Tech Planning and SLM Leadership

          While browsing blogs by different teacher librarians looking for one specific blog that would meet the requirements of our assignment (locate, evaluate, critique, and post a Blogshare with a new concept, tech approach or tech tool from a library-related blog) I came across two blogs that were so cool I decide to share them both. 

           The first I would like to share is a blog by Todd Burleson.  The blog is sleek, professional, well organized, and laden with posts about tech tools for librarians.  Mr. Burleson is all about makerspaces and the rationale behind them.  Many of his posts are about plain old handmade devices that engage learners and teach problem solving, but some of his posts are about creating projects with technology.  One example is his post on stop motion storytelling with iPads and an app called “Boinx iStop Motion.”  He also has posts about advocacy with notes from conferences he has spoken at or attended. Mr. Burleson was the 2016 School Library Journal School Librarian of the Year.

          The second blog I wish to share is The Daring Librarian Blog by Gwyneth A. Jones.  She has an impressive list of credentials including being named an “Innovator” and one of 50 international “Movers & Shakers” of 2011 by Library Journal Magazine. She has also been elected twice to the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Board of Directors.   Ms. Jones has several posts about Bitmoji and how it can be used to engage not just kids, but teachers and administrators.  Her blog is all out fun!  The background is busy and colorful and intense.  Her posts are personal but highly informational.  She talks about software, apps, makerspaces, and her life as a teacher librarian.  Her post "How To Be a Teacher-Librarian Rock Star" was great! 

          From our readings this week, in the article “A Technology Plan That Works,” the authors Amy Overbay, Melinda Mollette, and Ellen S. Vasu state that “digital learners are hungry to use technology in school” (2011, p. 56). Further, Melissa Johnston in her article “School Librarians as Technology Integration Leaders: Enablers and Barriers to Leadership Enactment” stated that “the highly technological environment of 21st-century schools has significantly redefined the role of school librarians by presenting the opportunity to assume leadership through technology integration” (2012, p. 1).  With these to statements it is clear that our students crave technology and that we are technology leaders, so we must therefore find ways to introduce new and useful technology into our schools.  The blogs that I mentioned earlier by Todd Burleson and Gwyneth Jones both have great “teaching with tech” suggestions that provide these new and useful technologies.   

            “BoinxiStop Motion” blogged about by Todd Burleson can and should be used in some school library programs as a means of teaching children creative problem solving skills because the software is so engaging and because it can be tailored to different ages, skill levels, and interests. As a part of a makespace,  “Boinx iStop Motion” uses technology but is simple enough for even young kids to master and requires a minimum of investment ($19.99 for the software and $300.00ish for an iPad). 

          Gwyneth Jones has blogged about and is a huge proponent of the Bitmoji app.  This app

has been discussed on numerous websites including the website Cool Tools for School, which even has lesson plans that go with the app. This technology can and should be used in some library programs because, again, it has a very high engagement factor. It teaches technology skills while being very exciting, fun and free.

          The information shared by both bloggers, Todd Burleson and Gwyneth Jones, is invaluable to new librarians because both provide fresh, relevant information in a way that is engaging and useful. 

References

Johnston, M. P. (2012). School Librarians as Technology Integration Leaders: Enablers and Barriers    to Leadership Enactment. School Library Research, 15, 1–33. Retrieved from https://login.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=82442509&site=ehost-live

Overbay, A., Mollette, M., & Vasu, E. S. (2011). A Technology Plan That Works. Educational Leadership, 68(5), 56–59. Retrieved from https://login.pallas2.tcl.sc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=58108048&site=ehost-live