THINK DIFFERENT - LIBE 477 Module 9 Summarizing and Discussing Phase 2 Topics and Interests

 "THINK DIFFERENT"

image from Bitmoji

There is no amount of independent internet surfing that can garner as much quality resources, input, and further professional development than what I was able to gain from reading my peers' blogs.  Here we have global colleagues that have similar goals for their students, identical topics being explored, and interpretations that are viable to use in next week's classroom/learning commons lessons.  PLNs are vital to positive progress towards focused paths of learning and my own magical journey to becoming a 21st century learner.  

Here are some key takeaways for the past blog post topics:

★ Fostering Reading Cultures

Many of us follow similar pathways to supporting students' growth in reading and writing: Daily 5, Adrienne Gear texts, and often use technology to enhance the literacy experience at school and gain support from home.  I would be interested in checking out studenttreasures.com next time I attempt a large writing piece.  Usually we just photocopy our good work and put it into plastic sleeves, but this will give students more of a feel of what publishing would be like.

★ Developing My Own ICT Skills

image from Bitmoji

"Slow and steady wins the race."  That would perfectly summarize my progress with ICT skills.  I usually prefer to take on 1 or 2 programs/apps a year to learn.  The past 6 months I have taken on Microsoft Teams, My BluePrint, iMovie, YouTube, GoogleMeet, SeeSaw, and creating a blog.  Taking a page out of my lesson plans, I feel like I am developing a growth mindset with learning, making mistakes, relearning, and persevering.

image from Bitmoji

One subject area that I have avoided is music.  Usually we had a music specialist for our prep coverage but for the past two years we have not.  I had grand plans to utilize the dusty xylophones at our school, but they were missing keys and enough instruments for all students.  As well, I did not even know where to start!  This year, I came out of my comfort zone, thanks to this coursework and Tuesday meets.  For our virtual Remembrance Day ceremony, I took the risk of practicing a special song (I am very tone deaf), recording using voice memo and played an instrumental version on the projector mirrored from my iPad, and uploaded their artwork as part of an iMovie that I linked to a YouTube account I made.  It may not seem a lot for any of you tech-minded educators, but I feel like I checked something off on my bucket list.  I am really proud for my Grade 3 students as this was something new for them as well and collaborated together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muGLxaXsdn0&feature=youtu.be

★ Ongoing Professional Development

image from Bitmoji

I promise to try harder.  This is my mantra when I begin to plan for future 21st century endeavours.  For me, trying new things is not engaging, unless I am failing and succeeding with at least one other person.  I took the jump to librarianship for this exact reason.  Of course, I am passionate about Learning Commons and literacy, but doing the coursework with a colleague has also added to my PLN.  She has delayed taking more courses, but it has opened up the opportunity for me to connect with our TL at present, as she too, is pursuing a librarianship degree.  Then there is making connections with my brother who is a computer software designer, and being able to ask him questions he could answer in a heartbeat to save me surfing for hours.  This may sound like collaboration and building my PLN, but this is where exploring ongoing professional development has led me.  

★ World Libraries/Mobile Devices

I want to be "in the know" with what is happening, in terms of bringing literacy be it physical or digital, into the hands of all children, beyond our continent by frequently visiting websites like:

https://www.worldreader.org/ and https://onebillion.org/

I have been at the same elementary school for 15 years, which has been most of my career.  So, having a class set of iPads, laptops, document cameras, projectors, Apple TVs, teacher Apple laptops/iPads, Smartboards, green screens, etc. is the norm here.  It is not say, I am not aware, but I am definitely moving towards being more educated on what is happening in developing countries, the creative ways students are receiving access to technology, and how the world is helping every child receive equitable educational resources.

This particular topic really resonated with me because my eyes were opened during remote learning when families were trying to navigate technology with varying abilities, devices (or lack thereof), wifi service, and truly, patience.  Some parents were still traumatized by the whole experience and were not willing to do a virtual conference this fall.  Unfortunately these experiences are not even comparable to what is lacking in developing countries around the world.

image from Bitmoji

Works Cited

Helping Readers Build a Better World. (2020, November 05). Retrieved November 08, 2020, from https://www.worldreader.org/

One billion children reading starts now. (n.d.). Retrieved November 08, 2020, from https://onebillion.org/

Student Publishing - Free Book Publishing. (2020, November 04). Retrieved November 07, 2020, from https://studentreasures.com/