InSPIRing Conversations reflection

Spires of Prague photo: Dianne McKenzie

I did it! I lead a very successful conversation at the School Librarian Connection conference in Prague over the last weekend. I was sharing our school Human Library experiences. The presentation was very well received inspiring other librarians and teacher to apply this method at their schools and libraries. Right from the beginning I saw the light being turned on in the audience's minds making connections to their libraries and events, on how to host a Human library at their schools. I hope I spread the concept of Human library, a way to share our stories and learn from each other well forward.

Making connections.

Many colleagues approached me asking about the Human library as they were unable to attend the session but had heard good reviews and comments. I gave mini presentations and led personal conversations about the Human library throughout the conference weekend. I am very pleased that my presentation was reference during the following days.

Sharing ideas.

I am so glad that the School Librarian Connections organisation, a renowned company based in Hong Kong decided to host their conference in Europe (for the very first time!) bringing together a diverse group of librarians, teachers and educators for shared learning. The pre-conference workshops were lead by the notorious library experts in their respective fields. John Royce presenting on academic writing, citation and referencing. Katie Day on illuminating research: making the invisible visible in the research process. And last but not least Dianne McKenzie presenting on understanding and working with Information literacy /Approaches to Learning skills. As a MYP candidate school librarian and the MYP Coordinator it was highly useful discussing and studying this topic, seeing how the librarians are the key players in implementing the skills into teaching and learning. Being able to have conversations with these experts who are actually real, warm and funny people was one of my greatest takeaways, not to mention all other wonderful librarians and teachers I met during this conference. Having a face connected to a name that one turns for advice on the ECIS librarians forum or who's blog one is following for ideas and latest advances was a wonderful opportunity.

I truly recommend you signing up for a professional development conference. Not only signing up but also presenting. You make a difference!

InSPIRing Conversations

I am very excited to lead a conversation at the InSPIRing Converations Conference organized by the School Librarian Connections in Prague next week.
My conversation "Don't judge a book by the cover -The  Human Library" shares our experience of hosting a Human Library at the International School of Estonia for the lower school students. I will be a book on loan titled "Human library-what, why, how: running a successful living library in lower school" telling a story about our challenges and successes hopefully inspiring others to give this exciting learning format a try.

The Human Library works exactly as a normal library – readers come and borrow a “Book” for a limited period of time. After reading it they return the Book to the library. There is one difference: the Books in the library are human beings, and the Books and readers enter into a personal dialogue. The aim of a Human Library is to start a conversation that can challenge stereotypes and prejudice through personal dialogue. The Human Library is a place where difficult questions are expected, appreciated and answered.

This sound intriguing and pretty big... for the lower school.

I was challenged to make this format work for the younger readers. I defined the Human Library for the young readers as a verbal heritage tool, a way to share our stories, culture, hobbies, interests, skills in a real face to face situation, to learn from each other and about each other.

I am glad about the opportunity to share our experiences and at the same time learning from my colleagues and fellow librarians.

The very first ISE Human Library during sport themed "Healthy Mind in Healthy Body"  Book Week, school year 2013-2014

Human Library during the Book Week "We All Speak Music" dedicated to music, school year 2014-2015

Human Library hosted during Science week, school year 2015-2016

Besides sharing our experiences I am looking forward to learning from my colleagues and fellow librarians. As a MYP Coordinator and librarian I am very excited about the opportunity of participating in the "Understanding and working with Information Literacy skills /the Approaches to Learning in a library context." workshop lead by Dianne McKenzie.
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ISE Learning Commons at CEESA Conference

I am very excited of the opportunity to introduce our Learning Commons at CEESA Conference, Istanbul Turkey.

Our MYP/DP Art teacher Edna Vahter and I introduce the development of learning spaces at International School of Estonia that allow creative personalized and collaborative conceptions for students and teachers. Our example is the development of our library into a Learning Commons. During the workshop, participants have an opportunity to reflect, design and create their own visions about 21st century`s study areas using a variety of tools and/or materials.

