AASL Post: How to Create a More Flexible Seating Environment

How to Create a More Flexible Seating Environment | Creating a diverse array of flexible seating options in our libraries improves student learning. Here's some advice on how to get started.

“[I]magine how your students feel when they walk into your learning space. Are there comfortable seating options available? Is there a good variety to support both groups and individuals? Or are all the chairs uncomfortable and crammed tightly together?” In my post for AASL Knowledge Quest, I share the stories of two different airport experiences. … Read more

AASL Post: 6 Amazing Books to Inspire Your Library Space Design

AASL Post: 6 Amazing Books to Inspire Your Library Space Design | Want to change up your library space? Check out these books for some great recommendations.

I’ve been studying library space design a lot the last few months.  I’m currently working on a book for ISTE, tentatively titled Reimagining Library Spaces, that will be out sometime in the fall.  As I’ve been going through research, I thought it would be great to share some of my favorite learning space design books … Read more

How to Create a Floorplan of Your Space in Excel

How to Create a Floorplan of Your Space Using Excel | In this tutorial, learn how to hack Microsoft Excel to create a floorplan of your space. This is an excellent tool for rethinking and redesigning learning spaces, including classrooms and libraries.

  (Post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase using them, I get a small commission that helps support running this blog) How to Create a Floorplan in Excel Confession time: I’m a slight spreadsheet nerd.  My dad worked for IBM and I remember seeing him working on spreadsheets on our home computer at a … Read more

Read This Book: The Sketchnote Handbook

Read this book- The Sketchnote Handbook- The Illustrated Guide to Visual Note-taking | I may be a little late jumping onto the sketchnoting bandwagon, but I'm loving it. If you're interested in learning more about techniques and how to sketchnote, The Sketchnote Handbook is an amazing resource. Check out my review.

The Sketchnote Handbook: The Illustrated Guide to Visual Note-taking On the flight to ISTE a few weeks ago, I brought along The Sketchnote Handbook.  This book hooked me within a few pages. As I took sketchnotes throughout the conference (see them in my post) I could immediately see my skills improving. I’m relatively new to sketchnoting … Read more

How to Run a SUPER Circuit Bracelet Workshop

How to Run a SUPER Circuit Bracelet Workshop | I ran a Circuit Bracelet workshop with our STEMgirls club this year and we had tons of fun. I also learned a lot of lessons along the way and wanted to share here so that YOU can run a super circuit bracelet workshop in your makerspace.

The Story of the STEMgirls Club My school is a STEM magnet school and unfortunately, that leads to a disproportionate number of male students.  This year the ratio was 65% male, 35% female, which led to many of my female students feeling disenfranchised.  I wanted to do something to help create a safe environment for … Read more

Read this Book: The Language of School Design

Read this Book: The Language of School Design | In this amazing work on learning space design, the authors identify 29 different design patterns for 21st century schools. Included are many pictures, graphics and examples of the 29 design patterns. Some of these patterns include: cave space, daylight, connection to community, and indoor-outdoor connection. This is a fantastic book to inspire changes in our learning spaces to make them more conducive to 21st century learning.

The Language of School Design The Language of School Design: Design Patterns for 21st Century Schools, is a fantastic, well-designed book that takes a broad look at what makes a 21st Century School a modern learning space.  They break these ideas down into 29 well-researched Design Patterns.  Included with each of the patterns are examples … Read more

How to Get Library Design Inspiration: 6 Places to Visit

How to Get Library Design Inspiration: 6 Places to Visit | Many people think that the main place to get ideas for library space design is in other school libraries. However, we have much to learn from other types of learning environments. Here, I suggest six places for getting library design inspiration. @DianaLRendina

Library Design Inspiration: How to Find it When rethinking and redesigning our library spaces, many of us tend to focus on looking at other school libraries for ideas and inspiration.  However, there’s quite a few other learning environments and resources we should consider when planning our spaces.  Some are more traditional than others, but all … Read more

Teaching the Design Process in Makerspaces

Teaching the Design Process in Makerspaces | The Engineering Design Process is a series of steps that engineers (and other designers) take when creating a product or idea. The steps of this process fit in perfectly with makerspaces. In this post, I talk about collaborating with one of our science teachers on a lesson on the design process.

Stewart Middle Magnet is a STEM magnet school.  Part of the curriculum comes from Project Lead the Way, including classes in engineering, robotics and aerospace.  The Design Process is an important part of that curriculum.  It also ties in beautifully with what we do in our makerspace.  So it made sense for me to partner … Read more

Read this Book: Steal Like an Artist

Read this Book: Steal Like an Artist | While being an educator might not be seen as a "creative" type career, the advice that Austin Kleon offers about sharing your work and putting yourself out there really resonates with me. There's a great deal we educators have to learn from him. | RenovatedLearning.com

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

Read This Book: Get Active

Read this book: Get Active: Reimagining Learning Spaces for Student Success | In my review of Get Active, I talk about the learning space design theory that this book discusses. In particular, I look into how active learning spaces play a role in school libraries.

  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