Teaching Students about Online Reference Resources

     Researching a topic can be a challenge. For those with little guidance, Google is a popular go-to for information. Unfortunately, there are some issues with using Google, such as: a) it only indexes around 4% of internet content (Cuthrell), b) the quality of retrieved information isn't consistently good or reliable, c) there's barely any qualifiers to place on inquiries, and d) it retrieves links based on “PageRank”, which includes frequency of requested keyword, age of the page (the older the better), and how many sites link to it (Strickland) rather than the more useful methodology of retrieving queries based on "titles, subject headings, class numbers, and qualification metadata to ensure the precision of ranked output" (Markey, 8); therefore, Google isn’t the best resource to use for research. No resource is, actually, the be-all-end-all for all forms of inquiries, which highlights the importance and need of reference resource professionals to help students with their inquiries. Professionals such as teacher-librarians.

     One place these professionals could start when teaching about these resources (to aid students in their research/inquiries) is telling them about the scope of the internet itself and informing them of the three terms used to explain this scope: surface web, deep web, and dark web.

https://darkwebnews.com/deep-web/

     The surface web is all the indexed, and the search-engine-accessible, content that don’t require logins to view (Google, Amazon, Landmark Cinemas, Imdb, Wikipedia, etc.). The deep web is the opposite: unindexed, unsearchable, and content that includes sites which require logging in to view (emails, World Book, EBSCO). Many surface web pages started out as deep web pages before their “rank” pushed them to the “surface”. The dark web is a sub-section of the deep web that can only be accessed with a specific browser and is used by those who don’t want their messages or internet activities observed; it’s a part of the web that only the most experienced of internet users should visit as illegal and, quite frankly, terrifying/disturbing things can go on there (or be rumored to) (Cuthrell). The important take-away is that a lot of useful inquiries and research information can be found on the safe part of the deep web – information those who only look at the surface web would never see. It’s also important to note that when most people do browse the surface web with search-engines they typically stop after the first page or two, which means they barely see much of surface web content as well!

     What a teacher-librarian should be able to do is to help students find the wealth of great resources found on the deep web and nearly un-accessed part of the surface web. In my previous blog post, I wrote about a reference resource website I created (IDCC Online Library) for students, parents, teachers, and teacher-librarians to gain access to such great, often hidden, resources, but certain schools and school districts also have sections on their pages that link to useful resources and some to locked resources that they’ve paid for (World Book, EBSCO, Gale). Teacher-librarians should find out what great resources their school or school district has paid for, familiarize themselves with the content, and show/teach students and teachers how to use them, including how to login to them.

     The other important piece to teach is which type of resource (online and print) one should use for their specific inquiry, including the benefits, purposes, and drawbacks of each resource. Such types include: yearbooks (Guinness), atlases, biographies, bibliographies, almanacs, handbooks, directories, dictionaries, thesauruses, encyclopedias, maps, gazetters, indexes, periodicals, and sites with limited, specific, scope (NASA, Three Sixty Cameras). Teacher-librarians should also be able to evaluate which of these resources are good, based on such qualifiers as: accuracy, authority, cost, currency, ease of use, comprehensiveness, content, format, indexing, objectivity, scope, scale, and vendor (Riedling).

     And, finally, there’s research methods which should be taught based on grade level, such as Points of Inquiry for upper elementary, Super 3 for middle school, and Big 6 for Secondary School, or methods like these as there are many kinds and the topic can also influence which one should be used/taught.

References

Cuthrell, Shannon. “Deep Web.” Dark Web News, https://darkwebnews.com/deep-web/.

Markey, K. (2007). The online library catalog: Paradise lost and paradise regained? D-Lib Magazine, 13(1), 8.

Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. Reference Skills for the School Librarian Tools and Tips. Linworth, 2013.

Savoie, JP. "About." IDCC Online Library, https://idcconlinelibrary.wixsite.com/idcc.

Strickland, Jonathan. "How Google Works." How Stuff Works, https://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/google1.htm.

“The Points of Inquiry.” British Columbia Teacher-Librarians’ Association, https://bctla.ca/resources/point-of-inquiry/.

“TheBig6.Org.” TheBig6, thebig6.org/.

The eBook Option: What to do When Advocating for Your School Library Doesn’t Work

Photo by UNESCO

     BCTF’s website states that “many of our public school libraries in British Columbia are closed or only open part of the day.” For schools that have lost their library, or have received severe cuts to it, what do you do?

     I would say, right now in my studies, that the first step for a school-librarian would be to advocate for their school library (and if a school loses their school-librarian, then any teachers, parents, admin, students, or community members could do this). Briefly, this entails: a) making a case as to why the school library needs funding (including making a maintenance and growth budget), b) proposing to shift school budget funds away from specified, less urgently in need, areas and into the school library, and c) seeking elsewhere for funding (fundraisers, grants, foundations, organizations).

     If that first step doesn’t work, or yields insufficient funds, some developing countries (and likely rural communities as well) have come up with, through necessity, another option: eBooks on mobile devices.

