Putting What I Learned Into Action @oslacouncil @scdsb_schools

 I had the privilege of participating in the Ontario Library Association SuperConference this year. I attended workshops, co-presented about Assessment Tools for Genius Hour and attended two Annual General meetings for our school library associations. I also met with multiple vendors and authors and book sellers to see the latest resources for school and collected many advanced reading copies for review. Each year I meet and connect with teacher-librarians from across Canada who are as passionate about libraries as I am.  It is an excellent learning and sharing venue.


Over the last few months I have put what I learned into action.
Here are a few examples:

Opportunities to Collaborate
I participated in a joint OSLA and OCULA session where librarians discussed how we might help our students successfully transition from high school to post-secondary studies and it sparked my interest.
I connected with our local Lakehead University and Georgian College librarians and we have begun a partnership with our high school teacher-librarians.  We got to see some examples of first year assignments from a variety of courses so that our students and teachers can learn what is expected.
This has also made me a strong advocate for a board wide approach to developing electronic resources for our students as I know that we need to continue teaching advanced research skills in our schools.

More Makerspace Ideas!
I have made some valuable connections with other teacher-librarians in the Peel and Upper Grand districts who are leaders in their development of makerspaces.  Through Twitter chats, and Google Hangout meetings we are now developing a virtual makerspace for our schools because of these new relationships.
I also learned by attending some workshops over the 3 days that our district is further along the continuum then some other districts.

Equity Resources
I discovered some excellent and relevant books that I have been able to recommend to enhance our equity collections in our schools. I can't wait to share more of them to other teachers in our district.

Gained a provincial perspective

Attending the OLA Conference confirmed what I already knew: My district has many talented teacher-librarian leaders who support students daily to meet their needs. Approximately fifteen colleagues attended the conference as delegates/presenters.  We are lead learners!