#librarymedia

Week 14: Top 10 Things Teachers Should Know About Technology

You do not have to be an expert to get started. Start small with something manageable and take your time dipping your toes in the water! Everyone has to start somewhere.

Find YOUR personal connection! Have an idea for something you want to make or try? This can help drive interest and passion to learn and will demonstrate your investment for students. It is always good to try something out first.

There are SO many resources and people who want to help you and can support your students’ learning and use of technology. Do not be afraid to be vulnerable and ask for help!

There are an endless amount of applications, tools, and resources available. Find tutorials or social media accounts to follow.

Technology can save you time AND have a backup plan! Things may not go as planned and/or the tools may not align with your goals.

This is also why it is important to consider the user experience and how it translates depending on device. Another great reason to double check and have a backup plan.

Access to technology is increasing AND people may have unequal access to different types of technologies. This is important to consider. It is essential that teachers and librarians learn about accessibility in library spaces and make actionable change to support all students.

Learn from your students! They are the experts at their digital lives and worlds. Many are excited to bring you in and share their experiences. This can also be an opportunity to build connections. For example, gaming is a big part of some students’ lives and has a lot to offer teachers & librarians

It is clear that advocacy is essential in the role of librarian whether it be for faculty PD, advocating for a new OPAC, and more. Use data in advocacy makes a significant impact. Find a way to routinely track quantitative data where and when possible

Have fun!

Week 13: Online Public Access Catalog(s)

This past week I had the opportunity and pleasure to work with two partners to participate in an interview about being in a school library and evaluating our Online Public Access Catalog alongside another to advocate for.

Follett Destiny is commonly used in our group and in our class but I was surprised to learn about so many other options too!

Highlights from the week

💡Both Deneen and Meaghan are the kindest people and I loved getting to know them.

💡costs can range for OPAC systems and Follett Destiny is relatively expensive

💡I felt it is important for me to hear about both Deneen and Meaghan’s experiences in public schools/libraries whereas I am currently in a private school. As we talked about how we order books, process them, and even manage the day to day tasks in the library with our respective constituent groups it is clear how much of an impact the resources of being a private school library shape my experience

💡this experience has helped me to expand my thinking in how Follett can be maneuvered to our library’s advantage to improve managing inventory, reports, data, etc.

Week 11 & 12: Cataloging

The past two weeks I have been reading Catalog It! by Allison G. Kaplan and it has been a steep learning curve. At first I was confused and had to orient myself to what exactly I was reading, but after support from a colleague I was able to build a foundational understanding of what I was reading.

Highlights from the reading

Literally Lightbulb moments in my learning!

💡The first is that if the goal is for patrons to become independent users of the library resources and the collection, then information must be organized in a way that makes it accessible.

💡school librarians are so important to know the collection and curriculum to be able to maximize the record to it’s capabilities! They can teach students to be effective searchers using keywords and search tools to find information they need

💡RDA= resource description and access, specifically WHAT information should be recorded

💡MARC = Machine Readable Cataloging

The help of my colleague and the first four chapters helped me to break down the structure of what I was reading in each chapter.

💡Marc data translating information and data into readable format. This is then uploaded into Destiny (ILS) translate into readable format

💡my favorite chapters and most helpful were the following

4: subject headings vs keyword access as I am currently doing a lot of teaching keyword search lessons with students and had not thought about teaching students to search by subject heading

Chapter 5: I enjoyed getting a better understanding of some of the complex types of books to classify because they mirror some of the conversations I have with my colleagues including Folklore and Grqphic Novels

Chapter 8 was intriguing to think about “the death of MARC” especially after reading the two articles about decolonizing cataloging.

Week 10: Teaching Teachers

Professional Development Tips from Helene Blowers

In the article, 10 Tips About 23 Things, by Helen Blowers, the creator gives tips for how to create a web based, asynchronous learning program to administer professional development modeled after her own successful program, “23 Things”.

Highlights from the reading…

💡 The power of sharing! Sharing in learning experiences allows participants to build connections and learn from new perspectives taking their learning even further. Provide opportunities for sharing, networking, and commenting on participants discoveries

💡Baby steps! Pacing should be centered on the hesitant or reluctant learner who may start as an observer and be slow to warm up. Early adopters can model what they have learned and advocate for the learning. They also may serve as great mentors ! * NOTE: Make sure to make communications easy and in the medium participants are most comfortable with. Email or newsletters are a great go to!

💡Time for discovery is important. Independent and group discovery! When introducing new technologies give learners time to tinker, explore, and play! Giving them time to find ideas and develop curiosity will build investment in learning new technologies to make their ideas come full circle!

💡Rewarding and sharing appreciations with staff for their learning goes a long way and often pays off! In the library, books are a fun and easy go to reward!

💡Check-Ins. Though the learning may take place asynchronously and at different paces check-ins and encouragement are important. Participants may work at different paces some may or may not ask for help and reaching out goes a long way.

Week 8: Student Technology Integration Project

Community building is essential in the library and during library classes. One way I like to build community and continue to get to know my students all year round is by using warm up questions. One type of warm question I use are GIFS.

Which GIF represents how you feel about coding?

Top 5 Tech Tools

During this week’s project I identified some of my top 5 tech tools to use with teachers and students!

