Course Syllabus
Title : Powerful Web Tools for the School Library Media Center: Changing the Way We Teach and Learn
Credits 3 credit = 45 contact hours
Instructor:Anna Bolognani
Meeting dates and times: Summer 2012
Location: Online
Course Description:
This course explores Web 2.0 literacy and how tools such as blogs, wikis, twitter, social bookmarking,
mashups, podcasting, and vodcasting can be used to foster collaboration and learning in our schools. Educators in 21st Century schools infuse technology into lessons to meet the needs of diverse learners, not as an end, but as a means to develop critical thinking, encourage creativity, and share knowledge. The course reflects learning standards established by the AASL, (2007) Standards for the 21st Century Learner and ISTE (2007, 2008) National Educational Technology Standards for Students- NETS S, and National Technology Standards for Teachers- NETS T.
Goals:
Participants will explore current research and information on student learning in the digital age. Through the use
of blogs, wikis, twitter, IM, social bookmarking, mashups, podcasts and vodcasts they will become familiar with
the technology and develop ideas on how to use them for collaboration and lessons in an educational setting.
Students will use web tools to develop a multimedia web based presentation.
Learning Outcomes:
Students will:
Demonstrate an understanding of how Web 2.0 tools can be used to promote learning.
Discuss and analyze current issues and trends in school library media centers and student learning in the digital age.
Create a multimedia web based presentation that enhances student learning for use in their LMC, or classroom.
General Course Information
Course Policies/Expectations:
Students will:
Visit the Blackboard site 5 times per week to participate in all online informational sessions, read content materials, post to the discussion board or blogs, or other work as prompted through weekly assignments.
Participate in at least 2 online chats with instructor.
Complete assignments and post by due date.
Attendance Expectations:
Online
The official policy for excused absences for religious holidays: Students have the right to practice the religion of
their choice. Each semester students should submit in writing to their instructors by the end of the second full
week of classes their documented religious holiday schedule for the semester. Faculty must permit students
who miss work for the purpose of religious observance to make up this work.
Contributions in Class:
Students are expected to participate online.
Academic Honesty & Professionalism:
All students are required to be familiar with and adhere to the “Academic Honesty Policy Procedures” delineated
in the most recent edition of “The Cat’s Tale”. (
Accommodations:
Accommodations will be provided to eligible students with disabilities. Please obtain an accommodation letter
from the ACCESS office and see one of the instructors early in the course to discuss what accommodations will
be necessary. If you are unfamiliar with ACCESS, visit their website at to learn
more about the services they provide. ACESS: A-170 Living Learning Center, University of Vermont,
Burlington, VT 05405. PH: 802-656-7753, TTY: call 711 (relay), Fax: 802-656-0739, Email:
, Instant Messenger: UVMaccess. General office hours: 8:30am – 4:30pm Monday through
Friday. Call to make an appointment.
Required and/or recommended readings:
Texts:
Courtney, Nancy, editor Library 2.0 and Beyond: Innovative Technologies and Tomorrow's User. Westport, CT:
Libraries Unlimited, 2007.
Warlick, David F. Redefining Literacy 2.0. Columbus, OH: Linworth Books, 2009.
Articles:
Maness, Jack M. "Library 2.0 Theory: Web 2.0 and Its Implications for Libraries"
URL:
National Education Technology Trends
Research on Social Networks
Saltman, Dave. “Eight Tech Trends for Librarians (and Teachers too!)” Harvard Education Newsletter, Vol. 27, No.3, May/June 2011
Walker, Laura "Nine Reasons to Twitter in Schools"
URL:
Web 2.0 and Library Services for Young Adults: An Introduction for librarians
Prepared by: Ivan Chew, IFLA Libraries for Children and Young Adults Section
Valenza, Joyce. "14 Ways k-12 Librarians Can Teach Social Media"
URL:
Zimmer, Michael. Tools for the 21st Century Teacher (Volume 2) Spring 2011
Websites to visit:
Portal to Cloud Computing - Lots of great applications to explore.
Blogging, networking & technology tips - not recently updated, but still a good source of information.
News and articles. Always updated and informative - subscribe to the ezine and rss feed.
A search engine for blogs.
How Stuff Works - Whats Inside Social Networking. Learn how popular sites like Facebook and Twitter work.
Click on HOME to go to to explore all of the other intersting things posted on
this site.
Recommended:
Frauenfelder, Mark. Rule the Web. NY:St.Martin's Griffen, 2007.
Harris, Frances Jacobson. i found it on the internet: coming of age online. Chicago, IL: ALA, 2011
Richardson, Will. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2010.
