New Friends and Yearbook Tips

"Sympathetic souls" by dmcordell

For me, the best part of attending conferences is meeting people outside of my network. At EduCon this year, I serendipitously sat down at a table with this group of powerhouse women: Anne Collier, Peggy Sheehy, and Marianne Malmstrom. Some very interesting conversation ensued, including Marianne's comment that she would love a few photography tips to pass along to her school yearbook committee.

I hope to Skype with these students at some point, but until then, I've created a brief slideshow for them. If anyone has further tips, please be sure to share them in the comments on my blog or on the SlideShare site.

The way we were from Diane Cordell

My Educon

"Science Leadership Academy" by dmcordell

I just got home from that innovative, energizing, inspiring gathering known as Educon.

Since I'm retired from my position as a K-12 Teacher Librarian (although I still do occasional curriculum writing for CyberSmart! Education Company), and I pay my own way, I can pretty much tailor the experience to suit my personal interests. I feel free to either attend sessions or sit out a time slot and chat with people, usually a blend of both.

A Selection of Sessions
In @remixeducon, I got to interact with George Mayo and Harry Costner, who had already contacted me by email to ask permission to add some of my photos to a resource they were creating. Their remixeducon folder contains CC licensed pictures and video clips made by Educon participants, available for public use. An unexpected bonus was meeting Amanda Lyons, who showed us examples of her visual note taking and suggested creating the Community Mural that was later hung on the second floor.

"Community Mural" by dmcordell

I've become increasingly interested in the concept of "curation,"  and who better to explore it with than Joyce Valenza? She quoted from from Pierre Levy, who envisions knowledge communities where "the members of a thinking community search, inscribe, connect, consult, explore..." In an increasingly complex information age, the ability to archive, organize and retrieve digital assets is vital.  Joyce's slide presentation, and an extensive list of resources addressing this topic, can be found on her curation wiki.

During John Schinker's Mind the Gap session, a diverse group of educators tackled some difficult questions: (1) What can I do to effect change in my school? (2) How can I support and encourage change among the other roles? (3) How can I create a sense of urgency for change in my environment? There were, of course, no definitive solutions. There was, however, an interesting range of responses. This is the sort of interaction that I miss when working on my own, and it served to remind me that there is not a consensus regarding school reform even among forward thinkers in the education field.

Close Encounters of the Best Kind
It's no surprise to those who know me that my favorite part of any conference is interacting with people. I was happy to reunite with some old friends and make some new and promising connections. I chatted with SLA parents and student guides, trying to grasp what makes this school special in their eyes (cropping up again and again were phrases like "authentic student voice," "caring community," "project-based learning"). Conversations frequently took unexpected turns, and off-hand comments sparked interesting discussions. For example, when I flippantly remarked that students should be more like retirees, my tablemates' questions led me to articulate what makes retirement so wonderful...freedom to pursue passions, learning what & when I want to, choosing work hours that suit my personal body clock...that might also make school a better experience for students. I've already added a number of new people to my Network, so that my Educon experience won't end with the last scheduled session.

"Faces of Educon" by dmcordell

P.S.
Sometimes learning means taking chances. Because I decided to bring my iPad rather than my Mac, I had fewer options when it came to uploading and editing photos. Apart from some cropping, all of the pictures in my Educon Flickr set (except for the newly created "Faces of Educon" collage) are "raw." This was a bit scary for me, but surprisingly liberating. I used my Nikon D3000, my iPhone, even my iPad to capture images. Sometimes less is more.


Summary
I got to travel, take photos, engage in conversations, learn, eat, drink, and be merry. It might not have been your Educon, but it was my Educon, and I loved it.

"Snowy Morning in Philadelphia" by dmcordell

Three To Try

Photo by Ellen White

The following trio of tools proved useful to me this week. Take a look and see if there's anything you might like to test drive.


 #1 Many of the digital resources I use are harvested from interactions on social networking sites. A new service, RebelMouse, aggregates personal updates, making it easy to share Facebook and Twitter content with people who don't choose to connect there.

The RebelMouse page is visually appealing, presenting content in an easily accessible format. In addition to automatically aggregating from multiple streams, RebelMouse allows the user to post supplemental content, highlight "important" items, "stick" links (a la Pinterest pinning), and perform a host of other actions. In the opinion of Technorati blogger, Jim Haughwout, "The value is clear: If I wanted someone to rapidly and easily get a perspective on what interests me, I would recommend they first go to the my Rebel Mouse page (rather than my other of my social media pages)."

