Self-promotion for school librarians: Do we need to write about it?

Yesterday I heard with great sadness that Walsall Schools' Library Service was closing. Yet another library facility being closed because of funding and underuse and I just don't understand it. If you are a teacher reading this (I hope there are at least one or two!) look at the questions below.

• Do the schools that were supported by this SLS have amazing school libraries? 
• Do they have all the resources that they need? 
• Do the teachers not have to buy books with their own money? 
• Do all teachers have the research skills to access online academic online resources? 
• Do all their students evaluate and reference the information they find on the internet?
• Do the teachers not need advice and recommendations of the latest fiction? 

If the answer to all of these questions is yes then obviously this service should have closed but I am sure that this is not the case so what can we do about it. Why is this service closing? Is it because teachers do not understand the reason that school libraries are important and should teachers and schools be the ones fighting to keep these resources open?

I have often written about the changing role of the school librarian in the UK and how we have had to find different ways to engage teaching staff and it seems to me that it is more important than ever.

I recently read a FaceBook post questioning the promotion of Future Ready Librarians but primarily the need to self-promote and it got me thinking. Why do I feel that school librarians need to self-promote and should we not just be able to do our jobs well and that be enough? I think if you look around twitter and facebook school librarians are not the only ones on the promotional route. Teachers constantly share best practice, digital leaders are there telling us what they do, authors share their books and information about their school trips so is self-promotion really that bad? 

The difference is that other professions are promoting what they are doing in order to tell the world about it. Librarians, on the other hand, need to self-promote to help teachers understand what they do in order to do their job but more importantly to be allowed to support the students in their schools. 

Why do I feel the need to write blog posts to encourage school librarians to self-promote more? 

I posted my latest blog post on advocacy on LinkedIn recently and have had some really interesting comments. One of these suggested that there should not be a need to write such a  post because we, as school librarians,  should already know how to do this anyway because it was taught in library school. The good thing about comments is that it does make me think about what I have written and why. Was she right?

I replied to her that I don't think that self-promotion is covered in library school. Unless of course, I did not read this myself. I did do a distance learning degree and masters so maybe the courses are different of course. I don't think the specialism of school librarianship is covered in the UK library course and this is where things should change. I did one module about school libraries but it was out of date and I had to write a report to the board of governors as far as I can remember. Self-promotion certainly was not covered. Many of us are learning as we go along rather than going in with full knowledge of working in a school library alongside teachers.

Apart from that I also know that many of the people who are working in school libraries do not have a library qualification and are learning as they go along. They are doing amazing jobs but again self-promotion is something that they are having to learn about rather than knowing it is part of the job. I doubt that anyone of us has self-promotion in our job descriptions.

Being a loan librarian in a school full of teachers takes a lot of self-determination and bravery to move beyond the comfort and safety of the school library. If writing a blog post about how self-promotion can make a difference and highlights ways to do it and gives even one library worker the confidence to do something different then it will be worth it. I think we need to encourage all our colleagues to get out there and talk about what we do.

My best lessons have come from me talking about what I do with teachers. A conversation in the staff room or corridor has led to me helping teachers connect their students with India for example. Very rarely am I contacted by a teacher asking for support it is always the other way round. If the only way to get into the classroom is to advocate for what I do then every time I get into a new teachers classroom it has been worth it.

Where next?

Let's keep talking and sharing what we do. If this is the only way to ensure that teachers understand what school librarians do then I am happy to keep self-promoting and encouraging others to do the same.

I am off to the Practical Pedagogies conference in Cologne in November. The only librarian at a teachers conference and I am really looking forward to it this time. No more feeling I don't belong, no more worrying that I might upset a teacher. I have something to share that will make a difference to their students and I am prepared to say it as loud as I can. 

New online book club for school library staff - What next?

Running an online book club

Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

Well, it has been and gone. My first attempt to create some professional development for school library staff. After a sudden and inexplicably impulsive suggestion that I wanted to set up an online book club I found myself having to put my money where my mouth was. Too many of my twitter friends thought it was a great idea so I had to find a way to make it work. 

