Six biggest library annoyances and how to fix them

The website Lifehacker this week had an article titled: The Six Biggest Media Center Annoyances (and How to Fix Them) and I got excited thinking those smart people were going to help school media specialists become (even) more popular. The "media center" being written about, however, was the home amalgamation of TV, amplifier, speakers, and various tuners, DVRs, etc. - not school libraries.

But it is a great title that I have modified slightly for clarity to use for this post. I am putting on my library patron and parent/grandparent hat in writing this post...

Six biggest library annoyances and how to fix them

1. Unfriendly/unhelpful librarian. I am always shocked when I see kids treated as an annoyance rather than as a reason for being by any library staff member. You fix this by firing the librarian with the negative attitude and replacing him/her with someone whose personal mission statement includes service to children. The librarian should be a primary reason for coming to the library - not the reason one avoids it.
2. Book fines. Libraries with policies that seem to emphasis getting books back instead of getting books out, drive me nuts. Find positive ways of helping kids and teacher show respect for other library users by the timely return of stuff. A book sitting on a shelf is worthless.
3. Computers "for school use only" policies. School libraries should encourage personal learning not just academic learning. OK, a library may have a limited number of terminals and priority should be given to school work, but there is absolutely NO reason for a library workstation to sit unused if there are students wanting to look for information of personal interest. This is a simple policy change. A computer sitting unused is worthless.
4. Material checkout restricted by age or reading ability. It drives me insane to hear about my grandsons book checkout being restricted to the "easy" book section or set of preselected materials when they go to the library. At the very least, librarians should allow a child to check out one book of personal choice from anywhere in the library along with the required book.
5. Poorly weeded collections. A badly weeded collection is not the sign of underfunding but of professional incompetence. If funding is a problem, collections should be getting smaller, not older. The only fix for old, cruddy collections is a dedication to weeding - and a information campaign to staff about why weeding is imperative.
6. Excuses. There is no excuse for a library program that is not getting better.  Problems with budget, staffing, facility, scheduling and administrative support are not good reasons for not providing kids and staff access to good reading materials, Internet access, and information literacy skills. It is our personal toward our programs, not our situations, that determines our efficacy. Get your head around it.

 So what are your biggest annoyances and how would you fix them? Oh, feel free to creat a similar list for your tech director or tech department. If you're going to dish it out, you better be able to take it as well, my mother always warned me.

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Pace of change and diversity of skill levels

In almost every workshop I give for educators that involves technology skills, I find a growing distance between the most and least skilled in the group*. While this has always been somewhat true, it feels like the gap is growing wider every year.

My theory is that there is a direct correlation between the rate of change and the distance between the most and least technologically-skilled in any random group. I've tried to show this graphically: 

and 

So my ongoing question lately has been: "How does one differentiate instruction in technology inservices for teachers?" Here are strategies I've used:

1. Aim at the middle. Pitch the old workshop at the "average" attendee. Then half the class is bored and the other half is frustrated. Everyone being equally unhappy is achievable if you work at it.
2. Ask for only skill-similar participants. If your workshop description states the needed skill level and clearly articulates its objectives, you have a better chance of getting a group with a homogenous skill level. Although plenty of people don't read session descriptions, may not have a choice in attending, or over/under estimate their own abilities.
3. Use small groups. The activities in every workshop I give are group activities. Your chance of getting a mix of skill levels is pretty good in a small group and the more skilled can help the less skilled. I do advise everyone to "sit beside someone who looks smarter than you are." For some of us, that is pretty easy.
4. Design activities with levels. Good workshop activities are like onions and ogres - they have layers. Start with a basic accomplishment, but add a few things that may challenge those who already know the basics. (Everyone has to create a motivational poster that defines a vocabulary word; if you have time, use photo-editing software to modify the illustration so it looks artsy, change the color of the frame, and choose a non-standard font.)
5. Design multiple activities or multiple sets of outcomes and groups. Marti, one of the bright pennies working as a technology integration specialist in my department this year, helped new iPad recipients self-assess and then divided them into skill-level groups at the very beginning of the afternoon-long workshop. He worked personally with the least skillful group, set his assistant to working with the middle group, and left the advanced group with video tutorials,  a list of objects, and each other for help. I was impressed at how well this worked.

