How a moveable space can ignite creativity in the classroom mind shift

Lopez, Carrie

CO

Pfau, P. (2014, November 26). How a moveable space can ignite creativity in the classroom mind shift [Web log post] Retrieved from http://www.blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/11/how-a-moveable-space-can-ignite-creativity-in-the-classroom/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign= Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28mindshift%29

Article with cool suggestions for creating a moveable space environment in a classroom or library, plausible ideas, too! A really cool way to re-look at classrooms and other learning spaces to make them more welcoming and flexible for different teaching and learning needs.

SAMR - 8 Cool Tools You May Have Missed at ISTE 2017

MaryLee Helm

IL

Common Sense Media. (2017). 8 Cool Tools You May Have Missed at ISTE 2017. Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/blog/8-cool-tools-you-may-have-missed-at-iste-2017?utm_source=Edu_Newsletter_2017_07_04&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly

The tools shared in this article move the learner on the SAMR model to Redefinition as they allow for learning to be student-centered and tasks to be completed in new ways. Students get to think outside of the box and have a tool in which to share their learning with others.

I was not able to attend the conference, but am always looking for emerging technologies that can be utilized in the library. This article offers a list of programs to start "playing" and possibly, introduce in a co-teaching lesson or through a genius hour period.

An Example of Co-Teaching

Mary Fobbs-Guillory

CO

Ainsworth, L. (2016). Teacher and teacher librarian collaborative inquiry. Teacher Librarian, 44(2), pp. 28-31.

This article gives a detailed account of a co-teaching experience between a 5th grade teacher and a teacher librarian in Canada.  The class was studying Inuit culture and the skill of questioning.  The article documents the process of the professionals planning the lesson together and then teaching the class in two groups.  This method is also called Station teaching because the students rotate from being taught by one professional to the next.  The teacher librarian created a short video on challenging vocabulary for students to view ahead of time and posted it to the class blog.  The teachers taught how to ask questions and provided them with question builder frames and rubrics.  They read books, facilitated discussions, and provided artifacts and art prints from the local museum for the students to analyze and develop questions about.

This article gave a very detailed account of the lesson, I felt as though I watched it.  It gave me a full picture of what co-teaching looks like and how fun and powerful it can be.

Lamb, A. (2016). Crowdsourcing and the School Library. Teacher Librarian, 44(2), 56-60.  Retrieved from:

http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=120783530&site=ehost-live&scope=sitear

This article discusses the usage of Crowdsourcing in the Library and how this method can be used to teach information literacy skills to students.  Student can participate in activities that can use crowdsourcing in which they can real world information to organize information.  This can be done with interesting activities where students can group information and data in a fun and interesting way.

KOHOUT, J., & GAVIGAN, K. (2015). The Years of Our Learning Commons. Teacher Librarian, 43(2), 18-23. Retrieved from http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=111875239&site=ehost-live&scope=site

The following article discusses the journey from inspiration to innovation as several librarian are inspired by our own professor David Loertscher.  This article discusses how two librarians who had attended a conference decided they were going to implement what they learned in their own school district. It outlines their project from the idea stage to full implementation within several libraries within their district and what they did in order to bring their idea to life.

What if Students Controlled Their Own Learning?

Kira Koop



ET = Educational Theory and Practice
CA = Curriculum Assessment
CO = Collaboration
AND

IL = Information Literacy and 21st Century Skills

Hutton, P. (2014). What if students controlled their own learning? | Peter Hutton | TEDxMelbourne. [Video] YouTube.com: TEDx Talks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMxqEkg3wQ0

This resource touches on elements of all four main sections of the course, but mainly resides within the category ET: Educational Theory and Practice. In this video, Peter Hutton describes the situation at his school, TC (for Take Control) in Australia, where the school experience is created by and for the students. Students sit on the panels for hiring teachers, they have input into the curriculum, and they choose their classes. There is no traditional homework assigned, instead, students are required to create a plan each week for 10 hours of "home learning" - whether that's completing a project begun in class, conducting an experiment at home, or any other idea. The school's default policy for questions or suggestions from students and parents is "yes", unless it costs too much, costs too much time, or interferes with another person's learning.

This is a radical approach to schooling, and it was fascinating to learn about this school's approach to learning. The idea that students are trusted to know what they wish to learn, after demonstrating a set level of literacy and ability, and are able to choose every single course they participate in (from 120 electives!) is wonderful and mind-boggling. I'm having difficulty imagining this strategy in place at the high school that I graduated from, which was a fairly conservative, religiously-based school. The more I think about it, however, the more I like the idea of empowering students in this way. Each child or teenager at this school must have a very defined idea of their own agency and their own power, which turns the current dynamic of authority-submissive in the classroom on its head. 

Crafting Professional Development for Maker Educators

Alicia Morales

CO

Graves, C. (2016). Crafting Professional Development for Maker Educators from Edutopia retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/crafting-professional-development-maker-educators-colleen-graves on September 2016. 

