Our Future is in Motion

It is hard to believe we have reached this point where it is time to share our Final Vision Project. In the early stages of the process of considering what my final artifact might be, I wanted to create a non-stop shop for all stakeholders.  The initial ideas were creating a Symbaloo, a shared google drive or even a website.  This non-stop shop would address a list of goals such as building a reading culture, increase family involvement, increase collaboration, build relationships, stem & makerspaces, increase circulation, and promote literacy.  After further research and discussion with a few stakeholders, I settled on the idea of a website.

Upon deciding to create a website, there were many other factors that came into play.  Who would use this website? What would be included? What website platform would be used?  I had to do some investigation and research to answer these questions. The website platform I chose to use is Google Sites.  This choice was made for a number of reasons. I recently became Google Educator Level 1 certified and this has been a focus in our school and district.  I felt if I am going to support students in our school community in the use of G Suite for Education, I should be able to model the various apps. I also chose Google Sites as it allowed me to easily integrate slides, sheets and forms into the webpage as well.

I did decide to go with 3 main pages.  One 'For Students', one 'For Teachers' and one 'For Parents' in addition to the home page and a policy and procedures page.  The 'For Teachers' page has a few additional subpages addressing STEM & Makerspace as well as the recent Book Club/Series collection we have acquired in our school.  The policy and procedures page is truly a working document as there were no policies or procedures in our Library Learning Commons before my arrival. This section will continue to evolve as our Library Learning Commons Leadership Team addresses policy and procedures as a group.  Our Library Learning Commons Leadership Team has a Padlet which we are using to help focus our meetings and begin to address some key areas of the Library Learning Commons. As the team addresses these important areas, I will be adding them to the website. Some of these areas include a mission statement, collection development, and other library rules and regulations.

My home page is a place for all stakeholders. They can easily access Destiny for searching, make book recommendations as well as see upcoming events in the Library Learning Commons.

For the Students page, there is information on how to log into Destiny as well as helpful links which have been used in the classroom.  Please note that some links may not open for you as they require specific passwords which have only been shared with particular groups within our school community.

The For Teachers page has information on services which I can provide in the Library Learning Commons and gives them suggestions on areas in which I may be able to help.  For instance curating text sets or providing mini lessons on information literacy.

For our Parents page, we have a few useful links as well as articles which I have found that are currently relevant to reading.  My hope is that I will be able to constantly update this page with current articles and information.

Although I have big ideas for this website, and I know it is not completely done, I hope for it to be a starting point to begin discussions in my building on a variety of areas.  I knew starting this project that creating a final project which addressed all of these goals was pretty lofty.  The website I have created might not fully address all of these immediately, but it is a starting point and will continue to evolve as our learning commons grows and evolves.

Please click on the following link and enjoy looking at the new Wye Library Learning Commons website.
Feel free to provide ideas and suggestions.

Wye Elementary Library Learning Commons

Library Learning Commons Website

This week has required a lot of discussion with my administration regarding my final vision project.  I was also thankful for the Google hangout on Tuesday to continue to formulate the audience and rationale.

As a school district we already have a school web page.  On this school web page, each teacher has a section called an e-teacher page.  This is a spot where teachers communicate with parents, share events, etc. From last week’s post, I have been playing with the idea of creating a web page for the Library Learning Commons.  Since we already have an e-teacher section on the school website, I thought about possibly using this instead of creating an entirely new webpage. However, after speaking with teachers and administration this may not be the best approach since it does not allow all the functions I would like to include on the website as I continue to expand the Library Learning Commons site.  So instead, we have decided that we will put the link on the e-teacher page as well as on the school website to connect the audience to the resource I create.

The website idea came about because the Teacher Librarian position is new at my school.  The students, teachers and parents are excited as to the potential of having a Teacher Librarian but they do not know all the supports I can actually provide.  My hope is a library website will be a new and positive avenue to help clarify the services and opportunities that a Library Learning Commons and Teacher Librarian can provide.  In addition, I hope this website will be a form of promotion of the fantastic resources and materials available in our Library Learning Commons. We have already made several changes to our Library Learning Commons this year and we know  communication is essential more than ever at this time to support this new direction. As I am thinking of what this website will look like I have to remind myself it is a working document and it will always be undergoing continuous change and revisions based on the feedback I receive from all stakeholders.

My final vision for this project is a website with three different pages. One page for students, one page for teachers and even possibly one page for parents.  Since a Learning Commons website is completely new in my district, I feel the possibilities are actually endless. I am feeling very overwhelmed as I want it to look very polished but I have to remind myself it is just in the infant stages.  As we evolve as a district in this area I look forward to receiving feedback from my colleagues as to how my web page can improve. Below are my beginning brainstorming ideas using Popplet about what each page may contain. If you have any additional thoughts or suggestions, please share in the comment section.