My plan, well I didn't really have a plan, and to be honest I still don't! Was to create a platform for book suggestions and provide an area for discussion. I have joined in several twitter chats and felt that this was something that I could do but also wanted to provide a platform for those who don't use social media. This was why Padlet was chosen. I was not sure whether to post the link open to all or keep it for those that asked for it and have currently decided to keep it closed.  I may be wrong but this feels like a little like signing up for it which gives it a little more status. If you want to join in after reading this, either email me at ehutchinson@library.gg or follow me on twitter @elizabethutch. Be aware that I don't automatically follow back so you will need to post a message to me saying that you want to join. At that point, I will follow you and give you the link to the Padlet. 

The first discussion took place on the 23rd January both on the Padlet and on twitter. We had chosen to read Reading by Right by Joy Court. After 2 hours of moderating I was shattered. I did learn a lot from the experience and will be making changes to the next one. I have also had some very useful feedback too that will be taken into consideration too. 

My thoughts on the first discussion 

• I need to consider my focus for my questions. Am I wanting to engage in school library discussion or more about the book? I think this was a little difficult with the first book Reading by Right by Joy Court as it had very specific chapters and it lent itself to linking what we do in practice. This meant that it was possible to join in the conversation even if you hadn't read the book. I don't think this will be the case with every book so will monitor as we work our way through the next few books. 

• I had far too many questions. 10 in an hour does not lend itself to a good discussion. I was moving to the next question just as an interesting discussion was starting on Padlet. On Twitter, I did not have time to join in the discussion myself as I was too busy getting the next question ready. I felt that I could not change this once it had started because I had already posted a link to the questions out on Twitter. I could, however, have some reserve questions in future! (Thanks, Janet!)

• I need to sit at a desk and not the kitchen table as I was aching after I had finished 2hrs of talking on the computer...

• Is the Padlet the best platform for this discussion? We had to keep refreshing in order to see other peoples comments and it felt a little disjointed although I am not sure if there is a platform that would give us what we need. I don't intend to change it for now as it may be that we just need to get used to it. 

• I also need to think about keeping a 'request only' link to the Padlet. I am not sure if it will get too big to have a proper discussion if too many people are involved. Will I have time to keep adding people? I think I will have to monitor to see how this goes. 

• Twitter, this worked well but I just need fewer questions and maybe someone else moderating with me. One person to ping out the questions and another to respond to comment might work better. Looking for volunteers :)  

• The books need to be reasonably priced, most of the time. I had not thought about this at all and chose the first one on book suggestions and votes. I don't want to be restricted by price all of the time as there will be some really useful books that we should be reading that will have a higher price. I will try to make sure that at least every other book is one everyone can afford to buy.

• This is a very useful thing to do and there is a need for this kind of #PD for school library staff

Where next?

I am very pleased with the enthusiasm for this book club. I do feel that there is a need to continue it. I hope that everyone taking part will suggest books or if not at least vote for what they would like to read. I don't want to feel like I am making all the decisions and so far that is not the case. 

If you have any feedback on the last discussion or any suggestions please feel free to comment below. This is very much our book club and I will try, as best I can, to make it worthwhile for everyone taking part. 

Advocacy for school libraries. How we can take responsibility

After the success of my post in November 2017 Why do teachers need school librarians? 5 questions to ask yourself. Where over 29000 people viewed it I began to worry about how I could ever match that again. I think I have come to the conclusion that I can't! I just have to write about what I feel passionate about and let the world decide if it is interesting enough to read and share so here goes.

Advocacy

(Photo by alexander milo on Unsplash)

Today I want to talk about advocacy for school libraries, it may seem an impossible mountain to climb but I do feel that we all have a responsibility to engage with it one way or another. It is not about shouting about how great we are, it is not about demanding that teachers work with us, it is not even about increasing our loan figures. It is all about our students and this is the only reason that advocacy is important. Our students deserve the right to have access to a good school library with a librarian to support them, they deserve the right to understand how to access good quality information and they deserve the right to have access to fiction that will enhance their literacy and learning. Without the support of the teachers and senior leadership teams in schools these rights are undermined and one of our roles as school librarians is to make sure that teachers know and understand what we can do. 

Ok, I hear you say, that is easier said than done. I agree the thought of sticking your head above the parapet is frightening, you are one librarian in amongst a whole school of teachers. Who are you to be telling the teaching staff what to do? I thought I would share some of my ideas for advocacy this year in the hopes that it may inspire you to try at least some of it.

