Lost in the Reads

Via Pexels This course has been eye-opening in more ways than one. On top of all the amazing learning opportunities working through the modules, and reading everyone’s blogs have given me I have also learned some valuable lessons in how to get work done while dealing with a teething infant. My final vision project wraps up a huge learning process for me. I am generally not one to put myself out there online, and now I have a blog, a reactivated twitter account, and a you tube channel. This may not seem like much, but it is huge for me right now. I have been able to see what a valuable experience sharing your work is to others, and I look forward to continuing to learn this way. Starting this course, I wanted to continue learning how to be an active and valuable teacher-librarian. Upon completion of this course (about half way through the diploma) I feel I have made some big strides in this direction, and have a better idea about how to continue this journey going forw...

via Pixabay This week I have been busy working on my tutorial videos. So far I have only have one completely edited and ready to post. This one video was quite a learning experience for me. I have never done anything like this so it was a big process from start to finish. I am hoping now that I know a bit more of what I am doing the other videos will be much less demanding. via Giphy Starting these video tutorials brought with it some unforeseen challenges. For instance, I sort of forgot that I am very shy, so talking on camera was a hurdle to get over. This was a bigger deal than I had thought it would be. I am constantly having to step outside my comfort zone in order to be the best I can be in my teacher-librarian position. I thought I was used to that, but I had a surprise bout of severe stage-fright once I pressed record! I found it helpful to write out a script and list my main points in BIG BOLD LETTERS on multiple post it notes all over my screen. Even with these ...

via pixabay                I started my career as a high school English teacher looking to go into Library Services. I am now in an elementary library and absolutely love it. I think I have adapted to the elementary setting and mindset quite well overall. However, introducing online databases to elementary students has tested the very limits of my patience, and judging by my very patient and competent elementary colleagues’ disdain for online research projects, I assume this goes beyond my own lack of abilities to properly communicate with the tiny humans.                While it would be so much easier to just print off what they need, and pull the books of the shelves, it is more important that students begin to learn online research skills early. This is why I want to make things a bit easier for myself and my colleagu...

via giphy I have been racking my brain all week with what I could possibly create that would bring value to my school community, and colleagues. It has not been an easy task. Looking at what our library offers I began to think about our online ERAC databases. Every year I try to coordinate class schedules, lap top cart bookings, and limited research time to teach students how to access and use these databases. Every year I fail at hitting all the classes, and often those I do get to see end up with a very brief overview because one of the pieces of the puzzle didn’t line up properly. So, back to my thinking and thinking, I knew I wanted to do something that would be immediately beneficial to those teachers I work with on a day to day basis, and at the same time would not be superfluous to my own library instruction with students. via giphy See where I am going with this? No? Me either -yet. But I think where this is heading is to the creation of some kind of online i...

Pixabay Looking back over the last few weeks it is impressive to think of all the learning that has happened in such a short time span. All of the units have opened new avenues of exploration and insights for me in my personal and professional development. I have learned so much from classmates by reading their blogs and seeing the learning they have also been experiencing.  This course has really helped me to look beyond the scope of my own little library to a broader network of connecting with colleagues and other professionals.  Will Richardson's book Why School  showed me the ability that connecting online has to bring about better learning opportunities for students. While I have a long ways to go in creating PLNs and the like I am starting down this path. Through the use DIGG Reader and following blog posts, as well as using twitter more effectively I am slowing taking steps to access the potential of online collaboration that this course has shown me. ...

Pixabay From my place of privilege I have always taken public libraries for granted. I have never had to think about a world where knowledge and information would not be readily available to me in a variety of sources. Because of this, I was particularly interested in learning more about this week’s topic. As this article in  the Guardian  points out, public libraries can be very important places to learn new information, find new business connections, or research for professional advancement. They are vitally important to communities in developing nations. Below are a few programs who have worked to bring about equal access to information and technology.  Giphy The  Bill and Melinda GatesFoundation Access to Learning Award  has produced a number of creative outreach programs in developing nations to bring technology into communities. While researching this topic I was encouraged to see former recipients and the work that they are do...

