First Jobs and Travel Time

Do you recall the very first job you ever had? Mine was as a dance instructor for the studio where I once took classes as a student. It was for two hours a day, four to five days a week (no weekends unless we had competitions or parades), from September until June. I taught ballet, tap, baton, jazz, acrobatics, and highland dancing. I kept that job throughout high school and university.

Undated photo (late 1990s) of me teaching tap

1993 Toronto Beaches Easter Parade (circled figure is me)

My daughter (who has given me permission to write about her and this topic) just recently obtained her very first paid job. She just finished her first year of university and was ready to commit to something other than her studies. Initially, she had hoped to parlay her volunteer work at a certain institution into part-time, paid employment, but this didn't turn out as planned. Instead, she works as a "squire" at Storm Crow Manor. The establishment (https://www.stormcrow.com/location/storm-crow-manor-toronto/) describes itself as

Toronto's geekiest bar! Opened in late 2018 in an elegant Church St mansion, it includes a sanity-shattering array of theme rooms, secret doors, catacombs, cyberpunk bars, glowing, bubbling cocktails, randomly-generated burgers and, oh yeah, tentacles.

I would not have pegged Mary as being eager to work in the service industry, especially at a restaurant/bar. However, she really loves working at Storm Crow Manor. Part of it has to do with the atmosphere. The particular environment means that she can chat about Doctor Who, role playing games, anime or any kind of pop-culture phenomenon with customers and staff alike. They just had a "Halloween In July" event, co-sponsored by Fan Expo Canada, where cosplay was expected (and enjoyed). The people have also made Mary very happy at her first job. Her managers have been super-supportive and her fellow employees have made her feel welcome. They make it worth the travel time.

This is Mary and our good friend Denise taking us to Storm Crow Manor for the first time in April 2019

Which leads me to the second half of this blog post - travelling to get to work.

We live in north Scarborough. Storm Crow Manor is at Church and Wellesley in Toronto. I used to drive my daughter 20 minutes to south Scarborough so she could catch the subway directly. Once there, it usually took her 30 minutes. 50 minutes one-way is not an excessive hardship unless it gets so late that the subway stops operating. Then the choices are the late-night bus that drives all the way along the Danforth to Warden Station, a taxi / Uber, (which would eat up a lot of the money she would make that evening) or the kindness of parents who are willing to drive downtown. Last Saturday, we picked the final option and drove down to pick her up because she was booked for the closing shift. She got out at 3:00 am and we got home by 3:30 am. Boy, were we tired!

It led me to reflect about how commuting impacts work experience. In my recent Library AQ course that I ran, I had individuals taking public transit for nearly an hour one way to make it to my school. I had participants driving from North Brampton to Scarborough for the course. They never complained but I suspect that the issue was present in the backs of their minds. If class ended closer to 4:00 pm instead of our regular 3:30 pm, what would that mean for the traffic volume? How much more time would it add to their journey? We always began our mornings with a community circle, which led to a bit of flexibility with our start time. This was a benefit when there were accidents along Highway 401 (according to this website, the busiest in North America) which led to tie-ups and unexpected delays. And it wasn't just my participants either.

I'm driving from the Beaches (well, you have been to my house) to Leslie and Finch. It's almost an hour each way.

— Andrea Kwok (@mrskwokclass) July 14, 2019

The one saving grace for the AQ course was that it was only ten days. This made me think about some of the teachers I know that have lengthy travel times as part of their regular day-to-day routine. One teacher at my school lives in Bowmanville. A vice-principal I know lives in Whitby but her school is in the west-end of Toronto. Anything related to a location near Eglinton Avenue will add significant delays. When it's your first job as an administrator, or at a location that brings you a lot of joy, you don't want to complain about the commute. But this comes at a cost. A quick online search found these articles about the impact of commuting on people.

