always learning

This past week we have been very fortunate to have two fantastic library experts, Doug Johnson and Ann Krembs, here at ISB to help guide us through our Main Library Review. While they were here specifically to share recommendations for our upcoming renovation of our Main Library (for middle and high school students), they also generously stopped down in the ES Learning Hub to give us some advice on how to improve our space.

It’s amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can see.

Within moments, Doug and Ann, had several easy, but very effective, suggestions for us. Interestingly, one of those suggestions was exactly what Silvia said about our Tech Zone when she was here in Bangkok a few weeks ago, but it didn’t really hit me until this week:

You have to give them something different. The Learning Hub (library) has to offer a physical environment that is different than other spaces teachers and students regularly use.

This hit me like a bolt of lightening. Of course! Why would they use our space, when they can continue to use their own, more private space, that has been customized to their specific classroom needs? Especially considering how well-resourced we are as a school, with laptop carts for every 2 classrooms and extensive classroom libraries.

In our efforts to make a 21st century learning environment, we had mistakenly recreated a standard, formal classroom space at the very front of the Learning Hub, assuming that teachers would want to use it as an expanded classroom:

Of course, that space was also back-to-back with our “computer lab” space, making it very difficult to have classes in both spaces at the same time.

Now, with the advice of Doug and Ann, we’ve redesigned the space to make it more of a “movie theater” look for story time, as well as open up the shelving to spread the tables throughout the library to allow more privacy in seating:

We’re hoping we’ve captured the “something different” idea with this arrangement. Who has a movie theater in their classroom with comfy chairs and surround sound speakers?

And just for fun we added some chess boards:

And rearranged our fiction reading nook:

Our next step is to tackle the “computer lab” area (called the Tech Zone) and transform it into a multimedia editing suite, with a green-screen and podcasting stations:

What are you doing to offer something different in your learning space? What other changes would you recommend we make in this space?

At the very end of last year our (very generous) Parent Teacher Association donated ten iPods to our Learning Hub to house our audio book collection, video resources (like United Streaming downloads), and student-produced multimedia content (book reviews, commercials, podcasts, Student Council information, etc) and archives of events at school that have been recorded.

Earlier this year we went through the process of barcoding each iPod, setting up a charging station (inside an old server rack so they can be displayed in the Hub), and entering them into our library catalog so they can be checked out by students.

Next, in order to ensure that all of the iPods have the same resources, we have set up one dedicated iTunes library on one desktop machine in our Learning Hub. All of the iPods are synced through the same library whenever we have updates to our collection.

The final step in the process is a written permission slip that both parents and students must sign before checking out the iPods. Thanks to Paula White and Paul Wood, we had an excellent starting point to work from, but it’s still a work in progress and we would love your feedback.

We want to make sure the permission slip is clear, but also easily understandable by our very diverse population, especially considering many of our parents speak English as a second, third or fourth language (or not at all).

Here’s what we have so far (please disregard formatting):

iPod Permission Slip

The ES Learning Hub now has 10 iPods for checkout, graciously donated by our PTA. In order to check out an iPod from the Learning Hub, you must return this permission form, signed by both you and your parents.

Please note: You will only have to sign this form once. Your records in our database will be updated to show that your child may check out an iPod whenever one is available and requested.

By signing this permission slip, you are agreeing that any damage or loss of the iPod (and it’s accessories) is your responsibility.

• If the iPod is lost, you agree to pay the entire replacement fee.
• If the iPod is damaged, you agree to pay the entire repair fee.
• If the iPod is damaged beyond repair, you agree to pay the entire replacement fee.

The replacement fee is US$200.

Please note: The following terms and conditions apply:

• I am responsible for any damage to the equipment while it is in my possession.
• I will maintain physical control of the equipment at all times while it is in my possession at the location stated below, except during transportation to and from the school.
• I will return the equipment in the same condition as it was at checkout.
• I will follow all rules of the ISB Acceptable Use Policy I signed at the beginning of the year.
• I will promptly report to ISB Elementary School all damage to, or failure of, the equipment while it is in my possession.
• I will pay for the costs of all required repairs to the equipment, which arise from damage, misuse, or failure of the equipment while it is in my possession. All repairs will be conducted through ISB.
  
• I will return the equipment to the school by no later than the due date for return stated below.

Student’s Name (print):
Signature of Parent:
Location of Equipment While Checked Out (address):
Phone Number Where Equipment Will Be Located While Checked-Out:

What do you think? Easy enough to understand? Are all bases covered?

Does anyone else check out iPods from their library? Are we missing anything? Any advice?

