Technology: one kind of collaborative compost for educators

image source:  Wikipedia

Our final two book club discussions focused upon the final chapters of The Collaboration Handbook, which explores how technology is often an ideal starting point for collaborative initiatives between teacher-librarians and classroom teachers. To fully extend our blog title metaphor, technology serves as powerful “compost” for nurturing collaborative initiatives that grow our students’ learning, especially in context of B.C.’s new curriculum.

Chapter 10 outlines examples of what cooperation, coordination, and collaboration might look like in the context of using as wikis, blogs, and podcasting and why the teacher-librarian fulfills an essential role as a “pioneer [in] opening ideas for our teachers to explain their curriculum, through collaboration and the tools of the new technologies”  (118).

Prior to reading the examples, it’s worth revisiting terminology to understand the continuum of instructional partnership as outlined in The Collaboration Handbook:

·      Cooperation:  “loose and little advance planning”

·      Coordination: “planned gathering to meet learning needs of students

·      Collaboration: “comprehensive joint planning between the teacher and teacher-librarian – team planned, team-taught, and team-assessed”

Although the examples of Web 2.0 provide useful illustrations of collaboration in context of technology, the examples are limited to a handful.  Moreover, since the publication of this book, there are a myriad of new Web 2.0 as well as newer Web 3.0 technologies to consider.  Still, however, these limited examples led our group’s discussion towards this question:  what tools do we already apply through our different libraries to foster instructional partnerships? Are there are handful of additional technologies upon which we might focus our efforts?  And to what ends?  What competencies, skills, or content-specific learning in our students?

Given the explosion of apps, software, hardware and platforms such as GAFE and Chrome extensions, there is almost too much choice, and it becomes easy to be overwhelmed, having to evaluate whether or not technologies will truly transform our students’ learning.  Moreover, as access to certain tools might vary among our schools and classrooms for different reasons, there is merit in focusing upon a handful of technologies, rather than trying to tackle many. 

A natural fit for teacher-librarians are tools that are embedded in our school libraries:  the ERAC subscriptions to databases and ebooks, and of course, our library catalog.  All of our elementary, middle, and secondary schools share access to these resources, which are not only portals for information, but also resources for teaching students skills that align with core competencies outlined in B.C.’s new curriculum.

The core competencies -- communication, thinking, personal and social -- embed information skills (finding, using and evaluating information), digital literacies and digital citizenship skills in the learning standards, not only in Humanities but also in Sciences and Applied Skills.  As teachers across subject areas are charged with responsibility for addressing these core competencies, the teacher-librarian  can suggest specific tools that can build these competencies, and identify specific skills that might be taught in a particular teaching context.

How do core competencies align with databases, ebooks, and the library catalog? These technologies are places to begin discussions about the differences between popular and academic sources, authoritative and reliable sources of information, citations and ethics of information use and digital ethics surrounding communication. For example, databases are tools for showing students how to explore possible inquiry topics, narrow topics to a focused inquiry question, and gather and organize information into well-organized notes and working reference lists.   

Beyond the usage of library technologies, however, must be a broader vision for technology in the school so that the conversations do not become about any tool itself – whether the catalog, a database, ebooks, an app, blog, wiki, or a Google Classroom.  This bigger vision must include conversations about what it means to be “information literate” and “digitally literate” and what our standards will look like at elementary, middle, and high school – not only in Humanities, but in Sciences, Fine Arts, and Applied Skills courses.

This vision might also extend to a more specific plan for specific skills that students should master at each school level through the use of technology. What entry skills pertaining to information literacy and digital literacy should students have entering middle school?  High school?  What exit skills should all graduating students have by the time they leave our schools?   These are conversations that have already begun amongst teacher-librarians through this book club and  through school-based work teams, they are conversations that must continue  and develop with teaching colleagues and administrators to gain traction.

Teacher-librarians aren’t the only voices and catalyst for meaningful use of technology; every year, our school district’s gallery walk showcase of learning grant projects illustrate many examples of teachers and administrators who are exploring the powerful and transformative effect that technology can have upon our students’ learning.  However, a teacher-librarian’s unique vantage point into seeing different grades levels and subject areas affords a unique perspective into perceiving the possibilities for a coordinated, actionable vision with schools and between them. How powerful could it be to build opportunities for an ongoing conversation about digital citizenship between an elementary, middle, and high school in a family of schools? 

According to The Collaboration Handbook, these conversations would be labeled as cooperation, the first step towards the more powerful models of working together, coordination, and collaboration.   Coordination might include a clear articulation of expected information and digital skills that students will have been taught upon leaving elementary, middle, and high schools.  Collaboration might then evolve into co-teaching initiatives between levels of schools.

Technology is a unifying talking point among all of us as teaching professionals, especially when there is a broader learning goal such as digital citizenship.   For this reason, the teacher-librarians of school district 61 will begin a professional reading club group focused upon this learning goal in the 2017-2018 school year.  Our hope is to open up additional conversations between teachers, teacher-librarians, and administrators, potentially preparing the ground for cooperation, coordination – and, ultimately rich levels of collaboration.


Contributors:  Darinka Popovic, Metthea Maddern, Jane Spies, Lindsay Ross, Geoff Orme,  
Colleen Pommelet, Wendy Burleson

Written by:  Wendy Burleson