Supporting Teachers ICT Curriculum and Pedagogy: On-going Pro-D
Teacher Librarian as a Person
I would argue a large component of being able to share our learning with the rest of our staff and wider community, starts by looking within yourself and deciding what kind of Teacher-Librarian you wish to be. By nature, the librarian position can be isolating if you let it. You are likely one of a kind at the school and you might even be located further from the classroom “wings” of the school. Teachers may be more inclined to collaborate with similar grade level teachers, while forgetting about the librarian as a major resource of which to collaborate. As a result, being able to share your wealth of knowledge starts with you! As TL’s, we must put ourselves out there, and really promote our willingness to share, collaborate and learn together. This is has been a challenge of mine, as I am not overly confident yet in my skills as a librarian, being only two months into the position; however, I am outgoing by nature and have taken it upon myself to become friends with many of the staff members. This alone will enable me to share my knowledge with others, when I am in a position to do so.
In the meantime, if you are a new librarian like myself, we still have options! Join as many committees as you can manage, and start learning from others. As new teachers this is our time to “take” from other teachers, so one day, we can be in a position to give. Decide you are going to be known by all the staff, and make a point in asking to collaborate. Even it that collaboration means doing book talks, or research skills lessons, you are still contributing.
Teacher Librarian as a School Leader
As ones career develops as a teacher-librarian, it is very possible to be seen as a school leader. Not only do we come into contact with essentially all of the students on a weekly, if not daily basis, but we also coordinate the heart of the school: the library. We have the power to make the library a place where everyone wants to come to learn. We shape the collection, and ultimately decide what enters, leaves, and is central to the collection. We create the physical space, and determine what “makerspace” and technology related activities are available. We also set the tone for how flexible or inflexible the library is on a whole. In a society with ever evolving technology, we as TLs really have the opportunity to be extraordinarily useful and innovative. Developing our own ICT skills, so we can share those skills with others, is what will truly make us leaders. Teachers should be able to use the TL as a technology resource to improve their own practice. But how?
What can I do now?
The first step in sharing is to educate yourself. Educate yourself on every technological app you can. Decide what you think will be useful for the teachers of particular grades. Be aware of the curriculum so you can anticipate what a teacher might want to know/do for his or her students.
Find out a medium you like, for which you can share your knowledge. Then, become an expert at it. Whether you use a blog, host a lunchtime meeting, lead a Pro-D workshop, or rely on social media or app, get your information out there. It is then in the teachers hands to decide to utilize your services or not.
Two alternatives to powerpoint which I like are:
For a more animated presentation, try Powtoon as a way to share with students or staff.
Becoming a great librarian will not happen over night, but there are many steps you can take, starting with your own demeanour, to move in a positive direction. Make yourself available, and educate yourself with every opportunity you get, so you can be a confident and beneficial resource for staff and students alike.
Times are changing….and its important we keep up with those changes.
The good old days?
Goals for the year:
Keep throwing myself into every tech-related club and meeting that arises. Exposure, exposure, exposure!
Create something of my own, related to a repertoire of educational apps that teachers can easily use.
References
Atkinson, John. Library cartoon. http://wronghands1.com. Web. 23. Oct. 2015
www.haikudeck.com: App. 23 Oct. 2015
www.powtoon.com: Web. 23 Oct. 2015
Well done post! Your honest and open reflection on some of the challenges and opportunities we face as TLs was great and will be a huge help for anyone just getting started in the role. Your advice and suggestions for relationship building, committee representation and eager and willing smiling positive helpful mood will go a long way to encouraging your colleagues and peers to want to work with you! Good job with the “technology” tag, but it might also be useful to add more tags and categories to your posts. Any keyword you can think of to categorize your posts should be added as in a few years if you want to find this post again, how would you search for it? I might add tags like “ICT” “ProD”, “Supporting Teachers”, “Teacher Leaders” etc. There is no limit to the amount of tags/categories you want to add!
Thanks for sharing your ideas! I agree that “exposure exposure exposure” is a key way to attract teachers to coming in and using the library- the more everyone sees your face and has a chance to talk to you, the more you can talk about what you can do to help out in their classroom. I also like your suggestion to focus on something that you actually use and have experience with (ie Blogger or Powtoon) and chat it up- I think that for me personally, that would give me more confidence to try out more tools and share them even if I’m not a total expert at it.
Great ideas! I love powtoon and it’s such a great change from powerpoint or prezi, you never are bored with a powtoon presentation! Thanks for sharing and you’re very right, relationship building in so key since there normally is only one TL, we have to represent! 🙂 I like how you mention finding one medium of communicating and becoming an expert in that. I think as being the only TL in the whole school, it’s easy to feel like we have to be good at everything, but one is so much more manageable and realistic.
Hi Bronagh,
Sounds like you have a great approach to being a new Teacher-Librarian; one that will ensure that you’ll soon be seen as vital (if not already).
I really like HaikuDeck; so versatile. The sidebar attached to each slide is a great place to include instructions, details, or links to explore.
I’m intrigued by Powtoon. Heard of once, but never got around to checking out…maybe I should get on it.
Chris