LLED 462 Final Learning Curation

The learning curation project has been a very enlightening journey for me. As I look back on my first post and tentative questions, I can see the dual value in being both flexible in your outlook but also keeping grounded in your original goals when it comes to the inquiry process. I also found that taking LIBE 477B at the same time enabled me to delve even further into my essential questions through my own research as well as through the rich discussion provided by two course worth's of wonderful colleagues!

First Steps:

My initial question was "How can we ensure our students are 21st century learners?" with a focus on the learning commons transformation as my school is in the beginning phases. Since I also chose to focus on digital citizenship for LIBE 477B, I found that many of the resources and articles I found on that topic addressed my essential questions. After all, since much of what we teach our students when it comes to 21st century learning involves digital technology then of course digital citizenship skills must be included. I therefore started collecting all of my resources in one place with my existing Delicious account, which has proved very useful for not only keeping track of my resources but also giving me practice in tagging and categorizing and acting as a springboard to other social bookmarking tools that were introduced in both courses and used in amazing ways by my colleagues. It was through this researching that I started to think about my question in terms of not necessarily "teaching" our students to be modern learners but guiding our students in their experimenting and reflecting of their learning. In essence, we as educators must also be 21st century learners and give up the desire to be experts on everything.

Experimenting with Web 2.0 

It was in this mindset that I chose my next few learning curations to incorporate tools that I had never used before in order to more fully see their value in the classroom and in my own professional learning. For example, I had always stuck with Delicious as my go-to bookmarking tool (as I used for the Module 3 prompt), but after creating a Symbaloo of different web 2.0 tools, I could certainly see the benefits of using such a visual tool both with students and with my colleagues (students can keep track of their own links while researching, or I could make a collection of helpful sites for a teacher's upcoming unit on mammals, for example.) It's easily shared and simple to create as well! Once I began playing around with some different tools, I began to make real-world connections between them and the teachers at my own schools. For example, "I wonder if Mrs. V. would like to use ______ with her animal project?" In that sense, I started to realize even more that the way to create a true learning commons is to have all staff on board as a united front to improve student learning. 

Reaching Out to Staff 

For the library to be the learning hub of the school, and for teachers to see the benefits of collaboration on digital learning projects, I realized that I need to advertise it as such! There has been one quote by Terri Hayes (2014) from Module 2 that has stuck with me throughout the entire course: "It is great staff, not great stuff, which is the hallmark of a thriving school library learning commons."  Since my current school is limited in terms of getting more "stuff," as outlined more in Assignment 2, working together and pooling our resources seems like the next best alternative. (For example, I was looking at the iPad signout sheet last week and saw that Ms. S has the iPads booked out at the same time I was hoping to use them... this seemed like a good opportunity to find out what her class was working on and ask if she would like to work with me in my collaboration time instead!) For two of the prompts, I decided to make advocacy tools that outline what a learning commons actually is and my own vision for how we could work together on some amazing projects. In addition to being able to use these at future staff meetings, I also got some more practice on using some digital tools that I could suggest to teachers: Powtoon and Padlet. I (and apparently several of my colleagues in both courses, as discussed in the forums) also ended up doing a bit of soul-searching as part of the process of seeing ourselves as educational leaders, which does play a pivotal role in the development of a learning commons. Many of us who are relatively new teacher-librarians are hesitant to share our resources or be that person who stands up at staff meetings to present on a new tool or recruit teachers to jump on the collaboration and RBL bandwagon. However, after using my blog extensively in both courses, getting very supportive feedback from colleagues, and having the opportunity to provide support in return, I realized that I shouldn't be so nervous to share or be in the spotlight. We do that all day with our students, so why not with teachers? In the end, we are ALL learners. 

