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Today, in the middle of a class, it started to rain - INSIDE my library.
Since school started, we've had 2 tornadoes, 1 waterspout and a hurricane - all of which left my library unscathed. Then today, we were undone by the air conditioner -which decided to spring a leak. Naturally, I didn't have time to capture the event on film as it was occurring, but I did get a shot after the initial gush had soaked a bank of 6 computers, filled 2 trashcans and dwindled to a trickle. Oi.
When it was all over, a student said: "Mrs. LaGarde, this is the most exciting spot in the whole school!" Then his friend said, "yeah, even when water isn't pouring out of the ceiling!" And I'm inclined to agree.
Since school started, I've seen 46 classes, checked out just over 1,000 books, taught 2 workshops and plotted countless collaborative schemes with a gaggle of classroom and library teachers alike. As busy as it's been, I can tell that this is going to be a great year.
Even so, I can already feel myself getting a little overwhelmed. The challenge for me will be to not end up like these ceiling tiles: split open by the weight of everything I have to carry. I don't know about you, but I suffer from the disease of not only wanting to do everything, but of also wanting to do *everything* perfectly - or at least better than it's ever been done before. Some people call that over achieving. Others call it annoying. Either way, I know it's not sustainable.
So, this year as I attempt to take over the world, (with no assistant and no budget), I'm going to try to remember the day the ceiling burst open. Hopefully, that image will remind me to:
Set realistic goals.
Cut myself some slack.
Ask for help when I need it.
Breathe.
In the meantime, I'm grateful for an exciting start to the school year and a (mostly) dry library that refuses to shrink in the face of one disaster after another. I'm not sure what the rest of the school year will bring, but I say "bring it." I'm ready.
A recent post by Doug Johnson, in which he posits that librarians are often regarded with distrust by teachers/admins, has gotten me thinking about how and why I share data.
While I like to think of my library as incredibly open, I recognize that I'm not "great" at sharing data throughout the year. Like most librarians, I create an annual report in the spring and share it with teachers, admins and, really, anyone who will hold still long enough for me to hand them one, but my efforts to share data throughout the remainder of the year are inconsistent (at best). This year, one of the ways I'm combating my previous half-hearted attempts is through the creation of a data wall: a place where I can publicly follow some of Doug's advice about transparency:
Don't wait until the end of the year to file an "annual report." Keep a running list of total numbers of items circulated, students using the library, classes you've taught, etc. Make it public. If the statistics raise questions, ask them.
To be honest, I decided to do this last spring, when budget talks were running at a fever pitch and I was looking for new ways to prove my worth. To my way of thinking, transparency is a form of advocacy. The distrust that Doug speaks of in his post is what leads budget cutters to our doors. Doing good work simply isn't enough; we also have to make the world aware of all the good work we're doing.
Despite the fact that my gator (our school mascot) looks a whole lot like an armadillo in lederhosen, I'm pleased with the final result because it provides me with the first step in system for getting information out there. While I've never tried to hide data about what's happening in the library, without publishing mechanisms in place, sharing it became something that I did only when a) I thought of it and b) I had time (and we all know how often that is). What's more, my guess is that many librarians are in the same boat. Without a system for sharing, it simply doesn't get done.
So, along with all the curriculum and collection planning I'm doing these days, I'm also constructing a data sharing plan. In addition to my data wall, I'll be posting more information about what I do, how I do it and who I do it with on my website, our MTAC's wiki and through submissions to our school system's monthly newsletter. Additionally, I'm planning to hold some contests throughout the year in which students make predictions about how many books we'll be able to buy with the amounts we're allotted or how many classes the library will see in a given month, etc. We'll have to wait and see how it all pans out. The one thing I know for sure, however, is that, (for me anyway), it will take more than just the desire to be transparent in my practice to make it happen - it will also take a plan and a process for sharing data in order for me to realize that goal.
All of that said, I'm the first to admit that I am no expert. I'd love to hear about how other folks share data and create a transparent library environment. If you'd had success in the past or are trying something new this year, please let me know. I firmly believe that when we share, we're all made better.
I ran across this video a couple of weeks ago and it has been rolling around my head ever since. I love its wordless, captivating, 75 second message - it's been the perfect accelerant to the cognitive kindling I've been trying to spark for weeks now. As summer officially draws to a close for me this week, I've been trying to light a fire under the mountain of to-do lists that I keep making for myself, and I think this might just be what the doctor ordered.
Every time I watch it, I think... "what if school was more like this?" What if?
What if every time we created an environment/opportunity for students we were guided by the desire to make magic; to create an experience our students will never forget; to create learning that is:
active
participatory
messy
inquisitive
authentic
joyful
What if?
Obviously, we can't travel the 38 thousand miles, or to the 11 countries, it took to create this video as we tackle a new year with our students. And clearly, it's tough to make magic on a fixed schedule, with no assistant, no budget and [insert obstacle here]. But, frankly, the alternative strikes me as quite a bit harder to swallow.
When I was a first year teacher, my mentor teacher asked me what I thought about giving my students the opportunity to veer away from the whole class novel in favor of choosing their own reading. I can remember distinctly sitting on the sofa in the back of my room and saying, "I don't think I can do that." Without judgement, she simply said, "Ok. Let's talk about what you can do, then." It would be years before I got to the point where I could give up a prescribed common text, but her wisdom has stuck with me.
Recently, Buffy Hamilton has been speaking and writing about enchantment as a force for learning in the library and I believe this a branch from that same tree. Her message of tapping into student passions as a means of fueling learning is one that resonates deeply with me. That said, while I may not be able to make every learning experience look like the ones in the video or fill every lesson with enchantment, I'm definitely ready to start thinking about what I can do.
Having not been able to shake the "I had no idea librarians could do this!?" reaction I received at last week's Teaching Fellows Conference, I decided to create a flyer that I could share with program administrators at both the K-12 and collegiate levels - something flashy and fun that might, if nothing else, plant the seed that school librarians are more than just book hoarding shushers.
Making these flyers is always fun. However, the entire time I was putting this one together, I was keenly aware of the fact that I was once a classroom teacher who thought school librarians were irrelevant - until someone proved me wrong. During my ten years in the classroom, I worked with 4 different school librarians at 3 different schools - add those numbers together and it might double the number of times I took my own students to the library during my entire tenure as a classroom teacher. To this day, I have no idea if the librarians at my schools wanted to collaborate with me. While I knew they were all smart, funny and charming people, I couldn't tell you if they were master teachers, technology innovators or even reading pied pipers. They may very well have been all of those things too, but if they were, I didn't know it.
