Passionate and innovative professionals are people who are constantly striving to further their skills through learning and trying things out in their practice. Professional development can (and should) take many forms and in a time when there is so much knowledge online, there are never-ending possibilities to discover new ideas and inspiration.
Personally, I find the most powerful professional development allows for opportunities to interact with other practitioners. While watching video tutorials works very well for me, when it comes to a conference option, I have quickly realised I need to be in person to be able to interact with others instead of passively watching a presentation. This has been especially challenging during the last two years of covid restrictions.
Bearing that in mind, and with the hope that soon live conferences will be possible again, I have put together a list of some of my favourite places to go for personal development, and resources I hope to use in the future.
Online groups:
I find this one can be very US focused, but there are so many knowledgeable posters on the page that bring information about all topics library-related. There are many articles and resources that are posted and it is a great jumping off point for further research. Shannon McClintock Miller is a member of this group and I have also begun to follow her blog, https://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/p/shannons-instagram.html, for more inspiration.A second group I am active in is Int’l School Library Connection, which is more focused on issues related to IB schools and our curriculum needs, as well as things like Data privacy and copyright laws, and access to different tools, databases and other resources in non North-American countries.
In my searches today, I also found the group Hacking School Libraries and Other Classrooms. I haven’t had a chance to explore it too deeply, but I think there is a potential to see some great ideas for bringing Maker Space and technology into the library.
Personal Learning Networks:
Although these various Facebook groups are critical to my learning, I am not sure I would consider them a part of my personal learning network as they lack actual relationships. I think the majority of my PLN are colleagues at school or in Switzerland, where I have had the opportunity to build relationships in-person. At school, I have a collection of library colleagues, class teachers, and other specialists that I know I can go to for support, inspiration, and collaboration. They are people I feel I can get honest advice from and know they are also passionate in growing as an educator.
In Switzerland, we have a Librarian group for members of the Swiss Group of International Schools. We were able to meet together twice a year in the past, as well as offering visits to see our programs and practice in person. However, the group has become very quiet and we need to work on building up our connections again. I would love to hear how often groups in your areas meet, and how you have stayed connected over the past couple of years.
Books:
I still like to read books on different professional topics and think my focus now needs to be more on innovation and change in the Library. The following books are on my shortlist for summer reads this year:
Based on the description of the book on Book depository and after searching some of my FB groups, I think it is an important one to read:
This book will especially be of use with my work in my EY2 and KG classes as they have specific units that really look at design thinking. I want to help move them beyond the product to look closely at the process and I think understanding more about the design process will enable me to support them.
The final book I’ve heard really great things about is Developing Digital Detectives : Essential Lessons for Discerning Fact from Fiction in the "Fake News" Era
Future Professional Development options with a tech integration focus:
Learning2 This organisation offers excellent PD opportunities for educators in Europe. I haven’t attended a conference yet, but I have heard that the sessions are run by educators, demonstrating how to integrate different tech tools into the curriculum in an authentic way.
Exploring Future Ready Librarianship: Practices for the Emerging Leader The ISTE website provides links to some PD opportunities and this one in particular, which has been developed in collaboration with Future Ready Librarians sounds particularly interesting.
I recently took part in an online conference with my team from 21Century Learning. Although the course was online, and based in Asia, we were able to watch the presentations together so we could stop and discuss the tools within the context of our own school. Many schools in Asia are ahead in terms of staffing, resources and technology integration so it is exciting to see what is being done there. https://www.21c-learning.com/21st-century-schools-series/
References:
Future Ready Librarians. Home [Facebook page]. Facebook. Retrieved February 16, 2022. https://www.facebook.com/groups/futurereadylibrarians.
