Hyperlinked: STEAM Adventures

Infinite Learning: PLE   I became an Itinerant Teacher Librarian two years ago. There was no official onboarding, and I had to learn skills on the job through the kindness and support of my colleagues. I meet with my colleagues once a month for an all-day collaboration meeting, and we work on developing library lessons and programs as well as learn how to weed books, genrefy libraries, and curate new books for libraries. Last year, our district provided additional time for us to meet every Wednesday afternoon for an hour and a half. These meetings have been supportive and instrumental in helping me develop as a library professional and to…

The Power of Stories and Human Libraries        I am an avid movie and TV series watcher. I love watching Sci-Fi and Rom-Coms. However, I have been keenly aware for a long time now that I very rarely see myself represented in any of the movies or visual media available on most major streaming platforms and within my favorite moving media genres. What is available is often a feeble attempt at inclusion and representation. I am often left with few options when it comes to true representation on screen and a very obvious invisibility of my own race and culture in mainstream movies and media. In the news, my culture is…

New Models: Hygge in School Libraries        In this module’s readings, what resonated with me the most was the concept of Hygge. Dr. Michael Stephens explains that this Danish word loosely translates as coziness but truly means much more than this. Dr. Stephens shared a definition of this word written by Joe Pickard that explains the concept of Hygge as the development of “sanctuary and community, of paying attention to what makes us feel alive. A feeling of belonging to the moment and celebrating the everyday” (Stephens, 2019). Dr Stephens also shared the concept of New Models in libraries being “An evolving vision of space and inclusion” (Stephens, 2025). To me,…

       After exploring the Hyperlinked Environments module, two articles that resonated with me the most were the article titled Digital Natives vs Naive Experts by Niamh Ní Bhroin and the article titled 16 Modern Realities Schools (and Parents) Need to Accept. Now. written by Will Richardson.         Bhroin, in her article, explains the findings of a study done among Norwegian children. In the study, they found that while 92% of nine-year-old children in Norway own a mobile phone and have various devices with which to access the internet does not mean that these children have enough common sense to stay safe online. Bhroin describes these digital…

          During the exploration of the Hyperlinked Communities Modules, I was most moved by Ciara Eastell’s speech titled How libraries change lives. In her TEDx speech, she conveys to her audience how important libraries are to their communities. She explains that not only do libraries help young children develop literacy skills through library programming and print collections that improve their performance in school and ultimately lead to better jobs, but they also change people’s lives by providing resources and programs that support social mobility. Eastell explains that libraries are the very definition of Heteropia. Meaning that libraries are a magical place of transformation, possibility, and inclusivity…