The capstone project was a great opportunity to create something I’ve been thinking about for a while. I began noting down resources and ideas as soon as I read the capstone assignment at the beginning of the course, and I began talking to staff at the school to see whether they thought a virtual makerspace would be useful. I also sent out a few questions via email to ask what they notice students gravitating towards now, what they would like to see students doing, and if they or their students had suggestions for tools to include. This was a challenging moment, because the responses I got did not necessarily support my plan. When students had free time on computers, most of them chose to play games, not use creative tools. However, the one creative tool that was introduced and taught to several classes this year (Book Creator) was widely used.
I wondered if the results meant that a virtual makerspace was not needed, or if they weren’t using creative online tools because they didn’t know about them. Further conversations with classroom teachers showed that they were very interested, so I decided to go ahead. Our school year is wrapping up now, but I am eager to see how much use the makerspace gets next year.
The project gave me the opportunity to use tools like Padlet and Canva in new and creative ways. These are both tools I have explored a little bit in the past, but the way I’m using them now is more interactive and community oriented. One thing I learned is that I need to find a list of criteria from the school division for choosing online tools and creating student accounts, especially if I want to add more tools to the makerspace in the future or broaden it beyond “maker” tools.
This course has pushed my thinking in a few different ways. A couple years ago, I stepped back from social media, finding that it was taking up too much of my time and I wasn’t happy with what I was getting out of it. However, a few of my classmates posted on their blogs about using social media as part of their professional growth, and it made me want to try again. I’ve started a new social media account (on BlueSky) with some very specific boundaries and strategies to keep things balanced while also hopefully connecting with other TLs. I would love to know if any others from our diploma program are on there!
One key takeaway from the course is that technology has to be used deliberately. Ignoring new media may be a disservice to our students, but throwing tech tools around without thinking them through isn’t helpful either. I also really appreciated the inquiry format. I found that it took more time, but I also felt that I learned more and that the conversations with classmates were more authentic and interesting. This has me thinking about how to use more student-driven inquiry in my work with younger students. All in all, I really appreciated this course, as well as all the hard work from both Darcy and my classmates.
Students “need to be able to engage in iterative thinking, creative thinking, critical thinking, they need to know how to pivot, how to change, how to revise, how to persevere. They need to solve complex problems. They need to think divergently… The [maker]space is just the platform that facilitates it.” – Spencer, qtd in Gonzalez, 2018
When I started as the TL in my current school in September, I was surprised to find that there was a set laptop schedule where each class had devices booked once per cycle, rather than booking them on an as-needed basis. I went in thinking, okay, I won’t fight this in my first year, but this has got to change. Over the past school year, however, my perspective has gradually shifted. For some, especially those with busy classes, this is essential assessment time where they are able to with smaller groups of students. Other teachers carefully plan curricular research or creative ways for students to share their learning. And when I work with classes, it takes only a few minutes to get everyone logged in, since the students get regular practice.
I still don’t think we are always using the laptops well, but maybe the set schedule is an opportunity rather than an issue. I began toying with the idea of a virtual makerspace after seeing this one during a previous course. A virtual makerspace could be like the passive programming you find in a library, engaging students and building skills while allowing teachers some extra flexibility. I thought there was no way I would have time to make it this year. Enter LIBE 477B! Click the image below to see the virtual makerspace.
There were two other significant moments in the development of the virtual makerspace, both during professional development days. One was an exploration of play-based learning, while the other was called “Future Innovators” with Daphne McMenemy. Daphne spoke about how robots and computer science are not part of our curriculum, but they are excellent ways to teach Manitoba’s Global Competencies: Creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, connection to self, and citizenship.
Created with Canva. Click to learn more about Manitoba’s Global Competencies.
At one point my group was exploring some robots, and we were talking about coding the robots to have a conversation. We asked Daphne about getting them to interact and she threw in, “of course, I would probably have partners work on this and have each of them write the code for one of the robots. That way they have to collaborate on the timing” (McMenemy, 2026). This was a light bulb moment for me: we can target specific skills by putting a constraint on the task.
This meant that a collection of tech tools would not be enough. I needed some prompts that added constraints. The virtual makerspace is fun and pretty, but the prompts are where the real magic happens (I hope – I haven’t tested them yet!). The prompts are for what Dale Dougherty, creator of Make: Magazine, calls open projects (2016, p. 189), allowing students to use their own ideas or teachers to tailor the task to their specific curriculum. Most of these do not say what to make, but rather how to make it. Teachers can certainly have students use the makerspace without the prompts, but my hope is that the prompts will add an extra layer to make the learning richer and to target some of those global skills that come up in every subject and every stage of life.
