Reading Review Blog Post #2

In venturing forth this week, I wanted to look for materials that would help me navigate and learn more about the topics from my first blog post.
 
I came across the statement from Canadian School Libraries on the role of school libraries during the pandemic:
1) To support reading and readers
2) To support inquiry learning
3) Connecting teachers and students to virtual learning and virtual resources

(Canadian School Libraries, 2020)

It made me very conscious of the fact that I am not currently able to sustain or do these important roles. I will need to re-imagine how I can deliver service in a different setting and without full resources. Though it does seem a daunting task, I feel it is my duty to try to the best of my abilities. Seeing this graphic also gives me a goal and breaks down parts that I can focus on.

With that in mind, here are some resources, articles and websites that I hope will help guide my learning:

Collection of resources and articles

Common Sense Education. (2020). Retrieved 25 September 2020, from
https://www.commonsense.org/education/
Online resource of lessons, review of EdTech and distance learning resources. I will be looking at the digital citizenship lessons and using the reviews to help navigate potential apps and technology to assist in my teaching.
 
EVERFI. (2020). K-12 Overview | EVERFI. Retrieved 25 September 2020, from https://everfi.com/k-12/
Digital platform offering self-paced game-based lessons for students. For all grades and covering topics ranging from financial literacy and SEL to digital citizenship. Of particular interest is the Ignition: Digital Literacy program.
 
Noonoo, S. (2019). Computational Thinking Is Critical Thinking. And It Works in Any Subject. - EdSurge News. Retrieved from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-05-21-computational-thinking-is-critical-thinking-and-it-works-in-any-subject
Article examining the gaining popularity of computational thinking and its ability to be integrated into all subjects in schools. Anecdotal experience from a high school Social Studies teacher showing its usage in his classroom. A look at the core of computational thinking - three main parts: looking at the data, looking for patterns, decomposition. Discussion of how to blend these skills into the curriculum lesson by lesson and as needed.
 
Ricketts, R. (2018). Computational Thinking for Kindergartners. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/computational-thinking-kindergartners
Article offering approaches to teaching computational thinking to our youngest learners. Incorporation of algorithms, sequences, conditionals, and repeat loops can be easily worked into daily routines and tasks. Activities can all be accomplished without the use of technology.
 
Wing, J. (2006). Computational Thinking. Communications Of The ACM, 49(3), 33-35. Retrieved from https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~15110-s13/Wing06-ct.pdf
Article espousing the merits of computational thinking as a fundamental skill for everyone and not just computer scientists. Shows how it is already ingrained in our day to day life just not properly labeled for our awareness. Computational thinking is not computer programming, it is much more and involves decomposition, algorithmic thinking, patterns and generalization and abstraction. Wing showcases how all these skills are involved and how teaching and exposing learners from a young age will allow for a much grander scope of possibility in their future enterprises.

References

Canadian School Libraries. (2020). Statement on the Role of School Libraries During the Pandemic [pdf]. Retrieved from https://www.canadianschoollibraries.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/CSL-Statement_SchoolLibraries_Pandemic.pdf

Editor, W. (2020). Leverage Your LLC – Canadian School Libraries. Retrieved from https://www.canadianschoollibraries.ca/leverage-your-llc/

Reading Review Blog Post #1

I will not lie, things are a bit confusing right now. I feel like I am at a bit of a stalemate this year coming into my LLC. I am currently still waiting on district protocols on how and when I am allowed to proceed with using my space and the resources therein contained. There are many details my school is still organizing and things are just not normal! If this were a regular year, I would have set-up the shelves in my library to display new books in the collection, I would have pulled the "welcome to school" titles and had my kindergarten book bags ready to go. Instead, I have pivoted and tried to acclimatize myself to the changes needed for this strange time.

So, my foci this year at its heart will be familiar but in looks may be a little different. I want to engage my students and continue to build their love of reading (even while operating outside of the LLC), I want to build community in my school (even while we are in class bubbles) - looking at online collaboration, I want to navigate, investigate and evaluate many of the digital resources touched upon during remote learning that excited my learners (even if the opportunity to use devices may be limited). Digital literacy will continue to be a focus for me as well. Many of my students were called upon to navigate online in June; I saw a lot of discrepancies in levels of ability and I really want to make sure they have a basic understanding of safety and practical skills should the need arise again.

For fun this summer, I attended a STEAM workshop at Science World and had the opportunity to try my hand at a myriad of different coding tools. We also discussed the the importance of teaching computational thinking beyond just teaching students to code. I would love to delve into this a little more, especially in the work I do with my Challenge (gifted) students. This will apply especially to the ADST curriculum.

I am oscillating between feeling a bit overwhelmed right now but also hopeful and excited to work with my students again. I know that as things regulate and we get more into the flow of things, it will come together. Just as this is a brainstorm of big ideas and many parts, pieces will float to the top and solidify and I know it will be good to learn and share as a group. We are in this together!