World Libraries

Rural librarian outside community reading room in Ethiopia.

Community libraries are emerging in rural and underdeveloped countries as a key strategy in strengthening literacy, knowledge, education and job growth for the local people. A shift towards reading for passion, for interest, for education is beginning to take hold. Parties working towards this end include government agencies, NGOs, municipalities, universities, business and technology companies (Tamakloe, 2014). In these under-served countries of poverty, literacy rates are very low, the lowest in the world - particularly among girls. Literacy education is being used as a tool to break the poverty cycle that has continually and cyclically plagued the people of these regions.

Gone, for the most part, are the days of passing along our used and tattered books to the less privileged (although this still happens, many are making aims at moving away from this model). Organizations, such as those listed here (source link), are a few of the groups now working to meet the individual needs of communities in a variety of ways including, meaningful book collections, local librarianship training, local publishing and ICT resources and training.

Rural book collections are now being put together by organizations, such as Code Ethiopia and African Storybook Project (ASP), in an effort to provide meaningful, quality books, which meet the immense need of under-served rural people. These provisions are quality resources that the community members can relate to, and which meet their educational and cultural needs. Local language publications are necessary in these communities, as many of the indigenous people living in these impoverished areas are not yet literate in their local language, thus exemplifying the demand for tailored materials, not the used English books that have been historically donated. Check out this video about project READ (Rural Education and Development) in Mongolia. They are supporting schools by providing more books and professional development training to the teachers and school networks. You will see students reading big books in their own language, writing their own narratives and stories through little books (books about farming, berry picking and cultural recipes). 

Work is also being done to train local community librarians. These librarians are being taught to find creative ways of bringing children and families into the community libraries, thus building a strong local center where everyone can access and benefit from the resources. Ideally, as is happening with library initiatives in Ethiopia, these community members are being trained to gather local information so that they can build up a resource of stories and materials that are relevant to the community. Libraries, when established in this manner, are then seen as community education centres, and spanning multiple generations within the same community (Momodu, 2012).

Local publishing is yet another focus by NGOs and other organizations, as a means of bringing prosperity and stability to under-served rural areas of the world. Local publishing works to promote a culture of writers, illustrators, and editors within their own society. It creates jobs, facilitates literacy and ultimately promotes literacy as an educational tool in the advancement of peoples’ health and welfare. Several organizations that are currently working to support and establish local publishing facilities include the Osu Children's Library Fund and Code Ethiopia (video of Code's learning environments below).

A community information center in Kenya.

People in rural and poor communities of the world are the least likely to have access to the Internet. This lack of access equates to lack of opportunity. The Internet has many beneficial and life-changing applications. It benefits poor people by “removing social, economic and geographic isolation, by increasing access to information and education and by enabling poor people to participate in decision-making (Ranga, M. & Pradhan, P, 2014).” Through the Internet, people of rural communities learn new techniques for their trade (often farming), research important health issues, and gain the necessary ICT skills to meet educational standards (Gates, 2015). Internet access provides opportunities that are recognized as so important to individual and community development that a 2011 report to the United Nations Human Rights Council by the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression declared Internet access to be a “fundamental enabler of human rights.” (Gates, 2015). Multiple governments have now formally recognized Internet access as a human right, including Costa Rica, Estonia, Finland, France, and Greece, and Spain. The Internet is now seen by many as a necessary tool of 21st Century life (Gates, 2015). “There is tremendous potential of rural libraries bridging the digital divide” (Ranga, M. & Pradhan, P, 2014), as they play an integral role in providing Internet access and are often the only place, if any, where people in rural communities can access information and the Internet (Gates 2015).

As important as Internet access is, even when in place, it poses challenges to both those facilitating and rural community members. A variety of common factors can hinder access, including lack of electricity, lack of reliable connections, and the fact that technology becomes obsolete quickly. The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative (video below), was scheduled to deliver 10 000 laptops to under-developed communities in Ghana in 2009. The goal was that every school-going child was to receive a laptop which would be owned by that child. The same year, distribution was halted due to many rural areas lacking electricity. The program was then suspended until implementation of electricity to those schools (Agbenyo, 2010). 

