The Renovated Learning Philosophy of Makerspaces

The Renovated Learning Philosophy of Makerspaces // Putting into words your ideas and philosophy on a particular concept isn't always easy. In this post, I attempt to articulate my own personal philosophy on makerspaces in schools.

Writing a post like this isn’t easy.  I feel like I know in my heart what my philosophy on makerspaces is, but putting it into tangible statements seems harder.  So I started thinking about this more as a manifesto – if I was to make a grand statement about what I feel the value of … Read more

Notifications and Social Media: How Connected do we REALLY Need to Be?

Notifications and Social Media: How Connected do we REALLY Need to Be? : Social media played a huge role in first connecting me to other educators. But I found that the notifications and pressure can actually take away from creativity and focus.

Back when I first started out as a school librarian, it was mostly a job.  I enjoyed it, it was helping me pay off my student loans, and it was fun. But it was something that I did within my own space.  Sure, I would share ideas with other librarians in my district and I … Read more

Why Our Learning Spaces Matter

Why Our Learning Spaces Matter : We need to stop worry about money, convenience and tradition. The spaces in which our students learn matter, and we need to make them better.

Educational environments have been stuck for far too long.  For decades, we have settled for beige concrete boxes. Little natural sunlight and fresh air.  Desks arranged in rows because it makes for the most efficient cleaning, rather than asking what makes for the most productive learning environment.  Our libraries are boxes with walls lined with … Read more

Farewell to the Newsletter, Hello to Meaningful Blogging

Farewell to the Newsletter, Hello to Meaningful Blogging

Cross-posted from my last e-mail newsletter.  Post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase using them, I get a small commission that helps support running this blog. Reflections on Passion About two years ago, I wrote the Renovated Learning Manifesto.   At the time, I was getting caught up in a fervor of learning about blogging … Read more

Be Intentional: Why Slow Change is Good for You

Be Intentional: Why Slow Change is Good for You | When changing something (your library space, your classroom, your life) quick, sudden change can be jarring. Being slow, deliberate and intentional can have power and make changes longer lasting.

I was a media specialist at my previous school for seven years.  A TON of things changed there during that time.  But they didn’t happen overnight.  I built things up piece by piece.  I experimented and tried new things.  There were plenty of failures, to be sure.  But there were also great successes that my … Read more