• Long commutes lead to lower happiness, obesity and high blood pressure = https://www.healthline.com/health-news/heres-how-your-commute-can-hurt-your-health
• Long commutes equal work performance decreases, damage to social life, and financial costs = https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/391/2018/08/Closer-Commutes.pdf
• Long commutes put stress on families and mental health = https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/commuting-takes-its-toll/

It takes me 15 minutes to get from my house to my school. That's 30 minutes per day. Even though it'd be healthy for me to switch schools at some point, I'm extremely reluctant nowadays to even consider the idea. I like the lack of travel time. Shorter commutes mean I'm willing to stay behind after school to run an extra club, or stay late to clean the library. 

Each of the articles I linked to above have suggestions for solving the problem of long commutes. For my daughter, I predict that her youth, enthusiasm for the job, and considerations when scheduling her for shifts will mean that she'll stick with the position during the school year. For others, who struggle to afford to live in the city where they work and try without success to transfer to locations closer to home ... 

10 Days, 9 Guest Speakers

James, Diana, Maria (& Maria's nephew!) chez moi

I didn't think I'd be able to surpass last year's arrangement where I arranged to host 5 guest speakers in 10 days. My husband likes to remind me that the middle initial of my name really stands for "push-it" and he may be on to something. For the 2019 Summer blended Library AQ course, there were 9 guest speakers. Who were they? What did they contribute? Check it out below.

1) Neil Andersen on Monday, July 8, 2019 (Day 3)

Neil came as a representative of the AML (Association for Media Literacy) to talk with our course participants about incorporating media literacy teaching and learning strategies into our School Library Learning Commons (SLLC). He provided so many useful tools and techniques and prompted some thoughtful discussion.

2) Jill Kelsall on Tuesday, July 9, 2019 (Day 4)

Jill joined us from the top of a hill so she could get a signal to reach us via Google Meet. Jill connected with us to talk about what it is like to run a bilingual school library. I hadn't originally anticipated Jill's participation. While talking with the AQ attendees prior to Day 4, the topic of French collections arose. It turns out that 9 of the 15 individuals were in schools that had dual-track libraries. Andrea Sykes gave me a list of talented, experienced teacher-librarians with bilingual school library collections and Jill agreed to join us remotely. Thanks for taking time out of your vacation, Jill!

3) Peter McAsh on Thursday, July 11, 2019 (Day 6)

Peter's visit started as a joking exchange on Facebook! I mentioned my Library AQ course via a link to last week's blog and Peter offered to be a speaker despite having no experience in library. Peter DID have something to offer the group; as the president of ECOO (Education Computing Organization of Ontario), he talked about subject associations and gave us a virtual mini-tour of Teach Ontario. Peter even arranged to have a SIG (Special Interest Group) set up for us related to teacher-librarianship. (I'll post something there soon Peter; it's on my list of things to do!)

4) Tim Pedersen on Thursday, July 11, 2019 (Day 6)

Tim's virtual visit to our class was hastily arranged but so worth it. Once again, the inspiration came from the AQ participants themselves. They wondered about decisions related to the school library from the perspective of a school administrator. I reached out on Twitter, and Jennifer Brown connected us with Tim, her principal. What made this visit extra-appreciated was that Tim was actually arranging to leave the province the very next day! It took a little bit of organization behind the scenes and there was a bit of uncertainty about what this interaction would look like, but I was so delighted with how it turned out. A useful tip: if time is limited, try generating your list of questions beforehand and sending it, so that the interviewee has time to prepare thorough answers. This was also the first time Tim had used Google Meet for a virtual conference - I was really impressed with how willing Tim was to try new things.

5) Kate Johnson-McGregor on Monday, July 15, 2019 (Day 7)

Kate fulfilled many needs with her presentation to us. As a secondary teacher-librarian in a board not represented at the table (since our participants came from Toronto DSB, York Region DSB, Peel DSB and Dufferin-Peel Catholic DSB), she shared with us about how we can help transition students from elementary to secondary and from secondary to post-secondary. She also talked about some of her work with Treaty Recognition Week. The audience loved Kate's infectious laugh and practical strategies for making the library inviting to all.

