For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019

Media Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Stratham Memorial School Librarian Published in National Journal

STRATHAM — Associate Superintendent Esther Asbell is pleased to share that Stratham Memorial School librarian Mary Lou Caron O’Connor was recently published in the Journal of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL).

O’Connor’s “Now Serving… an Appealing Menu of Digital Literacy Tools and Resources” was published in the May/June 2019 edition of the Knowledge Quest journal.

The article is based on O’Connor’s initiative to offer educational content in the style of a restaurant menu called “Digital Literacy Tools & Resources for K-5 Learners.” The menu provides students options for digital literacy tools which encourages them to try different resources and make their own choices as they complete projects.

O’Connor explains that structuring the resources as a restaurant menu makes sense because students know what it is like to try new things at a restaurant.

When students are tasked with a research project, O’Connor creates a specific menu for that project by choosing a variety of digital literacy tools. Students then choose from the menu of offered tools which tool they prefer to use for their assignment.

Based on the AASL Standards Framework for School Librarians, digital literacy tools and resources are listed based on the categories: Think, Create, Share and Grow, and key values: Inquire, Include, Collaborate, Curate, Explore and Engage.

The menu options are designed to evolve over time to accommodate the changing needs of learners and educators and the evolving digital landscape.

O’Connor explains the value of this digital menu as providing students with the freedom to choose rather than being assigned a digital learning tool. This empowers students to take charge of their learning by choosing how they want to create and share their projects.

Students have also enjoyed using the menu, providing feedback that they like the many options to choose from and that it allows them to be more independent in their schoolwork.

“We are very proud of Mary Lou’s achievement,” Associate Superintendent Asbell said. “Our librarians are crucial in developing digitally literate and engaged students. The digital menu has proven to be a valuable tool that teaches our students to evaluate different resources. It also gives them the ability to choose which leads to them being engaged in their learning.”

O’Connor also presented her ideas at the New Hampshire School Library Media Association annual conference in Concord, New Hampshire in March.

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