Professional Journal Entry 10 - Library Journal

1. RESOURCE NAME  - Library Journal http://lj.libraryjournal.com

2. SUMMARY

The Library of the Century – Design 4 Impact

Library 21c is the latest library addition to Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) with “centralized education and experimental hub”.  In short, it technology learning opportunities and production centers (“makers”) for patrons, young and old.

 

              Movers and Shakers 2014

Movers and Shakers 2014 are made up of 50 individuals recognized for their passion for libraries as not just a place to go, but “a place on the go”.  The 50 selected individuals from more than 225 nominations are broken up into the following categories:  Advocates, Change Agents, Community Builders, Innovators, Marketers, and Tech Leaders. 

 

3. RESOURCE RESPONSE

Both articles that I read were helpful for different reasons.  The Library of the Century got me excited about possibilities for bring my school district’s library closer to a 21^st century learning hub.  While Movers and Shakers helped me better understand the roles of all members that have a positive impact on libraries.  I could see me using this resource in the future.  I could schedule time for it to be a regular resource I reviewed in order to stay current with issues that are impacting the library.  I could also use it as a reference tool for particular subjects as needed, such as technology or specific library services (webcasts available too).

4. CONTENT RESPONSE

The Library of the Century – Design 4 Impact

This article was incredibly exciting to me because it highlighted a library’s role and importance within the world of technology.  Libraries are not only a place to check out a book or conduct your standard research project.  Libraries can literally be a hub for technology and creation.  As a school librarian, this article would be helpful to better my understanding about how school libraries could step up their focus on technology.  I could also refer to it to understand how a project like this may be funded.  I do still have questions that I would want to research further.  What tech updates are realistic in my school district libraries?  What funding is available currently?  Which grants or funding opportunities could we pursue?  Even starting out small, where can our district look to make upgrades?

 

Movers and Shakers 2014

Movers and Shakers is an annual program with new movers and shakers nominated and selected each year.  This article reinforced what I already knew, but hadn’t explored deeply – there are so many crucial members of the library community.  I learned about specific individuals, such as Tom Blake, head of Boston Public Library’s (BPL) Digital Services Department.  Rather than just focus on cataloging and digitizing, he had a bigger vision. He worked with BPL to preserve their historical documents, their culture, and their history.  He made it more than technology.  I could use this as a school librarian to better understand how people can positively impact the library.  I would want to do more research with this by exploring all of the categories and profiles.  These Movers and Shakers are inspirations and proof that one person can make a difference.  A question I would have, aside from reading more about the Movers and Shakers, is what could I do to be nominated? What makes me stand out?    

Professional Journal Entry #9 - KidBlog (Symbaloo Alternative)

 

1. LINK – www.kidblog.org  KidBlog

 

2. LIKE  There are many aspects I like about KidBlog.  It’s safe and secure.  It does not require any personal information from the students.  Teachers have administrative all student blogs and accounts, and must approve a blog before it is posted.  There are no ads.  Parents can also access their student blog.  Students can access KidBlog anywhere that they have a device with Internet access.  Also, it’s free (for a class of 50 students).

 

DISLIKE – It’s hard to really see what KidBlog is actually like just by checking out the site.  There are many testimonials, but not tutorials that I could find.  I had to find tutorials on YouTube. 

 

3.       SUMMARY – As noted above, it was challenging to see how KidBlog functioned on the site.  I did dig up some tutorials on YouTube.  I tracked down a Support Page that offered some FAQs in the form of a blog.  There is a great deal I’d like to take time to explore with on KidBlog.  I’d like to set up one or two classes with KidBlog and pilot its use.  I won’t do any more at first because after 50 students, I would have to pay.  My likes outline the aspects of KidBlog that impressed me. It’s so safe and the teacher has so much control. 

 

4. FUTURE USE As mentioned, I definitely could see using this with students and I plan to in the next couple of months. Since I work as the LRC/computer lab teacher, I believe I will start using it with students to either – share favorite books or with a digital citizenship project.    I will have to plan carefully since my student data base can’t exceed 50 students and I work with nearly 500. 

Professional Journal Entry 8 - Booklist

Booklist Interview with John Green

(found on The Booklist Reader page under Some of Our Favorite Vids)

 

1.       RESOURCE  Booklist Online www.booklistonline.com and The Booklist Reader www.thebooklistreader.com

2.       SUMMARY   Booklist Online contains a myriad of information about books for the average book reader, book club member, book club leader, parent and more. I started on the home page and began to click on articles that interested me.  I read the glowing “Review of the Day” about Richard Ford’s Let Me Be Frank with you.  I hopped over to WEB exclusives and “Celebrate Banned Books Week with Graphic Novels”.  This article provided librarians information for approaching banned books via graphic novels and including all readers in the program, from parents to children, teachers to librarians.  Finally, I clicked on The Booklist Reader advertised as “Your new favorite bookmark.”  This had a great deal of information broken up clearly into different categories and also had a comprehensive list of tags for linking to additional information such as “book group tips” or “Gr. 2 – 4”, 