Mobile Library Units are another way of providing rural and impoverished communities with Internet access. Momodu (2012) highlights the need for mobile library units, pointing out that such library services are necessary for bringing library services to the doorsteps of farmers in rural areas. Volta Regional library, supported by EIFL-Public Library Innovation Program in Africa, has provided mobile library ICT services since 2010. They travel to multiple rural schools in a van equipped with solar power, bringing fully-charged laptops for the children to use in class. A digital library (EGranary) has also been installed to provide access to additional literacy resources. The aim of this project was to help children pass their exams (as they often have ICT requirements), and to enable students to access information that would be of local value, such as those about farming methods as a way to help their parents improve farming practices (i.e. yields and income). Students then are targeted as the agents of change in their communities. The project does have the need for ongoing financial support, as challenges include the need to pay for gas, vehicles, trained librarians, teachers, technicians and educational software. Finances aside, this project has gained international recognition. Both Kyrgyzstan and Liberia have requested briefings on what contributed to the project’s success (Tamakloe, 2014).

The people benefiting from these various initiatives are widespread. They include the young, adolescents, families, and most often, communities as a whole. When meaningful information is provided in an accessible and reliable way, there is potential for all community members to be affected. Children, for example, receive emergent readers, adolescents ICT training to pass exams, farmers glean information about improved farming methods, subsidy opportunities and ICT usage. The increased access to books, literacy support, and ICT contributes to the creation of literate environments, bringing new hope and prosperity to the neediest regions of the world (Lipeikaite).  

References

Asselin, M. & Doiron, R. (n.d.).  It takes a village to raise a reader : Guidelines for reading promotion & Literacy support in community libraries. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from https://codelibraries.wordpress.com/

Asselin, M. & Doiron, R. (2009). Supporting literacy in Ethiopia through libraries and reading rooms. Bookmark, 49. Retrieved from http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/bookmark/2009winterBookmark.pdf

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2015). Global Libraries. Retrieved from http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Global-Libraries

CODE (2013). Reading Ethiopia. Retrieved from http://www.codecan.org/our-programs/where-we-work/ethiopia

Eldis (2015). Retrieved February 24, 2015 from the Eldis Wiki: http://community.eldis.org/.59bf83cb/Wiki/

Lipeikaite, U. (nd). Small services big impact: public libraries’ contribution to urban and rural development. Retrieved from 

Momodu, O.M. (2012, September, 30). Rural libraries and community development in Nigeria. International Journal of Basic, Applied and Innovative Research, 1. Retrieved from

OLPC Mission: One laptop per child. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://one.laptop.org/about/mission

http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P096328/rural-education-development-read-project-formerly-rural-education-support-project?lang=en

Ranga, M. & Pradhan, P.  (2014, August). Generating solutions for rural development through ICT in India. Journal of WEI Business and Economics, 3. Retrieved from

Tamakloe, A. (2014, May 30). Innovative mobile library brings rural school children ICT and new educational opportunties. Retrieved from http://library.ifla.org/867/

[Community centre in Kenya]. Retrieved from http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Global-Libraries

[Local librarian]. Retrieved from http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/bookmark/2009winterBookmark.pdf

Supporting Colleagues' ICT Needs

Well, the topic of leading your staff with their ICT needs is quite intimidating at the moment. I am aware of my tendency to take my elders' lead. When I am working with those that are my senior, I always follow their lead and view them as the authority. I have a fear of looking/sounding/acting arrogant or bossy and I do not want to be a know-it-all. By all means, if someone asks my advice, support, or opinion, I am quick to help and I love to share. But, to take up the reins and offer is not in my disposition. After a week of reading and research, I am seeing that perhaps taking up the reins is exactly what I should do. I discovered some suggestions for how to do it in a supportive and non-domineering way.

Following my research this week, I came across a unique perspective I hadn’t previously considered. In her article, 5 ways to Share Your Professional Expertise and 4 Reasons You Should, Chrissy Scivicque encourages professionals to share their knowledge and expertise. “Sharing your wisdom with the people around you is not an activity born from the ego. It’s about being of service. It’s about them, not you. Giving, not gloating” (2013). This quote certainly puts a new spin on things for me. This approach, which I certainly agree with, I feel encouraged to step up, help out and “be of service”. 

