#TLElem: starting a new conversation

@cktechtl: I have been an elem teacher-librarian for 6 yrs.
@librarianmissk: This is my 4th yr as a TL, but it’s my 1st year in elem.
@cktechtl: Sometimes I feel that I can’t keep up with new ideas
@librarianmissk: Sometimes I feel like I am on a island by myself.

I’ve kinda immersed my grad students in Mansfield’s Information Literacy in Digital Landscapes (aka #mu5541) in a variety of social networks for PLN building.  And while they clearly see the value of these conversations, they noticed a gap.

This particular class is very elem-heavy.  Of the 22 students, 20 are interested in or currently teaching at the elementary level.  They want a more focused conversation.

Students Laurren Kresge and Caitlin Kordek propose #TLElem as a more focused hashtag for the #tlchat elementary crowd and plan to host a live chat on Tuesday night from 9:00 to 10:00 PM Eastern.

If you have an interest in elementary practice, please help Laurren and Caitlin hit the start button on this conversation.

Note: The plan is not to replace #tlchat, but to focus the conversation. I hope we’ll see both hashtags in upcoming tweets.

Laureen and Caitlin shared the rationale behind the new chat:

Conferences, workshops, and meetings are a great way for librarians to get together and share ideas. However, many of these gatherings are far and few and many of us would like continual support and growth.

#TLElem offers this opportunity.  We can only get better as a school librarian community when we work together and share.

#Tlchat is grand but focused on everything K-12
They share a lot of great resources, but it’s time to start another discussion
Let’s start a new hashtag for the elementary clique
Elementary / primary teacher-librarians can now have their own outlet
Learning about ideas and resources that are important and meaningful to them
Everyone help us spread the word, we want an extensive PLN
Meet us at #TLElem to learn, share and brainstorm

Join us for the first #TLElem live chat on Tuesday, February 19th, 2013 from 9-10pm EST

Caitlin Kordek @ cktechtl
Laurren Kresge @ librarianmissk

Filed under: #tlchat, #tlelem, pln, social networking