#2 Once having realized the merit of RebelMouse, I wanted to add it to contact information on my business cards. In order to do this, I turned to a familiar but still very useful tool,  the QR Code Generator. There are a number of similar sites, but I've used this one before and find it to be quick and intuitive: paste in a URL, generate a code, then download the image and grab permalink information. Sites like Zazzle accommodate custom business card designs, so it's easy to add the QR code to other text and images.

"Business card Back" by dmcordell

#3 Another tool I've recently used is an oldie but a goodie, the Flickr badge creator. A few years ago, I decide to add daily photos from the 365 Project to my blog page. Since the badge is directly linked to a specific photoset, I need to update it yearly. This posting provides a link and further information. You can see my Flickr badge in the right sidebar, under the traffic map.

Any tools you'd like to share with me?

For the Love of Learning

"First Day of My New Job..." by theunquietlibrarian

Personal friend, and professional inspiration, Buffy Hamilton, recently left her position as a high school teacher librarian to join the staff of the Cleveland Public Library.

Her job title at CPL is "Learning Strategist." Not "School Strategist," or "Library Strategist" but "LEARNING Strategist," an inclusive term embracing a wide range of possibilities.

As a semi-retired, (Medicare) card carrying Senior Citizen, I'm concerned with staying mentally active and professionally involved. While doing the Sudoku and Cryptogram each morning is fun, it's hardly a spur to intellectual growth.  So I'd like to adapt the Learning Strategist concept and apply it to my own life.

I will try to

• make a conscious effort to leave my comfort zone Volunteering to do an Ignite! presentation at the ALA Annual Conference last year was a challenging, somewhat scary, but ultimately very satisfying experience which taught me a lot about presentation zen.

• read, analyze, and apply Taking in information isn't enough; creation of new knowledge is the highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy. Lifelong learning should be authentic and relevant.

•  interact with others Social isolation may trigger psychological issues; it can affect any age group, but older citizens are especially vulnerable. Networking, both online and face to face, not only forestalls feelings of isolation, but also serves to deepen understanding through dialog and collaboration.

Buffy and I will be moving in different directions as we explore what it means to be a Learning Strategist. But we will continue to share our experiences and LEARN from each other.

"The excitement of learning separates youth from old age. As long as you’re learning you’re not old." -Rosalyn S. Yalow

2012: My Year in Review

As the New Year begins, I like to take some time to reflect on what has gone before:

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” -Søren Kierkegaard 

 

2012 My Year in Review from Diane Cordell

The Best Gifts of All

"It's a Wrap!" by dmcordell

Feeling guilty about my sparse blogging output lately, I made some notes for a Christmas posting regarding meaningful gifts:

• Give them experiences
• Give them memories
• Give them your time
• Curate memories, not "stuff"

I originally thought in terms of family, but yesterday I received an unexpected communication from a professional colleague that caused me to expand my focus.

Minnesota Library Media Specialist, Tami Tagtow, contacted me on Facebook, asking for permission to re-post something I had written in 2011. Turning the Page was a reflection on my participation in the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) national conference, in Minneapolis, MN.  Tami paid me the very great compliment of calling my writing an "inspiration."

Tami's comments reminded me that, very often, our words and actions have positive consequences beyond what we intend. While social networking can serve as an effective means of communication, sometimes it's too quick, too facile a way to share information. Deeper thoughts often require more detailed explication.

So I would add to my list:

• Share your own learning experiences through reflective pieces
• Acknowledge sources of inspiration

My gift to myself, and my New Year's resolution, is to resume blogging on a more regular basis.

Thank you, Tami, for the inspiration.

"Diane Cordell, Tami Tagtow in the Learning Commons" by dmcordell

Unquiet in Cleveland

"Visualization of Buffy Hamilton's Enchantment Talk" by theunquietlibrarian

It is with great pleasure that I congratulate my professional colleague, and personal friend, Buffy Hamilton on her new position as the Cleveland Public's Learning Strategist.

Some might consider this move a career change, leaving a school setting to join the staff of a public library. Yet, if you read the CPL's overview of the position, you will note that the words "learning" and "teaching" figure prominently:

She [Buffy Hamilton] will serve as an internal consultant to management and staff on matters related to CPL’s mission as the “People’s University”, the center of learning for a diverse and inclusive community. Ms. Hamilton will champion the formation of innovative, sustainable, library-supported communities of participatory learning throughout the city with special attention and focus on those that address specific deficits affecting our community. She will also work to coordinate and design a learning and teaching agenda based on the 2012-2014 strategic plan, and work with the new Literacy & Education Coordinator to build an array of effective learning programs at each of CPL’s onsite Learning Centers. As CPL’s liaison to the school systems, she will develop strategies to support curricula through library resources and services.

