To Website or Not to Website? | Thoughts from the Library Learning Commons

One thing that has been on my “to do” list this summer is to create a Website for our Library Learning Commons. I am blogging about it today so that I can figure out why it may or may not be worthwhile and talk it through.

So for the LLC website I have been thinking about the following questions:

Question 1: Why a Website and not Google Classroom or some other platform?

First, I don’t think my Google Classroom through TVDSB will allow parents or non-board users to join the community. Students can join and not parents as far as I know. I have also considered Padlet. But I think I will likely follow the lead of my colleagues who have made Websites for their LLCs and use Google Sites. A part of me is wondering if I could offer a better website platform though. I want it to have good content and I really want it to look nice (with minimal effort) on my part. I have always found that the Google Sites that I have made in the past for my homeroom classes were a little bit fiddly. I had to spend a lot of time formatting. But perhaps that is just the nature of website making? I know my daughter has taught herself how to use code when creating websites using HTML. Maybe I should give her a job! Would a Social Media platform specific to the LLC be better? I am thinking Instagram? Perhaps a website AND an “Insta” account that work in tandem? Could I offer contests and give away some free books to muster up activity?

Question 2: What pages or content do I want to make available?

I think that I need to have sections for staff, parents and students. I am thinking of tutorial videos on how to maximize and use data-bases, searching our library or checking on the status of books (late, overdue) tailored to each audience. I remember feeling a bit shocked by a moment last year when I realized a lot of students are not hearing books read-aloud at home. Could I provide stories live or by video regularly? How can I do this while still respecting copyright? Another thing I could share is information before and during Scholastic Book Fairs, Forest of Reading, the Global Read Aloud (in French and English). It could be a place to share and celebrate learning in the LLC. What about some student made things … book talks or advertisements? We could showcase the work of various clubs that meet in the space. I could share some displays & videos related to significant dates or months (i.e. Orange Shirt Day, Black History Month, etc.). It would be a great way to share student election results. What about guest blogs by older students?

I think it would be important to gather some student and parent input in the fall. What would they like to see? Maybe a Google Form could be attached to the site for suggestions or feedback. I could share some video announcements too (but would have to ensure student privacy so not daily).

How can I extend and enhance my LLC space virtually?

This is just me “thinking aloud”… I seem to have more questions than answers at the moment. Perhaps I just need to get down to it.

Question 3: How can I track usage and if it is worth continuing or being interacted with?

Another reason to perhaps explore a website outside of Google Sites. Does it do this now? Something to explore. Which website platforms am I authorized to use at TVDSB? Might be a good question to ask someone who knows. Perhaps there is an option here in Edublogs that I can explore? How will I advertise it and share it with students, staff and parents? The school newsletter might be a start. Social Media…

Question 4: Where are some models that I can follow?

Some colleagues have shared their websites with me. I definitely have models to follow. Do you have a website for your schools’ Library Learning Commons? Would you be willing to share with me? Please send me a link privately or in the comments below.

In the meantime… I am exploring the resource below, which has a set of slides to look through that have been developed by a number of Teacher-Librarians that I have a great deal of respect for. I think I am on the right track with some of my questions and initial thinking and to push my thinking further. Already in the “Ethics” piece that this is a way to MODEL good digital habits (i.e. citing, fair use, respecting Copyright etc.) for students jumped out. So did the idea that if you want them (students, staff, parents) to use it… you have to involve these same people in creating it.

I did discover Beth Lyon’s Virtual Library Learning Commons website. Oooh. It is a dream. It has been bookmarked and I do plan of heavily borrowing from it! Check it out: https://sites.google.com/pdsb.net/larkspurvllc/home!!

https://www.bythebrooks.ca/build-your-own-vllc/

Another thought I had is that I am planning on taking my Teacher-Librarian AQ Part 2 course online this fall or winter… perhaps this would be a project that I could include and improve through that course work too.

Lastly, this year, I am the “CST” at our school, meaning I am the go-to person when it comes to technology help. I have a supportive IT person to work with assigned to a family of schools. This past year I kind of shadowed the staff member who took on this “extra” since a lot of the tech pieces are stored in the Maker space. One of my responsibilities will also be to update our school website. It is also on my “to do” list this summer. I don’t need to do too much to it, but the staff list and their corresponding websites (if they have them) need to be updated.

