Library News for Tift Students

Educational Technology in Schools

2012-10-08T16:00:00.002-04:00

"When used appropriately, educational technology is a tool to assist with implementation of the Common Core Standards, help raise graduation rates, and prepare students for life beyond K-12 education. Technology employed in isolation, without direct instruction, or highly qualified guidance, fails to address these concerns. It is the intent of this AASL [American Association of School Libraries] white paper to provide a review of technology-related topics that can contribute to success and might serve to generate interest in further research on filtering practices, Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs), apps, social media, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), and related subjects." Read this four-page document here. Are there ideas in the report with which you particularly agree or disagree?

What Content-Area Teachers Should Know About Adolescent Literacy

2011-07-25T12:08:00.002-04:00

The goal of this report (click on the title for this post to download it), prepared by the National Institute for Literacy (part of the U.S. Department of Education) is to help address middle and high school classroom teachers’, administrators’, and parents’ immediate need for basic information about how to build adolescents’ reading and writing skills. The report summarizes some of the current literature on adolescent literacy research and practice. It is divided into two main sections. The first section describes five key components that are critical to the development of reading proficiency: decoding/phonemic awareness and phonics, morphology, vocabulary, fluency, and text comprehension. The second section discusses four other areas that are fundamental in helping adolescents achieve advanced levels of literacy: assessment, writing, motivation, and the needs of diverse learners.

Clinical Report: The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families

2011-04-04T10:04:00.002-04:00

An article published in the journal Pediatrics on March 28, 2011 discusses the potential benefits and risks of using social media by children and adolescents.

New Study on Reading in the Digital Age: Parents Say Electronic, Digital Devices Negatively Affects Kids' Reading Time

2010-10-01T13:34:00.004-04:00

This article summarizes a study showing students' and parents' thinking about the use of electronic books and social media sites. Are children reading "for fun" less than they used to because they're spending more time with electronic devices ? Is the technology a motivator for kids to read more?

Accessing Scholarly Articles

2009-06-02T15:31:00.003-04:00

If you're not sure where to start when you want to find articles from Swilley Library academic databases, here is a PowerPoint presentation that will offer some navigation advice.

Education: A Frequent Topic in the Media

2009-05-21T16:49:00.003-04:00

Education issues and events, with all their complexities, are often presented in the media. In this post you’ll see links to four episodes broadcast recently on the PBS NewsHour. Each link opens to a transcript of the episode, and for each there is also a link for streaming video (for which you may have to download RealPlayer). If you investigate the NewsHour site (especially the "Browse by Topic" >> Education links near the top, you are sure to find coverage of education news that is interesting and important to you.

School Reform in Washington, D.C.
School Chancellor Michelle Rhee has initiated efforts to improve student performance. Her proposals regarding tenure, teacher pay, and professional development have met resistance from some of the district’s teachers. This transcript may lead you to see the perspectives of both school administrators and teachers.

New Orleans Charter Schools Produce Mixed Results
There are now more than 5,000 charter schools in the U.S. From the transcript: “Charter schools are public schools, open to all and paid for with tax dollars. They're free from board control and often from teacher unions, and so, unlike traditional public schools, charters make their own decisions about curriculum, staffing, and student rules.” This transcript offers several perspectives on the strengths and challenges of charter schools.

A Goal: Increase College Enrollment of Low-Income Students
A high school teacher in St. Louis is interviewed about his work to help students enter college. The College Summit Program was started in 1993 to work in partnership with schools, school districts and colleges to develop a sustainable model for closing the college enrollment gap among low-income students. College Summit has served more than 35,000 high school seniors and trained more than 1,200 teachers and counselors.

Middle School “Future Cities” Competition Integrates Skills
The National Engineers Week Future City Competition organizes a yearly nationwide competition designed to build students’ skills in problem-solving, teamwork, research and presentation skills, practical math and science applications, and computer skills. More than 30,000 students from 1,100 middle schools participated in this year's regional contests. They all designed and tested their urban planning ideas using a computer game called "SimCity 4." This NewsHour episode highlights a few of the benefits for students who participate and tracks one team in the Finals.

"Small Interventions, Big Achievements"

2009-02-20T16:56:00.006-05:00

An educational researcher asked middle-grades inner-city Detroit children what kind of future they would like to have, what difficulties they anticipated along the way, how they might deal with them, and which of their friends would be most helpful in coping. "After only a few such exercises in life planning, the children improved their performance on standardized academic tests, and the number who were required to repeat a grade dropped by more than half." In a New York Times opinion column published February 8, 2009, Richard E. Nisbett, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, describes several examples of interventions that provide strong impact on educational achievement for a small cost. I strongly urge you to read this column linked here.

Awards for Children's Literature

2009-02-09T12:39:00.003-05:00

The American Library Association has announced the winners of its 2009 children's book awards -- the Newbery Medal, the Caldecott Medal for illustration, the Coretta Scott King Award, the Michael L. Printz award for young adult literature -- and more. Click on the title of this post to see the winners.

Facing a GACE II Test?

2008-10-10T12:30:00.007-04:00

As you know, in order to be recommended for certification or licensure, teacher candidates must pass the appropriate GACE II test(s). Swilley Library has purchased test preparation books that may help you succeed. Here are the subject areas (and test numbers) of the books we have:

Basic Skills 200, 201, 202; Science 024, 025; English 020, 021; History 034, 035; Reading 117, 118; Middle Grades Reading 012; Middle Grades Science 014; Middle Grades Mathematics 013; Middle Grades Social Science 015; Middle Grades Language Arts 011; Mathematics 022, 023; Early Childhood Education 001, 002.

You can ask for the book you need at Swilley's Circulation Desk. To ensure the widest access for all, the books can be checked out for seven days only. If you face a GACE II test in a subject you don't see listed here, please contact me and I'll try to add to our collection the book you need.
Here is a link to a GACE website showing test designs and frameworks.

Finding Scholarly Articles

2008-09-12T12:16:00.007-04:00

Here is a PowerPoint presentation showing you how to search for articles you need and then retrieve the full text. Contact me if I can provide direct assistance to you.

Assistance With Your Bibliography

2008-08-07T12:06:00.011-04:00

You'll need to create a References list for many of your academic papers. Swilley Library offers web-based software called RefWorks which does quite a bit of the work for you. For the small investment of time you'd need to learn to use it, you'll find it might save you many hours during the semester. Librarians would be happy to help you learn to use it -- just ask us. Furthermore, RefWorks has very good online tutorials and help menus.

Studying Children's or Young Adult Literature or Content Area Reading?

2008-07-30T12:56:00.006-04:00

Swilley Library offers you the Children's Literature Comprehensive Database, which allows you to identify books you might use in your teaching or lesson planning. You can impose many limits on your search, including subject, age of students, genre, etc. Professional reviews are available for thousands of books. Off-campus access requires the GALILEO password.

2008-07-28T13:27:00.007-04:00

Greetings to Mercer's Education Students -

We're united by our interests in teaching and learning. I hope to create an information resource here that will keep you informed about important Swilley Library resources that will help you with your learning and teaching. This blog can be as interactive as you help to make it. If you have ideas for what you'd like to see here I definitely want to hear from you -- and so do others who can learn from you.