This is more an expansion of her current practice than a completely new direction. Buffy has been, and will continue to be, a thought leader in the library world. Her move into the public sector is a natural progression, when you consider her interest in participatory librarianship, transliteracy, and maker spaces. She perceives opportunities - to blur the boundaries between the various library genres (school, academic, public, special) - where others see barriers.

Public and school librarians, in particular, frequently serve the same population. I would love to see more collaboration, sharing of staff, and launching of joint programs. Buffy will be uniquely placed to facilitate such services. I look forward to following her progress.

Have fun, my friend!

"Diane Cordell and Buffy Hamilton" by dmcordell

A Troubling Non-Conversation

 Graphic from http://bannedbooksweek.org/

On Friday, a *new follower on Twitter wrote:
 *I have blacked out this person's user name because I don't have - and have no way to obtain - permission to quote him/her.

Mindful that September 30 is the first day of Banned Books Week, I saw this contact as an opportunity to seize a teachable moment. My responses were intended to be as tactful as possible:

The "conversation" did not go quite as I had hoped. The questioner had also contacted librarian Patrick Sweeney (I have no idea why we were chosen), who was happy to have me include some of his remarks:

*Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz

When Patrick mentioned that Huckleberry Finn and the Bible are more frequently challenged than Scary Stories, our questioner not only bailed from the discussion but blocked both of us from following his/her Tweets.

I'm sorry that this person took offense at our responses. Challenging a book that is being used in a classroom or library is serious business. By limiting access to literature and information sources, we are limiting personal rights. The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom provides a general overview of the issue. As I pointed out, individual school districts should have challenge policies in place and available to parents.

The fact that someone asked these questions is good. The problem lies in the refusal to engage in any type of meaningful dialog. You can't understand what you choose to condemn out of hand.


"Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage." -Winston Churchill

"Every burned book enlightens the world." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

TL Chat

"Some Geek Tribe members" by dmcordell

Last night on Twitter, a passion of librarians - and other interested parties - participated in the first ever TL Chat.

The theme was collaboration, and suggestions ranged from distributing teacher orientation materials on flash drives to maintaining a staff diigo account to utilizing "bathroom ads".

In my network, TL generally signifies a Teacher Librarian. When considering collaboration, this might also be interpreted as Teachers AND Librarians, working in tandem to enrich understanding and, yes, address CCSS. Our other natural collaborators are students, parents, administrators, and the community at large. There were numerous suggestions for including this diverse group of stakeholders. At least one principal joined in the chat; hopefully, other non-librarians will participate in future discussions.

The next TL Chat will be taking place on Monday, October 8 at 8pm ET. For those who missed the inaugural event, #tlchat tweets are archived here.

*It can be difficult to follow a chat on the Twitter site. I used TweetChat to keep up with the conversation.

"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean." 

 -Ryunosuke Satoro

Making It

“One of the strangest things is the act of creation.

You are faced with a blank slate—a page, a canvas, a block of stone or wood, a silent musical instrument.

You then look inside yourself. You pull and tug and squeeze and fish around for slippery raw shapeless things that swim like fish made of cloud vapor and fill you with living clamor. You latch onto something. And you bring it forth out of your head like Zeus giving birth to Athena.

And as it comes out, it takes shape and tangible form.

It drips on the canvas, and slides through your pen, it springs forth and resonates into the musical strings, and slips along the edge of the sculptor’s tool onto the surface of the wood or marble.

You have given it cohesion. You have brought forth something ordered and beautiful out of nothing.

You have glimpsed the divine.” -Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

Put simply, a Makerspace is "a place where you can make your ideas come to life." Although some associate the concept with hackerspaces, creations can range from robotics to fabric stenciling  to math manipulatives - and even a makerspace itself!

These tinkering labs might appear in pop-up spaces, social clubs, museums, or, increasingly, public, university and school libraries.

 My passion for photography led me to start some Pinterest boards:

• My Photography Resources  
• Photography and Creativity Books on my Bookshelf
• Photography Projects

With the third of these Boards, I hope to demonstrate that, beyond the beauty of the images themselves, it is possible to create interesting and useful products that incorporate photographs. I've begun (trying) to duplicate the crafts I've bookmarked for sharing with teachers and students. As the Pinstrosity blog demonstrates, projects are not always as simple as they might seem at first glance, so trial runs are necessary prior to recommending classroom activities.

The Facebook group, MakerSpaces and the Participatory Library, is full of wonderful examples and suggestions, appropriate to all types of libraries, and schools, as well.

 "Making Something" by dmcordell
"Personalized water bottle" by dmcordell