A Different World

I visited the high school media center today for my practicum requirement.  High school is so different from elementary school!  The media center is currently preparing to undergo substantial renovations.  Windows will be cut into the wall connecting the media center and computer lab in order for students to use these computers when the half-time computer lab teacher is not there.  New carpet, bookshelves, and furniture designed for collaboration will be added to the facility.  

Teachers come into the media center very often to do research.  Even though there were no books in the media center, the computers were in use almost the entire day.  The media specialist also goes into classrooms as needed to help teachers with technology projects.  However, the WiFi within the school is still weak, so the laptop computers occasionally do not have Internet access at some locations in the school. 

Technology available at the high school includes:

Laptop computer cards

Motorola Xooms

Nooks

Projectors and 55"-screen TVs

Budget concerns are very similar to the elementary school where I work.  Funds have been cut substantially.  Most of the money for the renovations and new books/supplies come from SPLOST.  Some money is occasionally provided by Partners in Education.  One Partner donated several new computer tables

The media specialist is in charge of two separate committees for Technology & Media.  The Media Committee screens challenged books, approves materials, etc.  The Technology Committee plans technology events and purchases for the school. Technology Tuesdays are available for teacher training and led by the media specialist.  However, these are not required and do not usually have good attendance.   

I had some interesting experiences today.  I helped weed through some old materials that went with video tapes.  I helped box books for the move and transfer movies to different shelves so the shelves could be taken apart and disposed of.  Some of the student aids dismantled the entire circulation desk.  The desk was old and the particle board was beginning to separate.  

Overall, this was such a pleasant experience.  The media specialist was so helpful and answered my questions all day long.  She volunteer information when I hadn't thought to ask about a specific topic.  I enjoyed my time in the high school and would like to go back in the fall to see how the renovations turned out!     

Technology Conferences

For the past two summers, I have had the privilege to attend Hall County's Educational Technology Conference.  Modeled after Georgia's ETC, this conference is set up so that the attendee can attend sessions based on what specifically interests them.  I was able to attend sessions on Audacity, Storytelling with PowerPoint, Teacher Pages, Augmented Reality, and other tech tools.  My main observation was that Georgia Southern's program has thoroughly prepared me in the field of Instructional Technology.  Many of these sessions provided information with which I was already familiar.  This summer, I will not only be attending the conference, but I will also be presenting a few sessions with coworkers.  These sessions include:  Audacity (workshop), BrainPOP, and PB Works.

In Fall 2011, I was very fortunate to be a chosen representative for my school to attend Georgia's Educational Technology Conference.  This was a wonderful experience.  I tried to select varying sessions to attend, and even left some sessions early in order to catch the tail end of other sessions.  The session that stands out as being the most valuable was "Exemplary and Exceptional Library Media Programs."  I took extensive notes on the ideas that several elementary school media specialists presented.  This session encouraged me to always seek ideas from other media specialists and never settle for anything less than my absolute best effort!  Other very helpful sessions were: "Nothing but NETS: Transforming Your Students' Learning Environments with Technology," "Web Tools for Collaboration," and "Examining the Web 2.0 Learner."  Through attending this conference, I came to realize I am honored to work for Hall County Schools.  The ETC Hall County develops each year is just as good as the one the state of Georgia organizes. 

My coworkers and I were able to glean information from vendors, as well.  It was great to get a taste of what kind of equipment is available (regardless of whether we can afford it or not).  A coworker of mine was awarded an entire class digital response system from Proven Learning!

Processing

I was able to fully process four items in the elementary media center. Destiny makes this process quite easy. Through the program, you "Add a Title" by typing in basic book information (title, author, publication, etc.). Destiny asks if you would like to make changes to punctuation, but it is generally correct so you can simply click "accept all." The final step is to "Add a Copy." This portion of the process involves selecting the Call Number and bar code number. Follett allows you to download the specific MARC record for books you've purchased by the company. Once the MARC record is uploaded, all the cataloging information is automatically stored.

One of the items was particularly unique because it was a book donated by Georgia's First Lady, Sandra Deal. She visited our school and read this book, Who I'd Like to Be by Elizabeth Brown, to our second grade students. The book was published independently, so there was very limited information about the publishing company and other specific items.

The other titles I processed using Follett's download are:
1. Freedom Song
2. MyPlate and You
3. The Polar Bear Scientists

Overall, the cataloging process felt very enriching. I think this is because it is exciting to think of new materials being added to the collection. I am anxious to see how popular these titles become and if they bring joy to the faces of the children in this school!

TL Cafe Webinar--April 2, 2012

Dynamic Duo: English Teacher + Teacher Librarian!

