A book. For some it holds the mystery of the universe, others a story to be entered and thoroughly explored and yet for some it is the very bane of their school life. What is it that creates a passionate, life-long reader? Often times I hear from parents and other educators how difficult they find…
I was privileged to host the SLANZA Term 4 event in our library last weekend and was blown away by the passion, and in depth conversations I witnessed from the 37 participants. Being a new librarian I find it invaluable to attend as much professional development as I can. The potential and mind expanding properties…
Libraries have traditionally organised their collection based on the author’s surname and in the case of non-fiction upon the Dewey Decimal system. However, a fictional collection based solely on an author’s surname does not appear to be a responsive or particularly helpful method for students to find books. And here’s why… Jean Piaget was an educational…
Maurie proposed a challenge for our staff at the end of a long, exciting and full-on Term 1. The Challenge to examine how we are developing our Growth Mindsets. Over the past week and a half I have had a chance to think more deeply and reflect upon building and maintaining growth mindset as I attended and participated…
This term I have been offering a MyTime slot known as Gamer’s Anonymous. Most Wednesdays I have the privilege of hosting this slot in our library and watching the students strategically and skilfully playing games such as DOTA, LOL, Minecraft and Neverwinter. I never wanted the library to be a silent space where I peer…
Space. The noun describes a physical space where people are free to remain or move around. As a verb, it refers to the act of positioning items at a distance from each other. When creating a physical space to initiate, support and enhance learning the purposeful creation of separate and well positioned spaces is an…
Over the past three weeks the vision for our library has been at the forefront of my mind. Settling down to the nuts and bolts of book buying and equipment/technology installation has made this journey feel even more real. After a meeting with Mark Osbourne, I was introduced to this Ted Talk; How Great Leaders…
“A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien Well first, what is a library? Claire Amos wrote a brilliant blog post about the advent of the modern library environment. And I wish to follow on from it with some thoughts of my own. The scariest thing about becoming a librarian and…
The importance of relationships is something that is taken for granted. Many people assume that if they say the statutory “Hello” in the morning to their colleagues and remember their children’s names, they have a relationship. These types of friendship only ever touch the surface of who a person truly is. They also do not…
Mobiles are considered an essential element of the teenage lifestyle (Twiss, 2009). Barrett (as in Text to M Learn, 2010) even goes as far to suggest that students are far more attached to this little piece of technology that they carry in their pocket than they are to their teacher (APN Educational Media, 2010). Attwell…
Future Focussed Musings 