Future Vision Project Reflection and Digital Artifact

Future Vision Project Reflection

I decided to build a new website for the Library Learning Commons as my digital artifact.
Since my knowledge in this area was non-existent I spoke to everyone I even suspected of having some expertise about website building to find out which website builder was the easiest to use while still providing professional results. Since we are not a Google school division, using it was not an option. After much talk, the two most recommended web-site builders were Weebly and WordPress. I spent some time looking into both. While I thought that WordPress produced more professional and interesting results, Weebly seemed easier to use. Several staff members in the school have Weebly sites so I could go to them for support--decision made.
The course of  website building never did run smooth! I had a traumatic experience working with Weebly. While on the Weebly site for the school's 50th reunion, I accidentally deleted a significant part of it. With all of the technology teachers out of the building, and a presentation to do at  the reunion committee that evening it was imperative that I figure out a way to get it back. The only way to recreate the page was to get a student who is a code writer, and probably some kind of secret web master, to write code from a previously published page. After he resurrected the page, I asked him why he was still in high school. He told me he needed his math credit--go know! First lesson, Weebly doesn't appear to save previous versions of the page you are working on. Because of this shortcoming I decided I needed to look at other website builders.
Our divisional library consultant suggested I use Wix.

The two features that sold me on Wix were it's ease of use and that there is 24/7 support. Ease of use is a relative term. Even though I have been able to use Wix, each element takes hours for me to learn and often requires redoing, and reworking sections of the website many times. The help/support feature is extremely useful. I have probably clicked on help for most of the items I have included some several times.

So then Lesson 1: Begin by choosing a website builder that provides the kind of support you need and that is easy to use.

Lesson 2: Make a plan.
This part of developing the artifact took forever, partly because I never felt as if I had finished my research. Each new search revealed pages that looked like they might work, ideas I should include, links I should add. Two school libraries that were great examples were Royal Bay Secondary Learning Commons and Cedar Hill Library and Learning Commons. In the article, "Will this Website Save Your Library (and Your Librarians)?" there is a description of five basic rooms that can be built on a school library learning commons website. I have tried to follow a number of guidelines from this model. "The main page and information center is the closest in personality to the 'old library website.'"(Shauffenhauser p. 42).  My main page contains much of the information that was on the old website, along with some photos that will draw the students in.

I have not included a school culture page as suggested because we have a school website that promotes student school activities. I have included an "about" page so that information about the library and its policies is easily accessible.

The article also suggests two more pages that I will continue to work on even though the website is published. I can do this due to a miraculous feature of the Wix website builder which allows revisions and previews without publishing the changes until they are ready.

Lesson 3: Revise the plan. When I began working on this artifact, I thought that it would be challenging but doable. However, like house renovations, everything took twice as long as expected.
I am still working on the "for student" and the  "knowledge-building center" pages. This is where I want to include a place for collaboration, where "..the librarian and teacher can work together to pull together the resources that learners (and their parents) will need for a project" (Shauffenhaser, pl 42).

This is an ongoing process. As I get some of the feedback from teachers I will be better able to build the pages that they will find useful. Here is the website so far:

My digital artifact

Link to the website SHS LCC Website

How am I going to share it with others?

To begin, the website had a soft opening. I shared it with my department which only has a few people in it. Then I shared it with staff at the staff meeting April 3. I asked for two things: items they wanted me to include on the website; and, for staff to look through the current website and let me know which items, links, assignments they want to have on the new website as well.
This only happened yesterday, and I have the first request so far. A teacher suggested that I put a link to the old website on the new one.  I will keep it there for a few months so that they have enough time to decide what they want me to transfer to the new site.  I will further share the website with the school, divisional and greater community by having this new website as the link to the school LLC on our school website.

What are the implications of the website?
My hope is that the website will provide increased opportunities for teachers to collaborate with the library and with each other. We can design the kind of assignments the teacher wants, build a page to store the work and resources. Students and parents can access the information any time.
As well, I see the website as a way to keep administration in the building up to date on what is happening in the library, how it is the hub of the school, how we promote a culture of reading. 
My work getting student input has not been as successful as I hoped. Partly, I think this is due to timing. I did much of the planning around and during Spring Break. My plan is to meet with students to get more feedback about what they will find useful on the website.

