And Then We Were Done....

"Brain Storm" from iStockPhoto

Suddenly, much more suddenly than I expected, this course is now complete. However I will take away so much from this course going forward. First, this course is truly an excellent example of scaffolding and beginning with the end in mind.

Our first blog post had us brainstorming words and ideas surrounding Library and Education that interested us. I found this process to be so freeing - we could really explore whatever interested us? Some might find this too open-ended and prefer a choice of topics, but it was nice to figure out what we wanted to examine ourselves. One of my key words from my brainstorm was collaboration; I feel like I have so much to learn in teaching and in the Library world, and I know that I do not learn best on my own so I am always looking to collaborate. My desire to collaborate isn't always met with success however, so I had it in the back of my mind for my final digital artifact that I wanted to make collaboration easier. The seed was planted!

The following weeks of exploration including digging into some resources that could be helpful for the project, and examining some general topics such as Fostering Reading Culture in our schools. Through examining resources and other topics I learned about careful selection of resources, as well as how to summarize my thoughts effectively for each blog post. I think it is safe to say that I learned just as much from reading the blog posts of my peers as I did from my own posts. I appreciated how at times we would each interpret a topic so differently; sometimes we found similar resources and sometimes our resources were very complementary. I really liked the ex
perience of being able to see the learning of others as well.

I found it very helpful that we were told what our final project would be right at the beginning of the course so as we explored other topics we could keep that end goal in mind. As such it was a comment on this blog post of mine that further cemented my final project idea. A peer of mine mentioned having an online portal for the TLs in the district; what a neat idea! I loved the thought of having an online community to share, collaborate, discuss and learn from one another. I immediately contacted the district tech person to see if they could create a Moodle page for me which I would then enroll the district TLs in and we could all add some resources to. After some time I was informed that the district was no longer using Moodle but a new platform called Scholantis. Working with this new platform has been interesting. At first I was happy with the seemingly adaptable interface and pleasing appearance. For example, it was quite simple to add a new app and to organize it on the page. However, I have since encountered some glitches that have made things more difficult. This is the reality when working with new tools - a bit of a rollercoaster in progress. Sometimes things go quite smoothly and then suddenly you will encounter a road block. That is one of the main points of creating this online digital portal for the TLs in the district. All of the TLs are working with the same Library software, so it is makes sense to create a new discussion topic should a software issue arise; using the knowledge and experience of others will help us all progress.

I am so grateful that this experience has pushed me to make something of value. It would have been will see use by the TLs in the district, and I have added something else to my resume. Not to mention - I have made something that I am proud of. Thank you for the nudge to do so!

"Value" from Blog

very simple to just complete a project that means little and move on without a second thought. However, because we have been pushed to create something valuable I went the extra step to do so. It wasn't quite as simple as I made it seem in my summary above when contact the district and sorting out access to the portal. For awhile I thought that I would be making a model of the project in Google Classroom which I would then hope to transfer over at some point. I managed to persevere and have created a group page that the TLs in the district are already working with me to add more resources and material to. In doing this I have been introduced to the TLs in the district (SO valuable as a TTOC who has been on maternity leave recently...), started the online portal which

Introducing the Final Digital Artifact

Introducing....
Our final 'capstone' work for this course is to create a digital artifact - something that we are proud to send out into the world and could truly make a difference. No big deal, right? Wrong. First, let me say that I love that we are spending our time creating a product that will actually have some value. However, the fact that it is has value makes it that much more intimidating.

What?
The one theme that I haven't been able to shake throughout this whole course is the notion of collaboration and sharing our works. In my very first blog post for this course I brainstormed some ideas that I wanted to work with further and one of my key terms was collaboration. I've always felt that collaboration is key to making us all better educators, sharing with your neighbour or colleague down the hall can take a project to the next step - but how can we do it on a wider level? The digital world has made it much easier so I knew that a key component of my final project would include collaboration.

"Collaboration" from RedBooth

Referring back to our text for this course, Will Richardson's excellent eBook "Why School", his very first tip for "relearning" (p.89) is to share everything - or at least something (Richardson, 2012). I wanted to take the idea of sharing something that we are already doing and pair it with collaboration in a meaningful way. The spark was lit with a comment on this blog post of mine where a classmate mentioned an online portal in their district for TLs. Aha! I wanted to create an online community for the TLs in district.

Why?
My main goal for the digital artifact is to create a single space for TLs in the district to go for access to resources, discussion, blogs to follow, display ideas and more - in short, a collaboration space. Our in-district TLs should be a core part of our Personal Learning Network as each district can vary slightly on policy and values. I explored the importance of the Personal Learning Network in this blog post, but Lisa Nielson's blog digs a little deeper into how transformative the Personal Learning Network can be.
As to why collaborate in the first place - a quick Google search on collaboration in education will yield millions of results (147 million, to be precise) with results such as "44 Benefits of Collaborative Learning", "6 Benefits of Teacher Collaboration", and "The Advantages of Collaboration in the Classroom". The results were pretty clear - collaboration is powerful, so we should be making it happen!

