"We do not learn from experience...We learn from reflecting on experience" (John Dewey)

Google+ Hangout with Nikki Robertson and Elissa Malespina from ISTE Librarians Network was a great reminder about the importance of being connected with students, teachers, and colleagues.

Collaborative activities with other schools is the present and the future of our students. We,  nowadays librarians embrace all choices and options that advance technologies offer and use all available tools to "empower students to be masters of their own learning".

I am juggling a wiki with the blog to see what best suits NESA librarians who want to connect with colleagues from the region and grow professionally by sharing experience and concerns and learn what other librarians do in their libraries. Now, when Blogger can be used as a collaborative tool and everyone can be added as authors and write posts, I invite you to use the blog to communicate, post news and make announcements while in the wiki we will share our annual projects and store materials, as in an archive.

Teacher-Librarian Collaboration and NESA Library Week

Last Friday, WBAIS held an in-service day lead by Teachers Professional Development Group. One of the activities the group suggested was a 'Market Place'. Teachers were encouraged to come up with  ideas and projects they were proud of or thought would be beneficial for others and exhibit them in the library. Teachers who wanted to present any tool, idea or a teaching unit arranged their 'marketplace' to engage visitors in inviting way.

The 'Market' in the library looked and sounded like a true Oriental market, at least as the one that we have here in Jerusalem. My table was devoted to Teacher /Librarian collaboration and NESA Library Week. I introduced some topics that we, teachers and librarians, can work together and later share with NESA schools during NESA Library Week. I thought you might like to see the ideas that I suggested to the teachers and use them with your teachers as well. They are posted in NESA Librarians' ning.

It's time for planning.

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."(Lao Tzu)

 It's time to start building a plan to achieve our goal to get together in Istanbul, Turkey in May 2011. In order to make our meeting engaging and efficient I've posted a survey. Please take some time while the school year has not started yet and put your two cents into creating a great event!

What is LMS up to now and how do we relate?

Joyce Valenza has pictured an image of nowadays' library media specialist in her article at
Tech Learning TL Advisor Blog and Ed Tech Ticker Blogs from TL Blog Staff – TechLearning.com

I agree that we cannot work the same way we worked even three years ago. A significant part of our profession is to find time and energy to use technology tools to share, support, and educate. We have to learn how to employ 2.0 tools to demonstrate them to teachers and students whose tools of operations should be adequate to their needs and the demands of the modern age.

Also, as librarians who work in Near East and South Asia area, we should use those tools to collaborate and to keep our communication open. "There has been no better time" - says Joyce. "Join a Ning, start a blog, comment on someone elses, SHARE!"

NESA Library Week 2011

NESA Library Week March 14-18, 2011

Reserve the week of March 14-18, 2011 for NESA Library Week!
Let’s open the windows of NESA school libraries to other overseas International school libraries of Near East and South Asia!

21st century technology tools let us be introduced to each other online. As well we can share our favorite activities. Through wikis, blogs, podcasts, interactive forums, video clips, and other digital tools students can discuss their much loved library and tech activities, and share favorite books and hobbies with students from other NESA schools.

NESA Library Tech Week is an international project that employs online resources to give students a chance to practice 21st century skills: critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration, and applying knowledge to new situations, sharing knowledge and participating ethically and productively as members of our democratic society (AASL Standards for the 21st-century Learner and National Educational Technology Standards (NETS)).

A variety of activities for Elementary, Middle, and High Schools students will help establish connections among our schools and broaden our students’ knowledge about the culture of neighboring countries.

I invite everyone to submit your ideas for the library week activities. The Internet 2.0 lets us transcend borders and celebrate communication! You are cordially invited to Window to NESA Friends @ My Library.

Plans for next year

Are you planning your new school year and activities?

If you are, there are two events that other NESA librarians keep in mind:

NESA librarians are planning to attend ECIS Librarians' Conference in May 13-15, 2011, Istanbul. Hopefully we all will be able to register on time and reserve places.

Another activity to be scheduled is NESA Library Tech Week. The calendar looks too short to fit it right! We have either a holiday or a break!

Students of the American International schools of Cyprus, Kuwait, Saudi Aramco, and Israel worked together on a variety of projects last year. When you will have seen them all published in NESA Library Week Wiki no doubt is left that you too can add activities to the collection! We hope you'll join us next year and participate in NESA Library Week.