The changes in society, advances in technology and globalization of ‘everything’ are the characteristics of our daily life. Nowhere is change more evident than in the field of libraries. Viewing this transformation as an opportunity participants will follow the story of ISE Learning Commons - how the library, art/design room, hallway nooks and corners evolved into both personalized and collaborative learning space that are ‘owned’ by students and staff alike. Learning Commons approach takes the school library into the 21st century supporting IB pedagogy of inquiry, action and reflection; critical thinking skills in students and offering a place for creation, integration and experimentation. Partakers will join our journey and experience how collaboration between library and art spaces, and teachers can support every student's voice in a school environment. Workshop members have an opportunity to create and reflect their own visions of contemporary study areas building on the ISE experience and the common knowledge gained from the group discussions. 

The format for the presentations is as exciting - a Learning Innovated unConference - where participants set the agenda at the beginning of the day and explore topics that are highly relevant and important to them in an extremely collaborative and participatory environment.

The host Joe Barder explains While there are no “typical” unConferences, there are few things that lend structure to this highly flexible format. First, everyone attending comes with the idea of sharing in mind (i.e. an issue you’re struggling with, a teaching technique/strategy, etc.) in a short “mini-workshop” setting. Second, that everyone attending is responsible for their own experience - if you feel you are in the wrong “mini-workshop” you can go to another one that you thought you might be interested in (this is known in unConferences as the “law of 2 feet”). And finally, that breaking off from the agenda set at the beginning to pursue an interesting idea/thought with another participant or on your own is encouraged. 

This last piece is by far the most rewarding part of the unConference. Indeed, the very notion behind unConferences was that the most stimulating conversations generally take place over coffee breaks when participants can interact with each other and discuss various topics, including their own professional interests. As one unConference attendee/organizer puts it: “So much of life and work is overly structured that it doesn’t give us, or our ideas, the room to run and grow freely. By contrast, the unstructured, high-energy environment of the unConference amplifies ideas.”

Visit Learning Innovated website for further information. 

CEESA Learning Innovated 2016

I am very excited of the opportunity to introduce the journey of our Learning Commons at CEESA Conference, Istanbul Turkey. Our Art teacher, Edna Vahter, and I are presenting at the CEESA Learning Innovated unConference - an innovative professional development event that CEESA is hosting for the second year. The unConference is facilitated by Joseph Barder.

What is an unConference?

Some key ideas:

     # participants set the agenda to explore topics that are highly relevant and important to them in an extremely collaborative and participatory environment;

     # everyone attending comes with the idea of sharing in mind;

     # everyone attending is responsible for their own experience; 

    # the most stimulating conversations generally take place over breaks when participants can interact with each other and discuss various topics, including their own professional interests.

Below Stanford IT unConference video illustrates the concept further.

“So much of life and work is overly structured that it doesn’t give us, or our ideas, the room to run and grow freely. By contrast, the unstructured, high-energy environment of the unConference amplifies ideas,” reflects one of last year's attendee of the unConference.

You can read more about our workshop in the next post.

Books as concept manipulatives

I came across an intriguing idea reading "The Library Element" blog by Philip Williams. I think it is worth sharing and exploring further. Have you ever thought of using books and library for math instruction? Organizing, sorting, counting, size and other math topics could easily be explored in the library. Great, or what?

"Books, as physical objects, can similarly be considered as  “concept manipulatives“. Apart from the rich stories, informational texts & all that books represent, the physical artefact that is a book gives students the opportunity to hold ideas in their hands. This is not a print versus digital argument either. It is simply an appreciation for the physical act of grasping a book or a pile of books on a subject & organising them, categorising them, classifying them, sorting them and all the while discussing & engaging with various concepts that may relate to that subject area. Even the act of searching the library shelves for a book engages the whole body in the process of research." Read more

Exploring books in the library.

Manipulatives in the library.

It all comes together in the library.

Smart surfaces in ISE Library!

