overdolibrarian

3 Things from #ISTE2014

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 01 Sep 2014 15:52:00 +0000

My goal is to implement at least three things from each conference I attend. There are so many things I want to try from ISTE2014--it's difficult to choose just three! But, any more than three would be too much at once. So, let's start here:

Goal #1: Making / 3D printing

I saw so much information about makerspaces and 3D printing, I'm excited to bring this new technology to my students. The first thing I did was start a DonorsChoose.org project to obtain a 3D printer for my high school library. Watch for a future post all about this project!

Goal #2: Coding

Over and over at ISTE2014, presenters and attendees talked about the importance of our students learning to code. @MrYongpradit summed it up in his Ignite session, where he stated,

"Computer science is a foundational skill in the 21st century."

My goal this year is to create opportunities for our students to learn to code via the library. Again, watch this blog for updates on this goal.

Goal #3: Increase student participation

Increasing student participation in the library is not a new goal for me, It is something I have strived for each year since I arrived. However, ISTE2014 has given me new ideas for increasing student participation this year. I was so impressed with the students from @WHS_TechBar (also see http://whstechbar.blogspot.com/) who run a tech support desk at their school. We are not a 1:1 school, but I would love to train my student volunteers to assist teachers and students with technology.

So, those are my 3 goals from ISTE2014, though I could have chosen any of a million other things I saw and learned there. Did you attend ISTE2014? What goals did you bring back with you?

My final day at #ISTE2014 on Storify

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 15:04:00 +0000

At long last, I've finished Storifying my time at #ISTE2014. I've enjoyed using Storify to collect my tweets and capture a snapshot of each day at the conference. I know these stories will help me reflect on my learning and conference experience.

My next step will be to identify 3 things I want to implement from #ISTE2014. I have some ideas, but that's for another post! :)

Catching up on #ISTE2014 - My Day 4 on @Storify

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 02:53:00 +0000

As a friend asked today, "When do those 'lazy days of summer' I keep hearing about start?"

So far, my summer has consisted of travel and PD, with an action-packed family vacation squeezed in the middle. I'm still processing all of the amazing things I saw and learned at ISTE, while frantically planning my first-ever district-wide workshop (with a little help from my friends). And, I'm in the process of clearing out and rearranging the office space in my library at school (on my own time).

Thank goodness for this blog, where I can put my thoughts down before they all fly out of my head. And thank goodness for Twitter, where I can use the plethora of Tweets, favorites and re-Tweets from ISTE to remember what it was I wanted to reflect on in the first place. The reflection is coming. I promise. In the meantime, I am still capturing my #ISTE2014 days via Twitter and Storify:

Day 3 at ISTE2014

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 01:15:00 +0000

Here's my day 3 wrap-up. Again, I promise more detailed posts to come, but I shared a few links that I want to share widely. Let me know if you find these posts helpful.

Day 2 at ISTE

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 03:36:00 +0000

Again, so much happened today! I will have to wait to blog - need time to process (and edit!)

Day 1 at #ISTE2014

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 01:57:00 +0000

So, I just finished my first day of my first ISTE conference. I promised myself that I would blog and share everything I learned. Turns out, that is a bit ambitious, given the amount of information and networking crammed into one day. Instead, I offer up the following Storify of my day, with the promise of more detailed reflections to come.
Cheers!

Update: What we "library"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 29 May 2014 23:07:00 +0000

For School Library Month, I invited students to use "library" as a verb. I previously posted a picture of their responses hanging on my bulletin board. The bulletin board has since come down (see next post), but I've captured their responses in a Wordle, below (click to view it full size and HQ).

I love, love, love the words they chose to capture their library experience!

What do you library?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 00:32:00 +0000

For School Library Month, we are turning library into a verb at my school. From a sign in the library display case:

We "google" answers to questions, we "friend" people online, we can "text" and "message" our friends. It's time to "library" our homework, research, reading, computers, quiet time, and study groups. What do you library?

Student answers are being collected on catalog cards, and posted in the display case. So far, answers range from, "chillin'" and "escape" to "research," "all of my homework," "better grades," and "the world." I plan to collect the answers at the end of the month and post a word cloud on my library's web page.

So, what do YOU library?

Happy School Library Month!

