On March 2, while checking my Twitter, I saw a plea from Zoe Branigan-Pipe, an instructor at Brock University in Hamilton - she wanted people to Skype her class about "messages to her graduating class". I volunteered, and then thought "what the heck am I doing?" I had laryngitis and was under strict orders from my husband not to talk. But Zoe called, and I answered.
I must have looked like a bit of a kook, with my cartoon black hair and Minnie Mouse voice and rambling thoughts. I think I said things like "don't be discouraged if you don't get a job right away" and "nothing will ever prepare you for teaching on your own, but you have a great support network online to help you" and "keep learning - if you don't want to learn anymore, find a new job" (and I think I muttered other things like being a supply teacher, which I think is good experience for all educators, and how being a teacher-librarian is the best job in a school, and it's good to volunteer, and how my son whips my butt in gaming - it was all a little random). I don't flatter myself to think that 5 minutes on a screen will inspire or become etched in their memories. I remember what it was like for me as a soon-to-be graduate.
I graduated in 1996 and that was probably the most stressful year of my life. In addition to the usual worries of "what if I don't get a job?" and applying for different school boards, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery and chemotherapy. I was itching for a classroom of my own; after 6 years in unviersity and 4 of those in the Faculty of Education, I thought I was ready. You are never truly ready, but even in preparing our own students for the future, it's hard to anticipate each twist and turn. I think we need to be willing to go along for the ride, make learning fun and enjoyable, embrace technology and new ways of learning, and treat every student like a treasure.
Someone on my staff is just like that, and I'm very sad because after Easter, she'll be leaving. She's an LTO, covering a maternity leave, and I've learned so much from this "new teacher / future teacher" that I really mourn the lack of face-to-face PD I get just from being in the same building with her. The teacher who is returning is great, don't get me wrong, but this person embodied so many of the qualities I admire in great educators:
- tech-savvy
(yesterday she brought in her iPad and showed me how to use an app that translated word to speech much more quickly than our old Dragon Naturally Speaking programs on our desktop computers at school. She regularly checks out the SMART Exchange to find great templates for doing attendance or running other activities. Her students participated in World Math Day and competed with kids all over the world, online. She's the only other staff member at my school - not counting me - that's on Twitter. Her hubby was the one who advised me about selecting a domain name for our school Google Apps account.)
- team-player
(she was part of tke K-2 Inquiry team and worked so collaboratively with her peers - and with me - sharing all sorts of resources, ideas, strategies, etc. I nominated the team for a Premier's Award for Teaching Excellence and I hope they win it. None of the team would consent to an individual award, but they agreed to be nominated as long as it was as a team.)
- talented
(I love how she interacts with her students! I've watched her class as she's taught and it's just magic. Add to that her abilities to coach volleyball...)
- teacher-librarian-friendly
(she GETS it, more so than most teachers I know. I chose one of her grade 1 kids to speak at the OLA Superconference on the Learning Commons, partly because so many of the things she does aligns so well with the Learning Commons philosophy > learning partnerships, integrating technology, equity of access, genuine student inquiry, shared leadership. She even took it upon herself to help coach the little girl when she first appeared too shy to speak in front of an audience. The grade 1 student bowled everyone away with how articulate she was, and we were able to share some of the things she does in her class with her awesome teacher - like a Speakers Corner, where kids talk into a tape recorder with their ideas if they can't tell the teacher right away, and the teacher downloads the audio into files marked with the students' names and previews them to see how they demonstrate student learning.)
I am sad that she is leaving our school. I offered to poison or maim some older teachers so that she could get a position at our school (I am JOKING, so please do not call my principal to report I'm planning assaults) because I wish we were the lucky staff members to get to hire her permanently. Future teachers, don't despair - if you love it, you'll do it somehow, someday.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
Students Lead Lesson and Learning
Thanks to my tech-savvy hubby, who showed me how to alter my post date, I actually wrote this blog entry days before my regularly scheduled reflection. However, it was so powerful for me on so many levels that I had to write it before any of the details faded.
Today, I had a grade 3 class in the library for our media literacy lesson. We had a new student to the class, and so I asked the class to share our definition of media. (One of these days, I promise to create a YouTube video of our definition because it has actions and everything.) The kids chanted: "Media is made by people, for people. You can see it, hear it, feel it, wear it, experience it - and all media has a message." The new student, to her credit, said "Wait. How do you wear media?"
The students were eager to explain, and so they took over. (All these quotes are paraphrases.)
"T-shirts have messages on them."
"Look at Mz Molly's sweatshirt. That's an example of media."
(I was wearing my school hoodie, with the name of the school on the front and staff on the back.)
"So if it's media, then what's the message?"
"It shows that she works at this school."
"Yeah, that's the 'out loud' (overt) message."
I asked, "So, what's the quiet (implied) message? What does it say about how I feel about the school, about what's valued?"
The kids chimed in with their theories, about liking the school, being proud, and being a teacher.
"So why does it say 'staff' on the back and not teacher?", I responded.
There was a lot of talk about that. Even the Educational Assistant that came with the class joined in. The discussion branched into how EAs jobs are slightly different from teachers' jobs, but that we all had the same goal - to help students learn (other kids suggested our common goal was "to help us get smarter", "to help us get better grades", and other ideas). I was feeling pretty content, especially because our character trait focus of the month was on inclusion.
And then E, a little bespectacled girl, spoke up.
"But that's missing some people."
"What do you mean?" I asked."Well, teachers learn too, don't they? And sometimes they learn from their students, right? And students can learn from other students - you tell us that. So actually, the students help students learn too, not just the grown-ups. But they aren't the staff."
I was blown away.
Hello - learning commons concepts anyone? This 8-year-old gave me a great wake up call.
The comments stemming from her observation were both cute and poignant.
"Well, if we got to wear staff sweatshirts, maybe we could go through the secret door (there's a door that's marked 'staff only') or eat in the staff room."
"Oh, but they have other shirts that have Macphail on it but don't have staff on it. We could wear those instead."
This student lesson take-over only took about ten minutes or so, but I was so impressed by what came out of their mouths. (Icing on the cake was that the rest of the period was an exercise in games-based education, the principal came in to watch because it looked so engaging, and the kids were able to articulate what they were doing, what they learned from playing the game [Webkinz] and how the lessons learned could apply to other areas of curriculum and life.)
Today, I had a grade 3 class in the library for our media literacy lesson. We had a new student to the class, and so I asked the class to share our definition of media. (One of these days, I promise to create a YouTube video of our definition because it has actions and everything.) The kids chanted: "Media is made by people, for people. You can see it, hear it, feel it, wear it, experience it - and all media has a message." The new student, to her credit, said "Wait. How do you wear media?"
The students were eager to explain, and so they took over. (All these quotes are paraphrases.)
"T-shirts have messages on them."
"Look at Mz Molly's sweatshirt. That's an example of media."
(I was wearing my school hoodie, with the name of the school on the front and staff on the back.)
"So if it's media, then what's the message?"
"It shows that she works at this school."
"Yeah, that's the 'out loud' (overt) message."
I asked, "So, what's the quiet (implied) message? What does it say about how I feel about the school, about what's valued?"
The kids chimed in with their theories, about liking the school, being proud, and being a teacher.
"So why does it say 'staff' on the back and not teacher?", I responded.