Geist and Webb point out that time is one of the factors limiting teachers from using more play-based learning in the classroom (2024, p. 45). The openness of the prompts will allow teachers to explore curricular play-based learning in a very accessible way, using time that has already been reserved. The prompts can also be used with tools and activities outside the makerspace (like physical blocks).
I began a list of prompts to share with teachers and added some notes. This evolved into a spreadsheet:
Click on the spreadsheet to view all the prompts.
Decisions, Decisions
I chose Canva as my makerspace platform at the recommendation of our divisional technology consultant. Although it’s not focused on building websites, it was easy to make something simple and accessible. It has a huge library of photos and graphics available. Additionally, it has been reviewed and approved by our school division. The makerspace can be published online in a way that allows students to click links but not edit the design. I can make and publish changes, and I can add collaborators. I’m also able to see analytics on which links have been used the most, so I can use the data to inform any changes I make.
As the Manitoba Framework for Learning points out, when students can be “co-designers of their learning experience”, they practice connection to self, one of the six global competencies (Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning, n.d.-b, Reflective Questions section). To give students choices, I included multiple tools for each category and made sure each category had something simple enough to be used with younger students. These are labelled with a “K-2” sticker. (When I introduce this to students, I’ll be sure to let them know that there are many interesting things older students can do with those tools, too.)
When deciding which tools to include, I set the following criteria:
Can be used without signing in (or with a Microsoft account, which our school already uses)
Open enough to be used for a variety of tasks
Intuitive/easy to use
Minimal & appropriate ads
I also added a Padlet for sharing screenshots of student work, which I will moderate. I am hoping that this will build community, help students come up with ideas, and serve as some documentation of how the virtual makerspace is being used. This also fits with recommendations from the MB Framework for Learning to teach about a “positive digital footprint” by creating opportunities for students to share their work online (Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning, n.d.-a, Culture section).
Launching the Virtual Makerspace
Many of the tools are ones I’ve seen students use before, but the prompts are untested. I am planning to ask 2-3 teachers to pilot the makerspace with me before we release it to the whole school. During a pilot, I might:
Let students explore the makerspace briefly without instruction
Teach basic skills like drag and drop, copy, paste
Teach how to take a screenshot and add it to the Padlet
Teach students how to switch tabs in a browser
Have students collaboratively create some expectations or norms for the makerspace that could be shared with the rest of the school
Teach students to recognize and ignore ads
Have students try out some of the skill-building prompts
The pilot will give me insight into how much prior knowledge students need to use the tools well and how much explanation is needed for the prompts. That will then inform my recommendations to teachers who are interested in using it without my direct support. Perhaps I need to go into each classroom to introduce the makerspace before they can use it independently, or perhaps they need a few how-to videos (such as how to add to the Padlet).
In considering how to launch the makerspace with students, I appreciated the advice from The Passive Programming Playbook. While the book is intended for physical programs in public libraries, much of it applies to my situation. They recommend keeping staff informed about the programming and even having staff join in to model and encourage participation (Willey & Amaral, 2021, p. 30). I would love to have some time during a PD day to introduce the makerspace, share the results of the pilot, and have staff try it out, then post their creations in the Padlet. They could also brainstorm ideas for new prompts or ways to tailor the existing prompts to their grade level.
Looking to the Future
Additional next steps include translation into French (we are a dual-track English and French Immersion School) and making the prompts into cards that teachers can keep in their classrooms. Willey and Amaral attest that “programming has replaced circulation as the gold standard by which we measure the effectiveness and reach of public libraries” (2021, p. 53). While circulation is still a very important standard in the elementary school library, the virtual makerspace as passive programming allows for a new kind of participation and interaction. Willey and Amaral recommend making connections between passive programming and other things going on in the library (p. 32), and suggest participatory options such as collecting book reviews from patrons (p. 34). (Accordingly, the book review tool is a simple Mircrosoft form which will allow me to print off the reviews students write and post them in the library.)
Data to indicate how things are going might come from site analytics, the Padlet and Microsoft form, surveys for teachers, and informal conversations and observations. The most difficult thing to measure will be whether students are actually developing the Global Competencies because of the virtual makerspace, and I would be interested to hear ideas of how best to do this.
Feinstein et al describe several “hallmarks of making” that are elements of Maker culture. Maker culture is (among other things) communal, interdisciplinary, empowering, a form in open-ended inquiry-based learning, creative, and playful (2016, pp. 5–6). It is my hope that the prompts and Padlet will make students’ free laptop time more communal, that the tools will make it easier for teachers to incorporate interdisciplinary and play-based learning activities, and that the choice and accessibility of the tools will be empowering for students. When we begin to develop our physical makerspace, I hope that many of these elements will already be in place. But that’s a project for another day.
