Professional Learning Opportunities October 2021

I have noticed a massive surge of professional learning opportunities recently, as well as people sharing their experiences online. I am getting to the point where I am signing up for things multiple times, having forgotten I’ve already signed up or having so many recording I simply can’t view them all. Doesn’t stop me from trying, though, as I love listening to people share their experiences or being inspired by what people are doing in their libraries. 

If you are in still lockdown or just looking for some professional learning, then I hope this list of links, webinars, articles, podcasts and more is helpful. Most are targeted for school librarians, but many are transferable to any library or education setting. Please share it with your team, colleagues and network and contact me if there is a link you would like added to the list.  Happy learning. 

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Webinars

SLANSW are hosting a webinar with the amazing Judith Wakeman on the power of bibliotherapy – how reading improves the wellbeing of our students. So important for these current times (and always!).

Developmental Bibliotherapy: What is it and why do our students need it? – SLANSW – 12 October 2021, 7pm – free for members, $35 non-members – online

Adobe are hosting free webinars every second Wednesday evening, combining inspiration for creativity and tips for using Adobe programs in the Education setting. 

Inject Creativity – Adobe for Education – every second Wednesday 6:30pm AEST –  free

Graphic novels are always hot in my library, so I’m looking forward to this webinar from ALIA Graphic, where they talk about graphic novel access around the world. 

Getting Graphic Comics Around the World – ALIA Graphic – Thursday 14 October 2021 1pm AEST – free – online

ALIA Schools always offers fantastic webinars and this, their fourth for the year, is set to be awesome as Dr Kay Oddone leads us through changing information ecosystems.

Beyond Information Literacy – ALIA Schools and Dr Kay Oddone – Saturday 23 October 2021 10:30am – $44 members, $66 nonmembers – online

As part of the International School Library Day, ALIA are hosting a free webinar with four amazing speakers, Holly Godfree, Mali Jorm, Dr Kay Oddone and Will Kostakis. 

International School Library Day Webinar – ALIA – 19 October 2021 1pm – Free – Online

I’ve been privileged to be able use VR in my school library, but I’m always keen to learn more ways I can integrate it. I’m looking forward to webinar.

Virtual Reality in Schools: What is possible? – CSER STEM – 27 October 2021 3:30pm ACST – Free – Online

As someone who has run the school textbook hire (never again!!) and frequently needs to find resources for teachers, I am very interested in this panel session about open textbooks.

Open Textbooks in Australia: updated, localised, inclusive – panel session – CRADLE – 5 October, 2021 – Free – Online

Missed the genrefication webinar I ran in partnership with EduWebinar? You can catch the replay.

Genrefication: Beyond the Buzzword Replay – EduWebinar – $37, free for members – online 

Future Ready Schools are offering another fantastic free webinar, this time on empowering student voice and choice in your library. If the title wasn’t enticing enough, check out the presenters – Kelsey Bogan, Karina Quilantan-Garza and Stephanie Galvan Russell. If you register, you’ll also receive the recording.

Empowering Student Voice and Choice From the Library – Future Ready Libraries – 20 October, 2021 4pm EDT – online – free

Special Events

International School Library Day is being celebrated on the 19th of October this year. With the theme, Growing Global Citizens, this special day is all about promoting the importance of school libraries and school library staff. There are a range of resources you can access, plus a free webinar.

International School Library Day – ALIA – 19 October 2021 – Online – Free

Media Literacy Week is being held from 24-31 of October 2021. With the #MediaLitWk and #GlobalMILWeek, this is set to be a big week across library sectors and within the community. You can access a range of free resources to promote the event, ABC Education resources and watch the preparation session. 

Media Literacy Week – ALIA, ABC Education,  AMLA, NSLA – 24-31 October 2021 – Free – Online

Conferences

Microsoft are hosting a special online Leading Libraries Summit. This is a free, two day, online event, offered over two time zones – yay. With a range of topics and speakers, this looks to be an exciting event for librarians around the world. 

Leading Libraries Summit – Microsoft – 13 and 14 October – Free – Online

SLJ is hosting a free online event on the 28th of October. While the times don’t work for me as it’s in the USA, the entire event will be shared as on-demand recordings for three months.

SLJ Summit 2021 In Community – SLJ – October 28, 2021 – Free.

Calling all library technicians. This conference is a chance to connect with tech from around Australia. Check out the details on the ALIA website.

LibTech 21 Connections – Conference – ALIA – $80 members, $105 non-members – 28, 29 October 2021 – Online

Podcasts

When checking out the above Microsoft Summit I found the Microsoft Libraries and Museums Podcast.

Microsoft Libraries and Museums Podcast – Free

Articles and Blog posts

I have just discovered the Try Curiosity blog by Sarah Ducharme. There are some fantastic posts and I especially enjoyed her most recent post about using shelf space for book display.

Against My Instincts: Maximizing Shelf Space for Display – Sarah Ducharme – Try Curiosity

We use QR codes in our school library but I am always looking for ways to do it better and get students more engaged. This article from CILIPS was helpful, especially if you are just starting to explore how you might use QR codes in your library.

How to: QR Codes – CILIPS 

SLAV very kindly shared their volume 19 of Synergy as freely accessible. It has some incredible articles. I particularly enjoyed Dr Anne Whisken’s article Framework for Whole School Wide Reading Practice. 

Synergy – SLAV – Volume 19, no 1. – June 22, 2021 – Free – Online

If you are looking to increase your collaboration between library staff and teachers, this is a slightly older article but has some great ideas and resources for building the partnership.

Getting to know your school librarian from a safe distance – Courtney Pentland via AASL

A great post about your online presence and digital identity as a librarian. 

Ko wai au? Who am I? Digital Identity for a career librarian – DigitalDexterity

My Book Club series is being shared on the Softlink blog.

School Library Book Clubs – Madison’s Library via Softlink

Resource

Looking to share the benefits of reading? Lucas Maxwell has you covered with these amazing slides.

Benefits on Reading for Pleasure Slides – Lucas Maxwell – free

Awards

It’s time to nominate for the Queensland Library Achiever of the Year. These awards are so important for promoting our profession. Criteria here. Closes 31 October 2021

Videos

Love to see inside others’ libraries? I do. Amy Hermon, the voice behind the amazing School Librarians United podcast recently shared via Twitter a link to a video around her new high school library. Check it out.

A tour of my new Learning Commons – Amy Hermon

Missed the live panel discussion about the future of using the Dewey Decimal System in libraries in Australia? You can watch the recording on the ALIA VIC YouTube Channel.

Dewey Really Need This? – ALIA VIC – online – free

Twitter Chats

ALIA NGAC are hosting a special Twitter chat on Tuesday 5th of October, 2021 all about questions you wish you could ask a mentor. Join in with #AusLibChat and follow @aliangac

Ask A Mentor – Twitter Chat – 5 October 2021 9pm AEST.

 

Want more professional learning?

Check out my professional learning series or have a look through last month’s professional learning list.