A Chat With A School Librarian: Kim

Student led learning is a big part of education today.  Inquiry is a major part of this student led learning.  Students are encouraged to think and ask questions.  School librarian Kim and I had a discussion on inquiry in her school library program.  

Connecting to prior knowledge helps students to make connections with topics as they go.  To encourage this, Kim uses a variety of questioning strategies prior to reading a book to her elementary students.  After reading, students are asked to come up with a question that they would like to learn more about the topic they read on.  Recently at a library meeting, we were encouraged to look at the ELA standards that students had the most difficult time showing achievement on when taking the SC Ready test.  We then were told to come up with strategies to help meet these standards.  Many of the things, we naturally do when reading with students.  The one thing we all agreed we could be better at is encouraging students to ask questions, even at the kindergarten level.  Kim's idea to have students ask a question at the end is a great way to encourage inquiry and meet that standard.  

Kim uses a variety of strategies to implement inquiry.  When students form questions, she guides them to books, mostly nonfiction, that can help them find answers.  They also have access to Epic on their Chromebooks, so when they can't find a book in the library with answers, they turn to Epic.  She also tries to collaborate with teachers on research to provide materials.  For example, if students are doing a research project on animals, she pulls books about the different animals they are researching.  

A fourth school librarian, and a fourth answer that is the same in regards to challenges: time.  Kim only sees her students once a week for 45 minutes on a fixed schedule.  With checking books in and out and conducting a read aloud, there is little time for implementation of the competencies.  As I have been having discussions with these school librarians and other school librarians, time is the common factor.  It appears as though a fixed schedule makes things nearly impossible to get accomplished.  So here is my question...How do we find the time to accomplish these goals in order to meet the needs of our students? 

A Chat With A School Librarian: Aleisha

 

Create, discover, EXPLORE.  Sometimes it is necessary to step outside of our comfort zone and into things we otherwise would not choose.  As I had a discussion about the explore with school librarian Aleisha, we discussed the necessity to expose students to a wide variety of topics.  

Aleisha is a middle school librarian.  Middle schoolers are often times recluses as they are trying to create their image and figure out who they are as a person.  When students visit Aleisha in the library, she does all she can to encourage students to explore new topics.  She conducts read alouds when classes visit her on a wide variety of topics and genres.  She also shares book talks on a wide variety of topics and genres in order to encourage students to try new books on new topics.  Prior to students visiting the library, Aleisha meets with teachers to decide what needs to be shared to benefit students most.  At the beginning of the year, Aleisha conducts interest inventories as a way to learn about her students.  Students often participate in STEM activities.  This allows them collaborate while they create and explore.  She plans these activities with classroom teachers in order to ensure they go along with what teachers are doing in their classrooms.    

I have had two other conversations with school librarians about different competencies, and there has been one common theme: time is the biggest challenge.  For Aleisha, she has a fixed schedule that does not allow for flexibility outside of the regular scheduled classes very often.  It seems as though there are many things that school librarians want to accomplish, but they do not have the time to do it.  School librarians wear many hats and they try to give their students the best experience they can, but they time to plan for positive experiences.  

A Chat With A School Librarian: Elizabeth

 

Elizabeth Andrews is the school librarian at McBee High School in McBee, SC.  She works in a unique setting in which she serves both middle and high school students, as McBee High is home to students in grades 6-12.

Elizabeth and I had a discussion on collaboration. When students visit the library at McBee High, they sit in groups of 3-4 at tables.  This is an easy opportunity for students to have group discussion and work with each other.  Elizabeth says that while she is teaching, she is purposeful about stopping to have students talk with their tables.  Often times, when given the opportunity to share out, many students are hesitant to participate.  They may feel intimidated or as if their answer is not "good".  Elizabeth discussed a strategy she uses to combat this.  She tries to move from table to table, listening to students conversations.  This allows her choose students to share who otherwise may be reluctant.  She also uses Jamboards as a way for all students to participate in lessons.  Jamboard is a feature students can use on their Chromebooks.

In order to have a successful library program, collaboration should not only occur with students during the class, but also with teachers.  Elizabeth collaborates with teachers in the middle school to teach research skills.  When they are completing projects, they often times come to the library to conduct research.  She has shown them where to find books in the library and how to use databases.  She did state that she wishes she had more time to collaborate with teachers, especially in the high school departments.  

As in most things, there is not enough time to accomplish all she would like to accomplish.   Teachers are so often pulled to do other things during their planning that it is nearly impossible to meet with for planning purposes.  Time is the most challenging part of collaboration for Elizabeth.  

A Chat With A School Librarian: Lindsey

 

Lindsey Arant is the school librarian at New Heights Middle School in Pageland, SC.  As the school librarian, Lindsey works hard to create an environment that is welcoming for all of her students.  

Lindsey and I had a discussion on the curate foundation.  She said that a top priority for her is to diversify her collection.  When she buys new books and materials, she works hard to select materials that represent all students.  She also takes teacher and student requests into consideration.  As the librarian, these are both important things to consider when building a collection.  Students need to see themselves in the books they are reading; they serve as mirrors for students.  We also want to instill a love of reading in all students.  By taking suggestions from students, she is able to select books that she knows her students will want to read.  Collaboration with teachers is also a crucial part of being a school librarian.  Teachers will likely give suggestions that they know align with their students interests and the standards they are teaching.  

