I'm writing this post from John Wayne Airport, in Santa Ana, California - where I've found a (relatively) quiet corner (near both coffee and an outlet) to decompress before boarding my first flight of the day. Much like Lisa Yee, I'm the type of traveler who prefers to arrive at the airport super early, so that I can verify the existence of my gate and then chill for an hour or two before the flight. The truth is, I don't love traveling. And the older I get, the less I look forward to time spent in spaces just like this. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy visiting new places and I still love the work of creating PD experiences for educators. What I do not love is the traveling itself. Airports, hotels and the experience of being among lots of people who are focused entirely on getting from point A to point B have all become a lot less fun in recent years. And maybe that's because I'm a bonafide old lady now, but I suspect it also has a bit to do with the state of the world at the moment... but I digress.
Still... all of this is just part of the reason why I love, love, LOVE when I am able to coordinate regionally based, consecutive professional development for large swaths of educators in a particular area. Put another way, I travel to a single spot for a week or so, and work with several districts in the area while I'm there. While I still do plenty of one off's, this type of travel means that even though I'm away from home for a longer period (this time nearly 2 weeks) it also means that I get to spend more time doing the work I love with people I adore and a lot less time actually traveling. (Of course, it also means fewer frequent flyer miles, but that's a price I'm willing to pay for fewer nervous breakdowns!) I've written before about how I've done this type of work, for years, in coordination New York state's BOCES system, but this month, I was lucky to spend 12 glorious days in Southern California, collaborating with library workers from across 7 districts.
Before I share more about the work I did here, I want to give a special shout out to Jonathan Hunt, who is the Coordinator of Library Media Services for San Diego County Schools. Although I know he had help, Jonathan worked tirelessly to coordinate my work over the last two weeks - writing grants that included neighboring districts to his and offering other districts, beyond those, the chance to jump aboard the Library Girl train. I am so grateful to him (and those who helped him) for the work that went into planning this series of events. Thanks, Jonathan! I'm already looking forward to next time!
DEVELOPING DIGITAL DETECTIVES + GAME BASED LEARNING
Four of the districts I worked with in Southern California requested workshops focusing on digital age information literacy, with a dash of game based learning thrown in. Those of you who have been following this blog for a long time might remember a time when I was obsessed with gamification + game based learning. Truth be told, even though I don't write about it as much as I used to, I still love this way of leveling-up instruction. While, to be sure, there's no single instructional strategy that's going to excite all learners, I've found game based learning to be one that a lot of learners (young and old!) still dig. That said, I'm always chuffed when someone asks me to incorporate GBL into my presentations. This time around, I used the Developing Digital Detectives version of the Kujenga game that Jeannie Timken and I created several years ago to create a game based learning experience. After spending the morning absorbing new content, we spent the afternoon building towers (and knocking them down!) to both synthesize all that learning AND as an excuse to be physically active during the final stretch of our time together. As a fun aside, I traveled to Southern California with multiple suitcases, one of which was packed with 25 Jenga sets. As you might expect, that particular suitcase is nearly always inspected whenever I take it with me. I like to think that the TSA gets a kick out of what they find inside!
THIS IS A SCHOOL + LIBRARIES AND DISCOVERABILITY
Because I had worked with them before, two of the Southern California districts I collaborated with requested that I do a short "Developing Digital Detectives Refresh," leaving me the rest of the day to focus on "something I'm passionate about." I have to be honest, this might be the best workshop request I've ever received. It's not often that I'm asked to make decisions about content based on my own passions! That said, I decided to focus these efforts on what it means to create library spaces that privilege discoverability over searchability. If you've been a part of these workshops before, you know that this topic definitely check's the passion box! Plus, as I've written about before, I useThis Is A School by John Schu and Veronica Miller Jamison as a way to kick off this discussion, which is always magical. Additionally, everyone who attended received a copy of the book thanks to John Schu's generous heart!
BRAVE INSTEAD OF PERFECT + MAKING DEEPER CONNECTIONS:
Finally, the last district I worked with asked me to give the opening keynote + lead two information literacy based concurrent sessions at an all day library + literacy event. One concurrent session was focused on helping kids parse credibility on the apps they use most (hello, TikTok!). The other focused on helping connect digital readers with print books that feel safe and relevant to kids whose brains are used to making meaning from content found on screens. These sessions were fun and I was delighted by the energy of participants who were consistently engaged and curious.
The keynote I shared centered the idea that we have to abandon the quest for perfection and celebrate the practices that may not feel Insta or TikTok worthy, but that make a difference for the people who matter so much more than those who may follow us on social media. This keynote is deeply linked to my personal journey as a reader and as human, and I share some painful (for me, anyway) memories as part of the talk. One thing I (hope I) am getting better at doing during events like this is connecting my energy to the energy in the room. While I've always tried to "read the room" as I work, lately I've been practicing the habit of focusing my attention on specific people as I move through the crowd. I've learned from watching my friend John Schu that even during events where hundreds and hundreds of people are in the room, it's possible to make connections with individuals by allowing their energy to connect with mine. Like John, I often give away books during a keynote and, following John's example, I've been practicing using the energy of the room to determine whose heart may need a book at a given time. Of the many things John Schu has taught me over the years, this is perhaps the most valuable lesson. As an introvert, I don't think opening myself up for this type of connection comes naturally to me, but I can already feel that I'm better for the effort.
And... since this seems to have turned into a John Schu appreciation post, I might as well toss in here that although it wasn't planned, as luck would have it, John and I realized last week that we were both going to be in Southern California at the same time, so we conspired to stay at the same hotel for the last few days of my trip. Then, while we each went off in separate directions during the day, we were able to meet in the evenings for dinner, chatting and many, many trips to Barnes & Noble. Yesterday, John decided I wasn't allowed to be in Huntington Beach without seeing the ocean, so we drove out to the pier where we were completely unable to see the ocean, because of all the fog! Still, we got another selfie to add to our collection and another memory for the John and Jenn files.
MY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SESSIONS:
Click the images below to access my slide decks. This should probably without saying, but just in case... FYI: these slide decks are view only. Options for downloading your own copy have been disabled. While you're more than welcome to view and share them, I don't allow others to adapt and edit them.
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