The Power of Being a Connected Educator!

I just returned from NCSLMA's annual conference in Winston-Salem.  That stands for the North Carolina School Library Media Association for you non-library readers :-)!  The theme of the conference this year was "School Library Renaissance - A Cultural Rebirth".  It was one of those "mountain top" experiences where I was surrounded by like-minded, forward thinking media specialists who were sharing ideas and the energy was contagious.  Here are a few highlights:

1.  ESSA - Every Student Succeeds Act...Wow!  I knew about it, and knew that ALA.org, AASL and many others were involved, but this session was eye-opening.  To say the least, it was a call to action! So - if you care about school libraries...get involved!  If you are in North Carolina, visit the DPI website and leave your comments on the "Let's Talk" forum and do your part to share your library's story!

Meeting @Nikki D Robertson at our ESSA Session!

2.  I got to present - TWICE!  Dr. Jami Jones (East Carolina University) and I facilitated a session on the Dispositions of School Librarians Who Create Change.  I really enjoyed the feedback from the attendees and reflecting on my practice as a librarian is such an integral part of growing as a professional.  Also, my sweet friend and colleague, Edie Crook, and I got to present a session on what is near and dear to our hearts - being connected teacher librarians and connecting our students with others digitally!  The power of a PLN on Twitter, and social media in general, was a central focus of our session as we shared how we have connected with other teacher librarians, authors and educators, to impact student learning.  We are here to collaborate and share ideas, so if you ever want to Mystery Skype, join us via Google Hangouts, or if you need a high school student to be a reading mentor to your student(s), please contact me or Edie.

Reach on Twitter       @ediecrook          @laurablong

    3.  The highlight of the weekend for me was having Stony Evans, librarian extraordinaire from Arkansas, join us live, via Skype, to share his experiences as a connected educator through the lens of his high school library.   Stony is the library media specialist at Lakeside High School in Hot Springs, AK.  He shared his insight, his successes and how his PLN and Twitter has impacted his instructional practice and how being a connected educator is making a difference for his students.  He writes a great blog, Library Media Tech Talk and he can be found on Twitter @stony12270. .  

4.  So now what?  Now that I am back at school - how am I going to apply what was shared at the conference?  Well, I came back Monday to a full library of students first thing Monday morning, so that made my day.  I introduced a "News Station" and a charging station for students to use.  Both things are small, but certainly geared to students and their access of information.  

Now, for the bigger things...I am collaborating more with teachers this week!  11th Grade English students will be in the library soon focusing on primary sources, authentic writing opportunities and using Verso for student discussions as they analyze text and much more!  Rumor has it the Shakespeare is all the rage and the library may transform into the Globe Theater soon.    I will blog about that in the near distant future.   

As for ESSA - I have been sharing our library's story this week with whoever will listen.  I have Tweeted to my state senators and I have reached out on the local level to be a part of the ESSA conversation.  Get involved, share YOUR library's story and let's make sure that school libraries are fully funded and we can provide the resources our students need each and every day!