Students at New Heights Middle all have Chromebooks.  Lindsey uses features on Chromebooks to help students organize information as they gather it through research.  Technology is enhancing the way in which students are able to curate information.  There are numerous apps, but also learning to use the Google Drive for students with Chromebooks is a great way to help students store information and resources.  

While curation of materials is a crucial aspect of being a successful school librarian, there are challenges that prevent school librarians like Lindsey from being as successful at this as she would like.  Lindsey said that she is not able to collaborate with classroom teachers like she would like to.  She said she does not have time to meet with teachers due to the extra demands of her job such as handling Chromebooks.  She, like many others, is required to do much more than the role of her job description.  She also has a low budget that prevents her from purchasing many materials.  Working in a low income school and district presents its challenges, but teachers like Lindsey do what they can to provide access for students as best they can.  

That's A Wrap!

This semester has taught me many things.  I have considered myself pretty technology sound in terms of knowing how to use technology.  I have thoroughly enjoyed learning new and innovative types of resources to use in my teaching.  I've never really looked at blogs all that much.  One of my favorite things from this semester has been reading blog posts of my classmates.  I have learned so much and found out about so many things from reading their posts.  In fact, I've shared some of the resources that I've read about on those posts with teachers at my school!  I have also enjoyed finding other blogs related to library and information sciences.  I plan to continue to use blogs as a resource for growing in the profession. 

Another take away from this class is the crucial role that librarians play in school settings with implementing technology.  The district that I work in has been so far behind in the technology depart.  After having to close down due to COVID, our district officials made a quick shift to enhance technology in the district.  In a years time, all of our students in grades 3-12 have Chromebooks and teachers as well, and our teachers are currently receiving new touchscreen panels for their classrooms.  While this may not sound like much, it is huge for us!  With all of this new technology, who does everyone turn to for assistance?  You guessed it, the librarian (me).  This class has taught me that as a librarian in the 21st century, it is my job to help teachers and students become acquainted with technology and engage students in using it.  Teaching students to program and giving them the chance to use modern technology is huge in preparing them for their futures.  

A final take away that I gained is equity of access.  I learned about so many assistive technology's.  Again, through blog posts from classmates, I learned some great resources to use to assist students with disabilities.  I also learned that Google has a great deal of accessibility features.  This was great to find out because my district uses Google as our platform.  As I get more settled into my new position and moving things around my library, I am keeping universal design in mind to ensure that my library is welcoming and accessible to any student or guest that visits it.   

I thoroughly enjoyed each of the topics we learned about this semester and feel that I could go on for days with take aways!  Thanks for following along and learning with me!

Bringing Learning to Life With VR

Virtual reality (VR) is something that I have been wanting to explore more.  I've heard of it, but have never really taken the time to look into what it's all about.  In fact, when I began cleaning the school library that I am currently working in, I came across several VR headsets.  I remember saying to myself "what in the world did they ever purchase this for".  Let me explain myself in this thought process real quick.  First, the set requires a device that we do not have access to at our elementary school.  Second, I really didn't have any experience with VR and didn't know how beneficial to the learning experience it can be.  So, as I read and researched this week I have found that with the right type of device, VR can be very beneficial.  

I am here to share the Oculus Quest 2 VR headset.  The Oculus has numerous apps for both educational and recreational purposes. They start at $299 for one with 128GB of storage.  The Oculus also does not require a PC for operation.  

So, how can you use the Oculus in the classroom?  Using the ChalkTalk app with Oculus, students are able to experience the learning process in an entirely new way.  Have you ever wished that you could bring to life a drawing that you put on a whiteboard?  This app will allow you to do that.  Check out this article to learn more about ChalkTalk.  This video is a great introduction in to how ChalkTalk allows you to bring drawn images to life.  

While virtual reality is still a developing topic in the education world, there are many perks of using it.  Some of them include: 

-Making learning an active experience

-Limiting distractions

-Taking student engagement to a whole new level

-Learn complex subjects

For more information on the perks of using VR, check out this article on how to use VR in the classroom. 

Making Time for Makerspaces

 This week's readings and lectures were particularly interesting to me.  I am a first year school librarian who walked into a bit of a mess of things to clean up.  For the majority of the summer, I spent time cleaning things out and had little time to prep for how I wanted things to run in my library.  As the weeks have progressed and some structure has been obtained, I have really been wanting to develop makerspaces for my students.  In fact, I found some tanagram shapes and puzzles that were not being used in our school's science lab and took those to use as a "center".  I also am using magnets and white boards for a spelling game.  These, of course, are just starting points for where I'd like to be.  One of my biggest concerns in starting up my makerspaces is figuring out how to run things time wise.  

I have my students for 45 minutes.  By the time they get in there and we get started, it's really more like 40 minutes.  I came upon this blog post that felt like it was something that I could really relate to.  In the post, "Mrs. J" gives a breakdown of how she checks books out and run makerspaces in 40 minute periods.  She also includes links for suggestions of some great makerspace center tools.  The thing that stuck out to me most was how she talks about her centers being "research centers".  Lauren Britton (2012) states, "Maker spaces promote learning through play; have the potential to demystify science, math, technology, and engineering".  In essence, students are researching and the learning is put in their own hands.  Using research centers as a part of makerspaces, students are able to develop the skills necessary to be  successful in their education and future careers.  While 40 minutes is not a long amount of time, there is plenty that can be accomplished by structuring a schedule and getting students in the swing of the schedule.