Reflection on the course

The use of technology has been a source of fear and frustration since I started working as a Teacher-Librarian. It was difficult to be a media and technology specialist with little confidence and less know how. When I started in the diploma program in September one of my goals was to become more skilled in this area. No question, I have made significant progress.
One of the most important take-aways from this course is the idea that I don't have to have my blog, or my artifact perfect in order to post it. I can share what I am working on and my teacher and the people in my PLN can provide feedback to make it better.  The importance of this shared expertise really hit home during this course. I was able to connect with people and learn from them. I am so thankful for everyone's generosity with ideas and problem solving when I struggled to do something, well actually everything. It has resulted in profound changes in how I see my abilities. Isn't this what we want for our students as they incorporate 21st century skills into their toolkit--for them to learn new skills, struggle and see themselves anew.

Works cited

Baumbach, Donna, et al. “What Should Be on a School Library Web Page?” Learning and Leading with Technology, vol. 32, no. 1, Sept. 2004, pp. 46–53., files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ695797.pdf.

Bibliotheque Cedar Hill Library and Learning Commons, https://cedarhilllibrary.sd61.bc.ca/

Clark, Sarah. “Online Research: Tips and Tricks for Effective Search Strategies.” YouTube, 20 Jan. 2016, youtu.be/LTJygQwYV84.

“Evaluating Websites.” YouTube, GCSC Library, 12 Feb. 2013, youtu.be/aem3JahbXfk.

Palma, Marcella. “Targeted Website Traffic.” Flicker.com, 31 Jan. 2014, www.flickr.com/photos/marcela-palma/12239536886/sizes/o/.

Richardson, Will. (2012). Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere [Kindle Single]. TED Conferences.

Royal Bay Secondary Learning Commons, http://rbslc.staff.sd62.bc.ca/

Schaffhauser, Dian. "Will this Website Save Your Library (and Your Librarians)?" Education Digest, vol. 80, no. 1, Sept. 2014, pp. 37-43. EBSCOhost, ezprozy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AN=97950287&site=ehostlive&scope=site.

YouTube, Epic Tutorials for IOS and Android Filmmaking, 5 Apr. 2015, youtu.be/R0DQfwc72PM.

“Wix Vs Weebly: Which Website Builder Should You Use?” YouTube, 31 May 2018, youtu.be/N1VQYkl7WrE.

This is the website you are looking for!

LIBE 477: Module 11: Final Vision Project Learner Considerations

Who is the target audience of the website? Who will view it?

Creative Commons Licensed imaged courtesy of mpalma. 

There are a number of groups that I hope will find the new Library Learning Commons website a place to visit often.

1. The students. The website will be most useful to them and they are my primary focus.  To get them to visit, our landing page has the links to the Destiny on-line catalogue and to other useful information: links to divisional data bases; links to "how to" sites for citations. As well, the landing page will have: library hours, book recommendations, new book lists, and information about what is going on in the library. There will also be links to projects that their teachers are collaborating on. I think these things are all important, but I will run this plan by the students that are helping develop the website to make sure it is a place they will want to visit.

2. The staff.  I'd also like the website to provide teachers with information, links, ideas and ways for them to support their students.  I'd like to promote the collaborations between the TL and the classroom teachers so that they will be able to see the value of the library in supporting their work with the students. Since I want this to be valuable to the teachers I work with, I will present the ideas for the content of the website at our next department meeting to get feedback that will ultimately help make the website more useful.

3. The administration. The school administration plays a significant role in supporting the library learning commons through staffing and budgetary allotment. The webpage will highlight the success of the library in supporting students in learning and teachers in teaching. The website can provide proof of the dynamic place the library is. Advocating for the LLC in this way is important.The website is a way to promote the value of the library as the learning hub of the school.

4. The parents of our current students. Parents will use the library website. The link to student projects/collaborations on the website can provide information about the inquiry projects  their children are working on.

5. The wider community. The website is a public document. It is window into the workings of a part of the school. It is important that it be professional, informative and easy to explore.

6. The elected board members of the school division. The school division and the board have invested significantly in libraries and in teacher-librarians. Improved literacy is one of the divisional goals. The website will promote and foster a culture of reading in the division.

Creative Commons Image, no attribution required. https://pxhere.com/en/photo/774947 

I realize that the website will always be a work in progress. According to Dian Schaffhasuer in the article, "Will This Website Save Your Library (and Your Librarians)?" "We're always recalculation, recalibrating, reinventing, re-envisioning," (p.40)  in order to provide what is required and desired by students and teachers.

Works Cited

Schaffhauser, Dian. "Will this Website Save Your Library (and Your Librarian)? Education Digenst, vol 80, no. 1, Sept. 2014, pp. 37-43. EBSCOhost, ezprozy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspz?direct=true&db=eue&AN=97950287&site=ehotlive&scope=site.

