The ShushFree Library

TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS: A Call for Collaboration!

2014-02-19T15:28:00.000-05:00

Greetings to all SJ Prep teachers and administrators! Like the rest of you, we at McShain library are devoted to the development of students' information literacy and research skills. In order to increase the efficiency and relevance of students' learning we would like to call for your collaboration. We ask that you post your lesson plans on this blog or email them to one of the librarians. Within a 48 hour time span we will respond to your post or email with an idea of how to incorporate Google or another form of digital media into the lesson plan. If you do not know how to use Google or the digital media resource recommended we will be more than happy to teach you or come to the class. WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU! PLEASE USE US!

Moving Away From Textbooks

2013-03-27T12:14:00.000-04:00

Tweets about "#beyondtextbooks"

Get Organized Online

2013-02-27T15:42:00.000-05:00

I'm testing out a very interesting tool called If This Then That. I just created two "recipes": 1) when I add something new to Delicious it will automatically be tweeted on my Twitter account and 2) when I write a new post on this blog it will also be tweeted on my Twitter account.

There are many recipes you can create depending on the different tools you use (Dropbox, LinkedIn, YouTube, Tumblr, just to name a few).

Here she goes again...

2013-02-05T13:47:00.004-05:00

I think about the 1:1 initiative a lot. You might say too much. Here are some thoughts :

The focus of a 1:1 school should be the efficient and productive use of existing technology. Every faculty member that has access to a laptop should be using it as a teaching tool. This means more than just showing Powerpoints or YouTube videos. I believe an important first step to take is to require teachers to create a class webpage and use electronic submission methods for assignments (Google Docs). (I know math is tricky). The next step is to rethink traditional writing assignments and projects by requiring the use of online tools and software. Introducing e-textbooks would be useful, too, but in my perfect world the need for textbooks disappears.

Before new devices are handed out, teachers should have a better understanding of what they can already do with what already exists.

Information Literacy as Counter-Cultural: A Jesuit Perspective

2013-01-17T11:35:00.000-05:00

The results of the reports, "How Teens Do Research in the Digital World" and "Children, Teens, and Entertainment Media: The View from the Classroom", raise some relevant issues concerning teens current use of technology. In today's culture teens main use of technology is for entertainment and most will tell you they find it to be a pervasive distraction. For the majority of teens it is not viewed as a learning tool. They come by this view honestly since so few of them have seen technology and digital media meaningfully incorporated into learning and teaching.

The National Forum on Information Literacy defines information literacy as “...the ability to know when there is a need for information, to be able to identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue or problem at hand.” That sounds so simple yet it proves to be an incredibly hard literacy to teach because we have allowed the current digital media/entertainment culture to have a stranglehold over our children's time online. It is time to make a change.

Jesuit institutions pride themselves on being counter-cultural and rightly so. We incorporate characteristics such as Religious, Loving, and Commitment to Social Justice into our curriculum because we strongly believe they will inspire young men and women to be agents of change in a complex, global world.
We are counter-cultural because we raise awareness, have discussions, offer alternatives and encourage behavior modification to include new sets of habits. We will be counter-cultural when we teach a new set of digital habits that apply to Intellectual Competency and Information Literacy. Teens who can effectively manage the onslaught of information, find meaning and share new knowledge in a productive and efficient manner truly will be men for and with others.

In order to form young men for the 21st century and beyond it is our duty to embrace the digital world and model positive online habits. To do otherwise is to fail in our responsibilities as educators.

Perspective

2012-12-19T14:20:00.001-05:00

Oh, those were the days......

New Things to Share

2012-09-27T14:50:00.000-04:00

Figment
Were you born to write? Would you like to publish your work for free? If you answered yes to either question you need to check out Figment, an online community for young authors.
Read more here

Meograph
A really cool presentation tool. Just answer three question: What happened, when did it happen, and where? The information is placed on a timeline where you can embed images, YouTube clips and/or narration to guide your audience.
Read more here

Awesome Apps and Enhanced Books

Frankenstein. Dave Morris (based on the novel by Mary Shelley). Profile Books.inkle Ltd. 2012.iOS, requires 4.3 or later. Version: 1.0.6. $4.99.

Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomy. Martin Clayton. illus. by Leonardo da Vinci. Touch Press with The Royal Collection. 2012. iOS, requires 5.0 or later. Version: 1.0.2. $13.99.

Minds of Modern Mathematics. Glen Fleck, MartianCraft in collaboration with IBM and the Eames Office. 2012. iOS, requires 3.2 or later. Version: 1.01. Free.

Tate Modern Art Terms. Simon Wilson with Jessica Lack and the Tate Staff. Tate Publishing. Aimer Media. 2012. Version: 1.1. $2.99.

How to Avoid Plagiarism

2012-02-23T10:50:00.001-05:00

How to use Advanced Search in Google

2012-02-23T10:49:00.001-05:00

How & Why to Take Notes

2012-02-23T10:48:00.001-05:00

Search PowerSearch Database

2012-02-23T10:47:00.000-05:00

Teaching Beyond the Classroom

2012-01-24T13:58:00.000-05:00

Rethink basic assumptions in our system that inhibit leveraging technology to improve learning.
Content - Use of online resources such as infographics for learning such as How Laws are Made.
Context - use the Battlefront: Campaigners on a Mission website as a place to find real-world needs and consider where laws need to be made.
Computing - Use the Thomas website to make contacts, track real bills and share findings.

Lamb, Annette and Larry Johnson. "Content,Context,Computing: Keys to the National Education Technology Plan." Teacher Librarian 39.2. Dec. 2011: 58-63. Print.

Convey knowledge in non-traditional ways

2012-01-17T12:09:00.000-05:00

Let's explore an example of how technology can help students convey their knowledge and skills in a non-traditional way.
Content - Rather than learning from a textbook, use graphic representations such as HowToons comics to talk about angles and energy or the formation of bubbles (there are many subjects covered).
Context - Build your own science project and photograph the process. Use the images to share understandings of the process.
Computing - Use the software Comic Life to write about the process.

Lamb, Annette and Larry Johnson. "Content,Context,Computing: Keys to the National Education Technology Plan." Teacher Librarian 39.2. Dec. 2011: 58-63. Print.

Build a Meaningful Learning Experience - Genetics

2012-01-10T11:49:00.000-05:00

Let's explore how you can combine content, context and computing to build a meaning learning experience.

Content - The interactive tutorials at Learn Genetics are an engaging way to learn about how cells work.

Context - Once students have an understanding of cell biology, give the generic cell a face. Read the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (call #616 L141), watch HeLa Cell (from Sunday Morning), and explore Henrietta Lacks Everlasting timeline visualizing the impact of the HeLa cell lines and read the 1976 article The Miracle of Hela.

Computing - Ask students to transfer their knowledge of cell biology and medical research to a new situation. What other people have been used for medical research without their knowledge? Use online resources for background information about medical ethics and issues in medical research. Then, ask students to create a video about their finding and post it on Vimeo.

Lamb, Annette and Larry Johnson. "Content,Context,Computing: Keys to the National Education Technology Plan." Teacher Librarian 39.2. Dec. 2011: 58-63. Print.

Books to Purchase

2012-01-06T11:10:00.001-05:00

I'll keep a list of books I'm looking to add to the library collection here. Let me know what you think or if you have a book to recommend.

Read an excerpt of Why We Broke Up

Twitter

2011-12-15T13:30:00.001-05:00

When I first created an account on Twitter I really wasn't sold on its usefulness. It seemed silly and irrelevant and a waste of time mainly because I hadn't taken the time to learn how to use it to its full potential. Nowadays, I learn so much from the people I follow on Twitter. They are the great thinkers in Libraryland and gurus of Technology Education who share their insight and knowledge with others freely. I highly recommend you create a Twitter account. I think you will be amazed.

Here is one tip to make Twitter useful:
Find people or groups to follow by searching InboxQ for topics related to your field or subject.

Or you can follow me!

Follow @Sonia_Nelson

HawkReads...

2011-12-13T11:39:00.001-05:00

December 14 - The Last Boy - Mr. Donahue
December 13 - Twist of the Tongue - Mr. Farren
December 19 - Hunger Games - Mrs. Nelson
January 23 - Master and Commander - Mr. Fortin

See Mr. Fortin to set up your own HawkReads event.

HawkReads...

