Dungeons and Dragons: The New Black

When my 16-year-old son asked to go to his friend’s house to play Dungeons and Dragons (D&D for short), I admit I was a little shocked. As a child of the 80s, D&D was linked with negative images of witchcraft and satanic practices. “He wanted to play what?!”

Of course, my son laughed when I expressed my concerns to him. He said his friends found my recollections of D&D hilarious.

For my generation, Dungeon and Dragons was definitely not cool. It was considered very anti-social and something that nerds did in their basements to escape the real world. Dare I say it? A little like the moral panic that surrounds the online gaming habits of teenagers today.

The following month, after my 14-year-old son asked about D&D I knew something was up. Suddenly, Dungeons and Dragons had become cool and it seemed everyone wanted to play it. Was D&D undergoing a popular culture resurgence and how did this happen? How could I leverage this popularity in my library?

Tabletop Gaming Revival

Tabletop games refers to those that can be played on a flat surface or tables such as board, dice and card games. In recent years tabletop games have experienced a revival of popularity amongst the younger generation in a move back towards physical rather than online social interaction. In the wake of a global pandemic, the increase in face-to-face gaming has become more popular than ever before in a bid to combat social isolation.

Dungeons and Dragons is one of the most popular tabletop games and is a collaborative role-playing fantasy game which involves players creating unique characters and rolling dice to determine outcomes based on players’ choices.

References to Dungeon’s and Dragons have been slowly creeping into the popular culture of today’s youth. Hit Netflix series Stranger Things shows the main child characters playing the game, with D&D also appearing in other popular TV shows such as The Big Bang Theory and Rick and Morty.

A D&D resurgence is hardly surprising considering the current generation of teenagers have been raised on fantasy stories, movies and video games such as Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and Skyrim.

Not only that, celebrities such as Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, Vin Diesel and comedian Stephen Colbert are avid D&D fans and game players.

Participatory culture

The internet has also helped fuel the renewed popularity of Dungeons and Dragons with a strong online presence contributing to a participatory culture amongst players. The advent of livestreaming platforms such as YouTube and Twitch means players can broadcast games around the world. Players can also listen to podcasts and jump on social media to discuss anything and everything D&D.

With all factors considered, it is hardly surprising that teenagers have embraced Dungeons and Dragons like they have.

Opportunities for the school library

Increased student interest in tabletop gaming provides the perfect opportunity for schools and libraries to harness the potential for connected learning. Role-playing games, such as Dungeons and Dragons, help develop many skills in students including literacy, social, creative and problem-solving skills.

Starting a tabletop or Dungeons and Dragons gaming club not only offers educational and emotional benefits to students, it may also provide a way of getting students and reluctant readers into the Library. Once in the door, strategically placed displays of related fantasy novels might just encourage them to pick up a book on the way out too!

Final thoughts…

It seems the adage “everything old is new again” rings true with Dungeons & Dragons. So, did I let my sons go play D&D? Of course – it gets them out of the house and offline playing video games! Sound familiar?

The Wonder of Nevermoor

Image by S. Hermann & F. Richter from Pixabay

I have a confession to make – I love reading children’s fantasy novels, particularly middle-grade fiction. Probably not all that surprising considering I am a primary school teacher librarian. However, one series has stood out recently and made me question – Is this the next big thing since Harry Potter?

Of course, I am talking about none other than the Nevermoor series written by Sunshine Coast author Jessica Townsend. The Nevermoor series features the trials and tribulations of the female protagonist Morrigan Crow. Morrigan, or Mog for short, is a cursed child who is destined to die at midnight on Eventide when she is whisked away to the magical land of Nevermoor by the mysterious Jupiter North. Here she discovers she has a mysterious magical power and becomes a member of the elite Wundrous Society.

The first novel in the series Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow is a multiple award winner that broke records in Australia as the fastest-selling children’s debut novel of all time. A movie adaption of the novel is currently in progress. The next novel Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrgian Crow followed a year later, prompting comparisons to J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter phenomenon.

It was in anticipation of Townsend’s newest release in the series, Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow that got me thinking. What is it about this series that is so special? What sets it apart from other novels? Could this be the current generation’s Harry Potter moment?

