Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Case Study No. 0362: Antonia Tejas, the Bionic Librarian

The Bionic Librarian
4:50
The school librarian needs to be almost bionic to meet the needs of today's learners. This is part of a longer video I produced about Classroom Teacher and Librarian collaboration.
Tags: library librarian mckillop valentine loopy collaboration teacher elementary digital professional development parody comedy
Added: 1 year ago
From: drloopy
Views: 83

[scene opens with Dr. Loopy speaking directly to the camera]
DR. LOOPY: Today's librarian has new tools, designed to help students become lifetime learners. No longer just a gatekeeper of books ...
[a black and white image of an old-time female librarian sitting behind a desk appears behind him, with the sound of a woman screaming]
DR. LOOPY: No, today's librarian is an educator! Today, all school librarians teach information literacy, work to be an instructional partner, are an information resource, and an advocate for children and for free reading.
[he pauses]
DR. LOOPY: Let's take a look at each one of these ... Y'know, in a sense, the librarian has been broken down, and built back up and given new tools. Rebuilt, and made better.
[he strokes his chin, as the screen fades to black and the theme from "The Bionic Woman" plays]

The following information
is classified:
TOP SECRET
Clearance Authorization Level 6

Name: Antonia Tejas
Sex: Female
Age: 28
Past Profession: Teacher
Present Profession: Librarian

[cut to Antonia (wearing a stereotypical librarian dress with grey-haired wig and thick glasses), insterspersed with stock footage of a plane crashing]
NARRATOR: When an experimental aircraft crashed, hitting Steven Austin Elementary School, it caused a terrible shelving accident in the library.
[cut to books falling off the shelf, then to a shot of Antonia covered in books, only her hand visible (as well as her glasses tossed to the side)]
NARRATOR: The librarian, Antonia Tejas, was secretly rushed to the US Air Force base where she underwent an experimental life-saving procedure.
[cut to footage from the "Bionic Woman" TV show, as "Operational Procedure: Bionic Replacement" flashes on screen]
NARRATOR: The procedure enhanced her, made her better than she was ...
[cut to Antonia flipping through a book]
NARRATOR: The bionic implants would allow her to hear students' needs clearly.
[cut to Antonia crushing an egg in her bare hands]
NARRATOR: Enhanced reflexes allowed her swift keyboard action.
[cut to Antonia covering one eye with her hand, then drawing a cat stick figure on a piece of paper (as the doctor reveals that the image being covered by a piece of cardboard was the exact same cat stick figure)]
NARRATOR: Her improved vision allowed her to swiftly pick out those having problems locating books or information.
[cut to Antonia running in front of a green screen depicting a highway]
NARRATOR: Her new legs would allow her to be in two places at once.
["Starring Antonia Tejas as The Bionic Librarian" appears on screen]
NARRATOR: She has become a secret weapon in the fight for information literacy. She is ... The Bionic Librarian!
[cut to Antonia (wearing a red shawl, long black skirt, and glasses) standing in a school library]
NARRATOR: Today's episode ... "A Day in the Library!"
[cut to a pair of young girls sitting in front of a laptop]
GIRL 1: I can't find anything about elephants.
GIRL 2: Well, why don't you try Google? There'll probably be something there.
GIRL 1: Okay.
[she opens Google in the laptop's browser, then cut to Antonia with a determined look on her face]
NARRATOR: Using her bionic eye implant, the librarian can see trouble coming and help students find valid information.
[cut to a closeup of the Google home page, as "Google alert! Student needs help!" flashes on screen]
[cut to Antonia jumping over the card catalog (with the "bionic" sound effect), then reaching over the girl and changing the browser to the library's website]
LIBRARIAN: Try the databases! There's lots of valid information about elephants, and even a reference you can print, and photos!
["Databases are a great way to search. Available at every school!" appears on screen]
GIRL 1 & GIRL 2: Thanks, modern librarian!
["Later ... " appears on screen, then cut to the girls browsing the bookshelves]
GIRL 1: Now that Harry Potter's done, I can't find anything else to read ...
[cut to Antonia putting a hand to her ear]
NARRATOR: The librarian's bionic ear allows her to overhear both student and teacher information needs.
[she runs over to the girl]
LIBRARIAN: Are you interested in reading more about fantasy and magic?
GIRL 1: No, more about boys!
[everyone laughs]
LIBRARIAN: This way ...
[she leads her off camera, then cut to Antonia typing on her computer (in super fast motion)]
NARRATOR: Her advanced arms give her superhuman reflexes, to locate anything quickly.
GIRL 2: She types so fast, it's like lightning! And thunder!
GIRL 1: Yeah!
[cut to the girls looking at the laptop]
GIRL 1: There's nothing new to do on the computer ...
[cut to Antonia running in slow motion]
NARRATOR: The librarian's enhanced brain kicks in, calling up a list of the most modern internet tools and tips.
[she stops in front of the laptop]
LIBRARIAN: Not true! Have you tried wikis? Blogs? Podcasts? RSS feeds? Web 2.0? Second Life?
["Ask your librarian about these and more!" appears on screen, then cut to Antonio holding a book in each hand as the little girl vigorously shakes her head]
NARRATOR: And finally, for that difficult to please student, an added feature ... a third arm.
[a third arm appears and hands the girl a different book, which she happily accepts]
GIRL 2: Yay, thank you!
[the third arm waves goodbye, as the screen fades to black]

---

From ning.com:

Elementary librarian Doug Valentine, a.k.a. Dr. Loopy, a member of our TeacherLibrarianNing, recently posted three very clever, tongue-in-cheek videos about school libraries and school librarians. I later discovered that these are but three of his many funny efforts posted on TeacherTube.

He's given us some great models for new productions and some entertaining material for inservices.

* Agent Codee Books fights an evil Lexile character who prevents children from reading books they themselves choose
* Blind Date explores classroom teacher/librarian collaboration in reality television, pop-up video style
* Bionic Librarian shares an updated librarian image, with an outstanding super power: collaboration.

No comments:

Post a Comment