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Related: Week 9: Facilities & Spaces (*= Key reading) • dannyglasner • CNFPT • Makerspaces6 Active Learning Spaces Your Library Should Have Active Learning Spaces In the book Get Active: Reimagining Learning Spaces for Student Success, the authors identify six types of active learning spaces that are essential for creating an engaging learning environment for students. While this research (and this book) are not specifically focused on school libraries, we are the ideal place in our schools to encompass all six types of learning spaces in one location. We are the learning hubs of our schools after all. :) You might find that many of these spaces will overlap in your library, or that their purpose might shift depending on the day. That’s totally normal considering how flexible our spaces have to be.
Four Emerging Trends in Learning Imagine going to school in a museum and studying real artifacts. Imagine a sustained relationship with an advisor who helps you figure out what you’re good at and care about, and where you can make a difference. Imagine high school students designing practical solutions to community problems. Visit an innovative new school like Grand Rapids Public Museum School (pictured above) and you’ll see evidence of emerging trends, including immersive and experiential learning, strong guidance, a focus on success skills and becoming a contributing citizen.
Constructionism - Digital Pedagogy - A Guide for Librarians, Faculty, and Students - Research guides at University of Toronto Piaget’s Constructivism versus Papert’s Constructionism: What’s the difference and Why is it Important? In her article, Edith Ackermann discusses between Constructivism (developed by Piaget) and Constructionism (developed by Papert). She argues that integrating both views helps educators to understand how people learn and grow cognitively. Piaget’s constructivism offers a window into what learnners are interested in, and able to achieve, at different stages of their development, while Papert’s constructionism, in contrast, focuses more on the art of learning, or ‘learning to learn’, and on the significance of making things in learning.
6 Amazing Books to Inspire Your Library Space Design Last year, I wrote a post on five of my favorite makerspace books for school librarians. One of my other favorite topics to research is library and learning space design, so this post will focus on that topic. I’m currently working on a book on this subject for ISTE tentatively called Reimagining Library Spaces: Transform Your Space on Any Budget. It’s not on the web yet, but it will be released in the fall. :) Many of these books are ones that I’ve read or re-read as I’ve been working on it. This is not an exhaustive list, but it includes some of my favorite books for thinking about learning and library space design.
Two Podcasts Created By and For School Librarians If you had asked me about podcasts a year ago, I would have told you that I had tried listening to a few, but had never gotten hooked on one. I simply preferred listening to audiobooks and music. However, that changed in early 2019, when, thanks to my PLN, I stumbled across two podcasts created by and for school librarians: School Librarians United with Amy Hermon and Checked In: A MASL Podcast with Ethan Evans. Now I regularly listen to both of them. These podcasts keep me connected to school librarianship in a way that’s convenient and engaging.
Constructivism vs. Constructivism vs. Constructionism March 19, 2018 at 9:00 am I wrote the below in 1997. I’m surprised that I still find references to it from time-to-time. What Does the Next-Generation School Library Look Like? At a time when public libraries are starting to offer everything from community gardening plots to opportunities to check out humans for conversations, some school libraries are similarly re-evaluating their roles and expanding their offerings. Case in point: Monticello High School in Charlottesville, Virginia. When librarian Joan Ackroyd arrived there four years ago, she found an environment very different from the “engaging, creative, fun” elementary and middle school libraries to which she was accustomed. “Its library was none of those things,” she recalls. “It was a traditional, quiet research space.”
Europe Could Produce Enough Wind Farm Energy to Power the Whole World for 30 Years, New Study Shows This exciting new data says that Europe has the capacity to produce more than 100 times the amount of energy it currently produces through onshore windfarms. In an analysis of all suitable sites for onshore wind farms, the new study from the University of Sussex and Aarhus University reveals that Europe has the potential to supply enough energy for the whole world until 2050. The study reveals that if all of Europe’s capacity for onshore wind farms was realized, the installed nameplate capacity would 52.5 TW—equivalent to 1 MW for every 16 European citizens. “The study is not a blueprint for development, but a guide for policymakers indicating the potential of how much more can be done and where the prime opportunities exist,” said co-author Benjamin Sovacool, Professor of Energy Policy at the University of Sussex. CHECK OUT: Hyundai Launches First Car With Solar Roof Charging System LOOK: Canadian Supermarket Proves a Little Humor Can Go a Long Way to Help Save Ourselves From Plastic Bags
A Brief History of Makerspaces a Brief History & Rationale Makerspaces of all types are growing at an exponential rate. As Davee, Regalla and Chang (2015) report, “Google Trends shows the search term “makerspace” has quadrupled in the past two years and is currently in its highest rate of growth in search frequency” (p. 2). School libraries shelve tradition to create new learning spaces What happens to school libraries when students find it more natural to turn to a computer screen than a book? That is the question facing schools around the world as they struggle to keep up with the digital revolution while fostering a love of literature. Many have found creative answers, developing spaces that allow children to make discoveries, put technology to imaginative use, learn, perform, and relax – as well as to read. In the process, libraries have often come to be the school’s focal point. This was the idea behind the new library at Dixons Allerton Academy in Bradford built centrally over the entrance and linking the primary and secondary schools on the campus. Carolyn Shaw, learning commons leader at the school, says: “We have a big drive on books and reading for pleasure but we see ourselves very much as being the hub of learning in the school.”
Librarian Crush – Folks I’m loving right now – Informative Flights About to start our second week of school, and after the first 3 days of teacher planning week I’d just like to make a quick shout-out to some people who make a librarian’s heart very happy! Happy Monday morning everyone – hope you all have a great week and a great year of sharing and reading. Like this: Like Loading...