Currently I am serving as Chairperson of the West Subregion of the Northwest Ohio Regional Professional Development Center. I believe that the inclusion of the term life long learning would help this section of the standards better reflect the nature of today's educational environment and make it more relevant to the needs of the learning community we serve. As a library media specialist I am engaged daily in helping students develop the information literacy skills they need to access, evaluate, synthesize, and reflect on information in various formats. I also work with teachers to help them select information resources that will support their instruction and to help them utilize new technologies. Together we are a learning community that demonstrates the importance of life long learning as we do our daily work and prepare ourselves for the future.
Some recent examples come to mind.
Last week our eighth grade science classes used our library media center's online magazine resources to find articles about global warming. We worked on search strategies that will transfer to help them with future projects. Several of our post-secondary options students are writing papers for classes they are taking at Northwest State Community College. This saved them time and travel, but also provided them the opportunity to develop skills they will need in college and on the job. For these students the library media center and the information skill they have developed are serving as a bridge between high school and the new learning environment of the college class.