6) Patricia McNaughton on Tuesday, July 16, 2019 (Day 8)

Pat has been in the library during the Additional Qualification course since the beginning, but in her capacity as a dedicated volunteer and weeder. On the third-last day of the course, she wore a different hat - that of a presenter, to talk about collaborative weeding and book repair. Pat speaks from a lot of experience. She has been helping in the Agnes Macphail PS Library since 2010 and her daughter, the incomparable Kim Davidson, is also a TDSB teacher-librarian. We even got the participants to help us weed parts of the library for us!

7) James Saunders on Tuesday, July 16, 2019 (Day 8)

8) Maria Martella on Tuesday, July 16, 2019 (Day 8)

We love to experiment during our Library AQ course. (I won't mention the non-human guests.) Would it be possible to have two presentations occur simultaneously? Why not try? James Saunders represents Saunders Book Company and Maria Martella represents Tinlids. Both came to talk about the Canadian book publishing industry, supporting Canadian vendors, and school library collection development. They brought freebies and years of experience to share. 

9) Jennifer Brown on Wednesday, July 17, 2019 (Day 9)

Jennifer Brown was my only "repeat guest" from last year. It wasn't because last year's guests weren't worthy - Melanie, Michelle, Jennifer and Alanna were all fantastic but mostly unavailable during this time - but Jennifer came both as a representative of the Ontario School Library Association (OSLA) and to talk about equity in the SLLC. Jenn is a passionate speaker and loves school libraries (which is a good trait to have in our OSLA President). She stayed until after 5:00 pm chatting with some of the attendees. 

Neil, Jill, Peter, Tim, Kate, Pat, James, Maria and Jenn - thank you so much for giving your time and expertise to our group of library learners. A lot of the positive feedback revolved around having a variety of speakers and experiences to benefit from. Your presence made the course that much better. What next year holds, I have no idea!

Tackling Time in our 2019 Library AQ

I am extremely blessed to have been given another opportunity to facilitate York University's 2019 Library Additional Qualification Course, blended model. The blended model means that part of the course is run online and part of the course (just ten intense days) happens face-to-face. I am also very fortunate to be teaching the course this year in my own school library at Agnes Macphail Public School. (Last year, I taught about library in a non-library space.) It helps so much because a) I can grab a book or a resource quickly when the need arises, and b) my school is air-conditioned. I also had high hopes to actually weed my entire print collection (with the help of my uber-devoted and hard-working adult volunteer, Mrs. Pat McNaughton, mother of teacher-librarian whiz Kim Davidson) during and after the class.

[please insert hysterical laughing here]

Foolish me! Ten days is a pittance of time. It's so little and we hope to do so much. We have adult learners but that doesn't mean that we can go full-throttle without any breaks. Even breaks and "free time" are taken up with questions, clarifications, and conversations, so it's difficult to try and multi-task. So how do we maximize our time together when it is so brief?

1) Separate and Delegate

When it comes to my school library weeding project, Pat has come in to do what she can independently. Ideally, I'd like to sit side-by-side with Pat and we consult each other about the books. Our modified plan involves Pat going through the book shelves and making "delete" and "maybe-delete" piles. Pat has years of experience volunteering in school libraries, so I trust her call when it comes to the physical condition of books. If it's damaged beyond repair, or moldy, or look super-dated, or we have multiple copies of the same title, she adds it to the "delete" pile. I peek at the "maybe" pile because Pat would like me to use my teacher-librarian training to make the final call on certain books. Is it a classic that needs to stay on the shelf despite its age? Is there a certain reason why it is important to keep it? Like I said, I'd prefer to weed alongside Pat instead of asynchronistically, but I don't have much choice. Priority has to go to the course! The course itself has three sections (Part 1, 2 and Specialist) and it is like teaching a 3-grade split class. Thankfully, there are times where we separate and the different "grades"/sections will tackle a Moodle-focused task, allowing me to go between the groups for support. I also appreciate how the individuals taking the course are invested enough in the class to offer logistic solutions and then create them (forms, spreadsheets, surveys, tracking documents) for everyone's benefit, especially mine!

