KarinStefans

Dec.7,2015
LIS716
FinalProjectReflection

WhenIfirststartedthinkingaboutwhatIwantedtodoformyproject,Idecided
thatIwantedtodosomethingthatwouldbenefitmyschoolandthatwasrelatedto
libraryscience.Iwasnotsureexactlywhatthatwouldbe,soIscheduledan
appointmenttomeetwithmyboss.WhenIcontactedhimviaemailtoschedulethe
meeting,IbrieflytoldhimthatIneededtodevelopaleadershipprojectforgraduate
schoolandthatIwouldliketohavehishelpbrainstormingaprojectsothatIcoulddo
somethingthatwouldbenefitourschool.Iknowthatitisimportanttotellsomeone
aboutthepurposeofschedulingameetingsothatalloftheinvolvedpartiescanbe
preparedforthemeetingandcanmakethemeetingasproductiveaspossible.
Atourinitialmeeting,Itoldmybossalittlemoreaboutourprojectrequirements
andourprojecttimeline,andIexplainedthatIwantedtogetsomeideasofprojectsthat
neededdoingatourschool.Hisfirstsuggestionhadtodowithlookingathomework,
assessments,andgradingpoliciesbetweenthegradeswewanttomakesurethatthere
isconsistencybetweenthegradebandstomakeforsmoothtransitionsforstudentsand
parentsalike.However,sincethisgoaldidnothaveanythingtodowithlibraryscience,I
broughtupthatIrememberedthat,earlierintheyear,theadministrationhadaskedif
therewasanyoneinterestedinhelpingidentifyingadigitalcitizenshipcurriculumfor
ourschool.IhadrespondedthatIwasinterestedinhelping,butIhadnotheard
anythingafterthat.Mybosssaidthattheydidindeedwanttofindadigitalcitizenship

curriculum,butthattheprocesshadfallentothesidebecausethereweresomanyother
projectsandissuestoaddress.HewaspleasedthatIwasinterestedinlookingfora
digitalcitizenshipcurriculumandsaidthatitwouldbeveryhelpfulifIcouldlookatthe
existingcurriculaandidentifywhatwouldbemostbeneficialtoourschool.
Oncemyprojecthadbeendecided,Iaskedsomeclarifyingquestionsandtook
notestomakesurethatmybosssexpectationsandmyunderstandingofhiswishes
werethesame.Weclarifiedthathewasthinkingofadigitalcitizenshipcurriculumtobe
usedprimarilyingradesthreeorfourthrougheighthgrade.Wediscussedthatthe
curriculumshouldincludeinstructiononInternetsafety,digitalliteracy,andthe
appropriateuseoftechnologytoolsforlearning.WedecidedthatIwouldinvestigate
whattheteachersthoughttheirstudentsneededintermsofacurriculum,lookatthe
availableoptionsforourschool,andpresentmyfindingstomyboss.BeforeIleft,my
bossalsomentionedtomethathehadbrieflyinvestigateddigitalcitizenshipcurriculaat
thebeginningoftheyearandhadheardfromotherschooladministratorsthattheywere
usingCommonSenseMedia.
BecauseIhadbeenreadytosuggestaprojectthatIthoughtwouldbehelpfulto
theschool,Ifeltpleasedwithhowmyinitialmeetingwent.IalsofeltthatIhadagood
understandingofwhatmybosswaslookingforandthathehadagoodunderstanding
andapositiveopinionofwhatIwasgoingtodo.Whilethemeetingdidnothavea
specificschedule,becauseitwasabrainstormingmeeting,itdidhaveaclearpurpose
anditwasaverybeneficialuseoftime.

