Handwriting research, NLB, & Zotero

Have you ever wondered about the effects of increased usage of computers on students' handwriting ability?  

How might this affect them in exams (such as the IB Diploma) which are all hand-written?  Muscle cramp?  Lack of fine-motor stamina?  Illegibility?

What cognitive processes are involved in handwriting compared to typing on a keyboard?  

How important is handwriting these days?

Nick Alchin asked me to start exploring these questions -- and Frazer Cairns from Dover sent us a couple of articles to get the ball rolling.

What a good, small topic to demonstrate a few of our research tools.

First of all, the National Library Board (NLB) of Singapore has three major database collections aimed at educators - which are free for us to use. 

• Education Full Text - WilsonWeb - EBSCOHost  The WilsonWeb journals database crafted to meet the unique information needs of education students, professionals, and policy makers — now delivers full text contents from Springer, plus full text information from the classic library trade magazine, Wilson Library Bulletin. The recent additions expand on the database's coverage of an international range of English-language periodicals, monographs, and yearbooks.
• Educator's e-Collection - Gale Cengage  Available on the Gale PowerSearch platform, this collection provides resources in the field of education covering virtually every educational specialty, latest technologies, developments, instruction and coaching breakthroughs as well as information relating to administration, funding, policy, child health and development. The database covers multiple levels of education from preschool to college.
• ERIC - the Education Resources Information Center - EBSCOHost  ERIC - the Education Resources Information Center - is an online digital library of education research and information. The database available here via the EBSCOhost Web service provides access to indexed bibliographic records and full-text documents.

For information about how to search the NLB databases (as well as ones we subscribe to), see our Library Research Guides, e.g., on Professional Learning for Teachers: Magazines/Journals or Databases Overview.

Searching those NLB databases for "handwriting" and "technology" and "teaching" produced a number of results, which I collected using Zotero, the free online referencing and bibliographic tool, which all our IB Diploma students are using for their Extended Essays.  (If you're interested in trying it, see our library guide on Information Research & Fluency: Zotero for links to get you started.)

Click here to see the results of my "Handwriting" search in our UWCSEA East group in Zotero. (And feel free to join the group and add more to the "Handwriting" Folder.  That's what groups are for - joint collection and sharing of resources.)  

You can read the articles by clicking on the URL of items in the library.  I uploaded the PDFs in Google Docs and made the sharing available to anyone logged into a @gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg account.

The beauty of Zotero is you can produce reports and bibliographies in any desired referencing format.  Here is the "Handwriting" Folder exported in MLA format:

Anonymous. “As Cursive Wanes, Educators Wonder What Is Being Lost.” Education Week 29.5 (2009): 10. Print.

Berninger, Virginia Wise. “Strengthening the Mind’s Eye.” Principal 91.5 (2012): 28–31. Print.

Berninger, Virginia Wise Wise. Past, Present, and Future Contributions ofCognitive Writing Research to Cognitive Psychology. Psychology Press, 2012. Print.

Bloom, Adi. “Not so mighty any more.” The Times Educational Supplement 4963 (2011): 28. Print.

Enstrom, E. A. Handwriting: The Neglect of a Needed Skill. The Clearing House, 1966. eric. Web.

Furner, Beatrice A. Handwriting Instruction for a High-Tech Society: Will Handwriting Be Necessary? 1985. eric. Web.

“Increased use of Technology leads to handwriting difficulties amongst Chinese youth.” Digital Learning Apr. 2010. Web. 2 Dec. 2012.

Judkins, Jason, Holli Dague, and Steven Cope. “Handwriting in the Schools: Challenges and Solutions.” Early Intervention & School Special Interest Section Quarterly / American Occupational Therapy Association 16.1 (2009): 1–4. Print.

Lee, Hye-Jung. “Evolutionary Change of Communication in e-Learning: in the era of synchronous e-text communuication.” Global Science and Technology Forum, 2011. 1–6. SOURCE: ProQuest Central - NLB. Web.

Medwell, Jane, and David Wray. “Handwriting--A Forgotten Language Skill?” Language and Education 22.1 (2008): 34–47. Print.

---. “Handwriting: What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Know?” Literacy 41.1 (2007): 10–15. Print.

