ALA: Banned Books Week

Banned & Challenged Books

The ALA promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them.

A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) promotes awareness of challenges to library materials and celebrates freedom of speech during Banned Books Week. This event is observed during the last week of September of each year. Banned Books Week 2013 will occur September 22 through 28. See Banned Books Week for information and resources for getting your library or organization involved in this event!

OIF compiles lists of challenged books as reported in the media and submitted to us by librarians and teachers across the country.  For more about books challenged as well as information about classic novels that have been challenged and/or banned, please see Frequently Challenged Books.

OIF also offers support for librarians facing challenges to materials in their library. The support librarians seek will not be disclosed to any outside parties and the challenge report OIF receives is kept confidential. Please see Challenges to Library Materials for resources and information to help you prepare for and respond to challenges.

If you would like more information about banned and challenged books not covered in the website, please feel free to contact the Office for Intellectual Freedom at (800) 545-2433, ext. 4220, or oif@ala.org.

 Banned Books List 2012: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/15/banned-books-2013-captain_n_3083933.html

Professional Reading Assignment # 2: Web 2.0 and 3.0 Tools

Background Information:

Instructional Design/Technology blog written by a graduate student explaining Web 2.0 and 3.0 tools: http://diaryofanelearner.com/2013/04/10/web-2-0-vs-web-3-0-what-really-is-the-difference/ (student/educator perspective)

More detailed definitions: http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/464-articles464-Basic-Definitions-Web-1-0-Web-2-0-Web-3-0 (business perspective)

Article: Embracing Web 2.0 and 3.0 tools to support lifelong learning—Let learners connect

Article Link: http://ac.els-cdn.com/S1877042812012840/1-s2.0-S1877042812012840-main.pdf?_tid=db0b722e-2492-11e3-9b72-00000aacb360&acdnat=1379970071_7db72d51a72c6470e98b2e1e78a51c2f

Article Summary: The article is written from a European perspective, but exhibits and voices parallel concerns similar to those involved in the US educational infrastructure.  The writer makes the correlation between Web 2.0 and 3.0 tools and how they are changing the face of education; especially how student are acquiring knowledge.  This idea of democratization of information makes traditional learning appear stale and outdated, but the writer recognizes the importance of students mastering “soft skills” before managing and exploring e-skills properly.  One section of the article, focuses on how we, as a society present jobs in the STEM arena.  Most of these jobs are not highly desired; especially for women, but are readily available.  Teachers and parents play a key role in changing the views of STEM professions and how we present these fields to our students and children.  The writer also makes a claim, that helping students hone their skills in needed areas with web 2.0 and 3.0 tools, will possibly create lifelong learners.

Question 1: If we are resistant to changing technology, its uses, and its benefits; how can this negatively impact our students and children?

Question 2: How have you successfully incorporated web 2.0 and/or 3.0 tools into your educational environment?  Please share any unsuccessful stories as well (reflective practice).

Question 3:  Do you feel our program is adequately preparing us to be 21^st Century educators?  How would you “sell” our graduate program to a prospective student? 

ISTC 651: Information Literacy & Access

Professional Reading 1: "Information Literacy/Fluency and 21st Century Literacy Types"

http://21cif.com/resources/difcore/ This discusses what “Information Fluency” is, and shows and describes a model for how to achieve information fluency.

http://21cif.com/rkitp/course/achieving-information-fluency/ Thebroad/ general “literacy types” are bulleted on this page. The article you will read lists more specific types of literacy under the subheading: Which literacies are implied in »multiliteracy« for 21st century?

Summary of Article: This article discusses the importance of how teaching multiliteracy will be in the coming years to help students become more able to read information effectively in a science classroom (but really, in all academic settings), because the way science is now being explained using ICT (Information and Communication Technology). The author then breaks down a few types of literacies and explains what is needed to be literate in each area. Then, the article focuses mainly on explaining and discussing “visual literacy” and why it is so important to learn to be literate in visual literacy especially in the field of science. She explains that it will need to be a team effort of teachers to teach students these fluencies, and that teachers need to be trained how to teach visual literacy.

Questions: 

Question 1: Do you agree with the author?…” books / textbooks, printed material are (are going to be) hardly needed any more. In future most likely ICT [Information and Communications Technology] is going to overtake their function.”

Question 2: Do you agree that visual literacy is something that must be taught, and not something that students can just “pick up” from watching TV shows?

Question 3: Do you think it is important for educators to be trained in visual literacy? Do you see this in our futures as educators?