“Hacking” the missing component in many digital literacy programmes.
Robotics for ’21st Century Skills’
This post offers a summary of my recent EduTECH 2018 presentation. Why Robotics.. and why in the library? Have you ever wondered to yourself, “where might my students have gone, if ‘assessment outcome’ wasn’t a […]
VR in the classroom!
Will schools be ready for VR? Learning from our mistakes: the Tablet Rush If only I had a dollar for every teacher I have heard, lamenting the fact that our school system just was not […]
‘Critical’ Information Literacy
Whose information literacy? The capacity for local conditions and issues to influence the way information literacy is defined and taught, is a concept that has gained significant momentum over the last decade among librarians and […]
Inclusiveness & Media Literacy
Student wellbeing policies usually make reference to a ‘culture of inclusiveness’. This culture is one where differences do not lead to discrimination, and where every child feels equally safe and valued. I have been thinking […]
Up & Running with VR
Since my EduTECH presentation about VR in school libraries (2017), I have received several email enquiries from school library folk who want to know exactly how to get up and running with VR. Hence this […]
Virtual Reality in Schools
In 2016, worldwide revenue from augmented and virtual reality was $5.2 billion. By 2020, it is predicted to reach $162 Billion. (IDC, Aug. 2016) Virtual Reality (VR) is like no resource we have ever used […]
People are Resources
Library Lectures Last year I started up a Library Lectures programme in our school library. Each week on a Thursday during lunch, we have somebody talking about something they are passionate about and wish to share. Who […]
Play as an approach
Play is not so much an activity as it is an approach. It is a very particular, instinctual, joyous approach towards interacting with our environment and each other. It is not something that only children […]
When reading is hard
SLAV Nov, 2016 Conference: Engaging Teens with Reading Download the paper I wrote for this conference. I was asked if I could please post a copy of my presentation slides and video tutorials, from the […]
Wasted Professional Development
Too often, ideas inspired within us during a PD session, remain untried, go undiscussed, and then under the weight of our to-do lists and the post-it notes on our desks, they are crushed into a […]
Open Night!
What role does your school library play on Open Night? Indeed, does your school library even play a role? When prospective students and their parents stream into your school to assess its worth and suitability, […]
Craft with Strategy
Craft has become a valuable and often strategic tool for librarians wanting to bring creative activity and intrigue into the 21st Century library space. The beauty of most craft is its capacity to enhance inclusive […]
Ubiquitous Library
It is no longer acceptable to simply expect that patrons will meet us half way in order to access what we offer. It’s actually not even safe to assume that all of our patrons will […]
Augmented Reality
SO MANY REALITIES Augmented reality as a library resource This paper was presented at the School Library Association of Victoria (SLAV) Premier Conference, 2015: It’s a Digital World Librarians should perhaps be alarmed that in […]
Emerging Technologies
Engaging students with emerging technologies “‘Why would a school library run a Tech and Gaming Club?’ The obvious quick response is ‘why not?’ However, in reality a more comprehensive answer is required, because the question […]
Non-academic skills
“Non-academic skills” are those elusive personal capabilities and qualities which seem to determine success in adult life, despite academic success/prowess or lack thereof. It has been a hot topic for quite some time now in […]
Creating Context
Many people see libraries as places of content. This is true, but it is not the whole truth. Where content delivery in concerned, libraries in fact offer contextualised content. Librarians manufacture contexts all the time… […]
Silence & Noise
Silence is a resource. Silence must be available to those who need it, but the days of blanket silence in the library, as a rule, are long gone.There are a few unusual libraries for which […]
Wisdom Snacks
“Wisdom snacks” is what I call those little bits of information which appear suddenly in front of us, and lead to spontaneous insight or knowledge creation. They sometimes take us by surprise, they always pack […]
Define: “library”
Ask a random person on the street “what is a library?”, and you will likely receive a reply something along the lines of the following: “It’s where you borrow books” “You can study there” “People […]
‘Experience’ architects
We create the school library experience every day.
What happened?
What happens in libraries? ….more than many folk think! That’s why I started this site a few minutes ago. The real question is “what is happening to libraries”! The Library, as an institution, is undergoing drastic […]