ERIC Number: EJ1227429
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1094-9046
EISSN: N/A
Using Technology to Foster "Real Reading" in the School Library and Beyond
Knapp, Nancy Flanagan
Knowledge Quest, v48 n1 p54-60 Sep-Oct 2019
School librarians play a key, though often unrecognized, role in teaching literacy skills (Knapp 2011; Lance and Hofschire 2012; Scholastic 2016). Research over two decades has repeatedly confirmed school libraries' and librarians' significant impact on learners' literacy achievement. Studies in more than twenty states and several Canadian provinces have shown that, "a school library program that is adequately staffed, resourced, and funded can lead to higher student achievement [in literacy] regardless of the socioeconomic or educational levels of the community" (Scholastic 2008, p. 10). And this effect is strongest when school librarians take a leading role in collaborating with other educators to foster literacy. School librarians are likewise increasingly called upon to serve as technology integration leaders in their schools (Calvert 2016; Clephane 2014). In many schools librarians are responsible not just for finding, purchasing, and recommending useful digital resources, but also for offering classroom teachers informal help and even formal professional development on how to best use these resources to maximize student engagement and learning (Johnston 2015; Theard-Griggs and Lilly 2014). Unfortunately, some may see these two common roles for school librarians as separate, or even in opposition. Over the past three years the author has been working with school librarians all over her state on ways to enhance literacy throughout the school, and many are concerned that the increasing emphasis on technology use in schools may detract from the practice learners need to become proficient readers or their motivation to read for pleasure. Others worry that the time they spend helping classroom teachers and students with technology takes away from what they see as their main purpose: helping students become lifelong readers. She would not argue with this goal, but she would argue that technology use and traditional literacy do not have to be in competition. In fact, just as traditional literacy skills support and enhance students' use of technology for learning, she argues that digital technologies support and enhance more traditional literacy development, in five important ways.
Descriptors: School Libraries, Librarians, Educational Games, Early Reading, Electronic Publishing, Web Sites, Reading Difficulties, Scaffolding (Teaching Technique), Individualized Instruction, Social Media, Literacy, Technology Integration, Library Role, Books
American Association of School Librarians. Available from: American Library Association. 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611. Tel: 1-800-545-2433; Web site: http://knowledgequest.aasl.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A