References (for both the blog post and maker prompts):
Feinstein, L., DeCillis, M. D., & Harris, L. (2016). Promoting Engagement of the California Community Colleges with the Maker Space Movement. Californial Council on Science & Technology. https://ccst.us/wp-content/uploads/2016makerspace.pdf
Geist, E., & Webb, D. (2024). Where Are the Blocks? A Case for Blocks in Primary and Elementary Classrooms. Childhood Education, 100(6), 44–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2024.2425269
Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning. (n.d.-d). Stories of Practice. Government of Manitoba. Framework for Learning: Manitoba’s Global Competencies. Retrieved June 18, 2026, from https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/framework/sop/index.html
The timing of this post is interesting for me. I am not working on this at home, because our power and Internet have been out for nearly two days now (we had a series of significant storms recently, and Manitoba Hydro has had their hands full with repairs to power lines all over southern Manitoba). So as I write this, my access to the Internet is more restricted than usual.
This situation, while inconvenient, has me reflecting on my privilege when it comes to the digital divide: I have access to multiple devices and generally reliable high-speed Internet, and my partner has significant technical knowledge (plus a collection of backup batteries). I live in an urban setting with friends, family, and a public library nearby, so even with my power out, I have somewhere to go to do my homework (thanks Mom!).
This morning I was thinking about the mental load that gets added when our power goes out. I was planning out what I wanted to look up when I got to my mom’s (Power restoration estimate? Is the cheese in my fridge still edible? Should we buy a generator?) and collecting devices and backup batteries for charging. For me, this is an unusual inconvenience, but for folks without regular access to technology, it’s a daily reality.
That was my initial understanding of the digital divide: lack of access to devices and Internet. Given my position of privilege and the fact that we have devices at school for students, it’s not something I’ve thought much about since dealing with remote learning during COVID. I appreciated the opportunity to dig into it deeper.
There are a lot of facets to the digital divide. Digital divides “are embedded in social economic, and cultural contexts, and intersect with categories of race, class, gender, and age” (Brisson-Boivin, 2021, para. 32). In my research, I found the e-book From Digital Divide to Digital Inclusion which discusses “the lack of proper ICT literacy, the lack of access to high-speed Internet, and the still unsatisfactory level of e-services” (Tomczyk et al., 2023, p. 1) in different countries around the world. Each chapter is an analysis of academic literature on digital inclusion in a different country. While I would have loved to spend time reading more of it, for the purposes of this post I focused on the chapter on Spain, which looked specifically at the digital divide in education.
The authors identified three specific aspects of the digital divide: the access gap, the usage gap, and a divide in the quality of use.
The access gap: lack of access of devices, Internet, or both. This is affected by geography (for example, rural areas may have less access) and/or socio-economic status (Gabarda Méndez et al., 2024, p. 519). In addition, some disabilities make devices difficult to use without adaptations (p. 536).
The usage gap: lack of skills. This is related to age, with older adults less likely to have the needed skills. In some cases, it is also related to gender (p. 519-520).
Divide in quality of use: this is where someone has both skills and access but does not take advantage of the options available. The authors discussed how teachers may have skills and access to EdTech, but may not use it, while others do take advantage (p. 520). This can lead to a gap between students from different classes or schools.
This last one is the divide that I see most often in my school division. We do have access to devices for students, and most teachers have at least basic tech skills (email, Microsoft Office tools, etc). However, there are some teachers who shy away from technology even when it could make their teaching more accessible and inclusive to more students. On the other end of the spectrum, there are some teachers who use every new tech tool they find, without taking time to evaluate its usefulness and effectiveness for their goals.
Resta says the “knowledge divide” is more critical than the “digital divide” because providing access to devices and the Internet is not enough for digital inclusion. He names 5 factors essential for digital inclusion:
Basic literacy skills
Computer hardware, software and connectivity to the Internet
Meaningful, high quality, culturally relevant content in local languages
Creating, sharing, and exchanging digital content
Educators who know how to use digital tools and resources in pedagogically sound, culturally responsive ways (qtd in Fryer, 2007)
The first and last of these are aspects that teachers can directly influence. The authors reviewing the situation in Spain said that while teacher education does happen, there are many new projects that don’t necessarily have continuity. They recommended “depolitization” of training (Gabarda Méndez et al., 2024, p. 522) so that teachers don’t have to jump from one tool to another. I believe that teacher librarians can have a significant role in this, using many of the strategies we discussed in our last blog posts. We can support our teachers in tools, strategies and skills that can last through the ups and downs of what is trendy in the moment. Addressing this part of the digital divide with educators will result in skill modeling in classrooms, as well as more opportunities for students to use technology that is relevant and helpful, building their digital literacy skills.
