Image by JD Hancock. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons licensing.
Most libraries engage in a yearly (more or less) assessment of their collections; weed dated materials and identified additional, new items to purchase. However, not all libraries are treated equal when it comes to budget allocations for resources. So at some point a process is generally developed to identify what to purchased, and ultimately in which format (print or electronic.)
With the growing interest in electronic resources, a dialogue has began about the viability and perceived importance of sustaining a physical library. The Higher Education Network recently weighed in on this discussion, from an academic perspective, in an article stating that. “Academics will need both the physical and virtual library for years to come (June 2013). ” Click here to read the full article.
The ACT National Curriculum Survey is a nationwide survey of educational practices and expectations. Conducted every three to five years by ACT, the survey collects data about what entering college students should know and be able to do to be ready for college-level coursework in English, math, reading, and science. The 2012 ACT National Curriculum Policy report found that high school teachers think their students are ready for college, but college professors beg to differ. In fact, data showed that 89 percent of high school teachers report their students are “well” or “very well” prepared for college-level work in the subject they teach, while just 26 percent of college instructors say incoming students are “well” or “very well” prepared for entry-level courses. This discrepancy in perception has remained consistent to the 2009 survey results. An interesting dilemma for educators in both high schools and colleges! CMLE staff have noticed a similar experience through our Bridging Information Literacy Across Libraries initiative work. We know that many high school media specialists teach information literacy skills, but somehow, some of the teachings don’t “stick” and students experience difficulty doing research, writing, and citing sources in college. Talking across library types can be a powerful beginning to better understand this issue. CMLE will continue to act as a bridge for this conversation to happen between high school media specialists and college librarians. We also hope to include public librarians in future “Bridging” work too. We welcome your ideas for future programming in this area.
A new brief from Jobs for the Future reports that over 75,000 high school students nationwide—most from underserved populations—are learning college-level material and earning free college credits in early college high schools. In Minnesota, our terminology is slightly different, but we certainly see how popular our PSEO and Senior to Sophomore programs are in a down economy. The brief reports that 94 percent of early college students earn some college credit for free, an average of 36 college credits, saving 30 percent toward a bachelor’s degree or 60 percent toward an associate’s degree. We know that families appreciate the financial break on college tuition, but what does it mean for the student after high school? It is also interesting to note the increased graduation rates and no great surprise that these students attend college at higher rates. And, we know how depleted media center budgets have been during the last decade. We need to ask ourselves if our high school collections contain the materials to best support these students? Read the full press release at http://tinyurl.com/cyrrm6x and be sure to click on the Fact Sheet in the left frame too!
The 2012-2013 school year is coming to a close. Despite dwindling budgets, this past year continued to challenge many K-12 and Higher Education institutions to redefine learning and redesign traditional classroom concepts.
As a result, industry leaders such as SXSWebu, a technology and learning think-tank, took a hard look at the leading trendsetters in education during their annual conference held in Texas. Read Edudemic’s post listing the top 10 hot topics discussed by these front-line classroom educators. These trends should be of interest to K-12, college, and public librarians alike!
In reviewing the top posts of 2012 on the eLearning Site, I stumbled upon this one, which will appeal to our Pinterest addicts out there. Pinterest continues to gain steam in helping teachers and students alike to explore new ways to learn, share, teach, and grow. Read this blog post to visit 25 great Pinterest boards in EduTech. Many are maintained by major educational websites, key figures in edtech, and well-known bloggers, but others were created by teachers just like you who simply want to share resources and tips with others in education. The full blog post is at http://tinyurl.com/a23cvd6
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