There was a lot of talk about that. Even the Educational Assistant that came with the class joined in. The discussion branched into how EAs jobs are slightly different from teachers' jobs, but that we all had the same goal - to help students learn (other kids suggested our common goal was "to help us get smarter", "to help us get better grades", and other ideas). I was feeling pretty content, especially because our character trait focus of the month was on inclusion.
And then E, a little bespectacled girl, spoke up.
"But that's missing some people."
"What do you mean?" I asked."Well, teachers learn too, don't they? And sometimes they learn from their students, right? And students can learn from other students - you tell us that. So actually, the students help students learn too, not just the grown-ups. But they aren't the staff."
I was blown away.
Hello - learning commons concepts anyone? This 8-year-old gave me a great wake up call.
The comments stemming from her observation were both cute and poignant.
"Well, if we got to wear staff sweatshirts, maybe we could go through the secret door (there's a door that's marked 'staff only') or eat in the staff room."
"Oh, but they have other shirts that have Macphail on it but don't have staff on it. We could wear those instead."
This student lesson take-over only took about ten minutes or so, but I was so impressed by what came out of their mouths. (Icing on the cake was that the rest of the period was an exercise in games-based education, the principal came in to watch because it looked so engaging, and the kids were able to articulate what they were doing, what they learned from playing the game [Webkinz] and how the lessons learned could apply to other areas of curriculum and life.)
Monday, February 21, 2011
Pushed out of the comfort zone by a book
This post feels a bit redundant because I've talked about this recent thought so often in the past few weeks.
I've mentioned earlier in this blog (note to self - hyperlink the exact post) about reading Sharon Jennings' book "Home Free" and being a bit uncomfortable with some of the scenes. I wrote to Sharon to talk with her about it, get my head around it, and she was very nice in her response (I think she might have been getting tired of me after the second email exchange, but maybe that was me being paranoid). After some kurfuffle in the past years over certain titles on nomination lists ("The Shepherd's Granddaughter" and "Three Wishes" being two examples), my school board has said that all titles from award lists must be read in advanced by an adult and that any book can be excluded from the options at that school by the teacher-librarian. I decided, despite having some misgivings, to keep the book as a reading option at my school.
When I first introduced the titles to the grade 5-6s, I mentioned that if any of the books made them feel excessively uncomfortable, that they could 'abandon' the book, just like any other book. "Can you tell us which books are the bad ones?" asked a student. I declined, because I told them I didn't want to influence their opinions like that and, plus, what exactly constitutes a bad book? We had already done a series of lessons on developing your "inner thermometer" when it comes to choosing books to read from the school library, so I told them that they were the ones to decide, based on different strategies, whether a book was just right for them at this time.
I dreaded my first chat on "Home Free". (Background info: at my school, students receive a Silver Birch "passport" and after they finish a book, they chat with a teacher that has also read the book. If it is clear that the student has indeed read the book, they get a signature on their passport. You need to read a minimum of five signatures to be able to vote.) However, what I noticed was that my "Home Free" chats were longer, and more animated, than some of the other books. All of the readers for "Home Free" were girls (something the author herself predicted) and all of them had something to say about the "icky" parts. Some kids just skipped reading them altogether. When it came to some of the other, sensitive parts, some kids were completely oblivious to what was going on, some kids knew something was up but wasn't sure what ("Mz Molly, why did Lee's friend Kathy move away?"), and some knew a bit of what was going on but were embarassed to mention it (one spelled it: s-e-x). The book opened up discussion channels for certain things we'd like to avoid talking about but really shouldn't shy away from: sexual abuse, pornography, shame, pedophilia. I was talking with one small group when another girl, who had already chatted with me on "Home Free", ran up and said "Oh you guys, you have to hear Mz Molly's inference about the variety story owner". Sometimes I felt bad about mentioning certain things (I felt I was eroding their innocence), and based on the kids I was talking to, I didn't go into a lot of detail or share a lot of theories. However, it's been a very popular book among the girls; they like the story of how the friendship develops between the two main female characters and although some of the "sex-stuff" is part of the main plot (I can't tell you how in case I spoil it for you), the girls could compartmentalize it.
I'm glad that I didn't let my own personal reaction to the book stop me from allowing it in the library. It pushed me out of my comfort zone but reaped benefits. That's not saying I should abdicate responsibility for the type of books I carry in the library; I am stilll responsible for maintaining an age-appropriate collection. However, I feel that the positives outweighed the negatives in this case. Thanks Sharon, for the book.
P.S.
I only realize now, as I type up this reflection, that I had done something similar with an adult book I had read a couple of years ago. I really enjoyed the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon but reading her giant book Acheron nearly wrecked me. The description of the sexual, physical, and emotional abuse the main character endures horrified me; I had "day-mares", for lack of a better word. I felt bad about not reading the book, because I had invested so much time into the series. In the end, I had to skip 300 pages of the book and a kind friend was able to summarize the main plot points covered in those pages. Afterwards, I couldn't read another fiction book for over two months - I was slightly traumatized.
I also realized "the tint of my glasses", to quote a Tribes TLC (c) activity where you examine your own biases. I have a strong aversion to pornography - I've supported the White Ribbon Against Pornography campaign, and to see a source of porn (which I consider degrading to women) used by under-age characters bothered me. That magazine in the book, though, could just has well have been the equivalent of some of the steamy romance books I read for fun. I don't consider those soft porn - erotic, maybe. But then, what's the difference between porn and erotica? That's a post for a different writer, but let me just leave it with a paraphrase of the author's words: most of the things that happened in the book (including the "magazine under the cottage bed" scene that upset me so much) happened to the author or people she knew - it's a reflection of real life, whether we are pleased by it or not.
I've mentioned earlier in this blog (note to self - hyperlink the exact post) about reading Sharon Jennings' book "Home Free" and being a bit uncomfortable with some of the scenes. I wrote to Sharon to talk with her about it, get my head around it, and she was very nice in her response (I think she might have been getting tired of me after the second email exchange, but maybe that was me being paranoid). After some kurfuffle in the past years over certain titles on nomination lists ("The Shepherd's Granddaughter" and "Three Wishes" being two examples), my school board has said that all titles from award lists must be read in advanced by an adult and that any book can be excluded from the options at that school by the teacher-librarian. I decided, despite having some misgivings, to keep the book as a reading option at my school.
When I first introduced the titles to the grade 5-6s, I mentioned that if any of the books made them feel excessively uncomfortable, that they could 'abandon' the book, just like any other book. "Can you tell us which books are the bad ones?" asked a student. I declined, because I told them I didn't want to influence their opinions like that and, plus, what exactly constitutes a bad book? We had already done a series of lessons on developing your "inner thermometer" when it comes to choosing books to read from the school library, so I told them that they were the ones to decide, based on different strategies, whether a book was just right for them at this time.
