Webinars and other Learning Experiences

One of the readings for class was titled "When Teachers drive their learning" and was a fascinating example of true educators improving their classroom strategies. The article describes school district using the Fusion system to improve individual teachers skills in the classroom. A teacher completes the full "course" in the following way:
1. chooses from a list of teaching strategies which ones he or she wishes to improve on
2. reads literature on the subject
3. meets with a study group
4. observes a peer who implements the strategy in his or her  classroom
5. experiments with the strategy in their own classroom
6. a mentor, who is considered an expert in that strategy observes the teacher work the strategy in the class and evaluates their mastery of the learned strategy
One of the profound statements of the article was that the "three key elements of motivation, time to develop professionally and teacher leadership" makes for an energetic teacher.
Surprisingly, each teacher that completes a strategy course receives a stipend! I think that is exactly what schools need to do to motivate teachers to improve their own skills in the classroom; I just envision that being difficult for districts in poor communities (like the city of Detroit schools) to sustain. This school district also had to have the study groups during school days, which I think is key to having participation. What I saw as one of the best parts of Fusion, was that reciprocal relationships existed between teachers and many of them are considered masters in at least one strategy so all of them feel respected and valued for their individual skills.
The next article was "Computers in Libraries" where a library system in North Carolina realized basic training for troubleshooting computer problems for their librarians was very important in this changing world. Going beyond these basic computer skills, the system created an "online self discovery program" to learn new technological web 2.0 tools.
Lastly, the final article "planning an online professional development module," described how one library media specialist incorporated what the NC library system in Charlotte did to teach the school staff how to discover web 2.0 tools. She modified the program to suit the teacher's needs and so that it could remain flexible in terms of time.
[Side note: I always thought it odd that school librarians were supposed to teach computer classes; perhaps that is why they made the title change to library media specialist--to force school librarians to teach those classes? All I know is that the schools I went to had librarians who would definitely not be qualified to teach tech classes; that is why we had a computer teacher.]
Anyways, I really liked that the project fostered collaboration in the absence of an expert; that was the best part of the project evaluations I thought.  

Last week, I participated in 4 webinars on topics ranging from serving Native American populations in your library, teens, young professionals, blind and deaf patrons, and those with limited access to fast (necessary for most utilization of the Internet) digital connections. I absolutely loved seeing the varied perspectives (especially those varying from my own opinions and knowledge) presented on these topics by my peers. Without a doubt, the biggest issue with the class presenting webinars turned out to be technology! We all struggled a bit, hampered by technological difficulties. Reflecting on my own webinar (how libraries can make those areas deemed handicapped accessible warm and inviting--on a budget), I think it was hardest for me and my team members to learn how to navigate the software effectively enough to host a webinar. It was a rewarding experience, both in terms of learning how to use Elluminate and learning how to present important content in such a different, previously unknown way. The assignment really summed up much of what I have learned this semester and I feel these readings today do as well:

•  Technology might be scary, but it also so darn useful! I would be foolish to let my timidity keep me from engaging with it.
• Collaboration with your peers, especially when discussing ideas and experiences, can be unbelievably rewarding and not at all discouraging! This has been a very different experience from when I've worked with teams that do not possess similar goals or interests. 

PS. Just about everything I have done and learned this semester I referenced in a recent interview--SI 643 has been the most important library class I have ever taken here at U of M.

Thank you classmates and Kristin for providing me with such unparalleled knowledge.