"Every person, organization, and even society reaches a point at which they owe it to themselves to Hit Refresh -- to reenergize, renew, reframe, and rethink their purpose." (Satya Nadella as cited by Salman Haider, 2019).
This quote has summarised perfectly how I feel and have felt coming into the 2021/22 school year. I started my Teacher Librarian Diploma feeling like something needed to change at my school, and feeling like I needed to reenergise and rethink how I was running my program. We’ve just completed our two weeks of ISZL Reads! and I can’t say whether it was the effects of covid planning, the influence of this course, or the combination of the two, but I have definitely seen more technology being used during our reading fortnight than ever before. Not only that, but during discussions with staff and parents, I find myself considering how different tools or resources could enhance my teaching or support of the community and I am more aware of the conversations regarding technology use happening around me. As a result, I am feeling a new energy and purpose for what I am doing, and a greater need to advocate for my program.
Gaining the Confidence to Take Risks
I think the greatest effect these past 9 weeks have had is on my confidence towards using technology. In the past, I may have uploaded a simple video, or created a static Pages poster or bland power point presentation to share information. However, since starting this course, I’ve been trying out new presentation tools like Canva and even made a choice board to share read alouds with my students. On Thursday and Friday, I hosted and recorded Zoom assemblies for my students with storytellers in New Zealand and Kenya, something I would have been absolutely terrified to do in the past. Although I had some support on hand, I managed to try these out and even trouble shoot some issues without needing someone else to take over.
This week I was also involved in a one to one meeting with representatives from 21st Century Learning, who are currently conducting a tech audit of our school. I feel like I was able to contribute valuable insights into the school and our library program in particular because this course and the weekly discussions we’ve had has made me much more aware of what I can/could be doing with adequate tech resources. From simple things like access issues in my building due to electrical plug placement, to being able to discuss what tools would be most suitable to use in our space, to a change in the language I am using to discuss my program, I feel much more engaged with technology than I ever have before.
Looking Out for Opportunities
I think one of the greatest takeaways for me has been reconsidering the way I reach out to the staff at my school and support their learning. We are in a big transition as a department, and covid has badly affected the collaboration within some areas of my school. I am now walking away with some really nice ideas for re-connecting with staff and providing less formal ways to reach out to them. As we begin to review our timetable and find ways to address a staffing shortage on my team, I want to bring in plans for lunch time meet ups or unconferences and ‘walk and talks’ as suggested by Soren. Finding ways to connect like-minded individuals will help increase interest instead of making it feel like one more job that they are too busy to do. I’m also really drawn to Shannon McClintock’s newsletters and want to bring these back to the space.
Reaching out to the Community
A critical aspect of my role is advocacy, and what better way to advocate than by reaching out to the community and sharing how they are accessing the space and the program. Erin’s post on fostering a reading culture gave me many great ideas for bringing the student voice into the library. A student mentioned last week that he had watched a video of me on Seesaw showing how to give a book talk and it prompted a discussion with the class about recording our own book talks and displaying them in the library. I have also been experimenting with IMovie combining videos and pictures and adding text to make a more interactive presentation of student documentation.
Another thing I have realised is that I need to be more proactive in promoting the library to parents. Although we don’t have our own website or blog at the moment, I can use our school social media channel to promote the library, and did so this week as we welcomed families into the space. I’ve made posts to go in the parent bulletin and made a more visual poster to be added to schoology pages. By using different mediums to reach out, I can ensure the wider community know what we are doing.
In the past, I would have relied on a simple written text to share some information, maybe including an image or two. By seeing the ideas you have all shared with me, and following different blogs more closely, I have naturally started thinking about how I am presenting and sharing information with my community. It is up to me to advocate for and promote my library and one of the best ways to do this is by reaching out in different ways, using visually appealing methods for promotion. I am finding myself excited to create posters, play around with different presentation tools, and reach out and share the great things that we are doing.
Poster for parents created in Canva
I can’t wait to see where people go in this next phase of the course. Thank you all for your inspiration!
References:
G., Erin (February 24, 2022). Supporting teachers with ict: A tl’s Role as a leader, a collaborator, and a learner. Adventures in Becoming a Teacher Librarian. https://erinthelibrarian24.wordpress.com/2022/02/24/%ef%bf%bc/
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteIt was a joy to read the many ways you are already applying your learning in your work! I think a real advantage of taking these courses while in a TL position is that you can apply what you have learned right away while it is still fresh. I have really enjoyed reading your posts because it gives me a glimpse of a different school system. I have never heard of a "tech audit" but it sounds like a wonderful idea! I'm glad that this course gave you the confidence to contribute. I took a peek at your school's social media page. Fantastic! Is that something all staff can post to or does one person manage it?
-Keri
It has definitely been a big benefit to be in the role, and I am feeling really motivated to push myself further Keri. I had never heard of a tech audit either - I suspect it is related to the merging of our library and Tech coaching team - I am very curious to see what the results are and I definitely feel like I was able to share some important insights into our school.
DeleteAs for the FB page, it is managed by our communications department, but they encourage us to send ideas for posts. The person who maintains it is also a parent at the school and is a big supporter of the library so I need to reach out more with ideas for posts.
This is an excellent demonstration of your learning from phase 2 of our course. I appreciate the multiple and varied examples of how you have actioned your learning. I also appreciate the way you demonstrate the power of a PLN by referencing your learning from your classmates blogs.
ReplyDeleteThank you Darcy. I think the biggest takeaway for me has been how powerful technology has been in advocating for the program (both through the ways I can reach the community and with the way I can share things in a more attractive way)., It's really made me think about the way I am interacting with my school community.
DeleteHi Kim,
ReplyDeleteI found this post to be really inspiring to see how you have applied all that you have learned in this course so far. I agree with Keri that it is great how you can apply all your learning right away when you are currently in a TL position. Your Zoom assemblies sound fun, your students are so lucky to have had that experience with storytellers from Kenya and New Zealand!
Erin