2) Open Flow / Fluid Scheduling

I wish there was a way we could implement this during the regular school year. York University specifies that we must have a certain number of in-person hours logged, but they don't dictate how we must arrange them. The participants and I together decide how the flow of the day will go. Do we need a morning break at 10:00 am or at 10:30 am? Is it a 5, 10, or 15 minute breather? It changes depending on the day's events, which might be trying for people who like very regular routines, but seems to be working for our 15 learners. We also use the adult learning principle of "the law of two feet" - if you have to go to the bathroom at some point, then go to the bathroom; if you have to make a phone call, then excuse yourself into the hall and make the phone call. No one has abused this privilege. Many of the participants come from far away and are taking the chance to enjoy the multicultural delicacies that Scarborough has to offer for lunch. They carpool, pre-order, and make all sorts of creative arrangements with each other so that we can feed ourselves but still ensure we have a lot of class time for learning. In teacher-librarianship, we talk about fixed schedules and flexible schedules, prep vs parallel vs partnered instruction time. Can you imagine what it would be like if we didn't have to worry about squeezing a lesson into a 40 minute period? Even though we are crammed for time in this course, we have the luxury of shaping our time much more freely than in a traditional school day.


3) Making Moments Matter (3 Field Trips!)

Another way we've maximized our time together is to bring speakers in and then take students out! I'll talk about all our guest speakers next week (in a post tentatively titled "10 days, 9 guest speakers") but this week I'll mention the 3 field trips that we've undertaken. Field trips mean time for transit, so we really need to make our time away count; thankfully, the excursions we've had have been very worthwhile.

a) MakerEdTO - July 4, 2019 (Day 2)

Who actually arranges a field trip on the second day of class? I do! MakerEdTO seems to have something for everyone. (I already wrote about MakerEdTO in detail last week.)

b) Toronto Public Library, North York Central Branch - July 10, 2019 (Day 5)

It was worth temporarily abandoning our home base to go to Yonge Street north of Sheppard Avenue. Diane Banks and Peggy Thomas shared a lot of information about the Toronto Public Library and then took us on a tour of the incredible facilities. I'm not sure what impressed us most - the Children's Area, the Fabrication Studio, or the Multimedia Studio. Our group undertook a "Tallest Freestanding Pipe Cleaner Structure" challenge and came up with many different designs!

c) Board Game Bliss - July 11, 2019 (Day 6)

It wasn't planned but was a natural next step after we had discussed games-based learning in class. "After school", half of the participants chose to follow me a short distance down the road to Board Game Bliss, a great board game store and play space. Many of us made purchases (for home and school use) and had a great time perusing the shelves for new treasures.

We only have four days left of in-person class time. The juggling act is to ensure that the participants don't feel rushed (a big facilitator no-no is announcing "Oh, we ran out of time for X" - it makes audience members feel like they are missing out and makes you as a presenter look disorganized) but also guaranteeing that no vital components of school librarianship are glossed over or missed. For some, this may be their only course showing them how to be a teacher-librarian, so we need to make every minute count.

Delivery and Reflection - 2 Different Maker Events

This is usually the time of year where I get the least amount of sleep in a four-day stretch. Two of the premiere Maker events in Ontario are scheduled for the days following shortly after Canada Day: MakerEdTO and Maker Festival Toronto. (Last year's post on that whirlwind week can be found here.) My circadian rhythms got a respite because Maker Festival Toronto did not run like it usually does in July. (You can read the explanation at http://makerfestival.ca/) However, several of the MakerFestival Toronto core team members met during the weekend we'd usually host the festival to re-group and re-imagine the possibilities. This is a brief overview of the 2019 MakerEdTO Conference and the Maker Festival Toronto Retreat.

Thursday, July 4, 2019 - MakerEdTO

My son finalized his high school volunteer hours thanks to MakerEdTO this year, so he and I headed out bright and early to The York School. He had training the night before with the fabulous Mark Zochowski (who was the subject of what I consider to be one of the best photos taken from #makeredto in 2019 - replicated below. Who gets credit for being the photographer? Was it you, Zelia?)

Everything came together so well at the end (even though it never looks like it will when you are smack-dab in the middle of planning) that on Wednesday July 3, when I was about to travel from my AQ course down to do last-minute preparations, I didn't need to because all the work was completed!