Thus,Iwrotemyprojectproposaltobe:
1)identifyanappropriatedigital
citizenship/literacycurriculumforthirdthrougheighthgradestudentsbycontacting
teacherswithinandoutsideoftheschooland2)sharemyfindingswiththeschool
administration.
IstartedmysearchbyjoiningtheIllinoisSchoolLibraryMedia
Associationlistserv.DuringoneofmypreviousGSLISclasses,wehadtolookata
listservsarchivesandanalyzethetypesofdiscussionsthatwereheldandthetopics
coveredbythelistserv.Duringthisproject,IsawthatmanypeopleontheISLMA
listservaskedawidevarietyofquestionspertainingtotheirrolesasschoollibrarians
andthat,usually,theothermembersofthelistservquicklyandthoughtfullyanswered
thesequestions.Atthetime,Idecidedthatjoiningthelistservwouldbeaverybeneficial
thingtodoforprofessionaldevelopment,andIfinallydidjointhelistservforthis
project.
Isentaquestiontothelistservstartingthatmyschoolwaslookingforadigital
citizenshipandliteracycurriculumandaskingifanyonehadsuggestionsforprograms
thattheywereusingsuccessfulattheirschools.Ikeptthequestionshort,clear,andto
thepointsothatpeoplewouldnotskipovermyemailsimplybecauseitwastoolongor
confusing.IwaspleasantlysurprisedthatIgotresponsesalmostimmediately.Several
librarymediaspecialistsofferedtheirresponses,andoneofthemevengavemeher
emailaddressandwelcomedmetocontactherofflistifIneededmoreinformation.As
peoplerespondedonthethreadthatIhadstarted,theyrespondedtoeachother,
agreeingwitheachotheraboutthecurriculatheylikedandevenaskingsomeclarifying

questions.Everyonewasveryhelpfulandkepttheirresponsesquickandtothepoint.
Manyofthemincludedlinks.
Thiswasanextremelypositivecommunicationexperienceforme.Ihavestayed
asamemberontheISLMAlistserv,andIamenjoyingreadingthethreadsthatcome
through.Ihavelearnedmanynewthings,andIamimpressedwiththecommunitythat
existsinthisonlinegroup.Peoplefeelcomfortableaskingquestionsevenwhenthey
prefacethequestion,Ishouldprobablyknowthis,butbecauseeveryonerespondsin
ahelpfulandrespectfulway.Noquestionseemstoobigortootrivial.Becauseschool
librariansoftenaretheonlyschoollibrarianattheirschool,havingalargercommunity
ofcolleaguesandprofessionalsupportisveryimportant.Thislistservwillbean
importantpartofmyprofessionallearningcommunity.
Ialsoreachedouttoanotherpartofmyprofessionallearningcommunity:my
formerprofessorsofschoollibraryGSLISclasses.Iexplainedmyprojecttothemand
askedwhatprogramstheyused.Ididnothearbackfromoneprofessor,buttheother
professorrespondedthatsheknewthatmostschoolswerepleasedwithCommonSense
Media,thesameprogramthatmybosshadheardaboutfromotheradministrators.
Themajorityofpeoplewhorespondedtomylistservthreadalsosaidthatthey
useCommonSenseMediaforinstruction.Usingthisinformation,IdecidedthatI
neededtodiscoverwhetherornotCommonSenseMediawouldfitourschoolsneeds.I
developedaGooglesurveytoseewhatteachersatdifferentgradelevelsthoughtoftheir
studentsdigitalliteracyskills.

Teachersareverybusy,soItriedtomakethesurveyasquickandeasyaspossible
whilestillgatheringtheinformationthatIneeded.Todothis,Imadealmostallofthe
questionsmultiplechoice,usingtheresponses:always(orallstudents),almostalways
(ormoststudents),sometimes(orsomestudents),andnever(ornostudents).Ialso
includedtheoptionnotapplicableforsomeofthequestionsthatIthoughtmightnot
berelevanttothethirdandfourthgradeteachers.Ialsoincludedanotheroption
becauseIknowfrommyownexperiencetakingsurveysthatitcanbefrustratingwhen
noneoftheansweroptionstrulyrepresentyouropinion.Inadditiontothemultiple
choicequestions,mylastquestionwasacommentboxrequestingAdditional
commentsaboutstudents'digitalliteracyskillsorwhatyouwouldliketoseeinadigital
literacyandcitizenshipcurriculum.IbasedmyquestionsprimarilyoffoftheISTE
(InternationalSocietyforTechnologyinEducation)Standards.Imadethequestionsas
clearasIcould.Iavoidedusingtechnicaljargonand,forafewquestions,Iincluded
additionalstudentbehaviordescriptorstoclarifysomewhatvaguestatements.Ilimited
thesurveytoonlyfifteenquestions,includingtheadditionalcommentsquestionanda
questionwhereteachersindicatedtheirgradeband.
WhenIsentoutthesurvey,IincludedashortemailthatexplainedthatIwas
completingaprojectforgraduateschoolandthatIwascollectinginformationthat
wouldactuallybeusedbyadministrationastheylookedintoadigitalcitizenship
curriculum.Iaskedteacherstocompletethesurveyassoonaspossibleandgavea
suggestedduedatetotrytoensurethatIgotresponsesbackinatimelyfashion.Most
teachersrespondedrightaway,andIsentafollowupmessagetoteacherswhohadnot