We at least give lip service to providing differentiated instruction in our K-12 classrooms. Given the pace of change, the ever-widening skills gap, and increasing importance of good technology skills among all staff, we need to take customizing inservices more seriously as well.

Any differentiation strategies for inservices that have worked for you?

* Never, however, as bad as the teachers Scott Mcleod has encountered:

... I continually run into significant numbers of educators who still don’t know how to work their Internet browser. They struggle with copying and pasting. They get confused just clicking between 2 or 3 different browser tabs. They don’t conceptually understand the difference between their browser’s Google search box and the box where they can actually type in the URL and get there directly. They have no idea that they can right-click on things like hyperlinks or images. And so on… [And this is just the Internet browser. I'm not even talking about individual software programs or online tools.]

OK, no digs at Iowa, although it's tempting.

BFTP: Where to start as a professional writer

A weekend Blue Skunk "feature" will be a revision of an old post. I'm calling this BFTP: Blast from the Past.  Original post December 16, 2009. I was asked again this week about getting started writing for professional publication and sort of vaguely remembered addressing this topic once before. (Most of my memories are on the vague side.)

On reflection, the original blog post focuses mostly on library and tech publications. But publishing outside our own echo chamber is increasingly critical. Any publication with an audience beyond the librarian and technologist is fair game and I did list a couple in the blog post. Every discipline has its own journal and journals are targeted at different levels of education. Oh, and I have heard there are even publications for people who aren't in education.

Regardless of the non-librarian/tech audience for whom you might write, keep in mind that WIIFM? (what's in it for me?) needs to be your lead. Tying one specialty area to another is a creative act that helps the reader (and the writer.)

 

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Twice in the past week or so, I've been asked how one can become a Professional Published Author and make millions of dollars in royalties and article sales.

I am afraid writing for professional publication is not the most lucrative endeavor.* On an hourly basis, being a Wal-Mart greeter probably pays better - and it's more respectable.

But if you as a librarian or technology integration specialist are determined to get something into print, if for no other reasons than to please your mother or to shock your former English teachers, here are some places to try...

1. Library Media Connection Magazine is a good place for articles of a pragmatic nature (how I done it good). They pay a small stipend.
2. School Library Journal publishes a wide variety of articles related to school libraries and library service to children and young adults. They tend to hire heavy-handed editors, but they pay a small stipend.
3. Teacher-Librarian is more international in scope and likes more theoretical and research-based articles. They pay a (very) small stipend..
4. Multimedia & Internet @ Schools (the old Multi-Media Schools) publishes an eclectic range of articles. They pay a small stipend.
5. Writing for AASL's Knowledge Quest or ISTE's Learning & Leading with Technology is gratis except for the jewels in your crown and name recognition.
6. Personally, I think Kappan and Educational Leadership are the Mt. Everests of professional publications - good ones to shoot for if you are looking for prestige.
7. More general education magazines like Teacher are tough to break into but, as I remember, pay the best.  For the good of the profession, write for any education-related but non library/tech publication and get the good word out!
8. You can scan through a bibliography of my publications at <http://www.doug-johnson.com/articles/>. If you have questions (and I can remember), happy to answer questions about any particular publisher.
9. Pick up a copy of The Writer's Market to scan for other education related publications.

Oh, I always write the article first and then send it to publishers rather than contact publishers to see what they want.  Aim for about 1500-2500 words. Most magazines have some sort of editorial guidelines if you look for them

We need fresh voices in the field and print is a good way to reach many who don't read much online. And I still think there is some degree of gravitas that accompanies publication in an edited, print publication.

I know. I'm senile.

* Lately I've been considering an erotic element to all my writings, ala Fifty Shades of Gray. So if you see a blog post "Hard Drive" or "Filed Above the Rod" shield your monitor from your students.