Implementing an iCentre approach: Your destiny, by design
•
1 like•1,204 views
My keynote presentation at the British Columbia Teacher Librarians' Association Conference (BCTLA) 2015, Vancouver, Canada
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Similar to Implementing an iCentre approach: Your destiny, by design
Similar to Implementing an iCentre approach: Your destiny, by design (20)
More from Syba Academy
More from Syba Academy (7)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Implementing an iCentre approach: Your destiny, by design
- 1. Implementing an iCentre approach: Your destiny, by design LYN HAY Director, Leading Learning Institute Adjunct Lecturer, Charles Sturt University Head of Professional Learning Syba Academy #BCTLA #psaday
- 2. Building a sustainable future for school libraries examination of issues, concerns and potentials of school library futures need to build capacity for a sustainable future where school libraries become key learning centres of information, inquiry, innovation, immersion and instructional excellence (Hay, 2010a; 2010b; Hay & Todd, 2010)
- 3. 21C project findings The school library is an important part of 21C school life Pedagogical fusion and digital citizenship Repositioning the school library as a flexible and dynamic learning space The challenge: articulating how school libraries impact on student learning http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/assets/pdf/21c_report.pdf
- 4. Teacher librarians needed to rethink their role if their core business was not based on instruction Moving from teacher librarian ‘actions’ to student outcomes Lack of ‘hard’ evidence provided by TLs Enablers and barriers to collecting and documenting evidence of learning outcomes Overall, school libraries are a valuable part of school life Australian Government inquiry into status of school libraries
- 5. It is the information- technology- learning hub of the school Introducing the iCentre concept
- 6. iCentre the form it takes reflects the function high-end multimedia production facility technology engine of a networked school + learning innovation engine large, flexible learning space based on fluid design principles layout will look different on a daily basis
- 7. WHY build an iCentre? Vision Perceptions Motivations Problems Agendas Silos Territory Convergence
- 8. iCentre technical-admin aspects of technology are secondary to learning agenda information, technology, curriculum & e-learning staff are ‘blended’ convergence allows strategic conversations
- 9. “I see an iCentre as an opportunity for collaboration... not only for students, but for the power-leaders (silo managers) to work together.”
- 10. “Imagine an activity and we will make a space for it” High School TL (Hay & Todd 2010, 2A.5) http://edu.blogs.com/.a/6a00d83451f00f69e20133f4d06221970b-popup
- 11. Do you want pedagogy to fuse the work of information, technology & learning specialists across the curriculum? key information, technology & learning leaders within a school to combine to consolidate their efforts? to strengthen the connection between home and school, and harness mobile connectivity?
- 12. to build capacity in your staff to use digital technologies to differentiate learning? to offer a variety of entry points for students who differ in abilities, knowledge & skills to offer different approaches to what students learn (content), how students learn (process) & how students demonstrate what they have learned (product) http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/ policies/gats/programs/differentiate/index.htm Do you want
- 13. Do you want to support teachers in effectively leading learning using 1:1 computing or BYOD? to provide timely, responsive information, technological & technical support to staff & students? to support the development of a personalised learning approach?
- 14. Do you want to assist teachers in effectively resourcing new curriculum initiatives assist students in developing their personal technology toolkit open classrooms to inquiry design learning for making critical & creative inquiry curiosity & imagination initiative & entrepreneurship connectedness & networking agility & adaptability inventing & making
- 15. What do you want your iCentre to do? What do you want your iCentre to look like?
- 16. “Chiara iCentre: more than just a library” Maureen Twomey, iCentre Coordinator, Assisi Catholic College, Upper Coomera, QLD PLC’s 1 degree bar. Permission to use photo by Gary Green Form Function Brand
- 17. iCentre is more than a label form & function determine your brand iCentre requires a re-engineering of ‘what we do’ – it’s more than libraries & computer labs iCentre brand = a dynamic, responsive, fluid ‘instructional zone’ within & beyond the school a learning centre of information, inquiry, innovation, immersion & instructional intervention supports connectivity & collaboration, critical engagement & creativity, construction & consolidation
- 18. “The iCentre brand provides powerful vision, concepts and terminology to take to stakeholders” School Library Apple Store Photo: ‘School Library, circa 1978’, April 10, 2007. Permission by Johnjron1 http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnron1/453419769/ IT Support
- 19. iCentre includes a qualified team of information, technology and learning experts strategic and operational functionality driven by an integrated team approach provides programs and services to support 21st century learners relevant, flexible, 24/7, customised services in school, at home, mobile access for ‘learning on the run’ pedagogy is central to all decision-making, policy and practice
- 20. Flexible access to computers, printers, internet and other resources, including teaching expertise, before school and at non class times is valued highly by students, and they link their academic success to such support. (Replication of the Ohio Study by Hay 2006)
- 21. What does an iCentre team do?
