start spreading the news ...

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Sorry for the cheesy blog post title. But to me this topic really is about spreading the news and finding useful ways to do that. On another note ... I finished this whole post and didn't publish it right away. When I came back to post it, it hadn't saved even when I clicked save. So here I go again! Note to self: post it right way before you lose it! 

Starting in a new position this week was about getting to know the staff. I want to tune into the needs of the school and learn from the staff what they could use in terms of support form a librarian. After getting to know the staff and school I want them to have an idea what my role could be and what my background is. I think it is extremely important to advocate for yourself and what you can do to work with other classes and teachers. I came across a great graphic from a teacher librarian's blog which outlines what I hope to be able to offer teachers. I would love to potentially create my own version of this for the staff so they know what I could be doing with them (hmmm maybe a potential final vision project idea). 




I know many school libraries have an area for professional resources that usually have many great ideas or things to try. At my last school the library was located pretty far from my classroom. When I was planning or working with my partner teacher it was rare for us to go to the library and pull out these resources for reference. What would have been a lot more useful is an online portfolio of resources that are easy to access electronically. I realize there may be some useful books that cannot be accessed online but maybe a photo and description of the book could go online for teachers to see. This could be created on a simple online google document or even using a website like Scoop It (which I just learned about from a fellow Teacher Librarian in her blog post). I also found another version of a similar idea called 'The Current'. It is an open publishing site or forum for 'the sharing of resources and stories about what we as educators are observing, doing and reflecting upon related to connecting learning and teaching.' The one thing I like about it as that you can collect resources you have found but can also publish original content to share what you have been doing in your space as well.


This is a very simple idea yet could be one of the most effective. When you learn about a new resource, technology or idea simply email it out to your staff. I feel that reading one email with an idea to check out it is a lot more manageable then receiving a huge overwhelming list to read and evaluate. I came across this interesting podcast after reading this blog post from a teacher librarian diploma classmate. I have been really into podcasts for about a year now, I would listen to them often when I lived in Bangkok when I walked to and from work. It was so great to read Karla's post and hear about so many different education related podcasts. I immediately downloaded and listened to one from the 'Cult of Pedagogy' about makerspaces, as I kept meaning to do more research on what a makerspace was but not finding the time. I can now email that podcast out the staff at my new school as an interesting listen. I know not every person may listen to podcasts or be interested but if even one or two staff members listen and want to work with you based on a resource you found then it was worth the email. 


While TOCing at an elementary school here in Victoria I was telling a teacher about my knowledge of word inquiry and the impact I have seen it has on literacy in elementary schools. That teacher suggested I come to their school on a professional development day and share more about it with the staff. What a great idea! Writing a short proposal of what you want to present on and talking with the principal would be easy to do. It could be something as simple as 'I need 30 minutes to show the staff this new online planning document I created' or 'I would like to set up a maker space and have the staff engage in learning more about how we can use this idea in our school'. 


Here are two more websites with ideas for sharing professional strategies and information about your library.

1. This website has a few great ideas, such as bringing a cart of resources TO a grade level team to plan, starting an adult book club and running an adult makerspace challenge. 

2. Here you can find some short simple ways to advocate and share from librarians from Australia, New Zealand and the UK.




While searching this topic I found more great info related to my last blog post. Here are the link to this bonus info!


Tweeting for beginners and how to use it in an educational setting: https://www.bubbleupclassroom.org/home/its-never-too-late-to-tweet

More ideas for networking with fellow teacher librarians: https://www.bubbleupclassroom.org/home/bubbleup-take5-connecting-with-other-school-librarians 

https://plus.google.com/communities/118360039129531674592 


References


Germaine, K. (2018). My Personal Learning Network. [online] Reflections of New Teacher Librarian. Available at: https://kargermaine.blogspot.com/2018/10/my-personal-learning-network.html [Accessed 19 Oct. 2018].

Google+ Communities. (2018). inTLchat: Librarians without borders. [online] Available at: https://plus.google.com/communities/118360039129531674592 [Accessed 19 Oct. 2018].

Gonzalez, J. (2018). What is the Point of a Makerspace?. [podcast] Cult of Pedagogy. Available at: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/makerspace/ [Accessed 19 Oct. 2018].

Hazlin, G. (2018). BubbleUp Take5: Connecting with Other School Librarians. [online] BubbleUp Classroom. Available at: https://www.bubbleupclassroom.org/home/bubbleup-take5-connecting-with-other-school-librarians [Accessed 19 Oct. 2018].

