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Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals

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American Library Association Washington Office

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Calgary Board of Education Douglasdale School

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Library to Learning Commons - Saanich School District (No. 63)

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The Saanich School District (No. 63) is transforming their traditional library spaces to a Learning Commons model. These innovative changes to the physical and digital space, resources, and staffing are transforming learning, teaching, collaboration and professional-development for students and staff in our schools.

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Documenting the process of learning helped me to reflect on the process and summarize what we had done for parents and staff in our school. The final product will be shared with parents and will explain the process of learning and the understandings that the students came to.

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Here is a Tagxedo I made out of the first two sentences of my final reflection. It took less than 5 minutes to create and save.

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When we reflect on the learning process, it can be difficult to find the right words to summarize what the process was like. By using programs such as Wordle or Tagxedo, students are able to reflect by using words rather than writing large amounts of text. This is a fun way to think about the learning process or to share facts about what has been learned. I made a quick airplane Tagxedo just by copying in some facts about airplanes. This is a great way to share information in a relevant way and would be appropriate to use for an inquiry project about a variety of topics since there are so many shapes you can use.

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The process of reflecting on how to implement technology into the inquiry process has been a valuable one. Taking the time to explore the vast amount of resources available on the web, allowed me to critically examine just how these many technology tools could work successfully for elementary school students. These digital natives have a natural sense of curiosity with technology. Teaching them these tools and resources excites them and gives them new ways to express themselves and their learning. "Learning in the Information Age is very different from the kind of learning that took place prior to the advent of the computer. Today’s students learn in a dynamic world where information changes and expands as fast as technological innovation" (BCTF: The Points of Inquiry, 2011). When we teach these tools to our students we give them opportunities. The learner becomes an active participant in the process and the creation of their final product. Plus, the stages of inquiry end with the final stage of reflection. This important final step involves considering the entire learning process: What worked? What was challenging? What obstacles became apparent? What would you do differently next time? By reflecting on learning as a process rather than a singular event, students are beginning to understand that although the inquiry process may answer questions, it may also leave you with many more.
During this process, I was able to spend quality time critically evaluating a variety of technology resources. As a teacher in the 21st century and as a teacher librarian, I realize that I needto be an expert in the field of new technology and resources in order to pass this information along to my staff. To become well versed in this field, it requires a time investment and practice with a variety of technology tools. Valenza explains that it is important to look forward into the future and know the direction you will take with the changing 21st century library. “You lead. And you look ahead for what is coming down the road. You continually scan the landscape. As the information and communication landscapes continue to shift, do you know where you are going? You plan for change. Not for yourself, not just for the library, but for the building, for your learners” (2010). We are working in a time where there is a shift in what it means to be a teacher-librarian. Not only are we supporting students with finding books, but now it is about selecting web resources, coordinating classes, collaborating with teachers, teaching technology tools, supporting a change towards a learning commons space and guiding teachers towards a stance of inquiry in their teaching. All of these roles are fulfilled by one person in the school, the teacher librarian, in order to support the change in my library, ultimately I need to have a clear vision of the direction our school wants to take which supports our school goals.

As I completed this process, I reflected on Richardson's text, “Why School?”
Richardson argues that, “There should also be no doubt that, to prepare students to be learners, we need adults in classrooms who can serve as outstanding role models for learning. If we’re to develop learners who can make sense of the whole library, we must already be able to do that ourselves. In other words, the adults in the room need to be learners first and teachers second” (2012). If we put forth the stance that as teachers we are constantly learning, we are teaching students that learning is not something that stops when we exit the classroom. Learning is a life-long process that will always continue if we are curious, ask questions and want to learn. Therefore we need to change the way that curriculum is delivered in a rote way and consider our role as simply a “deliverer of information.” Instead we can adopt the approach that, “we must inspire students to pursue their own interests in the context of the subject matter. We need to be great at asking questions and astute at managing the different paths to learning that each child creates” (2012). Certainly this means giving students more time to explore, ask their questions and define what learning means to them. The process of inquiry supports this framework and can be strongly supported by the use of technology.

References
BCTF. "The Points of Inquiry: A Framework for Information Literacy and the 21st Century Learner."Points of Inquiry. Jan. 2011. Web. 5 Apr. 2014 <http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/documents/Points
Richardson, Will (2012-09-10). Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere (Kindle Single) (Kindle Locations 429-432). TED Conferences. Kindle Edition.
Valenza, Joyce. "Manifesto for 21st Century Teacher Librarians." Teacher Librarian RSS. 5 Apr. 2014. Web. 5 Apr. 2014. <http://www.teacherlibrarian.com/2011/05/01/manifesto-for-21st-century-teacher-librarians/>.

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Our school website lists a selection of resources for each grade level on a variety of topics that meet the current Prescribed Learning Outcomes. Students can access these resources by clicking on the links. These resources have been selected by the teacher librarian group in our district. These links are constantly updated depending on which units are being completed by the classes in the school.

