LIBE 477: Reflection
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 inquiry phase. It was really neat to focus on fostering reading and learning in our Library Learning Commons' and it was good to reflect and evaluate my own practice as well as get inspired by others.
From Lacey's blog post I straight up stole her Bookstagram/ Caught reading idea because I was intrigued by her post about interactive bulletin boards increasing excitement around the Library. I put in place my own "Caught Reading" Board and have been switching out the photos every week. I think the students like it.
In Sasha's blog post about fostering a culture of reading in schools I really took to heart the part about evaluating the physical space and environment to see if it is one that is showcasing the importance of reading. I am working in a library setting so the books are showcased- they cover 90 % of the walls. However, the space definitely does not feel cozy and comforting to me. Because of this, I want to work on brightening up the darker corners. The shelves are overcrowded which is why ruthless weeding is one of my priorities this year. Once that is done I want to genre-fy the fiction section. The fiction books already have genre stickers on the spines of the books so it should be a quick job to move them to genre specific shelves. I have decided that when I do this I will not put books on the bottom shelves. It is a dark space and students are not selecting from the bottom. Series bins may be a better fit there. I have noticed that all areas of the collection (easy, graphic novels, YA books, easy chapter books, Non-Fiction) are moving off the shelves EXCEPT for the chapter books. This area needs examination and experimentation to get circulation up.
As a total personal aside- and because I finally got the images to add properly- throughout the term so far I have been teaching myself how to sew! I do at least one hand sewing projects a year with my students in both maker and art but I wanted to learn how to sew with a sewing machine and make/design clothes. I got a machine at Christmas and have implemented a rule that I cannot sew until my university work is done (I get tunnel vision with new hobbies). So, here is my project journey: First I made 12 Fat Quarter Japanese Knot lunch bags, then I made a dress, and now I am onto a bajillion color-blocked sweatshirts!
You never know how these skills will apply to the job, whether it is prepping student projects or teaching small groups how to machine sew! SEW exciting! (see what I did there. Ha ha ha)
Well done reflection on your own growth, new awareness and also highlighting the key topics, ideas and sharing that you've appreciated over the last few weeks. Completing an online diploma, in a digital technology course, during a pandemic where everything is done online can be very overwhelming for anyone, especially for someone who is not tech-focused. I appreciated your honesty, openness and also the personal sharing of your own hobbies, sewing projects and personlized inquiry. Overall, this was a rich, engaging look back at the last few weeks.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited about the future plans you have for your library. I have been applying genre labels to my classroom library books, but you make a good point about adding the series to bins, noted.
ReplyDeleteI was in intrigued by your sewing projects, I enjoy sewing as well. I had to look up what a Quarter Japanese Knot lunch bag was, and now I want to make one. Think you could send me the pattern? You might also find it interesting that I've heard of some schools actually purchasing sewing machines for their Maker Spaces. Considering how many students I've met in middle school and high school who enjoy Cosplay, this seems like a great fit, and an amazing opportunity to help them develop new skills. While technology skills are important, never discount the other unique skills you have like sewing that you can share with your students. I wonder if it would be possible to survey the school staff, and see what other unique skills that teachers could volunteer to share with their students.
HI, I didn't use a pattern for the knot bags, just looked at a pic online and drew the shape (traced the first one again for the other panels). Sorry. I have done a couple sewing projects with kids before. I have made Pop Art/Soft Sculpture inspired Emoji/Minecraft/AmoungUS Stuffies based off of this: https://www.artwithmrsnguyen.com/2016/05/emoji-soft-sculptures-5th.html With both felt and cotton fabric, large needles and small. I have also made character trait animal stuffies before (First step is to list character traits for a person -real or from fiction- then look through a list of animals and their character traits, then they select an animal - i had them write down the colors of felt they would need and then i made them tracers for all of their animals - once we had the fabric and tracers they can trace, cut, and hand sew.)
DeleteSewing machines would be interesting, but the only classroom I have seen it working well in is a Montessori room where some students choose to sew as one of their work jobs- I wouldn't know how to tackle it as a whole class activity. They just take a lot of instruction.
Hey Andrea!
ReplyDeleteI love that the bookstagram idea inspired you to do your own! That made me really happy to see. A friend of mine is in an online class and is using blogger as well and she is finding that it is not as user friendly as it used to be. She was having a lot of issues with her formatting which she had never experienced before.
I really appreciated that you took the advice of others in our group and reflected on your library. I think making it more cozy for your students will foster their love for reading and encourage them to find a spot with a good book. Good luck with genre-fying! We are in the middle of it in my library and even though I know it is going to be worth it in the end, it has been a bit of a nightmare. Weeding before is a great idea, we were weeding during and it was so hard!