Advocacy Ideas

Staff meetings

Like you, I have always felt frustrated that I know that I can make a difference to a teachers job if they allowed me to work with them. The problem is getting them to give you enough time in their very busy day for you to explain. The only way I have found that works is to ask the Headteacher to give you a staff meeting slot at least once a year. It doesn't really matter when, so if you ask now and you can't have a slot until September then at least you know it is booked in. Before you approach the Head make sure that you know what you are offering. Do you want staff to know about all the resources you have? Do you have new resources that you want to share? Have you worked with a teacher in a innovative way that you think would inspire other teachers to work with you? It may be an opportunity to share what you would like to happen or to show what other schools are doing that you could do too. Here are a couple of blogs that I follow that give some great ideas for innovative teaching:

Read. Research. Rest. Repeat by Kathleen Currie Smith
Heart of the school by Caroline Roche

Also take a look at my scoop.it account here which has lots of ideas for school librarians

Have all my staff meetings gone well, no! You should not give up though as the more you do the better you get at it. Even if you manage to get one teacher to understand what you do and start working with you then that is a win. Sometimes I feel that all I do is talk but that is ok. Advocacy is about talking and sharing what we do. It will generate interest eventually!

Social Media

Next, make sure that your social media is working for you. Have a library twitter,  Facebook page , Instagram account, or whatever tool you like the best, to show what you are up to in the library. You may not be collaboratively teaching yet, but posting new resources and book groups is a good place to start. If your senior management team are not keen on you having one for the library show them some good examples of what other school library twitter and Facebook accounts look like. Here are some worth following:-

Twitter
Canon Slade Library
La Mare de Carteret High School Library
Worle School LRC

Facebook
St Sampsons High School Library
What a difference a school library can make

If they still are not keen then ask them to post on the school accounts on your behalf. If you keep pestering them with all the good stuff you are doing it raises awareness but it may also lead to them saying you can have your own because they don't have time to post everything you want :)

Blogging 

This is a perfect advocacy tool either for yourself or your school library. It is a place where you can write about what is happening in your library and critically evaluate what you are doing. How can you make it better, is it worth sharing so that others can learn? Don't use it to vent your anger but put it to good use. Saying that there are many times when I have written a blog post in anger and spent a week re-writing so that I could understand, learn and share how to improve the situation. It does not always work and those are the posts that stay forever as a draft. Sometimes you just need to get something off your chest! Great library blogs:-

The Library Voice By Shannon Millar
The Daring Librarian by Gwyneth A. Jones

Here is a list of other library blogs to follow. You are now spoilt for choice :)

Podcast interviews

I am not suggesting that you start up your own podcast, although if that is your thing then go for it. Rather look out for educational podcasts and offer an interview suggestion about school libraries. I did one recently with Lucy Parsons whose podcast is about what makes a good school. I really felt that you should not be talking about good schools without talking about the school library so I offered to be interviewed and you can listen here I have plans to work with Martine Ellis on her podcast The teaching space, as she is asking for volunteers to be interviewed. This is a great way to share our passion for what we do. Take every opportunity within a teachers environment to share the benefits of
school librarians.

Conferences

How often have you sat at a conference and thought, I could do that? or that they are not saying anything that I am not doing already? Then this is the time to push yourself forward and start sharing what you are doing. I agreed to talk at the SLAYLG conference last year and then I blogged about it. Here is the link to my write up. Once you are more comfortable with talking to other librarians about what you are doing then the advocacy kicks in. How about presenting at a teachers conference? How else are our teachers going to learn about what we do if the library is not represented at the conferences they attend. I went to the Practical Pedagogies conference in Toulouse to present at a teachers conference about using the school library across the curriculum and as scary as it seems I am off to BETT on Thursday this week to do a 20min presentation about how school librarians can support teachers. Honestly if I can do it anyone can! I do not have magic powers I am just passionate about getting our message out. 

Writing articles

This is our opportunity to advocate what we do big time! As much as it is important that we share best practice with our fellow librarians it is also important that we are writing where teachers are reading. Have you something important to share then two places you should consider publishing is edutopia and ukedchat as both are widely read by teachers. I usually share something I have already written on my blog for ukedchat so that I don't have to write more and it is a great way to share. Here is one I wrote about about the importance of parents in independent learning.  You can find the same piece here on my own blog. 

Hopefully some of these ideas for advocacy will inspire you to try some of this yourself. Please write in the comments and share what you are doing. 

