This week I have been focusing on the exploration phase for my final vision. The initial work that I had put into my final vision project led me to a bit of a wall, in that I could not continue to develop my final vision until I had some answers. When I considered how I could support the inquiry process with the use of technology tools, I realized that although I had some initial thoughts, my main goal when I started this class was to learn about new technology tools. I wanted to become sufficient with some new tools so that I could teach these tools to my students and allow them to explore and find new ways to express their learning. So this week, I decided to teach Padlet to a group of grade 2 and 3 students. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, I was worried about it not working for a large group of students, I worried if it would work properly, if it would be too hard for them to navigate and if the classroom teacher would think I was crazy for trying this with such young students. I suppose these are some of the thoughts I have when trying new things… doubt!

I did a very clear demonstration to the whole class and kept the initial exploration stage very simple. I wanted to ensure that the kids had an easy start so that they didn’t get discouraged. By the end of twenty minutes in the computer lab, all of the kids had successfully posted on to their group wall and were asking questions galore! They wanted to know how to change the background, how to add a picture, a video and even if they could try to make their own wall at home. It was a definite success and it went to show that these kids really are engaged by technology.

After the success with Padlet, I realized that it was time for me to do some exploration on my own. I wanted to know what else was out there, and how I could teach more tech tools to my students. After a good two hours of browsing, trying, creating, and troubleshooting, I felt like I had mixed success. Some mind map tools that were very successful for me included: Text 2 Mind Map and bubbl.us. These tools were easy to use, easy to navigate and I created mind maps, downloaded them and posted them to my final vision padlet within ten minutes. These tools would definitely be something that I could easily teach to elementary students.

My personal Text 2 Mind Map, created in just 5 minutes. Very easy to use.

Created with bubbl.us. Simple to use and quick to learn.

However, I also browsed many other tech tools that were not equally successful. The main challenges that I had were that they were not targeted towards children and even though they were easy to navigate, they were not kid friendly in terms of content. Some of these programs also cost money to use, or you could have free access but only for a limited amount of content. Some of these programs that were unsuccessful were Glogster, Scoopit and infogr.am. On my final vision padlet, I have reviewed and discussed some of the benefits of these programs. Here is my inital draft after the initial exploration I have done.

I hit a bit of a road block after the success with the mind map software. Many of the platforms I tried either required you to pay money to use their service or they were too complicated to use with children ages 7-12. Some of the technology tools I tried included:

Inforgr.am: This program helps you to design infographics and charts on a bright clear poster. This would be an excellent way for students to express their learning, but it seems like it would be more appropriate for middle or high school students.
Glogster: I have heard of this used in schools so I was interested in trying it out. It also requires a fee of approximately $40 per year for a single classroom use, so I wasn’t able to play around with it.
ScoopIt: This technology tool is similar to Pinterest in that it allows you to “Scoop” articles, pictures and videos from the web and then add it to your page that is based on a particular topic. Although this is a great teaching resource, it is not targetted towards kids and would therefore not be a great fit for supporting inquiry with young students.
My next focus for my vision project will be to focus in on kid friendly tech tools that I can explore further, keeping in mind my goal of supporting the inquiry process through the use of technology. If anyone has any in mind, please feel free to share by commenting on my blog. I will also be talking to fellow teacher librarians this week to focus in on exploring some final technology tools before I complete my final vision project and reflection. All in all, the time spent exploring has been very valuable and has forced me to critically evaluate these resources and consider if they could be valuable with elementary school learners.

“We can raise the teaching profession by sharing what works, by taking the best of what we do and hanging it on the virtual wall” (Richardson, 2012).

When I consider sharing my vision, three main groups of people come to mind: The staff at my school, the Teacher Librarian group in my District and the greater group of the web (including discussion forums and groups of teachers found on twitter, web 2.0 and beyond). One thing I know that I will take from this class is the necessity to share. Whether this is through avenues such as twitter or forums like tlnet, if we are just sitting back and browsing the web, we need to consider what we are contributing. I originally thought to myself, “I’m just a new TL, what do I have to share?” However, now I realize that I have many resources, experiences and opinions about being a teacher librarian and our role, and simply browsing will not add to my personal professional development the way that interacting and discussing will.

