I truly believe that one of the most important roles of the teacher-librarian is to be able to make connections and build relationships with the staff members with whom they work. It is through this process that the teacher-librarians builds the foundation for working collaboratively with other teachers. The teacher-librarian must first be seen by the other staff members as a competent teacher and one that can demonstrate and provide meaningful help, resources, ideas, and skills. When the teachers see the TL as capable of providing assistance with technology, they will be more willing to accept help and collaboration opportunities.
Image by Pixabay
Part of that connection is being able to understand and respond to the needs of the teachers including their abilities in ICT. The teacher-librarian must find a balance between encouraging the use of technology and not overwhelming the teachers who have less experience integrating technology into the curriculum. The following video helps us to understand the link between ICT, teaching, and learning.
Here are some ideas that I have used to motivate the teachers in my school to use ICT and how I respond to their technology needs.
Volunteer to present at a PD Day
Volunteering t present at a PD Day is a great way to showcase technology tools such as Popplet, Wordle, Animoto, Flipgrid, Kahoot, Plickers, Screencast-O-Matic, StoryBoardThat or Padlet. Present a quick overview of how to use these tools and have the teachers participate in a real lesson that uses the tools. This will help them to understand how the tool can be used and the student’s role in the activity.
Create “Collaboration Envy”
In an article about the school library newsletter, Teacher-Librarian Chelsea Simms mentioned the concept of collaboration envy.
“It is a way to inspire “collaboration envy” and bring new teachers on board. For example, a colleague may read about a member of your team who has been working with you to develop a new authentic research project for sixth-grade students. This idea may inspire your colleague to find out more about how she can scaffold the relevant skills into her own fifth-grade unit.” (Sims, 2016, p.29)
Find the full article here.
This can be applied as a way to encourage teachers to expand their ICT by showcasing the final product of a collaborative project that used technology and hopefully another teacher will want to learn about the technology used to complete the project.
Presenting at a Staff Meeting
Before the staff meeting ask the principal for a few minutes prior to beginning, to share something with the teachers. Use the time to share what the school division has to offer in terms of technology resources. If the school division has subscriptions to websites such as World Book Online or Ebsco databases, make sure that the teachers have the username and password to be able to use the websites. Be flexible and offer your time after school or during a teacher’s prep-time to show the teachers how to access digital resources. Take this opportunity to share new resources and books with the staff. Instead of presenting the new resources in the form of a Show and Tell, I use a tech tool to present them. For example, I presented new books from the library by creating a Google Slides show. I have also used Kahoot to engage the staff in learning about Copyright Matters.
Monthly Library Newsletter
Use the monthly newsletter to tell the staff about the various collaborations and projects you have been working on throughout the school. Highlight new technology that you have used and include pictures, tech tips, fun websites for kids, student and teacher technology successes, and training opportunities. A useful tool for creating a library newsletter is the following Ebsco Best Practices document. https://www.ebsco.com/sites/g/files/nabnos191/files/acquiadam-assets/Library-Newsletters-Best-Practices-White-Paper.pdf
Virtual Tour Sign-up Sheet
Post a sign-up sheet offering help with setting up a virtual tour. Our school division has canceled all school field trips because of the restriction with Covid 19. Offer the teachers the tech-alternative to leaving the school for special learning opportunities. The following website offers great ideas for virtual tours. https://thecanadianhomeschooler.com/5-canadian-virtual-field-trips/.
Send out a Survey
Email the teachers a survey or a form to fill out. Ask the teachers which tech programs they would be interested in learning about. Offer them a list of choices. Examples:
-Blogs, wikis, podcasting, social networking, digital storytelling, digital photography, audio and video, divisional digital resources, etc.
Survey Monkey offers customizable surveys on the following website. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WZ8MCM6
Works Cited:
Understanding ICT for Teaching and Learning, May 2015, video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOBnZpeurT8
Sims, Carol, Communication Tools, The School Library Newsletter, April 2016, http://teacherlibrarian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/8A-sims.pdf
I love the idea of “collaboration envy”! I guess that I’ve generated it before but I never had a name for it. Nothing like a good discussion in the staff to get things going.
Kathleen,
You have some really super examples of how to connect with staff to promote the use of ICT tools. I am looking at the ideas you have posted, and my cogs are turning, as I think about how I could incorporate some of these practices into my own LLC. As we move through the course, I am constantly thinking of how to connect ideas back to our final vision project, and I am imagining how I may build some “Collaboration Envy” by using our library website.
I also am fully on board with virtual field trips – have you seen this site. It’s pretty awesome.
https://www.exploringbytheseat.com/
Alison
You share some good ideas and strategies to support other teachers here. I am intrigued by the concept of collaboration envy. I have not heard that term used before and I will definitely follow up on it. Strategies that can be used to pull more people into the conversation are invaluable!
I love your term “Collaboration Envy”. I feel like I have been trying to build this at my school right now, but didn’t have a term for it. Thank you for sharing the document about creating a school newsletter! I had been playing around with this idea for ADST challenges, but something fully from the library is a great idea!
Hi Kathleen,
Thanks for sharing those web tools! I haven’t heard of Screencast-o-matic, Plickers or StoryboardIt so I’m excited to check those out. Your ideas for connecting with and supporting your staff are great. I love the newsletter idea to promote collaboration envy… much quicker than word of mouth!