If you're interested in seeing our Google Slides presentation because you loved the ideas so much, you can access it here. Thanks!
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Week Five: Tornado in the Library!
Week Five: Webquests: Hi, my Name is Melvil Dewey!
As I began to search for Webquests, I decided to look for something I can use in my library now, as in THIS fall when I return to the library. Regardless of how well I've worked with the students last year, everyone is going to need a tune-up in using the library. One of the biggest challenges I noticed in my first year was getting students to feel comfortable navigating the library on their own. Often they could search on the computer, but not really understand where to go from there. This was particularly true at for the nonfiction section. Despite new signage, an engaging story of Melvil Dewey, and practice, my students still did not really "get" how to find resources on their own. I've been pondering how I want to approach this problem as I get a second crack at it.
Enter Webquests. Though they are not as popular as they were 12-15 years ago, they still have a place as a tool that teachers and students can use in a guided activity to focus on investigating a topic, process, or skill. As I set out to find a great Webquest, I decided to look for something that could be used in the library, involved students creating something to share with others, and had students working together. After looking around http://zunal.com for a bit, I found it. The Webquest that's going to help my students build self-direction skills and confidence for finding all the materials in our library: Tornado in the Library!
Tornado in the Library! follows a simple premise; the books in the library have been scattered, and the library is recovering from some paper cuts as a storm set the library (and only the library, thankfully) into disarray. Written towards the students, this Webquest asks students to create a PowerPoint (and I would modify for Google Slides) to show how to put the library back together using the Dewey Decimal system. Student need to find out about the system and there are several still-working links that provide enough background information for students to create their presentation.
There are many reasons why this Webquest is a great choice for elementary school librarians. First, it is a simple enough task that students wouldn't feel bogged down in the details, but it's also complex enough for variety in the presentation. Students are working collaboratively, but also have specific roles within their teams. They must discuss with each other what information is relevant to which role and how to make it all work together cohesively. The lesson is targeted for third through fifth graders. Third graders would benefit from this because they are on the cusp of beginning to understand the structure of the library and can manipulate websites as well. This Webquest would also be great practice for other skills. Students get to practice using Google Slides, which they would not have too much experience with yet. Students also need to be able to read, comprehend, and synthesize the information they find on the websites so that everyone will understand. The voice and the approach of the Webquest engages students and gives them a purpose for what they are doing. Moreover, it transforms the sometimes dry and passive learning of the Dewey decimal system into a dynamic activity that students should be able to remember for a long time.
Ultimately, this lesson has a solid place in the library. With some small modifications (changing to Google Slides to increase collaboration, updating some of the links, and creating a note-taking space for information and logging of sites visited), it could become an even more dynamic way to help students understand how and why the library is organized the way it is. Students have the opportunity to build knowledge through this Webquest while also practicing useful skills. As I implement this lesson this fall, I'm excited to see how much it helps the students navigate the library and build their confidence when researching using print resources. This is a goal of all librarians, and Tornado in the Library! will help them work towards achieving it!
-----------------------------------------------------------
Currently listening to: Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. Their debut album has gotten me hooked as I love their combination of blues, rock, and pop. The best way I described them to a friend this weekend was a sweaty lovechild of Van Morrison, Spoon, and Fitz and the Tantrums. They've got charisma and a timeless sound that I hope will be around for a long time to come.
Monday, June 20, 2016
Week Four: Screencasting!
For our screen cast assignment, I chose to create something that many of my students will use in the fall when we come back to school. Our Canvas learning management system is something I rely to work with students on digital citizenship skills. It's also an opportunity for students to practice writing for an authentic audience. It's great to see what they come up and how they respond to each other. I have noticed that it takes a bit of practice and encouragement to get them to dive deeper and share more of their thinking. Anything I can do to get them to think through the process will really help their understanding of how conversation works. This is an important introduction (or reminder) of how to navigate the site and also what to think about when they post. In this screen cast, students learn how to access Canvas, post, and reply on the discussion board. Enjoy!
Currently listening to: Ben Howard, Spotify Sessions (Live). I'm a sucker for an easygoing singer/songwriter. If you take Jason Isbell and Explosions in the Sky and mash them together, you get this great music for working on grad school! :) Check him out today!
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Week 3: The 21st Century Classroom, 16 years in.