Looking back on it now, I can see several possible reasons why I didn't get the message that, as a profession, school librarians were not only capable of working with me, but they also very much wanted to.
Teacher Isolation: As a classroom teacher, I was deeply entrenched in my own world. I spent so much time worrying about what was happening inside my classroom, I sometimes forgot there was a world spinning outside of it.
Teacher Education #Fail: If my own teacher education program emphasized instructional partnerships of any kind, I forgot to sign up for that class. Collaborating with other professionals was not a skill that I was taught in teacher school.
Librarian #Fail: This message was not being sent by the school librarians I worked with. Or if it was, not very effectively.
Whatever the reason, however, the bottom line is I had no idea I could and should be working with school librarians - and a result, regardless of how great I was, my students missed out.
Again, it all boils down to this: I was once a classroom teacher who thought school librarians were irrelevant - until someone proved me wrong. No flyer, regardless of how fabulous it is, will change the minds of those who see us as outdated and ineffective. For me, it wasn't until a dear friend of mine decided to leave the classroom and wander into the library that I started to think about school librarianship differently. What's more, it wasn't until he started to share with me the things he was doing with teachers/students that I began to see myself in that role.
As much as this graphic is a love letter to new teachers and principals (and anyone one else who might see it), it's also a reminder to those of us who live in libraryland already: Just about all of us will encounter someone this year who believes, for whatever reason, that school librarians are irrelevent. Are you and your practice ready to prove them wrong?
As the attribution information suggests, I took inspiration from Carl Harvey's work in Library Media Connection. (Without question, there are aspects of what we do that I missed. However, with limited space and a desire to not overwhelm my target audience with info, I tried to capture the aspects of librarianship that the future teachers I worked with last week seemed the most shocked by.) What's more, I don't think it's possible to be a librarian who creates comic style flyers and not, even subliminally, be inspired by Gwyneth Jones - so, big juicy thank yous to both those folks.
Finally, as always, everything here is licensed under creative commons so please feel free to take, share and make better to your little heart's content.
Today I had the amazing opportunity to work with some of my state's most valuable resources: new teachers. The students in the classes I taught today were (roughly) one year away from completing their teacher education program as part of the NC Teaching Fellows Program. (An aside, our legislature voted to zero out funding for Teaching Fellows this year - a travesty you can learn more about here).
I've been nervous and excited about these presentations for weeks now. Nervous because it always feels a little strange to play to an audience outside of libraryland and excited because I often wish my own teacher education program had offered the opportunity learn from and about school library media specialists and how they could help me (as a classroom teacher) and my students. To this day, although (in general) I feel like my own teacher education program perpared me fairly well for what I would experience in the classroom, I don't think I'm alone in the lamenting the lack of emphasis on the instructional team I would NEED to be a part of in order to truly provide my students with everything they would need. Indeed, I can't remember anyone talking to me about the school librarian and what he/she could do for me (my kids).
And so, to be honest, I couldn't wait to get in the room with these eager, fresh faced, soon to be teachers - if for no other reason that I felt I had a golden opportunity to fill a gap for them that was not, until much, much later, filled for me. Advocacy is a topic that seems to be on the tip of every school librarian's tongue these days. To that end, while I think many of us are becoming quite savvy when it comes to sharing what we do with those who have the power to impact our budgets and positions, I fear we may be missing the boat when it comes to embedding ourselves in education of the next generation of teachers/admininistrators.
In the end, however, I can't help but think that I got just as much (if not more) out of the experience than they did. While I feel the sessions went well and I received great feedback afterwards, between the two of us, I feel like the big winner. Not only were the students funny and smart, they asked great questions, were willing to try new things and were filled with that new teacher spark - the perfect mixture of idealism, optimism and the unstoppable drive to make a difference. Ah... if only I could bottle that spark. I'd keep most of it in a special, glass case labeled "In Case of Emergency." The rest I'd load into a one of the supersoaker squirt guns and take aim at those people we ALL work with who really need a good soaking. But I digress. Even without the bottle (and squirtgun), I couldn't help but feel nostalgic being around them. Nostaligic and inspired. As much as I hope I was able to help shape the image that these "youngsters" (I nearly cried when the second section informed me they were not alive when I was in middle school) will have of school librarians when they land in their first classrooms, the shape of my world was changed too by their contagious energy and endless enthusiasm - just a little of which rubbed off on me.
The following are my presentations from today's sessions. As always, everything posted here is free for you to use, share and make better.
PS: Thanks so much to everyone who contributed to these presentations! Your input proved invaluable! Here's some proof:
Future teacher: "Will this symbaloo be available after this session?" Me: "Yes. It will be available forever." FT: "Really???" Me: "Yes." FT: "Really???" Me: "Yes." FT: "Thank you! Thank you! Oh Thank you!"
As I prepare for some sessions later this week during which I will get to work with new teachers on the fine arts of collaboration and personal learning, I've been busy making stuff.
The first is the "Bibliotherapy 2.0" wiki that i solicited help for a few posts ago. Though I ended up deciding to make the wiki more of a web/conversation curation tool than an actual bibliography, I will be adding the titles so many of you suggested to the discussion portion of the wiki. THANK YOU! In the meantime, I'm ready to share the product as it currently looks. I welcome feedback and will happily grant requests to join if you'd like to be a part of contributing to this resource for new (and not so new) teachers.
The second is a webmix of tools to help new teachers create and contribute to a Personal Learning Network. This was a lot of fun for me to put together, but I'm sure I'm missing one or two or twenty resources.
Some points of conflict for me are these: a) I had originally planned to group the content of the webmix a bit more systematically, but I'm still chewing on that. b) I'm also on the fence about including must read blogs - once I start that, where do I stop?
For now, I'm just anxious to roll up my sleeves and start making mischief with the group of new teachers I'll be working with this week. Until then, please feel free to make suggestions for improvement or addition. Your feedback will not only help me but also the fledgling teachers I'll be corrupting working with soon.
Last week I had the opportunity to attend the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (p21) Institute in Stowe, Vermont. To be honest, I’m still unpacking a lot of what I learned during this event, but here are a few takeaways that I am ready to share:
Vermont Loves QR Codes: Everywhere I went, I saw QR Codes! They were in the hotel, on receipts I received and in window shop displays. The most helpful ones for me were contained on a “cell phone walking tour” of beautiful little Stowe, Vermont. Small placards, like the one pictured, are located all over Stowe. As an accidental tourist who was on the hunt for postcards, but had no idea where to look, I *loved* being able to scan a qr code and learn about this gorgeous New England town as I explored – all the while thinking about how I could create my own “walking tour” of the library. What fun!
