Presenting….Coldstream Library Learning Commons!

Here is how the new and improved Coldstream Elementary Library Learning Commons webpage looks:

You will find my final vision product through the link, Mrs. Acob’s Website !!!!

      I loved doing my final vision project, as I am walking away with a useful, helpful, engaging, safe and curated space to house resources and links as a means of communication for my learning community!  I have wanted to do this for a few years and am so happy to have it started!  Initially I set out to create a link for teachers to learn about the technology available to them in our school.  I was looking for a one stop option to house this information for teachers.  My vision adapted to become a central and inviting library homepage that would be useful for my whole learning community.  I believe my site is a welcoming first impression to our school library and I hope my goal of it being easy to navigate has been attained.  I have information in place for students and teachers, but in the future I plan to have more for students, teachers and parents: perhaps study tips for students, e-books, a place for book reviews, internet safety for teachers and parents, more video tutorials on technology, and updated links.

      I feel things went well with this project, but with only 300 words to reflect here I cannot go into all the details of my MANY technology speed bumps I navigated through!  Safe to say I have stepped out of my comfort zone and spent way too many hours talking at my computer and asking it questions, like “why can’t I move this tab over????”.   I originally started with my given school website (Scholantis), but was too frustrated with its tricky-to-use interface.  It was way too technical for me and I felt confined to their style of webpage, as well. 

retrieved from: https://www.weebly.com/ca

I moved to Weebly, which allowed for different templates and it was much easier to make a simple website where I learned to embed videos, add links, and make new tabs.  It was a HUGE learning curve for me, but attainable with Weebly.  I can also share that I definitely took longer than Aaron with his one-go-at-it

retrieved from: https://screencast-o-matic.com/

screencast-o-matic videos.  However, it is a simple site to use and one I will be using again to add more videos to explain technology our school has to offer.  I know many of you are expert tweeters, but I was a virgin tweeter at the start of this course so was proud of myself that after some trial and error, I managed to add this to my home page.  It is going to be an excellent way to communicate with parents, share out ideas, display student work, and demonstrate the learning taking place in our space!

Screencast-o-matic on Microbits

      I use the word ‘final’ vision project loosely in this post, as I have more to add and this is in no way a finished project.  I know my site will need to change and adapt to meet the learning needs of my learning community as my community grows and changes.  A big focus  on my site is resources for our school wide inquiry for students and teachers.  I know this will be an area that will be added to and changed, as we journey on this inquiry path as a school. I will gladly take feedback from all of you to make my site better (please note…the sd22 digital resource link will NOT work for you, as you need to be on one of our school computers).   I will say I feel triumphant with my final artifact and know that with my new found knowledge, I can be sharing out the site to my colleagues and students!

References

- Coldstream Elementary School. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.sd22.bc.ca/school/coldstream/Programs/library/Pages/default.aspx

Heather, A. (2018). MRS. ACOB'S WEBSITE. Retrieved from https://coldstreamlibrary.weebly.com/

Screen Recorder & Video Editor | Screencast-O-Matic. (2018). Retrieved from https://screencast-o-matic.com/

Weebly is the easiest way to create a website, store or blog. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.weebly.com/ca

First Impression

      

retrieved from:
http://www.quotemaster.org/good+first+impression

      While working on my vision of the future this week, I found that my biggest audience focus is ending up being my students.  I originally had started with the idea of making videos of technology and makerspacers available in our library space for teachers on my staff.  I had to back up a bit and first create a library homepage that would house these videos.  I still plan to do this to include teachers in my targeted audience.  However, I had spent quite a bit of time exploring others library websites to determine what would and wouldn’t meet the needs of my learning community and have made my major focus to be my students and how best to meet their learning needs.  I want to create a safe, curated place for students to go to do research and be able to have all their reading needs met.  When I have all student comfortable using my site, they will be great leaders bringing teachers and parents to it!   With school wide inquiry being a focus for our school this year, I want students to have a place and space specific resource.  Students using this site will see how they have access to the library and resources 24/7 and that learning can be extended beyond the walls of the library.  I know I like a user friendly site, so I need to create the same for students so all ages can find what they need from a simple format. 

retrieved from:
 http://www.sd22.bc.ca/school/coldstream/
Pages/default.aspx

      My main target at this time in our 3 week time frame is my students, however, my library webpage will eventually target all in our learning community.  After investigating websites this past week, I spent some time looking at what makes a good website.  Thoughtco says it well as to the value of a good website: that first impression is an opportunity to highlight the school’s best qualities and to show how welcoming the school community is to all stakeholders – parents, educators, students, and community members.   Teachers are my second targeted audience members.  As time continues I will extend out to the parents in our learning community.  Teachers, like my students, will have 24/7 access to all resources in one place.  Parents can see the happenings at the school and have an insight as to how learning is for a 21^st century learner. 

School Web Masters talks about a website as being one of the most effective tools a school has to improve communication, engage parents, market its strengths, and build a trusting reputation within its community.  SO many reasons to make a good first impression with a good library website!