Webinar Wiki: http://tlvirtualcafe.wikispaces.com/dynamic_duo

Two English teachers from two different schools had their classes develop a script of Romeo and Juliet and perform the play. They used wikispaces in order to collaborate among classmates, as well as with the students of the other class. One school library media specialist acted as a mediator between both classes in order to organize the project and help develop ideas.

Students were excited about this project and were very eager to work hard in order to produce an authentic assessment in the form of a video. Their audience was the separate class, who was also working on an individual video performance. In order to reflect on the procedure throughout the project, students kept blogs. Their final blog entry was a more formal persuasive paper in response to Shakespeare's play.

Students decided to have all Montagues wear red to symbolize their aggression and desire to fight. All the Capulets wore white in their video. The English teacher listened while smiling, excited that the students were initiating a detailed discussion on symbolism on their own.

Here is the link to the wiki created and used by BOTH classes at two separate schools:
http://epicromeoandjuliet.wikispaces.com/

Other random things mentioned throughout the webinar:
Skype--Seek out opportunities to get authors into the classroom. The use of Skype should be explored more with the teacher-librarian relationship.

New accessibility makes it easy for the Teacher Librarian to assist teachers, even remotely.

The role of the media specialist as a facilitator allows the SLMS foster creativity within students and help them explore ideas for projects. The SLMS is able to have an open mind and be a safe place for collaboration.

www.fakemovieposter.com



Despite the fact that the focus of this webinar was a high school project, I found it very helpful in regards to creative ways a SLMS can collaborate with teachers.

Inventory! (000-299)

I was able to inventory a portion of the library resources. This was a brief, but interesting experience. The inventory consisted of three portions of the Dewey Decimal System: 000s--Computer Science, Information, & General Works; 100s--Philosophy & Psychology; and 200s--Religion. However, this was a relatively small portion of the overall nonfiction collection.

The inventory consisted of using a handheld device to scan each title. The device was then synced to the computer with the Destiny OPAC. The titles appeared within the program and several (around 18) titles were deemed "missing." The SLMS was very confused about this initially. However, she then realized that these specific titles were the individual videos available on our video streaming website, Safari Montage. This was especially frustrating because she mentioned that she had previously gone through the process to remove these Safari titles from Destiny in order to avoid this problem.

It's interesting to experience these kind of glitches... things you never consider happening until you watch them firsthand.

Weeding the 900's

I was able to recently weed a good portion of the 900s. This was an amazing experience! The SLMS told me that she annually weeds titles that are damaged, but hasn't weeded the nonfiction section in quite a while. This was very evident in the copyright dates of some of the titles. I discovered a few that were published in 1982-1983!

I came to learn how painful the weeding process can be. This is especially true due to the fact that the funding to replaces these materials is virtually nonexistent (aside from SPLOST and book fair). I reached the books on Mexico and only 2-3 of the titles were less than 10 years old. The SLMS encouraged me to only weed a few of the oldest titles and that she would make a note to acquire more titles in this specific area, among other topics. This was an interesting situation because many of our students are Mexican and the circulation of these books was excessive, particularly during National Hispanic Heritage Month. There were many other topic areas, like Native Americans, that I knew were specific to the Georgia Performance Standards for multiple grades.

I was able to gain valuable experience in how subjective the weeding process can be. However, I weeded approximately 46 titles. I would like to find time to continue this with another portion of the nonfiction resources.

District Media Specialist Meeting

I used one of my personal days this week to attend the county-wide media specialist meeting with Mrs. D. Although the meeting was a brief 30 minutes, this was an enlightening experience. The two topics covered were an RFP to determine options for the district to obtain eBooks for schools and changes made to our county Acceptable Use Agreement and Internet 2. It was intriguing to be a part of the initial process of developing an RFP. The document itself is confidential and will be presented to vendors via the district website on Wednesday. All media specialists were encouraged to read the RFP thoroughly and make suggestions for changes. It is also exciting to know that our district may soon be acquiring eBooks for our schools!

In addition, there was a general discussion involving the Acceptable Use Agreement. The importance of individual students logging in to computers separately was stressed. An instance was mentioned where a school's entire network was shut down due to the fact that a teacher attempted to allow several students to use her username and password simultaneously. Student safety and network security is vital. Repairs will be made to county internet over Spring Break in order that issues with limited speed can be resolved.

The majority of the typical meeting time was given to a vendor showcase. I was able to meet several vendors from companies like Mackin, Scholastic, Bound to Stay Bound, and Follett. It was interesting to see the importance of the relationship between media specialist and vendor.