World’s Collide. And It Might Just Be Okay: For those who are unfamiliar with it, the Partnership For 21st Century Skills is, truly, a diverse group of education reformers. The group is made up of business leaders, heads of non-profits, politicians and, of course, educators – but, to be honest, the more time I spent talking to the people at p21, the more difficult it was for me to figure out which was which. In the end, despite their diverse backgrounds, everyone there had one incredibly important thing in common: a shared desire to make education better for today’s students. I bring this up because so much of the talk in education reform these days appears to pit educators against non-educators (and vice versa). It seems like there’s some pervasive themes in the stories that cover the collision of these two worlds: a) big business is trying to take over and privatize education b) people who are not teachers know nothing about teaching/learning and c) card carrying educators should be both afraid and suspect of anyone who is not a teacher but who wants to contribute to the conversation. Now, I don’t claim to be an expert on any of this. Furthermore, I can totally understand (and even relate to) the fear. However, in the end, I find myself reminded of that episode of Seinfeld in which George Costanza’s two worlds ("relationship George" and "independent George") threaten to collide – the result, in his mind, being absolutely catastrophic. What I fear is that, like George, many educators are so afraid of what will happen if the education world collides with the business/political one, that they’re missing out on opportunities for conversation and collaboration. To be honest, I don't know if this is a zero-sum game, but it seems to me that an "us vs. them" mentality only results in one loser: students.
Connecting The Dots: While I have some issues and (several) questions regarding p21’s framework for 21st century learning, I do think its focus on non-cognitive skills is right on the money. Today’s assessment driven/bubble the right answer model of education leaves little room for inquiry, discovery, innovation and failure. That said, one thing that p21 gets right, in my book, is an emphasis on creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration, or the “four Cs,” which they stress as being essential in preparing students for life beyond the classroom. What’s more, p21 not only recognizes, but also actively promotes the library media center as an important player in developing these critical skills within the school. How refreshing! As part of this effort, p21 has put together a tool kit which aligns their framework for 21st century learning with the new Common Core Standards. In other words, what the tool kit seeks to do is provide teachers with a resource that shows them how to teach the standards through inquiry based learning that emphasizes the “four Cs.” While I haven’t had a chance to really unpack the whole thing, I can already see lots of connections between what I do and what they have outlined. If nothing else, I see potential to use the tool kit as a way to help teachers connect the dots between the Common Core Standards and the learning that takes place in the library. (The tool kit should be available for download soon – I will link to it as soon as it is).
A Foursquare Victory:
Lately I’ve been questioning my use of social geotagging services like Foursquare. While I’ve never been afraid that someone will see that I’m at Starbucks and decide to burglarize my home while I get a latte, I have been a little concerned about what contribution these services make to the noise in my (and other people’s) lives. Even so, I did a lot of "checking in" while I was in Vermont - which not only resulted in free ice cream at Ben and Jerry’s (you get a free tour if you show them your check-in) but these virtual map pins also afforded me the chance to meet and spend a few minutes with library superstar @bethredford who saw that I was having coffee in her hometown before hopping a plane homeward. After a couple of quick tweets, she and I were chatting like old pals in the Vermont sunshine before I headed south. Without foursquare this wouldn’t have happened, so I might stick with it for a little while longer. (My apologies to those who don’t care where I am).
Finally, as Doug Johnson recently reflected after returning from ISTE this year, "the best part of [attending conferences] always has been and always will be catching up with old friends, getting to know colleagues better, and meeting new people the professional networking." Even though this was a decidedly non-library event, I did get to meet a few really REALLY smart, funny and talented librarians who I hope to bump into again soon. Librarianship is an incredibly generous and increasingly connected profession. I look forward to watching the seeds that were planted in Vermont blossom into lasting professional connections in the future.
For the last few weeks, this TED Talk, in which Daniel Tammet explores how perception impacts learning and understanding, has been rolling around in my head. From the moment I saw it, I knew I needed to add it to my list of “must watch” TED Talks for school librarians, but that didn’t seem like enough.
Not able to shake the feeling that there was more for me to learn, I checked out Tammet’s memoir Born on a Blue Day from the public library and devoured it in an afternoon. While much of the book is a pretty linear recounting of Tammet’s experiences living with high-functioning autism and savant syndrome, there are moments of stunning beauty in which he describes how he sees the world. For example, the section in which Tammet explains his perception of prime numbers - numerical expressions so beautiful, peculiar and constant, that he often turns to them for comfort in the face of an uncertain and frequently cruel world - is incredibly moving. I’ve read that section several times, tearing up with each new passing. Plus, as someone who has spent her entire life avoiding math, I couldn’t help but think that if Tammet had been my math teacher in elementary school, my life may have taken on a whole different trajectory, but I digress.
What may be most remarkable about Tammet, however, is not his mastery of languages (he learned conversational Icelandic in one week) or his ability to calculate complex math equations without so much as a number two pencil. Rather, what strikes me as really extraordinary about him is his choice to live publicly and share generously the details of this deeply personal journey. In the book, Tammet discusses his need to have a bowl of porridge each morning that weighs precisely 45 grams (he weighs it every time just to make sure) and how changes to his routine make him nervous and agitated –and yet he goes on book tours and speaks to a room full of geniuses at TED. I mean, let’s face it, most of us aren’t that brave or generous, and our brains don’t freak out if our morning corn flakes are underweight. Tammet’s mission is singular: to open us up to the idea that there’s different ways of thinking and knowing things – and that those differences effect how we learn. By sharing how he learns, Tammet hopes we'll think more about how others do. What’s more, this message is so important to him, he’s willing to experience personal discomfort in order to spread it.
At this point, I’m tempted to ask if we, as educators, consider and appreciate the various ways our learners perceive the world and how that impacts their learning or even if we're as dedicated to our mission as Tammet is to his. However, I’m afraid I know the answer.
Anyway, as fate would have it, just as I’ve been engrossed in all things Tammet, I also stumbled across a photography app called WordFoto. Essentially, this fun little app provides the user with the ability to create, (what can be really lovely), image/text mash-ups: a digital marriage of self selected words and pictures that I just love. My first experiment with the app was one I created using a found image of Tammet and prime numbers. It started off as creative therapy, a way to produce something from all the ideas that were bubbling inside me. However, the more I found myself referring back to his book to help me make decisions about colors and shadows, etc., the more I started to think about how this process might look in the school setting. Soon, my mind was buzzing with ideas about students using WordFoto to create images for book jackets, thematic displays or as part of the research process.
