Makerspaces on the Move!

 I was really excited for this week's focus on makerspaces. Currently, my school's library does not have a makerspace, but we have a lot of student interest for starting one. One of the barriers to this is the physical layout of our library - even though our school was built just four years ago, our library is much smaller than it was originally supposed to be. 

That's where a blog post from Scholastic EDU comes in (https://edublog.scholastic.com/). The post was written by Tamika Brown, School Library Journal's School Librarian of the Year for 2017. The blog post pairs up with an episode of the School Librarian's United podcast featuring Brown (https://schoollibrariansunited.libsyn.com/building-bridges-with-a-connected-makerspace). Brown goes into depth about the possibilities using a mobile makerspace can create within a school community. A lot of what she discusses in the podcast episode as well as her blog post really brought me back to Lauren Britton's article from Library Journal on makerspaces being used for creation, not just consumption. 

Brown, 2018

Britton states that "Maker space—or, more specifically, the act of making—encourages and gives people permission to tinker, hack, remake, and perhaps even change society" (2012). In Brown's blog post, she talks about the barriers present when trying to give 100% of the school population access to a makerspace - both the physical space and the experience. Giving her students the opportunity to engage in making, as Britton discusses, is a big part of why she decided to create a mobile makerspace which can meet students and teachers where they are in the building. She does mention that students are less afraid of messing up or failing in the library, as opposed to a classroom, which again matches up with how Britton explains the importance of library based makerspaces. Her enthusiasm for makerspaces is obvious - even in a less than 30 second clip Brown posted to YouTube.

In her blog post (https://edublog.scholastic.com/post/creating-mobile-classroom-makerspace-library-program), Brown goes through five important things to think about when creating a makerspace - especially a mobile one. She discusses funding, voice and choice, organization, scheduling, and vendors/wishlist. I love how a big part of these sections is related to library advocacy and how she uses social media to make sure community stakeholders are aware of how the mobile makerspaces are being used and what a difference they are making with students. The way she has thought through each component and use of the mobile makerspaces shows care and a deep understanding of how makerspaces support teachers and students. Much of her advice is also supported in the Makerspace Playbook School Edition from Make (https://makered.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Makerspace-Playbook-Feb-2013.pdf).

Recognizing how to create a mobile space which can become a pop-up makerspace in a classroom and help to replicate a library experience is something to be investigated further, especially if your physical library space does not have a ton of flexibility, like mine. I do recommend also listening to the podcast episode to hear Brown talk more about how she uses her mobile makerspaces. It and her blog post made me feel like makerspaces can be a lot more approachable with the right plan of action.

If you are interested in the idea of a mobile makerspace, Tamiko Brown has also worked with Follett to create and curate collections of mobile makerspace kits: https://www.titlewave.com/main/makerspace.

https://www.titlewave.com/main/makerspace

References:

Britton, L. (2012, October 1). The makings of maker spaces, part 1: Space for creation, not just consumption. The Digital Shift. Retrieved March 27, 2022, from http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/10/public-services/the-makings-of-maker-spaces-part-1-space-for-creation-not-just-consumption/

Brown, T. (2018, February 1). Creating a mobile classroom makerspace library program | EDU. Scholastic EDU. Retrieved March 27, 2022, from https://edublog.scholastic.com/post/creating-mobile-classroom-makerspace-library-program

Brown, T. [Tamiko Brown]. (2018, March 3). Makerspace = student innovation [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQrDwu7O8M8

Harmon, A. (Host). (2020, January 26). Building bridges with a connected makerspace (No. 58) [Audio 

             podcast episode]. In School Librarians United. https://schoollibrariansunited.libsyn.com/building-

            bridges-with-a-connected-makerspace

Maker Media. (2013). Makerspace playbook: School edition (Spring ed.). Maker Media. https://makered.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Makerspace-Playbook-Feb-2013.pdf

Cyberbullying: Making Sure the Kids are Alright

 This week's topic is one that is obviously important, but can be easy for teachers and schools to just pay lip-service to. Based on this week's readings and resources, in particular Faucher, Cassidy, and Jackson's article, The Seven Deadly Digital Sins, and the material found on Shippensburg University's website, cyberbullying is something which is almost continually present in society and yet does not receive much focus in school curriculum.

