Every session I attended at the 2015 ITEM Conference had countless great ideas, but the three breakout sessions that stood out the most for me were: Macgyver Librarianship, How to Amplify Student Voice, and Coding in the Elementary School.
Jennifer Lagarde’s (@librarygirl) MacGyver Librarianship breakout session was filled with a nonstop stream of ideas for improving the library. Much of the time was focused on simple inexpensive ways you can redecorate on a dime. However, the biggest take away for me was the fact that very few of the ideas that she shared were hers. Most of them came from her involvement with the professional learning network on Twitter titled #macgyverlibrarianship. Paricipating in that community is a simple shift I can implement right away.
With the simple and powerful message of Friday’s subtle shifts keynote resonating in my head, I followed Dr. Brad Gustafson (@gustafsonbrad) to an interactive discussion he facilitated about ways to Amplify Student Voice in your school. The session had over 12 different ideas including: augmented reality, blended learning, makerspaces, Youtube, student led PD, and so many more. But one idea struck me as something I could easily implement on Monday, the Principals Podcast Crew. I teach a media production class and I think that offering their video editing services to create a podcast from the principal about what is going on in the school would increase communication and creativity in our school.
One of the last sessions of the conference I attended was all about coding in the elementary classroom. The list of free tools for introducing young students to coding and computational thinking was inspiring, because so much of the time that our elementary students spend in the computer lab is devoted to playing educational games or using test prep software. The coding curriculum we discussed, can be easily implemented and will also have a greater impact on student success.
Participating in #macgyverlibrarianship chats, implementing the Principal’s Podcast Crew, and trying out coding in the elementary school are three subtle shifts I can implement right away in our school. I am looking forward to the dramatic changes that result.