Mogey, N. et al. “Students’ Choices Between Typing and Handwriting in Examinations.” Active Learning in Higher Education 13.2 (2012): 117–128. Print.

Sülzenbrück, S. et al. “The Death of Handwriting: Secondary Effects of Frequent Computer Use on Basic Motor Skills.” Journal of motor behavior 43.3 (2011): 247–251. Print.

Supon, Vi. “Cursive Writing: Are Its Last Days Approaching?” Journal of Instructional Psychology 36.4 (2009): 357–359. Print.

Tucha, Oliver, Lara Tucha, and Klaus W. Lange. “Graphonomics, Automaticity and Handwriting Assessment.” Literacy 42.3 (2008): 145–155. Print.

Zubrzycki, Jaclyn. “Experts Fear Handwriting Will Become a Lost Art.” Education Week 31.18 (2012): 1,. Print.

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For an amusing blast from the past, read the article below from 1966 bemoaning the poor quality of high school students' handwriting - and putting the blame partly on teachers not modeling good chalkboard script - while also acknowledging the "day-long writing needs" of students, something which has definitely changed.

Read ahead: Dylan Wiliam on assessment

As you know, Dylan Wiliam is coming to the East campus next week.

We have some of his books in the libraries (click here for a list), but as there aren't enough copies for everyone to read at once, why not read some of his key articles?

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Black, Paul et al. “Working Inside the Black Box: Assessment for Learning in the Classroom.” Phi Delta Kappan 86 (2004): 8. Print.

Black, Paul, and Dylan Wiliam. “A pleasant surprise.” Phi Delta Kappan 92 (2010): 47+. Print.

---. “Inside the black box: raising standards through classroom assessment.” Phi Delta Kappan 80 (1998): 139+. Print.

---. “Inside the black box: raising standards through classroom assessment: formative assessment is an essential component of classroom work and can raise student achievement.” Phi Delta Kappan 92.1 (2010): 81+. Print.

Clymer, Jacqueline B., and Dylan Wiliam. “Improving the way we grade science.” Educational Leadership 64 (2006): 36+. Print.

Wiliam, Dylan. “Changing classroom practice.” Educational Leadership 65 (2007): 36+. Print.

---. “Feedback: part of a system.” Educational Leadership 70 (2012): 30–34. Print.

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You can read all the Phi Delta Kappan articles online or have them emailed to yourself using our new InfoTrac subscription.  It's an online database of 250 magazines which we are trialling on both campuses.  If it doesn't contain a magazine you're interested in, let me know.  We'll definitely be adjusting the titles available.

Click here to go to our new InfoTrac Magazines Online & access these articles by Dylan Wiliam 

If you are on campus, the link should put you directly into InfoTrac.

If it doesn't, you'll have to enter a password. Click here to open a Google Doc -- http://bit.ly/accessuwc -- that gives them all to you (or, rather, to anyone with a @gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg account).

Click here for a PDF that shows you step-by-step screenshots for articles in Phi Delta Kappan (as that is full-text complete in Infotrac).  It's a Google Doc accessible by anyone with a @gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg account - as I show you the password to Infotrac.

In the case of you finding an article for which Infotrac doesn't have the full-text, then we have other avenues.  E.g., for ASCD's Educational Leadership, you need to go to the website and know our institutional login.  Click here for the Google Doc where we are collecting such logins/passwords.  It is shared only with @gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg in the "allteachingstaff" list for Dover & East.

If you want to search ASCD's Educational Leadership for Dylan Wiliam articles, click here and login.

Films, movies, DVDs, iTunes on iPads, etc.

The library is slowly building up its collection of films and documentaries to support the curriculum -- and the boarding house "home collection".

Click here for a list of all films, DVDs, and iTunes downloads on the library iPads in the Secondary Library.

Note that when you look at a particular title, you need to check its "Location".  Some are physical DVDs in the library or in particular departments, while others are via iTunes - so you need to use one of the library iPads to view it.

Click here for a list of all the iTunes films we have on the iPads.  Right now we are allowing teachers to check iPads out of the library for their own viewing/use, but students are expected to use them only in the library under your supervision.

