“Apps that make things, not apps that do things”: appropriation and assistive learning technologies.

This paper describes three initial case studies of software use by teachers to support learners with special educational needs. In each case, the teachers were observed to be appropriating the software in ways that went beyond the intended use of the technologies. Appropriation has been previously explored as a positive process that provides benefits to users, yet these cases suggest that there may be specific benefits of appropriation for teachers in this context, and this is worthy of deeper investigation in the future

The Educating Neighborhood: How Villages Raise There Children

Almost everyone is familiar with the African saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." However, there are very few "villages" that actually engage in this practice. The educational assets of the village include the knowledge of neighborhood residents, the clubs, groups, and associations that are citizen-based learning environments and the local institutions (businesses, not-for-profits, and government bodies). They all provide incredible learning opportunities. It is these neighborhood educational assets that are activated in a village that raises its children.In most communities, however, these invaluable resources are unused and disconnected from the lives of young people. It appears that in one to two generations, villages have lost their power to raise children. Their functions have largely been transferred to schools. This transfer is reflected by the fact that in the last generation, schools have been asked to take responsibility for the health, safety, food, recreation, behavior, moral values, and entrepreneurial development of young people.This Kettering Foundation working paper by John McKnight, codirector of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute, Northwestern University, presents some of ABCD's research in assisting people in local neighborhoods to identify the local teaching knowledge

Bridging the gap between service provision and customer expectation

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to serve as a reminder to all managers that they must understand their customers, from the customers’ perspective, and not make assumptions about customer needs. Design/methodology/approach: Customer Value Discovery workshops are held with undergraduate on-campus students and academic staff at Nottingham Trent University to identify customer values and irritations. Library staff participate in the workshops and vote as they expected their customers to vote. The gaps identified between staff assumptions of customer perceptions of service importance and performance serve as a catalyst for staff engagement in the change process that is necessary to deliver on the value propositions and reduce customer irritations. Findings: Library staff assumptions of customer perceptions were not always accurate. The gaps identified helped to engage staff in the change process that was necessary to improve perceptions of value and to reduce irritations. By explicitly addressing the value propositions with the aims of adding value and reducing irritation, student satisfaction with library services, as measured by two independent satisfaction surveys, improved considerably. Research limitations/implications: The research is based on two customer segments of one university library. The research should be repeated after a gap of three-four years to check if the value propositions and irritations have changed in that time. If so, the goals of the library’s operational plan would have to change to reflect the new value propositions

‘The Oceans are Rising and So Are We’: exploring utopian discourses in the school strike for climate movement

This article offers some provisional analyses of the discourses presented by participants in the School Strike for Climate movement, which (since it began in 2018) has been organised variously under the banners Fridays for Future, Youth for Climate and School Strike 4 Climate.1 This paper contends that the movement goes beyond just presenting a vision of an inescapable future, or a simple request for adults to listen to science.2 Instead, their vision is constructive of a better world, as participants challenge the failures of politicians and arguably the adult public, demanding to play an active role in policymaking when it comes to the climate crisis. This movement is constructed upon a critical utopian discourse, expressed through complex temporalities, which define the role of resistance as anticipation. This article also considers how the anxiety in the School Strike movement creates a militant optimism, and how its narratives are demonstrative of an open-ended utopian process

102nd Convocation 2016 Address - The Sky and Sea

Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion John McKnight states I know for sure that the liberal arts teach students how to think critically and provide unparalleled access to opportunities to translate good thinking into action

Are there common academic library customer values?

Abstract: Purpose – This paper endeavours to provide answers to the following questions: Is there a correlation between what library customers value and the questions asked in benchmarking satisfaction surveys? Is there a core set of academic library customer values? Are there differences between what academic library customers value in Australia when compared to their counterparts in England? Do library customer values change over time?Design/methodology/approach – The results of two similar university libraries' customer value discovery research are compared with each other, and also with the question set in the LibQUAL+™ survey. As the customer value discovery research was undertaken six years apart, the results are compared to see if there has been change over time.Findings – Academic library customers identified a core set of values, and these values mapped reasonably well to the LibQUAL+™ instrument. However, there were unique value factors identified by the various customer segments that did not map. Some questions in LibQUAL+™ were more detailed in their exploration of library staff attributes than customers identified in their value proposition. Customers identify their values +without reference to library jargon.Originality/value – The paper shows that customer value discovery and LibQUAL+™ are both valuable management tools that identify services and resources of importance to library customer

The expatriate library director

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide library managers with information about what to expect if they are considering a post in another country. It challenges a suggestion that a senior manager's major value is their local network. Rather, the skills, experience, culture and attitude, as well as networks, can contribute to a successful career in another country. Design/methodology/approach - The paper provides an example of an Australian expatriate senior library manager who took up a post in the United Kingdom. It draws upon literature on cultural differences and knowledge transfer across international borders. Findings - The paper provides an example of a successful transfer of management knowledge to a new country, highlighting actions taken to form a new management team. Also provides practical advice on personal and social matters that have to be addressed for the relocation to be successful. Practical implications - Leadership, good management, and an awareness of, and sensitivity to, cultural differences are required for a successful transfer of management knowledge. At a senior level, it is not so much about expertise in librarianship, but management and leadership that are important. Originality/value - The paper provides a positive example of an expatriate senior library manager moving to a new country. It will be of interest to anyone contemplating an international professional relocatio