AASL vs. ISTE Standards

 

“Now Serving…an Appealing Menu of Digital Literacy Tools and Resources” written by Mary Lou Caron O’Connor is the Knowledge Quest article I explored from the May/June 2019 edition.  O’Connor uses the menu “to support student work towards the [AASL] Competencies” (O’Connor, 2019, p.18).  She goes on to say, “These tools and resources are learner-determined “ingredients” that will be blended together for a hearty “meal” featuring a balance of tastes, textures, colors, and temperatures” (O’Connor, 2019, p.18).  It’s very apparent that “Providing learners with a menu of options encourages students to make choices and [helps] drive their own learning” (O’Connor, 2019, p.19). 

          One of the many AASL (American Association of School Librarians) Competencies developed through the students’ use of these digital literacy tools and resources to think, create, share and grow is “Learners develop and satisfy personal curiosity by: Engaging in inquiry-based processes for personal growth” (2022).  The corresponding ISTE (International Society of Technology in Education) Standards comes from the Knowledge Constructor 3d. strand: “Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions” and the Creative Communicator 6c. strand: “Students communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively by creating or using a variety of digital objects such as visualizations, models or simulations” (2022).  

In comparing these particular AASL standards to the ISTE standards here, there are several similarities.  Using Inquiry-based learning to satisfy personal curiosity is very similar to being allowed to actively explore issues and problems.  Having questions and wonderings and being allowed to explore them is what inquiry-based learning is all about.  Students are able to satisfy their personal curiosities by being given the power to choose “what, where, and how they want to create, share, and reflect on their learning creations” (O’Connor, 2019, p.20).   The personal growth that is found at the end of this particular AASL standard is comparable to being able to communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively.  If one can create something to express what they have learned that equates to communicating his/her personal growth.

One of the differences I noticed between the two standards is that just because students are satisfying their personal curiosity through inquiry-based processes doesn’t necessarily mean that they are exploring real-world issues and problems.  For example, they may just be really interested in learning about unicorns or Batman. 

The AASL standards and the ISTE standards work well hand in hand.  While the AASL standards are based more on what to teach for the domains of think, create, share, and grow, the ISTE standards is the vehicle to get there through the use of technology.  The ISTE standards are broken down into sections covering students as empowered learners, digital citizens, knowledge constructors, innovative designers, computational thinkers, creative communicators and global collaborators.  The ISTE standards then go on to break down how educators, education leaders, and coaches fit into facilitating those roles.  Each person has a role to play in ensuring students are ready for the technological world we live in today.  Sometimes when I think about bringing technology into the library at my school that only serves 4k-second grade students, I am overwhelmed because I’m not certain how to manage relaying such abstract ideas.  I hope with the knowledge I learn from this course and working together with our computer lab teacher, I will come away with a plethora of ideas and ways to incorporate the ISTE standards while still covering the AASL standards.  The Knowledge Quest article, “Now Serving…an Appealing Menu of Digital Literacy Tools and Resources” gave me great ideas for a starting place.

 

References

Crosswalks, National School Library Standards.  (2022, April 28).       

         https://standards.aasl.org/project/crosswalks/

 

O’Connor, M. L. C. (2019, May/June).  Now serving an appealing menu 

        of digital literacy tools and resources.  Knowledge Quest, 47(5), 17-

        21.

Reflection on Copyright and Open Educational Resources

 

     I’m sure all of us, at some point in our lives, have questioned the wide realm of Copyright and whether the copy we are about to make infringes upon those rules and regulations.  In my mind, it has always been out there looming, but it has never been a concept I’ve fully been able to grasp.  I have to admit, even in our lecture and the links provided for this week, I still have a lot to learn about Copyright.  The “Copyright Basics” article shared from the United States Copyright Office is a fantastic quick look into the world of Copyright and answers the basic questions most would have about what is covered, who can claim Copyright, and how long a Copyright lasts.  I will definitely keep this article as a resource when answering questions in my school building whenever the need arises.  Since I currently teach in a primary school, where my oldest patron is in second grade, I’m not sure I will ever go to deeply in teaching these students what it is and the rules that therefore apply.  It is however a path I need to delve deeper into for my own knowledge to be able to answer any staff questions related to the expansive world of Copyright.

            Open Educational Resources (OERs) are also a new idea that I gleaned from this weeks lecture and the resources shared.  Up until now, I didn’t know that OERs even existed.  The briefing from the IFLA is a great resource to learn about what OERs are, their advantages, and challenges associated with OER.  Similar to Copyright, I plan to spend more time diving deep into these resources so that I can assist the teachers in my building.  After this week’s material, I am curious to find out if teachers even realize it is out there. 

I, for one, as a teacher didn’t give much thought into the things I was sharing with my students and whether or not I was infringing upon any laws out there such as Copyright.  As a teacher, with the fast paced, never-ending work that comes along with preparation, grading, and keeping parents in the loop of the daily happenings within the classroom, there wasn’t much time to worry about whether the “Copyright police” were going to swoop in and carry me away.  I realize this isn’t the best way to handle the situation and look forward to being able to spend some time learning the ends and outs of both Copyright and OER.

Social Media, especially as it’s being used more and more for school purposes and platforms, is also another variant of technology that I’ve just touched the tip of the iceberg on exploring.  Sure it’s been around for years and most of us have used it to share events from our personal lives but actually utilizing it as a tool to increase interaction between school and homes is also an area where I would like to learn more about how to be successful.  I was pleased to see so many resources this week related to social media and found myself getting sucked into seeing how social media is being used in school libraries.  I can see where it would be really beneficial in the middle and high school grades and even upper elementary students may really enjoy the posts or being featured on them, but I am curious to see how it could be utilized in the primary grades.

References

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.  (n.d.).  Open educational resources and libraries.  IFLA. https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/clm/news/oer_ifla_brief.pdf

Office, U. S. C. (n.d.). What is copyright?. What is Copyright?  U.S. Copyright Office. https://www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright/ 

All About Me!

 Welcome to my blog!  I'm so glad you stopped in.  

My name is Erin Hogue, and I've always had a passion for children.  Since my early years, I have always loved interacting with young children and spent many years babysitting for families in my community.  After graduating high school, I attended Winthrop University where I graduated with a B.S. Degree in Early Childhood.  After graduation, I began my career as an early childhood educator in the community where I live.  For 18 years, I have been a classroom teacher, teaching all of the different grades, ranging from 4k-2nd grade, at the Primary School in my local town.  Early on in my career, I received my Master's Degree in Montessori Education from Lander University.  

I have always had a passion for reading and guiding children in their endeavors to become lifelong readers.  I decided to continue to pursue this passion as the librarian/media specialist at the school I've taught at for the last 18 years.  I began year 19 as the librarian, while I finish my MLIS degree at the University of South Carolina (my husband's alma mater).

I have been married for 18 years and have two beautiful, smart daughters who fill our lives with lots of laughter.  My 13 year old is a member of the marching band at our high school where she plays piccolo/flute.  My 7 year old has just recently begun to play softball during the fall season and loves it!  We are very involved in our church and the ministries there.  My favorite hobby currently is finding time to nap!!