To reflect on my new understanding of sharing online, I think back to the beginning of our course and when I read the book by Will Richardson, “Why School?” His perspective on sharing helped me to see how I could do it and why it is important.

“When I travel to speak at conferences and schools, I’m always amazed by how relatively few hands go up when I ask, “How many of you can I find online sharing your best practices and best thinking about education?” The reasons for this are many: fear, lack of technology expertise, a culture of competition in schools. Regardless, the reality right now is that we have the ability to reach not just our kids, but kids around the world. We can raise the teaching profession by sharing what works, by taking the best of what we do and hanging it on the virtual wall. Many would argue that it is now the duty of teachers to do so. Sharing comes in many forms. It may be a blog where we reflect on our work, or a video that captures a process. It may even just be a PDF of the paper handout that was the foundation of an outstanding group project. The form almost doesn’t matter (although it must be digital). What matters is putting it out there so others can build on it, make it their own, or just share it in the staff office.”
Richardson, Will (2012-09-10). Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere (Kindle Single) (Kindle Locations 394-395). TED Conferences. Kindle Edition.

This excerpt from his book was the part that stood out to me the most. For some reason, throughout University it seemed competitive. If you have a great idea, keep it to yourself, so you can seem like the best teacher! Really, it is a very strange mentality. If we want to support the most children possible, why not share the idea so more students can benefit from it.

Here is an interesting video about how collaboration between teachers using technology resources really works!

Who is this Vision for?
As I work towards this final vision project and my final inquiry project with my Teacher Librarian District group through our BCTF inquiry group, I find these projects are certainly overlapping. Therefore, this vision project will also guide my final inquiry which will be presented to District administrators, teachers and colleagues. As I explore how technology can support the inquiry process, I find that I am learning more about how my vision can support other teachers. As I was exploring for my last blog post, I came across a great resource for tech tools which I posted on my blog. I then realized it would be helpful to share with my TL group on Twitter. It was so easy to quickly share this and then it was available to me whenever I needed it.

My final vision will ultimately be a part of my presentation to the district staff at our final Teacher Librarian meeting in June and I will also use it to present to my staff at a staff meeting. Each month I get a time slot to share with teachers. Because I will be starting a number of inquiry projects in the spring, this will be relevant and important information for the teachers at my school.

BCTF: The Points of Inquiry

This course has lined up perfectly with the start to my new position as teacher librarian. Throughout the weekly blogs I have been able to reflect on my current position, my choices and my goals for the future. As I begin to consider my vision for the future it circles largely around technology and inquiry. Within my school setting, teachers have begun to ask me about how they can use technology to support their units and how students can use a variety of platforms to find information and represent their findings. We have also begun to look at how we can use inquiry to support student learning and their individual questions. As students begin to take ownership over a topic or idea, they are likely to become more invested in their learning and in turn it becomes more meaningful and memorable. Collaboration has also become an important theme in that as a staff we are working together to explore how I can best be used as a resource for staff and how we can set-up the schedule so that everyone is receiving time in the library and time to collaborate with me on individual inquiry and research units. I will also be considering how this will work well for our staff as a whole, and how I can ensure that I am meeting the needs of the staff while also setting aside time to complete the administration work that needs to happen to keep the library running smoothly.

As I consider using technology to support the inquiry process, I realize that there are many questions that I still need to explore within this topic. I struggle with using technology for the sake of using it and being “current” and with using it for the purpose of creating meaningful learning opportunities. With so many different options for technology platforms, such as prezi, padlet, symbaloo, evernote, QR codes and so many more, I wonder, how do I choose the best and most applicable resource to support a lesson, unit or topic. I came across an excellent article which lists a variety of tech tools that support the inquiry process. Not only does it list and link to the different programs, but it explains which stage of the inquiry process they would be applicable for. I would highly suggest checking out this link if you are unsure about what tech tool to use to present a final product, there are many options here that I have never heard of and look forward to exploring. http://eduwebinar.com.au/web-tools-to-support-inquiry-based-learning

