Vision of the Future: Reflection

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I have to admit that when I started this course I was very nervous. I was full of anxiety at the thought of creating my own blog and twitter account while still learning from the literature. I have not considered technology as my friend but rather my enemy. I have resisted incorporating it into my professional practice and personal life. 

Since, this course I have realized that my anxieties were partially from inaccurate, preconceived ideas. I used to think that I had nothing useful to add or that it had already been said before. I thought that I would be criticized for my thoughts and that intimidated me. I knew that I needed to engage and participate with technology in ways I wasn't aware I could. I didn't know how. Upon, reading the book Why Schools by Richardson I came across something that rang true to me, in a way that after I read it, I could no longer have a blind eye. Richardson answered my question of "Why do we need to master these modern literacies? Because we now live in a world of abundance, where if we and our kids can't do that stuff, we and they won't be as successful as those who can". I see this all the time on social media and success stories of how people get a name for themselves by expressing their thoughts and ideas in public. There is an audience but more importantly a network that we can learn from. I really feel like the professional environment of this class made me feel more comfortable with taking chances and speaking more of my truth. I found that the more positive feedback I received, the more I wanted to replicate the outcome. This might not be true in all circumstances. Not all people are going to complement and gain from what I have to say. The important thing is getting something out of the experience and I realize that gaining something is always possible. I've had to jump in the water and learn the hard way because I had to for the course but it has given me a new perspective on how I can further my learning and communicate that with others.  These social medium forums allow for on going communication in interest areas. I can see and learn from people on an on going basis. 

This constant learning and virtual collaborating led me to think about the colleagues at my school and how having a way to communicate with them would improve our practice. We only communicate by way of emailing relevant information and currently through Microsoft Teams. I wanted a medium for the staff at my school to have something to collaborate with other colleague on issues that interest them or want further information on. I created a Padlet where we can store information, comment on the information and constantly edit as the issues change and evolve. 

As stated in the Leading Learning resource, it is important to invite teachers "into the VLC [Virtual Learning Commons] with an interesting item such as a video". I used an application to create the video below. 

I plan on making this medium successful by constantly adding and editing information that teachers might find relevant as the year progresses. In addition, I plan on encouraging participation by promoting the Padlet and creating incentives for participation. This might also be a great opportunity for me to create a Library Learning Commons Committee. As mentioned in the resources by MacDonald and the Leading Learning, establishing a committee is the first and most important step to establishing an excellent working Library Learning Commons program. 

There are several other components from this course that I will take with me. I enjoyed validating my feelings toward teaching students internet validity and credibility. I found the resource CRAAP and SIFT to be helpful documents for students to use. Both allow students to look closer at their findings and find credible sources. 

What I found most interesting about this class was that I didn't encounter as many technological speedbumps as I anticipated. As long as I did my research by reading and communicating (vigorously) with my professor that I could figure out what to do. It was the time spent trying to figure out how to use the Padlet and adapt it to fill my needs that took more time then anticipated. I had chosen a certain format and then I decided to change it because it was not suitable. I watched a video on Youtube and was able to figure it out. The advantage is that there is always an abundance of information available at our fingertips. Its only a matter of spending the time to use that information for your own professional development. I also had to learn how to make a screen cast video. What was amazing was that my 11 year old son had done it before and was able to help me. It was rewarding watching him teach me. I learned from him and did my video. It was double rewarding because I got to learn something new and spend time learning from him.  I realize that technology is not as intimidating as I once thought. It's only a matter of taking the time to learn it. 

References 

Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada. 2014. https://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/appendix-6-building-a-virtual-learning-commons/

Richardson, Will. Why School: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere. TED Conferences, 2012. 

MacDonell, C. (2004). Essential Documents for School Libraries: Do You Have Them? Library Media Connection, 22(7), 18-19.

Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada. 2014. https://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/moving-forward/

Meriam Library California State University, Chico. 2010. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BP9OypI1jexHy8mm3rH14wkRvxQQIyw_/view?ths=true

Caulfield, Mike. 2019, June 19. SIFT (The Four Moves), https://hapgood.us/2019/06/19/sift-the-four-moves/

Shumway, J., Butler County Community College. Last updated, July 13th, 2021. https://library.bc3.edu/evaluating-resources/evaluation

Vision of the Future: Artifact

My collaborative artifact

According to the document "Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada" a virtual learning commons is just as important to maintain as the physical one. Currently our virtual space is limited to the software Destiny Discover. 

Even though I enjoy using the feature of this software. I find that there are limitations with being able to collaborate with colleagues. According to the document "Leading Learning" a virtual learning commons "is an organized but collaborative space for learning". This is why I thought about creating a "Padlet" which would facilitate collaboration and invite teacher participation. I wanted something that could contain information that can easily be shared and accessed by teachers.

My Process

Since working at this school, I have realized that I never had an orientation nor was I ever explained any procedures. Since accepting the position for Teacher Librarian (TL) I wanted this to be different for new and existing teachers. I realized that there is a lot of information to pass on to staff and students. In the past, this information would only be communicated directly from the TL’s mouth. I wanted a place where teachers can access as much as possible without taking their precious time to ask me. Ideally, I want a source that provides information that they could access themselves and utilize at their own discretion without going through me first. I will position the most important and most used information at the top of the Padlet (Buerkett, R., 2014). 

My Learning

Right now there is nothing available to teachers nor students. It’s all in a Microsoft Teams folder shared with me from the retired TL. I wanted to make public what I thought would be valuable for teachers, thus helping them achieve teaching their students more effectively (Toor and Weisburg, 2015). I want the Padlet to provide teachers with professional development opportunities and resources (International Federation of Library Association, 2015). My goal is to create a “flexible, dynamic, and collaborative inquiry based school library program” (BC Teacher-Librarian Association, 2007). 

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My Challenges

At first it was difficult to find the right application for this project. There is no one size fits all application that I could provide teachers. I want to simplify how teachers access resources and not complicate the matter by giving them more to do and remember how to access. Hopefully, my strategies to introduce the application will make it simple. Another challenge was that I used so many apps to get the info, set up tutorial and have sources to back up my findings. I didn't want to flood the site with information. I wanted to be diligent about the kind of information I put on. The trick is to resist putting too much information or it will be hard for teachers and students to find what they need (Buerkett, R., 2014). 

Teachers' time is also a challenge. I don't want to add to what they have to do. Maria Kampen states that “time is not a commodity that you cannot avoid using - but you can spend it wisely… it means maximizing the time you have”. This is why as Kampen suggests to embed Professional Development opportunities into the teaching day. For example, hosting a lunch and learn event or a drop in so that teachers can learn about the Padlet application. 

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How I plan on sharing my artifact

I intend to share it with others by sending them the link to the Padlet and having a short video explaining how they can use the application (Leading Learning, 2014). In addition, I will create stickers or magnets that teachers can use in case they forget the web address.  I will share it at the first staff meeting of the year by reaching out to the admin and asking to be on the agenda for the first staff meeting. I plan on adding to it by assessing the functionality through creating a questionnaire for staff. I will provide incentives to return surveys. In the surveys I plan on asking the following questions: how they use the site, what they don’t like, what they find useful and if they have any recommendations. Ideally, I would like to get to know the staff and have them know me to create a strong relationship where they can seek my help when needed. 

My vision for the future is that teachers and students can access this for help and direction. As mentioned, I did not have the benefit of an orientation when I started.  My hope is that with my digital artifact, I can help provide a strong tool and resource to support both new and long term staff as we work together to support our students. I hope that teachers can comment and create a dialogue around interest areas. As more information is added I also hope to have useful sources for parents around fostering reading at home. 

 

Bibliography 

Kampen, Maria. (2019, April 24) 5 Ways to Make Teacher Professional Development Effective [With Examples].  Prodigy Game.  Retrieved from: www.prodigygame.com/blog/teacher-professional-development

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. (2015). IFLA School Library Guidelines. 2nd revised edition, pg. 27-29.

