Supporting Teachers’ ICT Curriculum and Pedagogy

Posted on By janelletenhave

On going professional development: Inquiry blog post #3

Professional Collection:

Most school libraries have a “Professional Collection” of resources, journals, articles, publications that can be signed out by staff members at the school. I actually did not know about this Professional Collection as a teacher, in the past schools I have worked at, and I am worried that some of the teachers at my school currently may also not be aware of the full capacity that our library holds, for themselves and their students. The first day I walked into my library, I took some time to take it all in, analyzed the way it was organized, and started to brainstorm ideas of what I may like to change.

One thing that I really appreciated about my current library is the placement of our Professional Collection. It covers one entire wall and is clearly labeled that it is for the staff, and not for student access (although no students are coming into my library at this point anyways).

One issue I see with our collection is that it is PACKED so full that it would be overwhelming for a staff member to come into the library and independently find what they are looking for. I have plans to weed this section in the coming weeks, to condense it down to the more recent and relevant materials. I will take before and after pictures and post them once I get around to accomplishing this task.

Weeding:

On the topic of weeding, I think it has been years since my library has been weeded. Putting books away can be a challenge because the shelves have reached their limit. The idea of weeding makes my environmental heart screech. I had a conversation with a more experienced TL the other day, and she said “when all the teachers are in their classrooms, I sneak outside with a cart full of weeded books and throw them in the dumpster”. THE DUMPSTER?? (my heart hurts thinking about it). She explained that the books that need to be weeded are not books kids should be reading, or in this case we are also talking about the professional section, so these books are no longer helpful or relevant to the teachers either. Many recycling companies will not take discarded books, as they are often a mix of paper and plastic. I am hoping to find a way around throwing them in the trash, but I have yet to figure that out. My first step is to dive in and start weeding. Once this is done, I will have a smaller, more condensed, professional section but it will be much easier to find relevant resources, rather than sifting through a mess before coming across something that will be helpful.

How can we evolve and adapt this practice to be more responsive to the personalized needs of the educators, staff, admin, parents, and other members of our educational community?

I personally like to see my role as Teacher-Librarian as the behind the scenes “helper-elf”. I am often given requests, and I do everything in my power to make it happen (sometimes through my very specific set of skills, other times just pure elf magic). If a teacher needs a bin of books put together on a certain subject, I can do that for them. If a student wants a specific book, I can put it aside for them until their book exchange day. Sometimes parents ask for books on a certain subject, and I can help them with that too. If someone comes to me with a question and I for some reason don’t have an answer for them, I spend time researching until I am able to help them.

I found this video called Teachers + Teacher Librarians = Better Learning by Students Need School Libraries to clearly lay out how Teachers and TLs can work together to create a better and more cohesive learning environment for the students. 






What can I do differently, or new, this year that better support their inservice?





Unfortunately, most of my time this year so far has been taken up my in class books exchanges, and preparing the bins to bring to each class. This leaves very little time for collaboration or co-teaching with the inservice teachers. My hope is that next year will look so much different than this year, so I will be able to fulfill all the plans I have brewing in my mind. It is very peculiar to enter a new job, at a new school, during a pandemic, but we are making it work! 





We as TL have so much to offer, but we are often overlooked. The article 12 Ways a School Librarian Can Help Teachers by Kristy from 2 Peas and a Dog outlines well a variety of ways in which TL can support teachers. Below are just a few of the many things we are, and that we are able and qualified to do. 





We are Experienced Teachers:





  • We teach the 5 essential literacies: reading, content-area literacy, information literacy, digital/technology literacy, and media literacy
  • We specialize in teaching student inquiry & research skills
  • We know how to foster & promote independent reading 





We are Instructional Partners:





  • We can help create cross-curricular projects with other subject area teachers
  • We can show you how to integrate and teach technology skills 





We are Informational Specialist





  • We can curate print & digital resources for your every need
  • We have a comprehensive understanding of intellectual property, copyright, and fair use guidelines for using a variety of materials, and we can teach students, and advise teachers and administrators, on their proper use.





We are School Leaders:





  • We communicate with parents and the community about school activities and events 
  • We make the School Library the “go-to” place for students, teachers, and administrators





Janelle





The Island TL





References/Resources:





2 Peas and a Dog. (2020, June 14). 12 Ways a School Librarian Can Help Teachers. Retrieved October 22, 2020, from https://www.2peasandadog.com/2018/07/12-ways-a-school-librarian-can-help-teachers.html





Students Need School Libraries. (2020, October 15). Teachers + Teacher Librarians = Better Learning. Retrieved October 22, 2020, from https://youtu.be/uKtZ_unsHHo

	


	



					
						


	

		
Developing ICT Skills and Pedagogy

				

			Posted on  By janelletenhave		

			


	
	
			


	

		

Blog post #2





This week’s blog post is all about exploring how I can continue to develop my own skills, pedagogy and professional development on my own, back in my own library and environment. 





