Koehzie Library

      For my 477 Future Vision Project I am going to be making Library Guides for the e-resources that are offered through my District Learning Commons. I am going to target intermediate science resources first and then, if there is time, do intermediate socials resources as well. I would like to have a document that has a quick guide reference at the beginning of which resources would fit which curricular outcomes so that the teachers can glance and see what may help them, followed by more in depth advertisement-like info pages showing what the resource has to offer. Ideally I will also make a quick login reference sheet that they could copy and use with students to get them logged in to the resource. This way when teachers are planning their units and having students do research they will be able to tell quickly and efficiently what resources would be useful. I will also look into having shortcut buttons to e-resources added to the student desktops to save confusio...

 E-Resources     The E-resources that are available through my LLC are acquired and made accessible through the School District 57's District Learning Commons. ( E-Resources available) Access to these resources is through their website. I often tend to forget that these resources even exist because they are a little removed from the school environment and I get zero time with computers and classes. Once or twice a year I remember they exist and put out an email blast to classroom teachers about what the resources are and how they may apply, but I haven't even spent a lot of time looking at the resources myself. I linked some of them to my LLC website but only the ones I thought students would use/learn independently. ( website )      As I was contemplating what I could do for my Final Vision Project for LIBE 447 that I would find meaningful in the future and would have an impact on my teaching and learning, I kept thinking about these underutilized E-Resou...

 Self reflection is necessary, but often uncomfortable.      While I do enjoy teaching and using technology in the classroom, this class is forcing me to face the fact that I really dislike technology outside of the classroom setting. I am not ashamed to admit that I am a straight up taker in terms of technology. I search for the information I want and use one social media platform (Reddit) to discuss and get inspiration for my hobbies. I have little to no time or attention span for pretty much anything else. That said, when I need to use a platform and create digital products, like my library webpages, I have always found it easy to do. In the past I have been forced to use other blog platforms for courses and it has been fine, but I do find this blogger platform to be unexciting and not super user friendly, although that could be 100% user error.       Personally, I have found the first week of discussion the most meaningful and helpful of the i...

 I must confess that I have not really looked into libraries and technology in libraries in developing countries before this weeks topic came up. I had a hard time narrowing a focus of search since there is little guidance or direction given.  I ended up reading a lot about a charity called Sun Books that is linked with the World Literacy Foundation. https://sunbooks.org/  Sun Books is an initiative to increase literacy in remote communities in six countries in Africa by providing tablets for students. They partner with the community, create local content, design and create an app for that region, train the teachers, distribute devices to students, evaluate the students, and then re-evaluate and update the program. They started in 2017 in Uganda and have been expanding their programming ever since. They are implementing a tablet-delivered education system with the aim to increase literacy among the population. Their mission statement is "to provide educational resour...

"Professional Development, designed in concert with participants' needs, implemented thoughtfully, and focused on impact over activity, is a powerful way for librarians to leverage their expertise, perspectives, and skills." (Abilock, 13)  Great! You have me convinced... except... I am lacking in the expertise department! I find this week's topic particularly challenging. I know that in the role of Teacher-Librarian, we are often called upon for recommendations for resources for topics and student projects. I feel comfortable with that because that is what I am familiar with as a Teacher firstly. I am also comfortable with curating and maintaining professional resources in the bookroom adjacent to the Library and managing their circulation. However, I am not trained to lead others professional development. I have only been teaching for 6 years now and have been in the Library for 4 of those years. I do not know more than the teachers I am working with and am definitel...