Rime of the Ancient Teacher

I have had many changes through LIBE 477. The biggest one was that I won my very first posting as a teacher librarian which starts in September. This means that the information from this course went from being a bit theoretical for me to very realistic!   However, I have also had a shift in mindset on the use of technology. I had to get a Twitter account and develop a blog to even participate in this course. I am no tech slouch but the idea of adding to the plethora of information on the internet that I see kids struggling to swim through felt weird. At first I saw it as the digital equivalent of littering.  I thought: why would I take up space on the internet musing about something I know nothing about? And, who would want to read what I have to say?  And, just like Richardson's son who found a community through Minecraft to build his knowledge and sense of belonging, I have too. I have learned so much from reading other people's blogs, following links they have suggested, a

When looking into the "key elements" of teacher librarianship, I feel like I am at a bit of a loss. I have recently won a posting to be a full time Teacher librarian at a grade 6-8 middle school that will start in September but I have no practical experience.  I decided that a personal philosophy was the most important thing to develop before stepping into my new space. It will guide what I weed, rearrange, and add to the space. So to create my personal vision for this assignment I looked to three areas for inspiration: my experience as a classroom teacher and as an LAT, the context of library I am inheriting, and professional readings. My classroom and LAT experience: It seems my actions are always reactions to my current situation and this has held true for this assignment and how I am approaching my new posting. For about 12 years, I was an English teacher and I loved have our vague PLOs and not having textbooks we are expected to use. I embraced that each tea

When looking for information on education and literacy in developing nations, I searched for a story I had read about in the past about floating schools that travel a weekly schedule down the river to reach isolated populations. I searched for that video and found it: the solar-powered floating schools in Bangledesh. Then stumbled upon the videos about the book donkey in Ethiopia and the floating library in Laos. Each of these videos shows dedicated people bringing learning opportunities to those who have little access to it. I must admit, I felt a powerful connection to these videos. I feel like I have seen my future retirement plans and I can't wait!  It got me thinking that these methods of conveyance (donkey, boat, barge) that reach the most remote areas could just as easily bring along mobile devices as well as books and solar panels could power the device! I have included these short videos (the longest is 3 minutes) in case anyone wants to see them.  "Ethiopi

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/arrow-of-time-reversed-quantum-experimen t To me, this issue of how we engage teachers to develop their tech skills and students' skills seems to always come down to time. If it takes too much time to learn or change from what we are previously using, then few are willing to try. You can promise it will save the teacher time in the long run, but you really need to deliver on that promise. Your early adopters will become the biggest critics if it doesn't actually save time. If it takes too much time to teach to students or takes up too much time from the course content, then few are willing to try for any change. Time, time and more time. Ironically, I have found the best solution to all of this issues is to give it some time: time to percolate, time to pique interest, time to develop. I think I need to take the policy, "you have to go slow to go fast" in my own development of ICT skills and when supporting others. You also rea

What are some of the ways that educators and professionals are connecting and sharing their learning? What can you do during this class and after it is over to maintain your connections and networks, to further develop your knowledge, experience and skills? Twitter I am very new to Twitter. In fact, I signed up for Twitter only a few weeks ago and only because it was a requirement of this course. Since then I read an article that state 6 out of 10 teachers are using social platforms like Twitter to enhance their teaching. So for this week of inquiry I spent a lot of time searching through Twitter and trying to understand how it can help me develop a learning community.   I have realized that certain hashtags that I assumed would be in use or relevant to me are, in fact, not.   #sd23 is not that active yet @sd23 is. #sd23learn has more info but isn't much more active, whereas #sd23learns (the s on the end changes everything) is much more active and full of information I

I used to be a high school English teacher. I taught everything from English 7 to English 12, Communications 11, Honours 10 and 11, Advanced Placement English Language and English Literature. I switched roles about 8 years ago and slowly became a full time Learning Assistance teacher about 4 years ago.   I shifted from a deep and diverse literary existence to doing a lot of math and Science!   The students I have may or may not have a reading disability and if they do, the impact it has on their schooling varies as well.   So, most of my work that focusses on reading is about remedial, skills based intervention. However, since enrolling in the diploma program to become a librarian, I have realized the tremendous overlap between these worlds and have started treating my LA world as more of a mini learning commons. I have purposefully promote reading to all of my students to build more of a life-long learning and reading enjoyment culture in my room.   There are three things have contr

Assignment B After a couple hours of searching, I found that there isn't a lot of specific information about how Learning Assistance teachers (or other student support services) can use technology to assist collaboration or co-planning with teachers. I found many articles on collaboration and many on using technology but nothing that really fit what I was looking for. Instead of researching topics on something I am not as interested in, I decide to get a bit creative with my research.  I really wanted to stay within my district so that if I found something that could work for me, I would be able to connect with that school or person and, more importantly, understand the context in which they are used. 1. I started searching the library websites of schools that I know have maintained a high level of collaboration, co-planning, and co-teaching.  And, since I am interested in how technology can be used to overcome the lack of time we all suffer from in order to encourage and maint

I was once a middle and high school English teacher but for the past 7 years I have been a grade 7-12 Learning Assistance teacher. It is a great job because you never know what you are going to help kids learn:French, chemical equations, fractions, civilizations.  Each day is different in a great way. Unfortunately though, we tend to be on the back end of learning. We often support, reteach, or re-explain someone else's content.  Learning Assistance is very similar to library in that we are supposed to be and would love to be collaborating, co-planning and co-teaching all the time.  In a perfect world we would be co-planning with teachers so that the material was always differentiated before the student sees it.  I teach at a great school with passionate, dynamic teachers but we are all plagued by a lack of time that makes collaborating, co-planning, and co-teaching really challenging. This lack of time has been on both sides - LAT time had been cut drastically in many schoo