“Townsend has something of Rowling’s knack for memorable characters, of balancing darkness with whimsy and building from scratch the geography and politics of an immersive fictional world.”
Linda Morris, Sydney Morning Herald

For me it comes down to the ability of Townsend, as was the case with J.K. Rowling, to create the following:

Universal Appeal

The adventures of Morrigan and her friends in Nevermoor appeal to both children and adults alike. As well as broad appeal, the work of Townsend has experienced popularity and success around the world. For me, this is an essential ingredient. The ability to transcend audiences and markets is an important step in creating a transmedia success story. With the first Nevermoor movie in the works, it is only a matter of time before Morrigan Crow and Jessica Townsend are household names.

Quirky Characters

Like Harry Potter, the world of Nevermoor has many quirky and interesting characters from the antagonist Ezra Squall to the benevolent Jupiter North and Fenestra the Magnificat. The relationships Morrigan develops with the other characters, particularly her friends from the Wundersociety adds to the appeal of this novel. This was also the case with Harry and his friends from Hogwarts.

Darkness and Light

A good children’s fantasy novel successfully combines elements of darkness with lighter humorous moment sprinkled throughout. The presence of Morrigan’s antagonist Ezra Squall looms in the background as did Voldemort in Harry Potter. For me, the Nevermoor series strikes just the right balance – a little bit scary but not too much.

Escape to another world

Townsend has created a detailed, magical world that allows readers to escape from their everyday lives. The strange happenings of Nevermoor has both children and adults coming back for more. With another six stories planned in the series, Morrigan Crow is bound to become a household name.

Final Thoughts

As I begin reading Hollowpox, I do think bigger things are ahead for Morrigan Crow and Jessica Townsend. I may be a little biased, but how wonderful would it be for a series containing a young female protagonist written by an Australian author to be the next shining star in children’s literature? Afterall we could all use a little light relief amid a global pandemic.

Gaming in the School Library

To game or not to game? It is a question that still divides many teacher-librarians in schools today.

Even though 21^st century libraries are vastly different spaces to those of the past, some teacher-librarians still believe games – particularly computer games and consoles have no place in modern school libraries. Fears over excessive screen time, a perceived lack of educational benefit and the difficulty in regulating the appropriate use of games have led to the exclusion of gaming in some school libraries.

This is despite research finding that digital games are beneficial in supporting the development of 21^st century learning skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration and communication.

Benefits of Gaming

The reality is digital games are here to stay, with the Digital Australia Report (2020) finding two out of three (66%) Australians regularly play video games. Of this number, more than 72% have more than one gaming device in their household. Respondents to the report indicate that computer games help their thinking skills, emotional wellbeing and social connection with others.

In her article Twelve reason to let your children play video games this Christmas Dr. Parry argues we should worry less about letting children play computer games due to the numerous benefits, including improved problem-solving, creativity and social skills. She believes games are essentially stories that can teach children about narrative structure and characters.

Teacher-Librarians need to embrace game play in their school libraries in order to transfer the skills and strategies students are learning informally into the school environment. In the role of technology leaders and innovators, school libraries are perfectly positioned to integrate gaming into the library program in order to enhance 21st century literacies.

Not only do games have the potential to improve student literacy, they also provide a way for library staff to connect with their patrons and get students in the door. An American School Librarian, Jason McCoy, won an award for doing just that through his “Gaming in the Library” program.

As well as increasing student and staff engagement, readership and circulation rates also improved with students reading both fiction and non-fiction books associated with the games they were playing. At a time when school libraries are increasingly under pressure and constantly proving their relevance to school administrators this engagement is more important than ever.

The gaming program also provided a positive social experience for teens, highlighting the important role the school library plays in enhancing and contributing to student well-being. A lunchtime gaming club could be just what your library needs to reconnect with disadvantaged students who may not have access to technology in their homes.

Things to Consider

Although the research has highlighted many positive benefits associated with gaming, it is important to plan for barriers you may face in introducing gaming into your library. Things to consider include your current workload and time availability, support from staff and administration as well as the cost involved in purchasing the necessary gaming equipment. It is worth spending some time planning, strategizing and putting some policies in place to answer questions such as:

What games will you use?
What consoles or computers do I need?
When and where will you offer the program?
Who will be responsible for supervising students?
What is the school policy on inappropriate student use of games?

Once you have a plan in place, start small and gain the support of the early adopters in your school staff. A weekly lunchtime or after school gaming club can be an easy way to start. Don’t be afraid to make changes and let your students take ownership and lead the way. Above all else don’t forget to have some fun and learn something new!

Podcasting 101

Image by Daniel Friesenecker from Pixabay

Podcasting is hot right now. If you’re not listening to a podcast you are creating one. The popularity of podcasting in Australia has soared in recent times, with millennial listeners leading the way.

