Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Are you creating a district long-range plan for library services? Are you on a new pathway to library media specialist licensure? Do you want to increase your capacity as a Future Ready Librarian and demonstrate the importance of your role in any learning environment? If you are answering “yes” to any of these questions, please apply for this amazing experience.
The Department of Public Instruction and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) are collaborating to support Wisconsin school librarians by again providing the opportunity to take the ISTE U course, Exploring Future Ready Librarianship: Practices for the Emerging Leader during the 2020-21 school year with funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services. (Link to flyer)
Exploring Future Ready Librarianship is a premier online professional learning course designed to maximize student-centered learning activities and leverage technology. It allows library media specialists to reflect on their practice, identify areas for professional inquiry and program growth, and explore the Future Ready Librarian framework, a useful tool for creating and implementing library plans. Not only will this course improve professional practice, the work will directly transfer to the creation of district library plans. And, the tuition is fully funded through Wisconsin’s federal Library Services and Technology Act grant.
Library media specialists, like all educators, are facing tremendous challenges this year. Sometimes this makes it difficult to prioritize professional learning and library planning. These things, however, are both relevant and important factors in building library programming and securing its relevance in our continually changing educational landscape.
Last year, over 150 Wisconsin school library media specialists completed Exploring Future Ready Librarianship through this opportunity. Here are some of their reviews:
“Taking the course forces you to take the time to reflect on your professional goals and practice. The projects were thought provoking and helped me to make plans to address areas of my program I wanted to improve.”
“Do it! It is enlightening.”
“Just do it. I was hesitant at first, as I thought I was not very strong in many of the categories. I learned that I am doing a better job than I thought I was and now I have a clearer path toward becoming even better at my job.”
Make sure you are included in one of the 2020-21 cohorts by submitting this form by Friday, September 11, 2020. Our goal is to equitably provide this experience to a library media specialist in every Wisconsin district. Districts that did not participate last year will be given first priority.
This professional learning opportunity is made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services Library Services and Technology Act grant.