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Why Technology Integration Leadership?
Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Libraiy Programs provides direction in creating school library programs for the twentyfirst century. School libraries should be "built by professionals who model leadership and best practices for the community to ensure that learners are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the technological society of the 21st century" (AASL2009, 45)School librarians are charged "to play a leading role in weaving such skills throughout the curriculum so that all members of the school community are effective users of ideas and information" (AASL 2009, 46). It is this "weaving" or integration of technology into the curricular areas where school librarians, based on their knowledge of pedagogical principles and school curriculum, technology expertise, and collaborative experience, can serve as leaders and valuable assets to their schools.
The explosion of technology and information has resulted in major changes in education in the twenty-first century, and as educators it is the responsibility of school librarians to prepare students for their future and to help them "develop information skills that will enable them to use technology as an important tool for learning, both now and in the future" (AASL 2009, 13). This responsibility means that students must be taught the skills they need to go beyond simply knowing how to use technology tools to understanding how to apply them in learning, as well as to create and communicate new knowledge (AASL 2007; Partnership for 21st Century Skills 2009).
Students cannot be expected to benefit from technology if their teachers are neither familiar nor comfortable with it. The role of school librarians is now one that emphasizes teaching information skills to students directly and, more importantly, in collaboration with other educators. To create engaging and relevant learning experiences for students, school librarians serve as instructional partners in the process of teaching critical literacies; librarians accomplish this task by working with teachers to model and partner in guiding instructional design and offering expertise on the integration of emergent technologies (AASL 2009; Everhart, Mardis, and Johnston 20II; Hanson-Baldauf and Hughes-Hassell 2009; Johnston 2012; Shannon 2002).
Providing leadership in technology integration for the purposes of learning is paramount, and responsibility for leading this movement to prepare learners for participating and succeeding in...