Works cited weekly highlights:
I had an interview for a district librarian position in the DFW metroplex a week ago in which we discussed Common Sense Media. I emailed this link to the committee in order to follow up this morning.
https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/blooms-digital-taxonomy
According to Bloom's Digital Taxonomy, "Collaboration is a 21st Century skill of increasing importance and one that is used throughout the learning process." (Churches, 2008, p. 6)
Churches, Andrew. (2008). Bloom's Digital Taxonomy.
MARIST COLLEGE MINDSET LIST FOR ENTERING COLLEGE CLASS OF 2023
Born in 2001, the incoming class of college students contained my older daughter, so I was interested in this. "Their grandparents’ classic comics have evolved into graphic novels."
https://www.marist.edu/w/marist-news-the-first-marist-mindset-list-is-released
I had a job interview for a middle school librarian position yesterday in the hill country. The principal said the prior library media specialist retired after 25 years. He wants to innovate. I sent him this.
https://www.k12blueprint.com/sites/default/files/informal_learning_space_library_0.pdf
Pedagogy before Technology
After reviewing the resources above, I was reminded that our students view technology very differently than I do. I didn't have a cell phone until I went away to college. It was a bag phone that plugged into the cigarette lighter in my car. An antenna attached to the roof with a magnet. No one knew where I was unless I wanted them to. No one took my picture or videod me without my knowledge or consent. No one posted mean things about me on the internet. No one cyberstalked me. I was unaware of how good I had it. My older daughter (pre-pandemic high school class of 2019) got a smart phone in high school, which was late. I shielded her as long as I could. She can't live without it now. After getting both a bachelor's and a master's degree in an integrated program, she now works remotely from anywhere her little heart desires. I could never even have envisioned this life for her.
Fast forward 6 years. I took Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) for Long COVID complicated by bereavement stress this past spring. I then worked remotely for no pay every day for the entire 12 weeks (and still got fired anyway, but that's another blog post entirely). I posted weekly videos to our website. I graded assignments digitally for my dual credit classes. I placed book orders online. I submitted travel requests via an online system. I sent and received countless emails. The list goes on and on. Essentially I taught from home. This would not have been possible in the pre-quarantine world at all.
Technology is only a tool for learning. My students missed seeing me and talking to me in person, although we had phone calls. It's not the same as a big hug and a warm smile. We need human connection. We must build relationships with our students and colleagues. We have to show our students we care about them in order for them to trust us enough to let their guard down with us so they can learn. We crave personal interaction.
Had I not been a certified school librarian in my last semester of my MLS program, I would have been woefully unprepared for this hiccup. I didn't appreciate how much I had learned and developed until I so easily applied these skills. I had a bad case of imposter syndrome. It didn't begin to dissipate until I started writing this blog post. Look Mom, I'm blogging! She doesn't know what that means, but she would be proud of me if she did. My daughter does. She is.
I only have three years left until I am eligible to retire. This doesn't mean I will. I can though. That doesn't sound like very long. The time will fly by. Still the landscape of technology will change immeasurably in that brief period. I will keep up so I don't get left in the dust. Now I know I can. I had serious doubts prior to today. I'm typing this in line at the airport. I had a Zoom interview in a different airport last Wednesday. I can't believe I'm even saying that, but it's true.
