A library should be a free place where people can access and share information. Many school libraries have such strict access to Internet resources that patrons are blocked even from many educational sites. Restrictions do need to be in place to protect students from online predators and inappropriate content, but access needs to be carefully…

Since the earliest days of the profession, school libraries have been establishing standards and guidelines to guide and shape school library programs. For the most part, the standards have shaped what programs are and what they do. Rarely has a set of standards focused on the content and process of what school libraries teach students. The…

There are plenty of reasons why teaching students to set up their own blogs should not be taught by school librarians. But the truth is, not all students have access to that out-of-school technology world. ELL students and kids from lower-income homes are unlikely to have the Internet at home. As much as school librarians promote and encourage…

On October 10, 2008 the "Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act" was signed. This law requires schools receiving federal E-rate discounts on Internet services to educate their students on appropriate online behavior. Many states including Virginia have mandated Internet Safety education in all grade levels as part of technology education.…

Media specialists are never done learning technology. They can't truly learn in isolation and they are not ever settled in their roles as collaborator and teacher. Selecting literature and managing collections is an "old school" role. Just like language evolves, just like the town grange has evolved from a listserv, forum, to a wiki, media…

The three utility commercial programs available on the Internet are like software packages purchased through a vendor or the Internet, shareware programs are developed by individuals and distributed via the Internet for a small fee to obtain the complete version of the product, and freeware programs are distributed via the Internet free of cost.…

Nothing comes closer to "the truth" than a primary source, even a primary source with wart--biases, narrow-minded interpretations, and historical inaccuracies. Students who learn to apply critical thinking to the analysis of primary sources also learn to situate sources within the broader historical context, test hypotheses, form their own…

The new AASL standards clearly spell out ethical responsibilities, which school librarians strive to instill and model as they work with staff and students. In this article, the author presents the AASL standards together with some tips and lesson ideas which she and her library partner have put into practice within their library media program.

A teacher brings you a paper he suspects is not the student's own work, and a google search confirms it was copied right off a web page. Intellectual honesty issues are impossible to duck in the library, but plagiarism lessons are often met with yawns and eye rolls from students.

The reliability on technology through the use of electricity is discussed. However, one should be cautious to regain information if the electricity goes off, and must have efficient methods of information retrieval.

The various steps to be implemented in helping students to interact with the Internet in order to avoid wrong information sites are presented. It is significant that children need to be well guided to reputable sources of information in electronic subscription databases.

Videos and DVDs give the teachers more flexibility than slide projectors, filmstrips, and 16mm films but teachers and students are excited about a new technology called streaming. Streaming allows the educators to view videos on demand via the Internet, which works through the transfer of digital media like video, and voice data that is received…

One of the most important roles for school libraries in the digital age is to provide students with a context for processing Internet information. It has been suggested that the school library should strive for a more pronounced clicks-and-mortar identity combining the best of the web and the traditional library collection.

Web portfolios should be integrated in the learning process as they encourage the students to take an active interest in their own learning and highlights the individual students, their interests and their goals, increases student motivation and provides an excellent method for teaching students. Implementation of Web portfolios could be made more…

Media specialists across the nation have developed innovate plans to ensure access to Online resources and safeguard them in the midst of the budget crisis, such as evaluating Online service providers involving stakeholders of elementary, middle, and high schools. This plan is aimed to produce valuable services, stronger communication, and an…