Protecting the Culture of Lifelong Learning: Meeting ICT Professional Needs in the School Community

 

In the ever-changing landscape of education, Teacher-Librarians play a pivotal role not just in supporting students but also in fostering the professional development of their colleagues and the school community. To meet the diverse ICT professional needs of educators, staff, administrators, parents, and other community members, the intention is needed. This blog post explores various strategies and solutions to enrich professional development for the community! 

To start off I wanted to share this Ted Video about being a lifelong learner as sometimes when learning new ICT skills, it can be daunting but we should always remind ourselves as lifelong learners. I think this video is inspiring. 

Always a Life-long Learner | Maia Reed | TEDxLakelandUniversity

How we can approach helping people learn Technology and ICT Skills : Take a look at this website : https://www.carnegielibrary.org/tips-for-helping-someone-learn-to-use-technology/ 

Key points : 

1) Be Patient : Set your tone accordingly because maybe something you’ve been practicing on such as word processing which is manipulation of text on a computer and formatting may not be familiar to others and it’s important to treat everyone with respect and that it may take a couple more minutes/hours for them to understand. No rush. 

please-be-patient-construction-sign-square - PlannersWeb

2)Set Goals and Limits : Make sure to decide how much time you are able to spend with the others on their decided goal and how frequent the event will be held. Make sure you help the others with scheduling but also keep in mind your own schedule. This will allow for clear planning on both parties, clear communication and for any preparation.

3)Watch your language : It’s important not to use Jargon in the context of technology, and if you are teaching about those languages make sure to explain further (cursor, mouse, click, text box..etc). (Hensley, 2021). 

4)Try not to do it for them (Unless that's what is needed) : It’s will make more sense with more practice but try to not do it for them, this way they will learn. Also it would allow them to do some exploring themselves.

5)Follow up : Ask how they are doing a couple days after the event, if they have any more questions or direct them to relevant resources (Hensley, 2021). 

Tailoring professional development to the individual needs and skill levels of educators is essential.

 1) Workshops: Offer a range of workshops, from beginner to advanced, this will allow different people with different experiences. 

2) Online Short Clips : Develop or curate online videos that the educators or other staff members can view on their own time.

3)Peer Learning: Encourage educators to share their expertise by organizing peer-led workshops after teaching at the event! 


  • What Is Peer-to-Peer Learning in the Workplace? (+Examples) | Whatfix4) Night Sessions: Schedule evening workshops or webinars for staff who are only free later in the day! 

Foster collaboration : 

1) Staff Meetings: Dedicate a portion of staff meetings to discuss ICT trends, share success stories and current new trends/technology

2)Cross-Departmental : Invite educators from different subject areas to collaborate on ICT skill projects. Share Share Share!! 

3) Invite parent members : who would like to share ICT skills with the school staff and organize an         evening event for this. 

Let's all learn together!

As educators, we have a unique opportunity to shape the professional development in our schools! We should all try to nurture each other to a "culture of lifelong learning" (Miller & Bass, 2019). in our schools and ensure that everyone has access to the support they need to thrive.




References : 


Hensley, D. (2021, March 4). Tips for helping someone learn to use technology. Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. https://www.carnegielibrary.org/tips-for-helping-someone-learn-to-use-technology/ 


Miller, S., & Bass, W. (2019).  Leading from the Library: Help your School Community Thrive in the Digital Age.  International Society for Technology in Education.


Comments

  1. Annette Te StroeteOctober 21, 2023 at 12:06 PM

    I really appreciate the section where you mentioned setting goals and limits. If all the educators in your building came to you for ICT support, it would be overwhelming. Setting boundaries ensures that a TL's workload is balanced. I also learn by doing -- so we need to teach that way too. When I am teaching students how to do something using ICT, I verbally give instructions, but they have to physically do it themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ms. Litke (she/her)October 22, 2023 at 3:39 PM

    Hi Michelle,

    I like how you looked at the specific details of building collaborative learning relationships. It is easy to talk about building relationships and ensuring trust with staff, but your steps are reminders to break this down into individual skills. I particularly like step 4 (try not to do it for them) and 5 (follow up). Often when staff have asked me for tech support they have looked for a quick fix in the moment. As I move into move of a digital mentor role, I would want to guide and support rather than simply solving digital issues. Then, specifically noting down follow ups could really help building staff competencies and ensure the learning has an impact! How can you see your self following up with staff?

    ReplyDelete

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