I just want to take this opportunity to share with you some good news I have had. I have been asked to write a regular column for CILIP Information Professional magazine about school libraries. The first one should be in the March edition so please watch out for it and let me know what you think. I am always happy for ideas to write about. 

If you have enjoyed this then come over to my new website to see more https://ehutchinson44.wixsite.com/schoollibraries/blog

Finishing off 2017 looking back and facing forward.

I wasn't going to write again until the New Year but having just finished my last book of the year How to stop time by Matt Haig and done all the preparations for our New Years Eve party which doesn't start till 7pm, I find myself with a few hours to spare so here are my final thoughts of the year.

Photo by Josh Boot on Unsplash

Having met John McCarthy at the Practical Pedagogies conference in Toulouse in November 2016 my blogging and presenting journey really took off after he encouraged me to share what we had been talking about at the conference. I find that life is very much about the people you meet and the chances you take and this was one of them. I know that technically this is not a 2017 story but feel that this should be mentioned as my presenting and blogging journeys both started from that point in time.

Since then I have presented at 3 conferences in 2017, the British Isles Google Summit in Guernsey, CILIP SLA/YLG conference in Harrogate and the Back to School Google conference at the London headquarters. which I found both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. I do however, feel that each time I present I learn something new about myself and am finding out about what does and doesn't work. Hopefully, each time I am creating something useful and better too. I have already signed up to speak at two conferences in 2018 so must not find it too scary after all.

My blog went from strength to strength this year finishing with a real high at the end of November with over 29,000 views for my post called Why do teachers need school librarians. I spent the year finding my voice for school libraries and learning how to make the most of social media. I have loved learning this new skill and it is something I will be  developing more in the coming year. I have been asked to guest blog and to write articles for professional magazines because of this blog. Opening doors I would never have believed was possible.

I have also been a mentor for a couple of years and this year decided it was time to refresh my mentor training at CILIP. During the day I began to think that I may have done enough over the last few years to do my Fellowship. I am the kind of person who, if told I can't do something, I am even more determined to do it. I asked the trainer if she thought I would be able to attempt it and instead of asking why I thought I could do it, I was asked if I had re-validated my Chartership. Admittedly I hadn't and was then told that unless I had had articles published or presented at conferences then I should not even consider it. I kept quite as this person had assumed something about me and made me feel like I had felt at school which I hate. I have actually done both these things and more so I came home and revalidated my Chartership and am now registered for Fellowship. This is something I will achieve in 2018.

So what have I learnt about myself this year? Everything I do for myself such as my blog, social media, writing articles or presenting at conferences I do because I love my job. No one pays me to do these extra things but as I enjoy what I do it does not feel like work and for that I am extremely grateful. I have also learnt that it is ok to push myself to do things I don't feel comfortable with. Speaking at conferences and blogging has helped me to continue learning, make connections, read more and really understand my own thoughts about school libraries and their impact on children and if someone says that I can't then I will do it.

This leads me to my final new thing for next year. I have set up a new online non-fiction book club for professional development for library staff #nonfbc, why, because I think we should all continue to read and learn and this will make me do it too. Lucas Maxwell wrote a blog about it which can be found here and I wrote a guest blog about it for Heart of the School which can be found here too.  If I expect the students and teachers I work with to keep learning I should be prepared to do this myself.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog this year. I will try and continue to write something once a month as this is what seems to work for me. I wish you all a happy and healthy New Year and whatever happens always keep reading and learning.

Why do teachers need school librarians? 5 questions to ask yourself.

How often have you walked past your school library and never given a second thought to the person who works in that room? Or you notice that there are students in there reading books and working on the computers and think 'that's nice'. You may even encourage your students to go and choose a book occasionally and think that you are doing your bit.

What if someone suddenly said that your school library was closing and the room was going to become a gym. Would you really be upset by the loss of such a resource or would you secretly not be all that bothered? Do you ever think about the person who is working in there who is desperate to help you and your students? Do you ever wonder why that person is constantly trying to stop you in the corridor when you are busy? Do you understand the opportunities you are missing? 

Photo by Diego PH on Unsplash

You have the power in your hands to open your eyes to change. Is it time to take stock and think about what your school library means to you as a teacher? The school library is there for you as well as your students and are you missing out on something that may make your teaching life easier?