The Heart of the Learning Commons 

Stemming from my inquiry on how to get staff involved, my final submission on social justice issues in the library really got my focus back who is at the heart of my essential question: the students! As I wrote in my first submission, "one of the main reasons why I chose to become a teacher-librarian was my passion for helping students find what they need to succeed. Nothing would give me more satisfaction than showing a stressed-out student how to find that “golden nugget” that would help them in their research project, whether it was a website, a book or a presentation tool. As a result, teaching students to be media literate is one of the essential components of my library program..." Watching the video about "Why Libraries Matter" reminded me of many similar situations I have encountered over the years in school libraries in which students consider the library a safe haven, and desperately need the resources it provides. Indeed, even the title reminded me of the advocacy that we must all do when defending our positions, especially against those infuriating comments like "We won't need libraries in a few years, everything is on the computer." I think that the young people in the video would vehemently disagree with that statement. Even as my own personal learning curation has shown, libraries and teacher-librarians matter more than ever in our increasingly digital world; whereas before there were simply just books to find, now we have a plethora of media through which to guide our patrons, all with their own intricacies, skill sets and even dangers. Whether it's continuing to foster a reading culture, teaching students how to find quality information, or creating richer, more authentic learning experiences with teachers, I think that teacher-librarians are vital in ensuring our students are not only prepared for a complicated post-school world, but ready and excited to take part in it, challenge it, and change it for the better.

References:

Hayes, T. (2014). Library to Learning Commons. Retrieved from http://www.cea-ace.ca/education-canada/article/library-learning-commons

LLED 462 Learning Curation #5 Module 11: Social Justice and the Library

For this learning curation, I am responding to the prompt for the video "Why Libraries Matter" A Day in the Life of New York City's Public Libraries.

This video really struck a chord with me, as I can see many similarities between the needs of the patrons of these New York libraries and the students at my school and district. Even in a so-called "wealthy" area of Surrey at one of my schools, I found that there were many students who needed to use the library resources as late as possible since they did not have access to Internet or even a computer at home... I felt guilty for having to kick them out when I wanted to leave! Similarly, like the very beginning of the video, I would arrive at school at 7:45AM and there would still be kids lined up outside waiting to use the library. Because we are in a school setting, it is even more difficult for teacher-librarians to have extended hours like a public library. I would often tell my students to use the local public library, but what happens when it's too far away? Indeed, much like Isaiah in the video, many students simply want a warm, safe and welcoming place that they can hang out in, especially if home doesn't offer those comforts. They also might just want some adult guidance, whether it's homework help or simply having that reassuring grown-up presence. Students seem to have to grow up much faster than than when I was a child (say, twenty years ago); yet they need guidance more than ever, especially those who don't receive much outside of school.

So what to do? Aside from giving up our personal lives and living at our libraries (which I'm sure many of our students think we actually do!) I think that creating a virtual presence can really make a difference in helping students outside of school hours. While that still doesn't address the internet access issue, (a helpful website isn't helpful students can't access it), having that "24/7" presence is key aspect of creating a learning commons... the virtual space is just as important as the physical one.

When I worked at my first long term position at a secondary school, I made a school library website for the first time and and tried to make it simple enough for grade 8 students to access on their own but with enough helpful information to use for a variety of different things, whether it's writing a bibliography or trying to figure out which book is next in the Maze Runner series. Sadly I didn't get longer than one year to promote it, so I never got to see its real fruition; however, I am looking forward to creating a library website for my current elementary school and make it both parent and student friendly, with links to homework help, district resources and reading promotion.
The link to my original site is here.

Image courtesy of: http://quotesgram.com/grief-quotes-maya-angelou/

After watching the video, I started to wonder how else we could use the learning commons model to our advantage when it comes to providing access and opportunity to all of our students. Since our goal is for the library to be the hub of the school, I think that opening up the space for other programs (like homework help clubs, tutoring and after-school programs) would not only be a great way to "advertise" the library but also give students a chance to use the resources. Again, a welcoming, resource and technology-rich space is key, as well as a willingness by the teacher-librarian to give up some control of the space. Is everything going to be exactly as you left it when you headed home for the day? Probably not, but if a struggling student was able to get help from a peer and it involved taking some books off the shelves or moving some furniture, which is more important in the long run? As a perfectionist who hates visual clutter, this has definitely been difficult for me! However, establishing trust and rapport with your students can really help in getting them to think of the space as theirs, and to treat it with respect. At that same high school, I had several students who used the library to tutor, and sometimes I would have to leave before they were done... luckily I had an understanding VP who checked in on them every so often and locked up the library after they left  My current school has a large after-school program for our more vulnerable students, and I have offered the library space if required for certain activities.