Hacking School Libraries (and Other Classrooms!). Home [Facebook page]. Facebook. Retrieved February 16, 2022. https://www.facebook.com/groups/HackingSchoolLibrariesAndOtherClassrooms
Int’l School Library Connection. Home [Facebook page]. Facebook. Retrieved February 16, 2022. https://www.facebook.com/groups/SLAsia
ISTE (2022). Exploring future ready librarianship: Practices for the emerging leader. ISTE. Retrieved February 16, 2022. https://www.iste.org/professional-development/iste-u/library-practices?_ga=2.36263840.1655835513.1628526599-1341423513.1605563246
LaGarde, Jennifer and Hudgins, Dennis (2021). Developing digital detectives : essential lessons for discerning fact from fiction in the "fake news" era. International society for Technology in Education.
Learning2. Learning2 europe. https://learning2europe.org/
Lee, David (2018). Design Thinking In The Classroom : Easy-to-use teaching tools to foster creativity, encourage innovation, and unleash potential in every student. Ulysses Press.
Starker, Ron (2017). Transforming Libraries : A Toolkit for innovators, makers, and seekers. Jaquith Creative.
21st Century Learning International (2021). 21st Century schools workshops. https://www.21c-learning.com/21st-century-schools-series/
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog. I agree that consulting and speaking to other teacher-librarians within your district is a great way to foster your learning. Do you have Professional Days where you can connect with them?
We have a few opportunities to meet on Teams, where we discuss new resources to enhance the curriculum with the expectation that we as Teacher-Librarians will help to teach teachers how to use these new tools. Our teacher-librarians also have a book club where we discuss a new book such as the ones you posted each month. These books help us to learn more about current practices. Do you ever have an opportunity to discuss books with other teacher-librarians about new current practices?
Best wishes,
Sonia
Thank you Sonia. Unfortunately, as we are all private school teachers, there are no coordinated PD days and many school directors only allow one day for a meeting, but we are spread out across the country so need up to 3 hours to drive to a meeting. Maybe a more regular Team meeting would be an option - I like the idea of starting a professional book club as a way to start sharing practice more regularly. Or even proposing a group that is open to meeting and discussing tools we use. Perhaps choosing a common learning goal and setting up a small group to start is a way to get us back into meeting more regularly. Thank you for your ideas!
ReplyDeleteHi Kim,
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed your post! You shared so many great resources to check out. Those books look like great reads. I also find in person PD is better for me. I tend to get distracted and even multi-task a bit when I am not actively engaged in something which definitely takes away from the learning.
Seeing other librarian's programs in person sounds like a great learning experience. Did your school give you time to do this or was this on your own time? We had an opportunity to visit another program but only in the year you had a mentor. I think it would be beneficial to have this opportunity more often even as you become more experienced because you can always learn from seeing other teachers in action...but the funding for that would be huge I guess. The district I used to work at had monthly librarian meetings after school where we would take turns hosting and this would give us an opportunity to see each other's space which was great but it would also have been nice to get release time to go during instructional time as well. I am not sure but I think they have kept doing these meetings on Teams during the pandemic. Those Facebook groups sound great too, thank you for sharing such great resources!
Erin
Hi Erin,
DeleteYes the books look great, choosing which one to read this summer will be the challenge.
Different schools offer different opportunities for staff to visit one another, but my new admin is definitely open to giving me time during a school day. Unfortunately, there are only a few within 2 hours of my home, so others would need an overnight stay to make the journey worthwhile. I am hoping this will be possible in the Spring. We were getting together at different schools twice a year in the past, but again, getting everyone together at different schools was really challenging because most of us were only given a day so 6+ hours of travel time really cut into what we could do.
The FB groups are great. I find it easy to check in on them during my daily commute, and people respond really quickly if you post something.
You share many valuable strategies and resources here. I appreciate the broad range of ideas you share. I have a few of those books on to-be-read my bookshelf right now! I too am missing in-person events. I can’t wait until these resume. There is something magical that happens when we can connect and collaborate with others who share the same professional passions and interests!
ReplyDeleteYes, magical is a good word to describe what happens! I find it so motivating to be able to talk with my colleagues and build ideas together!
ReplyDeleteAre there any particular books you are leaning towards?