Impressions from Inquiry

     Over the past few weeks of this inquiry phase, the learning I've experienced has been tremendous. Some topics, such as fostering a reading culture, were areas I have focused on in the last year and a bit, so while I had a great base of understanding, reading and seeing other people's ideas from their libraries and networks was a great inspiration. It's motivated me to continue to try new things and do as much as possible to reach all the students in my school.
     Other topics, such as our last one regarding worldwide literacy and the impacts of mobile technology on developing countries, were absolutely nowhere on my radar. To be honest I had not given much thought to the bigger global context of literacy and how we as TL's be a part of outreach beyond our community. I'm still torn between the value of providing physical resources versus technological ones, given the state of internet provisions,  educated teachers and trained librarians, but if anything, the research is clear that improving literacy rates worldwide is a priority and there are a lot of people and organizations that are doing a lot of good. I definitely would like to keep those ideas in my periphery and see how it can someday manifest itself in my practice.
     The biggest imprint that has been left on me through this process is with regards to a professional/personal learning network and how we as Teacher-Librarians are supporting teachers.  Before this assignment I had never much heard of a personal learning network nor contemplated what mine looked like. I've steadfastly gone to workshops and tried to stay connected with TL colleagues in my district, but as an endeavor or a goal had never consciously "pursued" an association with like-minded professionals. In hindsight, my PLN is in fact quite substantial by happenstance, after having mentors, workshops, author visits, you automatically start following the work of certain people and continue to grow your circles as a result. But I like the idea of growing it intentionally, purposefully and with thoughtfulness, which I had never done before. Especially in the age of Twitter and social networking, simply "following" someone can have the effect of professional development literally dropping into your lap during casual reading.

(some of my favourite twitter accounts from the past year)

     

    This then is very closely correlated with how we support classroom teachers. I've come to realize once we have well developed networks, it's somewhat of a TL's responsibility to be a conduit of learning for their staff. A conduit with a very good filtration system no doubt, but a necessary step in building the future of our schools and libraries. Going back to Richardson's assertion that education is transformed when professionals share their knowledge, our PLN's can be much more focused and specific than classroom teachers, particularly in elementary schools, and our   resources might not othewise be known.  

 

Photo courtesy of www.getingsmart.com

     These are both things I have made conscious decisions to improve on in the coming months. This website from educatorstechnology.com seems it will be helpful in the process, explaining the benefits of networking in education and suggestions on how to grow your PLN. Luckily, doing specialized course work with like minded peers is also a great place to start!




References:

Richardson, W. (2012). Why school how education must change when learning and information are everywhere / Will Richardson. New York, NY: TED Conferences. 

 http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/06/simple-comprehensive-guide-on-use-of.html. Accessed Mar. 1, 2015.