I dreaded my first chat on "Home Free". (Background info: at my school, students receive a Silver Birch "passport" and after they finish a book, they chat with a teacher that has also read the book. If it is clear that the student has indeed read the book, they get a signature on their passport. You need to read a minimum of five signatures to be able to vote.) However, what I noticed was that my "Home Free" chats were longer, and more animated, than some of the other books. All of the readers for "Home Free" were girls (something the author herself predicted) and all of them had something to say about the "icky" parts. Some kids just skipped reading them altogether. When it came to some of the other, sensitive parts, some kids were completely oblivious to what was going on, some kids knew something was up but wasn't sure what ("Mz Molly, why did Lee's friend Kathy move away?"), and some knew a bit of what was going on but were embarassed to mention it (one spelled it: s-e-x). The book opened up discussion channels for certain things we'd like to avoid talking about but really shouldn't shy away from: sexual abuse, pornography, shame, pedophilia. I was talking with one small group when another girl, who had already chatted with me on "Home Free", ran up and said "Oh you guys, you have to hear Mz Molly's inference about the variety story owner". Sometimes I felt bad about mentioning certain things (I felt I was eroding their innocence), and based on the kids I was talking to, I didn't go into a lot of detail or share a lot of theories. However, it's been a very popular book among the girls; they like the story of how the friendship develops between the two main female characters and although some of the "sex-stuff" is part of the main plot (I can't tell you how in case I spoil it for you), the girls could compartmentalize it.
I'm glad that I didn't let my own personal reaction to the book stop me from allowing it in the library. It pushed me out of my comfort zone but reaped benefits. That's not saying I should abdicate responsibility for the type of books I carry in the library; I am stilll responsible for maintaining an age-appropriate collection. However, I feel that the positives outweighed the negatives in this case. Thanks Sharon, for the book.
P.S.
I only realize now, as I type up this reflection, that I had done something similar with an adult book I had read a couple of years ago. I really enjoyed the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon but reading her giant book Acheron nearly wrecked me. The description of the sexual, physical, and emotional abuse the main character endures horrified me; I had "day-mares", for lack of a better word. I felt bad about not reading the book, because I had invested so much time into the series. In the end, I had to skip 300 pages of the book and a kind friend was able to summarize the main plot points covered in those pages. Afterwards, I couldn't read another fiction book for over two months - I was slightly traumatized.
I also realized "the tint of my glasses", to quote a Tribes TLC (c) activity where you examine your own biases. I have a strong aversion to pornography - I've supported the White Ribbon Against Pornography campaign, and to see a source of porn (which I consider degrading to women) used by under-age characters bothered me. That magazine in the book, though, could just has well have been the equivalent of some of the steamy romance books I read for fun. I don't consider those soft porn - erotic, maybe. But then, what's the difference between porn and erotica? That's a post for a different writer, but let me just leave it with a paraphrase of the author's words: most of the things that happened in the book (including the "magazine under the cottage bed" scene that upset me so much) happened to the author or people she knew - it's a reflection of real life, whether we are pleased by it or not.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
February 14 - 10 Things I Love About Being a TL
Happy Valentine's Day! I have so many things swirling in my head from all the new Twitter contacts I've made and from the recent blog posts I've read, that I felt it was impossible to choose just one to write about. I'm also a believer in sharing comments and ideas via comments to other blog posts, so that it starts a genuine conversation - no need to hog your "ahas" for your own blog. I mentioned a recent failed lesson and what I learned from it on one blog, the union's fear of email and social media on a principal's blog, and got excited about several blogs that showed how they use gaming in education. To keep my head from exploding, I thought I'd go for a "light" post today, on some of the things I love about being a teacher-librarian.
1) I am expected to collaborate - and two is better than one. = Some of the best lessons I've ever taught have been ones that were planned and executed alongside another educator. It's fun to work together!
2) I am surrounded by books and people who like the written word. = Despite the predicted death of printed books, right now there's still a place for all sorts of great stories. I do Forest of Reading chats with my students and I love when they just spill over and become true talks. The biggest compliment I got recently was from a grade six girl who said "I like talking with Mrs. Mali about books because with some teachers, it feels like an interview, but with her, we just chat."
3) I can use technology in new, exciting, engaging ways for learning. = I have a mini-lab in my classroom (the biggest class in the school). When a grade eight student discovered she could use her laptop in the library because the wi-fi hub extends to the library, she declared "I'll live here!"
4) I see students of all ages, from K-8. = I love knowing every kid in the school, and not just their name, but what they like, their pals, their interests, and so on. If a class is challenging, I know I don't have them long - is that naughty to say? What I do like is seeing them grow from tiny tykes at age 4 to near-teens.
5) I am guided by but not constrained by the curriculum. = All the collaborative projects I do with classes are anchored in the curriculum, but in the library I can work on those "essential skills" and big ideas important to the tasks.
6) My fellow TLs are a creative and cool group to associate with. = One of the reasons I love the library conferences is because it gives me a chance to talk with some talented people that know a lot and are willing to share.
7) Every day is different. = I love the variety! I have been a teacher-librarian for 14 years and I still don't think I've figured out "the right" way to do things. I don't get in a rut because there are so many different ways to do things that I don't do the same thing twice.
8) Learning, not marks, are what drives my program. = I do write report cards, but that's not what teacher-librarians are known for. Inquiry, exploring, playing - that's the driving force. Kids seem more relaxed in the library. Relaxed > happy > ready to learn!
9) I can be a leader without leaving the classroom. = I bemoan the fact that one of the few ways we reward excellent teachers is by removing them from the classroom to become administrators. When you are a teacher-librarian, you can have your cake and still keep it (or eat it? I always get that saying mixed up!) I still get to work with students but I also manage large budgets, create proposals, try research projects, present workshops, and more.
10) I love to help my staff. = Sometimes we aren't appreciated, but when you pull that book for the frazzled class teacher that they need in five minutes, or you show them an easy online tool that cuts their marking time in half, they are so grateful. They are also willing to share their discoveries, and then you can share with others, passing ideas along to maximize the impact.
I know I've forgotten so many other reasons, and I haven't phrased them as articulately as I would like, but just get the gist of the post > I love being a teacher-librarian!
1) I am expected to collaborate - and two is better than one. = Some of the best lessons I've ever taught have been ones that were planned and executed alongside another educator. It's fun to work together!
2) I am surrounded by books and people who like the written word. = Despite the predicted death of printed books, right now there's still a place for all sorts of great stories. I do Forest of Reading chats with my students and I love when they just spill over and become true talks. The biggest compliment I got recently was from a grade six girl who said "I like talking with Mrs. Mali about books because with some teachers, it feels like an interview, but with her, we just chat."
3) I can use technology in new, exciting, engaging ways for learning. = I have a mini-lab in my classroom (the biggest class in the school). When a grade eight student discovered she could use her laptop in the library because the wi-fi hub extends to the library, she declared "I'll live here!"
4) I see students of all ages, from K-8. = I love knowing every kid in the school, and not just their name, but what they like, their pals, their interests, and so on. If a class is challenging, I know I don't have them long - is that naughty to say? What I do like is seeing them grow from tiny tykes at age 4 to near-teens.
5) I am guided by but not constrained by the curriculum. = All the collaborative projects I do with classes are anchored in the curriculum, but in the library I can work on those "essential skills" and big ideas important to the tasks.
6) My fellow TLs are a creative and cool group to associate with. = One of the reasons I love the library conferences is because it gives me a chance to talk with some talented people that know a lot and are willing to share.
7) Every day is different. = I love the variety! I have been a teacher-librarian for 14 years and I still don't think I've figured out "the right" way to do things. I don't get in a rut because there are so many different ways to do things that I don't do the same thing twice.
8) Learning, not marks, are what drives my program. = I do write report cards, but that's not what teacher-librarians are known for. Inquiry, exploring, playing - that's the driving force. Kids seem more relaxed in the library. Relaxed > happy > ready to learn!
9) I can be a leader without leaving the classroom. = I bemoan the fact that one of the few ways we reward excellent teachers is by removing them from the classroom to become administrators. When you are a teacher-librarian, you can have your cake and still keep it (or eat it? I always get that saying mixed up!) I still get to work with students but I also manage large budgets, create proposals, try research projects, present workshops, and more.
10) I love to help my staff. = Sometimes we aren't appreciated, but when you pull that book for the frazzled class teacher that they need in five minutes, or you show them an easy online tool that cuts their marking time in half, they are so grateful. They are also willing to share their discoveries, and then you can share with others, passing ideas along to maximize the impact.
I know I've forgotten so many other reasons, and I haven't phrased them as articulately as I would like, but just get the gist of the post > I love being a teacher-librarian!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
February 7 Pt 2 - OLA Superconference 2011
Ontario Library Association Super Conference 2011
“The Power of C: Collaboration”
Conference Reflections by Diana Maliszewski
Thursday, February 3, 2011 – 9:05 a.m.
Session #303: The Virtual School Libr@ry Website by Joanie Proske
Summary = Joanie, a TL from BC, shared her M.Ed. research on the benefits of creating a virtual school library website. She talked about switching from an elementary to a secondary school and the ways she transformed the spaces.
3 Key Points
· You as the TL should be directly involved in creating your library website because it should reflect your personality and your philosophy of what a school library program should be
· Even the greats, like Joyce Valenza, can make changes to maximize the virtual school library as a useful space / place (e.g. her site is pretty but scattered and not readable by assistive technology)
· Work on making your virtual space as appealing as your physical space
So What? Now What? =Joanie is a good friend of mine and I convened the session. Joanie said to me afterwards that re-examining her Masters capping paper was beneficial to her because it made her re-evaluate the work with a few months of distance away from the grind of writing it. I think I need to do that with my own capping paper on exemplary school library programs with fresh eyes.
Thursday, February 3, 2011 – 10:20 a.m.
Forest of Reading Student Interviews
Summary = Students from Tom Longboat Jr. P.S. and Mary Shadd P.S. attended session #301 (The Forest of Reading Showcase) and then interviewed the authors afterwards. I helped coordinate this portion. We were thankful that the teachers used cars and GO trains to arrive so that, for the first time ever, students could attend the workshop before the interviews. There were a few scheduling glitches but we got most of the interviews done. The Mary Shadd students had a 40 minute interview with Susie Nielsen and their teacher escort was so grateful and appreciative. The students and their teachers stayed until about 2:00 p.m. wandering the Vendor Hall Expo and enjoying themselves.
Thursday, February 3, 2011 – 10:40 a.m.
Session #424: Check Out A Human Book @ Your Library by Sophie Gorski, Greg Marshall & Janet Kaufman
Summary = A public, academic, and school library describe their experiences with running a human book event, in which people representing marginalized or underrepresented populations are trained and available to be “borrowed” by library users for 30 minute periods.
3 Key Points
· Students are totally engaged by this real-life way of addressing issues of equity and diversity in a way that dwarfs the effectiveness of written texts
· Being a human book takes courage but most participants say they get a lot out of it and often volunteer to return as human books the following years
· A tool kit will be produced by the committee, headed by Sophie as part of a Larry Moore Challenge Grant
So What? Now What? = With a lot of planning (and by using the tool kit to guide me through treacherous waters), this sounds like something that would benefit my students and school. I collected Greg’s email (he made me cry with his YouTube video and honest confession about how his discovered his own preconceived notions) and I will check with him (mr.marshall@sympatico.ca) as a resource for running this program in the future. I also saw my friends from Manitoba and we touched base briefly about doing a collaborative literature circle project via Skype.
Thursday, February 3, 2011 – 12:00 p.m.
Access OLA Editorial Board Meeting
Summary = AccessOLA is the magazine of the Ontario Library Association and I am the OSLA liaison editor. This was the first meeting I attended and most of the discussion centered on the web presence for the magazine, the new cover style, and the balance of features vs. columns.
Thursday, February 3, 2011 – 2:10 p.m.
Session # 500: All-Conference Plenary by Michael Wesch
Summary = Wesch is a cultural anthropologist with Kansas State University and talked about the effects of social media and digital technology on global society.
3 Key Points
· Wesch’s time in Papua New Guinea was a very trying time in his life, as he realized that everything that defined him was absent in this environment; his identity was so tied to media that in a society without TV or even writing, he was lost
So What? Now What? = I missed a great deal of this presentation because I had to meet my students and prepare them for our workshop. That’s why I could only include one point. Thankfully, I heard that the entire session was videotaped and will be available as a free Education Institute webinar. I need to watch the presentation in its entirety before I realize the impact of his talk on me and the potential it has.
Thursday, February 3, 2011 – 3:45 p.m.
Session #607: Students Speak Out by Diana Maliszewski, Venus Cheung, Jonathan Martin, Haran Sureshkumar and Melanie Sureshkumar
Summary = The teacher-librarian and four representatives from each grade division in an elementary school spoke about how their school is evolving into a Learning Commons.
3 Key Points
· The students may not know the proper definition of a Learning Commons, but Is knowing the vocabulary as vital as doing and living the concepts behind it, such as collaboration, access, and engagement?
· Students like their technology tools, and several initiatives, such as the K-2 Inquiry project, dovetail nicely with the aims and strategies used in a Learning Commons
· Parents are just one of the many partnerships, and the two dads present to hear their children speak were part of that
So What? Now What? This was one of my sessions, so it’s hard to be impartial. The students were very nervous at first, but after speaking to Peggy MacInnis’ high school student Candice in the Speakers Lounge beforehand and after performing in front of a very welcoming audience, they loved it. (People cracked up when Jonathan, after nearly revealing his password, tells the audience in a dead-pan voice: “Actually, my name is Mark.”) I think my next steps are to educate the staff and start introducing the vocabulary and explanations directly to the students. I also promised someone I’d share statistics on the number of kids who use these tools at home – I must remember to do that.
Thursday, February 3, 2011 – 5:15 p.m.
Session #703: Ontario School Library Association Annual General Meeting and Award Presentation / Reception
Summary = 2010 President Ruth Hall described OSLA’s activities from the past year and 2011 President Roger Nevin shared his goals and introduced the new council.
3 key points
· Paula McNamera from Simcoe County DSB won the Teacher-Librarian of the Year Award
· Michael Bowman from Durham DBS won the Administrator of the Year Award
· David Thornley and Peter Rogers from Knowledge Ontario won the Award for Special Achievement Award
So What? Now What? Paula’s group made me cry because all of “her boys” (her grown-up sons) traveled from far and near, leaving young families, to be with their mom as she won her prize. I had great conversations during the reception with Jeanne Buckley about IASL (their conference is in Jamaica this year) and with Paul Kay and Joel Krentz. I need to investigate presenting at IASL, as it is part of my annual learning plan goals to continue to present internationally (even beyond the continent).
Thursday, February 3, 2011 – 8:00 p.m.
OSLA Spotlight Session Working Group Final Planning Session
Summary = All the people involved in the big workshop on Friday (with the exception of Carol and David) met in the Speakers Lounge to finalize plans. All of our work previously was done on line and this was the first time that many of us had met in person. We reviewed the timeline, the technological requirements, the logistics, and the process. We then walked down to the room where the session was to be held to visualize and plot how this would go. We didn’t end until 10:00 p.m. and although this was not as late as past evenings at Superconference, I was exhausted because of the constant go-go-go between meetings and sessions.
