The past two days were informative and inspirational. I listened and learned from Kiwi library staff from public and school libraries. During this time, I got to peek through a small window of what is important to the local library staff. Everyone is in agreement that students (and even adults) need support in digital literacy and digital citizenship. Sally Pewhairangi @sallyheroes developed a free assessment tool so that library staff can self-evaluate and figure out where their digital competencies are and what needs to be strengthened. For those who wish to grow in this area, a self paced course is offered for a small fee. Just click the hot link above to see whatś offered! For students, Library Manager Saskia Hill teaches a curriculum that she developed through a trial and error process. She now has a digital citizenship curriculum that she rolls out to specific grade levels. She went into great detail about what the students learn in each lesson, which everyone found extremely helpful. Saskia also mentioned that all of the feeder schools are teaching the students digital citizenship as well, for continuity. Therefore, she knows what her students should know when they come to her High School. Itś nice to hear that students will be coming to high school with some background knowledge. Other Conference Highlights- PIctures with Captions Due to Limited Time
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Today is the March 15, 2016, the day after pi day or 3.14 but there was not a peep about it since the dates in other parts of the world the date is written 14.3. I am on a plane reflecting on what what has been going on inside my head --but before I can even finish this post, my short trip to Christchurch is over--”Please store all laptops and other large electronic devices under your seat.” After boarding the bus from the airport and dropping my bags off at the YHA Rolleston House, [yay, only $2.25 with a Metro Card] I went back off in search of the bus stop to visit the principal in a school about 30 minutes away. Paula Eskett @librarypaula had recommended I meet him due to his awesomeness! Since I had plenty of time, I treated myself a visit to they city art gallery. It was spectacular--the art spans from various time periods and styles. One room is dedicated to the 2011 earthquake where you can find these paint cans serving as a pillar of strength. I do not have a card reader or cord with me to get the pix off my camera but here is the outside of the building! After an hour long debacle ( walking around the city in circles) which was related to finding the bus stop due to bus stops being relocated due to the construction, and the actual construction blocking the path to the central bus station (where all buses can be found) I eventually got on the bus which then sat in the station for another 15 minutes but I was glad to at least be sitting on the bus. [long sentence!] I got off the bus with a woman near the primary school I was visiting and realized she too was going to the school! She brings her child to this school which is not the closest school to her home due to the diversity at this school. She raved about the principal and tried to give me a tour--she was awesome and introduced me to other PTA members. By then, the principal heard the ruckus and knew that I had arrived. In true fashion, I recommend that we all take a selfie together. As for the principal, there are no words to describe the biggest gift he gave me today. I cannnot begin to explain the scope and depth of the programs that are offered to his students at this school all due to his vision and leadership!
He is a very special man and the students at this diverse school with 40 nations represented are very lucky but they may not know it yet! Too much to write about in this post! This man was fun and warm, and I feel like I have known him all my life. He was eager, energetic, and well spoken in the way he presented the school programs and activities; He was proud to share his vision, accomplishments and school with me. This is the sort of school that other schools should be modeled. I hope to elaborate more on the school programs in a later post or in my final project. This tremendous #SLANZA workshop was hosted at Melville HS by librarian Jan MathewsAcknowledgement: I am so grateful for Paula Eskett @libraryPaula of CoreEducation for sending me the notice about today’s SLANZA conference which took place in the Hamilton NZ area at Melville HS. Paula has given me tremendous help in lighting my path to what I believe will be a successful project! Today was filled with fellowship, joy, and learning as I joined an fun, friendly, and inspiring group of library educators. This special day was moderated by Linda McCullough, Secretary, Waikato/BoP SLANZA. Whakamana Te Tamaiti - Early Years Last ForeverThe first presenter, Wendy Nelson from the Brainwave Trust @brainwavetrust conducted a fascinating, dynamic, interactive presentation about brain development and how it ties into the ability to learn to read. One of the important highlights of her talk addressed the massive number of dendritic connections that are made by the brain of a baby when they are spoken to. With those connections comes a white matter sheath that facilitates information transmission rate from one part of the brain to the other. As a comparison, she noted that if a baby is not spoken very often and therefore hears very few words they have “a dial up connection” while the child that hears lots of words develops a “broadband” connection. It is easy to see how her explanation makes sense in our practice as we get to know our students and their varying homelife situations/opportunities. Understanding the causes of the struggles of our students is an important first step in being able to provide the right sorts of interventions for them. In addition, due to the plasticity of the brain in the younger years, interventions should be made as early as possible. It was unanimous that Wendy did an outstanding job teach non scientists about brain development as it relates to reading. Her delivery was flawlessly executed, thank you Wendy! Wendy stayed true to her agenda and I would like to share the other points she discussed, explained, and demonstrated: 1 How early experiences shape brain architecture. 2. How early experiences can help or hinder brain development. 3. The importance of loving relationships and attachment. 4. Understanding stress and why children are particularly vulnerable to stress. Why reading is so important and how we can helpThe next presentation was delivered by Miriam Tuhoy, Librarian at Palmerston North Girl’s HIgh School and Current SLANZA president. Miriam did an engaging and moving presentation on the importance of getting books into the hands of kids. She stressed the importance of offloading tasks that can be done by a student or teacher (such as issuing books) so that the library staff can assist each student with finding the “right book.” It takes time, but it is crucial to have conversations with each student so that you can effectively match them up with the right books. Miriam also reminded us to show our books off in book displays, book lists, newsletter messages, blog posts etc. Often the teachers will not know what books are in the library and how those materials complement the curriculum unless they are informed and/or shown by the library staff. She recommends annotating the book lists so that the teachers can have an idea of how each item can be used since it may not be obvious from the book titles. My takeaways are:
Selection Criteria-choosing books for maximum effectThere were great two simultaneous breakout sessions- 1. Secondary: Choosing books that are appropriate for NCEA levels:Chaired by Margaret Black, HOD of English, Melville HS- This was an interactive discussion about the criteria needed to target books to the student - age - levels; reading ability; interests etc. 2. Pre-School/Primary/Intermediate: Choosing books that stimulate: Chaired by Helen Le Heron, from Books for Kids, Hamilton East. This was a fun and interactive session where the attendees visited with some very fun and clever books designed to ignite and inspire the imaginations of young people! Vicki Stephens, Services to Schools, National Library Updates in TransformationVicki gave some wonderful updates on the transformation that is taking place at the National Library with regard to digital resources for schools and other services. She also spent a few minutes explaining how to maximize the requests to receive 100% of the allowable number of books. Closing remarks by Glenys Bichan, Cambridge HS, and Waikato/BoP Slanza ChairGlenys spoke of the many effective programs that are consistently deployed by SLANZA. She also mentioned the many ways how SLANZA has helped her in practice over the years. She also noted that there are some volunteer openings right now and more urgently, SLANZA is in immediate need of a Treasurer. Please get in contact with anyone from SLANZA if you wish to make a difference by helping this fine organization. PHOTOS From the Day! |
Sue LevineSue is a teacher and school librarian living in Atlanta, GA, USA. She was in NZ as a Fulbright Distinguished Teacher from Feb-June 2016. Archives
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