How?
I was initially planning on creating an online Moodle classroom for the TLs to be enrolled in that would host resources, discussion threads and so on. However, I was informed that the district was phasing out Moodle and moving towards Scholantis - a new-to-me software.....but what the heck, I'm up for a challenge! After learning about Scholantis I was actually pretty excited about what it has to offer, however I am getting off track so you can read about that on your own time here.

"Learn Something New" from Teacher Created

I connected with the TLs in the district and have asked them what they would like to see in their online portal through a discussion post on the Scholantis page. For now, the page isn't as populated as it will be because it is a true work of collaboration. There are real Teacher Librarians and Library Assistants enrolled in the group already who have real resources and documents that they wish to select and display (or have me display), and I am going to respect their wishes. For now, my focus has been to establish the structure of the site including embedding useful links, creating separate resource sections, and adding features such as the Twitter feed. One of my first projects in September will be to create a rotating slideshow of each Library in the district, or a featured spot on one Library each month - I will let the TLs choose! In discussion with a TL at one of the high schools, we discussed how powerful it would be for the rotating Library Assistants to have all of the necessary resources in one place, and have some more consistency across schools. We also discussed that the Scholantis group page would be a good place to store documents such as the TTOC-how-to folder that could be updated as necessary. As the TLs are already on board for this project I am so excited to see where it leads!



Where?
Access the portal here - keep in mind that this is very much a work in progress !

Works Cited

"6 Benefits of Teacher Collaboration." (2016, November 29). Retrieved from http://blog.brookespublishing.com/6-benefits-of-teacher-collaboration/

Nielson, Lisa. (2010). "The PLN matures, the evolution of the personal learning network." [blogpost] Retrieved from https://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2010/08/pln-matures-progression-of-21st-century.html

Richardson, W. (2012). Why School?: How Education Must Change When Information and Learning are Everywhere. [ebook] TED Publishing. 

Srinivas, H. (n.d.) ""44 Benefits of Collaborative Learning." Retrieved from https://www.gdrc.org/kmgmt/c-learn/44.html

Stutz, N. (2018). "LIBE 477 - Special Topics Reading Review Part A." [blogpost] Retrieved from http://readerzjourney.blogspot.com/2018/05/libe-477-special-topics-reading-review.html

Stutz, N. (2018). "Developing our own ICT Skills and Pedagogy." [blogpost] Retrieved from http://readerzjourney.blogspot.com/2018/06/inquiry-blog-post-2-developing-our-own.html

Inquiry Blog Post #4:Developing World Libraries / Mobile devices

Developing World Libraries

In my exploration of this week's topic I came across many fascinating stories and creative use of ICT. I learned about the RIA Learning Innovation Project making technology accessible to thousands and education them on its proper use. Listen to the interesting clip below...

What's interesting about Libraries, however, is that they already have the infrastructure needed to bring  access to technology. As discussed in this article, public libraries are facilities that already exist in the government framework which incorporate technology and the expertise to connect the public with the technology. Given that powerful combination - there are some fascinating initiatives to bring technology to the public. I learned about the International Federation of Libraries Associations and Institutions which is the "global voice of the library and information profession", the role of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Global Library Initiatives, and more. However, one of my most interesting finds was EIFL: "EIFL is a not-for-profit organization that works with the libraries to enable access to knowledge in developing and transition economy countries in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe and Latin America".

An excellent example of EIFL in action was a community project in San Javier-La Loma. The community library wanted to serve the needs of the community but the most recent map of the area was completed in 1971 - very outdated for the current community needs. This library utilized the people of the community, computers, digital cameras, voice recorders and helium balloons to crowd source a map of the area. Read about the fascinating project here.


Mobile Devices in Education 

Mobile use in Classrooms from distance-educator.com

The use of mobile devices in education has been a point of contention for many educators. In fact, whether mobile devices should be banned or used in school is such a hot-button topic that it is one of the top debate topics on debate.org. While the default for many years has been to ban public devices from all schools, I believe that the pendulum is starting to swing the other way. Wired Magazine calls BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) the future of education (Wired, 2013). A study by the Pew Research center finds that nearly 80% of teens 12 to 17 have cell phones for personal use (Oregon Live, 2013). 