Registration went silky smooth, at least to my eyes, thanks to Larissa Aradj and Lisa Lewis. The Playground (Mark's area) was hopping constantly and kudos go to Tim Boudreau and the other volunteers (Peter Maliszewski, Andrew Li [one of my former students who is now a McGill U alumnus!] and Jacqueline Tse [a teacher friend of Teresa's]).

The keynote, Leslie McBeth, (@lesmcbeth) was inspirational. You can tell that the audience was soaking up her message by the amount of phones rising to capture a slide that captivated their minds. I heard that people really appreciated the real-life examples of student projects that she shared during her talk.

My task for the day was to check on the volunteers. This was quite easy because we didn't have many teen helpers and our organizing core team did so many extra chores. This meant I got to network, talk with some great educators, and even attend a few sessions myself! Considering how many photos I took of Peter and Andrew in action, it might have looked like I was stalking them, but I wasn't!

Peter facilitating Paper Circuits

Andrew facilitating Squishy Circuits

The schedule (found at http://bit.ly/makeredto2019schedule for easy access) showed what a solid variety of offerings were available. The sessions I attended were a) Tim Cooper's session on how to capture student reflection on making, and b) the discussion group hosted by David Hann on the big questions of Maker Education. Check my tweets for a sample of the insights I gleaned from these conversations.

The prizes from the vendors were amazing! The great news was that four of my York University 2019 Summer Blended Library AQ participants won something! (I swear I had nothing to do with this!) Thank you to all the exhibitors!

The core team needs a standing ovation! Congratulations to:

David Hann (@TeacherHann)

Tim Cooper (@tcoops)

Teresa Allan (@allanteresa)

Ray Mercer (@raycmercer)

Michael Vaisman (@STEMTDSB)

Lewelyn Lee (@LewelynLee)

Sharon Moskovitz (@s_m077)

Mark Zochowski (@MarkZochowski)

Shaun Grant (@CanadaGrant)

Zelia Capato-Tavares (@ZeliaMCT)

and fervent apologies if I missed anyone!

Here are some tweets from the event:

Love the story @lesmcbeth tells of the student who went from “what’s my mark?” to passionately fixing and improving his prototype regardless of grades #makeredto @MakerEdTO pic.twitter.com/oeYGCSwZIi

— Diana Maliszewski (@MzMollyTL) July 4, 2019

Happy Summer PD! It’s ⁦@lesmcbeth⁩, kicking off #MakerEdTO and making sense about how Global & Future Vision can look across the grades. pic.twitter.com/XL8NnEl3SP

— Adam Caplan (@MrCaplan) July 4, 2019

Learning about and making screen prints with @peachberserk here at #MakerEdTO! #makersgonnamake #makered #screenprinting pic.twitter.com/H9ykD0TCeL

— Larissa Aradj, OCT (@MrsGeekChic) July 4, 2019

There’s nothing like volunteering with colleagues and friends at the annual #MakerEdTO conference. Such an honour to be behind the scenes and tweeting out of @MakerEdTO today! Don’t miss out on the awesomeness #MakerEdTO conference #stem #makerspace #makerEd pic.twitter.com/I0c2EtE3Ek

— Zélia (@ZeliaMCT) July 4, 2019

Big Questions for MakerEd with @TeacherHann #MakerEdTO conference #stem #makerspace #makerEd pic.twitter.com/WSTICxVpSg

— MakerEdTO (@MakerEdTO) July 4, 2019

Guess which @voicEdcanada personality I saw at @MakerEdTO ? It’s @noasbobs ! Don’t be jealous @Stephen_Hurley #makeredto brings together all types of teachers and learners pic.twitter.com/pRuRVNp87g

— Diana Maliszewski (@MzMollyTL) July 4, 2019

Saturday, July 6, 2019 - Maker Festival Retreat

I won't give a lot of details about what transpired during our retreat. We stayed together at a farm near Walter's Falls, ON to reflect on the past, consider the future, and contemplate our own roles and the possibilities. Big thanks to Jen, Eric, Jounghua, Vicky, Paul and Sophie (as well as Ewan, Blake, Natalie and Elliot) for sharing your time and thoughts. Indirect thanks to Sylvia Duckworth for teaching me sketch-noting - this skill came in handy when scribing and capturing our conversations. The road trip back was longer than planned with lots of pleasant pit-stops to see Georgian Bay and visit farmers' markets. I can only share a couple of the photos with just me, since I didn't obtain people's permissions.