March Tech Committee Meeting

Our March Technology Committee meeting went well. I was asked to lead it at the last minute due to the fact that Mary D. had to finish up things with book fair. We discussed the online community I created for our school and possible ways it could be used. For the time being, we decided it would be best to use for future technology professional learning sessions, so that those leading it can create a new page and post their resources and helpful information on that page. In addition, any faculty members who would like to add to any pages are free to do so. The website is: https://laniertechnologycommunity.wikispaces.com/

We also discussed our upcoming technology training for May. It was decided that each grade level will decide their specific needs and Technology Committee reps will lead smaller training sessions/workshops. I think this is such a great idea and could be so much more relevant for all the teachers. Some teachers on my grade level have expressed an interest in exploring some specific Web 2.0 tools in more depth, so I am excited to help them.

In addition, we discussed the template to be used for the school-wide 21st Century Learning projects. Each Tech Committee representative will bring form with them to end of year conference with the principal, but each teacher must be prepared to discuss how the projects went.

Staff Development--What is Web 2.0?

Wednesday I led a staff development at my school entitled, "What is Web 2.0?" I tried to meet the needs of all the teachers in my school. This is quite difficult, as there are teachers all over the spectrum. My Prezi was quite basic, yet presented some thoughtful ideas for those who were already familiar with the basics. I tried to present them with explanations for some of the buzz words they've been hearing the past few years, but still don't understand. I received initial confirmation from my audience that more thorough explanations were needed and that I shouldn't worry about stating what I thought to be obvious.

I was very nervous at first. I have led staff developments before, but this was the first time I did one without a partner to back me up. I felt like I had lots to say within a short amount of time. I wonder if I spoke too quickly. I was constantly aware that I could possibly be boring some while simultaneously be speaking over the heads of others. Regardless, I have only received positive feedback so far. My Prezi can be found here: http://prezi.com/w8zr6qsutrp5/present/?auth_key=nozgdip&follow=xpnu07rx01xa

I reviewed the setup of the wiki and walked them through how to join. Although, I came to discover that process didn't work through Wikispaces. I had to go back and invite them all. Some have joined. Our principal seems to love the idea of the wiki and is eager to see that it is used. However, I am worried teachers may consider this one more thing they don't have time to use. Regardless, it will be a great tool to use during professional learning sessions.

I also did a very brief overview of Kerpoof when demonstrating how a page on the wiki might look. The wiki page had a brief overview of the Web 2.0 tool with icons linked directly to the website. It gave ways the tool can be used, helpful tips, and links to examples of student work. I think many of the teachers were excited about this particular site and may begin using it. I think our principal was impressed that one of my students created an entire storybook at home in her spare time!

Although I was nervous, I was pleased with the outcome. This is just another event that confirms I'm on the right path. I want to spend my days helping teachers and students become more familiar with ways they can use the Internet for learning and information literacy.

Information Literacy Unit--My week in 4th grade

This week I spent my planning time in Mrs. M's fourth grade classroom, co-teaching the unit I wrote on The Three Branches of Government, using the Understanding by Design template. The unit utilizes the Web 2.0 tool LinoIt in order to hook students at the beginning of the lessons and to review concepts at the end of the unit. I created a pathfinder using Google Sites in order for the students to have Internet resources at their fingertips. The link is: https://sites.google.com/site/the3branchespathfinder/home In addition, students used Kidspiration to develop a diagram of the relationship between the governmental branches.

The students worked so well! Mrs. M has established great routines and has reinforced excellent note-taking skills. Most of the groups worked very hard and used their time efficient. It was a great experience to be the "Information Specialist" within another teacher's classroom. It also felt wonderful to be able to help with the technology resources and bring 21st Century learning into the classroom.


I spoke with Mrs. M about possible changes or improvements for the next time the unit is taught. We agreed that the time frame was somewhat optimistic, as the students didn't have time to finish the project within the week. It was a difficult time of the day to teach this unit because of the time lost during transitions--restroom break at the beginning, switching classes at the end. Instead of the intended 40 minutes, it ended up being more like 30 minutes per day. When Mrs. M reteaches the unit to her second class, we will change the rubric to require less within the areas of the three branches and checks and balances.

Overall, I had a great experience developing an instructional unit with another teacher. It was great to be a support to the teacher, as well as develop forms of assessment with her. I look forward to a career as a media specialist in order to be a resource to educators on a daily basis.

ALA Membership

I joined the American Library Association today! I also added an additional membership to the American Association of School Libraries. This makes me feel official. I'm excited to receive information from ALA regularly in order to keep up to date with what's going on in school libraries. This will definitely be beneficial once I am a SLMS, and perhaps it will even be helpful in acquiring a position. I look forward to exploring the ALA site in more depth now that I have membership rights. I know the Continuing Education Clearinghouse will be a great way to always continue building knowledge in instructional technology and library management and current events.

Book Fair Luau!

This week our media center has been quite busy.

Book Fair preparation is in full swing. The theme this year is "Book Fair Luau." While the media center is still fully functional, some decorations have begun to go up. I have experienced book fair for several years, but only from the perspective of a teacher. I'm excited to see more of the inner workings. Book Fair is such a valuable tool in our school now that the media center budget has been cut completely. Funding for new books and materials now comes from SPLOST and Book Fair.

