The Lighthouse Diary #29: The Magic of New Beginnings

And just like that, our in-service ends today. How fast time flies! It has been three weeks of reflection; organization; learning from the old; and looking forward to the magic of new beginnings. Despite the times, yes.

I couldn't believe that the content I have put together for this year's library talk is a mere one-page hyperdoc. We are looking forward to starting two big projects this year and we are gearing up for a revisit of standards, school wide. While there is a need to revise the library's G Site and Online Research Center, I am exploring Knowledge Library on Workplace as well. It reminds me of Blogger and the Wikispace of long ago. So Gen X, I know. But now I realize that there really isn't anything new under sun, only new ways of looking at them with curiosity and a sense of wonder.

Oh, and I am an EE Supervisor again this year. I need to reconnect with Robert De Niro and Jodi Foster. The threat of Delta is real but, I am faithful and hopeful that all shall be well.

Thanks Jin, for keeping me Awake!

Google JamBoard for Asynchronous Learning

 One of the things I learned in Online Distance Learning is the deliberate planning of activities for asynchronous sessions. This space for teaching and learning must be utilized to incorporate time management and self monitoring.

Input sessions or front loading can be done through videos or recorded materials, cobbled resources can be arranged in an organized manner and/or the learning packets can be distributed through LMS. However, it is in the asynchronous activity where student engagement, even agency, is evident. So, I am bringing this insight in my trainings and webinars for teachers and librarians.

Here is a frame from one of the JamBoards I made for participants of the webinar I prepared for school librarians. Feedback, discussion points and consultations will take place during the synchronous session.

BA Library Online: Learning Theories and Instructional Design

Part of the information service I provide our learning community is the writing and posting of short curated materials. Every Thursday is #techThursday and this week, I put together link to resources and "think pieces" on Learning Theories and Instructional Design.

Learning Theories serve as important guiding principles in creating teaching plans and resources, and when designing instruction for remote or distance learning. Here is an infographic on three Learning Theories as moorings of pedagogy. Below is an excerpt from the article where the infographic was taken. 

Click this - Learning Theory and Instructional Design, to access the full article from Shift Learning.

"While there's no single formula for selecting the most appropriate theory, experts usually match learning theories with the learning content.

For instance, the behavioral approach is much more effective in helping learners master the content of his or her profession (knowing what) and where learner bring almost none prior knowledge to learning.

On the other hand, the cognitive approach can effectively help learners solve problems in unfamiliar situations (knowing how) as this theory is usually considered more appropriate for explaining complex forms of learning (reasoning, problem solving, etc).

As for the constructivist approach, experts have effectively applied it when dealing with ill-defined problems that calls for reflection-in-action.(Ertmer P. & Newby, T., 1993)"

The Lighthouse Diary Entry # 24 - Literacy Month, Conversations, Dialogue and Discussions

I find myself closing the month of September struck by many insights gleaned from the practice of school librarianship. Needless to say, I am busier as ever. Productive, yes. But, Work From Home (WFH) and Online Distance Learning (ODL) can be exhausting. Now this means taking a step back and continuously figuring out strategies that will work best for me and my family. A work in progress.

I am keeping count of the many interactions I have had with students and colleagues this month. The consultations on research with students, particularly on the Extended Essay, the Senior Project and the Personal Project are investments in time and relationships. The session on Bibliotherapy which I led during our De-Stress Fest inspired me to create a Bibliotherapy program going beyond the dispensing of Bibliotherapy services. I facilitated a research skills session on Bibliography and Citations with our junior high school students last week. Earlier today I sat in the Theory of Knowledge classes of our grade 11s. It was an amazing experience listening to them respond to the texts about Martial Law. The texts they read came from books and sources in the library which I curated two weeks previous to the class. 

September is Literacy Month. Though we do not celebrate this in the Academy in any way, the activities, sessions and interactions I had with students and colleagues truly embody literacy skills development. I realize the value of our work in this age of WFH and ODL.

As the school's Teacher Librarian, I think, more than leading and journeying with students in finding answers to their questions, my role is to provide avenues of conversations, discussions and dialogues. The library remains to be a safe space for young people learning to find their way in the intricate system of the digital world and at the same time, keeping them tethered in their authentic selves. They belong to a family and a community made up of people. In the bigger society, they are citizens responsible for their own actions while relating with others with kindness and compassion.