Then boom! I get this tweet from super-fab elementary school librarian Beth Redford who was not only reading my mind, apparently, but who had taken the idea to the next level with a creative commons licensing component. So cool!
But really, all of this is just the tip of the, proverbial, iceberg. For awhile now, I’ve thought I understood the benefits of mobile apps in education. Had I been asked, I would have touted their portability, their relatively inexpensive cost, the ease with which they allow schools to access up to date technology and how they help prepare students for using such devices in the real world. But I’ve been missing the boat… at least in part.
What I’m just now realizing is how mobile apps provide us the opportunity to explore and honor the different ways in which students perceive the world, by giving them chances to interact with and change it. Let me give you an example: Whenever we ask students to locate, explore, discover or create [insert concept/product here], and then give them a stack of resources that we’ve either physically collected or curated online, their responses and creations are limited by our imaginations, perceptions and biases. No matter how good our intentions, no matter how many online options we offer, even the most expertly crafted opportunities for inquiry that tether students to a single room, (even if that room is filled with computers), offer a finite number of outcomes. In the end, more than just bringing the world to our students, mobile apps allow us to bring our students to the world – prompting a messy, but important, collision of ideas and perceptions. Even if that “world” is just our own campus, the insertion of our students into it, (along with their individual ways of knowing things), not only creates an infinite number of possible outcomes, but also, (and more importantly), sparks conversations and interactions that change that world for the next explorer.
I know I must sound like a broken record, but I believe this is an exciting time to be a school librarian. While much of the discussion surrounding our field focuses on reinvention, (and believe me, some of that is needed), I don't think our overall mission has changed that much. School libraries have always been about connecting our students to the world. Back in the day, we did it only through books and other print materials. Then the internet helped us exponentially expand those connections with just a few clicks. Now mobile apps present us with the challenge of rethinking those connections and the relationship between our students and the world they explore through research and inquiry. Instead of just bringing the world to our students, these digital marvels allow us the opportunity to bring our students to the world - and as a result, neither will ever be the same.
UPDATE:
Even though a link to these can also be found in the comments, I wanted to share these AMAZING shelf labels that my new hero, Eliterate Librarian, made using WordFoto. They are an incredible addition to her new shelving adventures -sans Dewey that is. I love these and would steal them, but since she's also licensed them under Creative Commons, there's no need. Bravo, girl!
QR Codes are one of those subjects that I’ve been meaning to write about forever. To be honest, I was something of a QR Code skeptic when they were first brought to my attention last fall. To begin with, I struggled with how to make such things work in my school – where we are decidedly lacking in handheld devices and where students are not allowed to use their own smart phones during the instructional day. More importantly, however, while I couldn’t deny the QR Code’s inherent “cool factor,” the link between these 2 dimensional barcodes and student learning was to me, fuzzy at best. Then, as is so often the case, a few cosmic dominos fell - in just the right order - to make me a QR Code believer.
First, a math teacher at my school (a dear friend, muse and teaching partner extraordinaire who REALLY needs a bigger online presence), bounded into the library one day, commandeered my computer and said, “you have to see THIS!” (“This” being Steven Anderson’s post on creating a desktop QR Code station). Immediately, the wheels upstairs started to turn and it wasn’t long before I had a machine or two, some webcams and all the extension cords I would need for a QR Code revolution. The only thing missing was a REASON to do it.
That reason came a day or so later when I learned that our library had received a $6,000 grant to purchase art (visual, performance, decorative, etc) related print materials. One of the requirements of the grant was that I provide evidence of marketing the new materials to students in an innovative way – enter QR Codes! In the end, (though I didn’t plan this way) linking my QR Code experiment to a single project turned out to be incredibly beneficial.
First, it provided me with an obvious hook with which to tempt and recruit teacher collaboration. Art + technology and the offer of snacks brought several people to the table. Then, once I explained that all they needed to do was grab a stack of books and help me find some resources to either pique student interest or extend their learning, a party was born.
Secondly, it helped focus the scope of the project. Believe me, once you start creating QR Codes, it’s hard to stop. Dreaming up book + resource mash-ups for the purpose of student enrichment is positively addictive, so having a specific goal and focus helped keep me on task.
And, finally, when we were finished adorning the art books with barcode bling, it was easy to collect some data regarding what, if any, these little square labels had on students at my school. I was able to compare circ stats of books on the same/similar topics, but that were not branded with a QR Code to those that were. Surprise, surprise: those WITH the QR Codes were showed a great deal more love than those without. (About 40% more as a matter of fact). HOWEVER, the first time I saw a group of students huddled around the computer taking a 360’ tour of the Sistine Chapel that was linked (via QR Code) to a book on Michelangelo, (which they then fought to check out), I knew we’d hit on something big.
And I wasn’t the only one who knew it.
Soon students and teachers were clamoring to contribute to the QR Code fun. By the end of the year, we literally had thousands of books that are linked to additional resources via QR Code. These links include student created works like podcasts, Glogs, video book trailers, etc., but also consist of really neat resources that I’ve either stumbled across or, more frequently, that teachers/students have brought to my attention.
In fact, I started receiving so many student/teacher book+resource mash-up suggestions that I created a special bookmark to help me keep track of them. (Students take the bookmark when they checkout the book and put it in the suggestion box when they return it).
And to me, this is where the rubber hits the road when it comes to QR Codes (or any technology for that matter). I simply LOVE the idea of kids spending time in the library, exploring new ideas and checking out new material based on the opportunity for inquiry provided by the QR Code. However, when this activity is followed by a reading experience that is informed by the student’s desire to find more, new and BETTER resources to be linked to the title their reading, well… that’s when QR Codes make the switch from just being a fun fad or cool gadget to a meaningful tool that can not only extend learning but also help cultivate a love of reading in our students.
The other day I ran across this post about educational conversations that have run their course. That is to say, ed-chat (not to be confused with #edchat) topics of discussion that have been discussed to death. We've all heard of educational "sacred cows," well... these are their "dead horse" companions. Naturally, this got me thinking about a similar list of library related conversations that I am tired of having. Don't get me wrong, I've spent plenty of time talking about these things myself and will probably be roped into talking about them again. What's more, I am not at all sitting in judgment of those for whom these issues remain compelling and important. Listen, if you're actively involved in dialogue about libraries, education and how librarians serve the needs of students, to you I tip my hat and say a hearty "bravo!" It's just, I guess I'm ready to see these conversations evolve. For me, at least, it’s time to either move these conversations to the next level, or send them out to pasture. Ok. Here goes:
I don't want to talk about copyright anymore. Rather, I want to talk about creative commons, "thanktribution" and the importance of sharing expertise and resources to make, not only better products, but ultimately a better society too. Without question, it's still important to help kids understand that lots of people make their livings and feed their families from the work they create and, as such, have the right to ask for compensation/attribution. However, I find conversations with kids about the process of creating and choosing to share and/or license their own work to be far more meaningful. Rather than just telling kids it's wrong to steal, I'd like to see this conversation move towards helping students add their own works to the collective while also empowering them to license those works in the most appropriate way.