Friday, February 4, 2011 – 9:05 a.m.
Session #1000: The Great Web 2.0 Face-Off by Carol Koechlin, Mark Carbone, Anita Brooks-Kirkland, the “Red Team”, the “Blue Team” and the “Tech Crew”
Summary = This was the OSLA Spotlight Session (OSLA’s “must-see” session) and was in the style of a hockey game. Teams had just 5 minutes per period to present a tool and all the possible learning uses (and types of learning it invoked). The shoot out last portion involved tossing tools at the other side and having them fire off uses.
3 key points
· Give students “sandbox” time to explore / play with the tools – it’s worthwhile.
· Through the use of Twitter (and microphones at the actual session), learning became more interactive (although it’s too bad that the Convention Centre did not provide wi-fi access)
· The conversation will and must continue using the Google site > https://sites.google.com/site/oslahockeyfaceoff/
So What? Now What? = Once again, because I was involved, it was hard to gauge how much learning took place. It was very fast paced and well received. There were some scary points at 7:45 a.m. when we showed up and the room wasn’t ready, but all the people involved (Anita Brooks-Kirkland, Diane Bedard, Rebecca Brouse, Doug Peterson, Colleen Rampelt, Rick Budding, Zoe Branigan-Pip, Roger Nevin, etc.) did a super job of going with the flow. I was told “you make me look calm” and “you’d make coffee jumpy” (all of which were compliments on my energy and enthusiasm on stage). I have significantly increased my Twitter PLN because of this session and there are many follow-ups in store (such as Colleen and I co-creating a Bitstrips comic summarizing the event, or new conversations happening about determining the best tool out there with some audience members that tweeted)
Friday, February 5, 2011 – 10:40 a.m.
Session #1100: All Conference Plenary by Atom Egoyan
Summary = Atom Egoyan is a Canadian filmmaker. He spoke about the collaborative process of creating screen plays and directing movies. I did not stay for his entire presentation because a) I had to wash my hair to get rid of yellow-and-purple “faux hawk” hairstyle I wore for the previous session, b) I wanted to visit the Vendor Hall Expo, and c) I wanted to examine the Poster Sessions.
3 key points
· Aboriginal Story Circles and Home Language Integrated into Curriculum by Padma Sastri and Mary Chau from Peel District School Board is a great initiative that fits with many Ministry expectations and documents
· Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board Teacher Librarian PLC Project by June Rysinski, Ginny Czaczkowski, and Gayle Scherban showcased the great work June and her team have done creating a TL learning community
· The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board teacher-librarians would like me to present at their Summer Institute on the Learning Commons and would like to continue attending Library Camp OTF. A group of TLs attended the ECOO conference so they were unable to come for all of Superconference but they used their PD day to come for one day at the Expo portion
So What? Now What? I think I didn’t appreciate Atom Egoyan’s talk as much because I have never seen a film he’s made. However, I realized that taking a bit of a breather mid-conference helped with my concentration and energy level. I will definitely be following up with Padma for an article for The Teaching Librarian magazine based on her poster session, and chatting with the folks from Dufferin-Peel Catholic on presentation ideas.
Friday, February 4, 2011 – 2:10 p.m.
Session #1225: From Vision to Action – Building an Online Library Learning Commons by Anita Brooks-Kirkland, Janet Dixon, and Rebecca Rouse
Summary = Part of the team from the Waterloo Region District School Board described why and how they created an improved virtual learning space for their staff and students.
3 key points
· What we learn at past Superconferences help us with our current projects, and make sure that you are truly ready before you launch your website (they had 80% of their content already up there – remember that if you don’t catch an online user right away, it’s easy for them to click elsewhere)
· Items have to be easy to find, clear in purpose, and changeable to your needs (e.g. files both in PDF and in Word so you can alter them, placed on several spots so that if you forget the path you found it the first time, you can get to it via other means)
· Target certain groups and show them how the dynamic website can help them, and then they will become some of your biggest advocates
So What? Now What? = TDSB’s web site recently went through a revamp. It would be neat to do a comparison with WRDSB’s offering to see where they differ. Combined with Joanie’s presentation, I have lots of information for me to use when examining how to collect all our virtual spaces into one spot.
Friday, February 4, 2011 – 3:45 p.m.
Session #1328: Books, Bits and Bytes: Literacy in the 21st Century Librarian by Pat Elliot
Session #1331: ICThinking: Critical Thinking in the Library by Greg Harris, Sally MacDonald, Melissa Jensen and Leslie Whidden
Summary = Pat described how in her newest (and last) school she has attempted to mirror the tasks of the classroom in the library. Greg, Sally, Melissa and Leslie used their TLLP grant to share their wiki learning on infusing critical thinking with information technology tools.
3 key points
· The Simcoe County DSB’s group wiki can be found at www.icthinking.pbworks.com
· Many Ministry documents are great fodder for teacher-librarians to use as resources (and to promote to new teachers)
· RAN charts are better than KWL (what we know / confirmed or misconception / new info)
So What? Now What? I wanted to attend both these sessions, but #1331 was moved to this time period instead of its original spot on Saturday. Pat allowed me to skip out of her workshop. I wish her current school was more supportive and less dictatorial (e.g. she had no start-up budget to buy books for her brand-new school, and she actually levelled books in her library, of which I’m not a big fan). I think I will ask if I can become a member of that ICThinking wiki, as it looks like a great support network – I need to look at Glogster and Library Thing. Being part of ABEL would give me a free VoiceThread account (I balk at paying $60 for a year’s subscription, even with 100 accounts).
Friday, February 4, 2011 – 5:15 p.m.
Personal Reflection Time
Summary = The 1400 sessions were meetings for other sub-organizations of OLA (such as the public library). I took the time to go to the Speakers Lounge and begin to think about what I had heard so far and the ramifications. I started to type these reflections before hurrying off to the big evening social.
Friday, February 4, 2011 – 6:15 p.m.
Session #1500: All Conference Networking Event – Life is a Cabaret
Summary = As a live band played and concessionaires wandered the crowd offering retro snacks for donations to the Larry Moore fund, conference delegates ate mini hamburgers with fries and socialized. I had great conversations with Gianna Dassios, Tanya Farr, Jennifer Marriott, June Rysinski’s Thunder Bay group, Doug Davey, and many of my other friends. I stayed until well after 8:00 p.m. and then June, Joanie and I went out to dinner at East Side Mario’s.
Saturday, February 5, 2011 – 9:15 a.m.
Session #1708: I’ve Got a Computer Lab. I Need Ideas by Danuta Woloszynowicz
Summary = Danuta works with the Muskoka Catholic DSB and she provided many examples of great tools, all OSAPAC licensed or free, that we can use to do projects with our classes. She can be contacted via danuta@smcdsb.on.ca
3 Key Points
· The Google Art Project and www.naxosmusiclibrary.com are two ways in which you can teach about classical art and classical music in an interesting way for the students
· Frames is a useful tool for making movies and combining audio and you can use the chroma key to remove backgrounds and do stuff like having a newscaster report on a key event from Ancient Rome
· Some favourite tools can be replaced with newer, less drill-y ones. Kid Pix can be changed with Pixie, (or WordQ, which sounds a lot like Read & Write 9) and you can see www.tech4learning.com for nice tutorials and ideas (like “when is a beaver not a beaver?” or “if I was ...”)
