Calling 4th Grade Teachers!
This is for You......
Partner with your friendly neighborhood school librarian and co-teach life in Colonial America with a literacy/maker space twist!
Book Cover image from "If You Lived in Colonial Times" by Ann McGovern
Let's engage our students in solving problems that children their age faced in colonial days. Using an approach learned from Novel Engineering, we can use this great informational text to challenge students to engage in the engineering design process and solve problems common in Colonial America (Novel Engineering, 2018).
Problem to Research and Create Solutions - Water Accessibility
clean water to drink
getting water from the source to the crops (Novel Engineering, 2018)
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The flier above is an idea based on Novel Engineering which is a great STEM approach to literacy that I learned about from the iTeach Resource Hub blog produced by the Instructional Technologists at Kennesaw State University. As I looked over this blog, I really was attracted to the entry-level ideas they provided for library media specialists like me - an elementary school librarian who is number three in the technology source line at my school. I am not the technology specialist at my school as we have an instructional technology specialist and we also have a technology related arts teacher. The Chromebooks are not sourced out of the library and my library is not set up to be a technology hub. So how do I find my space in the tech world? Through research, making, and approaches like the ones discussed in the blogs of the iTeach team at Kennesaw State University!
iTeach blog post topics that I am interested in include student blogging, VR in the classroom, using avatars, making on a budget, creative writing through STEAM, and more! Another great source for aspiring tech leaders like me who are trying to find my space is the Kentucky Department of Education's Non-Traditional Instruction web resource. This source has plentiful information like other state technology plans and resources, but in keeping with my theme of approachability, it offers a non-threatening approach through a welcome page that lets you choose your entry point to click and expand the information. This is a much better technique and uses a tech approach that ironically all those other narratives, and text-based plans about technology seem to forget.
As I seek open doors in the tech landscape at my school, I am going to strongly consider the article by Brenda Boyer. While I do not see my library becoming a virtual one, I do see leveraging a more prominent online experience for my library. Boyer's (2016) question is "How would shifting some library services, resources, and instruction to the online environment help you meet these various objectives?" Boyer (2016) offers other intriguing questions for both the librarian and the library's client or partner base that challenge me and promote ideas to bloom and isn't that the point? Maybe rather than seeking an open door, I need to find the keys to open the doors myself.
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| Photo from Pixabay (key ring with one key highlighted) |
Boyer, B. (2016). Meet your learners where they are: virtualizing the school library. Internet@Schools, 23(1). https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A440057567/AONE?u=nysl_ca_dmvacces&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=73a967ca
Novel Engineering. (2018). Novel Engineering. Retrieved September 15, 2022, from https://www.novelengineering.org/book/if-you-lived-in-colonial-times/
Wow! As a former 4th grade teacher this post was intriguing. I liked the idea of being able to co-teach with the librarian. I feel that even though you may not be on the top of your technology line at school, the relationships you create with teachers are important too. Using STEM activities such as the one in the blog with water accessibility, and use of problem solving skills not only has a technology connection, but a real world connection as well. I think that as a librarian you could continue to teach the students about how there is still an issue of water accessibility around the world today. Imagine how much further you could take the lesson working with others in your school. Even though you said that you did not see yourself taking your library virtual, I may suggest as you find the "keys" furthering how you can connect your library with those that are still having water accessibility issues around the world. Maybe?
ReplyDeleteYou shared some amazing resources, and I appreciate your approach to keeping this a collaborative effort between the teacher and librarian. I am excited to share some of your resources and ideas with my fellow teachers, especially Novel Engineering. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI love that you are determined to find a role for yourself in terms if technology. Great resources and ideas!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of pushing information about the library out virtually to students and staff. Making references and helpful websites available at their fingertips would set students up for success.
ReplyDeleteKelly Watson
DeleteSeeking open doors for technology is important but seeing how you combined it with iTeach was informative and fun to learn about. I enjoy the idea about opening the door with the right key and how each digital learning tool is a key.
ReplyDeleteI admire your dedication to be a tech leader even though you are not the head tech person at your school! Your approach to creating virtual hub for your library will greatly benefit both your students and teachers. Way to embrace where you are while seeing where you are going!!
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