How Can I Get My Head Above the Weeds?

 

Source: Berkley, S. “The Warrior Within Me” http://www.thewarriorwithinme.com

I’m a teacher-librarian and I love my job. I get to work with children and books- what could be better? It’s a very busy job with very full days. I am often racing from one class to another to a duty to a club to a meeting and back again. I’m seeking ways to carve out time, both actual minutes and mental space for creative thoughts, as I work to meet the needs of my students as readers.

It is this need for space to learn new things that led me to the Cohort 21 PD experience. I find that each day is so full that it’s challenging to make the time to explore new technology and connect with other educators. I want to continue to grow as an educator and push aside some of the ‘busy busy’ and ensure I continue to experiment and learn.

Source: Sturzaker, C. “Tales of a Backpacker” http://talesofabackpacker.com/2015/08/15

• what are the most effective ways I can connect with students as readers?
• how best can I nurture a collaborative community of readers amongst my students?
• how can I help struggling students get more enjoyment from reading?
• How can I connect with the middle school students who are in a different building from the learning commons?

Holding the questions listed above in my mind, these are two of my goals for the Cohort21 experience:

• carving out the time to explore new tools and approaches
• build relationships and connections with other educators that help me to reach beyond the confines of my busy day in my library

I have been inspired since the first F2F to pursue these goals. I’m happy to say that I have taken some steps:

Exploring new tools and approaches:

• I have created a Twitter account, begun to explore what is means to ‘follow’ folks, and have tweeted some of the goings on in my space
• set up a Google classroom to use within a reading workshop class
• figuring out how to use Google+
• exploring using a social media platform (Biblionasium – a kids-safe version of Goodreads) with my students to see if the tool can help with increasing student engagement

Building relationships and connections with other educators: 

• connecting with a teacher at my school and have collaborating with her to learn how to use Google Classroom
• figuring out how to use Google+ and communicate with our CIS TL group
• used Twitter to message TL’s around the world

Where my learning continues to be challenged, I think, is in finding ways to manage my time and the demands made upon it. I am eager to talk with others to gain some insight and strategies. Just one example that comes to mind is how do others manage or curate the great ideas they glean from Twitter? I have many more questions but I will look forward to discussing them on Saturday for our second F2F!