To book the 12 iPads, create a Google Calendar event and invite libraryeast@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg -- and specify iPads in the event description.  Once you do that, we will accept your invitation -- and it will show up on our Events page of eastlib.uwcsea.edu.sg, e.g.,

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Not all the films will fit one iPad, so you should tell us in the event booking which films you want loaded.  This may take a bit of time - so please book at least one day in advance.

And don't hesitate to request a particular film....

Bonus point:  Our iPads are individually named, to make it easy to tell them apart.  Do you know why we chose these famous people for our devices?

Professional Learning Resources: here, online, and to come

I hate it when one of you gets up and recommends a book -- and I can't say I already have it in the library.  I really do feel responsible for having the best of everything at our fingertips.  Save me the shame by letting me know ahead of time, so I can at least get it on my order list.  (Better late than never....)

That's the case with Nick Alchin's professional learning talk from last Friday.

I don't have the Daniel Willingham book -- Why Don't Students Like School? -- yet, but it will be in the library within a couple of weeks.  Meanwhile, you can check out Daniel Willingham's website -- with links to his articles, videos, and blog.   I first heard of Willingham when he posted his video, "Teaching Content is Teaching Reading" -- and the connections to the library are obvious.

NB:  This past Monday Willingham had an article in The Atlantic called "What Does Science Tell Us About Teaching Kids to Think?" 


Re the other book -- How People Learn -- I don't have it yet, but -- almost as good -- it's available free online in PDF form and as an MP3 podcast.  Yes, the National Academies Press makes all their publications freely available as long as you register for an account.  What an amazingly generous institution!

Nick is going to organize some reading/discussion groups.  Watch for an email from him.  Meanwhile, get reading or listening.

A reminder as the holiday approaches:  Both our libraries have growing professional learning collections.  Come in and browse.  Here's a link to a list of just some of the Professional Learning books in the Secondary Library.

Register NOW for Hands on Literacy

Register now for Hands on Literacy,  Saturday, November 17th -- a one-day conference run every two years by the international school librarian network here in Singapore.

This November Hands on Literacy will be hosted by the Australian school and two fabulous guest speakers have been lined up:  Dr. Joyce Valenza (USA), winner of an Edublogs Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, and Judy O'Connell (Australia), a course director at Charles Sturt University and educational technology specialist.

Sessions range from Infants to IB Diploma level -- in a number of strands:  Digital Literacy  /  Engaging with Print  /  Visual Literacy & The Arts  /  Research & Inquiry  /   Librarianship

Click here to go to the conference website.

Click here to view all the workshop offerings in a PDF.  (Our own Keri-Lee Beasley & Louise Phinney are offering a session on "Learning Stories".)

Click here to directly access the Registration program.  NB: the Registration Program expects you to create an account (email + password) before you can go back in and actually choose sessions to attend.  Don't hesitate to ask me for help -- the program isn't the most intuitive.

UWCSEA usually pays for everyone who wants to attend Hands on Literacy (and Teach IT).  So when you register, choose the option that says, "Bill my school" or whatever.  Then go to the East Professional Learning site and fill out the application form.

I know you should apply for permission first, but I'm more concerned about you not getting into the workshop of your choice if you wait.  There were some glitches in the registration program so I have waited to push you to sign up -- meanwhile other schools have been pushing their teachers.  Now I worry that some sessions might be filling up.  So hurry!

Last Call! for Hands on Literacy papers - one-day conference at AISS, Sat, Nov 17

You have until August 31st to submit your presentation proposal for Hands on Literacy,  a one-day Saturday conference run every two years by the international school librarian network here in Singapore.   The model is the same as the IT Directors' biennial conference, TeachIT (with which we alternate years) -- where teachers offer workshops for other teachers -- peer-sharing professional development.

This November Hands on Literacy will be hosted by the Australian school and two fabulous guest speakers have been lined up:  Dr. Joyce Valenza (USA), winner of an Edublogs Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, and Judy O'Connell (Australia), a course director at Charles Sturt University and educational technology specialist.

Sessions range from Infants to IB Diploma level -- in a number of strands:  Digital Literacy  /  Engaging with Print  /  Visual Literacy & The Arts  /  Research & Inquiry  /   Librarianship

The definition of "literacy" is in the broadest sense.... from traditional, Readers/Writers Workshop, to digital storytelling....