Vision of the Future

Module 10: Final Vision Project Design Considerations

The What: A new website

I have been thinking about, and worried about, what I will do for my final vision project since the start of LIBE 477. I took this course early in my diploma program because I needed to improve my technology skills. Initially I thought my final vision project would focus on information literacy or on ethics and the use of technology. These are still areas that I want to investigate further, but I have decided that the most pressing task is to build a new website for the Library Learning Commons where I work. Once complete I plan to share this site with the school staff at one of our staff meetings and with the divisional librarians at one of our common learning days. I will also promote it with the students daily. The current website is a wiki. (link to the current website is here. ) The website needs to be updated. Many more sophisticated platforms to construct websites have been developed, such as blogger and WordPress, and I plan to use one of these to build the website for our library.

I see the new website as a way to share with students and staff all that is going on in the library. I have looked at a number of different websites (some great ones as a result of recommendations from colleagues in this class) and I'd like to have a page that  highlights:

• activities in the library
• opportunities for staff collaboration
• opportunities for student collaboration
• useful links for student research and project work
• new books
• links to the library Instagram and twitter accounts 
• library policies, hours and staff
• student work

The How: Planning, planning, planning

To do:
1. Investigate different website platforms and figure out which one to use. I have spent time exploring Google Docs, Weebly and WordPress.

2. Make a specific plan about what information to use and how to organize it. For this part I'd like to include students. In the article,  How Usable Are School Library Websites? A Random Sample from All Fifty States, the authors Chow et al make the point that adults who design website that they think are cool or appealing to students often miss the mark. According to Chow, "A growing body of research suggests that working with youth throughout the life cycle of a website - analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation—is the appropriate way to ensure that youth perspectives and priorities are appropriately included." According to the article, to be most effective  school librarians have to engage with students in the design processes and content of the library website. Now I have to find a few (willing) participants to work with me on this project.


Works Cited

Chow, Anthony S. .., et al. “How Usable Are School Library Websites? A Random Sample from All Fifty States.” Journal of Research on Libraries & Young Adults, vol. 7, no. 3, Dec. 2016, pp. 1–28. Accessed March 10, 2019.

Nick Youngson. “Under Construction.” Picserver.org, Creative Commons, www.picserver.org/highway-signs2/a/under-construction.html.

“Woman, Girl, Balloon, Thought Bubble.” Pixabay.com, pixabay.com/illustrations/woman-girl-balloon-thought-bubble-1172718/.

Reflections

Inquiry Blog Post #5

This course has truly been a growth experience and as I think about the modules and assignments I realize that much of the difficulty I had has been due to my worry about my lack of tech skills.

Blogtrepreneur, https://www.flickr.com/photos/143601516@N03/28018096810. (Image social media links).

The biggest learning piece for me was the importance and ease with which social media can be used to share, build a PLN and to collaborate. Due to a lack of confidence in my technical skills I kept the use of social media on the back burner. Even though using social media to promote the library was high on my to-do list I did not engage in it enough. One of the best changes I have made is to do at least one thing everyday. For the most part I post something related to the LLC on Instagram.  At the end of a month it was pretty satisfying to see all of the work done. At the end of the school year, I will have a record of some of the activities that I can include in the library report. Having this record is also a way to promote the LLC to the administration and the community. They can see how the library is collaborating with classes and promoting literacy. While Instagram is currently the platform I am most comfortable with, I intend to expand my social media tool kit. I did set up a twitter account at the beginning of this course and it is next on my list of tools to learn how to use more effectively.

The week on world libraries held so many aha moments I could hardly fashion a cogent response about what I had learned.  I had no idea there were so many worldwide projects that promote literacy in developing countries. The research I did for this module changed many of my ideas about mobile devices and learning. Even after reading Richardson’s book, Why School? How Education Must Change When Learning and Information are Everywhere with its promotion of mobile devices I still viewed phones as a negative influence for teaching and learning. But after learning about the usefulness of using these devices to promote literacy in developing countries, I think they are worthy of a second glance. The UNESCO report was particularly effective in providing information about the ways mobile devices can be used to improve literacy. 

How Mobile Phones Drive Literacy, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3NqU6gqsTM


Richardson, Will (2012). Why School? How Education Must Change When Learning and Information are Everywhere (Kindle Single). Ted Conferences.

Mark West, and EI Chew Han. “Reading in the Mobile Era: A Study of mobile reading in developing countries.” UNESCO, 22 May 2014, unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000227436.

Inquiry Post #4: Use of Mobile Devices in Developing Countries for Literacy

What can a mobile device be used for? 