Ask yourself these questions:-

1. When was the last time I went to the school library?
2. When was the last time I talked to the school library staff about my curriculum?
3. Do I know what the library staff can do for me and my students?
4. When was the last time I looked at the resources for my subject or encouraged my students to do the same?
5. Do I know what online resources are available for my subject?

If you don't know the answer to any or all of the above questions then I would encourage you to approach your library staff and start the conversation. Teaching was never meant to be something you do on your own and working with the library staff may just be the thing that is missing from your teaching.

Did you know that the school library:-

• Can provide you with free resources for your subject that will relieve the pressure on your departmental budget and even your own pocket.
• Can provide space for these resources in the library so that your classroom is not full of resources that you only need once a year.
• Can provide resources on request - yes, if the budget is there they will buy books for you!
• Can provide online resources that are subject specific. 
• Can provide a space outside your classroom for you to teach. 

Did you know that the library staff can:-

• teach research skills - referencing, plagiarism etc.
• teach digital literacy - online research, digital tools, Google searching
• teach digital citizenship - social media, online collaboration etc.
• connect you with other educators, schools and professionals around the world
• support and train you in using new online tools

If you need more ideas, don't just take my word for it there are many school library staff out there willing to share ideas with you. Take a look at these amazing blogs 

Read research rest repeat  by Kathleen Curry Smith

Library Media Talk  by Stony Evans

Library Stuff by Barbara Band

Heart of the School  by Caroline Roche

Over the last few years, I have noticed that teachers are being encouraged more and more to use technology in the classroom. There are those that have moved into this world comfortably, who can use Google responsibly and understand how to navigate it well, demonstrating to their students the skill needed to do this properly. Teachers who are comfortable in this digital world are also happy to connect their students through hangouts and online digital tools like Flipgrid and Padlet but there are so many more that are not. 

Are you a teacher reading this that has never heard of Flipgrid or Padlet? Does the thought of having another class from across the world talk to your students fill you with dread? Are you unsure how to teach your students how to access academic resources? Would you like more books in your classroom? Would you like support? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then next time you walk by your school library don't pass walk in and say hello.

My blog has moved to a new website. If you enjoyed this then head over to take a look https://ehutchinson44.wixsite.com/schoollibraries/blog

Teachers, 6 ways the school librarian can empower you to do it yourself!

A recent twitter conversation with @julielindsay made me really think about how I advocate about what school librarians do. Julie questioned whether my statement about 'what school librarians can 'do' for teachers' should not be 'doing it for them' but to empower them to do it themselves made me think about what I have been saying about a school librarians role in schools.

After thinking about this I still do feel that an important part of a school librarians role is  'doing' things for the teacher, and as a information professional it is part of our role. As I have said before, if a librarian can save teachers time by finding and supplying the best resources for a topic they are about to teach then we are doing a good job. This is better than teachers using books that have been int their classrooms for years or them spending hours Googling to find decent websites. I also agree with Julie, however,  that empowering teachers to be digitally fluent and connected is equally important and this is why advocacy for school librarians is important because we do that too.

New teachers induction day 

I recently attended a new teachers induction day alongside Ellie, one of our SLS librarians. Schools' Library Service (SLS) were asked to attend as a support service and were delighted to be able to to chat to new teachers about how our service supports teaching and teachers.  Many teachers had heard of SLS's having come from the UK and were expecting the book loans but were surprised when we started telling them about the support we provide within the classroom. This is where advocacy is essential because our role is also to 'empower the teachers to be digitally fluent and connected' through co-teaching in the classroom. We were able to talk to teachers about the support we give in:-

1. lessons, on using online resources, focusing on the importance of a keyword search. 
2. using current digital tools such as Padlet and Flipgrid within the classroom. We create the platform find a connecting school and help support it during the lesson. 
3. collaborations by finding and linking classrooms across the world.
4. bringing the outside world into the classroom thought Google hangouts, be that specialist on volcanoes or people talking about their own culture.
5. engaging ways to encourage reading, literacy and information literacy i.e breakout
6. book awards etc.

All of this empowers the teachers to do this themselves. Many teachers do not have the time to do much of this when it all seems so scary and new to them. Our role allows them to try these things with support. We show them how to find connections, what new digital tools to use, how to set up the  platforms and when they are ready, they do it themselves. 

So do I do it for them? Yes but only when they need me to...