Ask me!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 21:03:00 +0000

A Wordle inviting interruptions in my school library. Inspired by Connie Paul's keynote at the NJASL Fall Conference 2011 Leadership Breakfast, where she referenced her sign, "Interruptions are my job!"

Thing #3: VoiceThread

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:51:00 +0000

This year, I used VoiceThread with my 4th and 5th grade students to publish online book talks. Here's an example:

We kept our projects simple with a single narrated image, and voice or text comments. But, VoiceThread allows you to upload multiple images and narration or video, or capture video with a webcam. Viewers can add text, voice or video comments, and create a conversation around each slide.

Filters are often an issue in school libraries. I used the educator version of the site to create and protect our work. (I used a workaround to embed the example here.) The site is user-friendly, and their tech support was excellent.

I would recommend it for school and public libraries. There are so many possibilities for creating, presenting and sharing ideas and information. One fabulous example: NYPL's digital collection is accessible via nypl.voicethread.com:

The next VoiceThread was created and used by a group of teachers in North Carolina "to develop a vision for what teaching with technology should look like." It is a great example of how a dynamic conversation can develop through the comment feature. (Check out the webcam comment on the first slide. Too cool!):

Changing role of school librarians

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:09:00 +0000

This week in class, we are looking at the changing role of school librarians (or media specialists, if you prefer). Specifically, we're discussing a table in AASL's Empowering Learners, which shows how school librarians rank their roles now and in the future:

Now:
1. Teacher
2. Information Specialist
3. Instructional Partner
4. Program Administrator

Future:
1. Instructional Partner
2. Information Specialist
3. Teacher
4. Program Administrator

[Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs, AASL, 2009, p. 16.]

And all week, (in addition to battling glitches in my eCollege connection or lack thereof) I've been struggling with the idea of ranking the various roles of school librarians. A ranking implies that certain roles are more important than others, and I don't necessarily find that to be true. Plus, once you elevate one function above the others, it makes it easier to magnify that role at the expense of the others. For example, with the current cuts (which include me, btw), elementary librarians in my district will likely be covering more schools, while, presumably, maintaining the number of lessons taught per school. This means that the vast majority of their time will be spent teaching, leaving very little time for collaboration with teachers, or even basic administration of the libraries and programs. The perception will be that they can successfully "do more with less," but the collection, programs and facilities will invariably suffer.

In class, I proposed a pyramid model in lieu of any rank or hierarchy. Similar to Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs and Bloom's Taxonomy, I see our various roles as school librarians as building upon a foundation, and striving toward an ideal. In this case, the foundation is our knowledge and expertise as librarians, and the pinnacle of the pyramid is the ideal of instructional partnership with teachers, and educational leadership with our profession:

First, we are information specialists. Everything we do is based in our expertise in the access, evaluation and ethical use of information and information technologies.

Upon that base, we administer a school library program which uses and provides access to information resources and technologies in a manner that supports the curriculum, and meets the needs and interests of our students, faculty and administrators.

Next, as teachers, with knowledge of student development, instructional methods and learning theory, we instruct and empower students to use our school library program to explore, collaborate and construct meaningful knowledge within (and beyond) the curriculum and beyond school walls, and to become lifelong readers and learners.

Only after we have established ourselves as information specialists, administrators of a rich 21st century library program, and effective educators, can we expect to become instructional partners within our school buildings and districts. Teachers need to see us as experts and educators, before they can be open to investing their time (and trusting their students' learning) to partnership/collaboration with us.

Finally, we should strive to be leaders and advocates within our buildings, our districts and our profession. With our expertise and experience, we are uniquely qualified to take on a leadership role as our schools strive to meet evolving state and national education standards. We need to take the lead in preparing our schools to educate students for success in an information-based society and global economy.

Beyond the bookfair

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:47:00 +0000

I'm always looking for additional funding sources for my libraries. A co-worker recommended DonorsChoose.org. Public school teachers can post their classroom needs, and donors can browse by location or type of project to help support students and teachers. Instead of asking for money or selling fundraising items, teachers create a wish list through the site, and donors incrementally fund projects. In a word, "awesome."

Here's my first project: http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=361421&sharebar=true I'm hoping to get high-interest fiction series for my high-need school.

And here's a project I supported, in turn: http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=343138