Supporting Teachers’ ICT Curriculum and Pedagogy: A Personal Reflection

This week’s post discusses ways teacher-librarians can support teachers in developing ICT curriculum and pedagogy and includes creative ways I have tried to meet the ICT needs within my school. 

Before jumping into the specifics, I always like to find a model or theoretical framework to reference and connect my learning to, so when I think of ICT pedagogy two models come to mind, the TPACK and SAMR models of technology integration. 

TPACK 

TPACK stands for Technological and Pedagogical And Content Knowledge and is a framework for one to gauge how effectively one is integrating technology.  Basically, it is a theory to explain the knowledge that teachers need to teach their students a subject, teach effectively, and use technology. It is a new framework to me and quite complex but I am trying to develop a stronger instructional practice around technology usage so I am starting to explore it.   

SAMR

I am more familiar with the SAMR model and as I start to develop more confidence in my teacher-librarianship practice, I can foresee a time when I reference these two models during workshops or presentations I host.  Like TPACK, SAMR helps users avoid using technology as a gimmicky add on, and instead use it to enhance their instructional practice in ways that would otherwise be impossible without technology.

SAMR/TPACK Playlist

Office 365 sessions

A colleague and I have been discussing our school’s use of Office 365.  We’ve noticed that not many staff members are utilizing this cloud-based productivity tool.  Most staff are saving their work locally on their machine or local on the network in the building, which means they cannot always access the information they need when they need it.  My school district has provided the full suite of tools to all students and staff, so my colleague and I are discussing ways to share some of the tools and workflows that we think will increase productivity and encourage easier collaboration.  One crude yet unobtrusive way I’ve been increasing awareness of Office 365 is though wearing a name tag with the statement, “Interested in using One Drive?” It sounds a bit weird but I often wear these kinds of name tags around the school for different purposes.  In fact, I’m upping my game and moving into the digital name tag realm. A more personal way I came up with is to host a series of mini-sessions after school around One Drive basics and an introduction to instant messaging app Yammer for interested staff.

Staff meetings

Once a month I’m given the opportunity to give updates on the library.  It is possible, although I haven’t tried it yet as it is only my second staff meeting, to share tidbits of information relating to ICT and information literacy.  I have a captive audience, so to speak, so it may be an ideal time. I would need to be succinct and to the point, with any information, I share as most staff wouldn’t appreciate going over time on a regular basis.

Memo Share

I have also been thinking about releasing some kind of weekly/monthly bulletin that I could also keep on the library website.  It could list things like app of the week, book reviews, book talks, productivity tools/websites, upcoming pro-d, tips on information literacy, and other important library news.  I don’t want it to be onerous for me or staff, so I’m still mulling over my options.

Summary

The act of sharing professional development ideas with other members of staff can sometimes be tricky.  Some people are very open with their practice while others are fairly private. In my experience there is no absolute right way to create learning experiences for students, so one person’s approach may differ from anothers’.  I’ve found that the best way to share professional development opportunities/ideas with fellow educators is to do so in a casual non judgemental way. I have found it most helpful to work at building relationships and developing trust with my peers and making sure above all that I value their time and honour their commitment.