I was also struck by the segment about English language learners coming in with their children... At Bear Creek, the StrongStart (preschool) co-ordinator asked if her parents and toddlers could come in once per week to read a story and look at books with their guardians. It's been very rewarding to watch grandparents with limited English read storybooks with their grandchildren and learn alongside them!

While there is of course no one solution, and we are only one person with so much time in the day, I think it's important to not get overwhelmed when thinking about how many of our students might be struggling. I think that having a school community that works together to solve problems (students included) is a good way to address social justice and accessibility issues that are right in our own backyard. If students are able to empathize with their peers (perhaps like the group of teens near the end of the video), then they are much more likely to feel inspired to do something about it, whether it's helping in a homework club or simply being aware of socio-economic differences that exist within a school and questioning why they are there. In the end, I feel that a warm attitude, a smile and a genuine sense of caring can make all the difference in helping someone who is struggling feel inspired, valued and important.

LLED 462 Learning Curation Module 8: Web 2.0 Tools

For my 6th learning curation prompt, I decided to use Symbaloo to collect resources for my Web 2.0 Toolkit as part of Module 8.

The link to my Symbaloo is here. I have set up 4 corners of the Symbaloo into 4 different categories, going clockwise: network, present, curate, create. As I'm starting to gather more tools as I hear about them, I'm seeing that some fit into more than one category (awesome!) I'm think that eventually I'll set up different webmixes for each category. As a visual person I definitely like using Symbaloo better than Delicious, which is what I have used to curate articles and webpages. Since there are so many web 2.0 tools out there, I love the idea of having them all in one spot as it can be easy to forget about them!

Experimenting!

After having used Padlet in Module 7 to curate thoughts and resources on networking with colleagues, I began to think about ways I could use this with students, especially the intermediate classes, and how I could relate it to my 21st century learner essential question. Of course, Padlet offers opportunities to share thoughts and digital content, giving students a chance to practice uploading pictures and videos, as well as articulate themselves effectively online. As a basic starter, I thought that I could create a page for the Surrey Book of the Year (or Picture Book of the Year for the grade 4s) and have students write short book reviews/discussions of each book.

I also love making book trailers, and have always just used iMovie, but I like the idea of using Powtoon as an alternative now that I've experimented with it in Module 2. However, the issue of creating student accounts and moderating them all is a bit of a deterrent, so I would like to investigate and see what other teachers have done to make that portion easier.

I have also used Wordle in the past in English classes for various assignments from character sketches to themes; what I have always wanted to do is use Wordle to teach the Dewey Decimal sections and getting students to think about what is included in each category and why.

Image courtesy of: https://readingtech.wikispaces.com/file/view/900sWordle.jpg/77179727/540x269/900sWordle.jpg


I am about to collaborate with a grade 2 teacher on an animal project (the new curriculum is including metamorphosis; for example, a baby frog looks nothing like an adult frog, whereas baby humans look like adult humans.) I have used Book Creator on the iPads for an animal project before, in which students wrote a book about their animal with facts and photos, but since we are discussing more about transformation now, I'm wondering if something like Storybird would be a interesting way for students to tell the "story" of how their animal develops, maybe including their thoughts and feelings at each stage. To be continued...