Scivicque goes on to outline 5 ways, several of which I will discuss, in which you can/should share with your colleges. First of all, be a mentor. I relate this to my experience being trained with the SMART Board. A keen and skillful teacher from my school at the time offered to train me in her class several days a week after school. I sat in a desk, along with another new teacher, and we were given the ins and outs of how to include the SMART Board interactively in our lessons. She was so giving of her time and this informal in-service of sorts has served me well, as I am an avid user of this technology now. Three years later I ended up under her wing again. At every opportunity, she works with others to mentor them and share her knowledge and skill. I see this as a great way to reach others that are curious, open and interested in learning a specific ICT skill. Mentorship is a reflection of how our profession should be carried out: helping others, sharing our knowledge, giving of our time and resources.

Presenting on a specific ICT topic would be another way of sharing and supporting my colleagues. Staff meetings, school-based Pro-D sessions, curriculum meetings, and school-based Learning Communities are all great platforms for addressing staff needs and ICT interest. Articles suggest that tapping into the wisdom in the room is a good approach. Opening the conversation for others to share their expertise would put me in a much more comfortable position, as I would then be taking on a facilitator role and not feel the need to know everything. Personally, I feel that the way I would feel most comfortable arranging/offering this, is to put up a notice and ask amongst my staff, who is interested in exploring x,y,z at the upcoming meeting/Pro-D etc. If we walk into it as a team, and others are keen and interested, it will most certainly set us up for a great session where I can lend some expertise. Check out this encouraging Kid President video: encouraging for me to step up and offer my skill in addressing the ICT needs of my staff and also useful for others in the classroom!

Using social media is another great way to reach out to my staff. I know most are on Facebook and are using it regularly. It comes up on our staff room a lot. Creating a Facebook page for our staff, where I could share interesting articles and ICT information, would likely build rapport, and present a great avenue for collaboration. I believe being aware of where my staff is at with social media and tapping into that, be it Twitter or Facebook, etc., would be a very effective tool. The avenue will change from staff to staff, but it is a platform that will likely be successful with any group. Currently, much of our conversation in the staff room and hallways is about our lives, our kids and our personal plans. I love how comfortable and open we are as a staff, but rarely do we engage in 'shop talk' or professional development. Through social media, when people are at home, relaxed and not 'on the clock' I feel that it is much more likely for conversations to become reflective, contemplative and open to the idea of exploring various teaching techniques/programs/skills etc.  

The biggest insight I have taken away from this week’s assignment is to offer my help, not wait for other people to ask for it. Personally, this is most likely to be successfully carried out through mentorship, speaking/presentations, and/or social media. These three areas are where I feel most comfortable assessing and responding to the ICT needs of my staff. 

References

Rooney, J. (April 5, 2013). 10 Ways to inspire your colleagues as an educator. Retrieved from http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/10-ways-to-inspire-your-colleagues/#ixzz3RrijQa1t

Scivicque, Chrissy. (July 25, 2013). 5 Ways to share your professional expertise and 4 reasons you should. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2013/07/25/5-ways-to-share-your-professional-expertise-and-4-reasons-you-should/

Silkties, A. [MarketingScott]. (2013, March 7). Kid President – Pep Talk about Teamwork and Leadership [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzF23qI3Djw

[Social Media laptop]. Retrieved from http://www.fctd.info/newsletters/300

[Words of Mentorship]. Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/192036371585435087/

Furthering My ICT Skills

My ICT learning and interest over the last month of this course have met new heights. Not only have I been introduced to blogging, Twitter, hashtags, embedding links, and Google+, but I also understand my techie husband much better - bonus! I have really been enjoying Twitter and I find so many interesting articles being tweeted out from educators. Just this past weekend I caught myself saying to Lane (my husband), “There’s this new program you might want to check out, I’ll tweet it to you.” I surprised myself, because never had I thought I’d be using the term “tweet.” Yet here I was in casual conversation, discussing how I could tweet my husband an article about Mind Shift (I think that was courtesy of Nicole W. – thank you, Nicole!). Twitter aside, there are many other ICT avenues I plan to keep up with after my TL work with UBC comes to an end.

 

I love to learn and I love to teach, so I certainly don’t fear any lack of desire to stay up-to-date and relevant with my technology skills as a teacher. I do however suffer from what I believe many of us as educator's experience: the continuous battle for efficiency and how best to use the limited time we have. Thus, it has taken considerable thought coming up with, and searching out, a list of practical ways I can continue to develop my own skills, pedagogy and professional development on my own in order to stay in touch with ICT advances.