Libraries today operating in the ODL environment may have all the tech tools to operationalize programs and to support instructional design and its delivery. But the interactions between librarian, student and teachers, the library staff and  library users are rich experiences to derive insights and the impetus to improve services and programs.

How do we now document the processes of conversations, dialogues and discussions? What can we do with the data and information gathered and gleaned from these thought processes? What languages are we creating? How do we determine our growth and development?

Using Google Site To Make A Library Website (2 of 2)

So how did I make a Google Site for the library?

First thing first. I am a Gen Xer. I am a digital migrant. I grew up in between the age when the Internet was only thought of as a military intelligence surveilance tool and Apple, after going bankrupt, was only making a come back that Windows worshipping tech people scoffed at. So you know my context and my experience, I am not as tech savy as I appear to be.

But, I love learning. I ask questions. I am moody and easily triggered. You don't call us Xers for nothing. So here I am in the midst of a global health catastrophe, figuring out how to make online distance learning work, going through mid-life crisis in my mid-forties and managing mental health all at the same time. I need to whip up a space for students to find sustainability, a sense of permanence and continuity of learning.

Enter Google's G Suite for Education. It is amazing! Don't worry about the tech and the tools that go with it. It is there. It will grow in leaps and bounds. Where to begin? Here are broad strokes to begin with.

1. Know your purpose. Know your audience. Who you are creating a website for is as important as knowing the why. The how will follow. Plan and do a bit of research and development.

2. Know the technology. Understand the tools. Be sure you have the support of the school leadership and that a tech help desk is just within reach. Google has links and cheat sheets and you can learn from these resources, but nothing beats in-house knowledge of your learning community. It comes form years of experience and professional practice.

3. Plan your content. There are so many cool tech out there. Media is the message. But the content you put out there is still King.

4. When you make a plan, do everything necessary to make the flow of information clear and coherent. Do not forget citations, attributions and yes, courtesy if you are to use content made and created by other experts.

5. Make a time table. Two weeks for research and development. Another week for learning the tech. Two weeks for putting everything together.

6. Work with a team. Use your staff or colleagues who are part of the library and tech system in your school in organising content, building the site and communicating it to the community. At the get go, they should be on board where roles and duties are equally distributed.

7. Have a dry run. Be open to feedback. Change and revise as necessary.

8. Once the edits are done in the website, plan for a launching to the community. This may be done during library orientation periods and or sessions where the library is presented to the learning community.

9. Do not forget to make a quick guide. Never assume that everyone is a digital citizen.

10. Reflect. Assess. Evaluate. Take Action. The cycle of creation goes on.

These are for now. There will be more sharing of insights and processes in the future so, keep visiting the blog. I am also on Facebook, Twitter and IG. Often, I cross post and link my blog articles to my social media sites. See you online!

Using Google Site To Make A Library Website (1 of 2)

On Sunday night, I posted on Facebook photos of the library website I made using Google Site. The Pioneer is one of two library websites I made during quarantine spilling over the summer while preparing for the opening of online distance learning. 

Along with the photos are my reflections that came about after working on the site.

I made my first library website using HTML, Windows Notepad and Internet Explorer. That library website was one of the requirements submitted to Ma’am Lourdes T. David, my grad school prof for LIS 100 - Information Science (if my memory serves me right). I had a lot of fun in her class but that deserves another post in another time. Suffice it to say that in Ma’am Lou’s class, there was diversity, inclusion and care. So my insecure heart gained confidence and the courage to try new things. 

I still feel insecure on most days. Doubting myself, thinking through processes for long periods of time and tempering my moods.  

 Oo. Procrastinator ako. 

But I always go back to those memories with Audrey in Ma’am Lou’s class. Learning logic from her and listening to computer language spoken in lectures delivered by Ma’am Lou herself. There were also resource speakers from the IT and EdTech disciplines whom she invited to speak in class. From her, I learned collaboration too!  

I often tell myself, that if I was able to do it back then, I can do it again and again and again. 

And here is my handy work! A new library website for our students who will begin school tomorrow. My library orientation with them will start on Tuesday. I am excited and nervous. And stressed. Thanks to Google Suite for these cool tech! And so much love to Ma’am Lou for teaching me the basics of programming. It sure comes in useful especially in this day of intuitive technology. 

Have a look at the screenshots of the library website I made. This one is an online module for learning research and information literacy skills. Send feedback. Ask questions. We can always learn from each other!

How I made the website, I will write about it the next post.