My favorite epiphany is when I hear about something, hack it a bit, and then make it into my own "favorite thing". I have lots of examples of "favorite things", none of which would have come to life without good ol' inspiration. I have quite a few gems that I turn to for inspiration.
Social media gems include Twitter. I can get great tidbits from @techchef4u, @ClassTechTips, @Ryan7Read, @mrbadura, @PaulSolarz, @SteinatDavis, and so many more! I tend to gravitate toward Twitter when I'm looking for a piece of quick inspiration or an inspiring article. Pinterest is another "go to" for me. Most recently, I have found amazing MakerEd projects on Pinterest as well as fun ways to incorporate clues into Breakout Edu games. Some of my favorite pinners include rivesjen, mattBgomez, lisacarnazzo, techchef4u, and angelasauter. I also enjoy reading the blogs of other educators. I absolutely love The Daring Librarian's Blog, The Adventures of Library Girl, and Free Technology For Teachers. From each blog, I get different things. I am blown away by the presentations shared on The Daring Librarian's Blog, enjoy the anecdotes about the profession on Library Girl's blog, and love the quick tech tips on Richard Byrne's Free Technology for Teachers blog. Each of these resources has had an impact on my ability to evolve in a role that is constantly changing. Paul Solarz has taught me the art of digital portfolios while Missy Stein has demonstrated the beauty of gamifying the classroom. Craig Badura's digital citizenship kit transformed the way I teach this topic while Ryan Read's app dice brought more choice into my classroom. Presentations gleamed from Gwyneth Jone's ("The Daring Librarian") has given me new vocabulary from which to explain the do's and don't's for those of us working in tech hubs/libraries. Nothing beats her presentation about zombie librarians!
In addition to digital resources, I love the in-person experience too. I get so much inspiration when attending conferences. My favorite conference has been the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference. The name does not do it justice. I find that it always opens my mind in ways that I could not have predicted. Whether it is exposure to incredible, not yet known authors, passionate library and media professionals, or an interesting session, there are so many rewards that I gain from this conference. Library conferences are catch-all's for those of us working in library and technology roles so I find them that much more rewarding.
Gaining inspiration from books needs to be it's own separate, stand alone blog post. Books ARE my inspiration. I'm not just talking instructional, nonfiction books either. In fact, I gain most of my reading inspiration from fictional stories. Fiction teaches me how to be more empathetic in the classroom, reminds me that we never fully know where someone else is coming from, and helps me "travel" the world and gain a broader perspective. There are too many books to name here but of late, we kicked off a parent book club, a faculty book club, and then we have had student book clubs for the past decade. I will share some of the titles that we are reading for these book clubs: Daring Greatly by Brene Brown, The Circle by Dave Eggers, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, The Collapse of Parenting by Leonard Sax, Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, and Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling. Each of these titles was carefully selected for a host of reasons. These books will stretch us to think beyond many of our personal experiences and will surely encourage deep discussion and bring us together, even more so, as a community.
While I gain inspiration from so many traditional resources, I also find inspiration in pop culture and current events. The latest craze that grabs a student's attention also helps me grab their attention when I harness these fads in the right way. Bringing relevance/real world situations into lesson plans makes the content come alive. For example, every year we ask students to participate in Georgia Book Award voting but this year, being that it is an election year, we are excited to jazz the voting up as we were able to do four years ago. Voting polls, red, white and blue banners, and meaningful lessons on voter privacy will all come into play during this election year.
We all fill our treasure chest in different ways. Luckily, I have a big treasure chest from which to grab. I couldn't be more grateful for my sources of inspiration.
Social media gems include Twitter. I can get great tidbits from @techchef4u, @ClassTechTips, @Ryan7Read, @mrbadura, @PaulSolarz, @SteinatDavis, and so many more! I tend to gravitate toward Twitter when I'm looking for a piece of quick inspiration or an inspiring article. Pinterest is another "go to" for me. Most recently, I have found amazing MakerEd projects on Pinterest as well as fun ways to incorporate clues into Breakout Edu games. Some of my favorite pinners include rivesjen, mattBgomez, lisacarnazzo, techchef4u, and angelasauter. I also enjoy reading the blogs of other educators. I absolutely love The Daring Librarian's Blog, The Adventures of Library Girl, and Free Technology For Teachers. From each blog, I get different things. I am blown away by the presentations shared on The Daring Librarian's Blog, enjoy the anecdotes about the profession on Library Girl's blog, and love the quick tech tips on Richard Byrne's Free Technology for Teachers blog. Each of these resources has had an impact on my ability to evolve in a role that is constantly changing. Paul Solarz has taught me the art of digital portfolios while Missy Stein has demonstrated the beauty of gamifying the classroom. Craig Badura's digital citizenship kit transformed the way I teach this topic while Ryan Read's app dice brought more choice into my classroom. Presentations gleamed from Gwyneth Jone's ("The Daring Librarian") has given me new vocabulary from which to explain the do's and don't's for those of us working in tech hubs/libraries. Nothing beats her presentation about zombie librarians!
In addition to digital resources, I love the in-person experience too. I get so much inspiration when attending conferences. My favorite conference has been the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference. The name does not do it justice. I find that it always opens my mind in ways that I could not have predicted. Whether it is exposure to incredible, not yet known authors, passionate library and media professionals, or an interesting session, there are so many rewards that I gain from this conference. Library conferences are catch-all's for those of us working in library and technology roles so I find them that much more rewarding.
Gaining inspiration from books needs to be it's own separate, stand alone blog post. Books ARE my inspiration. I'm not just talking instructional, nonfiction books either. In fact, I gain most of my reading inspiration from fictional stories. Fiction teaches me how to be more empathetic in the classroom, reminds me that we never fully know where someone else is coming from, and helps me "travel" the world and gain a broader perspective. There are too many books to name here but of late, we kicked off a parent book club, a faculty book club, and then we have had student book clubs for the past decade. I will share some of the titles that we are reading for these book clubs: Daring Greatly by Brene Brown, The Circle by Dave Eggers, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, The Collapse of Parenting by Leonard Sax, Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, and Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling. Each of these titles was carefully selected for a host of reasons. These books will stretch us to think beyond many of our personal experiences and will surely encourage deep discussion and bring us together, even more so, as a community.
While I gain inspiration from so many traditional resources, I also find inspiration in pop culture and current events. The latest craze that grabs a student's attention also helps me grab their attention when I harness these fads in the right way. Bringing relevance/real world situations into lesson plans makes the content come alive. For example, every year we ask students to participate in Georgia Book Award voting but this year, being that it is an election year, we are excited to jazz the voting up as we were able to do four years ago. Voting polls, red, white and blue banners, and meaningful lessons on voter privacy will all come into play during this election year.
We all fill our treasure chest in different ways. Luckily, I have a big treasure chest from which to grab. I couldn't be more grateful for my sources of inspiration.
