Blog Post 1

This is my first year as a teacher-librarian at a single-track French Immersion school in a large school district located southeast of Vancouver near the US border. 

The library, located at the centre of the school, has a large opened space with over 14,000 books and 3 rather dated computers for student use.    This is about to change as the PAC has bought a 60 in. TV, 10 iPads and an Apple TV for the library and we are waiting their arrival.  "As Will Richardson said in 'Why School', the world has changed and is changing-rapidly and radically when it comes to the way we learn, and what knowledge, skills, dispositions, and forms of literacy our children will need to flourish in the future.  It is the Web and the technologies we use to access it that drive these changes.”

Several of the schools in our district have been transformed into a Learning Commons with phase three of a library grant taking into affect this year.  My school is not yet a Learning Commons but the principal is keen to see this happen in the future and is very supportive of the library.  As pointed out by the Ontario School Library Association a learning commons is “ a vibrant, whole-school approach, presenting exciting opportunities for collaboration among teachers, teacher-librarians and students. (p.3) Looking at the supportive school community and the physical layout of our current library, a Learning Commons is definitely a possibility and it would be a valuable and worthwhile addition to the school. 

The school, up until two years ago, was a dual-track programme but due to low enrolment in the English programme, it folded.  As a result, the school has changed its mission statement to include offering a full French experience to students at the school.  There are “Vivre en Français.” posters up throughout the school and assemblies and daily announcements are also conducted in French.  With the school emphasizing and promoting French, there are many opportunities to include digital technologies to enhance this experience.  The primary teachers recently acquired twenty-four iPads to use with their classes through a technology grant.  There is also another computer cart with twenty-four laptops designated for primary students. This might provide an opportunity to collaborate with them on a project especially in the area of oral language development with such things as digital storytelling.

In my short time at the school, I have noticed many inquiry-based projects going on in the upper Intermediate classes and there certainly would be an opportunity to explore more in more detail issues around Information Literacy with the students.  As Will Richardson points out in his article, “access doesn’t come with an ability to use the web well.  We are not suddenly self-directed, organized, and literate enough to make sense of all the people and information online- or savvy enough to come and build relationships with others in a safe, ethical, and effective ways.”  Lessons around Information Literacy (search tools, citing sources, examining websites, etc.) would work well in the 40 minute block I see Intermediate students in (I give 40 prep to teachers teaching K to 6).  I would like to investigate further whether there are sites such as Common Sense Media available in French. There are two carts available for Intermediate students- one with 30 laptops and another with 30 iPads available for use in the library. Focusing on bringing technology into the library within the context of library lessons would be natural progress, I believe, into transforming the library into a Learning Commons.

Topics and Key Words

Second Language Learning with Digital Technology

-Digital literacy

-Student collaboration

-Foreign language learning

-Oral language development

-Cultural appreciation

-Visual communication

-Digital reading

-Metacognition

- Co-operative learning
-global learning

Learning Commons

- Learner-centred library

- Collaborative learning space

- Universal access

- Learning partnerships

- Dynamic learning spaces

-  Multitude of formats

- Virtual and physical space

- Information technology

Information Literacy

- Computer literacy

- Critical thinking skills

-  Critically evaluate

- Locate information

- Inquiry-based learning

- Problem-solving learning

- Guided discovery

References

Ekdahl, M., M. Farquharson, J. Robinson, L. Turner.(2010).The Points of Inquiry: A Framework for In- formation Literacy and the 21st Century Learner. Vancouver, BC: British Columbia Teacher- Librarians’ Association.

Gear, A. (2007).  Lecture engagés, cerveaux branchés. Mont-Royal, Canada: Groupe  Modula

Ministry of Education, Province of British Columbia.  Digital Literacy Standards.  Retrieved from http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/dist_learning/35profile.htm

Ministry of Education, Province of British Columbia. (2005).  Francais Langue Seconde: M to 7.  Retrieved from http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/welcome.php

Ontario Library Association. (2010). Together for Learning- School Libraries and the Emergence of the Learning Commons.  Retrieved from http://www.accessola.com/data/6/rec_docs/677_OLATogetherforLearning.pdf

Richardson, W. (2012). Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere. TED Conferences Publishing.