Reflections on NAMLE Part 3

Another day, another post-NAMLE reflection blog!

Friday, June 28, 2019 (8:30 am)

Virtually Connecting Conversation
Belinha De Abreu, Natasha Kasey, Jimmeka Anderson, Neil Andersen, Michelle Ciccone, Diana Maliszewski, Helen DeWaard

Summary:

http://virtuallyconnecting.org is a group that, as the website describes ...

The purpose of Virtually Connecting is to enliven virtual participation in academic conferences, widening access to a fuller conference experience for those who cannot be physically present at conferences. We are a community of volunteers and it is always free to participate.
Using emerging technologies, we connect onsite conference presenters and attendees with virtual participants in small groups. This allows virtual conference participants to meet and talk with conference presenters and attendees in what often feels like those great spontaneous hallway conversations, something not usually possible for a virtual experience. There is only room for 10 in each session but we record and, whenever possible, live stream, to allow additional virtual attendees to participate in the discussion by listening and asking questions via Twitter.
We add value at all levels of the conference experience:

I agreed beforehand to join Helen in conversation to give her a glimpse of my NAMLE experience.

So What? Now What?

You can access the chat at http://virtuallyconnecting.org/blog/2019/06/23/virtually-connecting-at-namle19/ - unfortunately, despite my growing familiarity with the DC Metro, my estimation skills are still weak, so I was a bit late to our 8:00 am chat. Still, Helen was a gracious digital host. I hope that my blog posts will give people an additional support for getting a conference experience. The town halls seem to make a big impact with different participants. That was one of the things I mentioned. If you followed my tweets during NAMLE, you'll see a lot of the themes just elaborated on further in this blog.

Visual / Social Media Artifacts

After @MediaLiteracyEd this article echoes into conversations with @belmedia @NatashaCaseyIRL @MzMollyTL @mediasee @jimmekaanderson @MMFCiccone @reneehobbs https://t.co/oGbYrgwDrl

— Helen DeWaard (@hj_dewaard) June 28, 2019 

Friday, June 28, 2019 (9:30 am)

Trust, Journalism, and Media Literacy
Tracie Potts, Michael Freedman, Stephanie Brumsey, Ray Suarez, Barbara McCormack

Summary (taken from program guide)

To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, an informed citizenry is vital for a free society to thrive. And yet, in today’s hypersonic media cycle, separating news from noise is becoming all the more challenging. What role can news producers play in elevating the value of a professional press? What steps can consumers take to locate reliable content? What is the connection between trust in the news media and media literacy? Join NewseumED for a discussion with experts in journalism and education working to support an empowered, engaged electorate. Leave with a greater understanding of how journalism outlets consider issues of trust and how media literacy can empower.

3 Key Points:

1. We "need an army of fact-checkers". Whose job is that depends on whom you ask on the panel.
2. In this super-fast, endless cycle of making news, it's hard when the energy goes into creating "the news sausage". "Make haste, but slowly"
3. (From a tweet from Theresa Redmond) Arts & creativity facilitate space-making for needed conversations. Yet, what are the implications for creative & critical inquiry when a focus on #informationliteracy #newsliteracy and #credibility pervade as top topics as seen in the recent #stateofmedialiteracy

So What? Now What?

This was a complicated panel. There was some things I agreed with, disagreed with (like Stephanie suggesting that Millenials and Gen Z people don't read) and some things I wasn't sure about (like news pay walls). The space itself was gorgeous and I'm pleased that in the opening remarks by Michelle Ciulla Lipkin that Canada was recognized in several ways (such as how the American Media Literacy Week originally copied the Canadian example but due to federal elections needed to be moved).

