New Trier Library

As we consider the New Trier ipad roll out for some classes in Fall 2012...

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 16:47:00 +0000

Is it worth considering how "green" the ipads really are? Will we be constantly upgrading our technology and dumping the old stuff into landfills?

Is the possibility of a paperless classroom ecologically sound? According to a UK Guardian Environmental blog, no one is really certain.

Tom Dowdall (Greenpeace International) describes how difficult this is to assess:

"Replacing laptop/desktop use with iPad use will use less energy, but most users will buy this in addition to a laptop, smart phone and other gadgets…
It's also very hard to answer whether digital media is more green/sustainable than traditional media. There are many studies but again it depends on the weight you give to different factors" (CO2 only, emissions, resources use, toxics etc.)

In a New York Times piece "How Green is My iPad?", writers Daniel Goleman and Gregory Norris delve into more detail on materials, manufacture, transportation, reading, and disposal in comparing print books and ereaders.

Some shocking facts:

One e-reader requires the extraction of 33 pounds of minerals.
One e-reader also requires 79 gallons of water to produce its batteries and printed wiring boards.
The manufacture of one e-reader requires 100 kilowatt hours of fossil fuels, resulting in 66 lbs. CO2

Transportation , disposal and health considerations make the ereader even less ecologically friendly. I like what Goleman and Norris suggest:

"All in all, the most ecologically virtuous way to read a book starts by walking to your local library."

Everything is a Remix: Parts 1 -2 -3 -4

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:59:00 +0000

Everything is a Remix is produced by Kirby Ferguson, a New York-based filmmaker. This site is a companion piece to the four-part video series.

Watch Part I

Watch Part II

Everything is a Remix Part 2 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

Watch Part III: Creativity

Everything is a Remix Part 3 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

Watch Part IV: Copy, Transform, Combine

Everything is a Remix Part 4 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

New Twitter Has Now Completed its Rollout

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:49:00 +0000

See New Twitter tips which includes embedding tweets and also keyboard shortcuts:

Here's a Tweet about how powerful Twitter is becoming; it's not really a social network so much as it is an organizer of information around topics/interests:

Six lessons from Social Media Week bit.ly/AuEwQ4 (via Poynter)
— PBS MediaShift (@PBSMediaShift) February 16, 2012

Librarian Deborah Lazar: "100 Days for Haiti" Raises $14,000

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:53:00 +0000

New Trier Librarian at the Northfield Campus worked to raise funds to help Haiti Libraries.

"Lazar has been to Haiti twice now, once before the earthquake when she visited a school in Petit-Goâve that a New Trier employee’s father started in 1952 and the high school was helping to rebuild. She plans another visit this summer to see the new temporary library building. “It’s been more than two years since the earthquake, and this effort will keep Haiti in people’s minds for a time,” she said. “Rebuilding doesn’t happen quickly.”
Read the story!

Congratulations ....one person can make a difference.

TED Talk called “Defend Our Freedom To Share (Or Why SOPA is a Bad Idea)

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:16:00 +0000

Shirky summarizes the evolution of online content law leading up to the Stop Online Piracy Act and its sister bill, the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). He tells how the two controversial bills were preceded by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 and Audio Home Recording Act of 1992.

Shirky not only explains what SOPA and PIPA want to do, but also serves as a call to action for opponents of the legislation to preserve their ability to share, remix, and discuss.

Learn more about digital rights management and privacy issues

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:41:00 +0000

Libraries and individuals are spending money on ebooks and other digital files which they may no longer have access to (because we technically don't own them) in the decades to come because of the current user agreements with Amazon and other vendors. We are all locked into these proprietary "ecosystems" of ipad, Kindle, Nook, etc. Amazon is the clear leader currently and Amazon knows everything the library patrons are checking out! A private company now has this data for the first time ever: this is not what we're accustomed to because libraries have always prized patron privacy.

Must see interview with Sarah Houghton, Librarian-in-Black from the School Library Monthly Blog:

Save the Date

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:10:00 +0000

Exciting professional development opportunity:

ISTE UNPLUGGED - HOME via kwout

Looking to Expand Your Personal Learning Network

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:13:00 +0000

The Edublog Awards is a community based incentive started in 2004 in response to community concerns relating to how schools, districts and educational institutions were blocking access of learner and teacher blog sites for educational purposes. The purpose of the Edublog awards is promote and demonstrate the educational values of these social media.

These are fabulous resources for educators to use for ideas on technology tools and how social media is used in different contexts, with a range of different learners. It introduces us all to new sites that we might not have found if not for the awards process. Now, you can also nominate your your favorite educational mobile app for education.

