About Mr. Hanrahan
2015 Apple Distinguished Educator
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ResumeBioJason Hanrahan received his B.A. from Knox College where he played football and was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He came to Plainfield in 2000 as a classroom teacher and has spent the last fourteen years alternating between 4th and 5th grade. Jason received his M.S.I. in Bilingual/Bicultural Education from Northeastern Illinois University in 2010 and is currently taking Library Information Science coursework at Illinois State University. Wanting to affect learning on a larger scale, Jason accepted the position of Library Media Specialist in 2015 and is now able to work with every student and every teacher at Plainfield. Jason has a passion for inspiring young readers and leveraging technology to amplify teaching and learning. He is the creator of the award winning iOS app iSort Words and was recently recognized as an Apple Distinguished Educator. Jason resides in Palatine, IL with his beautiful wife, 3 incredible grade schoolers, and one very arrogant dog named Oscar.
PhilosophyJason's philosophy on school librarianship is simple - his job is to serve teachers and students and in any way support teaching and learning. Specifically, he hopes to balance the triangle of library responsibilities, creating a school-wide culture of reading, teaching information literacy, and helping teachers integrate technology in meaningful ways.
As a late blooming reader himself, Jason understands that creating, promoting, and nurturing a culture of readers is paramount to connecting every child with the right book at the right time as to inspire passion seeking and lifelong learning while fostering empathy. Reading for information as well as for pleasure opens up windows to the world and allows us to see how we fit into that world. Living at a time when information - in all its forms - is so readily available does not mean we are all smarter as a result. The role of the school librarian is to help students and teachers navigate this information superhighway, not only finding the right information, but being able to organize, evaluate, and synthesize it to create anew or improve what already exists. Finally, there is technology. It is but a tool, but a powerful tool indeed. Digital media creation provides an authentic context for teaching and learning across all grade levels and content areas. Tech can be leveraged to promote critical thinking and creativity, personalize learning, provide an authentic audience, and offer students two essential ingredients to personalized learning - choice and voice. |