respondedaftertheduedatehadpassed.Thissucceededitgettingafewmore
responses.
Isawsomecleartrendsinwhatskillsourstudentshaveanddonothaveat
differentgradelevels.Forexample,studentsemailandGoogledocskillsimprove
throughthegrades,buttheystillneedpracticeusingproperemailandGoogledoc
etiquetteatallgradelevelssomestudentsareabletodeterminewebsitereliability
independentlyandmoststudentdonotusesearchenginesefficiently.Alloftheteacher
responsestothesurvey,aswellasthemoreinformalconversationsthatIhavehadwith
teachersaboutthesetopics,showthatourstudentswouldbenefitfromamoredefined
andconsistentscopeandsequencefordigitalcitizenshipandliteracy.WhenIexplored
theCommonSenseMediasite,Ilearnedthatthereisaveryclearscopeandsequence,
andthelessonsthattheyofferappeartocoverallofthedigitalcitizenshipskillsthatour
studentsneed.Thelessonsthemselvesareeasytofollow,andeverythingisfree.
Ischeduledafollowupmeetingwithmybosstosharemyfindings.Iexplainedto
himwhatIhaddone,whatIhadfoundoutfromourteachersandfromotherschools,
andthenIexplainedhowCommonSenseMediaworks.Mybosswasverypleasedwith
mywork,andaskedmewhatIthoughtwewouldneedtodotomoveforward.Itoldhim
thattheteachersatspecificgradelevelswouldneedtolookatthelessonsandthat,if
ourschoolwantedtousethiscurriculum,wewouldneedtohavesomeonereconcilethe
scopeandsequenceguideswithouruniquestructure.CommonSenseMediaorganizes
itsmaterialsingradelevelgroupsofK2,35,68,andhighschool.Becausewehave
multiageclassesandfifthandsixthgradearegroupedtogetheratourschool,butare

splitaccordingtotheCommonSenseMediagradelevels,wewouldneedtolookatwhat
specificlessonswouldbetaughtateachgradelevel.Heagreedwithmysuggestion,and
askedifIwouldbewillingtohelpwiththatprocesssometimeafterwinterbreak.I
agreed.HealsoaskedmeifIwouldbewillingtobrieflypresentCommonSenseMedia
tothestaffatourprewinterbreakstaffprofessionaldevelopmenttimesothatpeople
hadachancetohearaboutwhatIhadfoundandcouldlookatthematerialsoverbreak
iftheywereinterested.
Ourmeeting,andthereforemyaccountofmyfinalproject,couldhaveeasily
endedthere.However,Iwanttheretobealibraryatourschool.Ihavealwayswished
thatourschoolhadalibrary,andIwouldbeecstaticifIwasabletobethelibrarymedia
specialistatmyschool.IamverytorninthinkingaboutthefutureIdonotwantto
leavemyschool,butIalsowanttoworkasaschoollibrarian.
Ihavementionedmywishforaschoollibraryinpassingtomybossbefore,but
asIquicklyapproachtheendofmyGSLISclasses,Iwanttoknowifthereisapossibility
thatmyschoolwouldevercreatesuchaposition.Duringthismeeting,IfeltthatIhada
greatopportunitytoadvocateforalibraryforourschool(andpossiblyajobformyself).
Theadditionalcommentssectionofmysurveyyieldedsomeveryhelpful
informationbothforfindingasuitabledigitalcitizenshipcurriculumandforadvocating
foralibrarymediaspecialposition.Asthemeetingwrappedup,ItoldmybossthatI
wantedtosharesomeofthecommentsfrommysurvey.Thisisacommentfromoneof
ourspecialeducationteachers:
Fromdayonethatstudentsbeginusingchromebooks,I'dliketoseethemhavea
weeklytimetofocusondigitalcurriculumitemsliketheonesabove.Weneeda
consistentpersonthatfacilitates(possiblytechnologyhead)sothat

communicationisclearandcontentisdeliveredreliably.[I]don'tthinkthrowing
anothercurriculumonteachersistherightanswer,thoughtheycansupportit
oncelessonsarefacilitated.Ultimately,I'dlovetoseealibraryherewiththese
resources,butthatisthepieintheskydream.