Lindskog, K. (2018). Outreach Strategies for Promoting School Libraries. [online] EBSCOpost Blog. Available at: https://www.ebsco.com/blog/article/outreach-strategies-for-promoting-school-libraries [Accessed 19 Oct. 2018].

Scoop.it. (2018). Scoop.it - Content Curation Tool | Scoop.it. [online] Available at: https://www.scoop.it/ [Accessed 19 Oct. 2018].

Softlink (2018). Ideas for School-wide Collaboration. [ebook] Softlink. Available at: https://www.softlinkint.com/assets/img/banners/Whitepaper_-_School_libraries_share_ideas_for_collaboration.pdf [Accessed 19 Oct. 2018].

The Current | Educator Innovator. (2018). The Current of Learning and Teaching Today. [online] Available at: https://thecurrent.educatorinnovator.org/ [Accessed 19 Oct. 2018].

Thornblad, C. (2018). It's Never too Late to Tweet. [online] BubbleUp Classroom. Available at: https://www.bubbleupclassroom.org/home/its-never-too-late-to-tweet [Accessed 19 Oct. 2018].


Whitehead, T. (2018). Your Librarian Can… – Mighty Little Librarian. [online] Mightylittlelibrarian.com. Available at: http://www.mightylittlelibrarian.com/?p=1388 [Accessed 15 Oct. 2018].





Comments

  1. Whoa! Stupendous find on the Ideas for School-wide Collaboration (Softlink). Anyone who only has time to read a bit of Hannah's post, she has several great finds so don't miss out on the softlinkint.com site. I bet you will find a little tidbit to inspire you. Hannah's thought of sending a simple email out to colleagues to connect is a sure fire easy way to let others in on something new to learn. A good reminder that sometimes simple can be best. Those innocent lunch time conversations in the staffroom can be as powerful a way to share learning.

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  2. I agree with your on-line portfolio idea. Our teacher resources used to be just down the hallway from me but now, with construction of a new library, we have adopted a space in the teachers' Union building, just a short walk away from our school, as our library for this year and, I have to admit, I don't run down there to check out resources the way I used to. The library now has actual opening and closing times because it is in the Union building where our president etc. works so, I don't always make it down by 3:30pm to check out resources; whereas, when it was in the school, we could look at any time and just sign out the resources we chose in a log book. Having an on-line portfolio would give me the opportunity to browse those resources then ask for them to be available when my students come down for book exchange (I am usually helping them with selecting appropriate books for their reading levels so, not a good time for me to peruse the pro-d shelves). I'm going to speak with our TLs about the possibility of this type of portfolio..thanks for the idea:)

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  3. I love the poster you found on all the things your TL can do for you. I definitely intend to use this. Also I'm delighted that you found some of my links in last week's post useful. I am also really excited to listen to many of these podcasts. Thank you for the many great links and ideas. I will be checking out some of these, such as Scoop and The Current. I am still putting some thought into the best way to curate resources and advertise them for our staff. We currently have a shared file, and although I have demonstrated how to access this file during a staff meeting, I think most of our teachers have forgotten how to access it. Something which is more visually appealing and well organized would be of more greater benefit.

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  4. Sometimes it really is the 'simple things' that really help spread the word! Sending out new information as it becomes available to you as a staff email is so simple, but anyone interested has immediate access! You've inspired me to listen to some podcasts -- this will be a great thing to do while I'm watching my kids swim 3 hours/ week! You are really leading by example by sharing all that you have been finding. Thank you!!

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  5. Well done post that outlines many useful ways you can support your colleagues and school community in their own growth and development. Starting with relationships, and then sharing, and finally, organizing and presenting to each other, you've come up with some excellent suggestions and strategies. Your links, videos, and infographic are all very insightful and useful resources that will support other T-Ls exploring this topic. I do hope you connect with a few schools around SD61 and find ways to present, share and get to know more educators and TLs in your district. Great job on your second draft of this post!

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  6. More great resources! I love the graphic about the "Top 10 things" and all things TL's do to contribute to the school community as a whole. I also took Heather's advice , and checked out the Softlink. While I have only skimmed the site so far, it is bookmarked for a further read tomorrow.

    I think this group has done a great job contributing some useful and exciting resources. I haven't listened to any podcasts yet, but I am traveling this weekend, so I think it's time to download and have a listen!

    Cheers!

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