I don't want to talk about "21st Century Skills" anymore. Seriously. It seems like I can't be involved with any educational conversation these days without being hit with the importance of 21st Century Skills. That's fine, but I'm ready to talk more specifically about what these skills really are. I want to see school librarians initiating and engaged in conversation that both identify specific skill sets and acknowledge that while the information landscape, and indeed the world, has certainly changed since the last century, many of the skills we should feel most compelled to develop in our students, (content curation, global awareness/citizenship, the ethical use/creation of information, etc.), are not exclusive to the 21st century. “21st Century Skills” is a convenient turn of phrase and, at one time, an impactful one. But that time has passed. Let’s move beyond the label and on to identifying, prioritizing and teaching the skills that will best prepare our students for life in this century and beyond. (Yes, they are going to live a very long time).
I don't want to talk about the "digital divide" anymore. Okay, that's not really true. The digital divide is an issue that is important and that needs to remain a part of our collective conversation. HOWEVER, I want this conversation to move beyond issues of simple access. There is no question in my mind that access is important. Having spent much of my career working with students for whom school is the only connected, digital space they inhabit, I understand how access and equity go hand in hand. Still, if there's one thing my time at the reference desk of the public library has taught me, it's that ONLY providing people with access to computers/the internet is not enough. Our efforts to put computers in the homes of families who don't have them, to start "one to one" initiatives at schools with high populations of students with limited/no access beyond the school day, or the ever ambitious (and noble) goal of extending broadband access to areas where there is none, will only be effective if we couple them with instruction. It may seem as though our students are born with digital devices in their hands, but that doesn't mean they know how to use them. I want to see school librarians leading the charge to shape future conversations about the "digital divide" to include an emphasis on both access and education.
I don’t want to talk about eBooks replacing print books anymore. I don’t believe this is going to happen. And it’s not because I’m a romantic who believes nostalgia will win the day. Rather, it’s because I understand that once the dust settles and the “new gadget” effect has worn off, schools will ultimately spend their limited monies on the resources that most impact student learning. To that end, I don’t just want to see school librarians acting as the voice of reason in these conversations, I want to see them emerge as curriculum and technology experts who understand that there’s room on the library shelves, and in student backpacks, for both traditional print and e-ink titles because both options address different instructional goals. In the end, I want to see this conversation become part of a larger, more important, dialogue revolving around how to best meet student needs – and this, my friends, is the conversation we should all be clamoring to be a part of.
I don’t want to talk about protecting students from the evils of social media anymore. If any conversation on this list needs to evolve, it’s this one. Conversations or initiatives that seek to make a student’s digital footprint invisible are outmoded and, frankly, dangerous. Our students live in a digital, connected world. As fast as we think of ways to block social media, they figure out ways to circumvent the filter. This conversation must evolve to the point where our goal is to help students develop a safe and responsible online presence. As school librarians, I want to us to ask more questions like “what happens when a teacher is not there to keep a child from visiting a “bad” site?” Or “what happens when students are asked to submit personal information for an online profile, but they’ve never been taught how?” Or even better, “how can we expect students to make good choices when we’re not there, when they’re given NO choices when we are?” Filters are necessary. But conversations about helping students create a safe online presence, (one that allows them to take advantage of all the GOOD social media has to offer), are important too.
Since starting this post, I've placed and deleted this image multiple times. I keep changing my mind because I’m not sure the connection between this work of art (by graffiti artist Borf) and my thinking is clear. In the end, I worry about the conversations we are having in education. Not because I feel they are the wrong ones to be had or because I’m afraid the wrong people are having them. In fact, if I'm honest, then in general I'm heartened by the amount of discussion that's being generated by and about educators/education these days. School librarians have long been part of the quiet and polite crowd in the corner, heads down, doing our work, but not making a big fuss about it, so... believe me when I'm say I'm thrilled to see so many of my tribe kicking up the dust and (dare I say it?) showing off. If anything, I'm just nudging the conversation forward a little, because I, for one, am ready to see certain conversations evolve to a point of greater relevancy - lest they (and we) become obsolete.
Today I had the honor of learning and sharing with educators from Southeastern North Carolina at the New Hanover County Summer Technology Institute. Today's session was on using Wikis as a tool for content curation - a skill I believe both teachers and students need to develop as we become more and more saturated with information. This was a wonderful experience for me for several reasons:
First, this was the first time I was able to trot out an updated version a presentation I've been giving for some time now on wikis. Lately, I've been thinking about wikis as a tool for content curation - an opportunity for students and teachers to think about how the internet works, about how information is filtered before it comes to us, about who edits it and why. In the past, I've taught wiki workshops which focused on the benefits of collaboration and the idea that multiple brains are better than one. This presentation, on the other hand, emphasizes how using wikis for "collective curation" can help students/teachers burst what Eli Pariser refers to as "filter bubbles" while also collecting the very best of what the internet has to offer. It's my own small attempt at transforming research into a metacognitive process in which researchers (of all ages) consider not only what they are learning about the research topic, but also about how their research skills are influenced by external factors. (Big thanks, by the way, to Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano whose post on Students Becoming Curators of Information pointed me towards some powerful images which I used - with attribution - in this presentation. Thank you!)
Second, this was a non-library crowd - while everyone in the room was an educator, I believe I was the only librarian. I find that this kind of experience is good for me because it forces me to look at my message through new eyes, to see how it plays outside the echo chamber of library land. That said, everyone was so receptive and open and willing to go along for the ride.
Finally, this was an incredibly good looking group of people. Obviously. :)
Tomorrow I get to do a two part session with a colleague on eBooks. Again, this is an updated version of a presentation I've given a few times before. It should be good fun because it will be the first time that I get to do the presentation where the focus isn't simply on eReaders but on meeting student needs (instructional, developmental and emotional) through eBooks (both the eReader kind and the subscription kind).
Lately, I've been feeling a little sorry for myself because I won't be attending ALA or ISTE this summer - but today's crowd helped me feel good about the learning and sharing I get to do right here at home. Thank you!
