In CEP 810 this week, I studied TPACK, which is a framework describing good teaching as the intersection of content, technology and pedagogy.  According to Dr. Mishra in his 21st Century Learning Conference Keynote, educators should not put technology in the center of their instruction, but rather “repurpose and customize existing technologies for [their] need.”  For my assignment, I had the opportunity to practice repurposing an existing technology for a new use.  Check out the video below to see how a spatula, bowl and dish can become tools to create a cheese plate.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb5hGBlErzs]
In completing this activity, I was reminded of the importance of flexible thinking.  If I had thought that I could only use a knife and cutting board to slice cheese, I would have not been able to complete the task.  I also was reminded that not all of my attempts to repurpose will be successful, as in the case of using the bowl to apply pressure.  However, by modifying and adjusting tools, better results can be obtained.

This understanding has implications for instruction.  Often times, I will not have access to the perfect tool or technology, because of cost, availability, or tech support.  I must learn and practice the repurposing of existing technology in new and innovative ways.  This will further my growth as an educator and better help my students to explore, create and share their learning.

Resources:

21CLearning. (2012, March 26). Punya Mishra – Keynote Speaker @ 21st Century Learning Conference – Hong Kong 2012. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bwXYa91fvQ

Creating enthusiasm around reading is one of the aspects of school librarianship that brings me the
most joy.  Daily, I have the privilege to connect students with an author, series, or genre, which motivates them to read, thereby building their skills as readers.  However, when I witness students telling their peers about a book that was recommended to them, and an entire grade level becomes captivated by Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Among the Hidden series for example, I know that I have fulfilled my job at a deep level.

Over the past month, I have been working with a 5th grade class during the English Language Arts portion of their day.  Students have been reading books in groups of 2s and 3s.  In collaborating with the classroom teacher, as well as other librarians in my district, we discussed how students could share what they had learned in their reading partnerships. Since I’ve been enrolled in CEP 810, and have recently been reflecting on learning competencies for our digital world, I developed a plan for an iMovie book trailer lesson, and look forward to sharing it with my team.

One of the competencies outlined by Renee Hobbs in her book Digital and Media Literacy: Connecting Culture and Classroom is that of creation.  In this digitally connected world, students must learn and practice creating content, which will communicate their learning to a specific audience in an appropriate manner (Hobbs, 2011). This competency also fits with Thomas and Brown’s reflection in their book A New Culture of Learning.  Due to our networked age, learning environments succeed when students are able to demonstrate their learning through the creating of content (Thomas and Brown, 2011).   In the creation of a book trailer in this lesson, students will reflect on the story elements and key themes of the book, develop a trailer with images and movie clips that best represents the ideas in the book, and then share that trailer with an authentic, wider audience.  This learning experience will allow students to design, create and share a product, with the end goal of inspiring other students to want to read those books.  They will be able to choose images and themes that represent their book, and play with the story elements to best hook a future reader.  By sharing the movies with other 5th grade classrooms within our building and across our district, students will be able to impact reading practices of a wider audience, as well as get recommendations from their peers.

Hobbs, R. (2011). Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand, Oaks, CA: Corwin/Sage.

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, Ky: CreateSpace?.

COO image by skeeze / Pixabay

“An elephant never forgets.”  Somedays I wish that an elephant followed me because, in addition to the cuteness factor, my myriad lists crowd out space for remembering.  Thankfully that elephant does exist on my computers and mobile devices in the form of Evernote.

In learning to improve workflow this week in CEP 810, I was challenged by David Allen’s Ted Talk in which he described the impact of psychological bandwidth on creativity.  I wanted to explore a tool to help me easily write down my thoughts.  Since Evernote is a web-based tool and mobile app, I was drawn to this tool’s accessibility.  I could keep the same lists at school, at home, on the go… Wow!

