Moving our Library Learning Commons FORWARD in the 21st Century

I would like to provide a little bit of background information about my school environment so you understand the variety of issues, interests and opportunities present in my school context.

My school is currently going through a few transitions.  We are getting a brand new replacement school in the next year. Our school will move from a more rural location to an urban location with a much larger student population. Through the planning phases, all stakeholders including teachers have been an integral part in thinking about classroom layouts and best practices. This included thinking about technology philosophy, technology placement and equipment acquisition as well as adequate and equal access for all students. The other exciting aspect of my school context is I am the Teacher Librarian in our Library Learning Commons. I am new to this position for the 2018-2019 school year. Our library has always been facilitated by a library technician.  Within my district, elementary schools do not have Teacher Librarians so this new role is unfamiliar territory. With these two major opportunities in my school context there are many issues and interests to consider.   

In the past, our Learning Commons was just a place to take out books and with these two new opportunities the use of digital technologies can become more of a focus in the Library Learning Commons.  Our current facility space is very small with no windows but our new space is a focal point of the school. It is very spacious with many windows, moveable walls which open to a common area as well as moveable walls which open to another breakout room for additional space which my principal would like to be seen used as a Makerspace.  The addition of a Teacher Librarian also adds in more opportunities for technology integrations as I am aware of curricular expectations and how to use technology as a tool to facilitate learning.

The other interesting context to consider is my province is also going through changes with regards to curriculum.  In 2019, my province will implement a revised Teaching Quality Standard (TQS). This new Teaching Quality Standard addresses competencies teachers have to fulfill to hold and maintain their teaching certificate.  One of the revised competencies in the TQS is Engaging in Career-Long Learning which asks teachers to maintain an awareness of emerging technologies to enhance knowledge and inform practice (Alberta Education, 2018).  The addition of this TQS component asks teachers to look at current research, review their pedagogy to foster, engage, enrich, and enhance learning. This new competency, the new facility space, as well as my role as a Teacher Librarian will be to provide an environment in which this type of learning philosophy can take place and become a reality in our school.  

I feel the list of possible keywords to explore is actually overwhelming since there is so many different avenues for the Library Learning Commons to explore in this new adventure.  Many of the keywords are inter-connected. I am sure as I dig deeper into a few keywords many of them will address other keywords as well.

Here is my list of keywords displayed in a word cloud. These are words I would possibly like to explore further in moving our Library Learning Commons forward in the 21st century.  

Alberta Government.  (2018). Alberta Education teaching quality standard.  Retrieved from Alberta Education website: https://education.alberta.ca/professional-practice-standards/teaching-quality-standard/everyone/overview-of-revised-teaching-quality-standard/