Professional Learning Opportunities November 2021
As we draw near the end of the calendar year and school year for those of us in Australia, there is still time for a bit of PD and to make sure we’ve met those CPD requirements. While this list of professional learning opportunities is a little Aussie-centric, most of them are online so they are open to all. I hope you find something worth learning.
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Webinars
It is so important to ensure that our library collections, however old they might be, reflect the truth about history and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and perspectives. This webinar hosted by ASLA and presented by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies is all about ensuring our libraries are free from offensive materials and are full of quality resources.
SLAV are hosting another Masterclass series, this time on media literacy and critical thinking. Join a range of amazing presenters, including Annabel Astbury, Penny Roberts, Bridget Forster, Holly Godfree, Lori Korodaj, and Dhana Quinn.
With the holidays just around the corner, it’s a great time to check how diverse your holiday collection is. Run by the OverDrive Education team, this webinar is perfect for updating your collection development approach.
Thinking of running online competitions for your school library? Join the discussion around Jeopardy, Padlet, Kahootz and more.
HILO: Online Competitions – SLAV – 11 November 2021, 4pm – online – $30 members, $40 non members.
Looking for something related to inquiry learning and media literacy?
Once again, EduWebinar provides a fantastic webinar for school librarians. The November webinar features teacher librarian Margaret Spillman as she discusses school libraries and communities.
Special offer
This year, ALIA Schools offered a special 4 for the price of 3 webinar package. They are offering a similar package for 2022. Register now to get the package price (to be paid by Feb 2022) or you can register for each webinar for the individual cost.
Webinar package – ALIA Schools – various dates in 2022 – online – $132 member, $198 non member.
Course
Have you heard of Read Woke? Not sure exactly what that is? Here is your chance to find out in a half day mini course with the movement’s founder Cicely Lewis
Conferences
If you are a Brisbane or Queensland local, then you might enjoy a face-to-face conference. ALIA Queensland are hosting a one day mini conference.
Want something book and comic related? Wish you could attend a ComicCon? Check out Library Con Live! Featuring panels with so many amazing authors, illustrators and creators that I couldn’t possible name them all. If the time doesn’t work for all, all sessions will be recorded. And it’s free.
Library Con Live! – LJ and SLJ – 10 November 2021, 11am -5pm ET – online – free
Have you attended an Edcamp before? The Edcamp Cardigan Camp is for school librarians all around the world. This is a 24hour virtual meet up. No keynotes, just lots of sessions facilitated by a school librarian where we can all chat and share ideas. Check it out.
Edcamp Cardigan Camp – Edcamp – 13 November 2021 12am-12am EST – online – free
Even conferences are being held online these days. The SLAV conference features a range of amazing speakers, concurrent sessions and more all about literacy from graphic novels to BookTok.
Podcasts
Check out this new podcast from School Library Connection and Courtney Pentland – One Lesson at a Time
I know I’ve featured the School Librarians United podcast a lot in these monthly lists and every month there are new fantastic episodes, but I especially loved the first in Amy’s Can I Just Vent?!?! series.
@willowtreelibrarian shared a list of the best podcasts for school librarians on Instagram
Articles and Blog posts
If you missed the ALIA Schools Webinar with Dr Kay Oddone on information literacy, then you definitely need to check out her blog post, Responding to Our Changing Information Ecosystem.
We know school librarians and school libraries are essential for all students and schools but here are five more reasons from Dr Kay Oddone. 5 Reasons why every student in the 21st century needs a school library and a teacher librarian.
Do we truly know the impact of misinformation on our students? UK School librarian Lucas Maxwell set out to ask his students and he shares his results in the post The Impact of Misinformation.
Are you fighting for your position or just wanting to advocate for your role? Check out Elizabeth Hutchinson’s latest post Why It’s time to start taking your school librarian seriously.
Book talks, book sells, Narissa Leung shares her top tips and how to teach the art of the book sell in her post What are book sells and how do you teach them?
In my writing group, I’ve recently been trying to get my students to give and receive feedback on their writing. This article by Paige Tutt was really helpful – Teaching kids to give and receive quality peer feedback.
I stumbled upon Meredith Farkas’s post about slow librarianship and I have found the topic utterly fascinating. You can read her post Slow Life, Slow Librarianship on her website.
That post then led me to Julia Glassman’s article The Innovation Fetish and Slow Librarianship: What librarians can learn from the Juicero.
I’ve been doing a lot of research and reading around organisational culture and culture change. Instead of adding all the links here, you can find the articles I read on my Part 1, and Part 2 posts of Building a Reading Culture.
Resource
Want to know how to make an origami wish tree? Check out this post and videos from Shannon McClintock Milton at The Library Voice
Amanda Jones and Laura Foy shared their slide deck from their recent webinar Embedded School Librarianship: Cultivating school and community partnerships.
Looking to learn more about the SIFT model for teaching students how to be information literate and respond to fake news? You can find a great infographic from Oregon University
And more more resources on fake news and media literacy from the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, including infographics, resource kits, digital citizens matrix activities, forums and lots more.
Wanting to start a Dungeons and Dragon club at your school library? I know I am. Lucas Maxwell gives us a guide on how to get started.
Awards
SLA is looking for their primary and secondary school librarian of the year. You can nominate a librarian on their website. Nominations close 8 November 2021
Videos
If you missed the Empowering Student Voice and Choice from the Library webinar (like I did) you can find the recording and slides on Shannon McClintock Milton’s website. Aren’t librarians just the most generous people?!?
Empowering Student Voice and Choice from the Library webinar recording
Want more professional learning?
Check out my professional learning series or have a look through last month’s professional learning list.
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