References

Bennett, C. (2017). Importance of Keeping School Websites Updated. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/schools-website-first-impression-7655

What makes the best school websites?. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.schoolwebmasters.com/Blog_Articles?entityid=375456

Future Vision – A Functional Library Homepage

      The weeks of exploration from this course that got my mind directed towards my “aha” future vision project was week 6 and on.  It began with me wanting to expand my own PLN, but a major focus for my vision project stems from week 7 as to how I will best support and be responsive to the personalized needs of the educators, staff, admin, parents, and other members of my educational community.  I am hoping to create a library learning commons homepage with links to resources, videos, and my own professional blog as a way to share out the technology and resources our school has available, taking into account the varied abilities and experience levels to accommodate all within my learning community.  My current homepage is a basic, standard school district one.

Coldstream Elementary School current library homepage

 I know that my long term vision is greater than what I will be able to accomplish in the next three weeks and it will be an ongoing project.  In order for my homepage to be responsive to my learning community it will need to continuously evolve anyway.  It has been on my mind to do something with my library homepage and now this is my opportunity to get going on it and with a specific purpose and direction.  A few weeks ago my future vision project in my mind was to make videos of the various makerspacers (microbits, osmos, spheros, etc )

retrieved from:
  https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/getting-started-with-the-microbit 

available in our school for my staff as the audience.  I still want to do this, but that may be farther down the road.  First I have decided I need some other basics on my library webpage to service more than just staff.  From this course, I have certainly come to understand the value of sharing out my ideas and resources, as I ‘steal’ others’ ideas from pinterest to tweetsso I best share, too!  I know there will be value in my vision project in that all members of my school community will benefit from it eventually, including me.  I doubt my library webpage will help others country wide, but perhaps within our district it will spark feedback from my fellow TLs and help my page evolve and become even more useful.  Perhaps fellow TLs in our district will make their library webpages a useful resource to their learning community, as well.

      I know that my first step is to contact our district website person to allow me access to the site.  I need to find out what I can and cannot do according to our district guidelines.  I have started exploring other TL library webpages this week to get a better sense of what I want my actual final project to look like.  I did note that some TLs have almost nothing on their school library homepage, but a link that connects me to their well-designed blog or site.  I am assuming they don’t have the access to do so on the school homepage.  I will explore some more sites, but so far I have gained some insight about my format likes and dislikes.  I like the sites that are simple in layout. 

I did check out Aaron’s ParklandSecondary School site and love the simplicity of an image/title that leads to many resources on one topic.  I have liked tweets from Anna Crosland so searched to find her new school library site thinking it would be a good one to model mine after.  Her school, which is called Ecole Martha Currie, library website is a standard district one.   It gives a link to her edublog, which is personalized to better meet her learning community needs.  What I like about her site is the display of student work.  Kids and parents must love that and me, as a fellow TL, love to be able to steal cool ideas.  Anna, like Aaron, has clear titles linked to resources clearly laid out.  I also checked out a local TL who is always a step ahead of the rest of us here in Vernon with great programs in his library, Mark Bendall of Vernon Secondary School .  I liked his links for students like note taking and citations.  I think I’d like information like that on my site, as it’d be helpful for my students. A neat upcoming idea Bendall is working on is online book chats, which is an online space for students to recommend books or argue which book is better.  One idea I’d like to steal from Black MountainElementary learning commons webpage is how they created links to author webpages.  My students could be exploring the books, games, and blogs of their favourite authors. 

Stacey Manoin of Mar Jok Elementary has awesome clear tabs that pull down to a plethora of resources for students to parents, plus has highlights of upcoming author visits and virtual field trips.

      I have lots of ideas, but where to start!  I know I want clear labels with an easy to navigate site.  I want to target my whole learning community to have everyone coming to the library homepage.  I hope to include the learning happenings through pictures or videos, have digital resources for staff, parents and students.  A little more planning and sometime investigating web design are my next steps….for now!

References

Bendall, M. (2018). VSS Library - Vernon Secondary School. Retrieved from http://www.sd22.bc.ca/school/vss/Programs/library/Pages/default.aspx

Crosland, A. (2018). Anna Crosland TL | Anna Crosland TL. Retrieved from http://annacrosland.edublogs.org/

Learning Commons - Black Mountain Elementary. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.bme.sd23.bc.ca/Programs/lc/Pages/default.aspx

Library - Ecole Martha Currie Elementary. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.surreyschools.ca/schools/marthacurrie/Library/Pages/default.aspx

Manoin, S. (2018). Stacey Manoin. Retrieved from https://staceymanoin.weebly.com/

Mueller, A. (2018). Course: Learning Commons. Retrieved from https://parkland.sd63.bc.ca/course/view.php?id=274

Looking Back and Looking Forward

      I am excited with the many, many ideas and blogs, posts and research we have piled through this month.  The best part of it all for me is that it is applicable to the work I am doing!  It made this course not feel like a hoop to jump through, but one where I have tonnes of takeaways, lots to be interested in, and lots I have already incorporated into my work.

