EDTC6102 – techy becky librarian

Using Student-Created Book Trailers to Increase Library Circulation

Becky Putzier — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 23:33:23 +0000

I shared in a recent post that this quarter in the Digital Education Leadership program through Seattle Pacific University, I have been exploring the ASSURE Model, an instructional model used to design lessons that effectively incorporate the use of technology to enhance student learning. This model identifies six steps in the planning process and those steps form the acronym, ASSURE:

How Was This Model Used?

Using the ASSURE Model, I designed a student-created book trailer project, where students share their excitement of a favorite book in an effort to increase circulation rates and encourage reading for pleasure. Here you will find my plans for the project, following the ASSURE Model:

Reflection on the Process

I have started this project with my third grade class and it has been a huge success. The students are coming to library excited, ready to work and eager to move through the steps of the process. The students are still in the initial planning phases, but based on their work thus far, I anticipate the success will continue. One of the most exciting, unforeseen benefits of the introduction of this project has been the decline in behavioral management issues, the students are active … Read More

ISTE 6: Are Basic Computer Skills Still Important?

Becky Putzier — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 02:05:27 +0000

The end of the quarter at Seattle Pacific University is quickly coming to a close, as is my adventure diving into the ISTE Student Standards. If this is your first time visiting my blog, I encourage you to check out my explorations of standards 1, 2, 3, and 4. This week, I will be digging into ISTE Student Standard 6, attempting to answer the question, “How can students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations?” You might notice that I have failed to include standard 5, this standard addresses Digital Citizenship issues. The students in the Digital Education Leadership program have examined this standard at length through our Group and Individual Projects, I invite you to check those out!

I recently attended an EdCamp (if you’re unfamiliar with the term, this video is a must) where I met with several librarians who were talking about the need for basic computer skill instruction. After much discussion and reflecting on the standard for this week, I was left asking myself the following question:

How can the library play a central role in facilitating a scope and sequence of computer skills for students in the … Read More

Exploring the ASSURE Model Through Teacher Education

Becky Putzier — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 22:14:00 +0000

This quarter in the Digital Education Leadership program through Seattle Pacific University, I have been working together with my classmates to explore the ASSURE Model, an instructional model used to design lessons that effectively incorporate the use of technology to enhance student learning. This model identifies six steps in the planning process and those steps form the acronym, ASSURE:

What Does This Look Like?

My classmates and I created a face-to-face session for educators who are interested in incorporating technology into their classroom but are looking for basic management techniques to help them be comfortable and successful. The design of this lesson took place over an entire quarter, working on one of four phases and then seeking feedback from the professors before moving forward. This format allowed us to gain outside perspective, make revisions to the lesson plan and then use that feedback as we transitioned into the following steps of the ASSURE Model.

Here you will find our plans for the project, including the handouts that will be provided to session participants:

Reflection on the Process

What worked well?

I really enjoyed being able to meet with my classmates and work on this in-person, we all talked … Read More

ISTE 4: Using Mind-Maps to Help Conduct Effective Research

Becky Putzier — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 04:58:16 +0000

This week I am diving into the fourth ISTE Student Standard: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making through the Digital Education Leadership program at Seattle Pacific University and am attempting to answer the following question: “What are ways in which students can use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources?”

I recently started teaching sixth and seventh grade students the research process using the Big6 Research Model, you can read more about that experience in my last blog post. During that lesson, I found that the students’ biggest challenges were some of the skills I thought would be the most simple. The most notable being, the ability to identify keywords that would help them conduct their research. The students were able to formulate several questions related to their science fair topic but when asked to select three to five keywords based on those questions, they struggled. My intended goal for the students was for them to review their questions, determine how those questions were related, and extract a number of succinct terms that will allow them to conduct effective research. I discovered … Read More

ISTE 3: Teaching Research Using the Big6 Model

Becky Putzier — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 23:32:32 +0000

This week I am looking at the third ISTE Student Standard: Research and Information Fluency through the Digital Education Leadership program at Seattle Pacific University and am attempting to answer the following question: “What are ways in which students can apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information?”

Coincidentally, our middle school science teacher approached me recently, asking if I could guide her students through the research process as they prepare their science fair projects. While I have taught several stand-alone lessons on conducting research, I have never taught those skills as a thoughtful, comprehensive unit. I took to the Web to discover how other educators teach various information literacy skills and through my research, I have discovered that I am not alone; it is not uncommon for librarians to lack confidence in their implementation of research skills in their program. Dr. Michael B. Eisenberg, founder of the Big6Skills and Janet Murray, well-published and respected school librarian, have indicated that a surprisingly few number of schools have a comprehensive information literacy program. They found that many programs are “irregular, partial, and arbitrary” (Eisenberg, 2011, pg. 10). Sadly, as our classrooms (and world) move towards an inquiry-based model, … Read More

ISTE 2: Connecting With Authors Via Skype

Becky Putzier — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 23:27:30 +0000

This week I am looking at the second ISTE Student Standard: Communication and Collaboration through the Digital Education Leadership program at Seattle Pacific University and am attempting to answer the following question: “How can students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others?” When examining the first ISTE Student Standard: Creativity and Innovation, I had first toyed with the idea of using Skype with my students to address that standard but found that I was not able to adequately teach and assess the skills I was looking for in the scope of my library curriculum and therefore revised my focus (read more about that process in my last post).

While I did not incorporate the use of Skype into that standard, it was a tool that I was interested in exploring further and found that it conformed nicely with the communication and collaboration standard. In an effort to enhance the library program and provide my students with opportunities to deepen their interest in reading for pleasure (my never-ending quest as a librarian), I attempted to answer the following question:

How can students … Read More

ISTE 1: Reaching Reluctant Readers Through Book Trailers

Becky Putzier — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 05:25:07 +0000

The next adventure in my Digital Education Leadership program is well underway and this quarter I am focusing on the ISTE Student Standards and how I can use those standards to address challenges I currently face. This week proved to be a great life learning experience for me, it helped to remind me to ignore the box that I try to stand inside of and instead do what works for me. When serving on committees, collaborating with classmates or meeting with colleagues, I often find that I compare myself to classroom teachers. I forget to see that in my position as school librarian, I am afforded some wonderfully unique opportunities to connect with students and instead I focus on what I cannot do with my limited time or resources.

In my “I’m-not-a-classroom-teacher” state of mind, I was tasked with examining the first ISTE standard and determine how students can “demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.” Through this, I asked the following:

How can students use technology to demonstrate their understanding of a book to connect with other fans outside of the school community (fan fiction, global read-alouds) and, potentially, the author themselves (Twitter, … Read More