Electronic Submissions/Internet Use:
Student work will be submitted electronically through the Blackboard website.
Student Evaluation/Assessment
Grading:
Weekly assignments 40%
Papers 30%
Final project 30%
Description of Class Assignments:
- Weekly assignments will include required readings and online exploration of social web tools, and reflection on learning through blogs, and discussion board on Blackboard and Skype sessions. (sample attached)
- Students will write 2 papers exploring topics and issues surrounding Web 2.0 in an educational setting. Choice of topic should reflect personal interest and relate to student learning, or challenges/ successes in implementing social media in schools. (Sample guidelines/criteria attached)
- The final project will be a podcast, Prezi, Voicethread, or other type of Web 2.0 presentation that can be used in the library media center or school. The final project should reflect knowledge gained from this class and feature a web 2.0 tool that student has explored during this course. The task is to take a chosen tool to the next level and to incorporate the application into students’ current instructional strategies. (Sample guidelines attached)
Scoring Rubrics:
attached
Percentage Contribution of Each Assignment:
Weekly assignments 8% each
Papers 15% each
Final project 30%
Instructional Sequence:- List the course topics for each scheduled class meeting date including
readings and assignment due dates.
Week 1
Introductions
Set up a blog and post your bio.
Read Introduction and chapters 1 & 2 in Warlick.
Read "Web 2.0 and Library 2.O: What Librarians Need to Know" by Elizabeth Black
Skype
Discussion board – questions and comments related to the readings.
Blog entry: Evaluate a web site and support your conclusions. Due by end of week 2.
Week 2
Folksonomies & Tagging & Clouds
Read "A Cloud Computing Case Study: Library Society of the World" by Robin Hastings.
Read "Folksonomies and User-Based Tagging" by Ellyssa Kroski
Read "Podcasting in Libraries" by Chris Kretz.
Read pages 83-85 & page 88 in Warlick
Set up a social bookmarking site.
Try a podcast
Discussion board – questions and comments related to the readings.
Blog entry on user based tagging and implications for retrieving information. Due by end of week 4.
Week 3
Blogs, Wikis & Tweets
Read pages 101-112 in Warlick
Read "Collaboration 2.0 and Collaboration Tools, 2.0 Style" by Robin Hastings.
Read Walker's "Nine Reasons to Twitter in Schools"
Set up Twitter account.
Quick look at Jing
Discussion board – questions and comments related to the readings.
Week 4
Putting it all together: Audio, Visuals, & Mashups
Read pages 77-80 & in Warlick and chapters 6 in Courtney.
Read "Cool Tools for Content Creation: More than Blogs or Wikis" by Karen J. Klopperstuck and
Robert J. Lackie.
Read "The 2.0 Tech I Can't Live Without" by Anna Koval.
Read Valenza's "14 Ways k-12 Librarians Can Teach Social Media"
Upload pictures to an online account
Try scrapblog
Quick look at Google Maps
Discussion board – questions and comments related to the readings.
Week 5
Ethics - Trendsetting
Read chapter 5 in Warlick
Read Maness - "Library 2.0 Theory: Web 2.0 and Its Implications for Libraries"
Discussion board – questions and comments related to the readings.
Final projects due.
Weekly Assignments:
Sample Week 1:
Introductions
Please set up your Blog space with a short introduction of yourself. Include where you work and what you would like to learn in this course.
Find Blogs on the menu and click. Find your name - click on View and create an entry by choosing New Entry under Actions on the right hand side. Give your entry a title and start typing. You can add pictures, links, etc.
If you have a blog outside of BB that you want to share please link it.
Most blogs can be set up for free. They are easy to set up and use.
Here are a few popular sites for you to check out. If you have a Google account try out Blogger. Sign in with your Google information.
Blogger
Wordpress
LiveJournal
How Stuff Works has an interesting article on How Blogs Work and they include other blog sites.
Please read "Web 2.0 and Library 2.0: What Librarians need to Know" by Elizabeth Black.
Please read the Introduction and chapters 1 & 2 in Warlick.
Warlick writes about evaluating the information (chapter 2 p.49). Please read this carefully. Librarians are able to play a significant role in teaching students and others how to critically look at information.
Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is interactive and collaborative, but the exact definition of Web 2.0 depends on who you ask. One thing everyone seems to agree on is that it is changing the way we learn and therefore the way we teach. Librarians can use these tools to communicate and collaborate with other librarians, teachers, and students. Web 2.0 tools can enrich the curriculum and engage students in exciting new ways.
