Ms.Britney's Library Musings

 My Final Vision: the audience Who is the audience? Where will it live? Why am I doing it? A quick reminder for those keeping track at home, I was originally planning to splash out with some fancy final artifact around artificial intelligence and tech when we first started constructing our learning in this course. Oh, how the aged have fallen! This is how I felt when I started diving into these topics: And while I think I look pretty cute in that outfit, I knew that this was not how I wanted to feel as I created meaning from my learning. I can acknowledge that I am not yet ready to create an inspirational video or reel or other high tech, social media based final product as I had intended. I decided to go back to my roots and create something that has meaning for me. After all, we are building our own understanding and the final artifact needs to represent that, in an intentional form that can be used and not just sit on a shelf and look pretty (hello Masters Thesis!) To that end, ...

Now What?  What kind of Artifact can I create?  (That will bump up my mark and get me an A? as my students would ask 😄) We have covered some serious ground in this course and not all of it was easy for me. I came in thinking that I was ready to hike and had some resources in my pack to get me through the journey. Turns out, many of my supplies expired in 2020 and my stamina was not what I thought it was!  I had originally thought to dive into how AI could be used for good instead of the cliched evil but in my research have stumbled upon some very clever and knowledgeable people who say & do it better than I ever could. And I know what I would do as a teacher or TL- forward the links and give credit where it's due. So that particular path is not one I want to explore with my rusty compass and older iPhone GPS now that it's been mapped in so well. In 3D. With drones.  This is the amazing blog https://thirdspacelibrarian.wordpress.com where TL Jeri Herd is do...

 Reflecting on Phase 2  A Smorgasbord of Library Related Awesomeness  Like all good buffets, the Phase 2 offerings were wide and appealing. There was something for everyone's interests and honestly, a bit overwhelming. From fostering learning to ICTs to world libraries (oh my!), the learning was vast and varied. Which leaves learners with a plate in hand at the front of the table looking at so many choices.  Depending on how well a potential TL chooses, the resulting plate could be the best meal they'd ever experienced or could result in the worst heartburn.  I am a big picture thinker and so I look at the phase offerings with that big idea lens. And when I think about what the biggest take aways from this inquiry step are, I see two big ideas: How a TL can be integral in helping to develop and improve pedagogy. and    The reinforcement of the value of the library  How a TL is integral: If the library offerings are the smorgasbord, the TL is a one...

 Developing World Libraries: Connecting People and Knowledge for the Betterment of the World The subject of how world libraries and how access to libraries around the world could impact developing countries has had me thinking of one of my first blog posts. A throwback to my own work seems a bit pompous but since the subject matter and my own fangirl position is pretty cheesy, I think it's ok. A quick recap in case you didn't click back for review (I wouldn't have either): In 2014, TNT launched an irreverent sci-fi fantasy series called, "The Librarians" as a spin off of the movie series of the same name. It ran for 4 seasons and depicted a motely crew of misfits taking on the role of librarian to save the world. According to Wikepedia, " The Librarians are an ancient organization dedicated to protecting an innocent world from a magical and fantasy-like secret reality hidden from view." It was a fabulous, goofy show that reflected zero real librarianship...

 Supporting Teachers' ICT  & Ongoing Pro-D As I posited in my last post, the TL is ICT.  Yup, I said it. 😳 This is a huge statement that I'm not completely sure I can back up and I know terrifies me to my very core as a wannabe TL, but I think it may be true.  Module 7 of LIBE 447B(2023) reminds us that, " In many ways, Teacher-Librarians are looked to as school leaders in developing new skills, evaluating and acquiring new resources and leading workshops and inservice around new strategies, resources and school technology." and this is reinforced by Haycock's argument in his 2014 report on the standards of practice for school library learning commons, Leading Learning : But how does a TL do this when their colleagues are tired and not necessarily interested in doing more? When perhaps the love of learning and planning has waned? We know that liking or even loving what you do means a higher likelihood of engagement and excellence. O'Keefe (2014) reminds u...

How Does a Teacher Create a Network with blowing a fuse?  TL to the rescue! According to the keeper of all knowledge worth knowing, Wikipedia, a teacher is defined as: " A  teacher , also called a  schoolteacher  or formally an  educator , is a person who helps  students  to acquire  knowledge , competence, or  virtue , via the practice of  teaching ." This is the idea most have in mind when they sign up for their education degrees and dream of having their own classroom.  Having just returned to the classroom after days away for professional development opportunities and union education, I should feel very capable of meeting that definition and creating a clever post on the idea of networking and collaborating in a professional way.   But I don't. Why? Because the much more realistic definition of a teacher and the demands of the role is:  Teachers educate students at all levels on one or more subjects, such as geog...