AASL Chapters Forum

A task force is currently working to revise the Planning Guide for Information Power publication to address the new program guidelines in Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs.

In thinking about how AASL will release the new publication, we are discussing electronic publishing options which include an option for an interactive database subscription that would allow schools and districts to evaluate their programs in a system that stores/archives your action plans, planning charts and rubric evaluations. This system would allow you to access and revise your materials throughout the year, share your materials and analyze your results.

We feel that this type of interactive module would be extremely valuable to your programs and to you in sharing the status of your programs locally and throughout your districts with your principals and school boards. However, in order to develop a module with the most value to you, we would like your feedback. Please provide your thoughts on the questions below, and any additional feedback relevant to the Planning Guide.

Julie Walker and myself will be visiting with committees at Midwinter to discuss the Planning Guide with you. Anyone unable to answer these questions at Midwinter, please comment below by the end of the day, January 28.

Thank you,
Stephanie Book
Manager, Communications
American Association of School Librarians
50 E Huron
Chicago, IL 60611
Toll-Free: (800) 545-2433 x4389
Direct: 312-280-4389
http://www.ala.org/aasl
sbook@ala.org

Planning Guide for Empowering Learners
Focus Group Questions – Interactive/Electronic Publication Questions:

Affiliate Assembly

1. Population of sequential planning steps: We are discussing areas in the planning section that can have interactive entry fields where each step is connected and one step will pre-populate the next. Which sections do you envision that being most useful in?

    

2. Sequence Completion: Should users need to complete the modules in sequence? Should some users who, for example, already have a mission statement be allowed to skip ahead? Should district supervisors maybe be able to set requirements for sequencing?

    

3. Tracking Progress: What type of progress tracking would be needed? For example, (1) simply access to archived versions; (2) the ability to set milestones with reminders and track whether they've been met; (3) other types of progress tracking?

    

4. Visual Display or Output: If individuals could review and output results for monitoring and print/share (or supervisors of multiple SLMP) with principals or school boards, what format would be valuable? Spreadsheets? Charts or graphs? Some other visual display?

    

5. Community Features: What types of community-based features for sharing and collaborating would be valuable?

    

6. Polling Feature: If there was a feature available for polling your parents and teachers to collect feedback on your SLMP, what types of questions would be valuable to you? What type of analysis would be needed of the results? For example, would simple data be sufficient, such as how many respondents chose option 1 vs. 2 on a multiple choice, or would you need more sophisticated analysis correlating the responses to other factors, such as the demographics of the respondents, or rolling it up by district?

    

7. Additional functionalities: What other abilities would be valuable to SLMS and district level supervisors in program planning/evaluation?

    

8. Opt-out functions: And, if there were any functionalities you could opt-out of, what features would be least valuable or non-essential to you?

    

9. Pricing Structure: What pricing point would be possible for an individual/school/district budget on this type of interactive database for program planning? Purchasing instruments - purchase orders/personal credit cards/other?

    

10. Access/Account Features: Is setting your own user name and password important as an individual/for each user in a district?

It doesn't look like you received responses to this.  Will you accept comments since the deadline has passed?

It would help if you gave samples of what you are considering.  I find that I undderstand what you are saying on one level, but can't think what any of this will look like.

I am having the same problem Hilda is having.

Absolutely!

Hi,

This will be a database based on Empowering Learners and we would love feedback on what features will be the most valuable to help you plan, evaluate, advocate your programs.

 Here are some questions that Stephanie sent over:

What types of docs do they use now to show development? What types of documents do they wish they had to present to their principals, boards? What visual markers would be most helpful? Would they like to see tracking abilities, sharing abilities, district supervisor access?

 Thanks! Jen

I don't know if this is what is wanted, but here is what I think would be helpful

Conenctions to schools/districts that have library curriculums based on the Standards -- so we can modify/adapt rather than work from scratch.

Sample lesssons (that work) -- perhaps the template  from  Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action can be posted (with modifications for name/ contact infor/ location) and librarians can fill in the info (leaving some fields empty if they choose).  If these were then searchable (Grade level, subject, state, etc.) that would be even better.

Advocacy ideas that have resulted in any/all of the 5 Teaching for Learning Guidelines being implemented.  Like to know who and where it was achieved.

Same thing for the 8 Guidelines for Building the Learning Environment.