Well it was an interesting experience going through this process and it took collaboration to find some clarity. First of all I began the way I always begin, with a purpose and a rationale. Putting into practice my creative ideas and big plans are usually overwhelming for me and sometime they shut me down completely!! I knew I was on the wrong design track but I was not sure how to get off. I spoke with my 19 year old son and said HELP!! I know where I want to go but not how to get there. He sat down with me as said first of all `a web site is like a building , it has a way in different ways to get places, a variety of places to meet, some places are busy, other are quiet, people are always coming and going.
1: You need to think of your entry in and what you want your community to see first.
HOME PAGE: news feed for : website updates and Check These Books ; The home page is updated weekly by what has been updated with in the website. For example if volunteers are needed for an event, the call for volunteers would show on the home page as well as in it`s specified page for
VOLUNTEERS AND EVENTS – is where parents and student can go to check a calendar for events such as author visits, fundraising book fairs as well as parent volunteer schedules and student volunteer schedules.
CHECK THESE BOOKS, is a way for me to show the community books which students might be interested in looking at targeted at 2-3 levels of reading. I am not sure yet , but I am thinking 3 books K-2, 3-5, and 5-7. These books would link into a page called
MY LIBRARY- which has access to either Good Reads or Shelfari which would extend this “if you like this book, you may also like this`. My Library also offers the opportunity for students to set up their own bookshelf at home which allows for them to explore in a su- page My World Library
THE GALLERY – is where the viewer can go to see videos or pictures of past events. We need an archive the great we are doing collaboratively in our Global Learner Workshops, Environmental Club and Cooperative teaching Units.

In the process of developing a window into the Montroyal Library, I must address the question; Who are the participants of this website.
My goal in the development of this site is to engage the community and transform the library into a learning commons which supports inquiry, lifelong learning, collaboration, literacy and leadership. By creating this site to be a living and constantly morphing space, my goal is to open the doors to
Parents: Parents want to be connected to their children`s learning. In the primary years there are opportunities to be in the classroom but as kids get older there is a bigger disconnect with the classroom. Parents can look into the library site to see what kids are reading, what reading is recommended, how they can support their child`s learning by accessing links to educational websites,how they can contribute to the library as a learning centre.
Students: Students don`t have the freedom to access the library on a regular basis. Most students will be in the library once a week for as little as 20 minutes. Due to financial constraints on school districts we are faced with diminishing library hours which are fighting for time against fine art programs. There is no winner in this fight. Students will be able to access the library site from their classroom computers. Now that all classroom teachers have smart boards I can access the entire school . Students will be able to engage in the library in a multitude of ways. They can see what is in the library, such as featured books each week, create their own virtual bookshelf ( a trophy case of the books they`ve read), make recommendations to other students and the librarians ( a sense of ownership ),see what other students are learning through the gallery, and have opportunities for leadership ( adopt a shelf ) .
Teachers and Support Staff: I would like teachers to be able to have easier access to books and websites which support their teaching, connect their students to the library via their smartboards, dictionary, national geographic, maps, gallery, …The list is endless.
Administration – Administrators can see how people are moving in this learning environment, and perhaps be able to answer how students are inquiring, communicating, demonstrating leadership, citizenship and developing their literacy.
My hope is that this virtual window into the learning centre of the school will bring value to all members of our school community and their experience of lifelong learning.

A few years back our PAC decided that our library needed a makeover. Paint, new shelving, new carpet and a new space for working. At the time I was working in the library doing booking exchanges with primary students for 20 minutes a week. It was a glimpse into our school library. When our teacher librarian decided to retire, I decided that I would pick up a share of his job and share it with our Vice Principle. This is not an ideal situation I know! We set up a committee to research what library spaces should look like to facilitate a 21st Century learning model of collaboration, inquiry, and literacy. I will return to school late August to see phase 2 of 4 completed. Very exciting and frustrating! (too slow) We split up our duties and I found myself teaching grade 2 social studies, (community) grade 6 leadership (notables project) and a Canadian provinces research project. Two of these units were in cooperation with the classroom teacher and one of them was on my own. It was a huge learning curve and I loved it. Throughout the year I tried to anticipate the needs of teachers and what they were teaching and set aside resources that they could incorporate into their teaching and enhance their classroom libraries. I was learning the content of the library. As I did this I was reinventing the wheel as I’m sure our former librarian did, but there was no record. Teachers had no accessible record of what they had borrowed.
I was also responsible for buying resources and books for the library. This was actually the most difficult part of the job as I felt a huge responsibility to know where the library was short on materials, where materials were outdated and what areas of curriculum needed more support. I spent hours researching, buying and cataloguing. When it came to introducing new books into the library I was a dismal failure. (that’s ok, I can handle it)
So why? Why do I want to develop a portal, a window into the library? With time restraints on librarians it is critical that we be smart with our time. Accessibility. I want the following things to be accessible to teachers, students, myself and my new partner in the library (with 0 experience!) and parents:
1: What is new? Early primary, K-2 Late Primary 2-3, Intermediate 3-5 and Upper Intermediate 6—7
2: Know your library: Where to find the books you`re interested in.
3: Leadership in the Library: Adopt a shelf program will allow students to be responsible for an area of the library. They are welcome into the library during any of the open hours to come in a tidy their shelf. They will also be asked to contribute to the website a review for a particular book in their shelf!
4. Classroom resources: Each teacher will have a list of resources that will be updated to the website. I am not sure how to approach this I need teacher consultation for this one!
5. Links to our district purchased ERAC bundle and learn 360 and the school library cataloge.
6. Websites to support student learning
7. Book trailers aimed at the 4 reading levels
8. Book reviews written by students for students. 9. Poetry page