References:
Brisson-Boivin, K. (2021, March 3). Digital and Media Literacy in Changing Times: What MediaSmarts Wants Us to Know [Interview]. Canadian School Libraries Journal. https://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/digital-and-media-literacy-in-changing-times-what-mediasmarts-wants-us-to-know/
Fryer, W. (2007, March 29). The Changing Landscape of the Global Digital Divide by Paul Resta. Moving at the Speed of Creativity. https://www.speedofcreativity.org/2007/03/29/the-changing-landscape-of-the-global-digital-divide-by-paul-resta/
Gabarda Méndez, V., Sánchez Rivas, E., Rubio-Gragera, M., & Ruiz-Palmero, J. (2024). Analysing the Digital Inclusion in Spain from a Systematic Literature Review. In From Digital Divide to Digital Inclusion: Challenges, Perspectives and Trends in the Development of Digital Competences. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-7645-4
Tomczyk, Ł., Guillén-Gámez, F. D., Ruiz-Palmero, J., & Habibi, A. (Eds.). (2023). From Digital Divide to Digital Inclusion: Challenges, Perspectives and Trends in the Development of Digital Competences. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-7645-4
“When we design support that honors teacher variability, we make implementation more likely, burnout less likely, and impact more sustainable.” (Holloway et al., 2026, p. 10)
The role of Teacher Librarian is a unique one. As Godfree and Oddone say, teacher librarians “lead from the middle” (2023, p. 49).
Leading from the middle gives us interesting perspectives on school culture and what individual teachers need. While teacher librarians can certainly run traditional professional development such as presentations, we can also drive professional learning through conversations, modelling, and co-teaching, tailored to individual teachers and classrooms.
Personalized Learning
Lewis and McNamara highlight the importance of personalizing learning to staff members’ needs. They note that collaboration is key and that in their experience, “it was particularly helpful for teachers to be learning from a colleague with whom they had an ongoing relationship and daily access” (Lewis & McNamara, 2021, p. 54). Godfree and Oddone agree, pointing out that “teacher librarians can mentor teachers in many ways, including through the co-design of creative and innovative curriculum and assessment”(Godfree & Oddone, 2023, p. 48).
I’ve seen opportunities for this in my own work this past school year. For example, one teacher moved to Canada recently. She has a lot of experience teaching in a country with a very different school system and different access to technology. Some of the models and pedagogies that teachers in my school division have been learning for years are completely new to her. She is very open to learning new tools and has initiated co-teaching with me several times this year.
In contrast, another teacher is very experienced in our school system. She is has participated in professional development from our school division for years is comfortable with her current teaching methods. This year, however, many students in her class have significant academic needs, and she has found herself looking for new tools to support them, which has meant stepping out of her comfort zone when it comes to technology.
These are two excellent teachers with very different professional learning needs. It would be challenging to support both teachers during a staff meeting presentation. But with a co-teaching model, we are able to work toward two very different goals.
Agency and Relationships
My research this week emphasized that professional learning through collaboration requires a relationship between the teacher librarian and other educators. The TL needs to honour the teacher’s professional knowledge and experience, while the teacher needs to trust the TL’s knowledge of curriculum, school wide priorities, best practices, and resources (Baker, 2016, p. 152). This also brings us back to the TPACK model, combining a TL’s technological and pedagogical knowledge with the classroom teacher’s pedagogical and content knowledge.
A co-teaching approach to professional learning gives teachers agency in their own growth. Goals can be co-constructed by the TL and classroom teacher (Holloway et al., 2026, p. 11) to focus on the needs of the students in the class rather than focusing on a specific teaching strategy (Knight, 2026, p. 16). “Co-creation [of goals] removes the perceived status of the coach as the “expert,” promotes shared ownership of outcomes, and acknowledges the educator’s expertise” (Holloway et al., 2026, p. 11).
Collaboration designed around the educator’s context and needs, when done well, results in educators building new skills which they can put into practice immediately (Lewis & McNamara, 2021). And as Holloway et all put it, this makes “implementation more likely, burnout less likely, and impact more sustainable” (2026, p. 10)
Both modeling and teamwork are strong themes in this video on educational leadership from ISTE + ASCD:
Other Professional Development Formats
When it is time to lead other types of professional development, the work we’ve done collaborating with teachers can inform our decisions in terms of format and content. Jennifer Gonzales has an excellent list of professional development ideas that promote educator agency in her blog post/podcast episode “OMG Becky. PD is Getting SO MUCH BETTER!” In my context, I could create a choice board that includes technology tools for language learners and an overview of the pedagogies and frameworks used on a regular basis in our school division, or work with teachers who could then share their learning in a lab classroom. This would allow for differentiated professional development that supports a variety of teachers, who can then go on to better support the students in their classrooms.
