2021-02-26 SPLAT Curiosity Report: Volume 7, Issue 8
Featured Story
Why I think you should read Teaching in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Standing at the Precipice
In recent years the members of SPLAT! have begun exploring the trend of Futures Thinking. What I have learned is that Futures Thinking, in its most simplistic terms, is imagining what the future could be and designing a way to get there. As I continue to work in the school library profession, I see that I have a responsibility to help our students not only deal with a present that is but also prepare for a future that might be. Imagining what the future could be and designing a way to get there, a future that is not only equitable but sustainable, well, how can we possibly do that? One book that is a great resource for beginning to think about the future of school libraries and how they fit into the larger educational realm is Teaching in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Standing at the Precipice by Armand Doucet, Jelmer Evers, Elisa Guerra, Dr. Nadia Lopez, Michael Soskil and Koen Timmers.
Considering our daily lives, it is easy to acknowledge that we are in what Klaus Schwab, founder and exec. Chairman of the World Economic Forum, has termed the 4th Industrial Revolution; that is, a period in which a combination of technologies are changing the way we live, work and interact. Education is not immune to this change, and Schwab himself states in the book’s introduction:
Now more than ever, it is critical that we create a new integrated, agile, sustainable and lifelong education system that matches the needs of the future…It is clear that we must reform our curricula to teach a newer range of material to youth and adults alike as technology disrupts nearly every field…However, students must be adept not only at understanding technological change and using technology, but also in developing profoundly human skills such as leadership, social-emotional intelligence and critical thinking.
While this book is written for K-12 educators, I think that librarians in libraries of all types would benefit from reading this book. As we consider the future of education this book addresses the challenges education faces, but also discusses ways we can meet those challenges. Above all, this book emphasizes that no matter what the latest and greatest technological trend is, human beings will still be needed in education. The relationship between teacher and learner will be integral, but that relationship no longer be bound to a physical classroom. Now, more than ever, partnerships between schools and other public institutions such as public, academic and school libraries can create more opportunities for all learners. Teaching in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Standing at the Precipice gives us a way to open a dialog between academic, public, and school libraries so that we can begin to have conversations about imagining a future for libraries, and designing a way to get there.
Resources:
The book: https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Fourth-Industrial-Revolution-Armand/dp/1138483230
What is the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
CNBC Explains https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9rZOa3CUC8
World Economic Forum https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond
– Gretchen Perkins
Fail Forward
We’ve all been there. You pour your heart into a program, and no one shows up. You try something new, and you fall on your face. Sound familiar? Fail Forward is the place to share your failures, and give you the opportunity to share what you learned from them. Did you promote your program in a different way after no one showed up? Maybe you took a new approach to the new thing you were excited about? Awesome! Share your story via our online form so others can learn, and realize that failure is often part of the process.
Taking a success and learning from when it is a failure
I work at the Ada Community Library and I run the Little Scholars (getting ready for kindergarten) program once a week. It is a lively program that brings children from 0-5 years old to the library to interact with each other and their caregivers. We usually get up to thirty participants. So when we could not have this program in person because of COVID-19 my natural thought was to turn it into a virtual program. This is where I am learning from a failure. The fall of 2020 Little Scholars Virtual program had lackluster attendance. I know this is because caregivers were trying to limit screen time for little ones. I did think for a moment that caregivers and kids would want to see me over the screen, a familiar face that they once came to the library to see and that is why I keep showing up to present books, talk to kids, let them show me what their favorite thing in their house is. I think reaching out to people would be great and maybe my regulars will get online and want to see Mr. Eric on the screen and hear a story. So now I wait, when we start doing in house programming again I will bring back Little Scholars in person and build the community that way.
– Eric Hovey
Crush Corner
Is there a library you follow on social media who is always doing new and exciting things? How about a blog you follow that inspires you? What about a new idea, book, or resource that you want to share? Library Crush Corner is a place for those working in Idaho libraries to share what inspires them, and who or what they’re crushing on… in a professional sense. Share your story via our online form so we can publish it in a future issue!
Old Maps Online
Right now I’m crushing on the website Old Maps Online (https://www.oldmapsonline.org/). Who doesn’t love looking at old maps of places they’ve lived, visited, or dreamed of visiting? This website lets you browse by searching for a place or using the map to look at old maps for locations all over the world!
– Jessica Martinez
SPLAT explores the ever-evolving library world and supports library folks as they adapt to meet the needs of their communities. Library folk throughout the state of Idaho volunteer to serve on the Special Projects Library Action Team (SPLAT). Learn more about SPLAT at splat.lili.org
SPLAT is brought to you by the Idaho Commission for Libraries and was made possible, in part, by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (LS-246156-OLS-20). The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.