I am also curious about resource selection. Just like when we are selecting resources such as books, DVDs or magazines for our library collection, how do we decide which technology resources are good enough to be a part of our collection? When we choose websites, videos and articles to share, how does the selection process come into play and how can we be selective and have a full understanding of the possibilities of what we are sharing? Because we trust that a certain tech tool will serve a specific purpose, we need to ensure that we have tested that purpose and that we are the expert on what that tool can do. Therefore, when working with students and teachers we can ensure we are making the best use of the technology. Of course, troubleshooting will always be an issue with technology and perhaps depending on the resources in our school, we may not always be able to access the tech tool to its full capability. By speaking with other Teacher Librarians about what they have tried and used successfully helps to ensure that the choices we make in terms of technology selections are appropriate ones that meet our educational needs.

As I look towards the future and how I want to represent my vision, I am considering several sources. However, at this point, I am hoping to present my final project on Padlet. This is a tech tool that I am going to use with two classes in the spring, in order for them to share ideas on their inquiry project. Padlet is an online bulletin board that allows multiple members (a classroom for example) to post on the same page or their own page. You can also use it as a space to collect ideas. I have added a video below that discusses how the program works. It is very user friendly and has been used successfully with kids as young as grade two.

I hope to be able to use Padlet to express my exploration of my vision for the future by posting my thoughts, pictures and videos that I have across and hope that it will allow me to show the journey that I have been on since I’ve started this class and my new position.

Here is also an example of a successful Padlet done by a grade 1/2 class on: Wondering about the Arctic.

Created with Padlet

http://padlet.com/wall/oo0dr0jc6g

This reflection process has been very valuable and it is difficult to identify which topic resonated with me the most. Because I am working in a new position, each topic has such relevance to what I am trying to establish in my library that it only helps me to reflect more on where I want to continue to go in my library. Because I have also been working with my District TL group on an inquiry project surrounding using technology in the learning commons, I am quite focused on how technology supports the inquiry process. As I consider which technology resources support inquiry and research, I am finding that this course and my personal inquiry work hand in hand. Since I have found that these complement each other so well, I would have to say that my post on continuous learning truly resonated with me. I find that sharing with colleagues and listening to their experiences, really influences my next steps. Since this a new role for me, I truly value their advice and input. After spring break, I will be working with 3 teachers on individual inquiry projects in which we are going to implement technology such as Padlet and our library website with a variety of links, for the student’s final projects. I believe that it is important to support teachers with this type of transition as it may not have been something they have tried previously. If we work through the process collaboratively, hopefully they will become more confident and willing to try new types of technology to support their students’ learning.

As I have now settled into my position, my next step will be showing students and teachers new ways of supporting their students through the inquiry process. Below is a video from one of our district middle schools in which they have taken an inquiry approach to learning.

As I consider my key takeaways from my past reflections, I have come up with these key points:
1. Fostering a reading culture and a love of reading in a school takes time and is a process. By giving students multiple opportunities to explore reading in many different ways, helps them to make connections to literature.

2. When students get involved in their learning and create, they are more invested in the learning than if they went and memorized facts from the history textbook. Technology helps with engagement.

3. Making connections with a personal learning network helps me to reflect on my current practices and encourages me to try new things that I may not have thought of on my own. It also helps me to feel connected to other teacher librarians in my District. Connecting with people in similar situations through technology like twitter or our online class also promotes sharing, learning and professional development.

4. Collaboration is established by being supportive, open and willing to help others when needed. Building relationships with staff members creates trust and teachers will be more willing to approach you for collaboration opportunities when this has been established.

As I move forward, I know that the reflection process is a valuable one. In a new position, the opportunity to reflect on what I have done, what I will do and what is done by others has been incredibly valuable. I move forward knowing that I will continue to reflect, collaborate and ensure that I am asking questions when needed. This will help me to become the best I can be for my students and the staff at my school. Even after many years of experience, we need to remember that we are in a profession that is constantly changing and shifting. Ultimately we need to advocate for our role as Teacher Librarians and ensure that we are putting our best forward for our students.