Toor, R., and Weisburg, H.K. (2015). “Your Philosophy”. New on the job: A School Librarian’s Guide to Success. 2nd Edition. Chicago: American Library Association.

BC Teacher-Librarians' Association. (2017). From School Library to Learning Commons: A Pro-Active Model for Educational Change.

Buerkett, R. (2014). Where to Start? Creating Virtual Library Spaces. Knowledge Quest, 42(4), E24–E27.

Drop Everything and Read, 2018. https://youtu.be/eAfI5LzkWHw

Elementary Literacy Tips: ABCs of Literacy for Parents. Edmonton Public Schools, August 2015. https://epsb.ca/media/epsb/ourdistrict/topicsofinterest/literacy/elementary/tipsheet_ABCs.pdf

Pollock, V. (2021, August). Library Learning Commons. Microsoft Teams. https://teams.microsoft.com/_?culture=en-ca&country=CA&lm=deeplink&lmsrc=homePageWeb&cmpid=WebSignIn#/school/files/Library%20Learning%20Commons?threadId=19:c5fbe1cb787a403099260565d3379073@thread.tacv2&ctx=channel

Benedictine University Library. Last updated: Jan. 19th, 2021. https://researchguides.ben.edu/source-evaluation

Leading Learning: Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada. 2014. https://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/appendix-6-building-a-virtual-learning-commons/

Inquiry Blog Post 4: International Libraries

The internet and mobile devices have exponentially increased the way we can interact and gain knowledge. International libraries can bridge the gap between the privileged and the less fortunate (Kranich, N., 2001). Access to the internet will be essential for promoting a democratic society (Kranich, N., 2001). The advantage that international libraries have become virtual in places where there wasn't one to begin with is short of a miracle. They are now able to provide internet access to the community's disenfranchised members for the first time. This will help students and their communities have access to search for government services, research information, and apply for jobs. (Pew Research Centre, January 2013). 

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This is a prime example of how the primary Teacher Librarian (TL) role is changing. Our role is shifting from our book collections (which are still important) to providing a skill set of research, collection and analyzation that combats misinformation in an era Peter Lor describes as "post-truth discourse". 

With the abundance of virtual resources, TLs have the responsibility to help students develop skills and techniques for using mobile devices. We need to be able to point them into the right direction where they can find what they need. We can do this by keeping up with current trends and weaning out untruthful information. This again highlights the significance of the TL's positive impact in developing nations by uniting the gaps between the rich and poor (Lor, P., 2018) and that knowledge is accessible to everyone regardless of wealth, status and geography. 

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In a study conducted by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization highlights the importance of mobile accessibility. In their study of "Reading in the Mobile Era"; they found that the preferred way of accessing information is via mobile phone devices. Even when paper copies of materials are available, people are accessing information and literature virtually. More specifically through their mobile devices (UNESCO, April 2014). The study also found that many "neo- and semi- literate people use their mobile phones to search for text that is appropriate to their reading ability" (UNESCO, April 2014).

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Currently there are organizations trying to bring mobile devices and technologies to developing countries. 

The One Laptop Per Child Foundation specializes in developing laptops that can be used all over the world, including remote locations. 

Library for All is an organization that believes that every child should have the resources they need to educate themselves. Children in developing countries can gain the same capacity to become digital citizens as children in developed countries. 

TLs are important curators of digital and physical information. Information leads to knowledge, knowledge leads to freedom and the power to transform the lives of those who would not have the opportunity. 

References

Kranich, Nancy. Libraries and Democracy. American Library Association, 2001.

Lor, Peter Johan. “Democracy, information, and libraries in a time of post-truth discourse.” Library Management (2018).

Pew Research Center, Library Services in the Digital Age, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/01/22/library-services/ , Jan. 22, 2013.

UNESCO, Reading in the Mobile Era, https://en.unesco.org/news/reading-mobile-era-0, April, 2014.

Library for all, from https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1692978335/library-for-all-a-digital-library-for-the-developi. Retrieved July 31st, 2021.

One Laptop Per Child, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMeX2D4AOjM. Retrieved July 31st, 2021.