http://sgrimes.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/reflection-on-aasls-new-standards/ Entrance to our land admits one to worlds of wonder Fri, 04 Jan 2008 12:57:10 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 http://sgrimes.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/reflection-on-aasls-new-standards/#comment-3 Barb Falkinburg, LMS Hereford High Fri, 04 Jan 2008 12:57:10 +0000 http://sgrimes.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/reflection-on-aasls-new-standards/#comment-3 I think, as I harken back to my undergrad days and my first class in instructional design, that there is an attempt with the standards to address the affective domain. While assessing the outcomes of affective domain is not easy as they are not addressing the concrete concepts, the attempt is made to influence behavior and values. I remember how hard it was to write these and to understand that I may never actually see the results. There has been somewhat of a trend to return to the affective domain. I wonder if that is a backlash to the high stakes testing environment in which assessment and measurement are paramount. While I do believe we need to address the affective domain - encourage life-long learning and reading - the reality is that in the era of digital information and the "google effect", it is important that we as library media specialists tackle the new direction of the profession as well. We cannot sit back and bemoan the googles of the world usurping our jobs. It is more important than ever for LMS to leap forward and place themselves in the position to be that information literacy expert! (For a good look at the impact of Google, read the book "Libraries and Google" - a collection of essays on the impact of Google) Now having said all that, I too am disappointed in areas of the standards which seem to be missing. At a time when the impact of a Library Media Specialist who should be the central figure in guiding students and staff through the complex world of information is paramount to educating our 21st century learners, our organization has not finished the job. As we need to collaborate in our professional lives, so should our professional organization. We should be creating standards which mesh with and enhance the standards of other professional groups such as ISTE. I am hoping that like our daily professional lives, these standards are a flexible document, that will evolve and change as our jobs have, Being a library student of the 1970s, I have watched the profession change several times from that which I trained. It has certainly been a fun ride! If this old dog can learn new tricks I am sure our professional organization can too, I hope AASL will look carefully at its document and keep it fluid as it needs to be. I think, as I harken back to my undergrad days and my first class in instructional design, that there is an attempt with the standards to address the affective domain. While assessing the outcomes of affective domain is not easy as they are not addressing the concrete concepts, the attempt is made to influence behavior and values. I remember how hard it was to write these and to understand that I may never actually see the results. There has been somewhat of a trend to return to the affective domain. I wonder if that is a backlash to the high stakes testing environment in which assessment and measurement are paramount.
While I do believe we need to address the affective domain – encourage life-long learning and reading – the reality is that in the era of digital information and the “google effect”, it is important that we as library media specialists tackle the new direction of the profession as well. We cannot sit back and bemoan the googles of the world usurping our jobs. It is more important than ever for LMS to leap forward and place themselves in the position to be that information literacy expert! (For a good look at the impact of Google, read the book “Libraries and Google” – a collection of essays on the impact of Google)
Now having said all that, I too am disappointed in areas of the standards which seem to be missing. At a time when the impact of a Library Media Specialist who should be the central figure in guiding students and staff through the complex world of information is paramount to educating our 21st century learners, our organization has not finished the job. As we need to collaborate in our professional lives, so should our professional organization. We should be creating standards which mesh with and enhance the standards of other professional groups such as ISTE. I am hoping that like our daily professional lives, these standards are a flexible document, that will evolve and change as our jobs have, Being a library student of the 1970s, I have watched the profession change several times from that which I trained. It has certainly been a fun ride! If this old dog can learn new tricks I am sure our professional organization can too, I hope AASL will look carefully at its document and keep it fluid as it needs to be.

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