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/