By Lila Armstrong
In a year when everything has gone virtual, the leap towards a virtual conference seems like a given. However, when it’s the first time that your Provincial Specialist Association conference has been hosted virtually, it’s a big change.
Numbers don’t lie. At over 490 participants, this year’s BCTLA conference saw more than 200 more TLs tune in than last year. Provincial organizations must deal with the geographical challenges that teachers face in order to attend conferences in person. This virtual conference not only responded to the difficulty of travelling in a pandemic, but also to the need of those in isolated areas to connect to professionals in their field. For TLs in the far reaches of the province, the opportunity to attend without dealing with travel and expense was clearly welcomed.
As a resident of Vancouver Island, I can attest to the ease of attending virtually. No ferries, no hotel, no late-night driving. Stormy weather across the province was the first topic of discussion for participants as they signed in and waited for the keynote speaker, and most celebrated not having to drive mountain highways in the snow, or brave the high winds and rain on the coast.
The BCTLA selected an online conference hosting company to manage most aspects of the conference. Participants were offered online registration, payment and workshop presentations via Zoom. Presenters were provided training, webinars, dry-runs and offered an easily navigated platform to attend sessions. With a simple layout, all participants could view a personalized conference schedule, as well as the full conference schedule.
Although we all long for the face-to-face opportunity to connect and extend our TL Professional Learning Network (PLN), it is perhaps a sign of the times that safety and ease of attendance outweighed the in-person pros this year. Being able to sleep at home on a Pro-D day is also pretty great.
It goes without saying that organizing a conference is a mighty undertaking, and one that the BCTLA executive managed extremely well. Organizers were even able to attend sessions on conference day! From organizing an online social/awards night, to vendor spotlights, a Graphic Novel panel, and gathering sponsors, the BCTLA provided an opportunity for BC, Yukon and even some American TLs to come together to start thinking about how we can stretch and challenge our thinking in school libraries and learning commons.
Rebeca Rubio, District Teacher Librarian for SD38, Richmond, opened with a keynote on how equity and empathy can become driving influences in how we program, practice and curate our collections. She asked us to be brave; to ask ourselves the tough questions about how we approach diversity in our collections; to go beyond “celebrating a day” and making equity and anti-racism part of our “everyday.” She asked us to challenge our own actions. Once we have the literature, how can we support those for whom we have bought the books? Do we?
Besides creating anti-racism resources for the elementary and secondary schools in her district, Rebeca is also supporting diversity audits in all BC secondary schools in the 2020-21 school year.
The range of sessions available to conference attendees was commendable – topics included digital citizenship, Indigenous resources, passion projects, bibliographies, getting to know your TL, technology for collaboration, assistive technology, using data to drive programming, ADST, student engagement, podcasting, and social media use. All conference materials will be posted on the BCTLA website and can be accessed here.
Presenters used Zoom in creative ways to engage their audience with participatory learning throughout each session. Conference presenters were supported with session moderators, who managed the chat and jumped in when there were pressing questions. This year, I presented “Tech for TLs: Using tech to build relationships and extend student learning.” As a first-time presenter, I felt unsure about talking into a silent void, but once I got going, I found that I quickly found my rhythm. I felt confident that my moderator would step in when needed, and I fielded a few technical questions during my workshop, but did not have to worry about managing the chat box. One more bonus: I didn’t have to imagine anyone naked in the audience!
Between the two main workshops, attendees were able to connect with graphic novel artists Cale Atkinson, Zoe Si and Faith Erin Hicks, who fielded questions about their creative genius. Each panelist showed parts of their process, including sketched thumbnails, about how they start to illustrate novels, and how their art has evolved. In times when TLs are still facing opposition to graphic novels, sessions such as this support the inclusion and celebration of graphic novels for all reader groups.
As with so many specialist gatherings, BC TLs left the BCTLA “Beyond the Books” conference with pages full of handwritten notes, cloud drives full of slides and a heads full of ideas.
Award winners for this year:
New Teacher Librarian of the Year
Leanne Dunbar (Maple Ridge)
Hannah Abbot (Victoria)
Teacher Librarian of the Year
Kristie Oxley (New Westminster)
President’s Award
Richard Beaudry (Langley)
Lifetime Achievement
Joanne Proske (Langley)
Lila Armstrong is an elementary teacher-librarian in Campbell River, BC. She brings private, public and international teaching experience to her French Immersion teaching practice. Lila is hooked on school and thrives when learning new things. She is currently learning about farming as her family now resides on a farm in the Comox Valley.