Our Senior Class

We're starting school today and I'm thinking about teaching mini-lessons on plagiarism, verifying sources and copyright issues (among other things!) I have been thinking about they level of these students I'm working with.

Teacher Librarian Joyce Valenza had a wonderful chart she constructed with recollections on how life has changed for librarians through the years on her blog NeverEnding Search.

Plus, I'm thinking about our seniors that will be graduating this year. I'm hoping that we are preparing them for that "ever changing world" giving them skills that they need to be successful. My perspective was enhanced when I took a look at the Beloit College list regarding the mindset of these kids. Hmmm remember Pogs and Duck Tails?

When you look at the lives of 12-24 year olds, in a study/article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times. Thanks to Michael Casey's Library Crunch- I have some better ideas of what they have been thinking...here are a few quotes from Michael -

• IM use is almost equal to email use in the 12-17 age group.
• "Social networking websites such as MySpace.com are very popular...just under half of girls and 43% of boys reported visiting such sites, joined by 56% of young women and 41% of men. The older adults were less likely to spend time on social sites -- 66% of men over 21 said they do not visit such sites, along with 52% of women."
• "Fifteen percent of girls 12-14 who visit such [social networking] sites said they spend more than four hours a day doing so."

Finally: Karl Fisch has a terrific presesntation that he started the year to get his teachers thinking. If you haven't yet seen "Did You Know?," you've GOT to watch it- WOW!

I would love to see what you think! Let me know!