I easily signed up for a free account, and created notebooks and notes.  I added the Evernote capture button to my browser to organize web information.  This ability to import and annotate articles, websites, and screenshots is a powerful tool for keeping track of internet resources. I found the phone app to be easy to navigate, and even added pictures from my camera roll to notebooks.

Evernote’s robust nature can be overwhelming, though. Thankfully many tutorials exist online, including this great introduction by Steve Dotto.

This Poppet is a picture of my current Professional Learning Network.  In creating this infographic for CEP 810 demonstrating the sources to which I turn for professional insight and growth, I was both surprised and grateful.  I was surprised by how many digital channels of learning are available.  Learning tools are accessible whenever and wherever needed.  For example, I don’t need to attend a physical conference, though I do enjoy learning that way, but I can attend webinars from the comfort of my home, or from the convenience of my school library checkout desk.  Likewise, I can get together with other librarians in my school district at our monthly meetings in various schools, or I can hangout online with them, or with librarians in other states, to discuss lesson ideas or book recommendations.  I was also surprised by how much I rely on social media for learning.  Not only do I keep track of friends, interests, and decorating/cooking tips through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, but also I use these channels to curate lesson plans and keep track of current trends in education.

This exercise in mapping my PLN also filled me with gratitude.  Being an educator can be a lonely job.  Elementary teachers are often sequestered within the walls of their classroom.  School librarians can be isolated one step further in that we are often the only one in our building.  How amazing that I am not isolated in 2015.  I have a rich network of mentors and motivators, often in a variety of fields, spanning the globe with unfathomable depths of wisdom and resources.  What an exciting time in which we live!

A few years ago, I attended a conference for creatives and received an issue of Uppercase in my goodie bag.  I loved paging through the issue, being inspired by the featured artists.  However, my favorite part of the magazine was a postcard subscription insert.  The front of the postcard contained a photograph of an exquisitely embroidered “Merci”.  I eventually moved the magazine to my bookshelf, but put the card on the bulletin board in my room.  I had intended to learn how to replicate the embroidery, but time and life got away from me.  However, whenever I’d look at my bulletin board, or even wander through Anthropologie and browse the colorfully embroidered tea towels in the kitchen section, I was reminded of my desire to learn how to stitch by hand.  Imagine my delight when asked to learn how to do something, using YouTube and Internet help forums, for CEP 810.  My homework would be to learn how to embroider, and blog about the learning adventure.  By the end of our learning experiment, I would like to have replicated the Merci embroidery, and have embroidered a tea towel using at least 3 different kinds of stitches.

In perusing the internet to find embroidery teaching sources and an affinity community, I discovered a renaissance of the hand arts. Embroidery is not just what Jane Austen heroines accomplished in drawing rooms, but it has been picked up by many people around the world.  By visiting Pinterest, I saw pages of pins where embroidery resources have been curated.  I was inspired to create my own Pinterest board to keep track resources I discover.

Currently, I have found an abundance of youtube videos, which demonstrate the various embroidery stitches.  Some of the videos can be found here and here.  Sublime Stitching, founded by Jenny Hart who created the Merci postcard design, has written tutorials on the various stitches, links for pattern ideas, and blog articles. Mary Corbett’s NeedleNThread website is an extensive stitching resource with video tutorials, and forum support.

As a true novice, I will learn which stitches I need to learn at Sublime Stitching, and then learn them through NeedleNThread, Youtube, and other sites that I discover.  I plan on learning a different stitch each week, and put them together for my final project, which will be a tea towel.  I’m looking forward to the adventure and the finished products!

For week one in CEP 810, my assignment was to compose an essay in which I reflected on Chapters 1-3 in Bransford, Brown & Cocking’s (2000) How People Learn.  Additionally, I was to explore how my understanding of learning had an impact on my view of this course, as well as in my teaching.  The full essay of 800 words can be found here.  To summarize, in my essay, I described how the study of expertise and use of specific teaching methodologies positively influence learning.  I hope you enjoy my reflection and I welcome your feedback.