What strategies, tools, resources and networks can I implement to maintain my explorations and development? 





I read Steve Pavlina’s 10 Ways to Improve Your Technical Skills. It was a bit humours at times, but here are some of my key takeaways. 





1. Read technical books and online tutorials





Pavlina’s first tip to improve technical skills is by reading books. This seems like the obvious answer, especially to Teacher-Librarians, but sometimes we may not have the books we need on hand. Another option would be to take advantage of online tutorials, as they are “accessible, timely, and of course free” (Pavlina, Steve). 





2. Take classes





Taking University level courses on this subject matter is a great start to improving ICT skills.  “A key advantage of classroom learning is the opportunity to interact with an experienced educator. Teachers with decades of experience know plenty of educational distinctions you won’t find in books or online tutorials” (Pavlina, Steve). This is a great way to get some hands on and personal experience while improving and enhancing ICT skills. If taking a University level courses are not an option for some, they could seek out workshops for a similar experience. 





3. Create your own web site





“When you have a compelling reason to learn, your goals will accelerate your learning, and you’ll learn with a focus on practical application” (Pavlina, Steve). This one really resonated with me. I found for so long that I was very unmotivated to do research on subjects that were not of interest to me while in high school and early university. I often told myself “just wait until you get into the education program, things will come easier then”. Which was partly true,  but this did not come to light for me until recently, while doing my library courses. It is much more motivating to research ways to improve my library, and my own skills, now that I am actually in that role.





4. Embrace a variety of software





Getting to have an experience with several different types of software would help create a wider breadth of skills, that may be able to be transferred from one software to another. While creating my blog for this course, I had to play around with various blogging platforms until I found one that worked for what I needed it to. Did you know there are SO many different types of blogging platforms, all very similar, but they all have varying features that take a bit of a learning curve. I am still learning all that this platform has to offer. 





5. Learn to program





“Programming is the art of instructing a computer to perform a task. The key to accomplishing this feat is learning to think like a computer. Programming is one of the most mentally challenging tasks a human being can perform, but nothing compares to the satisfaction of engineering a piece of code to solve a specific problem” (Pavlina, Steve). I am still not entirely how to accomplish this task. I want to be tech savvy, to be able to be helpful for my colleagues and students, but programming is something I have yet to dip my toe into. My experience began by creating a MARC Record for one of my courses (which was actually a blast), but I am not sure if that counts as programming. I have much to learn. 





6. Marry a geek/Hang out with geeks





“Your final salvation on the road to geekdom is to — gasp — marry a geek. If you aren’t a geek yourself, then do what you can to recruit one into your family. If that’s too much to ask, at least find a geek you can befriend” (Pavlina, Steve). This one is a bit funny to me, but not entirely untrue. If you spend enough time with people who are fluent in tech, some of their knowledge will rub off on you. Many of my closest friends are self proclaimed “geeks”, and I use their skills as resources regularly.





		

							

					
				

								

	




What are some of the ways that educators and professionals are connecting and sharing their learning? 





In my experience, the best way that educators can connect and share their learning is through social media. I am apart of many Facebook groups and pages that have been so helpful, as educators are able to share their learning in a safe space of likeminded people. Being part of so many groups has given me the opportunity to hear the experiences of many different people, both locally and internationally. Some of these groups and pages include:





French Immersion Teachers: 





https://www.facebook.com/groups/955254044520390/





BC Teacher-Librarians’ Association:





https://www.facebook.com/bctlaofficial/





La Classe Nature:





https://www.facebook.com/laclassenature/





Partage au 1er cycle:





https://www.facebook.com/groups/257480981612537/





Primary French Immersion Teachers:





https://www.facebook.com/groups/416840761665406/





Bitmoji Craze for Educators:





https://www.facebook.com/groups/2568655663438916/





What can I do during this class and after it is over to maintain my connections and networks, to further develop my knowledge, experience and skills?





I can continue learning, experimenting, and connecting. The idea of ITC can feel a tad overwhelming at first, but once it is broken down bit by bit, it feels a little more achievable to implement it into teaching and learning. The video I have linked below by Mohamed Adly lays out what ITC is in a very clear manner and gives useful tips on how to implement it.









ICT in Teaching and learning 















Finally, I believe it is important to conclude this post with a little reminder to myself (and the readers) that the role of a teacher-librarian is multi-fasciated, and ITC, though very important, is merely one of many aspects of the job. It is a useful skill to have, but not the only department we are qualified in. 









Role of the school librarian















References:





Adly, Mohamed. “ICT in Teaching and Learning – YouTube.” Youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQdq4qf-5fQ. 





Pavlina, Steve. “10 Ways to Improve Your Technical Skills.” Steve Pavlina, 4 Nov. 2015, http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/08/10-ways-to-improve-your-technical-skills/. 





Students Need School Libraries. “The Role of the School Librarian.” Youtube, 2020, youtu.be/4eU7NdASlqU.