Summary: Maker spaces are a growing trend in many libraries, public or school, they usually involve hands on learning, crafts, and student collaboration, they are great ways to learn. This article's focus was taking this same concept, maker spaces for student learning, but instead of student learning, it's moved to teacher learning. Maker Spaces for Teacher PD's. Creating successful professional development should focus on getting teacher/learners involved in thinking about the process and creativity of learning. It an be messy yes, but in the end teachers experience what students experience when making content. 

Connecting Community Groups at the Library

Aubree Burkholder

CO

Jarecki, K. (2016, October). Connecting Community Groups at the Library. Retrieved from http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2016/10/connecting-community-groups-at-the-library/

Summary:

The library’s reach isn’t limited to just its walls. The library’s reach should extend to the whole community, and often times librarians can have a difficult time trying to find ways to connect with their surrounding communities.  This article gave great advice and real life examples of how libraries can organize programming and connect with community members and groups.

Evaluation:

I enjoyed this article because I feel that the number one jobs of public libraries should be to make connections to the community that it serves. 

"HANDS-OFF" TEACHING: FACILITATING CONVERSATION AS PEDAGOGY IN LIBRARY INSTRUCTION

Campbell, Renee

Reale, Michelle. (2016). “Hands-off “ teaching: facilitating conversation as pedagogy in library instruction. Digital Pedagogy Lab. Digital Pedagogy Lab. Retrieved from http://www.digitalpedagogylab.com/hybridped/hands-off-teaching/

Summary:
Discussion on the theory and practice of conversation-led, instead of librarian-led, inquiry. Based on the pedagogy of the radical educator, Paulo Freire, Reale outlines a librarian’s role to not just front-load inquiry “tools”, but to first join in conversation with students to find out what their information needs really are. She emphasizes the importance of creating a safe place, oftentimes by meeting them in their classrooms, “to lay a foundation for students to create their own process, to show them a way to begin, and to reassure them that it is okay not to know what you don’t know”.

Evaluation:
Reale’s article was the perfect balance of inspirational pedagogy and practical application. Coming from a MEd. program ten years ago that focused on social justice education, her article reminded me of why I love teaching. The organic methodology is what I have hoped librarianship could be.

The Flip: End of a Love Affair

Wright, S. (2012, October 8). The flip: End of a love affair. [Weblog post]. Powerful Learning Practice. Retrieved from http://plpnetwork.com/2012/10/08/flip-love-affair/

Summary: This Weblog post discusses a teacher’s experience using the Flipped Classroom and its effect on instruction and education. Wright references a previous post where she describes implementing the flipped classroom and how she enjoyed this method of instruction. The author still holds by everything in her previous post but reflects that the flipped classroom did not provide the “transformative learning experience” she wanted for her students. With a shift from a teacher-centered to a student-centered classroom, Wright’s students took more and more control over their learning. Over time, her role changed and her classroom became one of inquiry and problem based learning.

Evaluation: Wright’s experiences in the flipped classroom are comprehensive and enlightening. It would be beneficial if she expressed how she guided the class (if at all) towards its new manifestation or provided some guidelines on how to shift a class from flipped class to a problem based learning class. Wright could better explain how students took ownership of their own learning. Further, did this effect occur with only one cohort or subsequent classes? This post led me to wonder if Wright’s experiences are common or not or if the flipped classroom is just a step towards something else entirely, rather than an ending point for instruction. 

Project-Based Learning: Success Start to Finish

Karen Rogers

CA = Curriculum Assessment
CO = Collaboration

 Edutopia. (2012, May 23). Project-Based Learning: Success Start to Finish. Retrieved July 13, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OWX6KZQDoE 

Summary:  This is a great video about Manor New Technology High School where they have a completely project-based learning program.  The video demonstrates how teachers implement and create the projects for the classroom.  It gives a great amount of information about why you should choose project-based learning and how to assess the projects.

Reflection:  This video was very useful and I think it would be a great video to show staff who have doubts about delving into project-based learning because it actually shows the planning process and thought process behind teaching in this way.  A lot of the fear around this type of learning deals with teachers not having the knowledge on how to start planning or implementing these types of lessons.  Most educators agree that this type of learning is best for helping students to engage and learn in the classroom, but they don't know how.

Transforming pedagogy: changing perspectives from teacher-centered to learner-centered

Jana Brubaker

ET

Dole, S., Bloom, L., and Kowalske, K.  (2016).  Transforming pedagogy: changing perspectives from teacher-centered to learner-centered.  Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 10(1).

This article reviews the similarities and differences of problem-based learning and project-based learning, which was interesting to me.  Both are inquiry based, and have similar processes, but different results.  Project-based learning results in a product, or an artifact, while problem-based learning results in solutions rather than products.  One important similarity between the two is the role of the teacher as a facilitator or a coach.  Another similarity is that both are cross-curricular and emphasize student choice.  Both contain what is needed for deeper learning and content mastery.  This deeper learning transfers to other contexts.  