4 ways the school librarian can save teachers time and help support independent learners

Independent learners

What makes an Independent learner?

•    The ability to understand which resource is going to help you find the best quality information and being able to use research skills to locate it.

•    Knowing and understanding the importance of referencing, copyright and giving credit.

Many teachers believe that if a student can find the answer via Google they have an independent learner. This is not independence; this is just the ability to type the question into Google. If this is the tool that teachers want their students to use then they need to be prepared to make them reference what they find and find time to check those references.  As many teachers do not have time to do this it re-enforces the idea that Google is the best way to find information quickly without looking at the quality of the resource. It does not ensure that students are evaluating or thinking critically about what they find. If students know that teachers are not going to check where the information came from why would they spend time on referencing or researching properly?

Independent learners start by connecting and wondering about the topic they are researching. They come up with keywords and create a question so when they sit in front of their chosen online resource they know what they are looking for. Research is not about finding the right answer but about collecting information to help you come to a conclusion.  Critical thinking has a huge part to play in independent research and is different from ‘finding the answer’.

Why does this happen? A teacher once said to me that they felt that the students knew more than they did when searching online and they did not feel it was right to stop their students ‘Googling’. I had to remind them that it wasn’t the case of stopping them using Google but it was important to use Google properly through good research skills. Google is only as useful as the persons research skills. Independence is not about speed but understanding the tools and having the skills to navigate them. Independent research skills is not about getting the students to the learning faster it is about knowing how to find the information in the first place.

School librarian’s curators of information and collaborators

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One of our roles as information professionals, is to curate physical and online resources that not only are age appropriate but also good quality. In order to access these tools, research skills are needed and school librarians are able to support teachers in helping students to access them. This is not about making it harder to find the information it is about ensuring that the building blocks are put in place so when they leave school they understand the difference between using Google to find the time of their flight and doing an in-depth piece of research for work or university.

Another role is using digital literacy to help make connections. Over the last year I have regularly use my social media skills, as Jennifer Casa-Todd says “to connect educators to educators who I think might work collaboratively together” (2017 p24) which has lead to some wonderful international connections. These connections have enhanced teaching and learning and have enabled me to help teachers use digital technology and support research skills in the process.

Our collaborations

This year we have been able to use and share both Padlet and Flipgrid with our teachers. Not only up skilling them in using these tools but demonstrating how they can be used within the classroom setting. One of my schools used both these tools to engage students in a literacy project reading the book Wonder by Raquel J. Palacio. The students were able to share their thoughts about the book with each other but also learn about the students on the other side of the world. Another group who were reading The Thieves of Ostia by Caroline Lawrence were delighted when at the end we connected with her via padlet and were sending her questions and getting answers real time! It was fabulous and I was very grateful to Caroline for doing this. The students came up with some amazing questions too. This supported the curriculum in writing, communication, digital literacy, critical thinking and empathy.

Collaboration saves time and impacts student attainment!

In a literature review by the National Literacy Trust they state that “School libraries have been found to impact pupils’ general academic attainment, reading and writing skills, plus wider learning skills” (Teravainen and Clark, 2017 p3) and if this is the case it is important that teachers and librarians work together often.

The main challenge, regularly cited by teachers, is time. It is therefore important that teachers understand the positive impact that collaborating with a school librarian can have on themselves and their students and this will take some time but the benefits will far outweigh the initial input.

What can the librarian do for teachers?

1.  Find quality physical and online resources for your topic (teachers no longer have to spend hours on Google trying to find something suitable)
2. Co-teach in the classroom and demonstrate how to access the online resources (teachers do not have to learn how to navigate these resources beforehand
3. Help find the right educators to collaborate with (which teacher has time to do this?)
4. Learn the digital tools and then demonstrate their use in the classroom (allowing the teacher to learn about these tools within the lesson)

As the relationship between teacher and librarian grows the time the teacher needs to put in will be seen as a benefit rather than a problem due to the other opportunities that the librarian will bring to the partnership.

Creating independent learners is not something that happens overnight. The building blocks need to be embedded all they way through primary and secondary school. With the support of the school librarian not only can the student’s benefit but the teachers will too.

References

Casa-Todd, J. (2017). Social LEADia. San Diego: Dave Burgess Consulting Inc.

