Tag Archives: Hour of Code

Futurecasting Information Technology

What does the future of information technology look like?

Advancing Cultures of Innovation

What I have seen in the library and information science profession since I have been in it is an embracing of the notion of innovation.  As institutions and individuals we are looking to create sustainable, ingenious methods to engage and stimulate the communities we serve.  Now, I get to take that mentality from the public library sphere and shift it towards the education realm.  What I see is the continuing trend for us to work on instilling a culture of innovation in the practice of learning and in stimulating the minds of our students to engage in their communities.

We are taking education formally outside of the building and moving it into the actual real world, but due to the shifts in our technologically advanced world we must be mindful of best practices in regards to student and teacher safety and professionalism.  This is where our training comes best into play because we can help other educators bridge the gap between engaging in real world projects and doing so safely.

Advancing a culture of innovation, for me, also means that our students will be taking back ownership of their learning.  I enjoyed the mention of the teacher becoming more of a guide and mentor than the sole focus in the classroom (Freeman, et al, 2017) ; and I think as information professionals this is a characteristic we are used to nurturing.    The Hour of Code event, is a wonderful opportunity to expose our student to an innovative way of thinking that they can use to translate to other areas of their lives.  Another idea is prototyping, brought up by school librarian Todd Burleson (Sullivan, 2016), as a way to engage students in creating solutions to real world problems.

I like that I know now where to look for quality information on the particular trends going on in education and technology, and can communicate that information to my administration and fellow educators in ways they can have easy access to and be able to understand and incorporate in their curriculum.  Maybe it’s the cultivated curiosity I have or the nature of enjoying learning, but I am looking forward to seeing where our profession goes; and understanding that I will need to be flexible in my outlook and help our students and educators be flexible in their thinking so that we can all learn how to embrace being innovators.

Sources

Freeman, A., Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., Davis, A., and
Hall Giesinger, C. (2017). NMC/CoSN Horizon Report: 2017 K–12
Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.

Sullivan, B. (2016).  Librarians share their predictions for education trends in 2017.  Oom Scholastic Blog.  Retrieved from:  http://oomscholasticblog.com/post/librarians-share-their-predictions-education-trends-2017