At any of the middle school's I've worked at, cyberbully and other forms of bullying receive special attention maybe once per year. School counselors will deliver lessons infrequently to students, and there is usually an "anti-bullying day" at some point. Students and staff wear t-shirts and might sign pledges, but these actions do not become imbedded as part of the day-to-day culture of the school. They last about as long as the gif I've included below.

Do we embed cyberbullying awareness for longer than the loop on this gif?

According to Faucher, Cassidy, and Jackson, we should be looking at cyberbullying and traditional bullying not as separate but overlapping entities. Cyberbullying is often a continuation of traditional bullying when students are not on campus or adults are not at their workplace. According to Cassidy et al., more than a third of students reported being victims of cyberbullying and almost that number reported being the perpetrators. I have a suspicion that these numbers have either increased since the study was done in 2012 and/or are underreported by those involved. As shown in the first video featured cyberbullying.org, the cyberbullying was happening for quite some time before adults were involved. The student, Joe, was even asked by a teacher if everything was alright. It took more time after the teacher approached Joe before he reached out to his mother.

In order to both educate and create a space where students both feel comfortable coming forward and understand the seriousness of cyberbullying's impacts, educators need to incorporate digital citizenship into all levels and areas of instruction. No more quick school counselor lessons as a one-off, no more once a year pledges, but a true embrace of instruction and community building.

Digital Citizenship Curriculum

I really like the curriculum found on Common Sense Media. I have used several of their lessons before, and I appreciate that they involve videos, graphic organizers, and full lessons for those who are not as comfortable developing their own. I think these provide a great starting point for a staff looking to develop a school-wide curriculum.

Full lessons are available by grade level, as well as quicker mini-lessons which could be used to start discussions or at the beginning of classes. The site also includes games to practice decision making related to digital citizenship for grades 3-5 and 6-8. For grades 6-8, the game is called Digital Compass and is set up like a choose your own adventure game.

Start Page for Digital Compass Game

If a school sat down with its leadership team, they could use the content provided on Common Sense Media to develop a school-wide plan for discussing digital citizenship. I think cyberbullying should not be treated as a stand-alone issue, but it should be taught in connection with all of the other skills students need to safely navigate the 21st century.

Library Sponsored Project

Another idea I have is related to creating more empathy among students. I think the more we can develop empathy, the more a student will pause before clicking send on a post or text which cyberbullies another. This idea is inspired by the project created by Brandon Stanton. In 2010, Stanton started a photography project where he wanted to document 10,000 New Yorkers. This project morphed into something much more and has grown from an Instagram account into a website and several books.

Humans of New York Website Banner

All of the individuals and stories featured on Stanton's feed and website are not necessarily appropriate for all ages of students, but I believe there are stories present which would be appropriate for grades 6 and up, and possibly upper elementary depending on the student population.

Through these photo-essays, Stanton helps his readers see each person as just that - another person with struggles, triumphs, and human feelings. What is extraordinary about each of the people featured is that their stories are ordinary as well. The photographs and captions help to remind us of the universal truth that all people are facing their own struggles, and that all people have some gift to share with or give to others.

As school librarians, we will have the ability to interact with every student and staff member at our schools. How amazing would it be to use our platforms to share about the humans present within our buildings? Certainly not everyone would be interested in participating - some people and students are very private, and that should be respected. However, for those willing to share, using the library as a posting space and organizer for their real-life stories could be an amazing way to remind the school community of the extraordinary ordinary present. This could build student and staff empathy and combined with authentic, frequent digital citizenship lessons could encourage students to reexamine their actions or become "upstanders" when they witness any type of bullying taking place. 