Mybossimmediatelyrespondedthathavingalibraryisnotnecessarilyapieinthesky
dream,becausehedidaskforalibrarywhenhefirststartedworkingforourschoolasa
teachersevenoreightyearsago,andweeventuallygotasmallenvironmentallibrary.I
respondedthatourenvironmentallibraryisgreat,butthereisabiglimitonthetypesof
materialswehaveavailableforourstudentsandhavingapersontorunthatspaceand
teachdigitalcitizenshipandresearchstrategiesisextremelyvaluabletoaschool.
MybossagreedwiththisandwasveryreceptivetowhatIwassaying.Thisledto
aconversationaboutwhatweneed,whatalibraryatourschoolwouldlooklike,howit
wouldfunction,and,mostimportantly,whattypeofrolealibrarymediaspecialist
wouldplay.Atonepointintime,mybossaskedmeifIwaswritingmyjobdescription,
andItoldhimthatIcertainlycouldifhewantedmeto.IfollowedupwithsayingthatI
thinkourschoolneedsalibrary,regardlessofwhotheschoollibrarianwouldbe,but
thatworkingasalibrarymediaspecialistatourschoolwouldbemyidealjob.Thisisthe
firsttimethatIhaveactuallycomeoutandadvocatedforaschoollibrarywithmyselfas
thelibrarian.Ihavetalkedaboutwantingalibrarybefore,andmostofmycoworkers
knowthatIamingraduateschoolforlibraryscience,butIhaveneverdirectlysaidtoa
personwithauthoritythatIwouldliketobethemediaspecialistatourschool.Ihave
saidittomyfamilyandtomyfriendsatwork,butuntilthispointIhadneverhadthe
couragetodirectlyexpressthistoapersonwhocouldactuallydosomethingaboutit.

However,IknewthatIwasgoingtoregretitifIjustkepthintingaboutwhatIwanted
anddidnotevercomeoutandsayit.
Thewholeconversationwentextremelywell.IgetalongwellwithmybossandI
thinkwecommunicatewell.IdonotthinkthatIevercomeacrosstoostrongto
anyone,soIdonotthinkthatIintimidateanyoneorputanyoneonhisguard(which
wouldshutdowncommunication),butIamsometimesnotdirectandamoverly
diplomaticandcautiousifIamuncomfortable.Beingdirectinthissituationwasthe
bestthingthatIcouldhavedone,becausethemeetingeventuallyendedwithmyboss
sayingthathewasgoingtotalktothepowersthatbetoseewhattheirreactionto
havingaschoollibrarianwouldbe.ItoldhimthatIcouldsendhimmoreinformation
abouthowschoollibrarieshelpstudents(andtestscores)andhesaidthathewouldvery
muchliketohavethatinformation.
Iachievedmyproposedprojectbyusingclearcommunicationandreachingout
tocommunicatewithotherprofessionalsinthefield.Everythingwentverysmoothly
withthatproject,andIusedgoodcommunicationandleadershipskillstogather
informationandreportoutonmyfindings.IampleasedwithwhatIaccomplished,and
IamveryhappythatmybosswasapprovingofthecurriculumIsuggestedandwants
metokeepworkingonhelpingtheschoolimplementit.However,theunexpectedresult
ofthisprojectwasthatIgot,andtook,theopportunitytoadvocateforaschoollibrary
position.Nothingmaycomeofit,orImayendupwritingmyownjobdescription,but
eitherway,IamveryproudofmyselfforrealizingthatIwasnotgoingtocommunicate
themessagethatIreallywantedtosendbyusingmypreferredindirectcommunication

skills.Mytasknowmovingforwardistokeepimprovingmyabilitytocommunicate
directlysothatIcancontinuetoencouragemyschooltocreatealibraryposition.