This summer I am starting 2000 hours project. 2000 hours is the brainchild of a teacher named Chuck who is fed up with the popular misconception that teaching is really a part-time job because, after all, we get to leave at 2pm and get the "summer off." To dispel this myth, he decided to log the number of hours he spends working during both during the school day and during his time off. I love this idea. I'm not sure I will continue it for an entire school year, the way Chuck is, but I am definitely ready to commit for summer. For one, I too am becoming grumpy with pundits and politicians who have never set foot in a classroom/school library, but who feel they have the right to comment on what an easy job we have. But also, I'm just interested in finding out how many hours I really do put in during the summer months. (An aside, my husband is always complaining that I'm really a 12 month employee who settles for 10 month pay, so this summer we're going to see if he's right!) Anyway, I'm so geeked out over this project that I created a couple of items to help chronicle my (and maybe your???) journey.
First, I created this badge for my blog. If you're gonna log your hours too and want to plaster a badge on your blog, feel free to use it, change it, share it, etc. (The image is my own - one I took for my 365/Image a Day Project. The text I added using Picnik.)
Second, I created a spreadsheet to track my hours. I used Google Docs to create the sheet and will use it as my "time card" for this project. This way, I can access it if I am away from my home computer but still "working." Plus, this way all the world can keep track of my hours. Perhaps someone will even start a pool and take bets on just how little actual "life" I have. :) Anyway, in addition to figuring out exactly how many hours I will spend working this summer, I'm also looking forward to seeing what type of work I do during the (almost) 2 months I have away from school.
However many hours I actually log, I feel like this is a good exercise for me - both personally and publicly. I can only imagine that being honest and reflective about the amount of time I spending working when I don't really have to will be a good thing. Plus, like the creator of this project, Chuck, I'm anxious to dispel a few myths myself.
So... how did I spend the first day of "summer break?" I updated the library webpage to include a summer reading project and a super cool culminating video for our year end Food for Fines project. Then I sent out a year end letter to parents inviting their students to participate in said summer reading fun and emailed my principal with an update. All told, it took me just shy of 2 hours.
Anyway, if you're planning on clocking a few hours this summer, consider this a personal invitation to join the 2000 Hour Club. In addition to whatever updates I post here, I'll also be tweeting about it using the #2000hour hashtag. So, c'mon! Join me! (You know you want to!)
I've been getting a fair amount of (friendly) grief this week as I've been toiling away on my library's annual report. Why? Well... because annual reports are not required in my district. Apparently, to some people (and you know who you are!) crunching numbers, making graphs and reflecting on school years past (when you don't actually have to) is tantamount to madness. But the truth is, I love this stuff. Digging through data, discovering correlations and proving (or disproving) that what you believe, in your heart, to be true about your work is, well... fun!
Of course, my joy and naivety related to this process may be (at least partially) attributed to the fact that I've never done one before. Yes. This is my first annual report. And since there was no one around to tell me how I should do it or what to include, I got to make up the rules as I went along, which was great, because it made me REALLY think about who my audience was going to be. In the end, I realized that the group I most wanted to target with this information was administrators - both at my school and at central office, which reminded me of one of the first budget related conversations I ever had with my current principal (who is super supportive, by the way). I remember going into her office armed with file folders full of evidence and research, ready to blow her high heels off with data proving that whatever I wanted deserved her time, attention and (most importantly) money. After about 2 sentences she stopped me and asked "what's the bottom line?" She wanted, what I might now refer to as, a tweetable budget request: Short, sweet and to the point.
So... I wrote my annual report with this personality type in mind, making certain that:
All data is organized into bite sized chunks.
It's visually interesting and fun.
The "bottom line" is easy to recognize
What few narratives there are, are short, sweet and to the point.
I tried to focus on data they would actually care about. (For example, instead of bemoaning the state of my 400s or shouting about the number of times A Diary of a Wimpy Kid was checked out, I focused on student impact, the relationship between library services and academic success and how our library meets the identified needs of students at our school).
As always, everything I do, this is licensed under Creative Commons, so please feel free to use, share, mash-up and/or make this better. Also, it's worth noting that lots of other FANTASTIC annual reports can be found here. Have fun!
Lots of state library associations sponsor kid-lit book awards – that is to say book honors that are decided by readers, as opposed to a panel of bespectacled judges.I love these awards because they open up lots of discussion among students (and teachers) about why certain books are nominated and what criteria should be used to pick the “best” out of the list our little readers have to choose from.Often, to get teachers involved in the promotion of these books, I create curriculum and multimedia materials for each book.I also compile existing resources to share with students.This year, I am really excited because a high interest, moderate reading level work of urban fiction made the list:A Boy Called Twister by Anne Schraff (who is responsible for several of the books in the incredibly popular Bluford High Series).This is great for some of my students who don’t see themselves as readers or who are intimidated by the 600 page Harry Potters of the world.
But here’s the rub: in comparison to most of the other “big name” titles on this year’s list, Twister is a small book and there’s just not a lot of resources out there.No fun webpages with interactive games, no interviews with the author and no book trailers.So… we decided to make one.
Here’s how it went:
I started by passing our one copy of the book to a few students who I thought would enjoy it - saying that I had an idea for a movie that I wanted them to star in.Soon, other students were clamoring to be a part of it.I only had 2 rules for my budding movie stars:1) I needed permission from their parents to share the finished product on the interwebs and 2) each student had to actually read the book.It wasn’t long before I had a small, but mighty, group of 8 students ready to for duty.
Our pre-production meetings occurred during our 20 “enrichment” period at the very beginning of the day.After getting off the bus, students grabbed breakfast in the cafeteria and met me in the library where we talked about the book, created a list of all the details we felt were important to include in our trailer and then cobbled together a VERY rough story board.
“Shooting” occurred at the same time.Often students were taking sips of orange juice or downing a blueberry muffin between takes, but we managed to shoot every scene and take every picture in a 2 week period.Early on, the crew decided they wanted their movie to be primarily in black and white and to consist of both still and video shots.Every picture and every video segment was blocked, directed and/or shot by a student.
Our post-production regiment (which happened mostly during lunch/recess or whenever I could find a few minutes with the kids) utilized (all but one) free resources, including Picnik for photo editing, Windows Movie Maker and Pinnacle Studios (our one paid for resource) for video production and YouTube and Wix for online hosting.Although I did the video editing, students edited 99% of the photos and sat with me as I stitched together the video, giving me strict instructions as to the order of the footage and their vision for the finished product.Then they chose a teacher to narrate the script - which they wrote. Finally, we talked about where/how to host it and licensing their work under creative commons so that others could use and share it. (Then I burned them each a DVD to take home).