References:

Childnet International. (2008, May 3). Let’s fight it together [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dubA2vhIlrg

Common Sense Media. (2022, February 10). Digital compass for educator. Common Sense Education. Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-compass

Faucher, C., Cassidy, W., & Jackson, M. (2015). From the sandbox to the inbox: Comparing the acts, impacts, and solutions of bullying in k-12, higher education, and the workplace. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 3(6). https://doi.org/10.11114/jets.v3i6.1033

Stanton, B. (n.d.). humansofnewyork. Humans of New York. Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://www.humansofnewyork.com/about

Stephens, R. (2020, December 4). How adolescents cope with digital stress - the journalist's resource. The Journalist’s Resource. Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://journalistsresource.org/health/adolescents-cope-digital-stress/

School Library Social Media: I Did It for the Gram

 I was really excited to see this week's blog topic - I am definitely one of those people who has a love of social media, and I have I have found it useful in so many areas of my life! I understand the negative effects, but for me it has been instrumental in building my PLN, curating new ideas, and finding the best 30 minute meal recipes.

Which Social Media Platform?

Dr. Green's presentation and this week's readings confirmed what I already suspected, which is that I want to use Instagram as the social media platform for my future middle school library. Jensen's article makes the important point of students not using or gaining anything from having to use a social media platform they don't already connect with. My middle grades students (and their parents) both still use Instagram the most out of the four social media platforms we were able to choose from. TikTok is certainly starting to take over for videos, but students are still using Instagram for pictures and will connect with posts on it much more than they would on Facebook or Twitter.

Finsta for Now

I am currently a classroom teacher and will be transitioning into the role of school librarian next school year. Unfortunately, I can't apply to our district public media office for permission to use Instagram to promote the school library until then. Instead, I have created a fake school which has the same mascot and school colors as my current school. This way, I might be able to transfer over images and posts I create which are still relevant. My hypothetical school is RH Middle School (RHMS), and their mascot is the knight. I created a Finsta (fake instagram) for this school and currently have two posts.

I used Canva to make my profile image and both of my current posts. I already use Canva with my students and for creating classroom content, and I find the program both fun and easy to use. I have started with two posts to highlight the newest list of South Carolina Junior Book Awards (SCJBA) Nominees. Each year a board of librarians, teachers, and students nominates twenty middle grades books for this award. School libraries encourage students to read at least three books of the twenty, and then students are able to vote for their favorite. These votes go towards helping to select the overall winner, which is announced at SCASL's annual conference.

RHMS Instagram Profile

Post #1

Post #1

For post #2 I tried out Canva's animation abilities to create a short video post for my account, and I am really happy with how it turned out and how quickly I was able to create it. The video post is below:

How Will Instagram Be Used?

My Instagram account will be used in three different ways to support what is happening within the school library: instruction and collaboration, communication, advocacy.

Instruction & Collaboration

I would love to create posts which highlight what students are learning and creating related to literacy and inquiry. I would post photos of students at work and finished products of the things they create using library lessons and resources. Partnering with classroom teachers would also be key to this area. I would also make short videos reminding students about topics related to digital literacy and digital citizenship.

Communication

I would use Instagram to post about and promote library programming such as book clubs, makerspace activities, new additions, other reader's advisory related information. Humans, and especially tweens and teens, are very visually focused, so posting images of amazing new book covers, digital flyers for programming, etc. would be really helpful for communicating with students and their adults.

Advocacy

I firmly believe students should be allowed to self-select books from the library to read. I would use Instagram to advocate for the benefits of reading a variety of genres, included graphic novels which some teachers and parents still view as being lesser than other genres. I would also advocate for a censorship-free space and students' first amendment rights by posting information during Banned Books Week, Read Across America Week, and throughout the year to promote the library's responsibility to serve all students who access the space. Lastly, I would advocate for students' ability to use the library space for tinkering, collaborating, and creating as part of my programming. I would highlight how the library is a space for more than just books or reading, and how it benefits the school as a whole when students are learning how to collaborate, inquire, and create.

References:

Jensen, L. J. (2019). Integrating social media into online education. Library Technology Reports, 55(4), 27–30.

Wetta, M. (2016). Instagram now: Engage young users with the image-based social media tool. School Library Journal, February, 30–32.