I often hear people ask, “If we have the internet, why do we still need librarians?”
This is something I’ve heard since the days of dial-up and continue to hear right now. It misses the vital role that librarians play in our students’ lives. It’s true that the information landscape has changed. It is easier than ever to create a work and publish it to the world and with a tap of a button, we access information from anywhere at any time.
But actually, that’s why librarians are more vital than ever. Here are some of the things librarians do:
Remember One Laptop Per Child? They distributed a few million cheap, brightly-colored XO laptops running a weird version of Linux called “Sugar OS,” and then… what happened? Well, I’m not sure actually. But OLPC Australia is carrying the torch, sort of. This offshoot now calls itself “One Education,” and has just announced the Infinity:One. Gone…
How is it even possible that Elon Musk could build four multibillion companies by his mid-40s — in four separate fields (software, energy, transportation, and aerospace)? To explain Musk’s success, others have pointed to his heroic work ethic (he regularly works 85-hour weeks), his ability to set reality-distorting visions for the future, and his incredible resilience. But all of…
As educators, we’ve spent years attending classes, participating in workshops, going to conferences, and continuing our education. The more we learn, the more we create and collect. Because of the time and effort that we spend developing such rich resources, it becomes challenging to let some of them go. I’ve struggled with this for years….
Every year for the past 15 years the New Media Consortium and the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) have been taking the pulse of where education technology stands among K-12 educators. A panel of 59 experts from 18 countries discussed major trends in education that are driving the adoption of technology, as well as the…
Economists expect that millions of American jobs are going to be replaced by automation in the coming decades. But where will those job losses take place? Which areas will be hardest hit? Much of the focus regarding automation has been on the Rust Belt. There, many workers have been replaced by machines, and the number…
For years, my vision for the ultimate learning space was taking form. I teach Game Design and Development at William Annin Middle School in Basking Ridge, NJ. My dream was to create a studio feel for my learning space where students could pursue different avenues for learning and have a wide variety of resources available…
