ICT in French Primary Education,Twenty Years Later: Infusion or Transformation?

Twenty years have elapsed since ICT has been introduced on a large scale in French primary schools. Since then many developments have occurred, many of them outside of the technical sphere (for example decentralization has much progressed), new issues have appeared. This paper briefly analyzes changes and trends in the field of ICT in French primary education. It suggests that the development of ICT, still uncomplete, does not seem to have brought much change in the system. However, new ideas and activities have emerged, that deserve further research and invite to international comparisons. First contextual elements about France and the situation of primary education are recalled. Then issues linked with the development of ICT are analysed, taking into account the situation of both pupils and teachers.     

“I Have a Hippopotamus!”: Preparing Effective Early Childhood Environmental Educators

ABSTRACT

This article describes an early childhood teacher-preparation program that infuses environmental education and nature experiences into courses, practicum, and student-teaching experiences. Program philosophy, pedagogy, materials, and methods are described and linked to the Early Childhood Environmental Education Programs: Guidelines for Excellence, the Guidelines for the Preparation and Professional Development of Environmental Educators, and state-level early learning guidelines that focus on connecting young children with nature. Preservice teachers build knowledge, skills, and dispositions for effective environmental education beginning from an awareness level and progressing to application and refinement. The value of nature is communicated explicitly and implicitly throughout the program. Preliminary analysis of student outcomes indicated that, over the course of the program, students’ ratings of the importance of nature and science experiences and outcomes increased, along with their confidence implementing environmental-education activities.     

Comparative Moments: A Comparative Theological Orientation for Theological Education

Abstract

This article argues for the deep integration of encounters with religious diversity into theological education. Some seminaries and theological schools, like Emmanuel College in the Toronto School of Theology, have made it a matter of institutional mission to prepare students to provide leadership and spiritual care in contexts of religious pluralism. The article draws upon the emerging field of comparative theology to propose methods and resources for this integration at the level of the introductory theology course.     

IDENTIFYING PSYCHOSOCIAL DYSFUNCTION IN SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN: THE PEDIATRIC SYMPTOM CHECKLIST AS A SELF-REPORT MEASURE

The Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) is a brief, well-validated parent-report questionnaire designed to detect psychosocial dysfunction in school-age children during pediatric primary care visits. This study assessed the utility of the PSC when completed by children (PSC-Y) ages 9-14 in a public school when parents are not available (n = 173). The PSC-Y identified 20% of children as having psychosocial problems, a rate similar to other low-income samples. When compared with teacher ratings of attention and behavior problems, the PSC-Y showed a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 88%. The PSC-Y correlated significantly with teacher and parent measures of child dysfunction, and with child-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety. Three quarters of the children identified by the PSC-Y were not identified by parents on the PSC. These children had impairment on all other measures, but fewer than one in five had received mental health services, suggesting the PSC-Y identified children with unmet mental health needs. The PSC-Y has the potential to be a rapid, easily administered tool for large-scale mental health screening in schools.     

Patron Preferences: Recreational Reading in an Academic Library

In 2014, Sam Houston State University Library librarians distributed a survey to students, faculty and staff to better understand how the university community was using library materials for recreational reading. The survey found that patrons had preference for print materials with a growing interest in other formats. A significant number of respondents did not view the library as a source of recreational reading materials; those who did read across a broad swath of genres. Greater understanding of patron recreational reading preferences empower the library to expand the library collection to meet all patron demands.     

Librarians as Makers

Recent trends in librarianship point to themes of crafters, artisans, and makers in library spaces. The American Library Association's Center for the Future of Libraries includes the Maker Movement as one of its trends. Librarians can support these makers and entrepreneurs by thinking of libraries as a place to create through community building and engagement, and considering job skills needed for success and confidence to staff such spaces, but this transformation requires administrative support. This article summarizes this movement for libraries and suggests a route to success through a case study of a year-long grant on Making Maker librarians.     

Digitizing the Ivan Doig Archive at Montana State University: a rise to the challenge illustrates creative tension

This article contextualizes the leadership concept of creative tension by describing the acquisition, processing and digitization of the Ivan Doig Archive at the Montana State University Library. The project is framed as an illustration of strategies that can generate and sustain momentum toward achieving ambitious goals while building staff confidence. Perspectives from library staff and faculty who worked on the project are included alongside the view of the dean and an external organizational development manager.     

Using Maps to Promote Data-Driven Decision-Making: One Library’s Experience in Data Visualization Instruction

Data play a crucial role in health research, education, and patient care. Initiatives such as Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) and Precision Medicine point to the increasing focus and value of data use and reuse. As the universe of data continues to grow exponentially, health education needs to provide students with practical hands-on learning sessions that illustrate the multitude of uses for data and statistics. Giving students early exposure to data reuse provides a solid background for the more complex data they may gather later in their education. This column describes how librarians at a general academic library used data dashboards and Tableau in two library sessions to provide students with hands-on experience in data visualization and its role in decision-making.     

Dynamic,Playful and Productive Literacies

This paper reflects on recent projects in a variety of media forms, in both formal and informal educational settings, discussing ways of expanding our notions of literacy practices which reflect their place in the wider lived experience of digital culture. We have collected these reflections under three headings. The first of these, Dynamic Literacies, presents an overarching view of literacy as both ideological, following the ‘new literacy studies’, and dynamic, incorporating both semiotic and sociocultural versions of literacy in ways which reflect the changing nature of lived experience in the digital age. The second strand, Productive Literacies, constructs an argument around digital making practices with younger learners which views these as media crafting, critique and artistry. The third strand, Playful Literacies, explores recent projects which are located in games and game-authoring practices as a specific example of connecting pedagogy to contemporary media forms and learner agency in formal and informal settings. Taken together, the three perspectives allow for common ground to be established between multimodal production practices, whilst providing suggestions for framing literacy pedagogy in response to the pervasive use of media and technology in contemporary digital culture.