Professional Learning Opportunities July 2022

It’s time for, yep you guessed it, more PD. Still addicted to professional learning? Still wanting to up skill? Still trying to improve your practice? You sound like a school librarian. And this month, I’ve got you covered with heaps of webinars, articles, podcasts and more to elevate your school library.  This month, I’ve been following along on Twitter as librarians around the world travel to conferences. The links and resources below will enable you to experience awesome learning, even if you can’t travel or visit in-person events. 

You can now sign up to receive these posts delivered straight to your inbox each month. Subscribe

Webinars and videos

We know students love manga, but how do you use it in the classroom. Manga in Libraries bring together a range of experts to discuss Teaching With Manga in this hour-long video. And here is the resource list.

How can AR be used across the curriculum? Paul Hamilton teams up with Digital Learning and Teaching Victoria to show how in Augmented Reality: Looking beyond the magic. 

Are you Ditching Dewey? Check out this video from ALIA VIC about Different to Dewey, as they explore alternative models. 

Want to create a D&D club but not sure how it works or maybe you just want to learn so you can play along. Taylorsville Library are hosting four How to Play Dungeon and Dragons classes throughout July. Online. For free. Love it!!

ASLA July Webinar 2022 – Woven Fibres – Culture Integrity Audits, with Helen Uren-Randall, Rebekah Lane and Sally Richardson. 6 July 2022. 7:30pm AEST. Online. $20 members, $40 non members. Register here. 

Connecting with your Public Library with Michelle Parrish, Kyla Robertson and Amanda Jones. July 8, 2022. 10am CST. Online. Free. Watch live here. 

Explore digital literacy, technology literacy and steps to teaching students these skills in a student-centred approach. Active Learning: A student-centred Approach with Karen Bonanno. 20 July, 2022. 7pm AEST. Members free, non members $40. Online. register here. 

CBCA Book Week Preparation. SLANSW. 26 July, 2022. 7pm AEST. Members free, non members $35. Online. Register here. 

How do we encourage, promote and guide authentic student responses to reading? This will be explored by a range of presenters in SLAV’s Reading Forum series 3: Reflection and Response. 28 July 2022. 4:30pm-6pm. Members $30, non members $40. Online. Register here. 

Conferences

The Learning with Innovative Technology Conference is a free, online conference all about using technologies in education. July 22, 2022. The website doesn’t mention recordings, so note the NY, USA timezone. 

Nerd Camp 2022 – 15 July, 2022. 9am-4:30pm ET. Online. Free. A chance to connect with authors and illustrators, educators and librarians to discuss the latest book releases and hot topics. 

Podcasts

I mentioned Lucas Maxwell’s new podcast The Portable Magic Dispenser in my last professional learning list, but did you know he has another new podcast? This one is all about running Dungeon and Dragons in your school libraries. I love the title – You Should Have Been A Meat Shield.

Have you listened to the Easy EdTech Podcast from Class Tech Tips? You might like to start with episode 167, Tips to help liven up your library programming with Julia Torres and Valerie Tagoe. 

Reading with a Chance of Tacos is an Australian podcast about connecting with reading, authors and illustrators. And now there is also a Mini Taco podcast for kids, complete with activity ideas. 

Elizabeth Hutchinson and Ruth Maloney have created a new podcast, based on their Library Staff Love Learning Twitter Spaces Chats. 

Articles and Blog posts

Does non fiction have a right to belong in your school library? You bet it does. Nadine Bailey does a fantastic job of breaking down why and how non fiction should shine. Waves of attention: nonfiction Part 1Nonfiction’s right to exist Part 2

Why do we prefer print over the screen? Is it because of how much we remember from reading print? This is explored in Why do we remember more by reading in print vs on a screen by Naomi Baron 

Are all genres used equally in the classroom? Sometimes, some are overlooked. Emily Midkiff explores using science fiction in the elementary and middle-years in Using Sci-Fi in the Science Classroom. 

Are you lucky enough to be visiting any in-person conferences? As we return to face-to-face learning, this is an older article but a great one – The best stuff to pack for big education conferences. 

Margaret Merga has shared another fantastic article. Every teacher needs to be a literacy teacher – but that’s not happening in most Australian schools. 

If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, you might be looking for ideas to keep your students reading over the summer holidays. This article might help. Library Help Prevent the “Summer Slide”.

Does your library offer audiobooks? You might be interested to know that audiobook sales are up again, highlighting them as a super popular form of reading. 

This website I could also list under a resource as this is a step-by-step guide to Ditching Dewey. From why you’d make the change to how to complete the process, check out Genrefy Outside the Box!

Resources

The National Library of New Zealand have shared a School Library Development Framework. 

The NSW Education department have released their Information Process – a guide for directing information fluency.  

Twitter

This one is a bit of an extra – how amazing are these displays from @Libralicious.

Want more professional learning?

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