Please watch this video and think about how schools need to evolve to reach these students.
Digital Generation video from edutopia.org
How do we, as educators, need to rethink our approach to teaching these students?
Use the Discussion Board >Digital Generation to share your ideas.
I think that letting students explore and learn on their own is great. They are motivated and learning about things that interest them. I also think that they need guidance in determining what is fact and what is opinion. That is where librarians can make a crucial difference. Information literacy skills are more important now because of the huge amounts and seemingly endless variety of websites found on the internet.
Blogs
You probably have read several, you might even have one or two. How do you use them with students? How could you use them with your students?
Use the Discussion Board >Blog Uses to share your ideas.
Also, take a moment to watch this tutorial from Widener. The tutorial is dated, but still does a great job showing what to look for on a web site.
After reading Warlick and watching the tutorial go to a web site that you use and evaluate it. Here is a check list eval.pdf to help you get started. Submit your critical evaluation (2 pages) by June 5.
You should also take a moment to look at the Projects link on the main menu. You will find some information about your final project for this class. What would you like to do?
Weekly Assignments Rubric
Below Expectations / Meets Expectations / ExceedsExpectations
Promptness / Assignment not done. / Posted by due date. / Posted by due date and is exceptionally well done.
Depth of Post & Clarity of Expression / Does not make any reference to assigned readings for the week; Minimal expression of ideas or opinions. / Makes some reference to assigned readings and gives opinions, but not always clear and concise.
Lacks originality. / Makes reference to assigned readings for the week; Expresses opinions and ideas in a clear and concise manner; Contributions thoughtful, original evaluation, syntheses or analysis of topic.
Completes task / Does not complete task or make progress toward completion. / Completes task and evaluates the process. / Completes task, evaluates the process and clearly shows new learning.
Issues Papers:
Criteria for Writing Papers
For this course, there are 2 papers to complete, as well as a final project. I need to outline some expectations about the papers before you begin them so everyone understands the structure.
This is a graduate level course, so the first expectation is that your work on papers is graduate level work.
When a paper is assigned, it needs to fulfill the following parameters:
- Written in a word processor, and single spaced. Font size should be 12, and the margins should be standard, approx. 1/2 inch on each side.
- Name should be on the paper in top right hand corner, I don't need a title page.
- Proper grammar, punctuation, spelling should be in place. If you struggle with some of those areas, please have someone proofread your work. I can't stress this enough. I find it awkward to have to not accept a paper on these grounds.
- A blog, wiki, or discussion carries an informal tone. It is a conversation. When I ask for those in the course, then I expect that tone. Please do not confuse this with a paper. Papers are to be formal in style.
- Papers should include quotes where relevant, and have references listed at the end in a formal style. Cite your sources using MLA format.
- I require that papers include at least two "outside" resources. By this I mean you pick two articles or book portions that were not assigned through the course and include their ideas in your work. This helps to fulfill the research standards in our coursework. I realize you will be pulling material from the assigned readings as well, just be sure to cite them in your resources.
- Papers will be attached within an assignment. Please don't write the paper in the Journal area, use a word processor and attach the document. Also, please, if you use the word processor within Google Docs, take it out of Google docs before passing it in. (For example, please don't "share" your paper with me, I need something that I can have as stand-alone. pdf it if that is the route you are going.)
- Finally, If papers are asked to be at least 3-5 pages, then, 3-5 pages is best.
Final Project:
Final Project
The final project is up to you. I want you to try out something new and design your project around what you will be able to use in your library.
Some ideas:
a podcast
Jing tutorial
Slideshare presentation
scrapblog
video
booktrailer
organize your bookmarks for a class using portaportal
book reviews using a web 2.0 tool
The final project should reflect your knowledge from this class and feature a web 2.0 tool that you have explored during this course. The task is to take your chosen tool to the next level and make it useful to you as school librarian.
I am open to hearing your ideas. Please let me know what you would like to try and I will help you along the way.
Final Project
Below Expectations / Meets Expectations / ExceedsExpectations
Organization / Project is poorly planned out, lacks editing and does not link course content. / Project is carefully planned using course content, and is edited. / Project is carefully planned and edited, clearly demonstrates knowledge gained from course content.
Technical
Aspects / Project has serious flaws and is not usable. / Project works as it should, but some flaws. / Project works exceeding well, no flaws.
Content / Content is not appropriate for age level of audience. / Content is appropriate for age level and is ready to be used. / Content is appropriate for age level, accurate, detailed and in depth, - is ready to be used.