Social Media: 
I have only recently signed up for Twitter, but so far I am really enjoying all the educational articles, ideas, and reflections I am receiving. I know that by subscribing to other teaching professionals and educators on Twitter, I will receive a constant stream of information that is relevant to teaching. Best of all, it comes to me! I don’t need to sit down, sign up, or pay any money for access to this information. By using various forms of social media, I feel that I can stay connected and receive a lot of information on ICT skills and technological programs (Source Link). For me, this will include the social media networks Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Blogs, watching videos, and perhaps even joining a Personal Learning Network (Source Link).

Time at Work: 
Second, I would like to use my time at work to learn (this will be critical soon, as we begin a family of our own and time pressures mount). “Thus, to be constantly learning at work, you should either join new projects from start or apply new technologies in existing projects.” (Source Link)

In order to make this achievable, I plan to take advantage of district opportunities. Currently in my school district, SD22, I am aware of several options to make this happen. When introducing new technology programs/skills, our district has Technology Helping Teachers. These helping teachers, upon request, schedule time to come in and work with teachers and their students to set up and/or implement new technological programs. I have done this twice before, and I felt both times were a huge success. It took away the burden of fear and stress of trying something entirely new, as I knew that my students’ time would be spent meaningfully, with the expert right there to guide and teach us. Secondly, I am contemplating the idea of using one of my two prep blocks per week to read, plan, and collaborate with other teachers about learning new ICT skills. I believe that once I form this routine as habit, it would be a nice break from my week and something I would look forward to. I envision using this time to further my knowledge base and implement tech skills/programs into my plans. Another way I would like to make the most of my school day is by working collaboratively with other teachers once a month, during out school learning community blocks. Last year I worked at an elementary school that spent their learning community time (about 1 hour/month) engaged in a book club. We read the agreed upon number of chapters on our own time, tried out concepts in our classrooms, then got back together to meet each month to discuss our thoughts and experiences. During this time, our students had an assembly with administration, freeing us up to meet as a primary cohort. I felt that this was a fabulous use of my time. We learned a new resource in depth and had the support/motivation/encouragement/accountability of others to keep us going. I would love to be a part of a book club (especially one like this, that utilizes school time so effectively). 

District Resources: 
Furthermore, there are district programs that I can access to further my ICT skill and knowledge. I plan to continue taking advantage of workshops that are offered through SD22. Occasionally, the district sends out flyers to advertise upcoming workshops. These are usually free and tend to be low commitment – one night, 3 hours and you’re done. I have attended some in the past for programs such as Photo Story and Comic Life. I have another one scheduled this month. Towards the end of February, the district is hosting an evening workshop on how to set up your own class website. Also, just last week, I received an email from the district advertising workshops at our local college. They are being offered to SD22 employees at a discounted rate. None were of interest to me this time round, as they cover just the basics of Word, Excel, digital photography etc., but in the future this is definitely an opportunity I would utilize.

  

Podcasts: 
Podcasts are a fantastic idea I found suggested on the Internet for furthering your professional knowledge. I am most excited about this idea, as it will be a very efficient use of my long commute each day. Anyone traveling a far distance to work will likely agree this is a fabulous opportunity for to listening to books and podcasts. I hadn’t thought of finding educators podcasts before, but I am now determined! (Source Link)

References:

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning (n.d.). 50+ educational podcasts for teacher's professional development. Retrieved from http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/07/50-educational-podcasts-for-teachers.html

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning (n.d.). Must have life-long learning tools and strategies for teachers. Retrieved from: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/01/must-have-life-long-learning-tools-and.html

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning (n.d.). Top 8 web tools for teacher's professional development. Retrieved from http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/07/top-8-web-tools-for-teachers.html

[Life Long Learning]. Retrieved from http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/01/must-have-life-long-learning-tools-and.html

Makabee, H. (2012, September 24). Continuous learning: Keeping up-to-date and acquiring new skills. Retrieved from http://effectivesoftwaredesign.com/2012/09/24/continuous-learning-keeping-up-to-date-and-acquiring-new-skills/