- 22. iCentre team resources the curriculum which reflects multi-format nature of our world supports inquiry learning, immersive learning experiences, and knowledge construction works with teachers to design curriculum units that reconcile multiple literacies supports transfer and consolidation of literacies across the curriculum
- 23. iCentre team provides ‘nuts & bolts’ technical support provides a program of informal and formal instruction on digital tools supports teachers to take risks as learning and technology innovators provides learning design support to encourage a shift in pedagogical practice provides customised support for students, teachers, administrators, parents
- 24. Excerpts from PLC’s 1 degree bar newsletter
- 26. iCentre team leads in the development, implementation & evaluation of a cross-curricula digital citizenship program provides information leadership in terms of informed policy development that supports technology access and instruction, rather than a ‘banning before thinking’ approach manages the school’s research program through evidence- based practice, action research, data-driven policy, and sustainability initiatives
- 27. What does an iCentre team look like?
- 28. No one size fits all model Principal, deputy principal, assistant principal Directors of Curriculum, IT, e-Learning, Library/Information Services, Pedagogy, Research Head Teachers/Teaching Coordinators of curriculum, learning technologies, & Teacher Librarians Interested, leading teachers & early edutech adopters Technical support staff – technology, library, administration Students – in-school, university
- 29. Lessons learned
- 30. Partnerships, not buildings library staff find ICT staff in the same facility very convenient library and ICT staff begin to upskill each other in their respective areas this has empowered both roles to work more efficiently and effectively conversations and partnerships develop to the point where ICT and library services start to blend – synergistic teaming
- 31. “The great benefit to teachers and students is that the iCentre has now become a one-shop shop for all their information, technology and learning needs” http://www.ideastore.co.uk/
- 32. People, not profiles targeted projects bring people & expertise together: digital textbooks, ebooks/audio books, learning management system, iDevices, BYOD, BYOB (browser – teaching/learning in the cloud) professional learning programs for teachers, e.g., Techie Brekky, Quick Shot, Coaching Clinics students as digital learning mentors for students and teachers everyone on the team is an expert in something!
- 33. “Having the technical and library teams working together on these projects provided really good fuel to bring us together and quite happily accept the concept of becoming an iCentre team” “I observed a comfortable blending of roles”
- 34. By design vs by accident “I was in a school that had not developed silos because it was a new school. I have worked in a very traditional school ... where to change something is like turning the Titanic. But here I was in this magic place where there were no established traditions, no established culture. Watching something happen with IT and library, and then reading an article that confirmed what I was observing and gave me the ability to articulate that in a very professional way to my principal. Wow!”
- 35. By design versus by accident One principal asked for the Curriculum Coordinator to be accommodated in the iCentre due to lack of staffroom accommodation. The TL’s reaction? “And it was like. This is an interesting accident!”
- 36. By design vs by accident “We are on a learning journey with regard to pedagogy and technology, but this building has given us many more options to explore…”
- 37. Seize opportunities by keeping one’s eyes wide open & being proactive
- 38. Principal needs to support the principle of an iCentre “You used the term ‘brave’, schools need to be brave to converge of facilities, technologies, people and resources, to develop an iCentre. Our principal was brave!” A fortnightly formal meeting with all library, ICT and curriculum leadership was held with this school principal.
- 39. “She could see the positives that were coming out of the blending of staff... So then it was the principal who began to expect and demand that we work as a team, and set up the culture in the school that the iCentre was where it was all going to happen.”
- 40. iCentre team as leaders We are seeing the impact on the development of a professional culture that supports teachers to take risks as learning and technology innovators
- 41. Digital normalisation is “when the digital technology that is already used naturally 24/7/365 outside the school walls is also used in all facets of the school’s operations” (Lee, 2013) The Taxonomy identifies 24 areas within the schools where there is clear evidence of ongoing evolution, covering the likes of the school’s educational vision, the operational mindset, the leadership of the principal, the empowerment of staff and students, pedagogy, home–school collaboration, technology support and school resourcing. Go to http://www.schoolevolutionarystages.net
- 42. “You’ll have noted that as schools move along the evolutionary continuum they become ever more integrated and the silo functions disappear. Tellingly, a number of the pathfinder schools interviewed had adopted the iCentre approach advocated by Hay (2012), and in all those situations, that iCentre was playing both a lead and integral role in the school’s evolution. That model clearly fitted those schools’ situation.” (Lee, 2013) iCentre as a sign of digital normalisation
- 43. “What one can safely say is that the way forward in ever more integrated school ecologies, that are virtually daily undergoing some kind of transformation, is to ensure the ‘libraries’ evolution is integral to the school’s holistic development.” Lee, M. (2013). Digital normalisation, school evolution and BYOT: Positioning the school library. Access, 27(4). Retrieved http://www.asla.org.au/publications/access/access- commentaries/digital-normalisation.aspx iCentre as a sign of digital normalisation
- 45. Implementing an iCentre approach: Your destiny, by design #BCTLA Contact me Head of Professional Learning Twitter/Instagram: lyn_hay Email: lyn_hay@sybaacademy.com Facebook/LinkedIn: lynhay Director, Leading Learning Institute Email: lyn_hay@live.com
Editor's Notes
- Australia schools are transforming their school libraries into iCentres, where the technology, library and curriculum leadership staff all work together as a team in a new facility that has been designed as a digital leadership and learning hub in the school. Results of a case study on iCentre design has shown the convergence of information, technology and curriculum expertise can lead to greater support of learning and teaching innovation in schools. In this session, participants will: be introduced to the fundamental elements of an iCentre, and presented a range of examples of iCentre design in schools; will examine a range of iCentre staffing models currently being employed in elementary and high school contexts; and will be given the opportunity to explore different ways they may be able to implement an iCentre approach in their school or district.
