LIIITE Model Workshop. Extreme Makeover! 10 Easy Steps PowerPoint PDF. 2016 SDAESP SDASSP handout PDF. Chart. ON LIBRARIES: From Library to Learning Commons – Hilda K. Weisburg. You have heard the term Learning Commons.
You may have read an article or two about it and thought it sounded wonderful—in a distant way. Your library can’t become a Learning Commons. Because: It takes too much time.It costs too much money.The administration won’t go for it. For the most part, all three reasons (and any more you can come up with) are true—and false. Some Reasons to Consider Let’s start with why you should want to make the transformation. Once again it is time to change perceptions first and then change reality.
We are living in a participatory culture. Creating a Plan As the great American philosopher Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t know where you are going, you will wind up someplace else.” While the article is an excellent start, you also need an incentive to keep you going. Year of the Learning Commons. Learning Commons: the Center of Participatory Learning and School Improvement Continuing their long service to children, teens and teacher, teacher librarians are developing new ways to not only support the consumption of knowledge through great collections in many formats but are encouraging everyone to create knowledge in the new world of information, technology, and the challenges of school improvement.
Major changes to traditional school libraries include the reinvention of physical space that meets the needs seeking a physical space that adapts to what they need at any given time. There is space for individuals, small groups and large groups who are using resources, making, building, creating, doing, and enjoying a very busy space that welcomes the use of many forms of technological devices. School Libraries: Are They Relevant in the Age of Google? Over the past 10 years, the number of schools that have trained teacher-librarians has declined dramatically.
While many reasons for this drop exist, the primary culprit is school budget cuts. Learning Commons Video. KQ MarApr14 ClimbingtoExcellence. Re imagining the 21st Century School Library. How A School Library Increased Student Use By 1,000 Percent. The Benefits and Challenges of Student-Designed Learning. Science Leadership Academy (SLA)English Language Arts teacher Joshua Block decided to take the independence he and his colleagues have been cultivating in their students since freshman year to a new level.
SLA students have many opportunities throughout their four years to choose how and what they investigate in their classes, and by senior year they are adept at choosing their own essay topics, meeting deadlines, staying focused while working online and coming up with creative projects that matter to them personally. But when a group of seniors at the Philadelphia school were given even more independence over their own learning, it was a challenge.
Block wanted seniors to have more than freedom within a set of constraints (the usual SLA teaching style) — he wanted them to try designing their own learning. The first quarter of this one-semester class looked more like a “traditional” SLA class. “It made me very upset to hear some people’s views,” Nearn said. Beth Holland: Transforming Libraries into Library Learning Commons or a Hogwarts Room of Requirement – QSLiN. If you’ve read the Harry Potter books, you may remember the magical Room of Requirement.
This is a room where any need can be met. According to Beth Holland, in the Cape Elizabeth Library Learning Commons ( a student looked at the new library learning commons and said to Library Information Technology Specialist, Jonathan Werner (@MaineSchoolTech), “You’ve given us a Room of Requirement!” This is the kind of excitement that a library learning commons can inspire. With information available 24-7 on computers and all sorts of devices, the librarian and the library learning commons are the people and spaces that help students make sense of all the information that they are retrieving. Beth Holland’s webinar on transforming libraries into library learning commons broke the transformation down into five key areas. Credit: Francis Parker School, Chicago, used with permission. What the Heck Is OER? When I hear the term OER, I don't automatically leap to "Open Educational Resources.
" Perhaps it just doesn't trip off my metaphorical tongue. Instead, my brain automatically translates it to "free online stuff to use in my classroom. " 5 steps for creating a custom makerspace. When schools talk about the maker movement and creating makerspaces, they often focus on purchasing the tools and materials first.
While a physical room stocked with tools is an important part of the process, even more significant is the process used to plan your space. Paying close attention to how you design and formulate your space within the very specific context of your own school and its community will ensure that the resulting space is authentic and meaningful to the whole school community. The following approach to planning will help ensure that your makerspace is a vibrant and thriving one. Step One: Understand your learners. Virtual Makerspace. A Prime Co-Teaching Opportunity. The author, left, co-teaching a class.
Collaboration. It’s a word that’s always thrown around in professional development discussions. The concept sounds simple enough, and I thought I had a handle on it. Turns out, I never really understood how to best collaborate. When I was an elementary school librarian, I asked teachers to meet with me. I considered this effective collaboration at the time. Collaboration and Coteaching. Template VLC High. TemplateVLC Middle. TemplateVLC Elementary. The Flexible School Library: Creating A 21st Century Space For Our Learners. March's Featured Learning Commons: Shannon Robinson at The Morgan School.
Imagine being hired for a new job in which you were tasked not only with transforming an old library space and collection but also with changing the whole school’s perception of the philosophy of how the space would be used.
Shannon Robinson was given just this opportunity as she took on the teacher librarian job at The Morgan School, a public high school in Southeastern Connecticut. January's Featured Learning Commons: Debbie Thompson at Dousman Elementary. To kick off the 2016 Learning Commons features, I am thrilled to introduce Debbie Thompson at Dousman Elementary in Wisconsin, who is graciously giving us a peek into her Library Media Center.
In our interview, she reflects on how her role has changed since her library’s renovation in 2012 and with the more recent addition of a makerspace. Get ideas for great projects and check out her wonderful website. It just might make you want to visit her in Wisconsin, if only it weren’t 0 degrees there right now…hope the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow, Debbie!