SLJ Talks to Internet Librarian Dave Fontaine about Blogs, Wikis, and Literacy

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Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 8/28/2007 2:20:00 PM

Forget the title "media specialist"—Dave Fontaine calls himself an "Internet librarian." This full-time librarian spends his days at Middletown High School in Rhode Island. But many of you may know him as the adjunct at the University of Rhode Island who teaches cool online graduate courses on subjects like how to use blogs and wikis to foster literacy

SLJ caught up with Fontaine to talk about technology, literacy, and how anyone with an Internet connection can take his class.

We all know the term "media specialist" and even "teacher-librarian." But where did "Internet librarian" come from?

When I began my first job as a school librarian, I never imagined that the job description would evolve so quickly. As students progress from kindergarten through 12th grade, they have slowly come to rely upon digital resources as their first choice for any informational text. This is the primary reason behind my job title changing from "school library media specialist" to "Internet librarian."

How did you go from school librarian to tech guru?

I started doing more information literacy instruction through collaboration with classroom teachers. The kids would catch on to the skills quickly, but I soon realized that if there was going to be long-term retention of these info lit skills, then that would require reinforcement in the classrooms.

But most teachers were lacking in those very same [information literacy] skills. So I quickly began to create small in-house workshops that teachers could take during their planning periods.

Did teachers show an immediate interest?

The demand and popularity grew to such an extent that it became obvious that we were just hitting the tip of the iceberg, and that there was a demand for more in-depth workshops.

I then thought about how great it would be if other teachers outside of my district could also benefit from these sessions. That's when I came up with the idea to put them online and allow anyone with an Internet connection to be able to access them.

Did interest spread by word of mouth?

As an additional incentive to get more teachers to want to learn these skills, I accredited each 10-hour workshop with the Rhode Island Department of Education. This allowed teachers and other librarians to take these workshops and earn "contact hour credit" to apply toward their recertification. I then set up the Web site ProfessionalDevelopmentCredit.com, where teachers and librarians can go to view online workshops for their own knowledge or for credit to apply toward their recertification.

Why is it important that teachers also spread the word about information literacy to today’s kids? 

A loose definition of information literacy is “to know how to locate, evaluate, and use information.” So it just seems like common sense to ensure that educators other than librarians should not only be aware of how to effectively evaluate online resources but also integrate these skills into their daily lessons. We can proselytize forever, but if there isn't "buy-in" from our peers, then the value of information literacy stops the moment the students leave the walls of the library.

How would you convince a techno-phobe librarian to use blogging in his lesson?

Blogs are very versatile in education. They can be used simply as online bulletin boards for classes, and as a place students can access homework assignments, to more complex uses. For example, some teachers of upper-level students use a classroom blog to help further discussion on classroom topics. I know an English teacher who has links set up on her blog that supplement the works her students are studying.

Other upper-level teachers simplified their blog usage by just instituting a bi-weekly or monthy assignment that students would have to do online and post their results to the blog. Some of the obvious benefits are that the shy students, and those that aren't the first ones to have their hands up in class, have the time to think before they comment on discussion topics. Feedback from special education teachers has been very positive about the impact edublogs have had on their students.

Does the same apply to wikis?

The use of wikis in education is also evolving at an exponential rate. I am currently working on a wiki-textbook project that has the teachers and students creating a class text personalized for their class and built over the course of the year through inquiry-based learning. Each chapter is filled with hyperlinked support material, such as interactive tutorials, flash media files, and video/audio clips that support specific learning goals.

How can librarians use tech skills to their advantage?

There has been such an evolution in technology that the digital divide between those who "know" how to use a tech-tool and those who "don't know" is growing ever wider.

Our jobs, as information specialists, is to become the bridges joining the two sides together.

More information about Fontaine’s courses is available online.