1. Ontario School Libraries
New Directions for
Ontario School Libraries
Peggy Thomas
President, OLA
Ruth Hall
President, OSLA
Session 1708
Feb 27, 2010
Peggy & Ruth - Welcome and introductions

2. A Brief History January 2007 – meeting with Ministry of Education
April 2007 – money from Ministry of Education to OSLA for the writing of a school library document
January 2008 – Draft document Together for Learning presented at Super Conference for comment and feedback
Spring 2008 – continued consultations with stakeholders
peggy

3. What we heard:
Need more in-depth explanation and concrete ideas to bring the Learning Commons to life
Need to be more inclusive
Keep the strong literacy focus
Provide implementation ideas
Peggy

4. The Result A Document constructed as: Vision and
Ideas to Consider when implementing
this vision in the school library
Two copies to every school
Web presence to allow the document to grow and to reflect our learning
Peggy - The Result is a documents which clearly states “the vision” in each section, followed by suggestions for implementation identified as “Ideas to consider”. Each school in Ontario will receive 2 copies and a web presence will follow so that the vision and implementation ideas can “live” and continue to grow and evolve.

5. Responding to an Era of Complex Change
The Learning Commons is:
An approach to learning
A way to focus on learning collaboratively
Flexible, responsive, expansive
Virtual and physical spaces
Ruth - “The learning commons is a flexible and resopnsive approach to helping schools focus on learning collaboratively. It wxpands the learning experience, taking students and educators into virtual spaces beyond the walls of a school.”

6. The major shift: The Learning Commons is the whole school
Everyone is a learner and a stakeholder
The School Library has an integral and transformative role to play in the implementation
Peggy

7. Why a Learning Commons?
Ruth - The purpose of the learning commons is to build transferable skills in students, fostering their development as: critical consumers of information, effective problem solvers, capable decision makers, and innovative communicators. The purpose of the Learning Commons is to become the physical and virtual catalyst where inquiry, discovery and creativity come alive.

8. Not entirely new, and yet...
Growing disconnect between the way students learn outside of school and what is permitted inside of school
Radical change in technology and how we define ourselves as learners
The Learning Commons provides an environment for the transformation
Peggy This focus on developing transferable skills is not really new, in many cases we do have access to both virtual and physical learning resources and yet there is a growing disconnect, as we saw in our opening video clip, from Professor Mike Wesch between the way students learn outside of school and what is permitted inside. This has created a re
Good news
What if document
Disconnect statement on state of education
Make experience mirror the reality

9. Key Components of the Learning Commons
Physical and Virtual Space
(pg. 9-10)
Equitable Access
(pg. 10)
Learning Partnership
(pg. 11)
Technology in Learning
(pg 12)
IT’S YOUR TURN:
With a partner add to the Ideas to Consider section for 1 component
Share with the group
Peggy & Ruth: - depending on room set up ask people to work with a partner to come up with some Ideas to consider which might work in their environment, or to add to those in the document - 3 or 4 minutes

10. SPACE: Physical Virtual Hellerup School, Denmark
Brantford Collegiate, ON

11. Physical & Virtual issues of not enough computers
smart board & data projector
benefits of wireless access
Portability:
Avoid fixed furniture or fixed spaces, try shelving on wheels
Areas for boys to stand (they like it)!
Power of district-wide support for implementation, developing lessons
Look at existing Learning Commons to see what they look like, to set goals and to plan
Encourage, collaborate with other specialists to be part of this - at the board level work with coordinators/consultants in all areas not just library working together
Consider other organization systems, not just the DDC

12. Equitable Access

13. Equitable Access
-challenges with blocked access, get involved with setting acceptable use policy
-need to be involved in helping tech leaders KNOW that web resources (YouTube) are part of education resources
-access to budget dollars
-qualified staff means different things, do the models dovetail with the vision
-finite physical space: how can everyone access the space - can we “know down” walls - be in more parts of the school
- Stephen Heppell (Space the Final Frontier - You Tube)
-provide access to assistive tech - it helps all students
-students have different needs, provide spaces that are both noisy & quiet (e.g. give earphones to block noise)
-start giving second chances to the book losers
-where do we put our energy??? What impacts learning the most???

14. Learning Partnerships

15. Learning Partnerships
-focus on keeping it collaborative
-small suggestions are OK
- long term may mean small steps each year
- a “work in progress” - you don’t have to collaborate on all aspects of a project, but build incrementally
- teacher fears, help them deal with new ways of learning
-be the hub: support diverse subjects & technologies
-give students an ability to direct their learning
- think about partnerships, networks, with other departments and specialists
learn from t-ls in other schools/regions start to talk virtually etc.
Students are our partners!
Who do we connect so learners can work together

16. Technology in Learning
NCSU Learning Commons

17. Technology
-24/7 focus
- movement to tools that provide home access (OSAPAC)
-sometimes fear when we don’t KNOW tech, but teachers can be MASTER LEARNERS and learn from kids
-mobile learning and kids using their mobile devices
-York region use of MOODLE
-move beyond the idea of tech as buying desktops
-Waterloo will have 1 wireless hub in every secondary by 2011

18. Learning to Learn: From Information to Knowledge Creation
Reading Engagement
Multiple Literacies
Critical and Creative Thinking
Discovery and Guided Inquiry
Learning to Learn
Read one section
Note key ideas
“tweet” back to the group
(post-its)