So What? Now What? I should check out Frames, as Danuta spent a great deal of time on it and seems to like it a lot. It resembles Photoshop. Many of her points were things we had heard before (like www.fno.org or start with goals and then go to tools). Frank Hannah was a member of the audience at this session and from his comments on video editing, I see he would be a great human resource when I start doing video editing with the intermediates.
Saturday, February 5, 2011 – 10:45 a.m.
Session #1822: Kinders in the Library: More Than Controlled Chaos by Denise Colby
Summary = Denise describes her kindergarten library procedures, units, and activities.
3 key points
· You can get grade ideas from kindergarten class on how to set up your library space, by making it happy, safe, and comfortable (and keep similar expectations, like keeping materials in a central location, have visual reminders like a toy on the shelf that matches the topic)
· Start slow and spend a lot of time on basic routines like walking to the library, where to meet, how to treat books but then create and allow kinders to be “experts” (X is the ‘dinosaur expert’ and can show others where to get dinosaur books in the library)
· Use games.greenghoulie.com to find cool and silly songs like Baby Shark to end lessons (she uses “who stole the cookie from the cookie jar” to get kids 1 at a time off the carpet and lined up)
So What? Now What? = Denise gave me catchy new tunes to use and some inspiring things to try (like a reading tent or house, Poptropica for the kindies, centres like magnetic poetry, 2 books for the SKs). She and I need to get together more to strengthen our gaming PLC. She promised to send me her units on book care, NF study, author study, ABC/123, and fairy tale stereotypes.
Saturday, February 5, 2011 – 12:15 p.m.
Session #1900: Gala Closing Luncheon by Jian Ghomeshi
Summary = Jian is the host and co-creator of Q on CBC Radio 1. He talked about culture and media.
3 Key Points
· Content is king – the format doesn’t matter (and even length is not an issue, despite the claim that people only will pay attention for 10 minutes > people love the hour long interviews he’s done)
· Diversify both in terms of the faces we see and the mediums we use (e.g. Q is a radio show, podcast, webshow)
· Culture is not supposed to be segregated into high culture vs. pop culture, it’s all one (e.g. singing Justin Bieber to poor Pilipino kids who knew all the words, or Obama making a Jay-Z reference)
So What? Now What? = There should be no shame in marrying things like video games with literature. I began to diversify who we see in TingL magazine by approaching tables with school and other librarians and offering my business card and a request to write 3 sentences about their Superconference experience to share with others. The flash mob singing was beautiful and maybe I can post the video on my blog.
February 7 - I'm Not All That
Doug Pete and Anita Brooks-Kirkland have already begun the reflection process on their blogs. For some reason, I'm having problems cutting and pasting my Word file reflections on my blog, so I'll mention something I left out of my original reflections.
I've been accused in the past of being thin-skinned or overly sensitive, but I guess the reason I noticed and was affected by this was because it happened twice. When I walked into a conference room, the presenter saw me and sighed and uttered something like "oh no, you're not attending MY session, are you?" The speakers felt like they had nothing to offer me in their talks. This made me sad, because even though it was meant to be a compliment, I felt it segregated us into false categories of "regular Joes" and "superstars". I'm glad people feel that I have a lot to offer and do cool things, but if I believed that I was "above" learning from my peers, I would stop learning all together. If I felt that I couldn't associate with international superstars like Joyce Valenza or Gwyneth Jones or David Loertscher because I was beneath them, neither one of us would continue to grow. As it turns out, I did learn a lot from all the presentations I attended.
I'll get working on sharing my Supercon reflections tonight. Stay tuned.
I've been accused in the past of being thin-skinned or overly sensitive, but I guess the reason I noticed and was affected by this was because it happened twice. When I walked into a conference room, the presenter saw me and sighed and uttered something like "oh no, you're not attending MY session, are you?" The speakers felt like they had nothing to offer me in their talks. This made me sad, because even though it was meant to be a compliment, I felt it segregated us into false categories of "regular Joes" and "superstars". I'm glad people feel that I have a lot to offer and do cool things, but if I believed that I was "above" learning from my peers, I would stop learning all together. If I felt that I couldn't associate with international superstars like Joyce Valenza or Gwyneth Jones or David Loertscher because I was beneath them, neither one of us would continue to grow. As it turns out, I did learn a lot from all the presentations I attended.
I'll get working on sharing my Supercon reflections tonight. Stay tuned.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
January Extras - Super Conference 2005 Summary
Ontario Library Association Superconference 2005
Thursday February 3, 2005
Session: 126
9:00 am - 10:15 am
Collections and Resources
HOW TO UNDERSTAND MANGA AND ANIME
Christopher Butcher, Sales Associate, The Beguiling.
Increase your cultural awareness while listening to experts discuss the history of "Manga and Anime", Japanese comic books and cartoons, in order to provide a cultural context for the work. Gain helpful ordering advice and information on how to help you shelf these types of materials in your library.
My $0.02: This was very educational. Chris knows his stuff. The Beguiling is the vendor we buy most of our school’s graphic novels / mangas.
Session: 222
10:35 am to 11:50 am
Advocacy and Marketing
SHARING SUCCESS STORIES: FROM ADVOCACY TO ACTION VIA EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE (EBP)
Deborah Braithwaite, Teacher-Librarian, Oakridge Junior P.S.; Diana Maliszewski, Teacher-Librarian, Agnes Macphail P.S., Toronto DSB; Sandi Zwaan, School Library Consultant.
What is EBP? Find out in this session! Teacher-Librarians will be empowered with strategies for documenting and sharing their success stories through Evidence Based Practice. Join us to learn how EBP can transform advocacy efforts into action. Discover how to provide the school community with irrefutable evidence that your school library program improves student achievement.
Convenor: Roberta Henley, OSLA President, Grand Erie District School Board.
My $0.02: I can’t comment without bias on this one, as it was my session. There seemed to be a positive buzz following the session and Deborah and I got invited to participate in a “think tank” in Pittsburg!
Session: 420
3:45 pm - 5:00 pm
Reading and Literacy
COMBINING LITERATURE CIRCLES WITH BLUE SPRUCE AND GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
Cynthia Sneath, Teacher-Librarian, Westminster P.S.; Jennifer Wright, Grade 3 Teacher, York Region DSB.
Want a 'how-to' guide for organizing Literature Circles for the primary grades? Come to this workshop. Participants will be provided with detailed information about literature circles and how to adapt them in a primary setting. The integration of graphic organizers and the thematic groupings of Blue Spruce titles will also be explored.
Convenor: Barb Ross, Halton District School Board
My $0.02: This was okay, but the least satisfying of the sessions I attended, partly because they read everything that was on their Powerpoint and were thrown by the size of their audience.
5:15 p.m.
THE ONTARIO SCHOOL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
SCHOOL LIBRARY AWARDS PRESENTATION
the Teacher-Librarian of the Year Award
the Distinguished Administrator of the Year Award
the Award for Exceptional Achievement
Generously sponsored by Saunders Book Company
My $0.02: Wayne’s speech (and mine) were the best of the lot. The audience was a little rowdy (the late hour and alcohol may have had something to do with it). Summaries will appear in an upcoming magazine.