- The notion of pedagogical fusion centres on the school library providing a common place across the school for investigating and experimenting with information, examining multiple perspectives in an environment where students are guided by professionals and given appropriate instruction to effectively utlilise information and the most appropriate technology tools to support student achievement. As such, it is conceived as a unique learning environment–common, central, flexible, open, providing the opportunity for teams engaging in pedagogical experimentation to access and use information and web tools to empower learning through creativity, discovery, inquiry, cooperation, and collaboration. The school library was seen to play a central and important role in bringing together and enabling the intersection of virtual and physical resources, and virtual and physical spaces–providing that common ground to support the development of students’ information-to-knowledge competencies in ethical and safe ways. The school library, with access to information technology to support both information seeking, as well as the tools for engaging with found information to build deep knowledge, was seen as a critical landscape to foster students’ appropriate and ethical engagement with diverse information sources, and to be critical and safe users of this. Accordingly, the school library becomes an important zone of intervention and socialisation processes for learning how to function effectively in the complex informational and technological world beyond school.
- I believe different stakeholders in schools will approach the iCentre concept with different perceptions, motivations and agendas. For example, if you are a school principal, you may view the iCentre approach as a way of maximising your investment in facilities, technology, and people to gain the best student outcomes. I would interpret this as a principal looking forward, to building a new vision of what is possible, seeking continuous improvement. I could also see the iCentre approach being viewed by a school principal as a possible solution to ‘breaking down the silos’ or domains of technology, library/information and curriculum that may exist in his or her school, where the principals sees a lot of his staffs’ time and energy being invested in maintaining the existence of these silos, rather than working as a more integrated whole, which has become a barrier to effective change and improvement in the school. After all, what principal doesn’t want their school running as a well-oiled machine? What about the vision, perceptions, motivations of the Curriculum Coordinator, or the Director of IT, or the e-Learning Technologies Coordinator, or the Head of Information Services, or the Teacher Librarian? Is the technical tail wagging the dog, or is pedagogy driving technological innovation at your school? Each of these stakeholders will more than likely have a different vision for an iCentre. This vision will be influenced by their own perceptions and motivations, the problems they predict will be resolved by developing an iCentre may be different to other stakeholders. Each stakeholder will have some kind of agenda, I think we would be naive to think otherwise. What silos exist in your school that may hinder the convergence of information, technology and learning domains that I am proposing with this iCentre concept. Whose ‘territory’ will be threatened, and whose territory (and power) may be expanded? I think these are very hard questions that a school community needs to face when exploring the idea of building an iCentre. But they must be asked, they are essential to moving forward.
- The three principles of form, function and brand provide a useful framework for schools wishing to explore the convergence of facilities, resources, people, funding, policy, programs and services to develop an iCentre. The information, technology and learning specialists in your school can play a leadership role in building a vision towards an iCentre approach. Begin with starting strategic conversations with your school community. What do you want your iCentre to do? This is the South Sydney College (Leichhardt) iCentre’s inCubator – a design and making facility within the iCentre. The TL at SSCL believes the new branding of their facility as an iCentre has dramatically shifted the school community’s expectations of the facility, programs and staff, including additional financial support from the school’s Parents & Citizens (P&C) association, she states: Students have realised that it’s a fun place to be as there’s lots going on during breaks from makerspaces to gaming, knitting groups, etc. There’s something for everyone! Parents are supporting the space with the P&C by funding some of the changes I have instigated including the purchase of new furniture and decal signage, and the technology to create our new ‘iBar’ reference section (an iPad-based reference section for students). The features of the inCubator lend themselves to a different type of teaching, group work is encouraged lots of ‘thinking material’ supplies like post-it notes, portable white boards, writeable walls and tables, and butchers paper. The iCentre team continues to up-skill the staff to use more design thinking and critical thinking in their teaching as a direct result of creating this learning space, which is being embraced by some teachers, while others are slower to change the way they work with their students, “We are supporting the change by offering team teaching in the space to help teachers transition.”
