Follett Software/SLJ Webcast: Moving Forward: Engaging the 21st-Century Learner

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By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 11/23/2009 2:00:00 PM

Are schools teaching students the 21st-century skills they’ll need to succeed in college and eventually in the workforce? “Moving Forward: Engaging the 21st-Century Learner,” a webcast that took place November 17 and was sponsored by Follett Software Company and School Library Journal, asked four media specialists to talk about how they create environments that prepare their students for the global economy.

Moderated by Kathleen Schroeder, Follett Software’s product marketing manager, the 60-minute webcast featured some of the nation’s most savvy librarians sharing their strategies for 21st-century success. 

Connie Dopierala, coordinator of media services and special projects for South Carolina’s Charleston County School District, explained how she led the push into the 21st century by creating reports with Follett’s Destiny library management system, which, in turn, helped her libraries weed their collections and get up to date. Dopierala also improved the district’s bandwidth to ensure greater online access to library resources. With the district now more than halfway through its five-year modernization plan, Dopierala says she’s looking forward to tech upgrades and improved print and online collections in the district’s media centers.

Buffy Hamilton, a media specialist at Creekview High School in Georgia, spoke about the skills, tools, and resources that 21st-century librarians need to help “students connect the dots of information literacy.” Hamilton has used tools, such as podcasts, streaming videos, and GoogleDocs to create a 21st-century environment in the classroom and library. She also uses Facebook, FriendFeed, and Diigo to help invite conversation with students, teachers, parents, and administrators, and continue to create and nurture 21st-century learners, she says.

Connie Williams, a librarian at California’s Petaluma City School District, spoke passionately about the “essential collaboration between teacher-librarians and classroom teachers that makes student achievement happen.” By using social media tools and adopting new technologies earlier, Williams says librarians will not only support their students but also teach colleagues and raise the technology bar schoolwide. Raising student achievement requires that students practice working with social networking tools and collaborate with their peers. And Williams reminded the audience that “teaching 21st-century skills requires us to use 21st-century skills.”

Jeanne Ziemba, a media specialist at Florida’s St Lucie Schools, said the traditional roles and responsibilities of media specialists limit their ability to engage digital learners. Ziemba suggested that media specialists redefine their roles as 21st-century educators by creating a job portfolio that lists their specific core functions and proficiencies and by offering a more flexible and open learning environment for educators and students.

To find out more about “Moving Forward: Engaging the 21st-Century Learner,” visit www.slj.com/21stcenturylearner.