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Evolving Our Teaching Practices Together Let it be known that there are many a time as a fourth year TL that I still stand on the shores wondering what is in the ocean.  The SAMR (substitution, augmentation, modification, & redefinition) model for technology integration created by Ruben Puentedura reminds us to take a look at our technology resources and how we are using them for learning.  This does not mean that we can't still use our word processing tools instead of a pencil even though it is substitution.  " While it’s often visualized as a ladder or staircase as above, this can be misleading because Substitution (the bottom of the ladder) is sometimes the best choice for a particular lesson. This is why it’s better to think of the SAMR model more as a spectrum." (Schoology Exchange).   This visual of SAMR lets us know that if we want to really impact learners we can get to a redefined learning situation with the help of the technology that is ou...

The Reference Section - A Little Less Conversation A Little More Action Cooperation Over and over again we have heard throughout this theme that we cannot go this alone.  Cooperation is key.  Beginning with our students is a great place to start.  Finding out what our students are interested in helps the process of stocking a well used reference/non fiction elementary library.  The reference interview is a great place to start.  At the elementary level a student does not have the abilities yet to find appropriate text via google so "it is vital to remember that school librarians bring students and information together." (Reidling, 2013).  After much reflection it seems to me that in the past TLs purchased the academic texts that sourced out a wide breadth of information.  To some extent we still do that, but instead of a light resource about many things we can go deeper with resources.  If a student wants to know why some animals do...

AS Matheson's Reference Collection Well here is a sorry state.  Our reference collection on countries is housed in a "behind" shelf in an out of the way, low traffic area.  My goal is to create a more child centered reference area.  At the forefront of my mind is bringing in books that answer the wonderings of the inquiry based projects that the teachers are presenting to the students.  "A good reference source is one that serves to answer questions, and a bad reference source is one that fails to answer questions." (Reidling, 2013).  I love the simplicity of this statement.  It's time to organize the reference section to one that has a purpose and is interesting! Instead of creating a rubric, which I know is taking a risk since our assignment asks us to do so, I have created a goal for each of the following categories.  Relevancy, purpose, currency, curricular connections and efficient use of space.  Think of it as category 5 in a ...