The Edublog Awards 2011 are now open for voting. This is a good time to lurk around, read, and see what you are missing. I find new people to follow each year and enjoy expanding my PLN. Add some of them to your rss feeds and/or follow them on Twitter:

Best Individual Blog
Best Librarian/Library Blog
Best Educators to Follow on Twitter
Best Hashtags to Follow on Twitter (educational discussions)
Best Professional Development Groups

Click here to view all the categories and spreadsheets of nominations.

Open Mic Night with Joyce Valenza & Moderator Gwyneth A. Jones - The Daring Librarian

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:03:00 +0000

On December 5th , Joyce Valenza and Gwyneth Jones shared their top discoveries of the year.

Additionally, dozens of other teacher/Librarians shared their faves and help build an interactive resource book.

View the slides from the crowdsourced google doc which highlights important tools.

New Trier Library proudly supports the projects of Integrated Global Studies School

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:57:00 +0000

Inside the Leviathan: The Art of Moby Dick on Prezi

Collaborative Document Editing

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:17:00 +0000

Here's a screen shot of a recommendation by Mark Brumley:

Crocdoc – Collaborative Document Editing | Mark Brumley via kwout

I do love using kwout which allows embedding clickable screen shots!

Goodnight, iPad

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Straube (Ms. S)) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 03:55:00 +0000

To enjoy at the end of a long day:

17,849 and counting

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Straube (Ms. S)) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:30:00 +0000

17,489 -- that is the number of petitions submitted to the Obama administration's "We the People" project. It is also roughly the number (slightly over 17,000) of signatures needed for the petition titled "Ensure all school libraries are properly staffed, open, and available for children every day."

Read Joyce Valenza’s plea for action, noting support from Library Journal, School Library Journal, and Horn Book – if you decide on signing a petition, it involves creating an account (simply supplying first and last name, email account and zip code) and then activating the account (to ensure that the email is a live address); a relatively easy task for important subjects such as this. The White House is promising relatively quick responses if the goal of 25,000 signatures are reached. According to the Wall Street Journal, 81 petitions have received that required number of signatures, with 15 new petitions being received every hour.

That’s an active democratic society and leads me to also refer to an inspiring presentation given last week by Dave Lankes at CARLI (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois). He spoke about becoming more vital to the community and how librarianship is about improving society in “Expect More: Service is Proactive”. Take a few moments to read his blog post which has links to his slides and audio presentation.

Michael Stephens Keynote: Hyperlinked Library Services @Library 2.011

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 19:05:00 +0000

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jennx/2513840755 used by Michael Stephens

I didn't expect the Michael Stephens' keynote to have such emphasis on kindness, heart, connecting to patrons, trust, and breaking down behaviors. We really need to look at our own behaviors instead of always judging our patron behaviors. "Let the heart drive change". Check it out for yourself as you contemplate library innovation. It's really all about what it's always been about: "Be Kind".

There are technologies that are definitely game changers. But there is nothing new under the sun about human behavior.

Kindle Lending Library details = limitations

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Straube (Ms. S)) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 03:22:00 +0000

It was exciting to hear about what some have called "Lendle", a Kindle Lending library, until I read many more details about the various limitations (need to be a member of Amazon Prime, one book per month and only one at a time, 5000 titles, none from the biggest publishers....). Here is an excellent overview posted by Sue Polanka at No Shelf Required.

Stephen Abram's Keynote: How do we move to the next step? @ Library2.011

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 19:45:00 +0000

Notes from the Keynote: @ Library 2.011 Thursday, November 3, 2011

Libraries cannot afford to just be descriptive and market themselves as only books/database articles.
Patrons want "to love" something. How do we re-position ourselves as knowing stuff that will help their real lives?

Librarians need to stand up to the challenge and have "help" sessions to enable patrons and prepare them for web 2.0 and mobile apps. Otherwise, we'll have problems sustaining libraries in the future.

How do we make books social on a learning level? What programs do we need to create so that we may exceed the walls of our physical spaces? Can we get it to the next level? We cannot hide behind the book; we cannot hide behind the computer either.

Libraries are fundamentally about framing questions. We are experts at improving the quality of the questions.

We need to move beyond transactions and move toward transformation. The book is evolving. Our profession needs to evolve re: perception of books. There are more saavy users and devices are moving into 'almost free'. Sharing/collaborating is now social. Learning is social. We know about our customers more than ever before with web 2.0. Now we are able to support social context.

The challenge is to how to teach people what content is right/wrong or correct/incorrect on the web. What we learned from Amazon is that it's an environment for sharing information/reviews about books. There is a new Google lending environment. Book borrowing will go to the web, engaging not only with the books but with others, with the author, with the videos. eBooks allow for sharing notes while reading; this social nature challenges how libraries address patron confidentiality.