- In other words, it’s not about what you say. It’s about what you do!
- At Assissi College, the Information, Communication Learning Technologies (ICLT) coordinator’s office was relocated to the iCentre, an iHelp desk was established to assist with student and staff technical issues, and a group of thirty students across years 8–12 completed a training program to become iHelp assistants.
- The design of an iCentre goes beyond the physical learning and production space to a strong online presence that provides a 24/7 information and instructional service. Mt Alveria’s iCentre team ensured the branding of their iCentre portal used exactly the same branding as that within the iCentre facility. Over the two years since rebranding as an iCentre, the college community have come to view ‘library’ services as both a physical space and a digital space… Curation services are seen as integral part of information services and this expectation has led to a teacher-librarian being employed for the equivalent of one day each week to work on the website newsfeed, Facebook Page, Twitter and Pinterest accounts.
- In terms of iCentre facilities design, also explore the designs of Ideas Stores in the Tower Hamlet shire in the UK which are a community-based facility which brings together public libraries, technology/digital learning services, and community learning commons.
- Bringing together staff across library, technology and curriculum leadership requires careful people management skills and processes – the ultimate goal being the formation of genuine partnerships between team members. iCentre managers advise the most strategic way of assisting this formation is the planning and implementation of projects that bring key people and their expertise together.
- The teacher librarian at SSCL iCentre has been given the responsibility of managing a couple of innovative projects across the school in 2015, including an iPad for Learning trial and Project- based Learning in Year 7, both of which requires significant collaboration with teachers across the curriculum. She has also been asked to lead whole school professional learning and College professional learning workshops. She concluded, “I really believe that taking the initiative to design a 21st century learning space has raised the profile of the TL and afforded me those opportunities.”
- Based on the experiences of these schools, when opportunities for collaboration appear, members of the iCentre team need to grasp these and run with them. ‘Keeping one’s eyes widen open’, and ‘Being proactive’ needs to become the mantra of team members. After the SSCL iCentre also introduced ‘The inCubator’ space it became the home for the Schools’ Year 9 and 10 Project-Based Learning elective, all Photography classes, and in the week of the school year, the iCentre hosted an Hour of Code program with over 200 Year 7-10 students enrolling for the full week program.
- “She could see the positives that were coming out of the blending of staff... So then it was the principal who began to expect and demand that we work as a team, and set up the culture in the school that the iCentre was where it was all going to happen.”
- A proactive principal can contribute with vision-building, managing the reconfiguration of staffing, building a culture that supports change and innovation, and identify opportunities for resourcing new iniatives. For example, the Principal of SSCL has employed an additional 0.2 technology specialist for 2015 to work from the iCentre to team teach classes (both with classroom teachers and the TL), and to host teacher workshops targeting technology integration in the curriculum. According to the teacher librarian, “the Principal has [also] instigated the formation of a teacher team called ‘The Space Makers’. It is our brief to move more traditional classrooms to this kind of design over the coming year using the model of the inCubator”. This demonstrates just how powerful principal support is in building an iCentre’s momentum and school community expectations.
- This support can also lead to the development of a professional culture that supports teachers to take risks as learning and technology innovators; and the provision of learning design support encourages a shift in pedagogical practice. This has occurred at Mt Alvernia College, where the iCentre team is now seen as a major contributor to the coordination of digital citizenship curriculum, and the ‘shared learning’ movement in the school, as described by the Curriculum Leader of Information Services & iCentre: The perception of literacy support and teaching has broadened from traditional literacy and information literacy to include digital literacy, media literacy and network literacy… [and] the curriculum has changed and a subject called Research and Technology (ReTech), coordinated by the iCentre has replaced the traditional subject of IT. The difference is that ReTech focuses on 21st century skills instead of learning software… The teacher-librarians are seen as leaders in digital citizenship throughout the college... The profile of the information services team has also changed over the two years since rebranding as an iCentre. It is a strategic direction of the College for staff to engage in shared learning and the iCentre team have been identified as providers of professional learning within the college… Working with college leadership to provide professional learning for staff will continue to be a focus into the future. As new iCentre programs and services are offered, school communities begin to expect further development and new initiatives. It becomes a cycle of continuous improvement, where change becomes the norm. Within this culture, the iCentre team thrives.
- Digital normalisation, school evolution and BYOT Positioning the school library by Mal Lee ACCESS, Vol. 27, Issue 4, 2013. retrieved http://www.asla.org.au/publications/access/access-commentaries/digital-normalisation.aspx