Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report - (Page S26)

S26 | EDUCATION WEEK n April 15, 2015 Blended Learning: Breaking Down Barriers > www.edweek.org/go/blended-barriers " CONTINUED FROM PAGE S24 which are modeled on the University of Washington's Five Dimensions of Teaching and Learning framework. Changes in libraries' designs are also facilitating districts' use of technology. Terri Grief, the president of the American Association of School Librarians, or aasl, said an increasing number of libraries can accommodate not only catalogs of printed materials and other resources, but also easy movable furniture for group projects and individual study, and spaces for multimedia and the use of desktop computers, laptops, and mobile devices. Even so, Mr. Ray said to date, the insufficient power to use the new digital tools in school libraries and classrooms is a prime concern. "This is one of the least sexy but most important challenges as schools seek to become technology-rich environments," Mr. Ray pointed out. Scaling up the changes made in Vancouver to other districts around the country may be difficult, in part, because of a lack of resources, said Ms. Grief, who cited a nationwide decline in school librarian numbers. Yet the tide is turning in some states. "Vermont and Michigan restored jobs as legislation was passed acknowledging the impact school librarians have on student achievement," said Ms. Grief, while schools in the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia are looking to hire school librarians. Plus, national initiatives and organizations such as Future Ready Schools, Digital Promise, and Follett's Project Connect are helping to bolster the cause for teacher-librarians to take a central role in the evolution of blended learning, which combines face-to-face and onlinelearning activities. School librarians also need to increase their visibility on school leadership teams and invite principals, superintendents, and board members into their worlds to show them how students are learning in modern school libraries, said Ms. Grief, adding that school It required teacher-librarians to be open-minded and willing to not only shift their own thinking, but also be prepared to lead others to start thinking in new and different ways." TRACI CHUN Teacher Librarian, Skyview High School, Vancouver, Wash., District librarians are invited to bring an administrator for free to the aasl's national conference Nov. 5-8 in Columbus, Ohio. Creating Content Experts "What Vancouver recognized that few others have is that teacherlibrarians are content experts and research gurus," said Jason Tomassini, the communications director for Digital Promise, a nonprofit based in Washington and California that seeks to improve education through technology and research. He agrees with Ms. Grief that the Vancouver model can be replicated. In fact, the 39,000-student Lincoln district in Nebraska and the 6,000-student Mooresville Graded district in North Carolina are engaging in similar efforts. Mr. Ray recently was recognized by the National School Boards Association as one of its ed-tech leaders to watch. The list also includes media specialist Andy Plemmons of Georgia's Clarke County district, which serves about 13,000 students and features a media center offering walking field trips with Google Earth, Skype collaborations with writers and artists, and beta-testing of ed-tech products. While digital learning has its challenges, Mr. Tomassini sees no downside to giving school librarians an expanded role in blendedlearning initiatives. "It may require districts to shift resources typically used for something else toward library programs," he said. "But any successful district in the 21st century needs to reassess how it spends its dollars." n Flexible. Blended. Personalized. Waggle, together with Coach, is a seamless, blended learning solution, to help you achieve success beyond the test. You're so close, James! What operation can you use to find "2 times as many?" www.triumphlearning.com/ed http://www.edweek.org/go/blended-barriers http://www.triumphlearning.com/ed

Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - April 15, 2015 - Special Report