When looking through blogs this week I found many that were interesting. I found blogs on how to make posters print on 8×11 paper, how to determine if an app was using augmented reality or virtual reality, and so much more. The Doucette Library of Teaching Resources has a blog with many useful entries. One that caught my eye was entitled “Coding for Middle Grades-Some Advice.” The blog explains several coding tools appropriate for the middle grade levels and even suggests software to use. It was also suggested that even though this is a digital tool, that all coding instructions should be printed for students. I have been to multiple classes for coding and have written code in some classes at USC. It is certainly takes some patience and typing skills. It was even helpful for me to have the coding instructions in front of me while trying to complete my task. The blog states, “Typing skills are not at the place in the early years that make typing code a possibility.” So for a coding initiative to work within a school there must be a plan. However, I do not believe this is a plan that should be implemented in younger grade levels. In the middle grades it needs to be taught as a way to think critically and problem-solve.
This week’s readings were all about having a technology plan. This is a very critical part of any library. There must be a plan to keep up with the ever changing amount of technology being created. Although the technology plans and the detail put in to them was very interesting, the article entitled “A Technology Plan: Administrators should keep five lessons in mind as they implement new technology initiatives” stuck out to me the most. This article listed five lessons administrators (and districts) need to think about when implementing a technology plan. When implementing a plan like coding within a middle school, it will be crucial for the administrator to be on board.
The lessons within the article began with the focus that new technology is not just about technology, but about helping students within a classroom become more successful. If coding is what the technology team chooses to focus on their must be a reason. Students must benefit from the problem-solving and critical thinking skills learned when coding. The second lesson focuses around letting the technology plan fit the school. Administration should not be buying and trying to implement technology that will not be useful. The third lesson, which I believe is one of the most important and often the most overlooked, is planning professional development to assist teachers in using the technology purchased. The issue that arises is “a district outlays funds for equipment long before anyone realizes that professional development will be a necessary expenditure if the equipment is going to see any action (Overbay, 2011).” This is very true! Most teachers have never using coding at any point in their lives and will need training on this. It is the job of the technology team and librarian to lead professional development to assist them. Without this assistance the technology purchased will most likely not be used. The fourth lesson is to collaborate about the technology. Teachers and librarians should be collaborating to determine best practices when using the technology within their classrooms. Librarians should be taking the leadership role and leading model lessons to ensure teachers are comfortable using the technology. “Teacher librarians should act as leaders within their school community to ensure that learners are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the technological society of the 21st century (Johnson, 2012).” The last lesson is for administration to make sure the technology initiative is continuous from year to year. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither are technology skills!
Douchette Library of Teaching Resources. (2018). Coding for middle grades-some advice. Retrieved from https://doucetteedtech.wordpress.com/2018/11/01/coding-for-middle-grades-some-advice/.
Johnston, M. (2012). Connecting teacher librarians for technology integration leadership. School Libraries Worldwide, 18(1), pp 18-33.
Overbay, A., Mollete, M., & Vasu, E. (2011). A technology plan: Administrators should keep five lessons in mind as they implement new technology initiatives. Educational Leadership.
761 Informational Technology in the School Library 
Coding is such a unique topic for me! I have zero experience with coding; I wouldn’t even know where to begin. The technology assistant at my school does a class on Hour of Code once a year, but that is all I ever hear about coding. As I continue to learn and grow as a new media specialist, coding is definitely a topic I want to focus on and explore.
I completely agree that everyone should be on board for whatever the technology focus may be. Without total ‘buy-in’, a plan will never be successful. In addition, the plan must fit the needs of the school with professional development being offered on a regular basis. Teachers and librarians cannot be given a ‘crash course’ and be expected to implement the new technology. It simply doesn’t make sense. We wouldn’t teach a new skill in an hour class and test it the next day, so why do we expect teachers to do that very thing?
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Jayme,
I completely agree! This happens too often within our school systems. Teachers get the crash course and there is never any follow up training or support within classrooms. For technology plans (or any school plan) to work their must be support and collaboration about what is and is not working!
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Before last semester, I had no clue how to code nor did I understand why I would need to be introduced to it. I want to work in a library, not Google or some sort of web based organization. However, I followed the tutorial videos and performed all the exercises in Code Academy, which is a free way to learn the basics of coding. I enjoyed the practice, but it also became clear why it would be a relevant topic to at least have a general knowledge of. Building and maintaining webpages, or even knowing how a webpage is created is an important piece of information that I was lacking. I agree that coding is probably not a subject that should be presented in elementary grades, as learning to be good digital citizens is more important. However, once students learn the basics of using technology in a responsible manner, then presenting something more complex in higher grades seems an appropriate concept. I do feel like some of the games that children are learning to play early on uses a lot of coding tools, kids just aren’t aware that they are using them. Minecraft and Roblox are good examples of games that use coding, without really presenting the coding to kids. If a lesson in coding could also combine tools that children already use, it would make it more relevant and real to them. It’s an interesting idea that you’ve presented. Thanks Erin!
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