      One new avenue for development for me personally is that just this week I received another inquiry grant from my school district.  The grant is for my little TL group in which we began as an inquiry group working to transition our libraries to a learning commons.  This year we are collecting resources and sharing with each other our learning.  This is a huge help to me professionally as I am given time to talk, share, discuss, and learn with fellow TLs.  I feel I learn LOTS from simple conversations.  

      We will continue our march on towards becoming a full library learning commons and are almost there.  There are so many ideas I gathered from this last month, such as Book Clubs or Book of the Month to continue the development of the reading culture in our school community. 

retrieved from:
https://fernie.bc.libraries.coop/adult-book-club-books/

Our group also hopes to bring in a neighbouring district guru, Amber Hartwell, to help inspire other teachers in our district to transition their libraries and give us guidance, as well.  I like the idea of having my own personal inquiry in that I am modelling the process for colleagues in our school, just as we embark on a school wide inquiry process.  Another area for me to development in my own practice is staying on top of an efficient and practical way to curate resources.  I think heading forward I hope that my library webpage will hopefully house resources through links, my blog, and twitter.

      Moving forward from what I learned this month is I will be sharing out!  I had thought about it briefly before, but my biggest takeaway is definitely the importance of sharing out and how not just others benefit from it, but me too! 

retrieved from:
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00998J5YQ

Richardson (2012, p.387) named reasons that teachers don’t share out, from fear to a culture of competition in schools, but I feel the biggest factor for me is time.  Really the lack of time is my issue.  However, sharing out with fellow local librarians, colleagues, and other TLs is an area needing growth for me, one that I can attain, and one that will help me professionally, as well.  A quote from Paige Bredenkamp found in fellow wolf Karla Germaine’s blog has stuck with me since I read it: “Knowledge is the result of interactions and experiences through connected networks in a community”.

      I have some highlights of learning I have gained from others over this past month and one is that it is time, past time, to have a blog and active twitter account for my school.  Although twitter has not been my favourite social media form (I don’t feel I have time to sort through what people had for breakfast to find things of interest to me), I do like being able to get snapshot ideas.  It is growing on me now that I found some that are specific to teaching and like the quick snippet idea.  Two new accounts I am now following are from Hannah's blog : https://twitter.com/bctla  and Darryl Beck's blog: George Couros, which both provide professional and thought provoking ideas.  I still feel blogs are more valuable overall to me and I have appreciated blogging with my fellow wolves.  For me it is the discussion feel, like a conversation, that I am drawn towards.   I also like the building on the plentiful array of ideas.  I give an idea, but others tag in and say…”I also tried this”, which is a little new tweak to something I had just done.  It adds a fresh zing to add onto an idea.  Every single blog post from my colleagues has had a little idea or two I have either incorporated already or hope to do.  For example, as TLs we are always looking for a perfect book for someone and ask questions of them, “what did you last read?  What is your favourite book?” etc., but I have tried Hannah’s reader personality test and students had fun with that.  They were shocked to see that some of the books recommended to them from the test they had already read so the simple quiz seemed to work for many.  Thanks to Alison's blog for 2 peas and a dog blog, which I now like to peruse.  Another tidbit idea from Karla’s blog, which is still rumbling around in my head, is about helping students and colleagues with their PLNs.  I have been focused on me, but Karla shared the ideas of Irene Hanreates and her ideas which has me thinking of how important sharing out is, the need to model it, to work on my own PLN, but to help others gain the benefits of this, too. 

retrieved from: https://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/pln-define/

      The one topic that resonated with me most this past month is in regards to how I will continue my own professional development.  This is my last library course and it scares me a bit to become stagnant.  So often you see a teacher teaching the same grade and same material year after year.  They are doing what they know well, but not updating or challenging themselves with something new.  It isn’t enough to go to a pro-d day, but in a role as TL I can do so much more to be inspired and to inspire.

References

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

BCTLA (@bctla) on Twitter. (2018). Retrieved from https://twitter.com/bctla

Beck, D. (2018). Mr. B's Blog. Retrieved from http://kidstonkokanee.blogspot.com/

Couros, G. (2018). George Couros (@gcouros) on Twitter. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/gcouros?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Cuthill, A. (2018). LIBE 477: Special Topics in Teacher Librarianship - New Media and Technology in the School Library. Retrieved from https://critiquelecture.wordpress.com/

Germaine, K. (2018). Reflections of a New Teacher Librarian. Retrieved from http://kargermaine.blogspot.com/

Reader Personality Types - A Book And A Hug. (2018). Retrieved from https://abookandahug.com/reader-types/

Richardson, W. (2012). Why school. New York, NY: TED Conferences.

Wilson, H. (2018). Hannah's Learning Library. Retrieved from http://hannahslearninglibrary.blogspot.com/