Being able to harness students' personal devices for educational use has some serious potential. For years schools struggled with sharing laptop carts, overbooked computer rooms, and unreliable technology. Now, allowing students to use their own devices in a responsible way allows so many more possibilities for education. A study by Science Direct found mobile devices to be more effective than desktop computers in student learning, and mobile devices were found to enhance student learning (Sung, Chang, Liu, 2016). 

Given these factors, school libraries should allow the use of mobile devices. Setting up mobile charging stations and having mobile logins for the reference material would increase the potential power of mobile devices in the hands of students. 

Resources

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Global-Libraries

EIFL (n.d.) Creative use of ICT in public libraries. Retrieved from http://eifl.net/eifl-in-action/creative-use-ict-public-libraries-5

Debate.org (n.d.) Should mobile phones be banned in schools. Retrieved from http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-mobile-phones-be-banned-in-schools

Hamilton, Stuart. (March 12, 2013) Stamping out poverty as well as books?How libraries can support development. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/mar/12/libraries-power-global-development

Hammond, Betsy (2013). Nearly 80 percent of teens have cell phones; more likely than adults to use mobile internet. The Oregonian. Retrieved from https://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2013/03/nearly_80_percent_of_teens_hav.html

Molinari, Aleph (2011). Let's Bridge the digital divide! [youtube] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaxCRnZ_CLg 

Panagos, Tim. (2013). The future of education: BYOD in the classroom. Wired. Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/insights/2013/09/the-future-of-education-byod-in-the-classroom/

Inquiry Blog #3: Supporting Teachers’ ICT Curriculum and Pedagogy: On-going Professional Development

This week's blog post is all about supporting the ICT professional needs for the communities within our school. As a Teacher-Librarian this becomes much more important as we strive to uphold the Learning Commons as the hub of the school. I have come across a few ideas that I think are fantastic and are worth sharing.


Book Club

Image courtesy of edson&area 

In my local school district, SD67, there is an ongoing Aboriginal Book Club that any member of faculty can participate in. The purpose of the book club is to expose people to excellent Aboriginal Literature for their own personal interest or for help integrating it into classroom teachings. Each month a new book is decided upon and participants meet informally at a local cafe and discuss the book - sound familiar? It is run like most other book clubs that you've either heard of or participated in. The book club platform translates quite well to professional development reads as well.


Expert Evenings

Image courtesy of blog

As a lot of our professional development now centers around new tools and technology, book club could easily be adapted to Expert Evenings; this gives staff members or other experts in the community a chance to come in and share their knowledge surrounding a particular tool, method or practice. This could be organized so that one person is the expert and teaches those around them, or as a group a new tool/ skill is picked and worked with for the month before reporting back about their experiences. This gives people a low-risk chance to explore new tools and ideas with those around them.


Professional Blog/ Website

Image courtesy of
CrenshawCommunications

Sometimes we can't attend a book club or an expert evening so it becomes very important to keep a reference of all of this fantastic learning in an accessible spot! The Teacher-Librarian's blog/ website could be a good option for collating this wealth of information for others to refer to and peruse at their leisure. An excellent example of a blog that chronicles innovation in learning is the Through a Different Lens blog from SD67. Here, teachers from the district (and other districts) post sample lessons and explorations of how they are exploring learning from a different angle, or lens. The blog has become so popular and well utilized that it has been organized into various sub-headings such as Secondary, Math, or Place Conscious. Many of those in the district wouldn't be aware of the fantastic ideas going on around them if it weren't for this blog. This goes back to Will Richardson's idea of how important it is to "share everything" and the simple notion of blogging our practice can help elevate the teaching profession (Richardson, 2012, p.32).

These are just a few ideas that I have come across or heard about that will assist with on-going professional development. I'm sure there are so many more....what are your favourite ways to share your Pro-D?

I want to end with the fine words of Sir Ken Robinson...while not discussing professional development specifically he is addressing the need for innovation in education, and quite simply, there is no innovation without sharing our learning.

Resources

Richardson, W. (2012). Why School?: How Education Must Change When Information and Learning are Everywhere. [ebook] TED Publishing. 

Robinson, K. (2010). Bring on the learning revolution! [video file] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LelXa3U_I

Through a Different Lens (2018). [Blogpost] Retrieved from http://differentlensblog.blogspot.com/ (Links to an external site.Links to an external site. TED Conferences Publish

Inquiry Blog Post #2: Developing our own ICT Skills and Pedagogy

Getting Started
In looking to further establish my PLN, naturally I turned to my friend Google. Thankfully I did as I found this fantastic blog by Michael Graffin. Here he discusses "What is a PLN", going into the what, why, and how of Personal Learning Networks. He has further posts that I am eager to look into such as "Using Twitter to Build Your PLN" (I admit that I don't really get the whole hashtag business.....I tried #inquiry and it wasn't providing me the results I wanted so I definitely need some more work there), and "Using Blog Posts as Part of your PLN". I love that the internet has allowed such generous sharing of information. This website was an excellent jumping off point and one I will continue to refer to as needed.