19. Tweets LEARNING TO LEARN:
-at the end of a lesson, think of interesting ways for students to check in about how they learned that day
-in the LC EVERYONE is a learner, consciously getting better and better
-telling students at the end of the lesson, what they taught you
CREATIVE & CRITICAL THINKING:
-use templates, organizers, notetaking, sorting ideas,
-provide a framework to use when developing your work
-don’t assume kids can move to higher order skills without some framework or direction
-Ken Robinson - recent study 98% students at 4 are divergent thinkers - by 12 , much smaller percentage
-we need to get kids to develop the questioning, don’t take over

20. More Tweets READING ENGAGEMENT
-mix and match generically, put other genres in with graphic novels to do some “Cross-selling/promotion”
-independent reading needs to move beyond answering the chapter questions, let’s provide tools to give evidence of reading that support all learners and their styles
-it’s OK to read nonfiction
-freedom to choose, allow kids to choose more, let the books go out
-challenges of leveled texts, may be the entry point in the classroom, but in the library the entry point is INTEREST
DISCOVERY & GUIDED INQUIRY:
-in D.I. students can take responsibility for their own learning

21. Reading Engagement

22. Multiple Literacies
Defining literacy is a process of continuous negotiation that is fuelled by social, economic and technological changes.
To be literate is to have the skills and knowledge to make meaningful connections between what one knows and what one is trying to understand, apply or communicate.
Loertscher, Koechlin & Zwaan, 2008

23. Critical and Creative Thinking
Good questions are the driving force of critical and creative thinking and therefore one of the best indicators of significant learning.
Good questions are those that force students to challenge their taken-for-granted assumptions and see their own underlying biases... the best questions send students on rich and meaningful lifelong quests, question after question after question.
Wesch, 2008

24. Discovery and Guided Inquiry

25. Learning to Learn

26. Developing the Individual
Quality education includes the education of the heart as well as the head; it includes a focus on the whole person… It means preparing students to be concerned citizens who have empathy and respect for people within their increasingly diverse communities. It means providing opportunities for students to understand deeply the importance of civic engagement and what it means to be a global citizen...
- Avis Glaze, 2006
Infused everywhere.

27. The Role of Personal Qualities & Importance of Individual Growth
Imagination and creativity
Confidence and self-esteem Cultural awareness and social contribution
Importance of individual growth
Engagement of all Learners
Intellectual Curiosity
Respect and Responsibility
Initiative
Browse through pages
What visual images come to mind?

28. Engagement of All Learners
Turning hard work into hard fun requires helping students relate their work to their own lives and the culture in which they live. This type of learning, inherent in the Learning Commons, is sticky — it stays with the learner. And it creates an environment where the individual will grow and flourish. ( pg. 33)

29. Transition and Change Supports from the Document:
Take a moment to consider your first steps?
And how the LC could be developed at your school
Supports from the Document:
Evidence-based practice
Personal Learning Networks
Professional Learning Communities
Beginning Questions

30. Contributors Anita Brooks Kirkland Michael Budd Timothy Gauntley
Cathi Gibson-Gates
Wayne Hamilton
Roberta Henley
Carol Koechlin
Diana Maliszewski
Larry Moore
Michelle Regina
Esther Rosenfeld
Michael Rosettis
Hetty Smeathers
Peggy Thomas
Lisa Weaver
Peggy

31. Advisory Consultants Ray Doiron Ken Haycock David Loertscher
Ross J. Todd
Debra Wallace
David Warlick
Peggy

32. With the financial support of:
Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat of the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Education
Peggy

33. OSLA SPOTLIGHT SPEAKER: Dr. Chris Spence on Dealing with Change
“Change of this magnitude is never easy and once you embark on the journey, you soon learn that many people don’t like the discomfort involved. Stern resolve then becomes important because standing still or going backwards are no longer options. [What] is required is that we are open to it {change}and willing to embrace it,… thoughtful about what we preserve and what we reinvent, and that we have the courage to stay the course, despite what critics may say.”
Close with some words from our OSLA keynote speaker, Dr. Chris Spence from his book - Leading With Passion and Purpose.
“We must embrace change. There is, of course, no magic formula for change. It requires a special kind of determination, a boldness, a willingness to take risks, a willingness to have the courage of one’s convictions, but also to be humble enough to adapt and grow. We can all draw on our experiences with change and what it has taught us about the importance of shared values, goals, and operating through a framework that considers the needs of all stakeholders.
The process of change involves many things: looking out at the world and assessing what is worth aspiring for; looking in the mirror and looking at ourselves honestly, seeing the truth and acting on it; and looking forward, towards the future, and forging new paths, sometimes controversial ones that others may not see and understand. Leadership is about mastering the process of constant change, about anticipating, learning and adapting for the future and adjusting strategies and practices. (99)
Change of this magnitude is never easy and once you embark on the journey, you soon learn that many people don’t like the discomfort involved. Stern resolve then becomes important because standing still or going backwards are no longer options. While change can be a daunting and difficult process, it can also be a positive catalyst for enabling us to do what is in the best interests of our students, staff and community. All that is required is that we are open to it and willing to embrace it, that we are thoughtful about what we preserve and what we reinvent, and that we have the courage to stay the course, despite what critics may say.” (100)