According to the United States Census Bureau, (2011) there were approximately sixteen million students in high school in 2011. In the article "The CDW-G 21st-Century Classroom Report", (2011)1000 people were interviewed, including 400 students ("CDW-G 2011 21st Century Classroom Report, 2011, p.19).This represents .0025% of the entire high school population. While there are several trends identified as important in this article, the sampling size may be a little too small to make significant conclusions. Regardless, there are a few ideas to be learned from this article, despite the fact that technology in schools, as well as society is moving at breakneck speed.
First of all, the trends of the survey are somewhat consistent with regards to student, faculty, and IT support agreeing on major topics. For example, according to the study (2011) a lack of budget was agreed by all three groups as the biggest educational technology challenge ("CDW-G 2011 21st Century Classroom Report", 2011, p. 8).This is not a surprise as the cost of keeping technology accessible and relevant is a shifting target that makes constant reinvestment necessary. My own school district (Naperville Community School District 203) is rolling out a one-to-one initiative for all levels of school. This is a huge investment of money, resources, and manpower. Yet, how will teachers and students use it effectively? The study comments, "94% of students say they use technology to study or work on class assignments at home, but just 46% of faculty say they regularly assign homework that requires the use of technology" ("CDW-G 2011 21st Century Classroom Report, 2011, p. 11). If the finding of the study are any indication, teachers will not use it to the level of what the students would like. Much like a parent-child relationship, it seems that the students will always know a bit more than the teachers with regards to technology. It is up to teachers to make sure they continue to involve the students and ask them how both stakeholders can use technology to make it not only engaging, but informative and transformative to their education.
Where does this leave librarians? Libraries have worked hard to be more on the bleeding edge of technology where the rest of building is at the current edge of technology with tried-and-true practices. School libraries, who service all students in a building, must be familiar with all the technology that exists in the building and also must be willing to be an incubator for innovative ways to teach students. This includes everything from online textbook access, to using the learning management system, to making sure digital resources will be accessible regardless of platform or age of the access device. Libraries have the ability to influence both faculty and students by presenting information to all stakeholders.
It would be very interesting to see how the trends in the report trickle down to the elementary and middle school. My suspicion is that the interacting with technology might be even less overall. I do believe that technology is another tool in the repertoire of teaching, and that it should be combined with print resources as well. Overall, both school librarians and teachers need to continue to investigate how we can use technology in the classroom where it assists the student in learning. It cannot be the end point, but rather one of the pathways to guide students to improve their understanding of a concept or topic. If school are going to improve in the 21st century, they cannot keep looking back at what we have done, but must look to ways to change our approach to education. Technology use is just one way to help shape the future of education.
Currently listening to: The Tony Awards are live as I work on this, so I'm listening to show tunes. I definitely want to hear more of Bright Star, Shuffle Along, and School of Rock! Much like technology that reinvents itself for new uses, Hamilton has reinvented what it means to interact with history. Regardless of what you think of show tunes, Hamilton is more of a cultural force that just something theatre kids are listening to. Let me know if you want to find out more!
References:
Davis, Jessica and Baumann, Kurt. School Enrollment in the United States: 2011 (2013, September). Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p20-571.pdf.
The 2011 CDW-G 21st-century classroom report (Rep.). (2011, June 27). Retrieved from CDW-G
website: http://webobjects.cdw.com/webobjects/media/pdf/newsroom/CDWG-21st-Century-Classroom-Report-0611.pdf
First of all, the trends of the survey are somewhat consistent with regards to student, faculty, and IT support agreeing on major topics. For example, according to the study (2011) a lack of budget was agreed by all three groups as the biggest educational technology challenge ("CDW-G 2011 21st Century Classroom Report", 2011, p. 8).This is not a surprise as the cost of keeping technology accessible and relevant is a shifting target that makes constant reinvestment necessary. My own school district (Naperville Community School District 203) is rolling out a one-to-one initiative for all levels of school. This is a huge investment of money, resources, and manpower. Yet, how will teachers and students use it effectively? The study comments, "94% of students say they use technology to study or work on class assignments at home, but just 46% of faculty say they regularly assign homework that requires the use of technology" ("CDW-G 2011 21st Century Classroom Report, 2011, p. 11). If the finding of the study are any indication, teachers will not use it to the level of what the students would like. Much like a parent-child relationship, it seems that the students will always know a bit more than the teachers with regards to technology. It is up to teachers to make sure they continue to involve the students and ask them how both stakeholders can use technology to make it not only engaging, but informative and transformative to their education.
