Month: October 2019

I recently had the chance to attend a National Geographic Summit in Washington D.C. with approximately 150 teachers and 25 National Geographic explorers from all over the world. These individuals shared stories of conservation, research, and spoke about opportunities for students to engage with them.

The summit began with a passionate talk by Valencia Clay Educator and National Geographic Fellow and a look at National Geographic Bold new education strategy by Vicki Phillips Executive Vice President and Chief Education officer at the National Geographic Society.  When speaking about our current generation, Philips referred to students as GenGEO or “Generation Geo” many of whom are active change agents in advocating for the environment and social justice. Philips stated “Give them a chance and they will lead”. One of my favourite parts of the evening was taking part in a virtual reality expedition with Marine Biologist Erika Woolsey.

On Friday I had a chance to participate in two sessions of my choice. I chose to attend the ArcGIS session as well as Story Maps session to expand my knowledge in these areas. They were very hands on and I left feeling confident that I could share out the information I learned with the teachers and students that I work with. In particular, the Story Maps session had me seeing the connections and options open when working with the Geo-Inquiry process in the phase of create where students are developping Geo-Inquiry stories. I also had the chance to try out the Portal at the summit and connect with the American School of Tampico educators at an American school in Mexico. Saturday, I had a chance to attend what I feel was the best session of the summit. Disrupting colonization in space We live and Work led by Tricia Ebarvia and Christie Nold.  The session had me continuing to question power dynamic in education and in our classrooms and provided me with futher resources to share and read.

One of the best parts of the summit was the connections and collaborations I made with other educators. One of quotes shared at the conference was that “Isolation is the Enemy of improvement” and the summit provided the opposite effect by connecting educators and focusing on innovation and best practises. I left feeling hopeful and inspired by the passion, research and work being done around the world in the area of conservation. I was also reminded of how each of us as global citizens can all do our part and must act now. Finally, I loved the quotation shared in the end of conference by Phillips: “We must stop seeing tech and nature as sparring partners and start concentrating on helping them to dance.” Thank you to the National Geographic Educator community for this amazing opportunity and for the exceptional group of educators and geographers that I had the privilege to learn with.

 

 

Many libraries today are seeing changes and becoming LC (Learning Common areas). These areas are often collaborative, inquiry based, innovative spaces with flexible seating. The librarian in the LC often works closely with teachers collaborating and co-teaching as well as providing opportunities for community partnerships.  In the article, School Libraries, librarians, and Project-based learning: ‘flexing’ library spaces for learning, author Carolyn Foote writes: “The librarian has a key role in helping provide resources for students and teachers to have a successful PBL project. Students come to the library with a big idea to creatively solve their problem. The exciting part is helping them find the research and tools to help their big idea become a reality.” Foote goes on to describe how libraries must be in “beta mode” and fluid, available to meet student needs and goals.

Similarly, in the article From Library to Learning Commons, author Lisa Mueller describes changes in her own school library. Mueller explains how she not only changed the physical layout of the library and employed design tactics,  but also how she and her colleagues created virtual and digital spaces for students using school websites and social media. The changes that were created were again based on student needs. Mueller also discussed her next steps in trying to expand learning outside of the school and LC and into the global community through technologies such as video conferencing to make meaningful connections with others.

Both of the articles described above connect closely to the Leading Learning and Together for Learning documents. In Together for learning document the virtual and physical worlds are interconnected and students have a chance to explore questions and connect with others both locally and globally. Similarly, in the Leading Learning standards words like collaboration, co-plan, community, designing, creation and empowering life-long learners  are used and provie specific examples in the see it in action area. The modern day learning library learning commons is a dynamic learning environment and will continue to evolve with technology and future school needs.