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School Web Site: Supporting Inquiry/Connect & Wonder

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School Web Site: Supporting Inquiry/Connect & Wonder

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Our school web site home page is clear and visual so that elementary users can easily access their grade level and applicable links that relate to the current learning in their classrooms.

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In considering how I can best support the inquiry process through the use of technology, I need to consider how the current School District resources can support this goal. Our District has a subscription to the ERAC bundle in which students and staff can access programs such as; World Book Kids, Kids Search, Searchasaurus and CultureGrams. These programs provide up to date, relevant information that students can easily access at any point during the research process. This specifically relates to the initial stage of inquiry in which students are making connections and wondering about their inquiry topic. Some of the tools that can support my work with elementary school learners include:

World Book Kids Features

Advanced Search
The advanced search function allows students to search for reading material at their lexile reading level. They can also customize their search in order to search specifically for pictures, articles, maps or videos.
Compare Feature
This feature allows students to make direct comparisons between provinces, countriesand animals. This direct comparison is useful for making connections and is listed in point form which makes it easy for students to read and create key points.
Think it!
This feature contains a variety of activities, quizzes, and printables to support specific topics.

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How to create your very first Popplet board using www.popplet.com.

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Popplet is an interactive mind map that allows you to embed video, pictures and text. This program was an easy to use tool that created a very clear and easy to follow final product. This would be an excellent presentation tool for students to use once they have reached the end of the inquiry process (express stage) or when they are gathering new information during the investigate and construct stages.

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I hit a bit of a road block after the success with the mind map software. Many of the platforms I tried either required you to pay money to use their service or they were too complicated to use with children ages 7-12. Some of the technology tools I tried included:

Inforgr.am: This program helps you to design infographics and charts on a bright clear poster. This would be an excellent way for students to express their learning, but it seems like it would be more appropriate for middle or high school students and a few was required in order to download your finished product. Glogster: I have heard of this used in schools so I was interested in trying it out. It also requires a fee of approximately $40 per year for a single classroom use, so I wasn't able to play around with it. ScoopIt: This technology tool is similar to Pinterest in that it allows you to "Scoop" articles, pictures and videos from the web and then add it to your page that is based on a particular topic. Although this is a great teaching resource, it is not targetted towards kids and would therefore not be a great fit for supporting inquiry with young students.

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bubbl.us & Text 2 Mind Map are both programs I could easily teach to Elementary school learners and would certainly be excellent tools to engage students during the Connect & Wonder Phase of the Inquiry process. This mind map software would also support the Construct phase of the inquiry process.

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Text 2 Mind Map: A Simple tool to make a mind map using Text

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Text 2 Mind Map: A Simple tool to make a mind map using Text

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This tool was also easy to use, simply type in the text that would like to use, putting each new bubble on a new line. This would be simple for students to pick up and start to create. I was able to also create this mind map in less than ten minutes.

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bubbl.us: Brainstorming and Mind-Mapping Tool

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bubbl.us: Brainstorming and Mind-Mapping Tool

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This tool was incredibly easy to use, basically with just a series of clicks I was able to quickly create a simple mind map. I could save it on my desktop as a jpeg file and drag it into my Padlet all in less than ten minutes.

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I decided that in order to answer my question, I needed to do some definite exploring myself. Diving into the Investigate stage of the inquiry process seemed a bit frightening at first, especially because I had a very long list of technology tools that would support the inquiry process. This stage was important to me because a goal was to learn about new types of technology that I could implement into my teaching with Elementary school students.

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How Can Technology Support the Inquiry Process?

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How Can Technology Support the Inquiry Process?

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Inquiry Based Project: Cordova Bay Elementary 

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Inquiry Based Project: Cordova Bay Elementary 

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Inquiry Based Project - Cordova Bay Elementary

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Jean Prevost, teacher librarian, and grade 2/3 students in Saanich describe their experiences and learning during an inquiry based project at Cordova Bay Elementary.

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Inquiry Based Learning: Royal Oak Elementary

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Inquiry Based Learning: Royal Oak Elementary

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Multi-age Inquiry Based Classrooom -  Royal Oak Middle School

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Jean Bowman, classroom teacher, and students in Saanich describe their experiences and learning in a middle school multi-age inquiry based classroom at Royal Oak Middle School.

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When I consider the benefits of inquiry based learning and how it plays a role in the learning process, I immediately think about engagement. To engage students in the learning process means that they need to actively connect and take an interest in what they are learning. The inquiry process involves five main stages. When we stand and deliver information, we are often only getting the students to the first stage: Connect & Wonder. However, when we effectively complete the inquiry process, the students have had a chance to investigate using a variety of resources, construct an understanding of what they have learned, express their learning in a format they choose, and to reflect on the learning process. This style of learning involves the learner and allows them to consider the whole process of learning and understanding, rather than just memorizing information that has been told to them. I know that inquiry based learning is a teaching strategy that I can use to support the classroom teachers in my school. As a teacher-librarian, I want to support the students at our school to help them to become active learners, who ask questions, wonder and reflect on their learning. Which leads me to my bigger question...