LIBE 477: Vision of the Future Project - Reflection
Vision Of the Future
Reflection
The Power Of School Libraries
Through the course content and the textbook, Leading from the Library (2019), words and phrases like ‘champion’, ‘leader’, ‘mentor’, ‘making a difference’ and ‘creating impact’ have helped me to focus my intentions as a teacher librarian. Miller & Bass (2019) present a question in the text, ‘What Do I Offer?’ (pg.91) which has prompted me to think of how I can make a difference through the library. Throughout my coursework, I have discovered that I have an interest in supporting teacher and student mental health, connecting literacy with ADST, and now encouraging and supporting teachers to use digital resources and tools to present information in the classroom. Within the library, I can support student mental health by providing a safe and welcoming environment, I can include story workshops using loose parts in my teaching program to promote ADST and literacy, and finally, I can organize digital resources and guide teachers on how they can be used in the classroom regularly. For a time I have been resistant to using digital tools because they seemed like more work, or complicated, and because it seems kids are already using cell phones, Ipads and computers too much. The TL Diploma Program coursework has shown me otherwise.
I have immersed myself into finding, researching and sharing digital tools and resources. This first began through the list of district digital resources available to students and teachers through the library. Before taking these courses, I never knew we had these resources! This got me thinking that if I did not know they were there then perhaps my colleagues did not know either. I could be the person that shares them. This is how my Vision of the Future project came to be. I realized there needs to be a way to organize digital resources in a way that is intuitive, easy and accessible. I have seen my son use a Symbaloo during the Covid lockdown which he accessed through a teacher’s website. Here, he was able to play games, do puzzles, and practice math and reading. I thought it was super! I later saw it in one of my courses where it was introduced as a tool educators could use to organize information. When I read through the assignment details I immediately knew I wanted to create Symbaloos to share resources with my colleagues. I scoured Instagram, Pinterest and even TikTok to find digital tricks and tools that other educators have tried and recommended and added them to a running list in a Google Keep Notes file. Later I would use the list to create the Symbaloos for each subject area. This will be an ongoing process as new tools and resources are developed. As I created the Symbaloos I realized the best way to make them accessible would be through a website that teachers could bookmark and keep handy on their computers. In order to make this vision effective, I had to have a way to guide teachers on how to go about using the tools displayed in the Symbaloos. This could be done through professional development - noon hour meetings which are not lengthy, during school hours, accessible for all and casual. I would like the sessions to be a collaborative, focused, and reflective process which is also specific, engaging and ongoing.
Sometimes there’s a sense of hesitation or reluctance to use digital resources because for some it goes beyond their comfort zone. I hope to show teachers that digital tools are fun, evokes student engagement, are easily accessible, provides variety throughout the day, can inspire, can show differing perspectives, and ultimately enhance day to day activities. Through this assignment alone I used the following digital tools.
Miller, S., & Bass, W. (2019). Leading from the Library: Help your School Community Thrive in the Digital Age. International Society for Technology in Education.
Comments
Post a Comment