MODULE 1
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
How do I create a learning environment, including resources, technology, and curricular support, that meets the needs of my school’s diverse student population?
I work in a secondary school (grades 8-12) in a small northern city with a population of 28,000 people. Whitehorse is the largest community in the Yukon and as a result, many students come from smaller towns and villages to complete their high school education. Over the past decade, the population of Whitehorse has increased by about 7,000 people, partly due to immigration, both domestic and international. The demographics of the city have shifted quite significantly from when I was a child here. There are people from all corners of Canada and the world who now call Whitehorse home.
As our school offers French immersion, ELL programming support, and other experiential programming (outdoor education, arts, culinary training, sports school), the catchment area is quite broad, including student from all areas of the city. Rural students also often attend our school as there is a dormitory just off campus. The school includes a multi-needs room, a life-skills program, a teen-parent centre, an industrial wing, and a variety of academic programming including AP courses.
It is always challenging to try and include something for everyone. I envision the library as an important part of all this great programming we offer within our school. I want to find ways to reach more of the student body and I hope to integrate technology further into library operations. My goal is to further enhance the library’s role as the heart of the school. I want all students and staff to feel welcome and to feel that the resources available are relevant and useful for their needs.
My school is in the infancy of moving toward a learning commons model. Through this learning curation, I hope to find ideas and strategies around how build a program that, first and foremost, works for the very diverse group of learners I have in my school. I want to encourage teachers to participate in its development and to further utilize the services, technologies, and resources I can provide.
As I read Leading Learning, I can see my school library program falling in the “exploring/emerging” zone in many regards. Next year we are getting a new building and improved technological capabilities. One of the challenges we face is that the digital infrastructure in the Yukon is not keeping up with the demands of an increasingly connected world. Having all the latest tools becomes useless when the Wi-fi is incapable of handing more than 300 connections at a time (in a school of 650 students). The frustration is not limited to education and is a territory-wide discussion between citizens, government, and the single telecommunications provider in our region.
As far as the human side, I have been making it a personal goal to encourage more collaboration between the library and teaching staff. To me, the phrase learning commons, suggests collaboration and partnership in a welcoming environment. The human aspect is most important in my opinion. Moving to a learning commons model will require not only environmental and technological changes, but also a change in thinking by students, teachers, administrators, and parents. We are on the verge of changing the way we deliver education and the learning commons will be the hub within the school building.