Teravainen, A. and Clark, C. (2017). School libraries: A literature review of current provision and evidence of impact. [online] London: The National Literacy Trust, p.3. Available at: http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/assets/0004/1275/School_Libraries_2017_-_Final.pdf [Accessed 20 Jul. 2017].

Librarians and a teacher presenting at the British Isles Google Summit rocking Edtech and collaboration

Last weekend Angela Etheredge, Stony Evans and myself presented at the British Isles Google Summit held in Guernsey. Two librarians and a teacher working together. Why is this worth blogging about?

This was primarily a teachers event, it was about how to use all things Google from Docs to slides and Forms to Classroom so where did a school librarian fit into this? I have been using Google tools for a while now and personally wanted to know more about Google classroom.  More importantly though it was important for me, as a librarian, to attend this teachers conference as it would help me highlight the teaching side of my role. I have written about this in previous posts.

After applying for a place a  few weeks later I recieved an email from Lucy Witham arrived saying that there was only one local speaker signed up and if you felt you had something to share then you should apply for a speakers place. I realised once again that I had a chance to talk to teachers about what school librarians do so I decided to apply. Deciding what I would share was easy.

Which Google product have I used within a classroom setting in collaboration with a teacher?

This was easy! A year ago I helped Angela Etheredge, a teacher at St Annes in Alderney, connect her students via Google hangouts with students in Arkansas. We played mystery hangout with their students and were amazed at the impact that it had on everyone. I also had something else up my sleeve. About 6 months ago, Stony Evan, the librarian in Arkansas, asked me if I would be willing to join him via hangout at a conference he was presenting. I agreed and I joined his session to talk about our collaboration via hangout, so it was time for him to return the favour.  I submitted my idea and was accepted.

How did Angela join in?

At this point it was just Stony and myself until I went to run the inset training at St Anne's. During the day I shared a little about the hangout with Arkansas with all the teachers and as I talked Angela joined in.  I realised that to have a teacher join me in my session at the Google Summit would practically demonstrate how important and necessary teacher librarian collaboration is. So we had our team.

Creating our presentation.

As Stony was in Arkansas, Angela was in Alderney and I was in Guernsey there was no way we were going to be able to sit in the same room and talk about our presentation so we decided to create a Google Slide and work on it collaboratively, we also talked by Google hangout too. I did not realise it at the time but by using a shared Google slide and hangout we were actually doing what they were going to tell us about at the conference.

At the conference

We were not presenting until Saturday afternoon due to the time difference between Arkansas and the UK so we were not able to get this out of the way quickly. After sitting through some brilliant workshops by Ben Rouse, Matt Smith, Bogdan Copil and Jon Neale I was beginning to worry that our presentation was so different that it may not be good enough. Every other workshop was full of ideas and we were planning to share only one. Angela was very calm which helped but I still wasn't sure. I wanted to check out the technical side of our presentation but was unable to do this until just before our slot and that worried me too.

Our session

Time for worrying was over. A quick connection to Stony was tested and we were ready to go. We had a small group of teachers and I would have been happy to present to them but as we started talking more arrived which was great.  The presentation can be found here.

After all my worrying our presentation went really well with one attendee tweeting that it was the best session of the day! Funnily enough I had not realised that as we started Anglea got really worried when she saw who was arriving.  They were IT specialists from the College of Further Education and she did not think that we could show them something that they did not already know. However, that was not the case and our icing on the cake was our demonstration of how easy it was to connect with Stony in America. Having him in the room with us really went down well. People liked the practical application of our session, admitting that we were novices at this but were prepared to try it inspired our attendees to try it themselves.  By giving a clear demonstration of how it worked for us, even though we were clearly not experts, was well received.

Angela and I were on such a high after our session. It worked! We demonstrated something that not everyone is using and we were also able to show how the collaboration between the librarian and the teacher can lead to greater student learning. One local teacher came up and said he was really jealous  of us, when we asked why he said, because we had been brave enough to put ourselves forward to present and he wished he had taken the opportunity too.

Why is it important that you put yourself forward? 

In order for schools and teachers to understand what librarians do we must  talk to them about it. Whether that is in the school staff room or presenting at a teacher training day or even being brave enough to present at a conference. Unless we talk and demonstrate how we can support student learning, some teachers and schools will never know what they are missing out on.

