Friday, December 21, 2012

Case Study No. 0704: Dewey Melville and the Three Library Spirits

library carol
8:53
This is a movie that i made for the librarian at our school. she a really big deal in the educational world so it was pretty cool that she asked me to make this vid for her. I also composed the music for it.
Tags: Library dewey and the 3 spirts ghost books past future read teach learn
Added: 2 years ago
From: mayamac100
Views: 27

["Dewey and the Spirits" appears on screen, then cut to a male librarian (black hair, beard, red sweater) sleeping at a table marked "Library Front Desk"]
NARRATOR: This is Dewey Melville. He is the librarian of the town's local high school. As you can see, he's asleep at his desk. But he hasn't just fallen asleep, oh no. He's been asleep since 1980, and since this is the year 2010 or so, that's thirty years of quality sleep.
[Dewey's hair and beard grows out to incredible lengths, as he continues to sleep]
NARRATOR: But, while Dewey has been asleep, a lot has changed. It is the eve of National Library Month, and Dewey cannot possibly recognize the changes in the information and communication landscape since he's graduated from library school. He knows the way librarians behaved in the Eighties, and thirty years is a long time to be out of the loop. Let's see what happens when the Three Library Spirits come to pay him a visit.
[The Spirit of Libraries Past (a young girl straight out of "Fame" with neon-colored headband and leg warmers) appears out of thin air and startles him awake]
DEWEY: Who ... who are you?
SPIRIT 1: I'm the Spirit of Libraries Past, come to awaken you.
DEWEY: A-awaken me? Oh my, it looks like I need a shave.
SPIRIT 1: Why, yes silly! You've been out of it since the Eighties, and it's starting to show!
[cut to another shot of the Spirit standing next to Dewey (now sporting a more manageable beard and a new sweater)]
SPIRIT 1: I mean, seriously dude! Look at this place.
[cut to an old-style card catalog ("Library c.1980 Card Catalog") next to some bookshelves]
SPIRIT 1: You've still got old card catalogs! No one uses that anymore! We have web-based databases, people can find books in the library wherever they are.
[cut to the Spirit and Dewey standing in front of the giant card catalog, as children sit nearby reading books]
SPIRIT 1: They can find books and a lot more! Are those kids' papers stacked on your desk? Hmph, students can write papers and do a lot more than that now! The audience is global!
DEWEY: Do you mean on computers?
SPIRIT 1: Some kids, well, they actually carry them around. And in seconds, they can access tons of databases, research tools, and find documents and media to help with any problem they have. And they can also create media, just look around.
DEWEY: But this all just seems ridiculous!
SPIRIT 1: I thought I told you, things have changed! Now it's time for me to disappear. G-Goodbye ...
[she disappears in a puff of smoke]
NARRATOR: Dewey has now seen how dated his library has become. Now the Spirit of Libraries present will visit Dewey, and tell him about other schools that haven't been asleep.
[a tiny yellow light hovers around Dewey, then turns into an older woman with fairy wings]
DEWEY: Who are you?
SPIRIT 2: I'm the Spirit of Libraries Present! I have come to show you what some libraries look like today! Don't worry, you're not the only one who hasn't heard! Many have librarians, and access to using new tools. But sadly, some don't ...
[she creates a "portal" and draws him in, as they are transported to a modern library (rows of computers and a giant wall monitor replace the card catalog)]
DEWEY: Wow! This is amazing! These computers are smaller than my TV back home! Oh darn, I-I think I left it on before I went to work ... thirty years ago. I wonder what those Cosby Kids are up to. Did Sam and Diane ever get married? Those Golden Girls must be really old.
[the Spirit simply stares at him]
DEWEY: But back to libraries! What did they do with the microfiche? The film strips?
[cut to the closeup of one of the patrons holding a cellphone]
DEWEY: What the heck are those kids doing with those tiny, tiny little ...
[he trails off, then cut to several live-action stills of library equipment and patrons using computers]
DEWEY: [in voice over] Hey, are those cameras and microphones and tripods? And headsets and cables? Are they actually talking to that person on that big white screen?
[cut back to Dewey]
DEWEY: To whom are they writing?
[cut to more live-action stills of young patrons using computer equipment in the library]
DEWEY: [in voice over] Hmm, look! They're working together! And they're making more noise than we did in the Eighties!
[cut back to Dewey]
DEWEY: What a mess, but it sure looks like fun! Cowabunga!
SPIRIT 2: Right! This is a learning common, a laboratory. They're asking questions, searching for information to help them make decisions. Learners are remixing and creating, evaluating and analysing what they read.
[cut to more live-action stills of young patrons in the library]
SPIRIT 2: [in voice over] They are writing together, listening to books, storyboarding, scripting, making music. They are telling stories in new ways. They are using information, images, videos, music, media of all kind. They are communicating and sharing what they learn with other students and adults all over the world, building knowledge. And a lot of what they're doing starts on the library website ... It's kind of a map for everything else.
[cut back to the Dewey and the Spirit]
SPIRIT 2: So, what do you think about these new information and communication technologies?
DEWEY: Well, I know a little about projectors and slide machines ... and I just got a new VCR!
[cut to a movie posters for "Back to the Future", then back to Dewey]
DEWEY: This is all new to me! It must be expensive, gaining access to all this information ...
