Future Oriented Libraries

Future Oriented Libraries

By Mark Carbone

Today’s educators are certainly fortunate to teach students during a time of unlimited possibilities.  Important considerations are how to stay relevant, engage students, providing real world context and inviting learning spaces.  Over the last couple of years, I have enjoyed capturing conversations of Ontario educators discussing their approaches to staying relevant.  This particular interview features Waterloo Region District School Board  librarians Carlo Fusco and Leah Cromwell discussing their library as an active learning commons within their school, their vision and progress to date.


Mark Carbone: After a 35 year career with the Waterloo Region District School Board, Mark is now working as an independent consultant in the education and technology sectors. His experience includes serving in a variety of roles: Chief Information Officer, IT Manager, ICT consultant, secondary classroom teacher and department head for the  Waterloo Region District School Board in Ontario.

He currently chairs the OSAPAC advisory committee to the Ministry of Education, is president of the Educational Computing Organization of Ontario (ECOO) and  Mark is a speaker at www.TEDxKitchenerED.com.  Mark is a frequent presenter at Technology Enabled Learning and Teaching conferences in Ontario and throughout Canada and is an active blogger.

Personal interests include arranging and composing music. Mark is an active performer as a member of the Venturi Winds Quintet and the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra.

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Contact Information
Professional Blog:  http://blog.markwcarbone.ca/
Twitter @markwcarbone: https://twitter.com/markwcarbone
Instagram markwcarbone: https://www.instagram.com/markwcarbone/
Connect:  http://about.me/markwcarbone

Carlo Fusco is a Teacher-Librarian, at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. In the course of his career he has been an elementary school teacher, a high school teacher, and a college professor. Carlo has always been fascinated with technology to enhance student learning. You can usually find him working with staff and students in his Library Learning Commons. He is currently the Co-Chair of the Bring IT Together Conference in Niagara Falls. You can also find him on Twitter @mrfusco.

Leah Crowell is in her tenth year of teaching in the Waterloo District School Board. She is passionate about reading, learning, and experimenting with pedagogy in her classroom. As a co-learner, Leah is always invested in working with her students to engage in their learning and listen to their perspectives. She is exploring the impact of the physical learning environment as it can shape and engage the learner. Leah is inspired by lifelong learners who are willing to take risks and try new things.