I have begun the weeding process within the media center. Mary D. has not given me a specific section to weed as of yet, due to the fact that she has already done a substantial amount of weeding in the past few months. However, I have been working on evaluating the Destiny report of the materials that have been recently weeded in order to determine the specific criteria of the materials. When I spoke to Mary D. about how she weeds, she said that this weeding was quite overdue. It's more difficult to weed when funding to replace materials is so limited. She says she weeds based on very general guidelines: outdated reference or Dewey materials and damaged or low-circulation fiction. She allows classroom teachers to utilize weeded materials in their classroom. The majority of the non-fiction materials weeded were published in the 1980s or early 1990s. There were a handful of recently published books included in the weeding, but these were extremely popular books that had become worn out. I look forward to do some additional weeding here, or perhaps at one of my secondary observation sites.

February Technology Committee meeting, etc.

We had our Technology Committee meeting this week. Another teacher at our school won a digital response system and year's subscription to Starrmatica . She gave us a brief overview of the devices and how they provide instant student answers within the form of a PowerPoint. Survey data can also be displayed. I used Starrmatica with my class. It is a great resource that teaches and reinforces specific math and reading skills, but the reading passages are too difficult for 2nd graders.

The Technology Committee also discussed our upcoming SPLOST budget. It seems the money will go toward 55" flat screen televisions with interactive slates and Hover Cams for teachers. These presentation devices are quite valuable in giving students information and allowing them to practice concepts. Other considerations will be made concerning additional lap tops for teacher check-out, tablets, and e-readers.

I asked for feedback concerning my upcoming March staff development. The consensus was to focus on 2-3 Web 2.0 tools in order for staff members to have time to play around with each and not become overwhelmed. Now, I must determine which tools would be most beneficial to every teacher. I'm considering Kerpoof since I use it frequently with my own students.

I have completed my media center evaluation. The results were quite good, considering the nonexistent media center budget. Mary D. certainly does a lot with very little. Our discussion was quite helpful. In addition, the DOE rubric is a wonderful tool in order to improve the overall performance of a media center.

I'm excited about how my portfolio is coming along. I have many things embedded and am anxious to start embedding assignments from my practicum.

Also... my observation date has been scheduled for March 2nd! I'm certainly nervous, but excited, too. I'm confident the 4th grade students I'll be working with for my Information Literacy lesson will be excited to use the technology and Web 2.0 resources for their research on the three branches of government.

Busy Library Bee

It has been a wonderful week in and out of the media center. I spent a great deal of time discussing the reference section with Mary D. I have become much more familiar with the Destiny program. She was very patient in explaining ways I could use filters in order to find the specific information I need. This can be so useful when analyzing collection data. I look forward to beginning work on my weeding project. Technology like this makes clerical work so much easier so that we can spend more time focusing on the students!

I have continued discussing my information literacy lesson with my collaborating teacher, Mrs. M. We decided on the topic of The Three Branches of Government. I'm still piecing the details together in my head, but I've begun creating the pathfinder. You can find it here: https://sites.google.com/site/the3branchespathfinder/home

I believe I'll create a Glog for my ethical use project. I've begun the online poster, adding links and video clips. I think it will be a useful tool for teachers and students, and look forward to using it with my information literacy lesson.

My hours spent in the media center so far have been wonderful. Each day brings confirmation that this is my calling.

Settling In

I am now two weeks into my Instructional Technology practicum. It's beginning to seem less overwhelming.

I spent a good deal of time discussing my requirements with Mary D., my supervising media specialist. She's been so supportive about giving me resources to get started on the inventory, weeding and evaluation projects. I have begun conversing with other teachers about lesson ideas and collaboration scheduling. I have also begun brainstorming with Mary D. and my principal about staff development ideas. There are so many options, but I want to pick a topic that would be most beneficial for our whole staff. Some of the other girls in the practicum and I have been planning our date for our lesson observation. I'm anxious to get that settled.

Also, I need to schedule dates with my secondary site supervisors at the middle and high schools. So many things to do, but they're becoming more organized in my mind.


Book Fair is coming soon! I'm so excited!

A Pin-Sized Hole

I am officially one week into my final semester in my Master's Program.  This brings a wide variety of emotions.  A bit of stress and anxiety...  but coupled with an intense excitement.  I've enjoyed the program so much, I'm actually a little sad to be finished.  Okay, just a little.  I'm thrilled to be finished and work toward obtaining a position as a media specialist. 

I'll be doing my practicum at my current school, under Mrs. D. I know there's a ton of work to be accomplished in the next few months, but I'm up for the challenge. I can't wait to get started!

Even though it's tiny, I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel already!