Visual / Social Media Artifacts

Media literacy. SO important. KNOW where your news comes from. Seek facts and context - not opinions. Expand your knowledge. Listen to someone who thinks differently than you. That’s what we’re talking about at the Newseum this morning! #NAMLE19 @MediaLiteracyEd @NewsLitProject pic.twitter.com/bfaFPOouRD

— Tracie Potts (@nbctracie) June 28, 2019

Friday, June 28, 2019 (10:30 am)

Media Literacy and Our Youngest Learners
Diana Maliszewski

Summary: (taken from program)

Kindergarten students CAN have insightful, thought-provoking discussions and think critically about media texts. Educators just need a developmentally appropriate and engaging way to start these conversations with our youngest learners. Participants will experience several mini-lessons and strategies used frequently and successfully with pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students, including those for whom English is not their first language. These lessons start our youngest students on the path to being media literate citizens and allow them to respond verbally and non-verbally to relevant media texts and experiences from their lives.

3 Key Points (from Diana's talk)

1. Very young children are capable of talking about complex media ideas when given a strong but simple definition that they can use as their foundation.
2. Don't label media as good or bad (for it shuts down discussion); probe the "interesting" parts and let them come to their own conclusions.
3. Use materials and media that they are familiar with (such as costumes, toys, or online games) to launch critical media literacy discussions.

So What? Now What?

Participants presented four times for about 30 minutes each cycle in this Curriculum Round Table. I presented three times to small but eager groups. Wendy, Eveline and Patricia were in my first session. Drew was in my second round and Amy was part of the third go-round. (I used the fourth round to take my time to pack all the equipment and resources I had on my table.) This was essentially the same presentation I gave on Wednesday but I did not receive any of the same negative reactions that I did two days prior. I did get questions about how and why I did things, but they were all very respectful and curious. I am going to have to remember Drew's great counter-example (that clouds may not be media, but sky writing is) and Wendy's comment that we must ask ourselves with regards to media literacy education "what's at stake?" and use that as a guide to action. I really appreciated Elizaveta Friesem, co-editor of the Journal of Media Literacy Education, who ensured I always had someone at my table - her two young sons enjoyed the toys I brought and made sure I was never lonely. Maybe I'll write for the journal someday. I also enjoyed the gorgeous view from the eighth floor of Newseum, which was perfect for selfies!

Visual / Social Media Artifacts

Thanks to Drew, Amy and all the other #NAMLE19 attendees that came to my round table on Media Literacy and our Youngest Learners. We talked. We played. We networked. We discussed. We learned. pic.twitter.com/rnhZDkgyXN

— Diana Maliszewski (@MzMollyTL) June 28, 2019

Catching up on my #namle19 tweets - we know Grumpy Cat but have you heard of Yonty Cat aka @yonty ? Thanks to Yonty, @belmedia and the whole team for organizing a full and fulfilling conference! pic.twitter.com/VCjATAdxV9

— Diana Maliszewski (@MzMollyTL) June 28, 2019

Session descriptions - Neil, Chelsea & I presented simultaneously!

Getting photos from a bird's eye view!

Chelsea captures the Capitol!

Friday, June 28, 2019 (12:45 pm)

Newseum Tour

So What? Now What?

Neil, Chelsea, and I used our lunch break to explore the Newseum, which is unfortunately being closed at the end of this calendar year. It was wonderful to carve out time to appreciate the displays. We weren't the only ones to take advantage of this great space. It made me a tad late for the next session, but it was worth it.