2011-11-15T10:27:00.001-05:00

On December 14, Mr. Donahue will be discussing The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood.

Mr. Groch and the Philosophy Discussion Group (doesn't that sound like the name of a band?) is reading Brave New World. Date of discussion is TBD.

Mrs. Nelson has chosen to read The Hunger Games . She will meet to discuss the book(s) on December 19.

The Week

2011-11-15T09:57:00.001-05:00

Have you heard of The Week: The Best of the U.S and International Media? It is a great way to get a quick glimpse of national and world events in news, politics, business, arts and entertainment. Articles cover the main stories of the week and describe how they were covered by media sources. This is a great resource for students of government and economics. You can read the print version the next time you are in the library.

The Physics of Angry Birds

2011-11-10T15:52:00.001-05:00

"When I first started playing Angry Birds oh so many years ago, I had this feeling that after tapping the screen the yellow bird just went at a constant velocity. Then one day, I accidentally shot it super high. The bird didn’t just keep going up, it looked like some parabolic motion. I guess I was wrong. What next? Collect some data."

College Ready v. College Eligible

2011-11-10T13:52:00.000-05:00

Within the last week I had the pleasure of attending two thought-provoking workshops centered around rethinking education in order to better serve our students. Both workshops came from research from the Education Policy Improvement Center (EPIC). David Conley focused on the keys to success in college and beyond by challenging us to consider some interesting ideas. For instance, teachers typically begin with strategies to solve existing problems. But what if students begin by creating the problem and then work to come up with strategies to solve that problem? What if teachers make learning relevant and meaningful? What if teachers learn to observe and assess strategic thinking skills (insight, efficiency, idea generation, concept formation, integration and solution seeking)? What if students had time in between classes to reflect on and process the new information? What if students learn how to learn, instead of learn how to be compliant? Ray McNulty continued to challenge us to think about our current situation. Do we focus mainly on skill acquisition? How can we add rigor and relevance to our instruction? And perhaps the most vexing question: Should we bother with this at all? After all the Prep is a very highly regarded high school with a long educational history. We are doing a pretty good job as things are right now. McNulty mentioned some compelling reasons why we should be considering change (Sears and Xerox), but for me it seems simple. We are educating the leaders of the future. Shouldn't they have strong decision-making skills? Be adaptable and empathetic? Shouldn't they become advocates for themselves, so that they may become advocates for others? According to McNulty, these are some of the characteristics that are highly valued in the 21st century workforce.

I think what we do here is awesome. I love being a part of this community. I also think that there is always room for improvement and that we should be open to change and unafraid of asking tough questions. We will only be stronger for the asking.

Common Core Standards

Dead Languages Come Alive

2011-10-28T13:54:00.001-04:00

"What can possibly get kids excited to learn a dead language? This was the challenge for Latin teacher Kevin Ballestrini.

Ideally, he could take the entire class to Rome and walk them through the ruins, where they could practice speaking the language while learning the history. He found a way to do it — at least in the virtual world.

Ballestrini has turned his introductory Latin class at Connecticut’s Norwich Free Academy into an alternate reality. The students’ job: to save the world by joining a shadowy organization on a quest to find the Lapis Saeculōrum that was part of an Ancient Roman society..."

Free Stuff: Films for Classrooms

2011-10-28T13:36:00.001-04:00

Find free full-length documentary films using SnagFilms or its educational component Snag Learning. Search for films by subject, grade level or channel (PBS, National Geographic, Explorer, and Sundance) then "snag" a preview and embed the code in your Moodle or class web page.

Subjects include Arts/Music, Foreign Language, History, Math/Science, Political Science/Civics, World Cultures/Geography.

Easy Access for Databases

2011-10-26T13:51:00.002-04:00

Usernames and passwords are no longer needed to access the databases from home.* Simply login to The McShain Library on Moodle with your own username and password and experience the power of a database!

*Except LexisNexis and Congressional Digest

Food for Fines

2011-10-24T15:30:00.000-04:00

Students will now be asked to donate an item for The Prep Food Bank when they return books late. Information will be in homeroom mailboxes later this week.

Suggested items to donate:
Peanut butter
Jelly
Spaghetti/Pasta
Pasta sauce
Canned tuna
Canned chicken