LLED 462 Learning Curation #4

Module 2: Recipe for a Learning Commons Powtoon

Module 7: Padlet about Teacher-Librarians as Educational Leaders

Created with Padlet

Module 8: Web 2.0 Tools Symbaloo

LIBE 477B Future Vision Blog Post #1

Image courtesy of: http://www.core-ed.org/sites/core-ed.org/files/Real-world-digital-world.jpg

In my other course, LLED 462 School Library Resource Centre Programs, we are required to choose an essential question as cornerstone for all of our assignments. My question is "How can we ensure our students are 21st century learners?" In the first assignment for this course, the Reading Review, I chose a similar lens to center my research on, which was digital citizenship and media/information literacy. As I continued in both courses along these similar pathways, I was wondering how I could incoporate this focus into my Final Vision project. Since much of my coursework in both classes has been about collecting and curating for my teacher-librarian toolkit, whether it's an online educational tool or an article about advocacy for the library, I started to think that it would be really handy to have a space for everything about teaching digital citizenship all in one place that others can access as well. There is a TON of stuff out there, but how on earth would you go about creating an actual unit with it? What stuff do you focus on? And for which grade level? And will this actually work with Ms./Mr. __________'s class? I know that I share these questions with other colleagues in my district (and some in this course!) It can be overwhelming to say the least, as these topics are so important to teach our students.

Image courtesy of: http://jacquimurray.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/dig-cit-topics.jpg

 I've been using Delicious a lot to keep track of my links (and it's been great to have different filters), but I don't find all that conducive to collaborating. (Maybe I'm missing something!) In LLED 462, I was introduced to Symbaloo which is basically a more visual version of Delicious and Diigo- as a visual person (and avid Apple product user :P), I liked the idea of arranging different types of links by category (called webmixes) on different tabs. While you can share your webmixes with others quite easily on Symbaloo, I still wasn't sure if this was the best way to do it.

In this initial stage, I'm leaning toward creating a Wiki (I feel like it's an oldie but a goodie in terms of platforms) with a collection of resources for teaching digital citizenship, perhaps organized by grade level and topic. I also want to make the Wiki shareable so that other TLs can contribute their resources, as well as share their experiences- I think that this is the key for me here, in that there seems to be a myriad of stuff out there, but does it actually fly in the real world? As TLs I feel like we are naturally flexible and often have to adapt something to suit a class/student/teacher/school to make it work. In that sense, I'm wondering if a different platform would work better, such as Blogger, where commenting is so easy to do. I've used Wikispaces before, and there are also a few wikis in our district created by and for TLs in elementary and secondary. However, I am hoping to create something specifically for digital citizenship as, unlike teaching Dewey decimal system or how to use the library catalogue, this subject changes all the time and there seems to be always something new to check out. In that sense, I hope to make this more of a living document that can be added to and modified as trends come and go... and hopefully one that can reflect the new curriculum.

In case anyone is interested, here are the links to the two wikis mentioned above.

Tech4TLs Wiki (Secondary)
T-LShare Wiki (Elementary)

To be continued!

LLED 462 Learning Curation #3

A link to my digital citizenship resources for Learning Curation #3 on Delicious.com.

https://delicious.com/mcleanbookmarks/digitalcitizenship

LLED 462 Learning Curation #2

Learning Curation # 2:

Module 3: Supporting Learners Through the Library: Cultivating Life-long Reading Habits
      The scenario in Module 3 of the dejected second-grader being told he had to read only certain books really struck a chord with me, as I have seen countless reluctant readers at the secondary level claim that they "don't like reading because it's boring." Having never taught elementary before last year, I often wondered what had happened between K-2, when most children are beyond excited to get their hands on books, and early secondary, when these same students would only come to the library twice a year to get a book for an assigned novel study for English (in essence, the grade 10 student in scenario 2.) What had suddenly changed for them to make reading "boring?" Now that I work at the elementary level, I can see how crucial those first years are in fostering a life-long love of reading and making sure that children are not inadvertently turned off of it. As an individual who has always loved reading and was lucky enough to have grown up in an encouraging, "reader's" household, I feel that I must constantly foster my skills in enticing those students who do not have this same passion for it. As pointed out in Reading in the Wild (2013), "When parents don’t model reading, teachers grade and control everything kids read, and communities and schools close or defund libraries, we communicate to children that reading isn't something that our culture values as a life activity." If students don't have practice in reading for pleasure, and aren't allowed to actually explore what interests them, then of course they will not find it enjoyable. In that sense, I am the type of librarian that is happy to see a child reading, no matter what the medium, especially in the youngest grades. Indeed, one of the standards of an emerging learning commons is that students are able to self-select from the collection and read for pleasure (CLA, 2014). I connected with many of Neil Gaiman's comments in his article, particularly that "fiction is the gateway drug to reading" (2013). However, I was reminded in the discussion module by one of my colleagues that for some children, non-fiction is their gateway drug to reading. 