According to Roy Morgan research, over 1.6 million Australians now download podcasts in an average month – an increase of 70% over the last four years. Driving the growth in the popularity of podcasts is the capability to download episodes directly to your mobile phone.

“The ability to listen to your favourite podcast while commuting to and from work and tuning out from the hustle and bustle on crowded public transport, or just relaxing in your spare time to catch up on what’s been happening in an area of personal interest is appealing to a growing number of Australians.”
Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan

Benefits of podcasts

There are many benefits to including podcasts in your teaching repertoire including the following:

Builds student engagement with a real-life context and purpose
Integrates ICT capabilities and digital literacies
Encourages a participatory culture, positioning students as active creators of information
Develops speaking, listening and high order thinking skills
Promotes collaboration between students

So how can you leverage this popularity to engage the students in your classroom or library? Here are some easy tips to get you started.

How do I use podcasts?

With podcasts covering so many diverse topics and interests, it is an extremely flexible tool to use in the classroom or library. The possibilities are endless and you are only limited by your imagination!

In the school library, there is great potential to start a library podcast featuring book reviews, reading promotion and upcoming events. It would be a perfect addition to a school book club, with students in charge of creating and updating the podcast.

Start Listening

Listen to a variety of different podcasts to gain an understanding of the structure and textual features of podcasts. Apple Podcasts directory is a great place to start. Podcasts can be an interview, serial or discussion format. Some of my favourite podcasts to get you started include the Cult of Pedagogy, One More Page and Squiz Kids. There is literally a podcast for everything!

Plan Your Podcast

Failing to plan, is planning to fail. The same mantra applies to using podcasts in your classroom. It is important to scaffold your students and explicitly teach the steps involved in creating a podcast. The level of detail and structure required will depend on the age of your students.

Record Your Podcast

This is where the fun begins! Recording their podcast is often the part students enjoy the most. Don’t be afraid of the thought of learning something new, as today’s technology makes recording a podcast a relatively simple and straightforward experience. It also helps that there are many online video tutorials to get you started.

My favourite software tool for podcast recording and editing is GarageBand, which is available in both ipad and desktop versions. Here is a useful tutorial from Buzzsprout, a free podcasting hosting site, to get you started using GarageBand.

Share with your listeners

Once you are happy with the finished product, you will need somewhere to share your podcast. Depending on your audience (students, parents or general public) you will need somewhere to host the recording of your podcast. This may be as simple as making the recording available on your school portal, blog or Teams page. Otherwise there are many free hosting sites available such as Buzzsprout which is an affordable way to make student podcasts available to the public.

So, what are you waiting for? Get started and experience the benefits of using podcasts with your students today!

Teachers need Teacher-librarians too.

ian-schneider-TamMbr4okv4-unsplash — Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

We all know the difference a qualified teacher-librarian can make to the educational outcomes of students in their schools. Research shows that standardised testing results in literacy are higher in schools with teacher-librarians on staff. Current advocacy campaigns in Australia, such as Students Need School Libraries, rightly focus on the fact that students benefit from having a well-resourced and adequately staffed school library. What is lesser discussed is the impact teacher-librarians have on educators and staff at a school.

Teachers need teacher-librarians too. They just may not always realise it. A lot of the work teacher-librarians do can be invisible, as they actively support teaching colleagues to meet the teaching and learning needs of a school. For example, teacher-librarians provide book recommendations and teaching resources to support the curriculum, participate in curriculum planning, collaboratively teach research and digital literacy skills, as well as provide professional development to staff. It is a servant-leader approach where teacher-librarians focus on supporting the growth, well-being and performance of others.

“While traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid,” servant leadership is different. The servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.” (Greenleaf, 1970)

It is through putting the needs of students, teachers and schools first that the positive contribution of the teacher-librarian can be overlooked and undervalued. Despite the fact that teacher-librarians are highly-trained specialists with university qualifications in both education and librarianship, many teachers and principals are unaware of the educational value of the role (Merga, 2019). When the value of a role is unknown and not made visible, it can be easy for school leaders to cut funding for the teacher-librarian position and divert funds elsewhere. But at what cost for teacher well-being?

