Last year when I arrived at the International School Bangkok, I stepped into a fabulous new learning space we now call The Learning Hub:

Reading

Not only does it look amazing, but the concept of our Hub is to combine digital and traditional literacy into one flexible learning zone where students, teachers and parents alike can explore new ideas collaboratively or independently, as the need arises.

What I think is especially interesting about our space is actually not the physical structure (as beautiful as it is), but the staffing. We have envisioned a new partnership among our technology specialists, library specialists and literacy specialists. We like to call ourselves the ISB21 team:

All of us are working together to support our 21st Century teachers by co-planning and team teaching, focusing on learning outcomes and successful assessment design, brainstorming new ways of solving problems and leading consistent and flexible professional development programs.

ISB21 Team Logo

Our resource team acts as a flexible unit capable of supporting a wide range of literacy needs – what one person may not know, another will jump in and share. Three support staff working together must be better than one, right?

We are currently in the process of refining our individual job descriptions, but no matter what changes, all three of our roles will always share some overlap, and we will consistently learn from one another:

As a team, we have begun to offer professional development sessions three days a week after school. Each week is focused on a specific theme, but presented in different learning styles on each day. All sessions are walk-in/walk-out supported by all members of the ISB21 team:

Personal Tech Support Mondays

Need help with a technical problem?  Want to spiff up a lesson?  Need help finding online resources to support your unit? Want to know what Web 2.0 means and how it can impact your teaching?  Want to collaborate with a global audience?  Looking for some SMART Board tips? Just want to know how to podcast?  Crop a photo? Download a video clip from YouTube?  You have a tech question; we have an answer (we hope).

The ISB21 team will station themselves in the Main Library classroom every Monday for any sort of tech question or help.  We can work individually or present something to a group.

PD tailor made for you.  You can’t beat this kind of personal attention.

Wired Wednesdays

Are you interested in talking about technology, the future and how both will impact education?  Wired Wednesdays are about that conversation. Come to these sessions to be immersed in progressive and current thinking about how teaching and learning is being redefined in a rapidly changing world and ISB’s plan to keep up.  These sessions will have a strong audio/video component so whether you want to get deep or just want to be edu-tained, these sessions are for you.

Entertaining and educational. The best way to spend your Wednesday afternoons.

Hands On Tech Thursdays

Need hands on experience when learning a new tech tool? Want to be shown the highlights of the coolest new technology and have a chance to test it out yourself? Then this is the session for you! Each week we will share a new technology feature and give you a chance to try it out with our guidance. From blogging to digital video to social networking, this is the place to get your hands on the tech!

It’s time to test out the tech!

It seems as if there are others out there looking to reinvent the concept of a library and computer lab too. What do you think? Is this the future of literacy and learning? Or have we missed the boat? What else can we do to support our teachers as we work towards 21st century learning in all of our classrooms?

10 thoughts on “ISB21: A New Team for a New Year

  1. I think you’ve got a fantastic team assembled Kim with wonderful opportunities to move your school forward. This is how I view the library of the 21st Century and am trying to make it happen in my school. I don’t have the support network you do and am trying to effect change pretty much on my own with the support of our library staff. I’m coming to Learning 2.008 and hope to attend your sessions and touch base with you. I’ve been involved in creating an Australian arm of Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and Will Richardson’s global cohort for Powerful Learning Practice. It would be wonderful to have your school join this so we could tap into the learning environment you are establishing in Bangkok. I’m hoping it will be the start of forward thinking change in my school that will shift us to where we need to be.
    Jenny Luca.

  2. Kim, it looks like you and your ISB21 team have really prepared a wiggleproof opportunity for all learners. I hope you continue blogging about this for the rest of us to share with our local teams. It looks like a wonderful model.
    Thanks. Cheryl Oakes

  3. Great blog post! Thank you!
    Any possibility your can ustream your Wired Wednesdays — I would love to share them with my teachers!! Plus, perhaps I can ustream my TechKnow Thursdays and then you can share them with yours!
    Thanks again!!
    Jen

  4. Kim,
    This is amazing! I love all the pieces working together. I may be picking your brain as we design a new library/technology center in the next year. We will be moving to a new building so I think that the sky is the limit at this point!
    Thanks for the tip on inspired classrooms, I have been Google searching all day!

  5. Wow! Thanks for sharing your wonderful environment and what you’re doing. It sounds like a dream situation for a instructional technology teacher and I can’t wait to hear more about it as the year goes on.

  6. I look at a program like this and drool at the possibility of working in an environment like this. It sounds like you have landed in an ideal situation. Although, I am sure you are bringing a lot to the table. Good luck this year and I look forward to reading about your exploits.

  7. @Jenny Luca,

    I’m so looking forward to meeting you at Learning 2.008! I would definitely love to be part of the PLP you’re setting up with Sheryl and Will. I’m sure that’s something that our school would be interested in as a whole. I love the idea of it being a bit more regional, and if we can bring in a few international schools, it would give a nice multicultural and international perspective.

    @Cheryl,

    Thanks! Once we really get the ball rolling (it’s just our first few weeks of the school year) I hope we can start uStreaming our sessions and documenting what we do in more detail.

    @Jen Wagner,

    It’s a deal!

    @Kelly,

    Please feel free to send me any questions you have! I have advice on what to do, as well as what not to do ;)

    @Melanie,

    Thanks! I’ll keep adding as we learn and do more.

    @IntrepidTeacher,

    I’m definitely lucky, that’s for sure :)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge