaching
Based on the work of Jeff Sharp, a teacher who has
been using comics in high school art classes for over
five years, Teaching With Comics features a wide
array of mostly art-oriented lesson plans for teachers
looking to incorporate comics into their classroom at
all grade levels.
Webcomics In Your Classroom
Webcomics have the ability to expand your library’s
“collection” of comics material considerably. Most
webcomics are entirely free to browse, and many have
print-collections of Web material, allowing librarians
to hook kids on reading the print-collections in-class
and send readers online for follow-up installments.
Print collections of webcomics favourites also help
develop “book culture” amongst digitally-oriented
students, a fantastic benefit that will drive even the
most reluctant or at-risk readers into your library.
Here are some great webcomics for you to explore
and share with your students.
Christopher Butcher
Family Webcomics
www.familywebcomics.com
A brand new site, Family Webcomics endeavours to
scour the entire Internet for webcomics for young
readers. Its Advisory Board of parents, educators,
and reviewers applies its own proprietary ratings
systems to comics and rates them appropriate
for General Audiences, Ages 7+, 10+, or 14+. At
time of writing, it hadn’t started writing critical
reviews of the work and many of the titles listed
as “appropriate” also aren’t terribly good. But the
folks involved mean quite well, and the listings on
this site are expanding at a rapid pace, meaning that
this will likely become the “hub” for webcomics for
young readers.
Copper
By Kazu Kibuishi
www.boltcity.com/copper
Available in the FLIGHT Anthologies
(Volumes 1–5 and Explorer available)
The FLIGHT anthologies from Random House
books feature an array of gorgeous fantasy stories,
with many (but not all…) of the works appropriate
for readers of all ages. One of the flagship stories
of the anthology is editor Kazu Kibuishi’s Copper,
a story about a boy who likes to invent things and
his sarcastic canine companion. A beautiful, funny
and wistful comic series for kids from the creator of
Scholastic’s new graphic novel series Amulet.
Jellaby
By Kean Soo
http://secretfriendsociety.com
Jellaby Volume 1
Toronto creator Kean Soo’s fantastic new graphic
novel series for readers 7 and up got its start as an
online, serialized graphic novel! Early versions of
the first 62 pages of the graphic novel are available
online, and feature different art and bits of story
making for a fun comparison between the print
and online versions! The website also features an
addition eight Jellaby Shorts and a complete graphic
novel by Hope Larson, Salamander Dream, which
will be of interest to girls aged 10 and up.
Inverloch
By Sarah Ellerton
http://seraph-inn.com
2 Print Collections,
Vol 1 1933164131, Vol 2 1933164271.
A now-completed epic fantasy story told with
characters with anthropomorphic animals,
Inverloch features a deep storyline with animestyled full-colour artwork. Students in grade 7 and
up will appreciate this story and the unique and
varied world that the creators have built. Also of
note: creator Sarah Ellerton has begun work on her
newest project, The Phoenix Requiem, a Victorian
Steampunk-infused magical mystery with gorgeous,
gorgeous art. This one is reading a little older at the
moment and might be best-recommended readers in
grade 9 and up. No print collections… yet!
Galaxion
By Tara Tallan
http://galaxioncomics.com
One Print Collection, No ISBN
(contact the author or The Beguiling)
Toronto’s own Tara Tallan presents the outer space
adventures of a crew of explorers working for the
Terran Space Association, as they test a brand new
engine that could make space travel faster and safer.
Of course, stuff goes wrong, and this crew must
adapt to the strange new worlds they encounter.
Galaxion is being serialized at the rate of three
pages per week, and the site also features three short
stories perfect for jumping into the saga or acting
as interesting reading all on their own. Featuring
a more mature story and plenty of strong female
characters, Galaxion isn’t inappropriate for ages 7
and up, but will most likely appeal to readers at the
high school level thanks to a smarter-than-average
vocabulary and strong story-structure.
Bitstrips.com
By… You!
www.bitstrips.com
This one is technically a webcomics site, but the
main feature of Bitstrips.com is the ability to create
your own comic strips using their online comic
strip creator. Now, I should note, much of the premade content on this site is entirely inappropriate
for schools, but the platform it creates will be of
incredible interest to creative kids.
Further Exploring the Online Wilderness
This issue’s “Drawn to the Form” will lead you
to dozens of hours of enjoyable comics content
and commentary, but it’s really only the tip of the
iceberg when it comes to comics on the Internet.
Because the Internet makes referring readers to
other articles and sites so easy, you’ll find that
the proprietors of the sites listed above will have
their own favourite websites, comics and blogs to
recommend. Don’t be afraid to browse around
and see all that the Internet has to offer! Er…
but maybe try not to blame me if something
you weren’t expecting shows up on your
screen, okay?
volume 16, no. 1
37
Forest of Reading
Festival of Trees ™
®
I
t takes an army of volunteers and months of
preparation and is THE annual kidlit event
of the year in Ontario – it’s the OLA’s Forest
of Reading® Festival of Trees™ celebration. This
year, it was a two-day affair at Harbourfront.
The organizers did the impossible and surpassed
themselves with the variety of entertaining events
available for the thousands of students that
converged on the grounds. There were activities
for all types of readers – an art exhibition of work
by some of the Blue Spruce™ and Silver Birch®
illustrators, hands-on craft-making, games,
ship tours, henna painting, author workshops,
collaborative story writing, boating, buskers, and
more. The award ceremonies themselves, and
the opportunity for the authors and students to
interact, were the most exciting part for many of
the participants. Thanks go to all the selection,
steering and festival committees, and to the OLA
staff and their helpers for creating something
incredible. Enjoy the following photos, courtesy of
the OLA photo team.
For more photos visit:
www.accessola.com/festival2008.
And the winners are…
Blue Spruce Award™
Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend, Mélanie Watt
Silver Birch Awards™
Express
Things are Looking Grimm, Jill, Dan Bar-el
Fiction
The Secret of Grim Hill, Linda DeMeulemeester
Non-Fiction
Secret Agent Y.O.U: The Official Guide to Secret
Codes, Disguises, Surveillance and More,
Helaine Becker, illustrated by Dave Whamond
Red Maple Award™
Safe as Houses, Eric Walters
White Pine Award™
Keturah & Lord Death, Martine Leavitt
38
blue spruce
red
d maple
white pine
volume 16, no. 1
39
silver birch
non-fiction
40
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or Distributors
• Support Canadian Publishing,
Distribution and Copyright Law
fiction
For more information visit us at www.elbo.ca
Student Writing Contest
Aids the Homeless
Anita DiPaolo Booth
H
2007 Winner Sarah Murray
The Library Networking Group (LNG) is the
electronic Meeting Space for libraries
and the information profession.
The challenges raised by ever-changing ideas, fresh
perspectives and marketplace developments are being
met by us every day. The continuing need to develop
techniques and skills that keep us abreast of change are
leading us to new solutions that we need to talk about.
The pressure to share our best practices and, more
importantly, our developing thoughts have led to the
creation of Library Networking Group online community.
www.libraryng.com
aving a safe home, a warm bed and enough to
eat is a basic standard which most Canadian
children enjoy. There are, however, an
estimated 300,000 homeless people in Canada and
many more that struggle to make ends meet. Two
organizations, Genworth Financial Canada (www.
genworth.ca/contest/media.html) and Habitat for
Humanity Canada (www.habitat.ca) have formed a
partnership to mobilize volunteers and community
partners in building affordable housing and promoting
homeownership as a means to break the cycle of poverty.
The two organizations have involved Canadian children
in their efforts by sponsoring a “Meaning of Home”
writing contest for grade four, five and six students. From
October 6 to November 14, 2008, students can submit a
200–600 word poem or composition that explains what
“home” means to them. The winner gets to help choose
the location of a home built by Habitat volunteers and
partially paid for by Genworth Financial Canada as
well as receiving a new computer. The five runners-up
receive $100 gift certificates from Chapters Indigo and
Genworth donates $5,000 in each winner’s name, to help
build a new home for a needy family.
Introduced in the context of homelessness and poverty,
the “Meaning of Home” writing contest can provide
students with an opportunity to think about these big
ideas and assist in community improvement.
To find contest details, lesson plans
and activity ideas for your library, go
to: www.meaningofhome.ca.

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