Last year when I arrived at the International School Bangkok, I stepped into a fabulous new learning space we now call The Learning Hub:

Not only does it look amazing, but the concept of our Hub is to combine digital and traditional literacy into one flexible learning zone where students, teachers and parents alike can explore new ideas collaboratively or independently, as the need arises.

What I think is especially interesting about our space is actually not the physical structure (as beautiful as it is), but the staffing. We have envisioned a new partnership among our technology specialists, library specialists and literacy specialists. We like to call ourselves the ISB21 team:

All of us are working together to support our 21st Century teachers by co-planning and team teaching, focusing on learning outcomes and successful assessment design, brainstorming new ways of solving problems and leading consistent and flexible professional development programs.

Our resource team acts as a flexible unit capable of supporting a wide range of literacy needs – what one person may not know, another will jump in and share. Three support staff working together must be better than one, right?

We are currently in the process of refining our individual job descriptions, but no matter what changes, all three of our roles will always share some overlap, and we will consistently learn from one another:

• Technology and Learning Coordinator
• 21st Century Literacy Specialist
• Teacher Librarian

As a team, we have begun to offer professional development sessions three days a week after school. Each week is focused on a specific theme, but presented in different learning styles on each day. All sessions are walk-in/walk-out supported by all members of the ISB21 team:

Need help with a technical problem?  Want to spiff up a lesson?  Need help finding online resources to support your unit? Want to know what Web 2.0 means and how it can impact your teaching?  Want to collaborate with a global audience?  Looking for some SMART Board tips? Just want to know how to podcast?  Crop a photo? Download a video clip from YouTube?  You have a tech question; we have an answer (we hope).

The ISB21 team will station themselves in the Main Library classroom every Monday for any sort of tech question or help.  We can work individually or present something to a group.

PD tailor made for you.  You can’t beat this kind of personal attention.

Are you interested in talking about technology, the future and how both will impact education?  Wired Wednesdays are about that conversation. Come to these sessions to be immersed in progressive and current thinking about how teaching and learning is being redefined in a rapidly changing world and ISB’s plan to keep up.  These sessions will have a strong audio/video component so whether you want to get deep or just want to be edu-tained, these sessions are for you.

Entertaining and educational. The best way to spend your Wednesday afternoons.

Need hands on experience when learning a new tech tool? Want to be shown the highlights of the coolest new technology and have a chance to test it out yourself? Then this is the session for you! Each week we will share a new technology feature and give you a chance to try it out with our guidance. From blogging to digital video to social networking, this is the place to get your hands on the tech!

It’s time to test out the tech!

It seems as if there are others out there looking to reinvent the concept of a library and computer lab too. What do you think? Is this the future of literacy and learning? Or have we missed the boat? What else can we do to support our teachers as we work towards 21st century learning in all of our classrooms?

Wow! How could it possibly almost be the end of 2006 2007? Each year goes faster and faster, and this year, of course, is no exception…

Looking back, I can not believe that I started this blog only a year and a half ago, in August 2006. It has become such a natural part of my life that I honestly do not know what I’d do without it. I was just explaining to Alex that my thoughts just rumble around in my brain until I can write them down – without the blog I’d just be a lost pile of disconnected thoughts wandering around. Honestly, what did I do before blogging?

Reading over some those old thoughts makes me realize that this was an especially exciting year for us:

• We started out the year thinking we were going to stay in Malaysia for a few more years, and are ending it here in Bangkok, with an entirely new teaching position, creating an entirely new learning space.
• My network grew from my immediate colleagues to a whole world of connections, starting with the creation of NextGenTeachers, and growing with the vast collection of social networks on Ning.
• Globally collaborative projects became a natural part of my teaching routine, thanks to the infinite patience and wisdom of my new edublogging friends.
• I learned an awful lot about developing a framework for success with technology integration and 21st century literacy (combined with Understanding by Design and the Technology Design Cycle) through my work with David Sinclair at MKIS and the amazing team here at ISB.
• I started really thinking about our learners and teachers and parents, and adapting myself to this new teaching and learning environment.
• My world became a whole lot smaller with the discovery of Twitter.
• I have been so fortunate to be able to attend (and present at) some fabulous and inspiring conferences (and to decide not to do an Ed.D right now).
• I read a lot of fantastic books (and have waaaay too many more on my bedside table for 2008).
• I finally started tagging my posts.