3.       RESPONSE TO RESOURCE  Honestly, I was overwhelmed when I first when to Booklist Online.  I was worried that I would not be able to access most of the information because I was not a subscriber.  Fortunately, after clicking around, I did find that I could access a great deal of the information. I did not like the front page.  It was overflowing with information and unclear categorizing/organization, the text was tight and though some subheadings were bolded, the font was small and sometimes difficult to read (i.e., small, bold, white text articles under “Web Exclusives”.  I did like when I clicked on The Booklist Reader.  Ahh. . . .it made sense, it was easy to see the organization and navigate.  The category Book Group Buzz even prompted me to sign into Good Reads, which I haven’t done in eons, and add a book to my “to read” shelf.  I was relieved to see the tags where I could finally see how I could search books by grade level. I definitely see myself using The Booklist Reader again in the future.  It may one day become a regular visit, but for now I see visiting it on occasion when I am looking for recommended book club pics or student pics. 

4.       RESPONSE TO CONTENT From this source, I learned that there is a lot of information out there about books, book pics, book recs and more.  As a librarian, I might use this information to build my library collection or as a source for creating lessons or projects such as the banned books program explained above.  I have many questions about Book List and Book List Reader, but it is really a matter of understanding what more it has to offer and how I can best use its tools and resources.  That will come with more time and more research. Therefore, I do plan to come back to it and explore it more. 

Professional Journal #7 - (Google Drive) Socrative

1.  RESOURCE  Socrative – www.socrative.com

2.  LIKED – There was so much I liked about this tool that I immediately started working with it as I learned about it.  I like that it is interactive and provides the teacher live feedback, allowing the teacher to see student responses in real time.  It allows teachers to get a quick picture of student learning and engagement during or after a lesson (multiple choice quiz or exit slip) or a more in-depth assessment (in-depth quiz with short answers).  Teacher control (anonymous, immediate student feedback, etc.) is a key component of the tool.  The reports after assessment are informative and allows for quick and easy data recording.

DISLIKED – I am still getting to know Socrative, but found it confusing that there were no FAQs or tutorials after the teacher log-in page/dashboard.  The only way I found to get more information was to go back out and into the original home page at socrative.com.  It would make sense to me if there were links to guides, tutorials or FAQs on the bottom of the log-in page.  Perhaps they want the teacher page to be dedicated to assessment only. If so, mission accomplished. 

3.  SUMMARY  There were quite a few things I was unable to figure out on my own because of the dislike noted above.  However, once I found the tutorials and videos, I found them incredibly helpful.  I was able to create an account.  I also created an assessment tied to my student growth goal which I plan to give to students in just a few weeks.  I also tried the student side of things and logged in as a student on our home computer while monitoring student activity on my laptop.  I am incredibly impressed by the ease of pulling together the assessment, tracking student engagement and the reporting.  I am excited about the simplicity of student log in and participation.  I really want to get into Google forms and Google docs, but the fact that my students don’t have emails at an elementary level really makes that a challenge.  I don’t have to worry with Socrative.  There is a great deal I still want to explore and will likely start with checking out the user guide in detail.  I already emailed my 2 principals and the curriculum director about it and can’t wait to share Socrative with staff.

4.  FUTURE USE – As mentioned, I plan to use Socrative with my students both before and after (possibly during) a cyberbullying unit that I teach in the LRC.  As far as managing and promoting the library, I see many possibilities.  Socrative could be used as pre and post assessments of library skills. It can be used to survey student interest to build the library inventory and understand which authors, genres or specific books students are interested in reading.  Socrative can also be used to survey teachers and understand what they need in terms of resources and collaboration.  I can’t wait to start using Socrative. 

 

Professional Journal Entry #6 - The Horn Book

RESOURCE  The Horn Book   http://www.hbook.com/horn-book-magazine-2/#_

SUMMARY

Recommended Books – This section title speaks for itself.  It is a section that supports The Horn’s editorial mission of promoting good books for adults and children.  The annotated list provides the basic book information, including reading level and pricing along with a summary.

RESPONSE TO RESOURCE

LIKED - This section could definitely be helpful for teachers and librarians to keep current with quality titles.  I liked that the list included a variety of genres and topics, from YA to books that support Shark Week.  The tags (i.e. boys reading, biographies) helped narrow the search and connect to similar books/topics.

DISLIKED – This isn’t necessarily a dislike, but the list was lengthy.  Perhaps a top 10 of the year would be helpful.  Or maybe there is a top 10 and I haven’t found it yet. 

FUTURE USE – Absolutely!  Whether it’s using the list as a reference to stay current, or to search specific topics or genres, I could definitely see using this in the future on an as needed or on occasion basis.   

 

RESPONSE TO CONTENT

LEARNED- This is a great reference list for recommended children’s titles.  Much like Amazon’s tracking, I can click on the tagged subject and find similar recommended titles (i.e. Back to School).

USE AS A SCHOOL LIBRARIAN – I could definitely see using this when I wanted to add to my library, whether it is looking at freshening up the collection or building up a certain area such as boys reading (mentioned above). 