Featured Photo by Hal Gatewood on Unsplash

2 Comments

Selena
July 28, 2022
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and asking some helpful questions! I took over one of our LLC teacher resource websites from my amazing predecessors, and I converted one of my old kindergarten ones for a public site. It seems like a lot to maintain but it’s mostly a spot I can curate and post information so I can easily access it during classroom visits and share using a bit.ly address, which I guess tracks visits as well. I do prefer Google classroom for our robotics/garden/Forest of reading clubs & workshops to facilitate student involvement. To be honest I don’t bother much with the websites but they’re handy to have, for when stuff is needed such as tutorials or when we are launching a new initiative. The TL job has changed so much since we started, with covid, recordings, resource development and curation, virtual and in-person programming and then just being pulled to cover classes – it’s been helpful to have a digital archive of what we’re doing because otherwise I don’t really have much more than my daybook, which is all over the place as well. That said, I’m glad I used Google sites – I just wish I could edit it more easily on a mobile device since I’m rarely actually sitting down these days, which is partly my brain but also a big part of the job. That said I LOVE Beth Lyons’ website Tinkering In the Forest, which has been a helpful pedagogical model for the kind of work I want to be doing in the LLC, particularly extending the benefits and pedagogy of kindergarten play to the older grades, and convincing skeptics colleagues of the power of inquiry and play. It’s also just an amazing example of a library website:
https://sites.google.com/pdsb.net/tinkeringintheforest/home

Recorded read-alouds: One thing I loved, and received positive feedback from, during lockdowns was the chance to do recorded read-alouds for students, but I am also cognizant of copyright. This especially hits home because representation matters, and I very much want our LLC to put its money where it’s mouth is, in terms of supporting People of the Global Majority, particularly Black and FNMI creators.

OF COURSE a book in hand is always my priority (and a real-live human storytelling is crucial to our humanity,so I’m in it mostly for the co-regulation and conversation but also for the opportunity for instructional modelling and the sheer delight of reading to kids). AND recorded mini lessons using read-alouds were great for targeting specific content or conversations they we needed to have at our school and ensuring that most students had access to these lessons in a timely manner – something I couldn’t guarantee as much this year when we were in-person. Ironically, it was easier for me to spread the TL love around if I could record myself at 5am (or 1am). Which was not great for my work-life balance. But it ensured students got some TL time each week.

The biggest thing has been using the website and recorded read-aloud (and extension or provocation) videos for, frankly, co-teaching courageous conversations with students and staff around anti-racism and specifically settler allyship with First Nations, Métis and Inuit.

It was also just a great way to have common whole-school experiences of fantastic new texts and allowed me to expose “big kids” to the wider potential and range of picture books that they might not otherwise read.

After a whole lot of sitting with this all year long, I’ve decided I’d like to try “Lecture Lundi” and “First chapter Fridays” where I can give a sneak peek of books, still provide two half hour “shows” where I could spotlight current events, new or interesting books, and help with continuing broader conversations in our school community.

The goal would be for these to be Live, during school hours (thus protecting my crack of dawn solo walks), they’d be recorded hopefully with a class, and student or staff guest readers, but also could just be a Meet that could also be recorded for ease of access for classes who want or need to play it another time).

While I love to read aloud with and to kids, this would spice it up a bit for those who don’t want to always see me just read to them twice a week.

This will require some finessing of my timetable, knowing that every morning in a TL’s life is a little up in the air these days, but maybe we could do it just after lunch or something. Or something.

Mental note: I need to bring you some fancy cheesies on my bike and ask you about blogging. A big part of this TL job is thinking out loud and inviting feedback from other educators, and you’ve just really helped me figure some things out. Thanks for that and just about a bazillion other ideas and thought provocations.
❤️ Selena H
Beth Lyons
August 5, 2022
Love all the thinking out loud! I’m excited to see what you come up with and hope you will share with us. If you need a sounding board for anything, let me know.Beth

Thoughts from the Library Learning Commons

2 Comments

Selena

Beth Lyons

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