KG Librarian

Two digital tools that have shaped the way my library lessons have affected students are SORA and Gale Databases. These tools, though not traditional forms of social media, have become an academic type of social media for my students. Linda Kaye states that, "different types of engagements on social media may garner differential benefits or harms to users, particularly through the way certain activities may be better at promoting interpersonal connections than others" (2021, p. 1-2). From my observations, both of these technologically advanced platforms have improved the interpersonal connections between teachers, students, and classmates. Following are breakdowns of the various ways these platforms have changed the way my high school students interact with information, texts, and each other. SORA by Overdrive Education Overview SORA is an eBook and audiobook app that allows readers to digitally check out books. It is an aesthetically pleasing platform that is user-friendly....

     For my research, I'll be focusing on how to blend new literacies with traditional ones to help increase reading motivation among adolescents. Teenage students are often overwhelmed with academic work and extracurricular activities and show little interest in reading for pleasure. What free time they do have seems to be spent on their smartphones or other devices. Interestingly, when they do read, they seem to prefer print books over digital material. I'd like to explore ways to use digital tools in conjunction with print materials to help increase adolescents' excitement about reading.   Annotated Bibliography   Dera, J., Brouwer, S., & Welling, A. (2023). BookTok’s appeal on ninth‐grade students: An  inquiry into students’ responses on a social media revelation. Journal of Adolescent  & Adult Literacy , 67 (2), 99–110. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.1303 This article explores the possible use of #BookTok to raise high school students’ read...

With the introduction of digital tools in educational settings, teachers and librarians have had to face challenges. When I came back to work as a librarian after having been an English teacher many years ago, I had to learn an entirely different way of interacting with students and their work. After reading about the many ways technology can supplement classroom activities, I have a renewed sense of curiosity about ideas that I hadn't explored before. Information literacy remains one of the most important topics I teach in my library. In my seven years as a librarian, I've watched as digital information channels continue to expand. Though I have found useful ways to guide students through finding credible sources, I notice that there is a seemingly infinite amount of data available to researchers. In the article "Assessing News Literacy in the 21st Century" an English teacher gives his students an assignment during which they analyze a news photo. They use graphic or...

How New Literacies are Relevant to Us In this ever changing world, there's no way to deny the influence of technology. I remember a day back in the 90s when I was at the house of my cousin, who was a graphic designer. She told me about this invention called the Internet and predicted it was going to change everything about our lives. I argued with her that it would never be as all encompassing as she expected. . .clearly 20-year-old me had no idea how deeply our society would be affected by the changing landscape of technology.  While reading about the integration of digital and traditional resources, I had the same mix of thoughts that I always do. On the one hand, I am in awe of modern advances in technology. How incredible it is to be able to tap a keypad and learn the origin of zebras in Africa or the history of U.S. public libraries. On the other hand, I lament the distraction that computers and other devices have caused in our lives; small, meaningful moments are fewer in the...

How New Literacies Practices Relate to my Professional and Personal Life an example of how technology has improved my practice as a librarian--created with Canva In my jagged path from being an  English teacher to now being a high school librarian, I've encountered many variations of how students learn. Back in the 1990s, before cell phones and digital media dominated the lives of teenagers, there was an idea that there were limited pathways toward student success. Now, all these years later, there seem to be unlimited avenues through which students and teachers can reach their goals. As I raised my three children (now all in their 20s), I watched in awe, and sometimes dismay, as new and complex technological advances entered our world. As as avid reader, I read often to my children when they were young. By the time my third child arrived in 2002, there were ways to complement this practice. Videos such as Young Einstein recited poems on the TV screen; interactive toys allowed my c...