Ideas! Ideas! Ideas!

When this course first started back in September and I took a look at the Vision of the Future project, I truly didn’t have many ideas.  I was just starting out in my new position as a teacher librarian and really didn’t know what I was in for entirely.

Now, two months of school have passed.  The ideas on how I would love to move our Library Learning Commons forward have grown exponentially.  This has happened from the numerous blog posts I have read in this course over the past few months. The ideas have also continued to grow because I have increased the number of individuals in my professional learning network who are teacher librarians and media specialists.  Additionally, the ideas have also continued to come based on conversations with my colleagues, administration and parents as they are sharing some of their thoughts and ideas with me. I am excited about the enthusiasm that has been shared with me from my colleagues, administration and parents as this has helped create a positive atmosphere in the school about the Library Learning Commons.

However, with all the ideas which have come forward I am also feeling the pressure of the ever growing to-do list.  I want to continue to move our Library Learning Commons forward using the Leading Learning - Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada but this then makes an endless list of to-do tasks.  The ideas shared in the blog posts from this course on creating a culture of literacy provided an endless amount of opportunities which are far too many to try in one year.  The ideas shared even in my own school community have created so much potential but a to-do list which couldn’t even be completed if I worked 18 hours a day.  

My hope in my final vision project is to start to compile some of the ideas which have come forward and create a one-stop shop for a variety of stakeholders.  My initial thoughts include creating a Symbaloo, a shared Google drive or even a website. My vision for this final project is creating something that is continually evolving to meet the needs of my school community and something that is easily updated, adapted and changed if necessary.  

I would like my Final Vision Project to somehow address the following goals if possible:

I am excited about where this Final Vision Project may lead and the opportunities it will possibly provide. 

Leading Learning – Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada. (2018). Retrieved from http://llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/

Learning Journey

This phase of blog posts provided ample opportunity for research and reflection.  I found I was very comfortable writing about creating a culture of literacy and professional learning communities. These two topics are passions of mine and I enjoy researching and learning more about them both. Creating a culture of literacy posts were the most relevant posts for my current situation as this is an area my school is currently putting a lot of attention towards this school year.  I enjoyed reading how other schools and libraries are promoting literacy. Through my own exploration and the explorations of others in the class, I continued to learn more about the role of a Teacher Librarian. The role of a Teacher Librarian is multifaceted. Teacher Librarians might be called on to do a variety of roles in our schools. We also have to be flexible in our own learning to accommodate the educators and students in our buildings.  With these multifaceted roles it also became clear from the variety of posts the role of the Teacher Librarian continues to evolve. It will continue to evolve as we experience curriculum changes and budget constraints. Our students and colleagues come to school with a variety of different skills and we must adjust to meet their demands.

The specific module which resonated with me that requires some additional professional knowledge is the subject of World Libraries.  This is an area I had never explored until Module 8. I found reading some of my peers’ posts very interesting and educational. It was interesting to view how my colleagues support different literacy organizations based on their school, church and community involvements.  I feel this is an area in which I have to explore further and continue to educate myself about. The other aspect in Module 8 regarding the use of mobile devices is something which also has never been a concern in my current educational setting. I am very fortunate to work and live in a very affluent area where the lack of access to devices or internet has never been a concern for our school or students.  The concerns in my school are about using devices effectively to maximize student learning. My school is 1:1 at all grade levels and is well supported by infrastructure.

My top 3 takeaways are:

READ, READ, READ
To foster a reading culture in schools, you need to be a reader as well.  This includes reading picture books, non-fiction, novels and professional books around literacy.  If you know books, authors and the research, you will be better equipped to have conversations with everyone in your building - staff, students, administration and parents.  

Share your Enthusiasm

This applies to fostering a culture of reading in schools as well as professional development.  Share your enthusiasm for literacy and learning with anyone who will listen. Your enthusiasm toward certain ICT skills and pedagogy and your willingness to learn will help set the stage when talking to your colleagues. It can become contagious and will undoubtedly assist us in creating a learning culture.

Be Kind to Yourself

After reflecting on these past four weeks. One thing that continued to surface was the abundance of resources, materials and ideas available.  There are many different ways to foster a reading culture, develop your ICT skills and build professional communities. With the abundance it can feel overwhelming.  You will want to try everything. Some things you will try and it will work out great. Other activities will not go as planned. At the end of the day, it is more about the willingness to try, experiment and continue to grow while still being kind to yourself and know you are doing the best you can.