Why do people read? See Stephen's notes: to learn, to interact with others, to teach, etc
What is the role of books which are shared collectively/collaboratively? The platform (ebooks) is not what changes things; it's in deciding how others can engage with the ebooks. The social tools embedded in the devices is what will ultimately matter. Sharing is what will matter. This is why we belong to groups/communities. The regulatory world is changing. We are moving way beyond the print environment. Librarians know there are rights beyond copyright involved in the social act of reading. The reader experience is altered by geo-tagging; it can also manipulate what you are reading within the Google search engine. We need to understand search engine optimization (SEO). We are Google's product --one they are serving up to advertisers. In some cases, it improves the user experience. In other cases, the information "filter bubble" can manipulate what you are reading.

Evolution of answers: these are issues of confusion and sense-making. Librarians need to provide people with tools to teach them to make sense of the information. We can find "good enough" answers in many areas, but these good enough answers are not enough when doing important research such as health/wellness or divorce. The process of extracting articles from books is what databases do; podcasts, charts, video, and social web can build the "enhanced" book on any given topic.

Will libraries become publishers for their communities?
Libraries are for learning, research and discovery, for helping society progress, for curation, and to have an impact on the community. We have to understand and provide for our community needs.

Mobility is a game changer. Where is the social help and how do I get the help where I am?
We need to embed librarian 'goodness' into the user experience. All the tools we know and use will ultimately change sooner rather than later.

TEDxNYED with Will Richardson: What is Your Definition of Better?

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 01:15:00 +0000

A great time to be a learner; not such a great time to be a teacher: Why Race to the Top and aligning teachers evaluations to student "achievement" won't work. Why teaching to the tests won't work.

We need "life prep" not "test prep". Test prep and learning are two very different things. We have to "stop talking about better and start talking about different"....AMEN.

Library 2.011 Virtual Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Straube (Ms. S)) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:50:00 +0000

Do not forget about this important information from Steve Hargadon:

The Library 2.011 worldwide virtual conference is this Wednesday and Thursday, November 2 - 4, all online, all free. As of today, we have 5,000 registrations for the conference from 151 countries! Amazing! The conference schedule is also now online, with all 160+ sessions, and an individual hour-by-hour schedule calendar for each of 36 different time zones--and the live links to the session rooms will go up later today and tomorrow. Be sure to register by joining the site at the link above.

Keynote speakers, including Sandra Hirsch and Steve Abram, are profiled here. Topics include:

New Career Pathways for Information Professionals in a Library 2.0 World 11/2, 9am CDT
Participatory Libraries as Enabling Spaces for Creative Practices, 11/2 10am CDT
Hyperlinked Library Services for Everyone: Exploring what a connected world of continuous computing means for twenty- first century library service. 11/2, 8pm CDT
The experience of information literacy and learning: reflections on social media 11/3 5am (from Australia) CDT
New paradigms for higher education libraries 11/3 8am CDT
The New Normal: Social Institutions and the Social Web Is there still life in web tools for library strategies? 2pm, CDT

Many, many other sessions are available over the 2 day conference time.

And coming soon:

The 2011 Global Education Conference is November 14 - 18.

Mother Nature and College Applications

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Straube (Ms. S)) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:25:00 +0000

Like other New Trier teachers, I have been talking with students over the last few weeks about their college essays and November 1 was a big deadline. With 2 to 3 million households without electricity on the East Coast, the entire process has been impacted. Here's the text of a recent email from Common Application:

October 31, 2011

The Common Application Board of Directors has asked all member colleges with imminent deadlines to be sensitive to the adverse conditions affecting schools and students in the northeast. The Common App system allows counselors and teachers to submit school forms at any time, regardless of deadline. Students and counselors with questions about application deadlines at individual institutions should contact those colleges directly.We wish a quick return to the normal fall routine for all affected colleagues and students.

We Have an Author in the House at New Trier Library

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:41:00 +0000

And, I'm not even talking about the upcoming Literary Festival on November 4...where we have a full line up of authors speaking to students.

What I recently discovered is an ebook published and co-authored by teachers and library media specialists:
School Libraries: What's Now, What's Next, What's Yet to Come edited by
Kristin Fontichiaro and Buffy Hamilton
Foreword by R. David Lankes

Our own librarian, Linda Straube wrote an essay for

CHAPTER 7: VIRTUAL LIBRARIES

"Together We Light the Way"
Linda's essay speaks to the power of crowdsourcing our library work and she highlights a vast array of resources for every discipline via the Libguide Community. Linda has been an "early adopter" in this area working tirelessly in at the New Trier Library to train colleagues in the use of the software enabling contributions to the larger sharing community.