QUESTIONS – So many book lists!  Which ones are the best?  Why these picks?  I definitely would like to explore this resource further to understand how the recommended list is pulled together as well as build a better understanding of children’s book lists (i.e., Caudill). 

 

Professional Journal Entry #5 - Wikispaces

Song - Newcleus Jam On Revenge (The Wikki-Wikki Song)

Reason - It's a song with Wiki (sp) in it.  Finding songs, pics or videos to connect to a project is Ruth's influence from TCH 416. 

1.       HOME LINK – www.wikispaces.com    MY LINK - http://hradwiki.wikispaces.com/

2.       LIKE ABOUT THE TOOL I like the tool in many ways.  I like that it was easy to set up.  I like that I can sign in my students and I don’t have to worry about emails.  From what I’ve read and explored a little, I like that there seems to be a lot of options for management, privacy, student collaboration and student engagement. It is also a bonus that there is a specific classroom component and that it is free of charge!

3.       DON’T LIKE  It was easy to set up, but I am still not quite sure about how to use it/make the most of it.  That part wasn’t so clear. 

4.       SUMMARY – As I said, it was pretty straight forward to set up (though I did accidentally create two wiki spaces).  I read through all sections of the program description as well as reviewed all settings.  I hopped out to Google to track down a video that summed up using wikis collaboratively.  I definitely want to take more time to explore this tool.  It appears that it is a very popular tool, so I need to take more time to research it and actually use it with my students.  I’d like to specifically explore setting up a project, working collaboratively and the assessment component.  I believe that this could be very useful in my LRC, but I need to better understand it.  I’d also like to check out how I can use it for parents to view student projects.  I just need to take more time with it.  There were FAQs that helped. More specifically, the Teacher FAQs were helpful and I plan to refer to those often. 

5.       FUTURE USE – Though I am not entirely sure what wiki is capable of, I do believe I could use this with my 4^th and 5^th grade students at a minimum.  I could see using it to inform parents and students of activities and projects taking place in the LRC.  I would like to use it for students to collaborate in teams (I already set up 3 – 4^th grade teams).  Finally, I’d like to use it to assess the students. 

Professional Journal Entry 3: RSS Feed/Google Reader

I'm On Top of the World - Imagine Dragons 

Reason - It is the song I used to intro my first classes in the LRC to pump kids up for back to school and the infinite possibilities for them in my class.  Hoping my feedly helps me discover new tools and strategies to use with them.

 

 

 

 

 

1.       Link to Tool Explored  Feedly.com- http://feedly.com/index.html#my

2.       Liked About Tool – My head is spinning because there is so much I like about this tool. I love that it forced me to understand how to follow blogs.  I knew they were out there, but had no idea that there was a technology tool like feedly to help me follow and organize the blogs.  I like that it will help me stay current with conversations in the ed, tech ed and library worlds.   Ironically, setting up an RSS feed was one of my PLN goals for this school year.

Don’t Like About the Tool – It’s a little overwhelming. I started searching and adding blogs and my anxiety started to build because there are so many blogs out http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/there.  How will I find the time?  Then, I decided to stop adding for now and my next focus will be carving out time to read the blogs.

 

3.      Summary – I was a little worried going into this because I had never used a blog reader before, but feedly was pretty user-friendly.  I used the assignment links to start and then found a few sites on my own.  I created the following three folders to organize blogs:  LIS, Children’s Lit and Technology in Education.  The blog sites I added were:

Kids’ Lit

      A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy http://www.lizburns.org/ (new location)

     Good Comics for Kids http://blogs.slj.com/goodcomicsforkids/

     100 Scope Notes http://100scopenotes.com/

     Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast  http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/

LIS

      The Adventures of Library Girl http://www.librarygirl.net/

      The Daring Librarian http://www.thedaringlibrarian.com/

Technology in Education

      Free Technology for Teachers http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

      Lisa Nielsen The Innovative Educator http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/

      Bit by Bit http://feedly.com/index.html#subscription%2Ffeed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fbobsprankle.com%2Fbitbybit_wordpress%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss2

I was able to figure out how to follow and organize. Once organized, I do need to figure out how I can move blogs and delete or rename categories.  I will absolutely need more time to explore it.  Right now, I feel like I have too many blogs that I am following and would like to carve out time to regularly check blogs.  Then, I’d like to prioritize the ones I feel are the most beneficial and unfollow those that are not as beneficial to me.  I was impressed that this tool existed.  I was able to set up some RSS feeds within feedly too and that was one of my PLN goals from the summer class.  I look forward to comparing blogs and RSS feeds. 

 

4.        Future Use

Since I work with elementary ed students, I don’t plan to  use this tool with my students or necessarily to promote the library, yet.  My students are young and not all of my students have access to digital technology with wi-fi on a regular basis.  My plan is to use this tool as a form of professional development for now.  Once I become more familiar with blogs, I would consider setting up a blog for the Learning Resource Centers in which I teach.