To say that I *love* the finished product is an understatement.I am so proud of these students and what they have accomplished – and not simply because many of them are struggling readers, but because what they’ve created is just plain good.I’m proud to share it with others and look forward to future projects with my new crew of book trailer creating READERS.
I have to be honest, this has been a tough week for me professionally.But these kids have reminded me of why I do what I do.Connecting kids with books, helping them discover new interests and talents, and teaching them that along with the privileges and benefits of the connected world we live in comes also the responsibility to contribute (positively) to it – these are heady and intimidating responsibilities.But they are also joyful and incredibly rewarding.
Like many libraries around the world, mine holds a Food for Fines event each year. In fact, I got the idea from my local public library which held one 3 years ago, but then stopped (I’m not really sure why). For us, Food for Fines equates to a one week event in which students can pay off library fines by making non-perishable food donations. While lots of students take advantage of this opportunity to clear their accounts, the vast majority of the donations we receive, are from students who DON’T have library fines. This is because the event is heavily promoted, integrated into the curriculum, and used as a conversation starter between kids and adults about poverty, social justice and how the purpose of knowledge is to inspire action.
Overall, our donations were down this year. Although I’m a little disappointed, I’m not really surprised. In addition to the economic turmoil that we’re all facing, my school is experiencing the (often exciting and wonderful, but also sometimes messy) growing pains of redistricting. And the fact is that our new population simply isn’t as affluent as those of years past. Even so, there are plenty of other numbers indicating that this event was a success:
100% This is the number of classes that participated in the event this year.
No matter how small, every class gave something.
84 This is the number of boxes of food that will be donated to Mother
Hubbard’s Cupboard in Wilmington, NC.
55 This is the number of fines that were paid.
21 This is the number of homeless students at my school who will benefit
from donations given to our “back pack buddies” program.
9 This is the number of classes I worked with to discuss and discover
information related to poverty in our area.
2 This is the number of school buses it will take to deliver our donation.
1 This is the number of students who were utterly shocked to learn that
both peanut butter and tuna fish are considered protein (we have the
students sort the food into food groups so that we can make a nutritious
donation). Ok. I admit this number may actually be much larger.
"Busy Hands" http://ow.ly/59RZi
But the really important outcomes can’t be measured. I don’t know about you, but at this time of year, when I’m trying to make sense of end of year data, I sometimes find it tempting to rethink projects that can’t be defended with a pie chart or a bar graph. However, this is wrong and dangerous thinking. The conversations that grew out of this project, the seeds of empathy and philanthropy that were planted, and the understanding that once you know a thing, you can’t unknow it, (you can choose to ignore it or choose to act on it, but you must choose) – these outcomes cannot be measured – but that makes them no less important than those that can be.
As school librarians, we are in the business of impacting student learning. And like all teachers, that means we have to be concerned with academic success, growth and proficiency. However, this week has reminded me that knowledge is best cultivated in an environment of dialog and participation – of conversation and discovery. And while those environments are often discordant and produce results that are difficult to quantify, they are the ones that are most likely to help our students grow into thinkers, questioners, innovators and (big, big social) problem solvers.
As I always am at the end of Food for Fines week, today I find myself both exhausted and grateful. Not only am I pooped by the sheer effort it takes to pull the whole thing off (not that I do it alone, by any stretch of the imagination) but I am also utterly humbled to be a part of a profession whose very mission is rooted in making the world, and the people in it, better.
I first became aware of "The Disgraceful Interrogation of L.A. School Librarians" when Neil Gaiman tweeted the link along with the note "this makes my blood boil." Within hours, my twitter and facebook feeds were full of responses, one of my favorites having to do with how clearly the crime rate in LA must have dropped to something less than miniscule proportions. How else can you explain school librarians being interrogated like criminals? Anyway, soon I was led to this blog post that recounts the experience in LA first hand followed by this letter to the editor in my local paper (from a former principal!) which (although unrelated) basically says fixing my state's fiscal woes is easy because we don't need school librarians (or guidance counselors or nurses!) anyway.
Needless to say, it's been a rough week for educators, and for school librarians in particular. And lots of (really smart) people have been writing about it to express their outrage and frustration. Unfortunately, however, while this is an extreme example to be sure, it's only one in a long line of beatings that all educators are currently taking from lawmakers and a populous who want to balance state checkbooks without taking any of the blame for mismanaging the funds. I hate to say it, but I think this is only the beginning of such "interrogations." While, hopefully, most of us will not be dragged down into a basement and forced to prove our worth under hot, and really unflattering, florescent lights - rest assured, we WILL be asked to prove our worth.
I guess the question we have to ask ourselves now is: can we?
Now is the time of year when many in libraryland start thinking about end of year reports. And gosh, there's lots of really cool examples out there that showcase the work that goes on in our libraries. This year, however, as I put these numbers together, I will be thinking a lot about how to draw the line between the data I've collected and student learning. This year, whatever form(s) my report takes, its ultimate purpose will be to prove that my work is a) the solution to the problems that keep my principal and superintendent up at night b) directly linked to student achievement and c) an indispensable part of our school culture and mission. More than ever, I think these reports need to take the extra step of bridging the gap between simply presenting the facts and linking those facts to student achievement.
Along those same lines, if you're anything like me, then this time of year also leads to endless prognostications about how I'll do things "next year." It's funny, but I can remember, being told my first year teaching "not to worry," that after five years I'd "get my groove" - which in this case meant that after 5 years, I'd have a cadre of resources at my fingertips and I would no longer have to create new things every year. Unfortunately, if that's the definition of getting one's groove, I've yet to achieve this zen like state. Rather, I'm the kind of teacher who is constantly reinventing the wheel. No matter how successful or enjoyable or impactful a program/project/collaboration may be, I seem to always be able to think of ways to make it better. And this year is no exception.
Even as I start gathering together the fruits of this year's labor, I am overcome with thoughts of how I will collect data next year. I'll be writing about this in more depth later, but for now I think it's well worth mentioning that if I am lucky enough to still have a job next year, I'll be taking extra care to ensure that I collect data that spotlights the impact of my work. Not only because it's the right thing to do, but because when my seat in the basement is ready, I want to make sure I'm prepared.