Friday February 4, 2005
8:00 am
OLA's FOREST OF READING™
Sponsored by National Book Service
BLUE SPRUCE AWARD™ 2004
Stanley's Party
by Linda Bailey and illustrated by Bill Slavin
SILVER BIRCH AWARDS™ 2004
Fiction:
Newton and the Giant by Michael McGowan
Non-Fiction:
Survivors! True Death-Defying Escapes by Larry Verstraete
RED MAPLE AWARD™ 2004
Hit and Run by Norah McClintock
WHITE PINE AWARD™ 2004
The First Stone by Don Aker
GOLDEN OAK AWARD™ 2004
Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis
See Session 921 on THE EVERGREEN AWARD™, coming in 2005 to the Forest.
My $0.02: It was nice to hear the authors talk about their experiences writing and being part of the OLA Forest of Reading. They are all quite well-spoken.
Session: 511
9:00 am - 10:15 am
Curriculum and Learning
Highlight
BOOSTING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: ELEMENTARY
Dr. David Loertscher, Professor, School Library and Information Science, San Jose State University.
The books are shelved; the computers work; the discipline is effective - but there is no impact on achievement from this library. Hardly a surprise. But what does make a difference? Models, activities, measuring techniques, ideas, and program focuses will be explored to bring libraries into the center of learning. This session will concentrate on ideas in elementary school libraries.
Convenor: Sandi Zwaan, School Library Consultant.
My $0.02: This speaker is incredible; his work was the basis for the EVP session Deborah and I did. He inspires people to develop higher level thinking and “ban the bird unit” and merely regurgitation of information. I will be submitting some of our Partners units for his project.
10:35
All-Conference Plenary Session
Stephen Lewis
Stephen Lewis was recently named Maclean's Canadian of the Year and awarded the Pearson Peace Medal for his outstanding achievements in the field of international service and understanding. He holds 20 honourary degrees from Canadian universities and in 2003, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest honour for lifetime achievement.
From 1984 through 1988, Stephen Lewis was Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, where he chaired such ground breaking committees as the first International Conference on Climate Change. From 1995 to 1999, Mr. Lewis was Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF and in 1997, he was appointed by the Organization of African Unity to a panel to investigate the genocide in Rwanda. His recent work at UNICEF is merely an extension of a life-long dedication to social causes and improving the human condition. In 2001, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Stephen Lewis as his Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.
In the light of the recent tsunami disaster, his observations on the role of Canadians and libraries in world issues could not be more timely.
My $0.02: Stephen Lewis is funny but also very passionate in his politics and in his position on helping Africa with the AIDS crisis.
Session: 709
2:00 pm - 3:15 pm
Curriculum and Learning
DIVERSITY AS A CURRICULUM RESOURCE
Patricia Chow, Teacher, Thornwood P.S., Padma Sastri, Teacher-Librarian, Joseph Pileggi, Teacher, Floradale P.S.; Peel DSB.
Peel elementary teachers collaborated on a project with York University (Sandra Schecter and Jim Cummins - OISE/UT) to develop multilingual and multicultural approaches to promoting reading and writing with pupils of ESL backgrounds. Find out how reading and writing dual language books build on language and cultural knowledge that students bring to school, and support all students' development of global awareness and appreciation for each other. Enjoy dual language book-talks highlighting curriculum connections and student created dual language books.
My $0.02: This was very well presented and gave huge, copious amounts of handouts and ideas for benefiting all students, especially ESL students. You should see the list of books to get!
Saturday, February 5, 2005
Session: 902
9:00 am - 10:15 am
Technology ; The Internet
SPECIAL SOFTWARE FOR SPECIAL STUDENTS: IMPROVING INFORMATION LITERACY THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Marilyn Legault, Information Technology Consultant, Hamilton-Wentworth DSB.
Learn how this Ministry-licensed software can be a tool for special needs (and mainstream) students as they access, process and communicate information. Find out how it can assist students with the writing process, as well. Software titles demonstrated include: Clicker4, Co:Writer, Write:Outloud, Smart Ideas and Dragon Naturally Speaking. Participants will take away various print resources and may borrow a CD-ROM containing the software discussed.
Convenor: Lisa Radha Weaver, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.
My $0.02: This fits so well with our upcoming Language Lab that Renee will be working with. Lots of great handouts and software shared.
Session: 1019
10:35 am - 11:50 am
Curriculum and Learning
ROLE PLAYING GAMES IN THE LIBRARY
James Maliszewski, Freelance writer; Diana Maliszewski, Teacher-Librarian, Toronto DSB.
RPGs, otherwise known as role-playing games, made headlines in the 1970's and 1980's. James Maliszewski, a freelance writer working in the RPG industry, discovered this literacy-rich hobby through his public library many years ago. He will explore the history and evolution of role-playing games from its "D&D" origins. His wife, Diana Maliszewski, a teacher-librarian, will explain how carrying these books can encourage boys and reluctant readers. Finally, the Maliszewski's will present the latest and greatest the RPG publishing industry has to offer potential "games" of today.
My $0.02: Once again, I can’t comment too much on this as it was my own session. My husband did an excellent job! ;-)
12:15
ALL-CONFERENCE GALA CLOSING LUNCHEON
Cathy Jones
Gemini award-winning actor and writer and founding member of the award-winning comedy troupe CODCO, Cathy Jones is Canada's leading lady in character-driven comedy. Starring in the 12th season of the hit comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes Cathy reveals her remarkable ability to portray complex and difficult characters including the sassy suffragette Babe Bennett and the wise Mrs. Enid with remarkable ease. Over the years, Cathy has had several successful ventures; including her much admired one-woman shows, Wedding in Texas and most recently Me, Dad and The Hundred Boyfriends. In addition to winning numerous Gemini Awards, Cathy Jones has earned three Canadian Comedy Awards for Best Writing in a Comedy Series for her work on This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
My $0.02: To be honest, I didn’t stay for the speaker. The lunch was a fabulous, wedding-style buffet!
Thursday February 3, 2005
Session: 126
9:00 am - 10:15 am
Collections and Resources
HOW TO UNDERSTAND MANGA AND ANIME
Christopher Butcher, Sales Associate, The Beguiling.
Increase your cultural awareness while listening to experts discuss the history of "Manga and Anime", Japanese comic books and cartoons, in order to provide a cultural context for the work. Gain helpful ordering advice and information on how to help you shelf these types of materials in your library.
My $0.02: This was very educational. Chris knows his stuff. The Beguiling is the vendor we buy most of our school’s graphic novels / mangas.
Session: 222
10:35 am to 11:50 am
Advocacy and Marketing
SHARING SUCCESS STORIES: FROM ADVOCACY TO ACTION VIA EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE (EBP)
Deborah Braithwaite, Teacher-Librarian, Oakridge Junior P.S.; Diana Maliszewski, Teacher-Librarian, Agnes Macphail P.S., Toronto DSB; Sandi Zwaan, School Library Consultant.
What is EBP? Find out in this session! Teacher-Librarians will be empowered with strategies for documenting and sharing their success stories through Evidence Based Practice. Join us to learn how EBP can transform advocacy efforts into action. Discover how to provide the school community with irrefutable evidence that your school library program improves student achievement.
Convenor: Roberta Henley, OSLA President, Grand Erie District School Board.
