Tuesday, January 13, 2015
The Library of the Month is a celebration of Wisconsin libraries compiled by the BadgerLink team.
Arrowhead High School (AHS) was the top school in student referrals to the BadgerLink website in November 2014. BadgerLink staff contacted Donna Smith, Director of Library Media and Technology at Arrowhead School District, to find out what made the district so successful.
At AHS, information literacy - being able to find and evaluate information - is a top priority. A strong commitment from the school board resulted in the addition of technology integrators who support the growing professional development needs of staff, as well as contribute to student training. With assistance from library staff, the technology integrators focus on helping teachers incorporate information technology and technology tools into classrooms.
BadgerLink plays a major role in the district’s goal to teach technology literacy skills. For example, every AHS freshman uses BadgerLink to complete an English research project. While students are taught how to narrow search results by full text, format, and publication date, the real focus is on the evaluation of information. These research projects are just one example of how students are using technology to build 21st Century skills.
Acquisition of information literacy at AHS doesn’t stop there. Students must be able to analyze and cite the resources they find. Using BadgerLink, students can locate content, discern credible information, and apply it to projects. The permalink and citation tools available in BadgerLink resources are helpful, but students still need to use critical thinking skills.
All this makes the library a place to gather, analyze, and synthesize information, and discover something new.
Our thanks to Arrowhead High School for your continued support of BadgerLink!