Read Into This

Alanna is joined by Shari Green, author of Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess, and middle grade educator Lisa Lewis to discuss how this book works to help talk about disability, ageism, and blended families. Lisa has a chance to bring in the students’ own questions for Shari especially about Macy’s confrontations with her soon-to-be stepfather, Alan. We talk about how this rich book opens up conversations with students to help them find truth and make a difference despite the odds.

If you want to hear more about Lisa Lewis and her intergenerational book club, check out episodes:

22a Paper - Ignite a Lifelong Love of Learning: Create an intergenerational book club in your library learning commons https://www.spreaker.com/user/voicedradio/ep-22a-ignite-a-lifelong-love-of-learnin

22b Interview - Read Into Building Empathy by inviting Parents/Guardians to an Intergenerational Book Club
https://www.spreaker.com/user/voicedradio/ep-e22b-interview-read-into-building-emp

In this Long Story Short episode, guest host Lila Armstrong talks to Teacher Librarian Mary Morrow and Teacher Chelsea Badger about their Forest School programs. Lila’s guests share how they weave stories, poems, oral storytelling, Indigenous language and culture, science and inquiry into their forays into nature. Supported by a local group of likeminded educators, both Mary and Chelsea agree that participating in the wonder of childhood encourages them to continue to expand their outdoor learning practice.

Lila can be reached on Twitter at @Lila_TL_EWP. You can reach out to Mary via email, [email protected] and Chelsea at [email protected]

Alanna speaks with teacher-librarian and researcher Amber Hartwell about the TPACK model and how the pandemic has reshaped the significance of having balance between technology, pedagogy and content. Amber emphasizes how this model from 2006 continues to assist her as entry points for collaborative conversations at all education levels, especially for school library staff who want to improve the culture of participatory learning and collaboration in their learning spaces.

Read the full article here: https://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/tpack-as-a-framework-to-facilitate-co-planning-teaching-and-assessing/

Shoutouts to Carol Koechlin and Ruben Puedentura’s SAMR model.

Alanna hosts our school library panel on the topic of developing a school library collection collaboratively. Our coast-to-coast #CollaboNation panel of experts Lila Armstrong, Sonja Clark, and Leigh Borden covers really nerdy topics including: the ratios of library resources to students, how to improve the collection with data, vigorous weeding, strategic cataloguing, budget advocacy and the precarious nature of gatekeeping. We talk about working to diversify the collection for culture, compassion, reading ability and mental health.

Shoutouts to Follett Destiny, Junior Library Guild, Adrienne Gear, Stephen Krashen and Paul Fleischman.

Alanna speaks with author and blogger Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano [A Guide to Documenting Learning: http://langwitches.org/blog/2018/01/30/now-available-a-guide-to-documenting-learning/]
We uncover how the fluid nature of media needs to be taught in the language arts/English classroom. Through the observations/conversations with students, Silvia calls for a new pedagogical mindset to embrace the reach and potential of technology for expression and communication. Her international background as a student and as a parent allowed Silvia to see the arbitrary nature of education and to recognize the untapped potential for learners. We agree that the pandemic is putting a spotlight on the gaps in society’s transliteracy. A master class in heutagogy.

Shoutouts to Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs

Alanna talks with Heather Buchansky, the Student Engagement Librarian at the University of Toronto Libraries, regarding the gap that exists in information literacy for students in their first year of post-secondary education. She was a part of a collaborative effort between OCULA (Ontario College and University Library Association) and the OSLA (Ontario School Library Association) to develop an information literacy toolkit. Shoutouts to The Assignment Calculator developed by the University of Toronto.

Explore the draft toolkit here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MYaF-AEDOKjYmdQdAU20iwUDqPyVfPTnMsRnSql46kQ/edit?usp=sharing

Leave your feedback on the draft toolkit here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdWscXW5Hh0Wii1FawNeWFpuJnho0QWelqnKYGuXEVAUXdv5A/viewform

Heather Buchansky reads her paper from Treasure Mountain Canada called: Connections between campuses: Creating a collaborative OCULA/OSLA information literacy toolkit.

https://tmcanada.blogspot.com/p/tmc6-buchansky.html

Alanna talks with Beth Lyons about creating a maker culture in her school and making it fit her context. After a number of successful maker activities, Beth launched into making a Genius Cart which allows for easier management of materials, supervision and changing up the inquiry focus. Beth also talks about the importance of documenting the learning as data for new directions and her hopes for the future of making in her library learning commons.

Shoutouts to The Majestic Glue Gun.

Elizabeth Lyons reads her paper from Treasure Mountain Canada called: Maker. Space. Inquiry. Place. What might be the connection?

https://tmcanada.blogspot.com/p/tmc6-lyons.html

Alanna hosts our school library panel on how working remotely as the teacher-librarian changes collaboration with staff. Our coast-to-coast #CollaboNation panel of experts Lila Armstrong, Sonja Clark, and Leigh Borden covers topics including: working on the collection, grooming the knowledge building centre in the virtual learning commons, and solving problems in communication and equity for their schools and school districts. Our wish list for equitable access to software, databases and hardware is daunting but privacy, security and availability are foremost in our minds.

Shoutouts to Anita Brooks Kirkland for Knowledge Building Centres http://www.bythebrooks.ca/knowledge-building-centres/