While reading through Knowledge Quest I really enjoyed reading the articles. I have always been interested in technology in the classroom and do everything I can to implement it. In the article Now Serving: An appealing menu of digital literacy tools and resources (O'Connor, 2019), I enjoyed seeing how O'Connor uses menus and digital literacy in her library. Using menus is something I enjoy using during stations times and can see how I can implement it even further after reading this article. O'Connor creates her menu based on the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) standards and divides the menu up into the Shared Foundations of inquire, engage, curate, engage, explore and engage. Each of these shared foundations include digital tools that students can use.
When looking at both the ISTE and AASL standards there are many similarities and differences. AASL standards and ISTE standards both have an overall foundation and each of those foundations is broken down into domains. For example, The AASL foundation of Inquire breaks down in ways to think, create, share, and grow. In ISTE the foundation Digital Citizenship is broken down into digital footprint, online interactions, safeguard well-being, and digital privacy. Another thing I noticed when looking at the AASL and ISTE standards was how closely they relate. Many times if you correctly implement an ISTE standard you will also implement an AASL standard. In my opinion, ISTE standards are easier to understand. They are set up like content standards that an educator would see in the classroom. Each standard has an indicator that needs to be met. I feel that it has a more straight-forward approach whereas the AASL standards are more broad.
The article written by O'Connor did a great job explaining how these standards can work together. She was able to create a menu for students that allowed choice through digital content but also met AASL standards. In a library setting, conducting an interactive read-aloud for elementary students and then completing an activity to go along with it can meet content standards from the classroom, AASL standards, and ISTE standards. In the past when working with ISTE standards I have noticed that if you teach the digital literacy tool and model how it can be used appropriately you will meet ISTE standards. While I have not worked with AASL standards in the classroom yet I know that many of the standards can also be met. Therefore creating an interactive read-aloud followed by a digital literacy activity that encourages a child to create and work with others will meet both AASL and ISTE standards. Technology has become an important part of a library. As a future librarian it will be important to implement aspects of digital literacy to ensure standards are being met and also students are getting the most out of their education.
References:
American Association of School Librarians: National School Library Standards. (2018, August). National School Library Standards crosswalk with ISTE Standards for students and educators. https://standards.aasl.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/180828-aasl-standards-crosswalk-iste.pdf
O'Connor, M.L. (2019) Now serving...an appealing menu of digital literacy tools and research. Knowledge Quest, 47(5), 16-21.
ISTE Standards. ISTE. (n.d.). https://iste.org/standards
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I really enjoyed reading your reflections. I also appreciated O’Connor’s creative use of digital menus aligned with the AASL Shared Foundations. It’s such a great way to provide student choice while staying grounded in meaningful standards-based instruction. I agree that the ISTE standards often feel more familiar to classroom teachers because of their content-standard format, and your comparison of the structures between ISTE and AASL was really helpful.
ReplyDeleteYou made a great point about how teaching digital tools with intentional modeling can meet ISTE standards and often align with AASL standards at the same time. I love your example of pairing an interactive read-aloud with a follow-up digital activity. It’s a simple yet powerful way to integrate technology while addressing multiple standards. As future librarians, I think finding these natural overlaps will make it easier for us to collaborate with classroom teachers and design engaging, standards-aligned lessons that support digital literacy and lifelong learning. Thanks again for sharing!