Where does this leave librarians? Libraries have worked hard to be more on the bleeding edge of technology where the rest of building is at the current edge of technology with tried-and-true practices. School libraries, who service all students in a building, must be familiar with all the technology that exists in the building and also must be willing to be an incubator for innovative ways to teach students. This includes everything from online textbook access, to using the learning management system, to making sure digital resources will be accessible regardless of platform or age of the access device. Libraries have the ability to influence both faculty and students by presenting information to all stakeholders.
It would be very interesting to see how the trends in the report trickle down to the elementary and middle school. My suspicion is that the interacting with technology might be even less overall. I do believe that technology is another tool in the repertoire of teaching, and that it should be combined with print resources as well. Overall, both school librarians and teachers need to continue to investigate how we can use technology in the classroom where it assists the student in learning. It cannot be the end point, but rather one of the pathways to guide students to improve their understanding of a concept or topic. If school are going to improve in the 21st century, they cannot keep looking back at what we have done, but must look to ways to change our approach to education. Technology use is just one way to help shape the future of education.
Currently listening to: The Tony Awards are live as I work on this, so I'm listening to show tunes. I definitely want to hear more of Bright Star, Shuffle Along, and School of Rock! Much like technology that reinvents itself for new uses, Hamilton has reinvented what it means to interact with history. Regardless of what you think of show tunes, Hamilton is more of a cultural force that just something theatre kids are listening to. Let me know if you want to find out more!
References:
Davis, Jessica and Baumann, Kurt. School Enrollment in the United States: 2011 (2013, September). Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p20-571.pdf.
The 2011 CDW-G 21st-century classroom report (Rep.). (2011, June 27). Retrieved from CDW-G
website: http://webobjects.cdw.com/webobjects/media/pdf/newsroom/CDWG-21st-Century-Classroom-Report-0611.pdf
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Intro, Bio, and Walking on Sunshine
Intro, Bio, and Walking on Sunshine
Welcome to the the Libratory! Thanks for checking in on my little corner of the Internet. It's important to note that I'm trying to be a forward-facing librarian. I embrace the trends that the library has seen over the past 30 years. My particular building and district are currently working to update the mission of the library space. My dream is that it will be place where students and staff come in to wonder, collaborate, and innovate.
I’m originally from Warrenville, and I currently live there now. I’ve just completed my sixteenth year of teaching. I received my undergraduate degree in Elementary Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2000. For first four years of my career, I stayed in Champaign and taught second grade. After my time in Champaign, I began working in Arlington Heights, teaching second grade again. During this time, I completed my Master’s in Literacy and obtained my reading specialist certificate through Benedictine University. After three years in Arlington Heights, I took a job teaching fourth grade. In the last nine years at my school in Naperville, I spent most of the time teaching fourth grade, with a one year detour into third grade. I also completed the National Board Certified Teacher program as a Middle Childhood Generalist. I’ve been interested in being a librarian for about seven or eight years. I took six courses through Aurora University, which had a partnership with my district. When that partnership was discontinued, I put off the librarian plans until I decided to interview for the position in my school. I love the freedom and opportunity the library brings to my teaching and I love that I get to work with all the students in my building. I’m looking forward to acquiring many more skills to help my students become self-directed, inquisitive, and collaborative learners. I look forward to the challenge of applying my teaching background to the librarian role as I add understanding of what school libraries can and should do for their building and community! In the 2015-16 school year, I became the school librarian for my building. It’s been an excellent transition and challenge as I’ve embraced this new role.
This year, I saw each class of students for 25-30 minutes a week, which included time to check out books. Because of a shift in our scheduling, I will now have the opportunity in the fall to teach each class in 50 minute or one hour blocks (this includes check-out time as well). I'm really looking forward to the increase in student contact time because I can begin to add three phase of the library together.
I love working with students on developing their love of reading. Chances are, if you come to me, I'll find a book that you can enjoy. I'm still working on finding the balance of literacy, inquiry, and technology. Last year, my third and fourth grade students learned about researching online and offline through my version of Genius Hour. During this time, students were allowed to research a question that they were most interested in, such as "What are black holes?" or "What other fairy tales did Disney use besides Snow White?", and then presented them to their classes. I also worked with every grade level on learning how to use all the different apps and resources our district provides. Finally, I began incorporating some STEM activities, focusing mostly on coding and programming. I look forward to integrating all three next year as I work with students for larger chunks of time.