Click here to access the Google Form where you can submit your workshop proposal -- or go to the Hands on Literacy website.

To see what the workshop offerings were two years ago, go to the archived 2010 website.

Registration to attend opens September 15th.

The tradition (for both Hands on Lit and Teach IT is that the cost for all teachers and teaching assistants who want to attend is willingly paid for by UWCSEA.  (Nick/Mike/Mary, I'll be in touch....)

To book the secondary library or teacher-librarian...

Simply "invite" libraryeast@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg to a Google Calendar event.

Current bookings for the Kishore Mahbubani Library can be viewed on the "Bookings & Events" page of the library website ( eastlib.uwcsea.edu.sg ).

Please try to indicate what the purpose is (e.g., general book borrowing, textbook checkout,  lesson, presentation) and desired location (e.g., downstairs, upstairs, stage area, Think Tank, The George Orwell Room, The Emily Dickinson Room, The Pablo Neruda Room).

If you say "borrowing" or "checkout", then we know library counter staff need to be available.

To book Katie Day, the secondary teacher-librarian, include her (kda@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg) in the invitation.

To arrange for any special furniture set-up or catering, use the UWCSEA East Calendar and Venue Booking Form -- after your initial invitation is accepted.

Magazines, Memberships & Digital Subscriptions

Here is an editable (to anyone logged into their UWCSEA Google Apps account) Google Doc spreadsheet which the librarians from both campuses are using as a working document to collect desired:  Magazines, Memberships, & Digital Subscriptions (i.e., databases).

Magazines have been the poor cousins over the past four years, in favor of building up the book collections.  But now we are actively trying to fill those gaps.

Have a look at the tentative magazine list -- and feel free to add any titles -- or to highlight any priorities (using the Insert / Comment function).  We will be investigating the cost/benefits of online digital access and/or print editions.

Professional memberships are another area which needs attention.  Are there professional memberships you (want to) subscribe to which come with online access or print magazines of interest?  Feel free to add any there -- with whatever information you have.

Re databases:  I'm pleased to announce we have recently subscribed to four of the ABC-Clio databases (the ones we were trialing earlier this year):  The World at War, World Geography, World History - Modern, and Issues: Understanding Controversy & Society -- which are well suited to middle/high school students -- as well as Project Muse, which will be more of an IB-DP and teacher resource.  These new ones will be available as of 01-Aug-12.

Do have a look at the databases available FREE via the National Library Board of Singapore.  (The ones most relevant to our students are listed on a separate tab in the spreadsheet -- to see the complete list go to: eResources.nlb.gov.sg .)  Note that there are several geared at educational research -- for those of you pursuing further education.

How can you check what your department owns for resources?

Remember: the library catalogs for both campuses can always be accessed via the URL:

  
library.uwcsea.edu.sg 

(1)

(2)

(3)

 (4)

 

To watch a short video tutorial of how to check what resources your department owns -- and how to login and see who has a particular resource out, click on the link or image below. 

VIDEO:  How to check for department resources
& who has what out?

 

These are the tags currently used to identify secondary school departments (i.e., budgets used to buy resources).  You can combine them with any other keywords in the library catalog Search Box to find specific resources.

ArtDept / ChineseDept / DramaDept / EconDept / EnglishDept / FrenchDept / GeographyDept / GlobalDept / HistoryDept / ICTDept / LSDept / MathDept / MusicDept / PEDept / SciDept / SpanishDept / StudCounsellingDept / UnivCounsellingDept / TOKDept / CurricDept / PsyDept / TechEquip

 

Who is Zarganar? Someone you will meet....

Monday, April 30th, at 3 PM all teachers are invited to the Secondary Library to end our Professional Development Day with refreshments and a short presentation by Zarganar, a famous political comedian from Burma. 

Zarganar is not only a well known in Burma for his satires, but also in the international political and comedian community for his struggle for freedom of expression, e.g., after criticizing the Burmese government's handling of Cyclone Nargis in 2008, he was given a 35-year sentence in prison, though thankfully he was released last October.

