As an educator, librarian, researcher and learner, I have engaged with and taught about inquiry learning in many ways. Valuing openness and access, I share some of this teaching online; here you can see the most recent iteration of LCN616 Inquiry Learning, which I am currently teaching. I place a great deal of value in […]
Category: Professional Learning
We create our future: Why we need to embrace critical digital pedagogy
Why do I believe we need to embrace critical digital pedagogy in the design and experience of learning and teaching? Perhaps it is because I don’t want to live in a future like this: Science Fiction Fact? How would such a future come to be? A future dominated by commerce and competition, a future where […]
Reading between the Lines: The truth about school libraries in a post-truth society
This post includes content to support my recent teacher professional learning workshop, which I gave as a part of the St Rita’s Remarkable Women conference. You’ve seen the words bandied around in the media: fake news, post-truth, alternative facts…what do they actually mean, and how do we help students (and ourselves) to develop strategies to […]
Managing a professional digital identity: A challenge for connected professionals
Every interaction we have online leaves indelible traces which are often referred to as our digital footprint. It is the data created by “what you’ve said, what others have said about you, where you’ve been, images you’re tagged in, personal information, social media profiles, and much more. ” University of Edinburgh Digital Footprint resources Because […]
Navigating the network for quality, credibility and authenticity: A challenge for connected professionals
On the internet, no one knows you’re a dog… via GIPHY It’s funny because it is true. When engaging with professional learning through your PLN, it is essential to have the capacity to quickly and effectively evaluate information and resources for their authenticity and credibility. With so much information available (see my previous post on […]
Effective time management: A challenge for connected professionals
Anyone who has spent anytime engaging with social networks and the internet in general will know of its addictive qualities. Whether it is endlessly scrolling through photos on Instagram, reading Tweets as they pop up during your favourite reality television program (watch them fly while QandA is on the TV!) or simply getting lost in […]
Managing infowhelm: A challenge for Connected Professionals
Initiating and maintaining a Personal Learning Network (PLN) can be an incredibly exciting, rewarding and very effective way to engage with professional learning. However, learning mediated by social networks is not without its challenges. This post is all about how to manage perhaps the most obvious challenge that connected professionals encounter when they engage through […]
Challenges for Connected Professionals: The shadow-side of the PLN
When you speak with teachers who maintain a Personal Learning Network (PLN) for professional learning, most of them wonder how they ever lived without it. Being able to tap into the global ‘hive mind’ to seek inspiration, new pedagogical approaches, feedback and collegial support is pretty awesome. Prior to the development of digital social networks, […]
Don’t believe what you see – digging deeper for the truth
Feature image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay We live in a world that is mediated by technology. Every morning we wake up and check our phone for the latest news and updates from friends. We make a cup of coffee and sit down in front of a screen to catch up on our emails. We chill […]
Linking, Stretching and Amplifying at the National Education Summit in Brisbane
In this post, you will find an overview of my presentation which I gave at the National Education Summit in Brisbane, where I presented in the Capacity Building, School Libraries Strand. To give you a summary of my presentation, here is the abstract describing what I shared: PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR CONNECTED TEACHER LIBRARIANS: LINKING, STRETCHING […]