Gathering this morning to hear DaVinci Institute’s Thomas Frey and excited to be sitting at a table with some icons in the field and Maureen Sullivan, former President of ALA this morning. Questions in the innovation area this morning: –Give a new library story that would capture the library of the future? –How will library of future assess itself? –In the future, what will our constituents NEED that they don’t even know they need now? –As a result of the summit, what are you inspired […]
Author: futura
I'm a librarian at a large public high school, Westlake High School, in Austin, Texas. I'm excited about the possibilities of all the new Web 2.0 tools and this is a forum for sharing ideas with my faculty.
Library Summit “Future from Now On”
In honor of transparency, I’m liveblogging my notes from ALA’s Libraries From Now On Summit. At a later date, I’ll interpret and process some of these notes. We’re gathered in the member’s room of the Library of Congress to listen to a variety of provocational speakers today at the Libraries From Now On Summit, and are playing round robin tables in order to foster discussion of future trends we are identifying. Barbara Stripling welcomed attendees with a fitting Dr. Seuss quote – “My alphabet starts […]
Asking the questions — Libraries “From Now On”
I’m very excited to say that I’m headed to the Library of Congress tomorrow for a Summit convened by ALA, entitled “Libraries From Now On.” The Summit is a think tank event where we will be doing some deep pondering about how libraries are developing into the future. Attendees range from representatives from Google and the MacArthur Foundation to various agencies in DC, like the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the National Archives, National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, to public and […]
Where is student voice at SXSWEdu?
During SXSWEdu, I heard a fascinating panel with Adora Svitak and Nikhil Goyal, along with Charles Tsai and David Cutler . They were both articulate and passionate, and many participants crowded around to talk to them after their panel(not that they didn’t deserve that attention and interest). It struck me how often we treat students who present at conferences as celebrities, or like a novelty. And yet students are the very individuals that we are at SXSW Edu (or any ed conference) to discuss, […]
Designing a space? First figure out your intentions.
Many of us are reconsidering our library/learning spaces and how they can better fit the needs of our students and schools. But before we start buying furniture or retrofitting our rooms, we need to establish our intentions for the space. A well-designed space works because all the pieces of it serve intentional purposes — purposes that are matched to those who use the space. It means, in a classroom or library, meeting the many “intentions” that make it flexible throughout the given day or year. […]
Celebrating 10 years of Edublog awards!
The Edublog Awards are here and it represents a decade of celebrating educational blogs. Why are the awards important? Because in the days when we used to have to fight to have blogs even allowed in our schools, Edublogs was there, encouraging us to write. And now students and teachers and librarians are blogging and celebrating sharing their work and ideas, and Edublogs has helped nurture that community. So thanks, Edublogs! I only have time to make a few nominations but I want […]
A day at the White House
What I want to say here is one simple word….yoweeee. But for those of you who would like to know what a day is like when you get honored as a Champion of Change by the White House, here goes. Sitting in the airport in Atlanta on the way to Washington, I overheard the President’s speech at the Kennedy Honors. He spoke of Kennedy’s love for the human spirit, both those “heralded” and “unheralded.” It struck me that the Champions of Change program is all […]
Connected Educators Rock!
I’m so excited and amazed to officially announce that I have been selected as a White House Champion of Change for Connected Educator Month! The recognition honors educators who are taking creative approaches with technology “to enhance learning for students.” The ten of us selected were among thousands of nominees (all very deserving), which also rocks my world. We get to be part of a panel on Thursday in D.C. talking about our work and the work of connected educators. And in the connected way of things, I am thrilled to […]
Get wired at AASL 2013
The conference by, for, and about school librarians is almost here–AASL 2013 in Hartford, CT is next week! Aside from the great authors and sessions that will be there, I’m also hosting the eLearning Commons, where you can drop by to participate in a “how to” tech session and learn a new tool or hang out with colleagues for an informal “meetup”! The schedule can be found on the AASL Ning or wiki! (If you are going and haven’t joined the NING, be sure to […]
Sending Sacred Cows to Pasture
As part of the fabulous School Library Journal Summit, I presented a “speed talk” on collaboration and librarians(see presentation below). Personally I find collaboration one of the most challenging aspects of our role as librarians–because collaboration is all about people, change, learning styles and growth. But as librarians, inviting collaboration and working closely is integral to what we do–improving experiences for students. As my wise colleague Will Richardson, author of Why School, reminds us–“We need to be connectors first, and content experts second.” As […]