iCommons at ASB

Over the last six months, one of the projects of the American School of Bombay has been a total renovation of the learning facilities to create much needed space and to support 21st century learning and teaching models. In addition to reworking the existing building, ASB built a brand new Elementary School, with an emphasis on creating spaces to encourage a collaborative learning environment.  One of those spaces is the iCommons (Information Commons).  The virtual space for our iCommons can be accessed directly at: http://icommons.asbindia.org/

The iCommons replaces the traditional concept of a library. We’ve transformed the centralized library into six interactive spaces, located on each floor, within our learning communities. ASB iCommons’ mission is to inspire and support its users towards creative and intellectual achievement while responsibly and ethically learning the value of information, its acquisition, and its usage. Each floor has an iCommons area housing a variety of information resources and tools - ebooks, playaways, audio books, printed books, and an iMac to create digital products. This collaborative space will support and engage students in their learning journey.

Our six iCommons house a wide collection of ebooks, print books and databases to support reading, multidisciplinary social and problem solving skills. Within these titles is a wide collection of ebooks that range from picture books, fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, other language materials and teacher resources. The iCommons subscribe to a variety of periodicals, journals, magazines, and  ebooks to support the needs of our students. The iCommons Handbook can be accessed for more information.  Most of the electronic resources are available at any time from anywhere in the world.

In addition to effectively combining the traditional library space with classroom library collections into a collaborative space, our iCommons also provides additional space to the teachers and students for individual and small group work.  This allows us to make a conceptual shift.  Where the traditional library is usually considered a repository of information, where information is stored and accessed, the iCommons becomes a place where information can be used and analyzed to produce new content.  We want our students to learn to be not only effective consumers and ethical users of information, but also fluent producers of information. Both our elementary iCommons and the MS/HS Library provide the space, resources, and culture to help our students become information fluent.

ASB’s Definition of Information Fluency
“Information fluency is an inquiry-based transformation process in which the learner ethically locates, understands, evaluates and synthesizes information – from a variety of sources and formats – into ideas, products, or processes with personal, academic, social or global significance.” (compiled from ALA, AASL, and NETS)

reprint of my column in MACUL Journal

Essential Conditions
As we examine what it takes for a school library to work towards achieving Library 2.0 status, it would be helpful to define what Library 2.0 means.  Here's my definition of Library 2.0:
The concept of Library 2.0 is an offshoot of the Web 2.0 ( http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/Web_2_point_0.html) idea. Most folks agree that Web 1.0 was mostly a web where users were primarily consumers of information, and Web 2.0 provides users access to tools that enable us to become producers, manipulators and re-configurers of information.  Web 2.0 is also a place that allows people to connect to others and work together with others on creating information.

Library 2.0 then is similarly a library environment in which users can not only find and access the information that they need, but also have access to the tools that enable them to become producers, manipulators, and re- configurers of information. It also becomes an environment that encourages and enables collaboration between and among its clients.

People interested in more information about the Library 2.0 concept may want to explore this web site:  Library 2.0: the future of libraries in the digital age
http://www.library20.com/ .

So using that definition, for a library to become a Library 2.0 library, we need to provide more than just resources in which students and teachers can find information.  We need to provide access to tools for them to produce, manipulate and configure information.  We need to provide spaces and tools for people to connect and work together with information.

Over the course of the next few articles what I'd like to do is examine some of the essential conditions for a school library to become a library 2.0 library using that definition.

It seems to me that the very first essential condition is the culture of the library or media center. A Library 2.0 culture has to come from the librarian / media specialist in charge of the library.  A library 2.0 library is not a place where simply quiet, individual research is going on - although that too has to remain a part of it. It has to be a place where students and teachers are working together and individually on projects, collaborating,  creating documents, presentations, audio and video clips as well as many other types of materials.   The culture of the library has to be one that embraces activity and productivity, and not stereotypically concerned simply about maintaining quiet and preserving materials. This culture has to be fostered by the librarian, but also embraced by the leadership and administration of the school and may mean a change in the entire culture of the school. 

Doug Johnson, one of our featured speakers at the 2012 MACUL Conference has a very thought-provoking blog post about the culture of libraries and technology departments, based on 8 Core Beliefs of Extraordinary Bosses by Geoffrey James, Inc. April 23, 2012 (via Stephen's Lighthouse).  Here's the link to Doug's blog post: http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2012/5/29/core-beliefs-of-extraordinary-bosses.html.

In addition to changing from a culture of finding information to one of producing and sharing information, a Library 2.0 culture becomes one that moves from a definition of information or knowledge as independent of the learner to a definition of information and knowledge as a result of social and collaborative processes which the learner is involved in.  Thus the culture of the library moves from independent learning of "facts" to collaborative exploration of ideas and creation of new information or ways of understanding that information.

Another good resource you may wish to explore is a new Powerpoint presentation by Thomas Hapke of University Library, Hamburg University of Technology, Germany on Information culture.  Here's a link to that presentation on the blog of Sheila Webber, Director of the Centre for Information Literacy Research at the University of Sheffield, UK. http://information-literacy.blogspot.fr/2012/05/information-culture-different-views-on.html

Learner's first

Just came across a blog post from Tom Whitby that I felt I really needed to share ..

Here's a quote ... "As educators we must be learners first. If we are to be better educators, we must first be better learners. We may not always have a choice in what we learn."

Hypocrisy in the Profession of Education « My Island View

 

Pictures from ISTE...

ISTE

Lot of energy and excitement.

Partnerships

I'm at the ISTE conference in San Diego - attending the affiliate assembly which is a get together of all the state and regional groups that are affiliate members of the larger organization. A panel discussion is talking about the value of partnerships for organizations such as ours. In so many ways, this has to be at the core of what we do as school librarians. We need to partner with obvious people like teachers and administrators and students to help all them learn. But we especially need to find ways to partner with others beyond our normal allies to work together for mutual benefit.

Special interest

At the MSBO (Michigan Association of School Business Officials) conference, where I just presented a session on ipad apps for administrators. I just spent some time wandering through the exhibits where I saw all kinds of vendors : accountants, architects, heating and cooling folks, food service people, sports field and flooring people. There are some many different people involved in the business of running schools. It's a good reminder that we librarians are just one part of the big picture: one special interest among many. One of the big things we need to do as school librarians is make sure that we are aware of all these others folks involved in running a school.

We need to be aware of how we connect with them, how we can help them and how they can help us, and make sure that we communicate and collaborate with them! We also really need to be aware of how they see us: If they see us as just one of many special interests clamoring for attention and money, that colors the way to work with us. Until we can learn to work with them and speak their lingo , they will continue to see us as some special interest group separate from them with our own jargon. We need always to find ways to connect and collaborate and move to " we" discussions of our common needs and interests. We need to help them see us as part of the group, part of the team, part of the solution. Too often we lose sight of that when we're fighting for our jobs, and sometimes it can be very hard to do.

I've got no magic answers -  Just saying we need to do it.