2008 Angela Thacker Winner Speeches
Donna Desroches, Carlene Walter
CLA Conference in Vancouver
Issue Contents
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2008 Angela Thacker Award
Speech By Donna Desroches
I consider it an honour to receive this award as the work that I did with Carlene demonstrates two values that I hold about teacher-librarianship. The first is the importance of collaboration. I will admit that although I have been a teacher-librarian for 26 years and embraced the concept of collaboration in my work with teachers I had never experienced its true impact until I worked with Carlene. We worked as two equal colleagues; questioning, clarifying, accepting and valuing each other’s ideas and contribution. I believe our product reflects our common knowledge and understanding about the changing nature of the web, its impact on learning, teaching, school libraries and teacher-librarianship. Yet, it also embodies the differences in knowledge, content, and instructional design that we brought to the process – all of which have contributed to a rich resource to hopefully inspire and facilitate teacher-librarian knowledge and use of diverse technologies in their management, teaching and instructional leadership roles.
The second is my belief that teacher-librarians must be in the forefront of the technological change that is transforming how we find, use and share information. This was confirmed in the incredible response from teacher-librarians in Saskatchewan and elsewhere. I will admit that I sometimes fear that school libraries and teacher-librarians will be left behind as information becomes more digital than print. However, the response to our online learning made me aware that there are teacher-librarians who know that these changes are transforming education and they are redefining, reshaping and re-advocating their role to more efficiently guide teachers and students in the effective, safe and responsible use of new technologies.
Carlene and I have also learned a great deal through the delivery of this course – slower pace, less text and more directed content are three major changes you will see in our next iteration. I loved our planning, talking and exchanging of ideas and look forward to the next time we close down Earl’s over several glasses of good red wine!
I extend many thanks to the Canadian School Library Association for their recognition of our work. I am very honoured to be, along with Carlene, a recipient of the Angela Thacker Memorial Award.
2008 Angela Thacker Award
Speech By Carlene Walter
I would like to thank the Canadian Library Association for the award. To be a recipient of the Angela Thacker Memorial Award is one of the highlights of my career as a teacher-librarian.
The idea for Meet The Stars: Books and Web 2.0 arrived unannounced in the middle of a deep slumber. Preoccupied with the potential for teacher-librarians to enlarge their role from promotion and the fostering of reading, I wanted to determine how technology and information literacy could become meaningfully integrated into the school library program. The continuing expansion of information demands that students acquire the ability to produce and share knowledge and participate ethically in a global environment. As the night progressed, a framework for forming a participatory culture in which teacher-librarians could be introduced to new technological tools and how their immersion could meaningfully impact teaching and learning.
Collaboration with Donna DesRoches, the co-recipient of the 2008 Angela Thacker Award, shaped the idea into a professional development opportunity in which teacher-librarians would be actively engaged in creating and contributing content while redefining how they connect with people and communicate knowledge and information.
The delivery of Meet The Stars: Books and Web 2.0 provides a reflective lens for me to examine teacher-librarianship. As I firmly believe that teacher-librarians play an essential role in nurturing a learning environment rich in literacy and information provision, these professionals are best poised to best serve individual students ’ needs in the acquisition, evaluation, and responsible use of new technologies.
In closing, I would like to again extend my appreciation to the Canadian Library Association for their acknowledgement of our vision of a professional development opportunity that aimed to contribute to the development of school library professionals. I am honoured to share this award with Donna DesRoches, a friend and colleague, who continues to inspire me.
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