Finally, one teacher asked me how we could help him to connect his students. If this is all we achieved that day this was enough. Helping one teacher to understand the impact that working with the school library can have on his students then we did a good job. You never know where this may lead. 

Teachers: How important is academic honesty? Essential for digital literacy.

Teachers, do you use information ethically when creating resources for teaching? Do you know when it is ok to take pictures from the internet? Do you know if you are breaking copyright laws? Copyright is a complex subject and here is a guide to what you can and can't do within a school setting. Just because it is ok to use resources for educational purposes, it is an individuals right not a shared right of the school and it is time to understand that as teachers you should be demonstrating best practice at all times. Do you reference all your sources whenever you produce something for school? If not where can this lead and why is this a problem? 

Primary and secondary school students do not create original work. Writing it in their own words is not original.  

Many teachers talk to their students about the importance of giving credit for where they find their information but never expect a reference list. This is a real lack of understanding about information and where is comes from. The information we find has been written by someone else and is not original. This is especially true if you are expecting your students to find the answer to a question or to write a piece of research. This is what research is. Finding the answer and referencing where you got it from. No student is going to write something original when researching because this is not what you are asking them to do. Part of the learning process is understanding that we must give credit for what we find. 

If we don't expect a reference how can you, as teachers, work out where the information is coming from? Why do we need to worry about this? As a teacher if you know they have found the correct answer does it matter where they got it from? Yes it does! Most students go to one website. They may very well get the right answer each time without thinking about the source they are using because they want their homework done quickly. Fake News is huge at the moment and without asking for a reference how do you know if they have chosen a good source?  At least if they had a list of sources teachers would be able to have a conversation about the websites used. Teachers are currently working blind and seem to be happy as long as the right answer is given. It is not something that is a concern but it should be. 

Sharing students work beyond school without references.

In todays world it is common to share students work on our school websites or on social media.  If nothing is referenced we are breaking copyright laws and here is where the problems lie. 

Imagine this. One of your students has produced a wonderful piece of work and you want to use it as a wonderful example of learning outcomes. It is well written, got some great pictures and all the information is correct. You decide to share it on the school newsletter and on twitter as an example of best practice. If none of it is referenced then this is not best practice this is embedding that it is alright to break copyright laws.

Research skills are really important in todays world. It's not just about finding the right information but also about making sure it is true, if there is a bias and knowing who wrote it. If teachers insist on allowing their students to use Google as a research tool they must understand the importance of ensuring that their students give credit for what they find and use. Academic honesty and teaching for integrity is going to become more important with the advancement of digital literacies and teachers need to understand their role in ensuring that our students are taught this correctly. 

It is not alright to take pictures and information and not say where they got it from just because their work is only going to hang on the wall of the classroom. there are so many tools today that make this easy. Free pictures like the ones on this blog are available from places like Pixabay.com so there is no need to just take from Google images. It is a case of teaching it the right way. Just as it would not be alright for anyone of your students to steal someone's sweets, just because no-one will find out does not make it right. As digital competencies become part of the curriculum it is essential that teachers understand why this is important and know how to teach it. We are giving our students skills for life not just for one assignment. It is important that our students learn about the subject that is being taught but it is just as important to make sure they are given the skills and understand the ethical way to do this too. Many people are writing about this, however, I recently read a blog post by Alison Miller on Developing digital learners which also talks about the importance of digital competencies and gives some great idea of how to use it in the classroom which is worth reading. 

Are you confident about teaching referencing? Your school librarian can help.

The excuses that this takes too long or that it will spoil the enjoyment,  just do not add up. Maybe teachers are not confident at teaching or checking references or maybe they are remembering when they had to reference when they were at university and it did take forever. This is just not the case now. Both Word and Google doc have a built in reference generator which is easy and simple to use. 

Your school librarian will be happy to help teach this but here is an easy guide to how it works on Google docs:-

• Find the Easybib add on. 

• Click on EasyBib Bibliography Creator and this box will appear to the right of you document.

• As you find sources you add them to the generator to the right and it creates the Bibliography. From books to websites they are all there. Once the document is finished click on the red box 'add bibliography to doc and it appears at the bottom of the page. 

This does not take long to learn and is essential for our students to understand academic honesty and teachers need to expect it. It should not make any difference whether our headteachers or policy makers are not asking for this. We all know what is right, this is simple to do and teach and teachers should be leading by example.