Here is a short clip of Liam Neeson introducing him in March 2012 at The Secret Policeman's Ball in the UK, an Amnesty International event:



He chose the name Zarganar, which means "tweezer," because of the Burmese saying:  "If you have any strand of fear, pull it out with zarganar."  As he is also a dentist by training, his pseudonym suggests someone who intends to open the mouth of people shut because of political oppression.

Here is more information about him, sent to me by Thet, the parent who arranged this special visit for us.  (She has two sons in primary -- Justin (3LoW) and Aaron (1GSt).)

He was jailed officially as well as detained unofficially many times and spent a total of 11 years in prison for making jokes about the problems under the military regime.
He fought for freedom of expression and holds the motto of "forgive but don't forget."


In 1991, the Fund for Free Expression, part of the Human Rights Watch organization, awarded him a Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett Grant. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarganar
In 2008, he was awarded the Freedom to Create Prize for Imprisoned Artists. Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience and called for his immediate release.
In May 2011, Zarganar was awarded Honorary Life Membership in Equity, the UK performers' union, in recognition of his struggle for artistic freedom in Burma.


People like Hillary Clinton and William Hague called on him to discuss political reforms in Burma during their visits to the country.


You can easily do a Google search about him but for a quick easy reference please visit the links below.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarganar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE_jIfut-8k (Zaganar gave speech at a recent Amnesty International's "Secret Policeman Ball")
http://getmoresitetraffic.com/news/Zarganar.html (compilation of articles about him)
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/thailand/111225/zarganar-burma-comedian-dissident (An article on him by Global Post, written after his recent release)
Zarganar has been featured in This Prison Where I Live, a documentary film by British filmmaker Rex Bloomstein and German comedian Michael Mittermeier, who had traveled secretly to Burma to make the film.
Parts of "This Prison Where I Live"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqgpkTTarPA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECanPO3EtZQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsu9WznApKY&feature=related

Photo via Equity article on Zarganar's release from political prison in October 2011.

Children's Literature Conference - here in Singapore - Saturday, Feb 18

Come meet four top award-winning authors/illustrators for children and young adults on Saturday, Feb. 18th, at the inaugural SAS Children's Literature Conference.

This is your chance to see:

Harry Bliss

(author homepage; books in our catalog)

Candace Fleming

(author homepage; books in our catalog)

Eric Rohmann 

(author homepage; books in our catalog)

Pam Muñoz Ryan 

(author homepage; books in our catalog)

You can also choose to do an optional workshop with one of the authors/illustrators on Sunday.


NB: We are sending a cohort of UWC East teachers to this conference -- yes, the college is paying.


If you are interested in being included, please contact Katie Day (kda@uwcsea.edu.sg) in the secondary library or Debbie Diaz (ddi@uwcsea.edu.sg) in the primary library.

The sooner the better.  Registration theoretically closes tomorrow and places are going fast.


If you are unfamiliar with their books, pop into the Primary Library.  Debbie has pulled some of their titles and put them in baskets behind her desk.  They will be there up until the time of the conference.


For complete information on the conference, visit http://sasclc.sas.edu.sg

Bookaburra Book Fair Wed.-Fri. January 18-20.

There will be a Book Fair in the Infant school reception area and under the tent in the Plaza from 8 AM to 4 PM Wed-Fri this week (Jan. 18-20).

The vendor- Bookaburra - is a specialist children's bookseller. Its retail outlet is at Forum The Shopping Mall, and it also runs regular book fairs in the local and international schools. Their website is currently under construction but here is a sample of one of their newsletters.

Fliers for parents should arrive tomorrow, Tuesday Jan. 10. Please feel free to bring your classes down to browse -- and to check it out yourselves.

You are also more than welcome to pick out books for the school to buy for the library -- or for your department. All you have to do is tell the bookstall staff that you want to put this book aside for the school to purchase. They may make you add your name to a clipboard or something. Later I will be given a list of the books put aside and will send it out to everyone to confirm.

You can also just snap photos (if you have a smartphone on you) of the covers of books you're interested in. Don't worry about whether we might have it or not. I can check whether it's already cataloged, waiting to be cataloged, or on an order list.

10% of sales goes towards purchasing books for UWC libraries.