This week I will identify and assess another blog post describing how leadership in technology can be conveyed through an educational concept in the content area of English
Language Arts (ELA). The resource of interest is the Google extension, Kaizena
Shortcut, previously referred to as the Kaizena Mini, which enables educators to offer students
efficient and insightful feedback. Read about on an Integrating Technology and Literacy Edutopia blog post,
this extension enables teachers to provide students recorded verbal comments and
place writing lesson links within their submitted work. The inserted links may
be in the format of a readily available instructional YouTube video or recorded
teacher created lesson, saving the instructor’s time of repeating the same
corrections throughout the paper and/or among multiple students. According to English teacher
Katherine Cozens’ testimony, “It’s reduced my marking time by 40%” (Kaizena, n.d.).
As Kaizena's website describes, the shortcut would especially aid the
communication necessary between teacher and students during long term project-based
assignments by keeping them focused during the extended timeframe (Kaizema,
n.d.); the communication works both ways, students can also communicate with their teachers this way. Not only can the Kaizena Shortcut be used for grading ELA assignments, it can help
teachers grade other subjects' online assignment submissions, such as science or geography, as well – an “improvement”
(Kaizen, n.d.) to the old pen and paper way, indeed.
After
discussing the uses of this tool, its reason for integration into classroom instruction
should be reviewed. As Ertmer relayed, by introducing ways of utilizing technology
which are applicable to lessons right away, teachers can be assisted in using
technology (2005). School-wide installation of the Kaizena Shortcut by the
administrator is easily possible in under five minutes (Kaizena, n.d.) saving time and making implentation speedy. Another reason for Kaizena's integration could be its non-existent cost. As Johnston stated from her study of school librarians, “The most frequently cited enabler for school
librarians’ enacting a leadership role in technology integration was a supportive
principal” (2012). What principal is going to argue with a free tool that improves his or her teachers' effectiveness? As Johnston also
found, positive relationships between teachers and school librarians promoted
the school librarian’s technology leadership position (2012); sharing helpful technology
tips, such as the Kaizena Shortcut, with teachers aids in promoting goodwill.
Lastly, it is important to remember the importance of providing training in using
new technologies. “The value of the equipment lies in the ability of the
teacher to use it in a way that enhances instruction, and many teachers won’t
be able to do this without adequate support” (Overbay, Mollette, & Vasu, 2011). One may view a shortcut
such as Kaizena as simple to use, however, if that is not the case,
its benefits could remain untapped.
References
Ertmer, P.A.
(2005). Teacher pedagogical beliefs: the final frontier in our quest for
technology integration? Educational Technology Research and Development (53)4,
25-39. Retrieved from https://blackboard.sc.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-13049476-dt-content-rid-94287093_2/courses/SLIS761-000-FALL-2019/SLIS761-J30-SPRING-2017_ImportedContent_20170503032859/Making%20the%20Case.pdf
Johnston,
M.P. (2012). School librarians as technology integration leaders: Enablers and
barriers to leadership enactment. School Library Research, 15. Retrieved
from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ978840.pdf
Overbay, A.,
Mollette, M. & Vasu, E.S. (2011). A technology plan: Administrators should
keep five lessons in mind as they implement new technology initiatives. Association
for Supervision & Curriculum Development (68)5, 56-59. Retrieved from https://blackboard.sc.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-13049482-dt-content-rid-94287094_2/courses/SLIS761-000-FALL-2019/SLIS761-J30-SPRING-2017_ImportedContent_20170503032859/Overbay_Technology_plan_that_works.pdf
Kaizena (n.d.).
Features. Retrieved from https://www.kaizena.com/features/voice-comments
Kaizen (n.d.).
In Dictionary.com. Retrieved from https://www.dictionary.com/browse/kaizen
In this blog
post I will discuss the way this week’s class readings, resources and podcast have
informed my understanding of the interconnectedness of information literacy, technology
and digital/media concepts. Only fairly recently did I comprehend the true understanding
of information literacy as defined in the Framework for Information Literacy (http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework)
as “the set of integrated abilities
encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how
information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new
knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning” (ALA, 2015). My information evolution
began a year ago in the University of South Carolina’s Library and Information Science
program. During my first semester class, Introduction to Libraries and
Information Studies, I learned of the ways and importance of locating and using
information from credible and accurate sources, the necessity of proper attribution,
and the importance of respecting intellectual rights.
This
information literacy knowledge will serve as the foundation of my teaching path
as a future elementary school media specialist. As a teacher librarian I will not
only be preparing my students to understand how to responsibly access,
interpret, and use information for school purposes, but how to methodically address
and deal with situations in their future professional and personal lives. Working
with a resistant second grade reader until the correct media is located that encourages
her reading interest (print book – no, e-reader - no, audiobook - yes!) teaches
that young student that one often must try multiple options before finding a solution
to a situation. Being an effective school leader will require the skills of
critical thinking, communication, and collaboration described in the P21
Framework for 21st Century Learning (file:///C:/Users/m_gra/OneDrive/USC%20MLIS/761%20-%20Fall%202019%20Info.%20Tech%20in%20Sch%20Library/Module%203/Blog%202/P21%20Framework.pdf).
Call
me odd in this day and age, but my own information diet from a social media
perspective is lacking. On a personal level, I have been resistant to
social media as I have been entirely too busy over the past 14 years raising my
four sons as a stay at home mom. Besides the responsibilities of parenthood, I
have chosen to spend what little free time I do have experiencing life in the
here and now, volunteering in my community, reading (print) books, exercising, and
getting together with friends, as opposed to spending much time online. Some may question,
how do I keep in touch with people and the world, and my response is the old-fashioned
way, with a phone call; I have no interest in pop culture and if I want to
watch the news, I turn on the TV. With that said, I appreciate social media and the benefits technology has allotted our world and think they can have great benefits in a school setting. Therefore, I understand the importance
of keeping abreast of information happenings as a future school media
specialist. I envision my job will be to teach students how to properly access quality information
online. I may be responsible for teaching teachers how to update their websites,
assist staff members with minor technical issues, and promote the school through
digital media. While I may lack some skills to do these tasks now, I
anticipate with continued schooling and experience in my new job as a school
media clerk to be prepared as a future school's well rounded information leader.
References:
ALA (2015). Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.
Retrieved from
http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework
However, there are areas where the two
standards are not aligned. The AASL standards, in an effort to further librarians’
depth of knowledge, encourages reading extensively both personally and
professionally. It also champions drawing conclusions, instructs finding
appropriate resources, and encourages writing expression. As Ms. Spiering asserts
in her article, the benefits students obtain through reading the multimodal
graphic novel can be extended in creating writing responses in another format
or mode (Spiering, 2019). (Read here for more information on children’s
benefits of reading graphic novels: https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/raising-super-readers-benefits-comic-books-and-graphic-novels.print.html).
Meanwhile, the ISTE standards encourage
students to use digital tools to “locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, [and] synthesize”
information, and leverage these tools to offer distance collaboration, communication
and learning opportunities (NJASL, 2010). Relevant to these skills, Ms. Spiering’s
article discusses how school media specialists can help students understand how
the social media modalities of “images, memes, tweets, [and] videos” can influence
viewers’ feelings (Spiering, 2019). (To learn how emoticons affect our
communication, see https://www.psychologistworld.com/emotion/emoticons-emojis-emotion-psychology).
As expected, the ISTE standards provide a more in-depth focus on technology while
AASL, a division of the American Library Association, standards are geared more
toward information discovery in its traditional sense, but the similarities between
the two sets of standards outweigh the differences.
Reference