Early in my teaching career, I was lucky enough to work with a dedicated, passionate and qualified teacher-librarian. It was this person, who inspired my own desire to be a teacher-librarian. The teacher-librarian was a great support to teachers – she always ensured we had a box of quality literature and teaching resources ready to support our units of work. Every term, new library books were delivered to classrooms for silent reading. Library lessons were collaborative and based around our units of work in the classroom. The teacher-librarian was involved in curriculum planning days and always there to support teachers in anyway she could.

Sadly, this is no longer the case in many schools around Australia and many young teachers may not have experienced the difference a teacher-librarian can make to their teaching practice, workload and well-being. Workload intensification is a common concern faced by many educators around the world and the loss of a teacher-librarian in schools simply compounds the issue. Without a teacher-librarian, the important work of this specialised position, simply becomes another to-do list on an already busy teachers to-do list or worse still doesn’t get done at all.

Unfortunately old stereotypes still exist and some educators still perpetuate the myth of the teacher-librarian as a “dragon” and “gatekeeper” of the books. Other colleagues wrongly believe that the teacher-librarian role simply involves borrowing and shelving books. These stereotypes are not helpful and do little to help the cause of contemporary teacher-librarians. Jenny Kemp’s article Ten ways to advocate for your role as a teacher librarian provides excellent tips on how to show teachers and schools why they need a teacher librarian.

As a result, advocacy campaigns need to highlight how teacher-librarians support educators as well as students. Library advocates need to work together with teachers to show governments and school leadership the value a teacher-librarian can bring to school teaching practice and staff well-being. Teachers who have a dedicated teacher-librarian on staff, must become active advocacy partners and acknowledge the work teacher-librarians do before it is too late. Otherwise, schools and educators won’t know what they are missing until it is too late.

Students AND teachers not only need, but deserve, qualified and passionate teacher-librarians in schools.

The Importance of a School Reading Culture

Growing my PLN – Part 2

magnolia-2106238_1920 — Image by moni quayle from Pixabay

In my previous blog post, I discussed my reasons and motivations for beginning my Personal Learning Network (PLN) journey. One month later, inspired by a creative make task, as part of a Master’s unit in Connected Learning, I am reflecting on what my PLN looks like and how it has grown and evolved. Through this process, an image of a flower blooming came to mind. A flower bud slowly starting to unfurl its petals, is symbolic of how I see my PLN slowly starting to develop into something beautiful.

During the last month, my PLN on Twitter has started to bloom with an increased number of followers resulting in greater interactivity on my posted tweets. I have worked hard to become a participatory member of my PLN, through the sharing of useful articles and information mainly focused on my targeted area of interest – the promotion of a reading culture in school. This targeted focus has assisted me in narrowing my focus, in order to filter information and connect with people who have similar learning interests to myself. My connections with people have also increased through liking, commenting and participating in conversations with my PLN. The image below shows how the visibility of my tweets in the PLN has grown.

Screen Shot 2019-05-09 at 10.04.02 am — Screenshot of my Twitter Monthly Activity

A critical incident that occurred during this time also assisted with increased interactivity and engagement with my PLN. In early May, I shared a blog post on the promotion of a reading culture which included tips and useful resources for educators. This tweet resulted in the highest engagement level with any of my tweets so far. I was both surprised and delighted to receive likes, retweets and comments on both my tweet and personal blogging. Since then I have also gained new followers and noticed continued interactivity with subsequent tweets. Comments on the blog tweet, regarding the role of the teacher librarian in the promotion of a reading culture in schools has also caused me to further reflect and has sparked ideas for a new blog post. Suddenly it seemed, the petals of the flower were beginning to open.

Screen Shot 2019-05-09 at 10.14.03 am — Screenshot of Blog Tweet – 13.4% engagement rate with 382 impressions and 51 engagements.

Feeling an increased sense of confidence, I have expanded my PLN through establishing an Instagram account. The use of this social media platform has seen a different side of my professional identity emerge. I have used Instagram to further engage in creative and amplifying practices through sharing images and tips from my daily practise as a classroom teacher, as well as new found knowledge from my teacher-librarian studies. I find I am remixing and distributing the information gleaned through Twitter and my own research in a different way to meet the expectations of an Instagram audience. As a result, I am enjoying experiencing how Twitter and Instagram support my PLN and learning needs in both different and complementary ways.

