Introduction To The Flipped Librarian

Book Club in front of Library TV advertizing The Battle of the Books

 The Flipped Librarian

- in more ways than one...

This project was inspired by joining the Connected Learner Experience 
- Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach

http://connectedlearner.ning.com

Our group was called Manus Innovatio from WRDSB

http://youtu.be/_5aSNw3pvGE


INTRODUCTION

I  was so lucky at my age to be a part of such an inspiring group. The 4 other members and Harry Niezen and Mark Carbone our fearless board supporters took us or perhaps let us/ trusted us to go places I never thought we would go... 

I also enjoyed the brief but lovely encounters with online leaders. I wish I had spent more time doing that. I really wish I could continue to be a part of the online community.

My source of inspiration, motivation to grow was Manus Innovatio - the team, the connection...a real live connection.

I was heard in our discussion and allowed to be and do what I needed to do in my world to connect. This was the heart of any good that came out of this. While the journey was very personal I felt connected as well. While I faced many personal issues October through February, it was so great to belong to a group that was so non-judgemental and accepted the fact I only cruised the ning occasionally, longing to be there more as it was so rich with almost a spiritual approach to technology and teaching. 

Yes I knew we had to do an action research project. I wanted it to really impact on my practice and it did. I wanted it to take me to new heights and make me a truly connected learner, "how" was a huge question...I wanted to be able to reach out more than ever before in Eastwood Collegiate Library. Doors were slamming shut, yikes I hate to reflect on this part--- the job action. There was so much buzz about Higher Order Thinking Skills before the job action I wanted to reclaim some enthusiasm for learning and teaching again.  I thought that is where I needed to start---right at the top. I wanted some of that enthusiasm for the best of the best. That was what I thought would be my mountain to climb...get and deliver HOTS to ECI Library...in a nice neat package wrapped in glittering technology...an antidote to the dark November days...

So began my tenuous journey...

My initial goal was to dust everything aside in the library and really examine how I could get to those higher order thinking skills (HOTS) faster into the hands of the kids...try to get teachers to focus more in the library on inquiry projects that focused on these skills...I thought I could somehow control this and "insist on it for change"...What changed over this project was everything and mostly about me and my perspective and attitude. I realize there is a much bigger continuum in technology in education that I am a part of and also cannot change but have incredible impact in many different ways. 

Initial frustrations included trying to examine my questions?

How could I get away from the desk more and stop fixing computers and printers?
How could I be available to make teachers and students do HOTS?
How could I encourage this more? 
How could I increase interest in doing this?
How could I portion my time to focus on this instead of pressing library tasks?
How could I manage filing books and checking them out when I needed to be implementing new technology with HOTS? and even more so when I learned through the project about the SAMR scale and trying to apply it to my behaviour as a librarian?

How on earth would I collect the data?---that one was easy, a group member suggested an app...that in itself was another amazing adventure.

It turned out to be an interesting journey that totally flipped my opinion on the topic of technology in the library and HOTS at this point in time...I am truly a flipped librarian in many ways. 

More background... I have been a librarian for 3 and a half years at Eastwood Collegiate and a music and English teacher for 17 years. I agreed to do this project to help with some of this frustration and worry that I was not getting to what was important from a learning standpoint. There was literally so much work to do at one time in the library I had over 20 students on my helper roster. Even managing this project was going to be a challenge. To top it off the roster of helpers was extremely reduced because of the protest. As many as 5 or 6 would work after school each night. Before this year, I had continued where the previous librarian had left off with integrating technology, but felt it was time that the concept of technology and the new Library Learning Commons become entrenched and something that would help reach higher order thinking skills quickly...armed with "Together for Learning" I felt it was possible and just had to be. 

Believe me there were nay sayers. "It cannot be done". "That's not your job..." "Too many road blocks..."Oh, I tried that last year, it doesn't work..." "There isn'enough of x,y or z to go around..."

Shortly after Together for Learning arrived on the scene...I had my "hot off the press" document and was ready to "clean up" technology in the library and take it to a "higher level"... well...

While this picture looks relatively normal there was a lot more going on behind the scenes than one could imagine. If the library was the canoe it was  resting in very muddy murky waters as far as technology integration. It was and is a lot to get to the flow state...a mind like water with technology...after the connected experience  clear waters paddling ahead...flow more achievable.

Words like flow and ease of use or access did not roll off my tongue much...