Almost every student in the high school where I teach has a smart phone of some sort. Student use and access to these devices is hotly debated. Students have access in some classes and no access in others. Students use cell phones in many non-productive ways from constant texting to bullying. But they can be employed for educational purposes as well. Our Library Learning Commons does not restrict cell phone usage. It would be a losing battle and a constant source of confrontation with students. Instead our policy is that school devices—desktop and laptop computers and IPads—are for educational purposes and students need to use their personal devices for other activities. We do encourage students to “Bring Their Own Device” however this policy has limitations. Students cannot log on and print from their own device so they are then forced to email the work to their school account, log onto a divisional computer and print the work. As we move to OneDrive and an e-share platform, my hope is that this process will be easier to manage.



Last year our WIFI network was upgraded to make room for all of the devices that log onto it daily. There are still times where there isn’t enough bandwidth and students are asked to take their phones off of WIFI in order to allow classrooms to connect and work.


I was pretty surprised to find that almost everyone in developing countries has a mobile phone. According to the UNESCO report, Reading in the mobile era,"Recent data from the United Nations indicate that of the estimated 7 billion people on Earth, over 6 billion now have access to a working mobile phone (p. 16).” Cell phone use has continued to grow throughout the past 5 years. In developing countries were access to books is limited, mobile devices are filling some of the gaps in literacy. In the video link below, one of the authors of the UNESCO report explains how inexpensive and accessible mobile devices make reading. An open access book that can be read on a mobile device can cost as little as two or three cents. While the same book in paper would be approximately ten dollars.                                    

Video: Reading in the mobile era

There are a significant number of projects to improve literacy and numeracy in developing countries. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) implemented a “mobile phone based literacy and numeracy program…conducted in two regions in Niger (Aker p. 2-3). Niger is a region with a very low literacy rate. “Close to 90 percent of adults in the regions are illiterate, and male and female literacy rates are estimated to be 15 and 7.5 percent, respectively (Aker p. 6).” The project ran for two years. The results showed significant increases in both literacy and numeracy. “These results suggest that simple and relatively cheap information and communication technology can serve as an effective and sustainable learning tool...” (Aker p.1).

So, in the end are cell phones or books the answer to improving literacy in developing countries? Both have benefits. Books are difficult to ship, they do not survive harsh climate conditions, and only one person at a time can use them. But the pleasure of sitting and becoming deeply absorbed in a book is hard to duplicate by cell phone use.
Mobile devices allow access to resources from around the world. They democratize knowledge, but it is hard to focus on just the book at hand. Text messages and notifications can be constant interruptions. Maybe a combination of both books and smart devices will serve developing and developed nations best.

Works cited

Aker, Jenny C., et al. “ABC, 123: The Impact of a Mobile Phone Literacy Program on Educational Outcomes.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2010, doi:10.2139/ssrn.1694142.

Marc Smith. Mobile West Africa . Johannesburg, South Africa, 13 Oct. 2009, www.flickr.com/photos/marc_smith/4018314144. Accessed 25 Feb. 2019.

Mark West, and EI Chew Han. “Reading in the Mobile Era: A Study of mobile reading in developing countries.” UNESCO, 22 May 2014, unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000227436.

Reading in the Mobile Era, UNESCO, 22 Apr. 2014, youtu.be/4gOtpCIl-Ng.

Inquiry Post #3: Teaching the Teachers and ICT

Supporting Teachers' ICT curriculum and Pedagogy: On-going Professional Development

Image: Irish Computer Society https://www.ics.ie/news/view/1727 

One of the most important jobs as TL is to teach teachers as well as students. One of the best ways to do this is through collaboration. But how do teachers know that the teacher-librarian wants to collaborate with them when the teacher-library doesn’t always have a platform for informing the staff about opportunities.

What can the TL do to make a difference in this area?

A.   Provide instruction and ideas in casual ways.

A teacher-librarian is a teacher first. In the case of ICT the teacher-librarian often must focus on getting teachers to be comfortable with and able to use technology. (This is a stretch for me since I am working on mastering much of the technology myself.) For this to work the teacher-librarian has to be seen as someone they are comfortable working with. I try always to casually frame the introduction to new technology in a “we are in this together,” “let’s figure it out” kind of way.

In the hallways, I might suggest an app I learned about or I send an email with a link to something that might enhance the curriculum in a class. I also include an invitation to work with me to figure out how the technology will fit into their course.

B.   Provide support for ICT in more formal way.

I sometimes have the chance to share information at the staff meeting and I use these opportunities to introduce staff to a new app or another technology idea. I always close with an invitation to anyone who wants to work with me.