Visual / Social Media Artifacts

At the (fake) new desk at @Newseum are ⁦@A_M_L_⁩ anchors ⁦@MzMollyTL⁩ and ⁦@ccatwell⁩. pic.twitter.com/e5aqwNZdji

— Neil Andersen (@mediasee) June 29, 2019

Managed to squeeze in a little downtime @Newseum #namle19 pic.twitter.com/hZi0WDTRaC

— Natasha Casey (@NatashaCaseyIRL) June 29, 2019

I couldn’t resist! Squeezed in time to explore @Newseum as well as the National Art Gallery (with the kindest, friendliest security personnel) after making the most of my #namle19 visit pic.twitter.com/8PSUHA6rpf

— Diana Maliszewski (@MzMollyTL) June 28, 2019

Me and John Oliver

Headlines from newspapers from September 11, 2001

A piece of the World Trade Center

Neil and Chelsea taking photos with news comedians

Friday, June 28, 2019 (2:15 pm)

The Future of Media Literacy Requires Starting Early: "Ulla" the Little Owl in Kindergarten

Eveline Hipeli

Summary (taken from program)

Preparing children for a life surrounded by media isn’t an easy task. There are a lot of skills children will have to learn in order to understand the different media phenomena they encounter every day, mainly from their parents and teachers as agents of socialization. That’s why it is crucial to start media education as early as possible. With age appropriate children’s books, various media topics (like different sources of stories, advertisement, feelings during media use, media manipulation) can already be discussed with kindergarten and primary school children. We are doing exactly that in Switzerland will be the main focus of this presentation.

3 Key Points:

1. Switzerland has a new curriculum that includes technology and media literacy. Parents were concerned about this inclusion and felt that media literacy should come when they are older. Research indicates otherwise.
2. This project is a series of five books with stories about various media topics "such as age appropriate media use, learning to read, advertisements, and more". The main recurring characters are Ulla, an owl, Anna a first-grader, and Peter, a pre-schooler.
3. Supplementary materials are available on Ulla's website, www.ulladieeule.ch 

So What? Now What?

I really liked this presentation. I felt like the Swiss attitude towards media literacy aligned very nicely with the Ontario/Canadian version. I like how part of the lessons involve examining how different media makes young people feel. Our next step is that Neil will hopefully arrange a podcast with Eveline for the VoicEd Radio show "Mediacy" and that English translations of these books may be possible. Chelsea mentioned that it'd be nice to have a more diverse representation, and that is true; maybe if a Canadian license occurs, we can help spearhead that!

Visual / Social Media Artifacts

Ulla's books answer the question:
How might #medialiteracy concepts be accessible to the youngest learners?@evehipeli https://t.co/OIybH10fb4

— Neil Andersen (@mediasee) June 30, 2019

Friday, June 28, 2019 (2:15 pm)

A Great Leap Forward: Developing Media Literacy with Afghan Youth

Benjamin Thurn and Tom Toomey

Summary (taken from program)

What does media literacy look like in an international education youth development context? Our team at American Councils has been finding out. LEAP (Leadership and English Advancement Program) is a U.S. Embassy Kabul funded month-long program held in India, where students from diverse regions of Afghanistan come together to build upon English language skills and develop critical thinking through media literacy. From analyzing photographs and examining advertisements to creating music videos and public service announcements, students develop their media literacy skills across multiple projects and eventually bring these new abilities back to their home communities.

3 Key Points:

1. 1. Students really enjoy creating media texts and learn a lot in a very short time.
2. 2. Sometimes there are culture issues but things get resolved.

So What? Now What?

I couldn't take as many things back from this presentation, as it was for 16-18 year olds, but a few of the ideas, like a camera angle booklet the students keep and take home, are scale-able for younger learners. I'll have to look for a link to the presentation slides.

Visual / Social Media Artifacts

Post-NAMLE in Washington DC

I had a wonderful time being a tourist in DC after the conference. On the Friday, I experienced Newseum and the National Gallery of Art (as well as the Outdoor Sculpture Garden, until the lightning and thunder started). On Saturday, Chelsea and I arranged one of those hop-on-hop-off bus tours. It helped us see many of the attractions. We saw everything at a distance and took a closer look at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, the White House, the Renwick Gallery (of American Art), the Lincoln Memorial and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

There are so many people that need thanking and I fear I will forget so forgive me in advance.
Thank you Neil Andersen, Chelsea Attwell and the AML. Thank you Belinha De Abreu, Catherine Burgess, Donnell Probst, and Yonty Friesem. Thank you Lisa Guersney. Thank you everyone.