So how do we move towards a district learning commons? This is the part that I find overwhelming.
As educators we are stretched thin. Many teachers in the library are working part time, sometimes in two schools, sometimes teaching on call and in my case running a complete music program K- grade 7
When I write this down, I think wow! Am I crazy for co-running a library and running a music program. But I am no different from other Elementary School Librarians. Our time in the library has been reduced slowly over the past 10 years from a full time library open the entire day every day to 2 years ago, open only 2 days a week and now open every day in the afternoons because I am available everyday to run the library.
I believe you have to have many good quality ingredients come together to make something good.
• Make a case at the district level to support the philosophy
• Network with district Teacher Librarians to create and support the philosophy
• Collect input from teachers , parents and administration
• Create a plan: timeline, building a virtual space.
• Who is to curate and maintain
• Time – initiate, collaborate, and curate.
• Funding for curation and collaboration

This week I have begun broadening my connected self. Up to this point I have primarily communicated through email and face to face. That’s it. Blogging is a very new concept for me. What stands out for me this week is that I am moving my way around in this connected space (blog) I am trying to express my understanding and learning with many people and it is very scary. It has been a long time since I have shared with teachers what I am learning in a writing format for all to see! It is clear to me that I need to try some new ways to communicate with my students. This is where I would like to start. I am not sure if Im ready for a conversation to take place but I would like to share ways to enrich what they are learning in the classroom and have a place to visit to share their learning in ways that don’t involve teacher direction. Sometimes I feel that I have to make big changes but what I really need to do is start with something manageable, something I can practice every day so that I can continue growing and making myself more connected. Once I can master this, and I don’t think it will take long, I would like to expand outwards to my colleagues in music and in the north van teacher librarians.
Why School: I like how Richardson asks us to take charge and begin making change. Our school has had administrators come and go over the past 12 years. Unfortunately many come to work at 8 and leave at 3. We have learned as a staff that it is up to us to develop a technology plan for our school, to lead the charge on professional development. We spent an entire year bringing various people in from around the district to do lunch and learn seminars in various technology applications: iphoto, imovie, inspirations, kidspirations, smartboard applications, digital photography, word,excel, website building (now completely out of date) Teaching staffs need to work together older teachers have a ton to offer even if they are scared of all the changes in technology and communication. Younger teachers bring an energy and new expertise in their digital literacy. If both groups can work together to be respectful and learn from one another a school will move together to embrace change.

Based on the model for Coquitlam School District their focus is to expect their TL’s to commit to the concept of a District Wide Learning Commons where teachers make a commitment to work together to “re-align” their school based libraries to a more centralized, virtual place which is curated by TL’s, provides service to teachers and students, and has a single point of access
School Libraries will strive to “connect as many people as possible with high quality Information for learning and decision making” , promote collaboration within schools and move outwards to others while focusing on reading, research, literacy, and resources.
A District Wide Learning Commons
*would be the product of our school based learning commons.
*front page of a virtual library – for educators, parents, students, support staff, and administrators
*share resources for teachers
*research sites approved and collected and recommended for grade level use
* be accessible from any device
*managed by ???
* promote literacy for grade level by teachers and TL’s
* create a space for teacher learning, and a dialogue for sharing
* affirm and promotes positive learning/teaching practice
* be an interactive learning and meeting space, a common classroom, a common office and a think tank”

District Wide Learning Commons –   Why ?

“Canada’s institutions are rooted in values of equity, fairness and accessibility. Whether we’re talking health care, education, or political participation, we pride ourselves on the vision that all Canadians have a right to receive the full benefits of citizenship, regardless of class, creed, or cultural background.

It seems both reasonable and important, therefore, that any honest discussion about Canada’s schools needs to begin with that vision of equity and how close we are to making it a reality:”

Do all Canadian students have equitable access to quality education?”1

We all know the answer is no.  There are many factors that influence equity, fairness and accessibility. Geography, where we live is a huge factor for Canadians.  Access to facilities, resources, technology, professional development, all play a role in how viable teaching institutions are. I believe that by centralising our learning commons we are embracing the best of what we have, the question is how do we begin?  From this question arises another do we begin with ourselves and move together or beginning together and move outwards.  I am not sure but I am beginning to believe that it happens at the same time. In my next blog how?, I will explore that concepts of collective learning  In Michael Fullan’s book “Stratosphere  Integrating Technology, Pedagogy, and Change Knowledge”  which is excellent and Canadian!

I was reading this book on the bus home yesterday and a man stopped and said to me, “ How do you like the book?  I answered “It’s really interesting and enlightening.” He responded I know Michael Fullan, he is an amazing writer and teacher”.  I would have liked to continue the dialogue, but he hopped off the bus.  Today as I was researching, I was lead to a website CEA (Canadian Educators Association ) and began reading very currant blogs about change in Canadian Schools and  sure enough Michael Fullan’s work was brought to attention immediately. More to come!:)

1 Hurley,Stephen,Equity in Our Schools; Transforming Education; CEA;< http://www.cea-ace.ca/blog/shurley/2010/09/3/equity-our-schools>