     Around 67% or the world’s population own a cell phone (Statistica). For libraries that are insufficiently stocked, no longer current, inappropriately stocked (from donated books that don’t necessarily match the students’ reading levels, interests, or curricular needs), or non-existent(!), allowing students to bring their own devices, or stocking a library with a class’s worth of mobile devices (affordable, donated, or used cellphones, tablets, or eReaders) is a way to keep students reading. There are plenty of great free online resources (such as Britannica Kids), public library eBook collections, cheap eBook subscription services (such as Kindle Unlimited and Audible), eBook collections for schools (such as from Rakuten Overdrive), cheap bundles (such as from Humble Bundle), and, of course, there are the more expensive option of buying specific eBooks, which are still a fraction of the physical book’s cost.

     Personally, I think that even if one’s school library isn’t suffering, that having a classroom-set worth of mobile devices is a good thing as the device can: a) read books to developing readers, b) be used to teach (computer programming, photography, educational games, science, etc.), c) be paired with VR goggles for interactive and immersive learning/experiences, and d) hold large collections of quick-to-access books at their fingertips, which is especially useful if it’s on their own mobile device.

     A teacher-librarian’s school library may not currently be in jeopardy but being prepared in advance for the possibility allows them to transition to a better alternative, as it’s better to have a digital library than none or an inadequate one. In any case, having the back-up resources actually improves learning opportunities, so, even if a teacher-librarian doesn’t need to setup a mobile-technology learning environment, it’s optimal to do so (and what I plan on doing when I’m a teacher-librarian).

References

“Ebooks, Audiobooks & More for Your School.” Rakuten Overdrive, https://company.overdrive.com/education/k-12-schools/

Humble Bundle, https://humblebundle.com

“Inspire. Inform. Educate.” Britannica Kids, https://kids.britannica.com

“Kindleunlimited: Unlimited Reading. Unlimited Listening. Any Device.” Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/hz/signup?_encoding=UTF8&ref_=sv_kstore_2

“Number of mobile phone users worldwide from 2015 to 2020 (in billions).” Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/274774/forecast-of-mobile-phone-users-worldwide/

“School Libraries.” BCTF, https://bctf.ca/IssuesInEducation.aspx?id=13266

UNESCO. “Reading in the Mobile Era.” YouTube, YouTube, 22 Apr. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gOtpCIl-Ng.

West, Mark, et al. Reading in the Mobile Era: a Study of Mobile Reading in Developing Countries. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Education Sector, 2014.

“Your first free audiobook is waiting.” Audible, www.audible.ca

The Levels of Teacher and Teacher-Librarian Collaboration

The Levels of Teacher and Teacher-Librarian Collaboration: A graphic I adapted from Montiel-Overall’s findings.

          The ultimate role of a teacher-librarian (TL) is to help students learn and enjoy learning. They are the guardians, facilitators, and instructors of knowledge. They help students. Yet, to be most effective in helping students, they can partner with teachers to share their knowledge of resources, technology, research skills, and teaching skills, either in the library or in the classroom. They can also work with admin and teachers to develop across-curriculum planned instruction. Using Latham and Gross’s overview of Montiel-Overall’s findings, as well as her own, I have broken down four levels of teacher and teacher-librarian (TL) collaboration:

1.     Co-ordinator: The first, and most basic, form of collaboration between a TL and a teacher is the TL co-ordinating resources, activities, and events for a class. This can include hosting book fairs, doing STEM activities, sharing and displaying student work, showing where resources are and how to use them, and having time allocated for student drop-in use. The TL doesn’t necessarily even have to communicate with the teacher to provide this level of class help, which is why I encourage teacher-librarians to extend collaboration with teachers to the next levels.

2.    Resource locator: This next step actually requires at least some basic communication with teachers, either by the teacher approaching the TL to find resources (physical or digital) to either help them prepare a unit or to prepare a presentation of resources for students to use in a research project, or by the TL’s conversations with the teacher to discover whether they could help them in any way by providing resources. It is crucially important for TL’s not to assume a teacher will approach them for help, as not all teachers consider this option; TL’s will likely need to take the initiative by offering this support and may need to build trust with the teacher first; level 1 support will help build this trust.

3.    Co-instructor: This level requires even more communication with teachers, to the extent of working with them to co-develop a lesson, unit, or assignment. In this scenario, a TL’s technological and research skills are specifically utilized for goals planned, presented, and possibly even assessed by both the teacher and TL.

4.    Across-Curriculum Co-Instructor: This, the most advanced, level requires support and co-ordination with the admin (for allocated planning time and involvement) and participation with every teacher in the school. At this level, the degrees and levels of technological and research skills, planned co-instruction, and level 1 and 2 support are worked out across every grade taught at the school, and, naturally, the teachers and admin should extend this opportunity to clarify what curricular content is taught at each level for split-grade classes. TL’s may need to take the initiative in planning this with their admin. This level also requires an ethos of school-wide teacher/admin collaboration, trust, and commitment, which, unfortunately, doesn’t necessarily exist in every school. At the very least, the TL can do what they can to slowly change this ethos through effective collaboration at levels 1 through 3 until the spirit of school collaboration catches on to allow this level to move forward (by leading by example).

References

Latham, Don, and Melissa Gross. “Collaborating for Success: Teachers and Librarians as Partners in Learning.” Voices From the Middle, vol. 24, no. 4, 2017, p. 64-66.

Montiel-Overall, Patricia. “Teacher and Teacher-Librarian Collaboration: Moving toward Integration.” Teacher Librarian, vol. 34, no. 2, 2006, p. 28-31.