Final Thoughts

 There hasn't been a single Treasure Mountain that I've been to that hasn't ended in disappointment.  But as Dr Suess has famously said, "don't cry that it's over, be happy that it happened."  We've covered so much territory in less than 24 hours.  Our retreat is ending with a Big Think.  A time to collect our thinking and ask ourselves, So What?  and Now What?  Why do the things we've discussed matter, and what are we going to do with this information?  

We're reflecting on our thinking through the lens of the CSL Leading Learning Standards.  How do the big ideas present themselves in the context of the standards?  How might the standards need to be finessed to reflect the current thinking?  What's missing?  Ultimately, how can we as school librarians be yet better?

It is this kind of thinking and the drive to serve our communities better that drives us as teacher librarians and makes me keep coming back to Treasure Mountain Research Retreats.  Thanks to Anita, Carol, Joseph, David, and every single person that I've had the pleasure of talking to.  You have made me a better teacher librarian and a better person.  Until next time!

Project Management through Trello

 

UGH!!!!  Alanna and Tim King need about six hours more to address my interest in what they have to say regarding using Trello as a tool for student inquiry and projects.  Tim's touching story about how students have more than thrived through the agency given to them when given the scaffolding of a project management system and community to enact their own projects kicked off this discussion.  As a person who works with students in just this way, but have never found an effective method for managing these types of projects, I am super excited to continue this discussion and check out their paper and new interview with David Loertscher.  I wish I could say more now, but know that I will have much more to say once this exploration gets going.  

Digital Media Literacy

 This morning's TMC session began with a review of thinking on digital media literacy.  Matthew Johnson of MediaSmarts talked a bit about how we got to the present and made a call for a national strategy for prioritizing and teaching digital media literacy.  There is work being done at a national level but there was a recognition that little is known about how digital media literacy is being taught in schools and what approaches were most effective.  He identified some best practices, specifically this education must include repeated experience making media, it must blend practical and critical approaches, it must start early and must be consistent rather than simply addressing issues when current event demand it.  There is a danger of backlash as there is with any of our teaching.  Preaching and converting students to our perspective is as likely to cause harm as it is in other subjects.  Encouraging students to form their own views and learn tools to effectively reflect on the information that they are being exposed to will make them more educated and self-reliant in their information consumption.

Anita then took us through an activity to work with the ideas of access, use, understand, engage as t relates to digital media literacy.

BC Teacher Librarians Conference - My Morning wrap up

     It has been a long time since I’ve been to a library conference of any kind.  Part of this is pandemic, and part of this is that so many conferences that I've attended have given me a surface skim of something potentially interesting, but rarely did I get that injection of something that ignited a fire in me.  This morning is a story of that rare conference experience that has me fired up.

My first two sessions of my BCTLA 2022 experience have had significant crossover in concept, but with entirely different focuses.  David A Robertson kicked off the conference with his keynote which brought up some wonderful ideas around representation and reconciliation.  A Cree author, he spoke to the need for greater indigenous representation in fiction and separated this concept into indigenous characters and indigenous authors.  It is not new that we need more indigenous authors telling indigenous stories.  His personal stories of the importance of that were touching. It was interesting to hear a call for non-indigenous authors to present well researched and respectfully imagined indigenous characters in their work.  Some of my favourite writing these days presents a world where truly diverse communities are the norm, and a single author cannot represent all communities that their characters come from.  

I then went to Rebeca Rubio’s discussion around Curation vs Censorship.  How is it that we walk that line to support our diverse communities and enact solid policies to be able to do that effectively?  I feel like I’m not alone in allowing other priorities to get ahead of a collection policy review at my school.  In our increasingly divisive society, challenges to books are increasing and the need for solid policy is imperative.  But also, it was pointed out that a good policy makes the selection and weeding process less personal.  A good policy provides a mirror to hold decisions up to and challenges to decisions are less of a personal attack. Choices to acquire or weed are made more thoughtfully and less emotionally.

I am so thankful to both David and Rebeca for reminding me of some important things, teaching me something new, and know that they have already had an impact on my space and my community.

Spread the Word about TMC7

Canadian School Libraries has prepared this two-page flyer with detailed information about TMC7. Use it to spread the word about this amazing professional learning event. 

Download this two-page flyer ready for sharing electronically or in print (8"x11"), full of information about TMC7. 

Register for TMC7!

 

Registration for TMC7 and the BCTLA Conference Moving Forward is now open!

Your TMC7 registration includes:

• Friday evening dinner with TMC Keynote Speaker Chris Kenned, CSL Awards Presentation, and TMC Kick-Off Challenge
• Saturday TMC Research Symposium with Spotlight Speaker Matthew Johnson of MediaSmarts, Table Talks based on TMC7 papers, and collaborative knowledge building for going forward
• Continental breakfast and boxed lunch Saturday

Register for both TMC7 and the full BCTLA Conference, Friday October 21, at a special combined rate.

You do not need to contribute a paper to attend (unless you want to). We have many people attend who have not written a paper. We all work together during the symposium to look more closely at the papers and build knowledge for moving forward. 

Registration Rates:

TMC7: Friday evening dinner at Inn at the Quay & full day symposium Saturday – $175.00

Special Combined Rate: TMC7 & Full BCTLA Conference Friday – $275.00

The BCTLA Conference on Friday and TMC on Saturday will both be held at New Westminster Secondary School, 820 6th Street, New Westminster BC, V3L 3C8. The TMC7 Friday evening kick-off dinner will be held at Inn at the Quay, 900 Quayside Drive, New Westminster, BC, V3M 6G1.

We have blocked off 100 rooms at Inn at the Quay for booking between October 20 & 23. The hotel is within walking distance of the conference site. You are responsible for booking your own room. Be sure to mention that you are attending the BCTLA /CSL conference.

Please visit the TMC7 Registration and Hotel page on the TMC website for more information.