For the longest time (okay, for about five years) I would attend conferences, learn lots of great new ideas, and take them back to my school. I loved hearing from other educators about the awesome things that they were doing, but I didn’t really see what I had to share. Then I discovered the Maker … Read more
You CAN start a makerspace even if you’re broke In my recent post on AASL Knowledge Quest, I decided to revisit and revamp a popular article that I wrote for the ISTE Librarians Network Scanner about starting a makerspace on a budget. Since writing that article in November 2014, I’ve talked to many more educators and … Read more
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, is not a book written specifically for educators, yet out of all the books I’ve read so far this year, it’s had the most profound effect on me. The author, Greg McKeown, explains his philosophy of Essentialism in the book. And I found myself nodding my head over and … Read more
This post has nothing to do with makerspaces or libraries, but it’s something I feel strongly about, so I’m addressing it anyway. Full disclaimer here: 100th day celebrations seem to pretty much be an elementary school thing. While I did sub as a media specialist in elementary schools early in my career, I’ve only been … Read more
While on the flight to AASL in Columbus, OH, I read Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative in its entirety. Like Show Your Work, which I read over the summer, Steal Like an Artist offers fantastic advice on being creative, promoting your work, sharing with others and following your … Read more
At the end of every calendar year, I like to take some time to reflect on what I’ve learned, how I’ve grown, and how I plan to have an even more awesome life in the next year. Rather than keeping these reflections to myself, I wanted to share them on here. I think that it’s … Read more
As I’ve been reflecting on all that’s happened this year and I look ahead to next year, I’ve been thinking about how things have changed for me and how I’ve grown. Learning to put yourself out there When I first started working as a school librarian just over five years ago, I was treading water, trying to … Read more
Get Active: Reimagining Learning Spaces for Student Success I got my copy of Get Active: Reimagining Learning Spaces for Student Success at ISTE 2015 this summer in Philadelphia. I love reading about and studying learning space design theory. I truly feel that innovative learning environments can transform how our students learn. This book is an … Read more
AASL Awesomeness Last week I went to my first ever American Association of School Librarians conference in Columbus, OH (thanks to ABC-CLIO and the France Henne award). It was an amazing and wonderful whirlwind of hanging out with friends, listening to fantastic speakers, meeting my favorite authors and getting to share with so many people … Read more
“What is a ‘maker’? Quite simply, makers make things. Some makers build robots, some sew clothes, some prepare food, some design tools, some construct houses. ‘Maker’ isn’t a title conveyed after passing some test or degree program; rather, it is a self-identification. It’s also not, by any stretch of the imagination, a new concept.” In … Read more