Still Here . . . Distance Learning from Home

Being a librarian, even in the best of times, is a struggle.  You are constantly having to justify your job when anyone "can just Google it."  When I hear that phrase (or something similar), I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes.

Just as one teaches you how to use the calculator, the other teaches you how to use the Internet.  In addition, when I hear this line of talk (and believe me, I hear it a lot), I also get a little sad.  It means that person never had a real librarian in their life, and I think we are pretty fantastic.

OK, I am digressing just a bit.  My original thought was to declare that being a librarian in the best of times is not easy.  So amid the COVID-19 crisis, it is even harder especially when the situation catches you unaware.  Who knew when we left for Spring Break we would not enter the building for the rest of the school year?  Who knew we were going to teach completely online when not all of our students (or teachers for that matter) had devices or WIFI?  Who knew how much we were going to miss our students & how depressed we were going to be when the Governor of Texas declared that school would continue online, but not in our building?

In saying this, I do realize that there are people out there who are struggling WAY more than I am.  I have a job that I can safely do from home.  I am still collecting a paycheck, and I know what my next meal will be (leftover chicken with macaroni and cheese).  That knowledge makes this situation even harder to process.  We are in the 21st century, and you are telling me that we have to shelter in place as the people did in 1918 during the Spanish Flu!?!  You would have thought that modern medicine would have come a bit farther in 100 years.

Back to the library . . . I guess I am doing some of the same things I did when I was in our physical space.  I go to teacher PLC meetings to listen while thinking about what resources we have to support their, now online, curriculum.  I also make myself available for our students in case they have any questions.  I guess that is where my struggle lies.  The part of my job I miss the most is the daily contact I had with our students helping them with their technology or reading needs.  I also loved having activities in the library.  My challenge became how to do all of that online.

After listening to other librarians in our region talk about what they were doing, I was able to picture what I wanted.  So I started doing virtual library activities each week.   I mean, why not, I do have some time on my hands between PLCs.  Also, I find that part fun.  I have always enjoyed planning fun activities in the library.  So here is what April looks like.

Then I created multiple ways students can find me.  I use the library's social media accounts to get this out to the students.  I also have this same information on my library website.

I am slowly hearing from some of the "library regulars" which makes me happy.  Hopefully I will hear or see more students in the future.

Just for a bit of fun during National Library Week, here is the Mansfield ISD high school librarians debut video . . . Currently Reading.  

Technically, I showed Pride and Prejudice which I am not currently reading.  However, I am reading Northhanger Abbey, but it's on my kindle and not a good visual.  So I picked another Jane Austen novel for the purposes of this video.  LOL! 

Thanks for stopping by.  Be safe out there!

Drowning in Resources during COVID-19

The good news is there are lots of companies who want to help teachers plan their online content, and the bad news is there are lots of companies who want to help teachers plan their online content. There is a plethora of resources out there, folks.  Some of it is good, and some of it is distracting. This is where my journey begins . . . 

At first, I couldn't keep up with the tsunami of free resources, eBooks and activities. I knew that if I was overwhelmed, so were the teachers.  I started out by keeping a running list, looking over the information, and then curating a top 10 Wakelet to send out.  I decided not to email the teachers with this because they were buried under a lot of emails already.  I decided to share the lists on the library's social media accounts.  Then if a teacher needed information, I would be ready.

So the first 3 weeks of information looked like this . . . 

• School Closure Activities - Week 1
• School Closure Activities - Week 2
• School Closure Activities - Week 3

I also curated 2 collections of resources for the ELAR teachers . . . 

•  SHS Library eBook Collection
• SHS Library Digital Resources

These last 2 lists are already on the SHS Library website, but I curated them in a different format so the teachers could easily share the links in their online classes.  Our campus is using Canvas.  In order to get to the digital resources from our traditional website, the students would have to navigate and click on more than one link.  If you know kids, they stop at one click.  So this was the "one stop shopping" answer that seemed most appropriate.

As I was posting my top 10 lists each week, I also joined a PLN (Planned Learning Community) through Region 11.  We meet once a week via Zoom.  One of the topics was "dumping" information versus "feeding" information.  Both have their places, but is that really what I wanted to do at a time when so many other resources were being dumped? This made me rethink my delivery.  Then another point was made that the library website should also reflect what is happening, and that it should include online learning resources, carefully curated resources.  We are looking for quality, not quantity.  Makes sense.  This led to a lightbulb moment for me.  I was concentrating on social media and Canvas.  I totally neglected the traditional library website.  Taking all of that into account, I created the 24-7 SHS Library which was inspired by the Virtual Reference Desk of Castleberry ISD. (okay - maybe it was more stolen than inspired)

This seemed to solve all of my issues at once.  First of all, I didn't want to dismantle my traditional website as we are 2 months away from the end of the year.  Then have to face coming back next year to fix it all over again.  So I put the link to the 24-7 library at the top of the traditional website, which can then be removed once the shelter in place has expired.  In addition, the 24-7 library can also house my resources - which I disguised as virtual library activities.  Instead of a Wakelet with a list of resources, I highlight one resource a day and add a family activity to go with it.  Learning in context is always the best.

So here is what the list of resources looked like this week.  It's more fun this way as I always like to have physical activities in the library.  Here is a way to do that virtually.  Thank you, Castleberry ISD.

I am happy with what I have now, but it took me a month and some guidance to figure it out.  By the way, if you are in education right now, I highly recommend that you find your own PLN.  There are lots of groups on both Facebook and Twitter.  There are lots of Zoom meetings and webinars.  Find one.  It is a good way to stay connected to your field of study.  No matter how long we have been in education, there is always room to learn something new.

Stay safe out there, and don't forget to wash your hands.