Technology

• Take note of  the following titles from major publishers:

  iBrain : surviving the technological alteration of the modern mind by Gary Small and Gigi Vorgon (Collins Living, 2008, 240 p. $_____, ISBN: 9780061340338) How do adults work with the new tech generation whose minds are quite different than ours?

  Groundswell : winning in a world transformed by social technologies by Charlene Li (Harvard Business Press, 2008, 286 p., ISBN: 9781422125007) Yes, this one is for businesses, but how do we capture social networking for our advantage?

  A sense of urgency by John P. Kotter (Harvard Business Press, 2008, 196 p., $_____, ISBN: 9781422179710) This one is for business too, but the change process in any organization requires a sense of urgency outlined here.

  The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google by Nicholas Carr (Norton, 2008, 273 p., $_____, ISBN: 0393062287) Think with Carr about the continued explosion of the Internet into the world of utility computing that changes the way we think about computing in schools, not just businesses.

  Wikinomics : how mass collaboration changes everything, expanded edition, by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams (Portfolio, 2008, 350 p., $_____, ISBN: 9781591841937) Look at the expanded version of this web 2.0 favorite.

  Planet Google : one company's audacious plan to organize everything we know by Randall Stross (Free Press, 2008, 275 p., $_____, ISBN: 9781416546917) Let’s compete with our eyes open to what this company is doing.

   

• Transforming classroom practice : professional development strategies in educational technology edited by Arlene Borthwick and Melissa Pierson (ISTE, 2008, 241 p., $44.95, ISBN: 9781564842466)

  If you have a professional learning community that is concentrating on the use of technology in learning, then this is an important publication to peruse and use as you formulate and structure what is discussed, examined, tried, researched, and concluded by the PLC. The longer essays here discuss the various aspects of learning together about technology and there is an excellent summary of steps to take at the end of the book. Recommended.

   

• Web Literacy for Educators by Alan November (Corwin Press, 2008, 109 p., $_____, ISBN: 1412958431)Alan November is a very popular speaker about technology around the world and  is the owner of November Learning that does a great deal of consulting and research (http://novemberlearning.com). If you have heard him speak, you know of his concern about  the quality of information the kids and teachers find on the web. So, here is his second book that is devoted to finding and locating quality information in the online world. This book is worth the price just to browse through to see the many many searning techniques he teaches. Even if you think you are a good searcher, you will find dozens of tips that he has gathered from folks as he presents and interacts with educators everywhere. November makes his living off the central point of the Internet in teaching and learning today: it’s all about quality information. It’s all about quality information! And, in this sense he marches alongside teacher librarians and teacher technologists. This book is a must read.

• Powerpoint for teachers : dynamic presentations and interactive classroom projects (grades K-12) by Ellen Finkelstein and Pavel Samsonov (Jossey-Bass, 2008, 333 p., $_____, ISBN: 978078799717X)

  I assume that everyone by now has been on Teacher Tube to the the “How Not to Use PowerPoint” demo at: http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=3e2d61891b1e4051ef75 and one is reluctant to recommend any more agony and death by this ubiquitous tool, but here is one that goes beyond the basics and into actual recommendations to create interactive learning experiences rather than passive ho-hum sequences. Perhaps if teacher librarians have developed their own repertoire of techniques to really use PowerPoint to teach, then those techniques will rub off on the teachers as we use our techniques to demonstrate effective ways. Folks are likely to pay attention when they thought they were going to sleep through your five-minute slide show. So, take my word for this one: there are enough ideas here to make the purchase and use worthwhile. Yes, you can get hundreds of tutorials on the web. Scan this one. Mark the ones you like. Have your geek squad prepare a sample for you and teach you how, and you are on your way. Don’t sweat the details. Recommended not only for beginners, but intermediate folks.

   

• Teen girls and technology : what's the problem, what's the solution? By Leslie Farmer (ALA, 2008, 181 p., $_____, ISBN: 9780807748763)

  It is difficult to believe that girls are any less into social networking than boys. Farmer’s point in this group of essays is to bring teacher librarian’s attention to the fact that the social networking skills must and can be turned into academic and investigative areas. She outlines various problems connected with girls and technology and suggests many ways to re-design learning activities and technology initiatives to see that girls are participating. Girls already outstrip boys in achievement and attendance at college after high school graduation and there is no excuse for them not to excel in technology.  We are reminded however, at technology shows that the men’s bathroom is still the busiest place. So, all you teacher librarians out there, perhaps you will see yourself reflected in these pages and learn to compensate for the next generation what you lacked when technology bloomed and the men shot forward, albeit temporarily into technologiecal knowhow. Recommended.

   

• PowerPoint magic by Pamela Lewis (ISTE, 2008, 156 p., with CD, $_____, ISBN: 9781564842350) Are your students suffering from death by PowerPoint? Here are a fresh set of new ideas that stress how the tool can be used to push higher-level thinking. Refreshing.

• Database Magic: Using Databases to Teach Curriculum in Grades 4-12, by Sandra A. Dounce. (ISTE, 2008, 150 p. with CD, $39.95, ISBN: 9781564842459) If you use Microsoft Access as a true database or Excel as s substitute, then this is a valuable guide in order to set up projects with clear directions for students. Projects concentrate on the gathering of facts or other data that can then be analyzed by individuals or groups. Useful.

• Visual arts units for all levels by Mark Gura (IStE, 2008, 320 p., $44.95, ISBN: 9781564842428) Ideas for creating crafts and other visual products with technology may be popular, but does the time and energy expended really extend learning? We urge caution in the use of this resource.

