NCSLMA 2011: A Love Story

The dates for this year's NCSLMA's annual conference have been on the books forever, but it wasn't until tonight that I started to really get excited about this year's event.

In part, this is because the schedule of sessions was just released today and it is AMAZING.  Not only are there some great people presenting (including the fantabulous Gwyneth Jones as our keynote speaker), but the presentations themselves look meaty and relevant in today's school library environment/education climate. For me, THIS is just what the doctor ordered.  As I head into a year in which the expectations for my contribution and impact are higher than ever, but the support I receive (financially and otherwise) is at its lowest point on record, my professional soul is starving for camaraderie and nourishment.  It's early enough in the year that I'm still energized and excited, but I need to feed off the combined strength of my colleagues to keep the momentum going.  Seriously, I need this.  And I suspect I'm not alone.

My excitement also stems from the fact that this event will mark the official unveiling of NCSLMA's new website, which I designed and co-created with an uber-fabulous colleague and friend (who really needs a library blog so I can link to it).  This Extreme Makeover: Website Edition came about because our long-time webmaster decided to step down from the position and, simply put, nobody else stepped up to the plate.  So, in the spirit of turning lemons into lemonade, we decided to ignore the fact that we both already have entirely too much to do and create the website of our dreams.  That is to say, one that was still packed with all the great info our old site had, but that also offers spaces for professional learning, collaboration and member contribution.   There's still a long way to go, but the foundation is pretty much finished and we went "live" a few nights ago.  The reaction has been wonderfully positive, but now I'm chomping at the bit to add the final and most important touch: the contributions of our members.  What I want most is for this to become a dynamic and living resource where librarians from across the state share and grow as a result of our combined knowledge and strength.

If there's one thing I know for certain, it's that now, more than ever, we need each other.  Together, we are stronger and better than even the very best of us is alone.  Conference and, hopefully, our website are opportunities for us to lean on, learn from and grow as a result of our combined knowledge, enthusiasm and strength.  Every day, I am grateful for the opportunities I have to connect with my friends in library land, whether it's through twitter, this blog or face to face, I'm convinced that THAT connection is the key to my success - or at least longevity.  And listen, I know... times are tough and monies for professional development are pretty much non-existent.  Still, I deeply hope that everyone reading this will make professional development and connecting with colleagues a priority this year.  It's times like this in which that connection is most important. 

And if you're in NC, get your hiney to conference.  Seriously.

New Paths in Library Advocacy: Reflections on the NC Teaching Fellows Jr. Conference

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.

 

View more presentations from Jennifer LaGarde

 

It’s a Small World After All – Developing Personal Learning Networks for Students AND Teachers Using 21st Century Techno on Prezi

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!"

Take That! Using Wikis To Pop Filter Bubbles!

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!

PS:  My #2000hour spreadsheet is filling up. 

(Professional) Beach Reading

My summer office has a GREAT view!

I am very fortunate to live at the beach.  That means I spend lots of my summer complaining about the masses of people who descend on my little town for vacation each year - while, secretly, not being able to blame them.  It also means that when my school district asked me to compile a summer reading list of professional titles for teachers, they referred to the final product as a "beach reading list," which I find endearing.

I don't know about you, but the pile(s) of books I've been "saving for summer" has grown beyond what I'll ever be able to tackle.  Each year I look on, longingly, as many of the superstars on my PLN take on the "Book A Day"challenge that Donalyn Miller issues every summer.  But I know my limits.  Despite my love of the sport, I'm a fairly slow reader and will *never* play in the big leagues.  A book a week, maybe.  But a book a day?  Oi.

Even so, I love passing on the challenge to others and encourage everyone within the sound of my tweets to play along.  As Donalyn rightfully points out, this challenge is as much about connecting with a community of readers as it is about the books you get to mark as "read" on Goodreads.  So, to those who can do it, think they can do it, or at least want to do it, I say go for it!  I'll be sitting on the sidelines cheering you on!

As for me, well… soon the lights in the library will be clicked off for the duration, but only after I've made several trips to the car with boxes and bags filled with summer projects. What I'm looking for this summer is balance.  Rather than making work OR play a priority this summer, I’m shooting for that place in between where I can do the following, if not in equal, then at least in healthy measure.

 

"Balance" http://libgirl365.tumblr.com/post/5284825815

• Heal:  It’s been a tough year for all educators and I need to make time to tend to my wounds.  I’m pretty sure most of us will emerge from this school year with scars. 
• Connect: Both virtually and in person: whether just having coffee or as part of an online book club, I need to cultivate some old and new relationships. 
• Rest:  I will sleep 8 hours per night.  I will.  Really. No, really.  And I will nap too.  So there.
• Share:  I’ve got a few presentations lined up for summer.  I haven’t overbooked myself, but I’ve got a few opportunities to be a part some great conversations this summer.  Can’t wait!
• Create:  I’m not artist, but I like taking pictures and building webpages – I hope to do lots of both this summer. 
• Disconnect:  This might be the hardest of all my summer goals, but I know I need to unplug and go “off the grid” for awhile.  I’m starting to dream in 140 characters; that can’t be good.
• Play:  Enough said.
• Advocate:  I will bedocumenting the hours I spend on work related projects as part of the 2000hours project.  If you are in education,you MUST do this.
• Learn:  There’s so much to learn.  I know I'm a nerd, but this is the part of summer I look forward to most. (This and the napping). Reading, whether online, on an eReader or in the pages of an old school book, summer is a great opportunity to lose yourself in words.

Which brings me back to “beach reading.”  This list is a combination of some titles that were already on my reading list and those that my fantabulous PLN suggested.  I got the idea to crowdsource the list from my friend and mentor Buffy Hamilton who constantly seems to be blazing trails for me to tread.  If you contributed to the list, please accept my humble gratitude.  (And if I didn’t include something you suggested, it’s only because I was limited to a certain # of words by my “editor.”)

A couple of titles that did not make the list that I'm sharing with my district, but that I will for sure read personally are:  The Atlas of New Librarianship by R. David Lankes and The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth by Alexandra Robbins.  It's exciting to think about all of these as being part of how I grow and change as a librarian, an educator and as a person this summer. 

All that said, no matter how you spend your summer… whether your toes are in the sand, you're breathing the mountain air or you're simply lounging in your favorite chair, remember:  you’ve earned this break, you deserve whatever pampering you indulge in and after a year spent taking care of everyone else, it’s time to take care of yourself.