My list for exploration was very long, as the more I considered what I wanted to know, the more ideas I started to wonder about! I suppose this is how inquiry is supposed to work! However as a whole, I’m really interested in exploring online learning and how I can take it to the next level at my school. Therefore after searching through countless websites, articles and videos, these are the ones that really gave me those ‘aha’ moments that I needed.

Differentiated Instruction
I am currently taking a Differentiated Instruction course towards the completion of my Special Education Diploma, and this video really brought both courses together for me. Ultimately, technology really supports differentiated instruction and engagement of all students. We have so many opportunities to engage students with technology and it appears that this school is doing just that. What I really appreciated about this video is that it showed the collaborative time between the teachers and how they truly valued this time. This is so important in advocating for technology and its success. I also appreciated how they mentioned that they did not believe they had more technology than many other schools but that they were just making very good use of what they had. It truly is remarkable to see how confident the students are interacting with technology, speaking and recording. It’s an inspiration for sure!

Video
Forest Lake Elementary School (2010). “Tech-Fueled Differentiated Instruction Engages Elementary School Students.” Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/stw-differentiated-instruction-technology-elementary-video January 25, 2014.

Student Engagement
This video helped me to understand how technology supports student engagement through a student perspective. It goes to show, even during this research process, the sources that stood out the most for me and that I have included here, were primarily videos. This is because there were clear visual examples of technology as a part of the learning. I could see it taking place and therefore, I could connect with how this could potentially work in my own school. It just goes to show, that I prefer technology when I’m learning too! Interesting connection for me today…

Video
The George Lucas Educational Foundation. (2012). “An Introduction to Technology Integration.” Retrieved from: http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-introduction-video January 25, 2014.

Online Classroom Learning
This ebook was one of our suggested readings, and although I haven’t read through the whole thing, I focused on chapter two which was called: Learning with Technology. It gave clear examples of how learning happens in a variety of forms (learning through experts, with others, through making and through exploring, etc.) but highlighted that “No technology has an impact on learning on its own right; impact depends on how it is used.” If I consider how this philosophy impacts my teaching, I have to agree that learning happens at a variety of times and in different ways for different students. Technology allows us to differentiate naturally and it allows the students to focus on their individual learning because it isn’t identical to everyone else’s but we need to use it effectively and meaningfully. I feel that I can really use this resource because it is honest and applicable for using technology in today’s classroom.

Ebook
Luckin, Bligh, Manches, Ainsworth, Crook & Noss. “Decoding Learning: The Proof, Promise and Potential of Digital Education.” (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/decoding_learning_report.pdf
January 25, 2014.

Collaborative Storytelling/Publishing
This website gives a good overview of what collaborative storytelling is and how it can be used in the classroom. It also gives some good suggestions of programs to use and gives some good suggestions for using the student’s voice (voicethread) to personalize the story they created. It was made fairly clear that the technology is there to support the writing and engage the student with the process. I’m really keen to try this out, so this was a good place for me to get the essential information. It was also aimed at Elementary school teachers so the resources listed are applicable to me.

Digital Storytelling 2.0: Connect, Create and Collaborate.
http://web2012.discoveryeducation.com/blog/index.cfm/2011/4/27/Digital-Storytelling-20-Connect-create-and-collaborate
I wanted to include this blog on Storybird because I’ve been a little unclear on how to use it and implement it into the school where I am working. This blog gives clear examples on how it is relevant and can be easily used in the school setting. I’m looking forward to giving this program a try!

Blog
New Teacher Boot Camp Week Three: Using Storybird
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/storybird-new-teacher-boot-camp-lisa-dabbs

In January, I started as a Teacher Librarian at a K-5 elementary school in the Saanich School District. I have been very busy settling into the library, familiarizing myself with the collection, and re-organizing and changing the layout of the library. It has been a busy few weeks, but I am keen to provide a new, fresh approach to the learning that happens in the library. I’m very lucky because I work three days per week in the library and because it is a small school, I am able to collaborate with all of the classes in the school. This allows me to work closely with all of the teachers and provide them with lots of resources and ideas to support the learning that is happening in their classrooms. Because of the flexibility I have, I have some definite goals and interests that I hope to explore further in this class.

Collaborative Publishing
The current school goals are engagement and outdoor learning and I feel that as a teacher-librarian, it is important to support the school goals. We have recently installed an outdoor natural playground and have a beautiful school garden that was a huge success last year. I believe that documenting the progress of the school and the learning that is taking place would be beneficial to promote our school as a great place to be. Using technology would ultimately increase engagement amongst the students and help them to document and publish their individual learning. Through the use of Wikis, blogs, digital story-telling and various other programs, I’d like to look at how this could be accomplished.

Researching Safely on the Internet
At the District level, we have access to some online databases such as World Book Kids and Searchasaurus that I have begun teaching to classes. We also have a school website that all of the teacher-librarians in the district collaborated on to create a website that students at all grade levels can use to access relevant websites on topics that are popular at a particular grade level. You can take a look at ours: http://prospectlake.sd63.bc.ca/course/view.php?id=41
This website links students to appropriate sites where they can find information on a particular topic. Ultimately, I think it is important for students to be able to research independently and therefore it is a goal for me to teach students how to safely access good information that is relevant and up to date.

Learning Commons
Our school district is transitioning into learning commons, which has been completed at the middle and high school levels. At the elementary level I struggle with what this will look like and how it will function. At this level we have smaller spaces, and the emphasis is still largely about books. I’d like to look into how elementary schools have transitioned to learning commons and what successes they have had with the changes they have made.

Personal Questions
How can I combine outdoor learning and technology?
How can technology help to improve overall student engagement?
How can I promote the use of technologies with staff outside of our collaboration time?
How do I transition the space to learning commons?
How can I better use technology to introduce new topics to students?
How can I foster inquiry and student centered learning in the library?

Key Words to Explore

collaborative publishing
learning commons
online learning
web 2.0
video sharing
wikis
podcasting
digital story telling
apple TV
icloud
voice and video recording
electronic classrooms
differentiated instruction
ipad/ereaders
ebooks
internet safety
student-centered learning
QR Technology
educational Apps
ethical online use

Resources to Explore
Blogs
Technology in the Elementary Classroom. Retrieved January 17, 2014 from: http://technology-in-elementary-classrooms.blogspot.ca/

Monkeying Around with Technology. Retrieved January 17, 2014 from:  http://monkeyingaroundwithtechnology.blogspot.ca/

Mrs. Lodges Library. Retrieved January 17, 2014 from:  http://www.mrs-lodges-library.com/blog/

Fried Technology: Blogging in the Classroom Retrieved January 17, 2014 from: http://www.friedtechnology.com/2012/10/blogging-in-elementary-classroom-from.html

Robin, B.R. (2008). Digital Storytelling: A Powerful Technology Tool for the 21^st Century classroom. Theory into Practice. 47: 220-228. Retrieved January 17, 2014 from: http://digitalstorytellingclass.pbworks.com/f/Digital+Storytelling+A+Powerful.pdf.

Jog the Web: Web 2.0 Tools for Kids. Retrieved January 17, 2014 from: http://www.jogtheweb.com/flat/z1O1GPxm4bCR/Web-20-Tools-for-Kids