Have you ever wanted to let your creativity loose and draw on a table or a wall but not being allowed to...? Now you can! ISE library has new innovative, smart surfaces for collaboration, group work, brainstorming and other creative activities. With the help from Mr. Guido we turned a couple of tables and shelf ends into white boards. Come in, take a look and be smart!

Hi! Tell me your thoughts, ideas & dreams!

What book speaks to you?

Grade 5 brainstorming information sources.

When were you the happiest today?

Group work

Collaboration

It all comes together in the library (see the center).

Human Library 2015

Book Week 2015 "We All Speak Music" ended on Friday with an exciting Human Library event. I commend the time and effort all the Books in the Human Library volunteered. From International School of Estonia - Karolina Sepp and handbell students (Christian, Simon, Janek, Anjali, Saskia, Viola, Amane), Paula grade 10, Tamara grade 12, Guido Hiiemaa, Anais Chevalier, Reelika Herkel, Relika Bergstrom, Solvi Ryder, and from outside school Toomas Sepp and Andrea Patron. The books were very interesting and expedient. I was amazed by the talent people have to be shared with our students.

This year the Library Catalog held 10 music themed books.

1. Title: The World of Bells
Summary: The history and the basics of playing the handbells, and a small concert with the possibility of joining in.
2. Title: The Rhythmic World of Percussion
Summary: Find out musical percussion instruments from different part of the world and discover how to play interesting sounds and rhythm.
3. Title: Trumpet in a Musical Circle
Summary: You will learn about the trumpet player's life and why music is important.
4. Title: You Can't Dance Without Music
Summary: This book is about dancing. It tells us about how music and dance are closely related. Have you ever seen a ballet? Would it be good if there was no music? Let's find out and dance together with the music.
5. Title: Singer Songwriter
Summary: Have you ever thought about singing? How about singing a song you wrote yourself?
We will be talking about joys and struggles of being a singer songwriter, learn few tricks and ways to write a song and try to create one together.
6. Title: Digital Organ
Summary: Find out about an instrument called piped organ and hear it play some extraordinary pieces of music.
7. Title: Feel the Beat
Summary: Find out about different drumming styles, discover the rhythm in you and create your own beats.
8. Title: Estonia and the Eurovision Song Contest
Summary: A short overview of Estonian performers and songs at Eurovision song contest from 1994 till now. Greatest winners and losers, and funniest performers and songs. Come and check us out.
9. Title: A Musical Trip Through the Baltics
Summary: Listen to a song starting from Estonia, through Latvia and ending in Lithuania. In each country the song recommends what to do there and what to notice and keep in mind.
10. Title: The sounds of variety
Summary: Listen to various genres of music and spot the differences between them. Find out what genre suits you the most and is your favorite. A perfect opportunity to hear what makes genres different.

Living/Human Library

Last week I participated in the Living Library method at Tallinn University.

The Living Library is an innovative method designed to promote dialogue, reduce prejudices and encourage understanding.The Living Library works exactly like a normal library – readers come and borrow a 'book'. After reading it they return the Book to the library. There is only one difference: the Books in the Living Library are human beings, and the Books and readers enter into a personal dialogue. In the Living Library, Books cannot only speak, but they are able to reply to the readers' questions, and the Books can even ask questions and learn themselves.

Stay tuned for the Annual Book Week!

Read more

ISE Library stands out!

International School of Estonia and its program have set an example for local schools.

Estonian Librarians´ Union School Librarians´ Section issued guidelines for promoting information literacy in Estonian school libraries; “Promoting Information Literacy in School Libraries: Guide for Secondary School Librarians” http://www.hm.ee/index.php?popup=download&id=10676 (in Estonian).
This is the first document guiding Estonian school librarians to deliver instruction and teach classes on information literacy and promoting books and reading. The Guidelines include (pg.6) ISE Library Curriculum and one lesson plan as an exemplar of regularly scheduled library/information literacy program and instruction. It also includes the Research Cycle created fo, promoting research skills.

Although Estonian school librarians are devoted to their profession and have always delivered library instruction in some form or another it is highly unusual for local school libraries to have a yearlong set program in place. Here ISE has set an example and shared experience with the local community.