Teachers lead busy lives. Between planning engaging lessons, coordinating extra curricular events, differentiating instruction, providing meaningful assessment for learning, teachers do not have time to sit through pages and pages of resources and ideas. Good pedagogy is founded in student centred learning. The same applies when teachers are the learners. As a teacher librarian I should be able to provide meaningful, relevant, and current resources, that support what the teacher is already doing with their classes. Giphy Since nobody wants to be the teacher prolonging the meeting at the end of the day, my practice of sharing resources needs to go beyond the quick staff meeting blurb about what’s new in the library. I have come across a few tools that provide a framework for teachers to use in any subject area. These tools allow for the collection of resources and collaboration between collogues that does not require a significant time investment outside of already packed sched...

Giphy Twitter and I have a complicated relationship. I recognize the value of engaging on twitter, that it presents a unique way for professionals to collaborate and inspire one another but the best use I have found for twitter so far is to simply follow We Rate Dogs ( @dog_rates ).  It’s not that I am social media illiterate. I am current on the Instagram, I know a bit about tumblr, and Facebook is (sadly) still my jam, yet, the twitter platform itself is just not intuitive to my technological skill base. Likewise, I have always been a peripheral social media user, I watch and listen, but rarely contribute. This I realize is not an ideal way to ‘do’ social media, and that having a more conscious online presence would be beneficial to my teaching practice.  So, why twitter? This brief video seems to answer this pretty well. It is a few years old now (from 2015) but it touches on the main reasons twitter is still a good place to connect with other educators. It...

image from pixabay When reading we often gravitate towards a comfortable, familiar location where we can best enjoy our favourite books. Reading in school should be no different. In my elementary school library, we have several strong programs designed to encourage reading both in the classroom and at home.  What we don’t do as well (in the library anyways) is have designated, welcoming spaces to host that reading. I am quick to write off these fun spaces as frivolous and largely unnecessary to reading culture. What else could a kid need to internalize a motivation for reading but an interesting level appropriate book anyway? For this post I am tossing aside my former attitude surrounding décor in educational settings and instead diving into the many inspiring classrooms and educational spaces that have themed and decorated reading nooks and crannies to help foster a culture of reading. Image found at Buzzfeed This Buzzfeed article lists a number of creative r...

                This post will be wrapping up my exploration of fair use, copyright and digital citizenship in education. My initial decision to tackle issues surrounding fair use, copyright, and best practices of content creation did not lead to any particularly exciting resources at first. I found multiple teacher guidelines for using copyrighted materials filled with legal jargon, most of which scared me into thinking I was going to be facing multiple lawsuits any day now. As for student content creation and use, there was even less. It wasn’t until I broadened my search to include digital citizenship that I began to find some more relevant information.                  Including Digital citizenship as a search term led to the discovery of Alberta’s Ministry of Education’s in-depth guide on the subject. As I mentioned in the previous post this resource ou...

As I continue to dive into the fascinating world of content creation, copyright and fair use laws I continue to find interesting and relevant resources to bookmark. Further to the links listed in Part A are relevant resources to further explore this area. As I was looking for resources, the most interesting information arose from searches involving digital citizenship. I am excited to further explore the detailed guide from the Alberta Ministry of education. I did find it difficult to find information about copyright use for students; however, it was easy to find information about fair use for teachers. Copyright Law and Fair Use Guidelines: Copyright matters some key questions and answers for teachers 4th ed. By Wanda Noel & Jordan Snel, Barristers and Solicitors This booklet is an excellent starting point for understanding Canadian copyright law in an education setting as it presents basic questions and answers for educators. It largely deals with how educators can ...

As a teacher-librarian I see a lot of kids interested in generating their own online content. It would be helpful as an instructor in the learning commons to know more about fair use, terms of service, and copyright guidelines in order to help students navigate the creation of their own online presence.  The laws surrounding content creation on the internet are still taking form.  Decisions like the H3H3 YouTube lawsuit are setting new presidents and shaping how users are able to control their work. In the learning commons I feel we have a role of in helping shape our students into productive and responsible digital citizens. Because this is an area that has always intimidated me I would like to take the opportunity to research fair use and royalty free assets students can use in their own content creation, as well as the general terms of service and copyright rules major sites use. Open source media sites: Purple Planet Music Source- http://www.purple-planet...