In that same chapter I also enjoyed Joyce Kasman Valenza's essay: "I Want to Be an App". Here Valenza writes about the necessity of going both virtual and mobile with our catalogs, our databases, and other electronic resources. Valenza argues that "mobile practice is no longer optional. Our practice should be cloud-based, participatory, portable, and attractive."

This crowdsourced collection of over 100 essays from around the world about trends in school libraries is written by librarians, teachers, publishers, and library vendors.
Get your free copy of this ebook in a variety of formats from Smashwords.com

Available Ebook reading formats:

This book is free.

Format	Full Book
Online Reading (HTML, good for sampling in web browser)	View
Online Reading (JavaScript, experimental, buggy)	View
Kindle (.mobi for Kindle devices and Kindle apps)	Download
Epub (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others)	Download
PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing)	Download

Dropbox - Pogue and our students agree

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Straube (Ms. S)) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 16:07:00 +0000

Recently as part of Banned Sites Awareness Day, we asked students to tell us about their use of certain sites for school/learning. One we asked about was Dropbox.

The result? Almost half (45%) of our students use it for school work and their comments indicate that they would agree with David Pogue's recent enthusiastic review in The New York Times:

Here are some comments from our students:
• For Policy Debate class, we used DropBox to share debate files on our computer so that all members of the team had the same files and access to all of them.

• DropBox is literally the best way for students working on projects to collaborate and share information. I have used this tool many times over the years, and my partners and I have been extremely organized and successful thanks to this technology.

• I believe Dropbox is a great website to share vital files.

• In my opinion, more teachers should encourage Dropbox use.

• Since I was introduced to Dropbox a few years ago, I've considered it one of the most useful (free) web services outside of Google's Web Apps.

• Dropbox seamlessly synchronizes files across computers and you can access your complete archive of documents from any computer with an Internet connection.

• This is incredible, as I can keep all of my school documents (and various other files) on Dropbox, and this enables me to: allow people to download files from my Public folder, given an explicit public link, share files and folders with classmates for collaboration, *automatically update my documents at school to my computers at home*, and host photo albums.

• We used DropBox in all my classes in middle school for sharing files and submitting homework/projects to teachers. We also used it to see who turned in what assignment and who still needed to turn assignments in.

• We used dropbox for my Debate class to share files with our whole team. It spreads info to everybody who needs it.

We will be working to raise awareness amongst teachers and the 36% of our students had not heard of Dropbox.

Afghanistan Resources

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Straube (Ms. S)) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 15:39:00 +0000

Homeland Afghanistan is a new, fabulous resource for classes which are studying Afghanistan. Produced by the Asia Society, it contains many links to videos and other information (map, glossary, bibliography).

Although navigating it is a little complicated, there is a very long timeline (one section focuses on Afghanistan today) and there are several themes which are explored, including:
• Geography and Destiny
• Identity and Perception
• Traditions and Modernization and
• Traces and Narratives

See also the companion webinars (free to teachers). As we pass the 10 year mark of US military involvement, I have gathered more resources on Afghanistan, including timelines and various media perspectives, which are available here.

I made my own 'flippin book' with FlipSnack

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 00:20:00 +0000

The free version allows you no more than 15 pdf pages. So it was necessary to trim down my resources significantly.

Really easy/fun to use.

Web Tool Mashup

noreply@blogger.com (Judy Gressel) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 15:07:00 +0000

Integrating Bloom's Digital Taxonomy, Gardner's Multiple Intelligences and Web Tools for Student Centered Learning

Audio-Visual from NASA

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Brennan) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:55:00 +0000

Still Images, Audio Recordings, Video, and Related Computer Files

NASA still images; audio files; video; and computer files used in the rendition of 3-dimensional models, such as texture maps and polygon data in any format, generally are not copyrighted. You may use NASA imagery, video, audio, and data files used for the rendition of 3-dimensional models for educational or informational purposes, including photo collections, textbooks, public exhibits, computer graphical simulations and Internet Web pages. This general permission extends to personal Web pages.

This general permission does not extend to use of the NASA insignia logo (the blue "meatball" insignia), the retired NASA logotype (the red "worm" logo) and the NASA seal. These images may not be used by persons who are not NASA employees or on products (including Web pages) that are not NASA-sponsored.

NASA should be acknowledged as the source of the material except in cases of advertising. See NASA Advertising Guidelines.

If the NASA material is to be used for commercial purposes, especially including advertisements, it must not explicitly or implicitly convey NASA's endorsement of commercial goods or services. If a NASA image includes an identifiable person, using the image for commercial purposes may infringe that person's right of privacy or publicity, and permission should be obtained from the person.

For contact information, restrictions, or more information, see:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html