G suite - I use Google tools a lot! Google Classroom, Google Forms, Slides, Keep and even Jamboard! (FYI: Jamboard is going away in October and Canva whiteboard is a great alternative)

Canva - one of my top tools to create visually appealing slide decks, Canva videos, and collaboration friendly.

Scratch - I can’t believe I am sharing Scratch as my top 5 tools as someone who never learned coding in school and didn’t know how to use the program until I began teaching it. Now, seeing the range of possibilities Scratch offers curriculum I am on a Scratch kick!

Padlet - I also love Padlet for the range of functionalities! Students can share work to give each other feedback, create timelines, use AI to create images, or drop pins on maps among so many other ideas!

Co-Spaces - students can build, code from block coding to python & Java script, to create 3D worlds in VR or AR. They can also map scenes, create museum galleries, and more

These are just some of the tech tools I love using in collaboration with teachers to integrate tech into the classroom!

Gaming & The Library!

This week I had every intention of exploring social media or split my time between social media and gaming.

Inevitably I became hooked by all the gaming world has to offer librarians, teachers, students, etc. A social environment where learning and skills can be honed and developed? So cool!

I enjoyed getting to know a new part of one of my students and even my husband by interviewing them about their gaming lives. Games can range from an open world to levels, unlocking domains, to my husband’s favorite - strategy!

This week has influenced me to learn more about gaming both in my personal and professional life. I hope that we will be able to look into bringing gaming into our library!

👍🏾Highlights of the Week

Chatting with a student about gaming

Learning that for a youth librarian in Houston, TX circulation can jump 15-20%

Playing a strategy, historical game called Shogun with my husband

Learning that gaming has so many benefits that are driven by the social tendencies of teens

10 Resources for Library & Bookish Content!

@TomesandTextiles on Instagram and TikTok 

TomesandTextiles is an account created by Carmen Alvarez, a Latina creator who does a weekly roundup of Latinx titles releasing each week.

Black Children’s Books and Authors (BCBA)

This website is created by a nonprofit organization with a mission to center Black children’s stories and spread awareness of Black stories and authors.

Book Riot YA & Newsletters

I subscribe to Book Riot and their newsletters specifically focused on YA and Literary Activism. “Book Riot is the largest independent editorial book site in North America”! What?! After poking around the site again for this assignment I subscribed to their newsletters “In Reading Color”, “Our Queerest Shelves”, and “The Best of Book Riot”. 

@muslimbookreviewers on Instagram  

Muslim book reviewers is an instagram account created by four Muslim book reviewers who each have their own accounts where they review books, but also a shared account where they review books and provide other services like beta & sensitivity reading, consultations, editing, etc.

@Maistorybooklibrary on Instagram 

This account focuses more on picture books. The creator of the account Maya Lê creates reels for collections of books on given topics. These reels can be helpful to check our library collection and see if we have any gaps in our collections also. Collection topics range from books featuring characters with service dogs to celebrating holidays, courage, and a book to read the next time your child tells a lie. Sometimes parents come into the library with unique requests for a book that may address a conversation they had with their child. This account is a great go to for those types of questions! 

@silverunicornbookstore, @high_five_books, @allshewrotebooks @brooklinebooksmith

I follow local, independent bookstores that I like on Instagram and TikTok! This is helpful to learn about local author events to attend and new books.

We Here 

We Here is an organization dedicated to supporting and creating a community for BIPOC librarians. They have a website, Facebook group, a Patreon, and more!

Massachusetts School Library Association (MSLA) 

Massachusetts School Library Association is a resource for librarians in Massachusetts. Resources range from their annual conference, professional development, a newsletter, etc.

Youth Services Book Reviews

This is a website of book reviews and short summaries created by Massachusetts School Librarians. This website runs off of contributors who are school librarians and submit reviews.

Facebook Groups 

Facebook groups are another great resource to find templates, lesson plan ideas, or get multiple perspectives on a question. One Facebook Group I am a part of that is pretty active is School Libraries Rock run by Kristina Uihlein Holzweiss!

After choosing 10 I realized I do not follow many Youtubers. Any suggestions on book creators on Youtube to follow?

Highlights of the Week

giving a shout out to some of my favorite bookish creators and exploring their content more!

Discovering new bookish content creators

Recognizing what areas I'd still like to work on finding content for

10 Ideas for Teacher Librarians to begin addressing library accessibility!

1. In addition to consulting with special educational professionals, consider connecting with academic support and ed tech specialists to get a full picture of how your school supports students with disabilities. Collaborating together can spark new ideas and initiatives to be more inclusive.

2. From these conversations find out what resources exist and what resources to consider acquiring. Consider areas for growth !

3. Use resources like Project Enable’s UDL checklist to evaluate library spaces for accessibility

4. Assess digital resources for accessibility

5. Dedicate professional development opportunities to learning about adaptive and assistive technology in the library. Network and connect with peer schools, libraries, and attend conferences to learn more.

6. Gauge interest in establishing a focus group with colleagues who are invested in addressing accessibility issues in your school and/or library

7. Develop skills to navigate accessibility features on devices and build resources to teach colleagues

8. Identify the most urgent needs, build a budget, explore grant funding to develop resources. Prepare a plan to share with admin.

9. Use free trials and trial products to test softwares and tools.

10. Share resources with the school community and put into action!

Adapted from