      

      As discussed in my post for this Module, I have often noticed how interested children are in non-fiction as they are naturally so curious about the world around them. I can remember my 4 year old self wanting to learn everything I could about animals and dinosaurs. I enjoyed reading chapter books as well and escaping into a world of fiction, but there was something about discovering a new fact about something tangible in my real life (why my cat Tigger had whiskers, for example) that was so exciting, and also made me want to SHARE that information with others. (Perhaps if I had attended elementary school in 2015, I would have been given the opportunity to do just that in a digital way!)

        For this situation, I would certainly wish to talk to the parent and try to seek a solution that would make both the child and the parent happy. Perhaps the student could take out a fiction and a non-fiction book. However, I wouldn't want the child to think, "oh, I guess I have to put away my fun book and read my boring book now." I would definitely want to find some realistic fiction for the student with topics that interested him. I would also wish to explain to the parent that non-fiction reading is an important skill indeed, and that neither is better than the other. I found a great article that outlined the benefits of reading non-fiction, so sharing some literature like that with both the parent and the child's teacher would be a good way to advocate encouraging children to discover their own passions. For example, "informational text offers the potential for increased engagement by students. [By] adding these books to the menu of reading opportunities in a classroom is a simple means of addressing individual interests to foster active, engaged readers. This increases the amount of time spent reading, which ultimately contributes to comprehension" (Barnatt, 2010). The article also has some great videos showing how engaged students become when reading non-fiction, and also points out the importance of developing students' critical thinking skills in reading informational text; for example, if it's written down as history, does that mean that it is true or actually happened?

                                    

Video courtesy of:
Learn NC. (2015, March 10). The elements of informational text. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brrRYfKMmFY

I knew that I wanted to explore this prompt further because the situation speaks to why I became a teacher-librarian in the first place (fostering life-long learning and a love of reading); however, I wondered how I could connect it to my tentative essential question of "how can we ensure our students become 21st century learners?" After channeling my thoughts and investigating the topic of reader identity further, I realized that of course these two issues are connected. Because the world is changing at such a rapid rate, students must be self-motivated to learn the skills to mirror those changes if they are to be successful post-school. Being able to comprehend informational text and find the answers they need is a basic life skill that apparently many of our students lack (Barnatt, 2010).   Therefore, being able to read multiple types of text, as outlined in the above article, is definitely essential to being a 21st century learner.  In addition, and perhaps most pertinent to this prompt, is that students have to want to read to learn and have that sense of curiosity that comes so naturally to young children. Looking ahead to Module 4, I am interested to continue this thread of inquiry into 21st century learning by further investigating multi-modal literacy.


References:

Barnatt, Joan. (2010).  The Power of Non-Fiction: Using Informational Text to Support Literacy in Special Populations. LearnNC: K-12 Teaching and Learning from the UNC School of Education. Retrieved from http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/every-learner/6554

Canadian Library Association. (2014). Leading learning: Standards of practice for school library learning commons in Canada. Ottawa: ON (p.17) (Book Excerpt).

Gaiman, N. (2013, October 15). Why our future depends on libraries, reading an daydreaming. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming?CMP=twt_gu

Kelley, S., & Miller, D. (2013) Reading in the wild: The book whisper’s keys to cultivating lifelong reading habits. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. p.88-128.

Learn NC. (2015, March 10). The elements of informational text. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brrRYfKMmFY

LLED 462: Learning Curation #1

Learning Curation #1: The Essential Question

                One of the main reasons why I chose to become a teacher-librarian was my passion for helping students find what they need to succeed. Nothing would give me more satisfaction than showing a stressed-out student how to find that “golden nugget” that would help them in their research project, whether it was a website, a book or a presentation tool. As a result, teaching students to be media literate is one of the essential components of my library program and what I insist on including whenever a teacher wishes to use the library for a project.

