Last week I went to the School Library Symposium at MSU. This was a different experience than the Innovations for Learning Conference or the other professional networking/learning that I’ve participated in with librarians. There was little to no technological connection via social media, while at most of the PDs I’ve attended over the past few years an emphasis on connecting via Twitter, blogs, and websites and growing a PLN has always been a component of the presentations. The ed-tech that was incorporated in sessions was more about the roles of a librarian as a literacy and research specialist than as a digital learning coach. This fits more with the conceptualization of a school library that I had before entering the LIS program. This is not to say that there are not definite signs that all of these librarians are teaching their students 21st century skills, but in different ways than a library with a full makerspace. In many conversations that I had at the symposium, I realized
Last Tuesday, April 24 I had the chance to participate in the #kylchat regarding 1:1 initiatives. This was purely happenstance; between my engagement in my practicum with two library rockstars, who are also great users of Twitter as a digital learning community, and the recent legislative circumstances in Kentucky, I've reactived my own Twitter usage. Scrolling through around 7:30, I saw some advertisement from those I follow for #kylchat at 8pm, so I decided to join. I'm very glad I did! I have only taught at a single school, and we've been 1:1 my entire career (started midyear the year before I started), so my only conception of the classroom is with full access to devices. This Twitter chat showed me how I take many things for granted that would not be possible if I was to move to another district with carts or BYOD. Though I've participated in Twitter chats before years ago, and more recently library chats as a part of a graduate school class, I found that p