Speaking of technology, on a scale of one to five, I rated myself somewhere between a
four and a five. I am very comfortable adapting and learning about new technology, but with the demands of the job and home life, it's incredibly challenging to keep up with the latest and greatest. I tend to look for technology through the lens of its application. In other words, does this app/site/device have multiple uses and outlets for creation? Can it be used across grade levels or have different applications for supporting educators? I love Twitter and am astounded by the way it's helped me develop a professional learning network. I'm selfishly working on keeping a set of iPads in the library so my students can practice and find new uses for the core set of apps I like to teach them (PicCollage, Explain Everything, iMovie, and more).
Finally, I love music. I try to listen to different genres, but I go on kicks of certain musicians and styles. Currently, I'm stuck between New Orleans funk and Hamilton. You can always ask me what song is going on in my head, because there always seems to be one. Music centers me and brings out the best in me (it's no wonder I married a professional musician). It brightens my mood and gives a little sunshine to my day.
Currently listening to: Trombone Shorty Radio on Spotify (if you have a Spotify account)
Song: Ain't Nothing but a Party by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (fantastic live if you ever get a chance to see them...)
Have a great week!
Welcome to the the Libratory! Thanks for checking in on my little corner of the Internet. It's important to note that I'm trying to be a forward-facing librarian. I embrace the trends that the library has seen over the past 30 years. My particular building and district are currently working to update the mission of the library space. My dream is that it will be place where students and staff come in to wonder, collaborate, and innovate.
I’m originally from Warrenville, and I currently live there now. I’ve just completed my sixteenth year of teaching. I received my undergraduate degree in Elementary Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2000. For first four years of my career, I stayed in Champaign and taught second grade. After my time in Champaign, I began working in Arlington Heights, teaching second grade again. During this time, I completed my Master’s in Literacy and obtained my reading specialist certificate through Benedictine University. After three years in Arlington Heights, I took a job teaching fourth grade. In the last nine years at my school in Naperville, I spent most of the time teaching fourth grade, with a one year detour into third grade. I also completed the National Board Certified Teacher program as a Middle Childhood Generalist. I’ve been interested in being a librarian for about seven or eight years. I took six courses through Aurora University, which had a partnership with my district. When that partnership was discontinued, I put off the librarian plans until I decided to interview for the position in my school. I love the freedom and opportunity the library brings to my teaching and I love that I get to work with all the students in my building. I’m looking forward to acquiring many more skills to help my students become self-directed, inquisitive, and collaborative learners. I look forward to the challenge of applying my teaching background to the librarian role as I add understanding of what school libraries can and should do for their building and community! In the 2015-16 school year, I became the school librarian for my building. It’s been an excellent transition and challenge as I’ve embraced this new role.
This year, I saw each class of students for 25-30 minutes a week, which included time to check out books. Because of a shift in our scheduling, I will now have the opportunity in the fall to teach each class in 50 minute or one hour blocks (this includes check-out time as well). I'm really looking forward to the increase in student contact time because I can begin to add three phase of the library together.
I love working with students on developing their love of reading. Chances are, if you come to me, I'll find a book that you can enjoy. I'm still working on finding the balance of literacy, inquiry, and technology. Last year, my third and fourth grade students learned about researching online and offline through my version of Genius Hour. During this time, students were allowed to research a question that they were most interested in, such as "What are black holes?" or "What other fairy tales did Disney use besides Snow White?", and then presented them to their classes. I also worked with every grade level on learning how to use all the different apps and resources our district provides. Finally, I began incorporating some STEM activities, focusing mostly on coding and programming. I look forward to integrating all three next year as I work with students for larger chunks of time.
Speaking of technology, on a scale of one to five, I rated myself somewhere between a
four and a five. I am very comfortable adapting and learning about new technology, but with the demands of the job and home life, it's incredibly challenging to keep up with the latest and greatest. I tend to look for technology through the lens of its application. In other words, does this app/site/device have multiple uses and outlets for creation? Can it be used across grade levels or have different applications for supporting educators? I love Twitter and am astounded by the way it's helped me develop a professional learning network. I'm selfishly working on keeping a set of iPads in the library so my students can practice and find new uses for the core set of apps I like to teach them (PicCollage, Explain Everything, iMovie, and more).
Finally, I love music. I try to listen to different genres, but I go on kicks of certain musicians and styles. Currently, I'm stuck between New Orleans funk and Hamilton. You can always ask me what song is going on in my head, because there always seems to be one. Music centers me and brings out the best in me (it's no wonder I married a professional musician). It brightens my mood and gives a little sunshine to my day.
Currently listening to: Trombone Shorty Radio on Spotify (if you have a Spotify account)
Song: Ain't Nothing but a Party by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (fantastic live if you ever get a chance to see them...)
Have a great week!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)