Although research is beginning to show that these models of learning produce deeper learning, they are difficult to implement in schools that are focused on standards-based learning and assessment.  Such a big change in pedagogy takes time.  Teachers need to be able to discuss, think about, and practice teaching in this way before implementing it.  The authors conducted a field study in which they offered an online summer course, with one week of field experience, on both models of learning.  After returning to the classroom, they interviewed the teacher participants to find out if they were using these models of learning. Sixty-four percent of the teachers said that they were still using the models due to the course and field experience and 100% said they would recommend those models to others.

Most of the teachers said it was a great learning experience for them.  They learned how to maintain order in an environment that appears more chaotic.  They were able to focus on critical thinking and problem solving skills in a new way.  They learned how to differentiate and allow students to take control of their learning.  Student participants also had positive experiences.  Classroom climate was reportedly better.  Student-teacher relationships improved too. Overall, the article helped me gain a better grasp of the differences between the two teaching models.

A School-wide Gamification Project Created by the Teacher Librarian

Gabrielle Thormann

IL, CO

Squires, T. (2016).  Student engagement through library-led gamification.  Library as Classroom.  Retrieved from:  https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/recording/playback/link/table/dropin?sid=2008350&suid=D.5D141781486B23E7660294861CD3B7

This entry is an audio recording available only through the Blackboard Collaborate system.  

This middle school teacher librarian had the support and opportunity of her administration and staff to create a school-wide gamification project.  She created teams of 7^th graders against 8^th graders, used digital technology, specifically Edmodo to create groups for communication between students.  Stories were built in the morning with the cooperation of staff, missions and goals were set, strategy cards to assist missions, and points allotted and listed in spreadsheets.   Students were also required to turn in a paper report of their work in the games, as well as other simple assignments and activities during the game.  Squires created a video about the game, and submitted to ‘Follett Challenge’ and won a substantial amount of funds. 

Summary

I’m always interested in hearing/reading about how teachers apply theory and create projects, and so found this audio recording interesting and supportive.

Note:  Here is the link to other talks also available through Blackboard Collaborate:

http://www.library20.com/page/classroom-recordings

Seven Surprising Benefits of Maker Spaces

Brandt, Alisa

Barron, C., & Barron, A. (2016, August 2). Seven surprising benefits of maker

    spaces [Blog post]. Retrieved from School Library Journal website:

    http://www.slj.com/2016/08/technology/seven-surprising-benefits-of-maker-spaces/

ET - Maker Spaces

IL - Motivation

This article reveals the seven physical and psychological benefits of maker spaces in libraries beyond meeting curriculum standards.

Focusing on making brings people into the present moment giving them a break from focusing on the past or future too much. Making is physical and gets people moving, stretching, and standing, which gets blood flowing. Making is dependent upon self-directed engagement and gives people motivation to complete a task rather than having to do a required task. This means that people are learning what interests them and leads to a greater sense of satisfaction. Making uses hand-based activities which gives people a deeper connection to their brain and the development of skills such as visual thinking and problem solving. Making improves mood, giving people a boost of happiness. Maker spaces in libraries create a sense of community and connection which can prevent loneliness. Making “prevents the habit of wastefulness” by salvaging old materials and creating something new (Barron & Barron, 2016).

Evaluation: We are all familiar with the ways that makerspaces in schools enhance student learning and help to meet curriculum standards. It is also helpful to understand the ways in which making, whether it is simple or complex, provides so many mental and physical benefits to makers. In a time when people are increasingly disconnected from others and from the physical and mental processes that keep humans healthy, making provides an opportunity to gain some of this back.

The Best Animation Tools, from CrazyTalk and Toon Boom to Free Web Apps

Alan Phelps

IL

Stern, J. (2011, May). The Best Animation Tools, from CrazyTalk and Toon Boom to Free Web Apps. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/2011/05/reviews/tech/the-best-animation-tools-from-crazytalk-and-toon-boom-to-free-web-apps/

Summary

This is a good informative review article discussing online animation tools and some of the ways they are being used in schools. The article talks about the importance of schools giving students a creative outlet and tools to express themselves but the bulk of the article is a review of the best pay and free online animation tools. CrazyTalk and ToonBoom were selected as the best pay tools and they recommend quite a few free online sites like AniBoom and CreaToon 3.0 as two of the best. They also review and recommend some non-animated comic strip creation tools that look fun and interesting.

Evaluation

I liked this article because it was non biased and informative. It gave good concise information on each tool or website and explained what they liked and disliked about each. I am particularly interested in this because next year I want to begin creating a maker space in the high school library at which I am the TL. Over the course of the next few years I want to use part of the library space for drawing, digital storytelling, animation, video making, and someday, maybe even 3-D printing. I will refer back to this article when I am ready to begin work on this space. While this article is from 2011 I think it is still relevant but I need to look into the recommended sites and tools to see if they are still at the top.