During Professional Development days I have worked on different sessions. I prepared a BreakoutEDU game to introduce our staff to the SAMR model.

Duckworth, Sylvia. BreakoutEdu Sketchnote.  https://cooltoolsforschool.net/breakoutedu/

As well, I ran a session highlighting 10 apps to improve literacy. I continue to look for opportunities like these to share tech information with my colleagues. I have asked my administrator if it is possible to put me on the agenda every month. Next year we are going to a new format for staff meeting to take place. Students will have a late start to school every Wednesday and our staff meetings will take place one of these Wednesday’s every month. At least one of the other three late starts is designated for professional development. I am going to volunteer to provide a monthly session focusing on technology.

I think that two barriers to teacher’s experimenting and using new (for them) technology in the classroom are fear of failure and lack of time. Teachers fear appearing incompetent and losing the respect of the students. If something goes awry in their class, staff don’t want to be seen a lacking in skill.

As well, teachers often have ideas but no time to learn the technology and plan to implement it in class. I am happy to go into the class, do the tech piece with the students and work out the problems as they surface. This provides the teachers with a learning experience without risk and works around the time crunch issue as well.

C.    Broadcast success, in other words, share your successful projects.        In my previous course in the LIBE degree program we learned about advocacy. An important realization for me was that part of advocacy involves broadcasting the ways in which you, as teacher-librarian, can collaborate with teachers for student successes. It feels like bragging to say with whom I worked and how successful we were in a specific project. But I recognize that this is one of the ways that teachers can see what types of things the TL can work on with them. At our latest staff meeting, I shared information about an infographics project I worked. I also posted it on Instagram, talked about it at a program area meeting. I am now working on a similar project with another teacher.

D.   Our new staff calendar publishes which staff are attending Professional development sessions. In order to improve our professional development section in the library, I have encouraged staff to make a list of resources that they would like the library to buy so that they can continue with their learning and so that other teachers can have access to new ideas. I plan to continue this process. 

E.   And finally, a number of teachers have expressed an interest in learning over lunch hour or after school (maybe). I think this will be a great opportunity to meet some of the professional development needs of the staff.

Inquiry Post #2: How I learned to stop worrying and love ICT

I have been a French teacher for a long time. One of the ways the students get better at speaking in French is by speaking, so I build in activities that allow them to practice and get better by using the language they are learning. They take risks and are rewarded by significant improvement and comfort in an additional language.


So now it's my turn. This is the exact process that is happening for me in LIBE 477. I need to improve my skills in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and this course in one of the ways I am doing it. It is difficult because there is risk involved—the risk of looking stupid; the risk of feeling foolish; the risk of getting it wrong publicly…but because Information and Communication Technology Skills are an area where growth is necessary, I have chosen to participate in these technology learning experiences. In the past month I have created and posted several times on a blog, inserted links and photos, made a twitter account (no posts yet!), posted consistently on Instagram, joined three google hangouts. Doing each of these activities was scary the first time, but it has gotten a little easier each subsequent time.


Manitoba Education and Training Curriculum has a Learning with ICT Model.

This model can be linked to the list of “21st century literacies” (Richardson location 177).  Students have to “manage, analyze and synthesize.” (Richardson location, 177). They have to “question, design and share” (Richardson location 177). ICT is implemented as a continuum of skills throughout all curricular areas and from K-12. In this, teacher-librarians are ideally situated to help other staff and students, so I need to be developing more skills in this area.

In order to continue to develop my skills, outside of the course requirements, I have taken a few steps. First, I’ve signed up for a school committee that will force me to learn new technology skills. Committee members will be in-serviced on new applications available in the division and then we will help other staff members to learn these new skills.

In order to connect with others, I am a member of the Manitoba School Library Association. The MSLA offers workshops and I've signed up for one in March called: Teaching Information Literacy Skills in the Age of Fake News.

In my previous UBC course we signed up to receive messages through LM_Net. I find reading the information helps inform me of current issues in Teacher-Librarianship. There are often posts about useful applications and other technology.

A few weeks into this course I can agree that “There’s obviously a learning curve to this (and there are just so many hours in the day). But these technologies are within almost anyone’s grasp” (Richardson, Location 408).

Bibliography

Creative Commons Technology Image: https://pixabay.com/en/technology-information-digital-2082642/

Richardson, Will (2012). Why School? How Education Must Change When Learning and Information are Everywhere (Kindle Single). Ted Conferences.

“The LwICT Model.” Manitoba Education and Training, Government of Manitoba, www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/tech/lict/resources/posters/index.html