This Is Not The Elementary School Library You Remember

Last fall, the directors of the Library Media Centers at the four Deerfield elementary schools had an idea. They wanted to offer their students 1:1 level of access to the widest range of educational technology within the LMC.

The four LMC directors – Rich Connell (Wilmot), Kate Schippers (Kipling), Carrie Light (South Park) and Kathy Kerner (Walden) – approached the Deerfield Education Foundation about a technology grant. Their hope was to obtain a set of 25 iPads, apps, covers and a cart for each of the elementary school LMCs. Their vision for the use of the iPads was for the library staff, the classroom teacher and the technology coach to work collaboratively to create state-of-the-art projects that reflected students’ knowledge across the curriculum.

The Foundation awarded the grant of nearly $70,000, and the iPads are now being utilized in all four LMCs.

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The girl eagerly turned up the volume on the iPad so that the listener could hear about global warming.

“Greenhouse gases are a big problem because it is causing global warming,” said the voice coming out of the iPad. “Greenhouse gases are caused by people. Any time you drive a car or a bus, you let greenhouse gases into the air. When it goes into the air, it stays in the earth’s atmosphere, acting like a blanket and making the earth warmer.”

The girl then turned down the volume so she could talk more about her project – the one she created and voiced.

The girl is Zoe Goldberg, a fifth-grade student at Wilmot Elementary School. Sitting in the Wilmot Library Media Center after spring break, she is presenting her report on global warming using an iPad app called Book Creator, which allowed her to add text, pictures, drawings, videos – and, of course, her own voice.

“Everybody in my class used the Book Creator app for inquiry, and everyone made their own book,” Zoe said. “The main focus of our unit was what causes earth to change. My group thought of a bunch of different ideas and decided on global warming because we thought it was interesting. None of the other groups were doing it, so we thought it would be something different. My question was, ‘How was global warming going to affect us in the future?’ This is what scientists think is going to happen. That’s what my book is about.”

This spring, Zoe and students at all four Deerfield elementary schools – Wilmot, Walden, South Park and Kipling – now have access to iPads in their respective Library Media Centers thanks to a grant from the Deerfield Education Foundation. All four elementary school LMCs are utilizing the iPads to empower research activities, group learning, artifact production, eBook creation, and audio and camera features to extend learning with multimedia.

For the parents of DPS 109 students, these are not the elementary school libraries that you remember. Sure, there are bookshelves lined with hardcovers and paperbacks to choose from. But the integration of the iPads this spring brings a whole new level of learning to the digital native generation.

“What I’m finding with the kids is that when they’re working with them, you can hear a pin drop,” said Rich Connell, the Library Media Center director at Wilmot Elementary School. “It’s so funny. Other activities we do, they’re a little more chatty. But when they’re working with iPads, you can hear a pin drop in here. They’re so focused. There are so many apps we can bring in, things to try.

“As a teacher, I tend to look at things in terms of grade level, but I’m finding that the first graders are just as good on the iPads as the fifth graders. If anything, they might be a little bit better, because they have even less fear to go out and try it. Nothing’s going to happen if they make a mistake. Here they can play, they can experiment, they can explore.”

The Wilmot fifth graders used Book Creator for their inquiry project. While Zoe Goldberg and members of her group researched global warming, her classmates’ inquiry projects included volcanoes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters and forces of nature. On Showcase Night, the iPads will be set up in the Wilmot LMC so the students can show the presentations to their parents.

 “The iPads let us do a lot more in terms of extending what the students learn,” Connell said. “I think the fifth grade project like Zoe was talking about was just the start. The fifth graders were our pilot project. I’ve worked with them for four years, and I was blown away by some kids who I thought wouldn’t have a strong final product. They just had incredibly detailed e-publications through Book Creator. They just really got into it.

“One little boy, in particular, how he laid it out … he had a definite plan in mind as to how he wanted the font to look, the background to look, and how everything was organized. This kid is kind of a quiet kid. He takes it all in, but doesn’t talk a lot. But by using the e-publication, he really could express himself. For some of the more reluctant learners, the iPad versatility lets them shine in their own way. If you think about it, like with poster projects, some kids are great artists – but some kids are not. The iPad apps let each kid show their own individuality. It’s been a great investment.”

Along with Book Creator, other apps being introduced in the Deerfield elementary school LMCs this spring include Geography Drive (a map traveling fact and trivia game), Haiku Deck (a presentation and slideshow app) and Puppet Pals.

“We have a fourth grade class that works with a first grade class – they’re buddies,” Connell said. “They did some planning and they’re using an app called Puppet Pals. They’re going to make little puppet plays with their first grade buddies. So you’re getting more authentic learning where the fourth graders are going to be teaching the first graders how to use the app – and they’ll be working together for a collaborative activity. There are so many more possibilities for us to do things with the technology. We’re just barely touching the surface. It’s a lot of fun.”

Fun – but educational – as the Deerfield elementary school libraries have become a hands-on experience. Students have been using the iPads to search for library materials and to read electronic books.

“When we first got them, every class explored with them,” Connell said. “There are kids who have iPads at home, but they learned they could do other things.

“At first, you heard them say, ‘Can I play on the iPad?’ Now, it’s more like, ‘Can I use the iPad?’ That’s coming from them. The kids are fun to watch. You’ll see them take a picture of something goofy or silly, but they’re processing and they’re thinking. We’re learning together. Like I tell the kids – you’re teaching me, I’m teaching you. It’s really a good thing.”

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The Deerfield Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization made up of community members and educators working together to raise money for the benefit of students in Deerfield Public School District 109. To learn more, please visit www.DeerfieldEducationFoundation.org.