SPIRIT 2: Actually, Dewey, many of these students are creating their own media, and most of the new information and communications software ... well, they're mostly free!
DEWEY: Free?
SPIRIT 2: Yes, it's absolutely amazing, really! And, though some may worry about the safety of it all, some schools block access to these tools.
DEWEY: You mean, that stuff can be unsafe?
SPIRIT 2: Perhaps, but these tools are really neutral in their values, and powerful in their potential for learning. Think of it as a pencil ...
[cut to a closeup of a piece of paper with a random scribble on it]
SPIRIT 2: [in voice over] You can use a pencil to make a complete scribbly mess.
[cut to a closeup of a piece of paper featuring a sketch of Leonardo DaVinci's portrait]
SPIRIT 2: [in voice over] Or, you can use it to create and share an artful drawing.
[cut to a cartoon image of a hammer]
SPIRIT 2: [in voice over] A hammer can also be used to build a cathedral ...
[cut to a still image of a bombed-out building]
SPIRIT 2: [in voice over] Or it can help destroy one.
[cut back to Dewey and the Spirit]
SPIRIT 2: Many of these tools offer a variety of privacy and security settings. Databases and new search tools and online portals like YouTube and Flickr, and tools like wikis and blogs, nings and digital storytelling sites. Books in all their new and emerging formats, they can all have real value. These are tools that people use to communicate in today's world. Librarians and classroom teachers help students learn to use them. And to question, investigate, create, collaborate, and communicate ... So they can all learn to make a difference.
DEWEY: So what happens to those other schools?
SPIRIT 2: Well, sometimes the learners, they get left behind. When librarians and classroom teachers allow restrictive situations to go unquestioned, students never learn how to use tools that are available to them in powerful ways. When librarians and classroom teachers don't choose to retool themselves, learners lose opportunity.
[cut to a notebook with "Protect Our Rights to Create!" written on the cover]
SPIRIT 2: [in voice over] It's really a tragedy. It's an issue of equity. It's an issue of intellectual freedom.
[cut to an American flag button which reads "2.0 Is An Intellectual Freedom Issue"]
SPIRIT 2: [in voice over] These powerful tools for information, communication, and collaboration should be available for everyone. Librarians and teachers today must learn about them, and share them with students.
[cut back to Dewey and the Spirit]
SPIRIT 2: Students need to use tools of their own time, to build and share their knowledge, ethically and effectively.
DEWEY: Well ... I think I see the point now, but what about--
SPIRIT 2: I'm sorry, Dewey, but my time with you is up. The Spirit of Libraries Future will appear to you soon. Don't be alarmed by his outfit, librarians ... may just dress a little different in the future. Good luck!
[she turns back into a ball of light and flies off]
DEWEY: Wait! I still have more questions! How am I supposed to evolve my old library without help? It's so ... lame!
[an ominous floating spirit in a black cloak (with skeleton arms and his face obscured) suddenly appears behind him]
DEWEY: Oh ... Wow, she wasn't kidding about the outfit.
[the Spirit silently points to a portal opening up nearby]
DEWEY: Don't you talk?
[they both go through, and are transported to a futuristic library (a sparsely-decorated circular room with a robot appearing on a monitor on the wall)]
DEWEY: Wow, this place is amazing! But we had more books ... Are some of those other things books?
[cut to a closeup of the wall monitor, which shows the robot dressed as a stereotypical librarian (glasses and a bun on "her" square head) saying "Welcome to the library, please ready your book selection below on the thought screens"]
DEWEY: [in voice over] They're on screens?
[cut to a closeup of two patrons sitting next to a UFO-shaped table]
DEWEY: [in voice over] Are those students downloading books on their mobile devices?
[cut back to Dewey and the Spirit]
DEWEY: And they're creating and communicating with them? I don't know what this is, but it is so amazing!
SPIRIT 3: But wait ... this is not the only future that you need to see.
[ominous music plays, then cut to a closeup of the Spirit's "face"]
SPIRIT 3: Children won't be able to gain access to the world's information any longer, if we stay asleep ...
[cut to a previous image of Dewey sleeping at his desk, then to a real-life image of a school bus with "Intellectual Freedom" written on the side (as the image becomes blurred and pixellated)]
SPIRIT 3: [in voice over] And if parents and administrators and school districts don't know what a library should look like today, it could be quite sad ...
[cut back to Dewey and the Spirit]
DEWEY: No, that can't happen! Children need to learn, to question, grow, collaborate! To create, invent, and share! How can that happen if the doors to information and creativity are closed?
[the scene fades to black]

Dewey and the Spirits

Teacher-Librarian
Dr. Joyce Valenza

Producer
Maya Sabin

Images
Sue Waddington, Ray Chappetta and Maya Sabin

Score
Maya Sabin

Images
"Back to the Future." Retroclobber. Web. 23 Feb 2010.
DaVinci, Leondaro. "Self Portrait." 1512. Art-Library.Com. Web. 23 Feb 2010.
"World War II in Coventry." BBC. Web. 23 Feb 2010.

Creative Commons Attribution License

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From schoollibraryjournal.com:

NCCE TL Summit (#ncceTL) and our new videos
Posted by joycevalenza on March 3rd, 2010

Maya's "Dewey and the Spirits" fable, with nods to Charles Dickens, may present a rough message at the beginning, but please watch it through to its powerful ending.

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