                All teacher-librarians were given copies of the CLA document at last year’s September meeting to help guide their practice; I feel very fortunate to be part of a district that supports teacher-librarians and sees the value of transforming our libraries to be vibrant, relevant centers of learning. I am especially drawn to the section “Fostering Literacies to Empower Life-long Learners,” as the themes seem to speak directly to my goals as a teacher-librarian. I also highly agree with the standard of having the whole school community involved in the creation of the learning commons; after all, it is the ownership of the space by the entire school that makes a learning commons so vibrant and the “hub” of learning in the school.

                In my very first library position at Clayton Heights Secondary, we were successful applicants of a learning commons grant from the district, which was extremely exciting as a new teacher-librarian who was only recently introduced to the concept. The following year, the principal wanted to work together with all departments in creating inquiry questions that would ultimately become the school’s vision. After much thought, I decided on the following for the library’s inquiry question:

“How can we ensure our students are 21^st century learners?”

Since many of the staff (myself included) had never done a true inquiry as a school before, we were encouraged to start slow and try one possibility at a time. For my initial step, I proposed working with the Humanities 8 department in a pilot Information Literacy “program,” in which I would work with classes throughout the year in various activities that would teach students how to find information in a variety of formats, use the Internet safely, and be introduced to some online tools that they could use in future years. Humanities 8 was the only linear course in our school, and seemed like the perfect platform for getting students off to a good start in their high school years. All grade 8s are always given a library orientation in September, but I felt that this was simply not sufficient to get students adept at these skills. By repeatedly coming to the library and practicing these skills when doing various projects throughout the year (as opposed to in a vacuum at the beginning of September), students are more likely to have success. Although I was starting small, my ultimate goal was to have the whole school community involved “in the design of information literacy learning strategies in order to empower independent learners” (CLA, p. 17, 2014).

Unfortunately, I was not able to truly continue exploring this inquiry as I did not have enough seniority to keep my job there with a continuing contract. I am now an elementary teacher-librarian at two schools, with minimal collaboration time. Nonetheless, I believe that the younger our students are taught these skills the better, so I feel I am in a good position to continue exploring this question at my new schools. I already work with all K-4 students for prep coverage, so I feel this is a great opportunity to begin employing strategies with our youngest students. I hope to be able to use collaboration time to work with the Grade 5-7 classes, although it is being very optimistic that I will get a chance to see all of them! Bear Creek and Port Kells are not “officially” learning commons schools according to the district, but I am reminded of a statement in Hayes’ article, in that it is “great staff, not great stuff” that makes an effective learning commons. In that sense, part of this inquiry will entail creating a school community to help it become a success. Indeed, when deciding on which direction to take with this inquiry, I had another question in my mind in addition to the one stated above, which is “How do we create an elementary learning commons?” All of my experience in building a learning commons has been in the secondary environment so far, but I feel that teaching students 21^st century life skills and collaborating as a school will put us on the right track to creating a learning commons at the elementary level. Getting teachers to come to the library and try collaborating on a project will also be part of this journey, as many are simply unaware of what a teacher-librarian can do to help. As a result, implementing some advocacy strategies will inevitably be part of this curation as well. I am reminded of an advocacy tool I made for another course, so being that it is September, this may be a good place to start!

 https://prezi.com/dfxu2sarujet/lled-469-advocacy-tool/

                My goals for this inquiry are similar to my goals for my previous school, in that I would like to employ different strategies in order to teach all students how to be self-motivated, responsible for their own learning and able to find quality information. I find that many students who demonstrate apathy toward their schoolwork (one of the problems all teachers felt needed to be addressed at Clayton Heights) were often simply just overwhelmed at where and how to start. If we can teach them effective strategies that make research less daunting, then they will ultimately be more motivated and thus engaged. I am looking forward to the next curation prompts and streamlining my dual-track essential question, as well implementing some new strategies in my schools as the course progresses!