Recently, Andy Woodworth posted a series of TED Talks that he felt all librarians should read (and why!). I'd seen a couple of his choices before (like Ken Robinson's incredibly influential talk about how Schools Kill Creativity) and really enjoyed watching the ones I'd never seen. In particular, I loved watching William Kamkwamba's 6 minute talk "How I Harnessed the Wind." As Andy points out, the underlying message from this talk is that information access matters - and it does. It really, really does. If you've only got time to watch one of Andy's selections, I'd watch that one. (Ok. You should watch Ken Robinson's too). (And since you're already there, go ahead and watch the others as well).
I guess it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that I love TED. Not only have some of the Talks they've captured influenced thinking around the world, but they've both inspired and justified the ideas that a) it is really cool to be smart and b) sharing your ideas is essential to the evolution of our species. No matter what your, profession, I think there's something to be learned from TED.
That said, since Andy's post, I've been thinking about some of the other TED Talks that librarians, specifically school librarians, should watch. So... I've compiled a list of my own. And here they are (in no particular order):
"the way progress happens is because new generations and new eras grow and develop and become better than the previous ones. It's the reason we're not in the Dark Ages anymore. No matter your position of place in life, it is imperative to create opportunities for children so that we can grow up to blow you away."
In Creating Minds, Howard Gardner posited that one of the common traits that all geniuses possess is the ability to look at the world in the way a child does. Specifically, Gardner suggests that somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we lose the ability to ask fantastic, foolish questions - intimating that it is schooling and adult expectations for "grown up" behavior that ultimately kill the very intellectual curiosity that sparks discovery, creativity and invention. In this talk, Adora Svitak challenges all adults to rethink their of definition of what it means to be "childish" and to allow kids the opportunity to think like, well... kids. As school librarians we need to ask ourselves if we are cultivating a culture of participatory experiences for our students - experiences that encourage them to learn by asking questions, solving problems and dreaming big. If not, what are we cultivating?
"So what did we learn from all this? Life is messy. It took us 85 takes to get it on film to our satisfaction. Of those 85 takes, only three actually successfully completed their run. We destroyed two pianos and 10 televisions in the process. We went to Home Depot well over a hundred times. And we lost one high-heeled shoe."
The big take away for me, from this Talk, is the idea that success requires planning, patience, tenacity and a willingness to see failure as a necessary part of the process. Plus, there's an amazing Rube Goldberg machine at the heart of the Talk, which I find to be the perfect metaphor for teaching. Think about it. Every lesson is like a Rube Golberg machine - as teachers, we push down the first domino - which, with any luck, sets the bowling ball into action, which knocks over the can of marbles which... well, you get the picture... until somewhere near the end a light bulb comes on - preferably right above a student's head! But what if it doesn't? Do we just scrap the idea and head to the vending machine for a Diet Coke? Do we toss out the first plans and redesign the thing from start to finish? Or do we cock our heads and try to figure out exactly where the connection isn't being made? As school librarians, what we can take away from this Talk is that learning is messy and we rarely get it right in one take.
"...if we continue to look at education as if it's about coming to school to get the information and not about experiential learning, empowering student voice and embracing failure, we're missing the mark."
I love this talk because it tackles the culture of "one right answer." In her unique (I'm so excited to be a) teacher voice, Diana Laufenberg recounts her own journey as an educator - celebrating her failures and successes and encouraging all teachers to let go of the notion that there has to be a "right answer" in order for real learning to take place. In the end, I think this short Talk is an important one for school librarians because if we can learn to accept and even embrace our own missteps then surely we can do the same for our students.
"...your filter bubble is your own personal unique universe of information that you live in online. And what's in your filter bubble depends on who you are, and it depends on what you do. But the thing is that you don't decide what gets in. And more importantly, you don't actually see what gets edited out."
This talk, was put on my radar by Buffy Hamilton, who tweeted and blogged recently about its importance. Watching it reminded me a little of the InfoWhelm video that explores the amount of information being produced today and the skills needed (by both kids and adults) to interpret and analyze it. However, what this Talk effectively illustrates is that it's not simply the amount of information that our students have to sift through that makes information literacy important, it's the bias that's being built into the very search engines we use to access it that makes viewing the process with a critical eye absolutely essential. As Buffy put it on her blog, "merely providing students access to the Internet is not enough." This is an especially important Talk for school librarians because it illustrates just how essential it is for us, the information experts at our school, to emphasize critical thinking as THE skill when teaching our students to evaluate not just information, but the means by which we access it.
"Last year, Pew and the Colombia J-School analyzed the 14,000 stories that appeared on Google News' front page. And they, in fact, covered the same 24 news events. Similarly, a study in e-content showed that much of global news from U.S. news creators is recycled stories from the AP wire services and Reuters, and don't put things into a context that people can understand their connection to it. So, if you put it all together, this could help explain why today's college graduates as well as less educated Americans know less about the world than their counterparts did 20 years ago."
This, under 3 minute, TED Talk blew my mind. If there's one thing the Internet is credited for, it's busting down the walls around information - allowing anyone with a computer and a modem the ability to learn about the world without someone like Ted Koppel acting as the go between. Unfortunately, as Miller points out, while the delivery method may have changed, the same filters continue to limit what and who we learn about. For school librarians, this provides another great example of why we must teach our students to ask bigger, tougher questions about information than the standard "how do I find _______?"
"Nothing ever turns out as planned ... ever. And the kids soon learn that all projects go awry -- and become at ease with the idea that every step in a project is a step closer to sweet success, or gleeful calamity."
And finally, I just love this Talk because it's so full of joy. In his "aww shucks," deeply understated way, Tulley reminds us that a) there is a huge difference between learning a thing and being taught it and b) when teachers provide guidance and encouragement instead of just knowledge AND kids are given the freedom to explore, create and problem solve.... magic happens. If we let this be (at least one of) our guiding principle(s), our libraries will truly make the shift from that room with all the books to the laboratories of learning that our students need and deserve.
/end
Anyway, as Andy said at the end of the post that inspired this one, there are probably a bajillion other TED Talks out there that could/should inform librarianship. Given my love for TED, I'd be thrilled to hear about the ones I've missed.
"Now one of the perks of being a lexicographer -- besides getting to come to TED -- is that you get to say really fun words, like lexicographical. Lexicographical has this great pattern -- it's called a double dactyl. And just by saying double dactyl, I've sent the geek needle all the way into the red."
Though there's a case to be made for this Talk being important to librarianship because it explores the evolution of a beloved, and dare I say, oft romanticized information source, I'm including it simply because it's just so geek-a-licious! Not only do Erin McKean and I have the same glasses, but she's quirky and snarky and a wonderful example of why geeks rule! Enjoy! :)
