What a wild ride. I normally try to post a "back to school" update on this blog each year. It's now October 22nd and I'm just now getting to the update. That should give you an indication of how things have been going...BUSY! I have not been a huge fan of the phrase "the new normal" so instead I will use "How Things Are Right Now" as the title for this update.
Our school buildings officially closed on March 13, 2020. A return to in-person learning wasn't in the cards, but our classes and activities moved into the virtual environment for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. This posed many logistical challenges, but also enabled teachers to use technology in different ways for creating learning experiences and fostering connections. I worked hard to support teachers and students with resources, create lesson content and video tutorials, and extend special library programming. Through the Microsoft Teams platform, we were able to host Gimkit trivia competitions, book groups, and even virtual author visits.
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End of Year Report for 2019-2020
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The summer before the 2020-2021 school year wasn't particularly restful, as plenty of uncertainty loomed regarding what school would look like in the continuing era of COVID-19. Iroquois administrators chose to employ a hybrid model with a 100% remote option also available. Cohort A students attend in-person Monday and Tuesday, while students in Cohort B attend on Thursday and Friday. Wednesday in-person attendance alternates weekly between the two Cohorts. Students learning remotely participate in each period via use of Microsoft Teams.
As the school year began, students stayed in their home base classroom for the entire day and teachers rotated into these classrooms to teach. As of October 19th, students are now moving into different rooms for their classes. The library remains closed to students, so this has posed some logistical issues for library services.
Book Access
The first hurdle of the year was rising to the challenge of getting books in the hands of students within the context of the new learning environment. It was interesting to have to think about how to get books out without having the use of the physical library as a place to browse and checkout materials. Many different strategies have been employed so far:
Sora Introduction: Each student in grades 6-8 has been introduced to Sora, our district's service for ebook and audiobook access. I was able to introduce Sora in a couple of different ways. Our library website includes a Sora information page which features tutorials on how to use the service. Some teachers chose to show these videos to their students. Other teachers booked time with me to visit their classes. I either visited the classroom in person or virtually. While virtual, I shared my screen via Microsoft Teams so all students could walk through Sora access step by step. In our region we are also lucky to belong to the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library system. With a public library card, students can expand their digital book access through Sora by linking to the public library's collection. Each student was also encouraged to utilize the public library collection and sign up for a card in case they didn't already have one.
Morning Book Browsing: Students are allowed to enter the building at 7:15 am, but home base does not begin until 7:40 am. This creates quite a bit of downtime, but it's also the perfect opportunity for book checkout. Each morning I wheel a cart around to the classrooms and students may check out books then and there.
BookHub: The last phase of this approach involved setting up a system for students to request books from the library. While I was in Ms. Beauchamp's classroom reviewing Sora, her students commented that "BookHub" would be a perfect name for the book delivery service. They even designed a gorgeous logo to go with the service! Through BookHub, students can email requests, place holds on specific books, or request a surprise delivery.
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Special thanks to Ms. Beauchamp's class for this great logo!
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Book Promotion
Another concern was how to promote books in a climate where we are mostly virtual. During last year's building closure, book clubs and book chats were held online. Students and staff members had wonderful book recommendations, which were
compiled and posted on the library website.
In addition to sharing out these recommendations, reading teachers in sixth grade have also began promoting the 40 book challenge with their students. As part of this challenge, students are asked to read widely across genres. A genre organizer was shared with the teachers and I was "virtually" invited in to chat about genres and offer suggestions. I'm blown away by the knowledge of the sixth graders! This is a group that has read a TON of books. They had amazing reading suggestions which they graciously shared with their classmates.
Book promotion also took place with Mrs. Maulucci's eighth grade ELA classes. Mrs. Maulucci wanted to make sure each student chose something of interest for use during their independent reading times. To aid in their selection, I used Wakelet to
compile a collection of book trailers. These book trailers corresponded to titles that were available in the physical library. The Wakelet also included instructions for BookHub, so students were able to put in their book requests immediately.
I've been slow to post on social media these days, but the library Instagram page is still up and running! I'll be using @iroquoismiddlelibrary to post library updates as well as book recommendations. Goodreads allows me to keep track of books in the library that I've read; the app's widget pairs with both this blog and the library website to promote recently read titles.
Digital Citizenship
The increased emphasis on virtual learning has made it increasingly important to discuss both the benefits and pitfalls of being online.
Common Sense Media provides an amazing digital citizenship curriculum which I've been able to utilize and adapt to meet the needs of learners here at Iroquois.
So far, I've delivered digital citizenship lessons to seventh grade ELA classes and both sixth and eighth grade STREAM classes. Topics covered included how to problem solve "red flag" feelings that arise while online, making a plan for digital balance, and analyzing the characteristics inherent in excellent digital citizens. Each of these lessons contained a reflection component where students shared what they enjoy about social media and what they would like to learn next.
Student Voice and Making Connections
As would happen in a typical year, I look for ways to ensure that student voice and choice remain central to all of the offerings in the library. While pushing into classes for the Sora introduction, I invited each student to fill out a brief library survey. This survey asked students to share their insights as to books that should be ordered and programming that should be offered. I look through all of these responses and add the requests to the library book order. The feedback will also help me to determine which programming would be most well received by students. As time allows, I individually respond via email to each student survey. Sending this email opens up another line of communication with the students; it's my hope that making myself available to them will urge them to reach out should they desire anything from the library.
New this year are library bookmarks and postcards. Minute Print in Cheektowaga, NY designed gorgeous items to distribute to students. The bookmarks contain a QR code to the library website and also remind students how to care for books in the age of COVID-19. The postcards will be sent home to remote students, or to the hybrid students just to say hello. There's nothing quite like getting an ACTUAL piece of mail in this digital age!
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Minute Print created these postcards to send to students.
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Custom bookmarks contain a WR code for the library website.
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Assisting Staff MembersFinding ways to help staff members has also looked a little different because of the health concerns we are now facing. In previous years I would be planning our Book Bistro staff party and potluck in the library. COVID concerns prevent that, so I've been sending out all staff emails with library updates as well as targeted emails with resources/ideas that would be of interest to individual educators.
Library Twitter is always a great place to go for fresh ideas. I'm ashamed to say that I can't find the person that originally shared the template below. However, I was able to adapt this library menu in order to share library offerings with the educators at Iroquois Middle.
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Library Services Menu via Canva
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How Things Are Right Now
To conclude, library services are still chugging along but just in a different form than in the past. Being an educator right now is a tough mental lift. I'm used to being able to perform at higher levels. Tasks that were once easy now require tons of creativity and effort. I can't think of another time during my career as a school librarian where I've worked so hard only to feel like efforts are falling short of the mark. It is some comfort knowing that all educators are finding new ways to make it all work. I'll continue to lean on colleagues for support and inspiration!