Double wow! All of this started with just a small group of amazing colleagues who were willing to share their time and thoughts with me – I honestly can’t believe how much (and how fast!) it’s grown over the past year! I remember jumping out of my chair with excitement at my first comment, and literally dancing around the house the first time someone else actually mentioned me in their blog! What a year it’s been!

All I can say is, thank you so much to everyone who helped, guided, and advised me over the course of the last year. I could never, ever have done this alone. I am so proud to be part of this learning network, it actually brings tears to my eyes!

This will be my last post until after the holidays so,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Image from spacepotato

Tags: elementary, 21stcentury, globalcollaborations, internationalschool, flatclassroom, collaborations, socialnetworking, socialnetwork, classroom, network, yearinreview, 2007

We’ve got the super-cool, futuristic library, aptly renamed The Learning Hub, but sadly, we’re still stuck in 1995 with our outdated library catalog, Athena (well, to be honest, December 2001 is the most recent update, but it feels more like my senior year in high school to me).

So, over the past few weeks our library team has been thinking about the features we would like to see in a library catalog (with the secret hope that maybe, just maybe, it might actually exist somewhere). Here’s what we came up with:

• User friendly search – book covers, visual, similar to Amazon
• User keyword tagging – social tagging like del.icio.us that would end up being fully searchable
• Relevancy searching like Google (the “did you mean…” result) and the category listings that appear at the end of an Amazon book page
• Incorporate searchable metadata in book records – more details than normally found in MARC records
• Podcasts & audio books embedded – easily downloadable to iPods – like iTunes (how does this work with copyright and licensing issues?)
• Book reviews, rate books, “if you like this, you’ll like this” – similar to Amazon
• RSS embedded – no need for multiple clicks to follow magazines (right now our EBSCO database takes something crazy like 6 or 7 clicks to get to the password protected RSS feature! How much more useless can you get?
• Embedded website search results for keywords
• Multimedia books (like Tumble Books) embedded – downloadable to video iPods or local machine at home (what are licensing issues with this?) – like iTunes

We have done a preliminary visit to some other international schools in Bangkok (Bangkok Pattana School and NIST) to get a sneak-peak at Destiny, and while it’s vastly better than Athena (and well worth the upgrade in my opinion), it’s still nothing to write home about.

Where’s the library catalog 2.0 I’m dreaming about (or the even better list Doug Johnson shared back in September)? Does it exist? Can we buy it?

Tags: library, catalog, catalog2.0, library2.0, follett, athena, destiny

I have been so excited about my new job at IS Bangkok since I was hired waaaay back in January that it’s hard to believe only three weeks have gone by since school started. For the past eight months I’ve been planning and thinking about what I can do with a brand new library and super cool job responsibilities (my job title is 21st Century Literacy Specialist, my role is to bring new and emerging literacies to all areas of the elementary school) that I almost feel like I’ve been working at ISB for months instead of weeks.

So, I suppose it’s not really surprising to see that I’m functioning on fast forward pretty much all the time. The projects that I’ve started in the last couple of weeks are finding a life of their own and I’m becoming busier and busier at school. Every morning when I arrive I have a line of people (and/or an inbox full of mail) requesting meeting time to start planning and implementing new projects in the classroom. It’s all very exciting, but I realized last week that I was forgetting about one really important group: the parents.

The teachers and administrators at ISB are so ready, excited, enthusiastic and anxious to get these kinds of projects going, that I must admit, I made the same assumption about the parents. Although many of them are totally on board, there is no excuse for forgetting about the ones that are nervous, concerned or unsure about having their child contribute to the overwhelming wealth of information available online.

So, this week I spent some time compiling all sorts of information about the benefits of blogging for our elementary students, mostly articles and websites that describe the future of learning, and how parents can understand and support their children at home while they utilize these tools. I’m going to start posting informative entries on my new Learning Hub blog, Connect 2.0, to keep the entire ISB community up to date on which exciting new things we are doing in class and why they are important for our students. Fortunately we have a great infrastructure in place for sharing news, so my posts on the blog will be fed into our weekly bulletin and linked as “latest news” on our school website.

I’m also planning to run regular “Coffee Morning” sessions for our parents to actually show them some of the new tools that their children are learning about and to give them a chance to test them out in our Technology Zone with the guidance and support of an “experienced user” (that would be me). Similar to the Coffee Morning, the whole Ed Tech team is going to run several technology training sessions as part of our PTA continuing education offerings.

I want to make sure that our parents are as informed and excited about technology as our staff! For now, this is all I can think of, but I’m sure there are more ideas out there. What do you do to keep your parent population educated, informed and ahead of the curve?

Image: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/41/117097746_853e5479b5.jpg