As my PLN begins to bloom, a challenge I am facing is managing my time in order to further develop my PLN, as well as effectively deal with the vast amount of information appearing in my social media feeds. Currently, I identify with the practices of a self-directed sharer in my interactions with my PLN. I enjoy self-directed learning and sharing my knowledge with my PLN, colleagues and students. However, due to my busy lifestyle as a part-time teacher, Masters student and mother to four sons, I need to become more of a time manager and implement effective strategies to manage the flow of information and the time needed to further develop my PLN. This is something I look forward to exploring in order to see my PLN bloom into the beautiful flower it has the potential to be.

Promotion of a Reading Culture

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Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Many of us can fondly recall reading for pleasure in our childhoods. I can remember being excited and looking forward to silent reading time in the classroom. However, recent studies have found a decline in the number of students reading for pleasure. With reading for pleasure linked to many academic benefits and overall achievement, a focus on promoting a reading culture in schools is more important than ever before.

School leadership plays an important role in establishing and fostering a reading culture. Without the support of principals and administrators, teachers can feel pressured to drop reading practices that support reading for pleasure in order to focus on increased curriculum demands and standardised testing. Often, independent student reading can be one of the first things to go. Unfortunately, a qualified school librarian is usually next with funding for the position at the discretion of the school leaders.

Where to from here? Educators need to take a stand and reclaim reading for pleasure in their schools and classrooms. A holistic approach to reading needs to be front and centre in every classroom. Fortunately, there are some simple and easy ways for every teacher to create a reading community in their class.

TIPS FOR CREATING A (2)

Reading for pleasure not only builds academic skills, it helps develop important personal attributes and life skills such as empathy, resilience, problem-solving and the ability to experience life through the perspective of others. Good stories can change a young person’s life. The right book at the right time can have a profound impact and many of us can remember a story that changed our perspective or helped us deal with a difficult time in our lives. Therefore, it is essential that educators foster and pass on this gift to the students in their care. We need to make reading for pleasure a priority in our classrooms rather than an optional extra. Our students deserve this.

Useful Resources

Raising Readers by Megan Daley is a must read for all educators and parents. Great tips, ideas and booklists for raising readers in your life.

Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller shares the keys to cultivating life-long reading habits in your students.

Promotion of reading Pinterest board – I have curated a collection of useful articles with tips on how to create a reading culture in your school.

Pernille Ripp – an excellent blog from experienced teacher and author Pernille Ripp. Lots of useful articles on the importance and promotion of reading for pleasure.

500 Hats – a useful teacher-librarian blog by Barbara Braxton, with practical ideas, information and insights to support a culture of reading in your school.

Growing my PLN

social-1206612_1920 — Image by ijmaki by Pixabay

As part of my Masters study into Connected learning, I am developing my Professional Learning Network (PLN) in the area of reading promotion within a school. This area is something I am particularly passionate about and in recent years as a primary school teacher, I have noticed a steep decline in the number of students reading for pleasure. As an aspiring teacher-library this deeply concerns me and without a resident teacher-librarian on staff in my current school, I wanted to learn more about how to build a culture of reading within my classroom.

I had been an early adopter of social media back in 2007, but had rarely used it for professional purposes and was more of a ‘lurker’ than an active contributor or participant (Jenkins, 2006). As a deeply private person, the fear of being judged or saying the wrong thing held me back from offering my own opinions or suggestions. What did I have to offer? I was only a classroom teacher after all. Inspired by this clip, I took the plunge into the world of twitter. It seems there were a lot of teachers out there just like me, who did have a lot to offer.

About a month into developing my PLN on twitter, I am surprised by how inspired I have become following the posts of other educators and professionals (Novak, 2015). It was exciting to see that there are others out there, all over the world, who are interested in the same topics and ideas as me. It can be isolating in a school environment where others do not necessarily share your same excitement or passion for a topic (Casas & Zoul, 2015). I have found connecting professionally with others online, to be a stimulating and energizing experience (Trust, Krutka & Carpenter, 2016). It can be addictive with so many interesting articles to read and interesting ideas to discover.

Slowly building my confidence, I began to share my thoughts on articles and comment on other people’s tweets. I was delighted and surprised when people liked and commented on my Tweets. I was surprised to find that I had gained 15 followers within the month. A particularly positive moment was when I built up the courage to ask for advice on how to update my classroom library and through my tweet being retweeted, I was given some useful tips and feedback. This then built my confidence enough to start blogging on this website.

Buoyed by initial success, I am now pushing myself to be more of an active participant in order to further develop my PLN. My next steps include setting up an instagram page to share snippets of my daily classroom practise and blogging on a more regular basis.

I look forward to seeing where my PLN adventure takes me next!