My $0.02: I can’t comment without bias on this one, as it was my session. There seemed to be a positive buzz following the session and Deborah and I got invited to participate in a “think tank” in Pittsburg!
Session: 420
3:45 pm - 5:00 pm
Reading and Literacy
COMBINING LITERATURE CIRCLES WITH BLUE SPRUCE AND GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
Cynthia Sneath, Teacher-Librarian, Westminster P.S.; Jennifer Wright, Grade 3 Teacher, York Region DSB.
Want a 'how-to' guide for organizing Literature Circles for the primary grades? Come to this workshop. Participants will be provided with detailed information about literature circles and how to adapt them in a primary setting. The integration of graphic organizers and the thematic groupings of Blue Spruce titles will also be explored.
Convenor: Barb Ross, Halton District School Board
My $0.02: This was okay, but the least satisfying of the sessions I attended, partly because they read everything that was on their Powerpoint and were thrown by the size of their audience.
5:15 p.m.
THE ONTARIO SCHOOL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
SCHOOL LIBRARY AWARDS PRESENTATION
the Teacher-Librarian of the Year Award
the Distinguished Administrator of the Year Award
the Award for Exceptional Achievement
Generously sponsored by Saunders Book Company
My $0.02: Wayne’s speech (and mine) were the best of the lot. The audience was a little rowdy (the late hour and alcohol may have had something to do with it). Summaries will appear in an upcoming magazine.
Friday February 4, 2005
8:00 am
OLA's FOREST OF READING™
Sponsored by National Book Service
BLUE SPRUCE AWARD™ 2004
Stanley's Party
by Linda Bailey and illustrated by Bill Slavin
SILVER BIRCH AWARDS™ 2004
Fiction:
Newton and the Giant by Michael McGowan
Non-Fiction:
Survivors! True Death-Defying Escapes by Larry Verstraete
RED MAPLE AWARD™ 2004
Hit and Run by Norah McClintock
WHITE PINE AWARD™ 2004
The First Stone by Don Aker
GOLDEN OAK AWARD™ 2004
Parvana's Journey by Deborah Ellis
See Session 921 on THE EVERGREEN AWARD™, coming in 2005 to the Forest.
My $0.02: It was nice to hear the authors talk about their experiences writing and being part of the OLA Forest of Reading. They are all quite well-spoken.
Session: 511
9:00 am - 10:15 am
Curriculum and Learning
Highlight
BOOSTING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: ELEMENTARY
Dr. David Loertscher, Professor, School Library and Information Science, San Jose State University.
The books are shelved; the computers work; the discipline is effective - but there is no impact on achievement from this library. Hardly a surprise. But what does make a difference? Models, activities, measuring techniques, ideas, and program focuses will be explored to bring libraries into the center of learning. This session will concentrate on ideas in elementary school libraries.
Convenor: Sandi Zwaan, School Library Consultant.
My $0.02: This speaker is incredible; his work was the basis for the EVP session Deborah and I did. He inspires people to develop higher level thinking and “ban the bird unit” and merely regurgitation of information. I will be submitting some of our Partners units for his project.
10:35
All-Conference Plenary Session
Stephen Lewis
Stephen Lewis was recently named Maclean's Canadian of the Year and awarded the Pearson Peace Medal for his outstanding achievements in the field of international service and understanding. He holds 20 honourary degrees from Canadian universities and in 2003, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest honour for lifetime achievement.
From 1984 through 1988, Stephen Lewis was Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, where he chaired such ground breaking committees as the first International Conference on Climate Change. From 1995 to 1999, Mr. Lewis was Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF and in 1997, he was appointed by the Organization of African Unity to a panel to investigate the genocide in Rwanda. His recent work at UNICEF is merely an extension of a life-long dedication to social causes and improving the human condition. In 2001, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Stephen Lewis as his Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.
In the light of the recent tsunami disaster, his observations on the role of Canadians and libraries in world issues could not be more timely.
My $0.02: Stephen Lewis is funny but also very passionate in his politics and in his position on helping Africa with the AIDS crisis.
Session: 709
2:00 pm - 3:15 pm
Curriculum and Learning
DIVERSITY AS A CURRICULUM RESOURCE
Patricia Chow, Teacher, Thornwood P.S., Padma Sastri, Teacher-Librarian, Joseph Pileggi, Teacher, Floradale P.S.; Peel DSB.
Peel elementary teachers collaborated on a project with York University (Sandra Schecter and Jim Cummins - OISE/UT) to develop multilingual and multicultural approaches to promoting reading and writing with pupils of ESL backgrounds. Find out how reading and writing dual language books build on language and cultural knowledge that students bring to school, and support all students' development of global awareness and appreciation for each other. Enjoy dual language book-talks highlighting curriculum connections and student created dual language books.
My $0.02: This was very well presented and gave huge, copious amounts of handouts and ideas for benefiting all students, especially ESL students. You should see the list of books to get!
Saturday, February 5, 2005
Session: 902
9:00 am - 10:15 am
Technology ; The Internet
SPECIAL SOFTWARE FOR SPECIAL STUDENTS: IMPROVING INFORMATION LITERACY THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
Marilyn Legault, Information Technology Consultant, Hamilton-Wentworth DSB.
Learn how this Ministry-licensed software can be a tool for special needs (and mainstream) students as they access, process and communicate information. Find out how it can assist students with the writing process, as well. Software titles demonstrated include: Clicker4, Co:Writer, Write:Outloud, Smart Ideas and Dragon Naturally Speaking. Participants will take away various print resources and may borrow a CD-ROM containing the software discussed.
Convenor: Lisa Radha Weaver, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.
My $0.02: This fits so well with our upcoming Language Lab that Renee will be working with. Lots of great handouts and software shared.
Session: 1019
10:35 am - 11:50 am
Curriculum and Learning
ROLE PLAYING GAMES IN THE LIBRARY
James Maliszewski, Freelance writer; Diana Maliszewski, Teacher-Librarian, Toronto DSB.
RPGs, otherwise known as role-playing games, made headlines in the 1970's and 1980's. James Maliszewski, a freelance writer working in the RPG industry, discovered this literacy-rich hobby through his public library many years ago. He will explore the history and evolution of role-playing games from its "D&D" origins. His wife, Diana Maliszewski, a teacher-librarian, will explain how carrying these books can encourage boys and reluctant readers. Finally, the Maliszewski's will present the latest and greatest the RPG publishing industry has to offer potential "games" of today.
My $0.02: Once again, I can’t comment too much on this as it was my own session. My husband did an excellent job! ;-)
12:15
ALL-CONFERENCE GALA CLOSING LUNCHEON
Cathy Jones
Gemini award-winning actor and writer and founding member of the award-winning comedy troupe CODCO, Cathy Jones is Canada's leading lady in character-driven comedy. Starring in the 12th season of the hit comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes Cathy reveals her remarkable ability to portray complex and difficult characters including the sassy suffragette Babe Bennett and the wise Mrs. Enid with remarkable ease. Over the years, Cathy has had several successful ventures; including her much admired one-woman shows, Wedding in Texas and most recently Me, Dad and The Hundred Boyfriends. In addition to winning numerous Gemini Awards, Cathy Jones has earned three Canadian Comedy Awards for Best Writing in a Comedy Series for her work on This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
My $0.02: To be honest, I didn’t stay for the speaker. The lunch was a fabulous, wedding-style buffet!
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