This video is an excellent summary of PLN in less than 2 minutes. Check it out if you want a quick overview.

Too Much!
Something I struggle with (and I know I'm not alone here) is the vast wealth of information available and how to possibly keep up. I have tried to subscribe to blogs and various twitter accounts before and found myself inundated with information. Going forward I decided that my PLN needed two things:
1. Focus - my PLN needed a clear direction for what I wanted to learn about and where I wanted to take my learning. Sometimes I just want to learn everything, but that becomes frustrating when nothing takes hold.
2. Organization - in creating my PLN I want to have a way to manage it that works for me.

Where am I Going?

Image retrieved from this blog

For determining the focus in my PLN I decided to refer back to my first post from this course. One of my focus words from that post was inquiry. Using inquiry in the classroom is something that I haven't experimented with but I am eager to; however, inquiry is a bit daunting and I definitely want to connect with other educators before just jumping in. A quick Google search nets me some fabulous first ideas. Edutopia's "What does a 21st Century Classroom Look Like:Inquiry?" not only discusses the concept of inquiry but dives into some examples that teachers have used and discusses how to get started. I found this post helpful as it demonstrates some sample inquiry questions, mentions some things to consider before getting started, and discusses some aspects of inquiry that teachers can cultivate into everyday lessons such as creating guiding questions.

Next, understanding that I learn best through experiencing someone else's process I decided to seek out a blog that followed another's inquiry journey. I came across the fantastic "52 Weeks of Guided Inquiry" blog which follows a new educator each week as they dive into inquiry. I really enjoy the unique perspective that each poster brings to the blog. One of the posts that I came across was Rebecca Wilkin's where she shares about her experience Skyping with a ranger from Yellowstone National Park through the Skype in Education tool. This is where the beauty in collaboration comes to play -- in searching resources for inquiry I am introduced to new tech tools that can make my job as an educator more efficient. Rather than sifting through the myriad of technological tools available, another educator has shared their experience working with a tool and how it worked for their students.

Another blog that I came across is Kath Murdoch's "just wondering". Kath is an Australian based educational consultant focused in inquiry based methodologies. One of her posts that I came across was her "My Favourite Inquiry Journeys of 2017" found here. In it she discusses some of her most successful inquiry experience for the past year. While the content is certainly thought provoking, I became frustrated that the list didn't have links to previous blog posts where each inquiry was details....I guess my standards are getting pretty high now.


All About Organization

Image courtesy of Link

In compiling my newfound list and resources and contacts, I had to figure out how to keep them straight in a meaningful way. This is really the bread and butter of ICT - I no longer have to keep a tedious list of websites or even print out the resources - there is technology to help me manage things! I haven't finalized my system yet but for now what I've done is subscribed to the blogs that really struck me and bookmarked others under a "teaching resources" tab. Additionally, any specific educators that really struck me I have been sure to follow on Twitter so I can keep up to date on their latest and greatest, and widen my PLN through following their tweets. Additionally, as a user of the internet conglomerate site Reddit, I created a multireddit of my favourite educational subreddits. Currently I subscribed to /r/literature; /r/history; /r/ELAteachers; /r/teachingresources; and /r/ted. If you are also a Reddit user and are interested in the idea of a multireddit find a how-to here. These tools are helping me manage my PLN in a way that won't be overwhelming.

I am still looking to further develop my PLN but for now I have made some excellent connections and I am excited to see where this takes me!

Resources

Algernon_Asimov. (2017) Response to "How do you create a multireddit?"Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/help/comments/6gihmg/how_do_you_create_a_multireddit/

Common Sense Education. (July 21, 2017). "What's a PLN? And 3 ways teachers can get connected." [videofile] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju54C5A3RCw

Goetz, Patrick. (May 12, 2015) "What does a 21st Century Classroom Look Like: Inquiry."[blogpost] Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/what-does-21st-century-classroom-look-inquiry

Graffin, Michael. (n.d.) "Step 1: What is a PLN?" [blogpost] Retrieved from https://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/pln-challenge-1-what-the-heck-is-a-pln/comment-page-6/#comments

Murdoch, Kath. (January 2, 2018). "My favourite inquiry journeys of 2017." [blogpost] Retrieved from http://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/blog/2018/1/2/my-favourite-inquiry-journeys-of-2017

Wilkin, Rebecca. (April 20, 2018). "Immersed in Learning." [blogpost] Retrieved from https://52guidedinquiry.edublogs.org/2018/04/20/immersed-in-learning/