Media (is) the message?

One would think that in this age of technology that the content is the message.  Marshall McLuhan started a very philosophical discussion about whether media is the message or is the content the message?  I can see both points of view. McLuhan, the originator of the phrase "medium is the message" argued back in 1964 "that technologies — from clothing to the wheel to the book, and beyond — are the messages themselves, not the content of the communication." I believe that we take a lot of the technology for granted, especially our students who will never know a life without the technology of a computer/smart phone in their back pocket.

It reminds me of a comedy skit I heard a few years ago... "Everything is Amazing and no one is Happy."

Twenty years ago when I first started teaching, I was the "Computer Teacher."  I always told my students that "technology is a tool, not a toy."  Back then, technology in the classroom and the computer lab was sometimes the only time our students got to put their hands on it. I believe that things have come along way in the past 20 years. According to National Center for Education Statistics, "In 2013, 71 percent of the U.S. population age 3 and over used the Internet."  That is amazing.  Imagine what that statistic might be now, in 2017?  I believe that our students can learn the content with or without the technology but their motivation or love of technology may be in favor of learning with the technology, so why not meet them where they are?

• How you see your role as a school librarian to support student and teacher learning

My role is at my school is as a Media Specialist/Librarian. I am the only place in the school with a full class set of computers. It is my job introduce new programs and apps to my students using small snippets of curriculum that the teachers are teaching in their classrooms.  Most teachers allow their students to run with it and ask for more time with me in the library (I'm flattered). While other teachers continue doing what they've always been doing. Either way is fine, but often times students will go above and beyond and seek out additional information, taking charge of their own learning and incorporate it in their presentations, videos, etc.

I am very fortunate that my principal believes so strongly in the Library Program that she requires the teachers to attend Library lessons with their students.  I am not in the "rotation." This is not only for the teachers to help the students in book selection but also they can learn the same things that I am teaching the students.  Of course, you always have the teachers who are on their phones the whole time, not listening.  But then I have the others who want to know what their students are learning.  Pick it up and take it back to their classroom for implementation.  I'll admit that I only have a handful of those types of teachers but I'm hoping that it's contagious.

• How you see technology being used to teach and learn

I see technology being incorporated widespread across the curriculum now.  Our district is a District of Innovation (see TEA website) which allows us some affordances with scheduling but they expect innovative curriculum and instructional methods.  Our district has chosen to use It's Learning as our Learning Management System with the expectation that our students will begin to have personalized learning over the next year.  According to Kozma, "A lot of people do more or less randomly choose a tool (e.g. a LMS) and will be driven by its affordances and that certainly does have an effect on learning." From what I understand, we have not randomly chosen this LMS but chosen this tool after lots of research into the future of education.  Personalized learning is a trend that is changing education.  "Technology has made personalized learning both more approachable and more challenging, forcing schools to draw a clear line about where to separate good pedagogy from tools that facilitate it." This argument goes right back to McLuhan's...media is the message.

• Where we need to go in terms of how librarians support this vision

I appreciate that my principal, district and most of our teachers embrace me as a librarian and the role I play in our school.  I am afforded flexible scheduling, a tremendous PTA support system and administration that recognizes “The most important thing a strong library program can have is a full-time certified librarian with support staff.”  

• What blocks you see that will hinder the adoption of technology in education

The blocks that I see in the adoption of technology in education are the teachers themselves.  According to Marc Prensky, "Our students today are all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet."  However, we as teachers are not quite there.  We are digital immigrants.  It is sometimes hard for us for lack of training, not always for lack of want to.  I think that one thing that we need to remember is that we don't always need to know much about an app or program.  Our students, being the digital natives that they are can usually jump right in and figure it out because apps and programs these days are so much more user friendly than when we started out.


References

The media debate.  (2012).  EduTech Wiki: A resource kit for educational technology, teaching, practice and research.  Retrieved from http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/mediawiki/index.php?title=The_media_debate&oldid=40213.

http://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/mcluhan.mediummessage.pdf

The NCES Fast Facts Tool provides quick answers to many education questions (National Center for Education Statistics). (n.d.). Retrieved July 26, 2017, from https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=46

(n.d.). Retrieved July 26, 2017, from http://tea.texas.gov/Texas_Schools/District_Initiatives/Districts_of_Innovation/

Mathewson, T. G. (2017, February 06). These 7 trends are shaping personalized learning. Retrieved July 26, 2017, from http://www.educationdive.com/news/these-7-trends-are-shaping-personalized-learning/434575/

http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslissues/advocacy/AASL_infographic.pdf

http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf