#librarystudies

28/100 Days of Productivity

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.