• Technology Projects for Library Media Specialists and teachers, Vol. II by Patricia Ross Conover (Linworth, 2008, 128 p. $_____, ISBN: 1586833049)

  The crayola curriculum is defined as cutesy projects that are fun and exciting, time intensive, and result in very little learning. Conover presents a second volume of ideas using PowerPoint to creat dozens of information filled boxes, figures, shapes, and paper crafts. Yes, there are connections to standards, but when the products are created with great interest on the part of the learner to be able to show something, where is the reflection? Where is the sense of learning rather than just the creation of an object with whatever writing or decoration I am able to pull into the tech program? Is the technology boost here to learning or craft making? We suspect the latter because by the time the item is created, the period will be over, the ornaments hung, and that will be the end of it. Yes, there is something to take home to decorate my room but where is the big idea? The problem solved? The major concept learned? Yes, projects like this could be used to actually stimulate big thinking. We suspect, however , that they will become the do all end all of a bird unit. Not recommended without a major transformation.

• Tablet PCs in K-12 education by Mike Van Mantgem, et. Al. (ISTE, 2008, 214p. $_____, ISBN: 9781564842411)

  If you are contemplating or have just gone with the new table PCs on the market, particularly in a one to one program, here is an excellent text to use for ideas, professional development, and the nuts and bolts.

• Educational Media and Technology Yearbook: Volume 33, 2008 (Education Media Yearbook), edited by Michael Orey, V.J. McClendon, and Robert Marbe Branch (Libraries Unlimited, 2008, 358p. $_____, ISBN: 9781591586470)

  For anyone wishing to keep up in the field of educational technology, this volume is an essential read each year, providing excellent articles and indispensible reference information.

• Reality rules! : a guide to teen nonfiction reading interests by Elizabeth Fraser (Libraries Unlimited, 2008, 246p. $_____, ISBN: 9781591585633)

  Will teens read nonfiction? Only if they know what’s available and this excellent guide is a great start to collection building and display to catch a reader.

•  RSS for educators : blogs, newsfeeds, podcasts, and wikis in the classroom by H John G. Hendron (ISTE, 2008, 308p. $29.95, ISBN: 9781564842398)

  The subtitle of this book is a great indicator for those who have not used these technologies to get started. Plenty of instructions and good ideas.

   

   

   

•  Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft Plans to Stay Relevant in the Post-Gates Era by Mary Jo Foley (Wiley, 2008, 285[/ $_____, ISBN: 978 0470191384)

  Up until now, one could almost say, as Microsoft goes, so goes the world. Now Bill Gates is retiring in 2008 so that that questions arise about future directions of the company and its business model.  And why should that matter to librarians? It’s all because of Google. This upstart company turns a business model from command and control to client side. Libraries work on the Microsoft model of “if we build it, they will come.” Google, on the other hand, feels that “if they build it, they will use it.” Command and control works when you are the only game in town. People come to you for services because they have no other more convenient  alternatives. No so anymore in the information business. Google far surpasses libraries as the number one finder and locater of information. And, when almost all your customers have abandoned you, what next? Microsoft continues to believe that if it continues to innovate and build a better and better project, then the customer will reward it with loyalty. We wish both Microsoft and libraries the same success. That is why reading this book convinces us that the future of the command and control library is to stay as close to its customers with quality services and convenient serves as can be created. However, there are chinks in the armor. It is quite possible to produce a Vista and have it become the best advertisement for a Mac. As librarians, we can build huge collections that are accessible during the school day; and we can protect our computer networks with such tight filters that customers grown regularly over what they need and are prevented from finding. But how long can it last? It can under certain conditions. What are they? Microsoft 2.0 may give the reader a few clues.

• Differentiating instruction with technology in K-5 classrooms by Grace E. Smith and Stephanie Throne (ISTE, 2008, 248 pp., $37.95, ISBN: 9781564842336)

  Technology specialists who are really into instructional computing rather than systems and networks often build a major repertoire of the features of various software packages and applications that will actually boost teaching and learning. These folks have the ability to store an encyclopedia of ideas in their heads and when an instructional problem arises, they have about ten different ways to boost teaching and learning through technology. Our authors, using this creativity direct their attention to differentiation. The create ways to deal with different readiness of students, adjusting by learning profile, differences in content, types of products, by teaching subject area, techniques to assess learning, and various ways to manage the classroom. This is a dense book with many many ideas but also so good tabular information that helps the reader make sense of those ideas. Teacher librarians need a wide repertoire of these ideas since they need to master as many technologies as any specialist in the school. We would call this one required reading from which a larger repertroire of effective strategies can be built. Important.

• Web 2.0 : new tools, new schools, by Gwen Wolomon and Lynne Schrum (ISTE, 2007, 270 pp. $_____, ISBN: 9781564842343)

  There are a nmber of books on the market celebrating the possibilities and opportunities that Web 2.0 technology might provide to schools.  This one is as good as any on the market. The authors know what they are talking about and their audience is both administrators and tech directors, although we are recommending that teacher librarians would benefit greatly since so many are utilizing this technology. It is always good in a topic like this to compare one’s own expertise with that of the authors to see if they have thought of angles you haven’t. While the material is dated the instant it is in print, there are enough current applications present to bring more possibilities to teaching and learning than one can barely manage.  We appreciated the various theoretical stances and reviews of the current ideas of the place technology should take in schooling. Of course, we are concerned that online databases and libraries are ignored. However teacher librarian leaders go on reminding everyone of the great uses we know to make and our willingness to benefit from other ideas no matter where they emerge. Recommended both for the novice and the moderately advanced looking for new ideas or gaps in understanding.