Baker, S. (2016). From Teacher to School Librarian Leader and Instructional Partner: A Proposed Transformation Framework for Educators of Preservice School Librarians. School Libraries Worldwide, (Journal Article), 143–158. https://doi.org/10.29173/slw6911
Godfree, H., & Oddone, K. (2023). Teacher librarian as mentor: A vision for improving school outcomes. Australian Educational Leader, 45(1), 48–51. (163441383).
Holloway, J., Church, N., McKee, K., & Musiowsky, T. (2026). From Professional Development to Professional Learning: Intentionally designed support structures shift professional learning from one-off events to sustainable daily practice. Educational Leadership, 83(8), 8–13. (193675256).
Knight, J. (2026). How to Coach When Time Is Short. Educational Leadership, 83(8), 14–20. (193675257).
Lewis, M. A., & McNamara, K. (2021). A certified school librarian is a professional learning powerhouse. The Learning Professional, 42(4), 52–55.
“If we see challenges as opportunities for learning, if we engage our curiosity whenever we’re presented with an obstacle, we’re more likely to find solutions. This habit and disposition help us not just survive adversity but thrive in the aftermath.” -Elena Aguilar, Onward
I have been lucky with my in-person professional development and my local personal learning network (PLN). My school division has a teacher-librarian in every school, and we meet regularly throughout the year for professional development, to share what’s working, and to work through challenges together. I’m thankful that my school division has prioritized that time to learn and connect. I think that this diploma program is also a great opportunity to make some connections.
When it comes to more self-directed learning, I am a teaching nerd (like many others in our program, I’m sure!). I have a collection of teaching podcasts to which I subscribe, and favourite teaching blogs. During a good year, it’s not unusual for me to go down a rabbit hole about some teaching strategy one evening, then enthusiastically try it in class the very next day. Then, inevitably, a tough year with a tough class comes around, and I burn out.
When dealing with burnout, I’m in survival mode, and there is no bandwidth left for professional learning. I’m actively working on setting boundaries and making changes (the shift to the library is part of that), but in general, I tend to be in either feast or famine mode for professional learning.
Interestingly, though, I find that learning is also part of burnout prevention, an experience supported by Elena Aguilar in Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators (chapter 9). I want to do regular professional learning, I have a ton of tools and resources at my disposal, but what I am missing is a strategy. How can I make it a regular part of my routine, and set boundaries in place so that I can still focus on the other parts of my life and my role?
One key realization for me recently was that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I have, at times, had a collection of blogs or podcasts that I followed but couldn’t keep up with. But keeping up with them shouldn’t be my goal. Instead, regular learning should be. I think I need a routine that prioritizes professional learning for a few minutes each day or each week. I haven’t found something yet that works for me. Maybe pairing it with lunch or with a snack at the end of the day would be good? If you have a routine that works for you, I’d love to hear about it!
Now, on to other strategies and resources:
Feedly is a tool that I learned about through this course that I can see being useful in the future. I can compile a list of blogs through Feedly and skim through it regularly to find articles of interest. This would fit well with my plan of reading/listening to professional resources for a few minutes each day. I’ve already added several from our course extended reading list.
Email newsletters are another great format. There are so many organizations creating and curating resources for educators, and many of them are tailored to specific contexts. For example, the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba has a newsletter for educators with many ideas and tools that would be applicable both in Manitoba and in other parts of the country. Similarly, Manitoba Council for International Cooperation and Canada’s History both have great newsletters specifically for teachers. Many EdTech tools have newsletters highlighting features, PD opportunities, and ideas to use their tools. I already have all these sorted into a folder in my email; now I need to plan time to actually look at some of them!
I have a couple inquiry-related books set aside to read over the summer as well: Dive Into Inquiry by Trevor MacKenzie, and Ladybugs, Tornadoes, and Swirling Galaxies by Brad Buhrow and Anne Upczak Garcia. These fit with one of my current goals: learn more strategies to support inquiry for language learners.
Writing this post has given me the chance to think through a possible strategy. I’m going to try looking at a newsletter or blog post each day while I eat a quick snack. I’m looking forward to seeing where it takes me!
Buhrow, B., & Garcia, A. U. (2006). Ladybugs, Tornadoes, and Swirling Galaxies: English Language Learners Discover Their World Through Inquiry. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781032681399
