4.1 Networking with the library community
Candidates participate and collaborate as members of a social and intellectual network of learners.
2010 ALA/AASL Standards for Initial Preparation of School Librarians
To prepare students to be active participants in a global community, we must actively participate ourselves. Cultivating a team and network approach to learning widens our perspective and opens us up to new ideas, modalities, cultural sensitivities, and creative ways to overcome barriers to achievement. My cultivated network will include educators in my building, in my district, and around the globe.
My first artifact includes two observations of school library media specialists. Simply wandering through other libraries will give me ideas, but taking the time to speak with other school library media specialists and observe their interactions with students and staff allows me to not only gain insight on new things to try, but also to analyze what improvements could be made to the instructional program. In the role of outside observer, I had the opportunity to analyze what barriers may be causing the breakdown in learning that the educators and students in the midst of lesson may not be able to see. It was valuable to me that there was a contrast between the effectiveness of the two lessons. In the first, I witnessed students collaborating on authentic presentations about a new controversial law. The teachers and media specialist were the guides on the side. In the second, there was little inquiry, students were disengaged and off-task. The educators were working harder than the students. I will welcome observers to help me gain new perspective on my own lessons and gain insight into new ways to increase student achievement. My second artifact is a Voicethread, an interactive web-based presentation tool, created to introduce staff to the concept that social media creates data-miners out of all individuals. Unlike traditional media, where the publisher or broadcaster make the decisions about what news is important, when we use social media, we synthesize and aggregate our own information. This is a powerful learning method for both adults and students; we make active decisions about which information is important to our personal and professional growth. These decisions result in much higher engagement and deeper learning. |
I learned one caveat to aggregating our own network of information. Be cautious not to solely follow viewpoints that you tend to agree with, instead, actively seek to listen to opposing viewpoints to be able to make informed judgment. I found this difficult at first; it is natural to seek out information aligned to one’s own interests and needs, but this narrows perspective. It is natural to go to sources that hold similar viewpoints. It takes more effort to seek out opposing viewpoints and I must remember to actively do so, especially in our modern global society.
There are currently two acronyms trending in education that attempt to define what global participation looks like, PLC’s: Professional Learning Communities and PLN’s: Personal Learning Networks. PLC’s are collaborative teams of educators that work together to answer three essential questions: What should students know and be able to do? How will we know when they have learned it? What will we do if students have difficulty? These questions help collaborative teams plan for, assess, and reflect on student achievement. A PLN is a supportive network, built by the individual, which is made up of other professionals from whom one can learn and share. Using social media and other current technologies, school library media specialists can create a global network to support their personal learning. My third artifact is a blog post that gives some examples of my own PLN. Learning from other educators inspires me to continually improve my practice. Having a supportive network helps me overcome unexpected barriers and difficulties encountered. Sharing my learning and ideas with other educators helps me to refine my own talents and give back to this network that has supported my growth. School library media specialists wear many hats. To be the most effective at our jobs, a supportive network is vital in order to remain aware of new books, new technology, and innovative teaching methods. Through technology, today’s personal learning networks can reach around the world, ensuring we keep a global perspective.
There are currently two acronyms trending in education that attempt to define what global participation looks like, PLC’s: Professional Learning Communities and PLN’s: Personal Learning Networks. PLC’s are collaborative teams of educators that work together to answer three essential questions: What should students know and be able to do? How will we know when they have learned it? What will we do if students have difficulty? These questions help collaborative teams plan for, assess, and reflect on student achievement. A PLN is a supportive network, built by the individual, which is made up of other professionals from whom one can learn and share. Using social media and other current technologies, school library media specialists can create a global network to support their personal learning. My third artifact is a blog post that gives some examples of my own PLN. Learning from other educators inspires me to continually improve my practice. Having a supportive network helps me overcome unexpected barriers and difficulties encountered. Sharing my learning and ideas with other educators helps me to refine my own talents and give back to this network that has supported my growth. School library media specialists wear many hats. To be the most effective at our jobs, a supportive network is vital in order to remain aware of new books, new technology, and innovative teaching methods. Through technology, today’s personal learning networks can reach around the world, ensuring we keep a global perspective.
This portfolio and the artifacts contained herein by Amy Soldavini are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License |
Revised July 2013