Saturday, March 20, 2010
Using VoiceThread in the Library
I am including this tutorial because I didn't create an educator account at first and figured that maybe somebody else could learn from my mistake.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Blogging in the "House"
I will admit to one TV show addiction at this point in my life---the medical drama called House. Last week the show was about a lady who was a "blogger". That is how she described herself and how others described her: a blogger. No reference to her as a job title or family relationship--just blogger. Of course there is the medical mystery for the House team to figure out, but the subplot was about how blogging had affected her personal life with her husband, friends and her "followers". In the face of impending death, what relationships did she think mattered? Well, at first she thought it was the online people in cyberspace, but she realized that it was the real-life person that mattered the most. This made me think about blogging and how it is affecting our lives. The reason we blog, the people we blog for...etc.
I'm still thinking...uh, I mean blogging.
I'm still thinking...uh, I mean blogging.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Listen to a podcast of this post:
Can you guess the animal?
I'm brainstorming ways in which to use Wordle with students.
How To:
The easiest way to save a Wordle is to take a screen-shot of it (Alt-Print Screen) then paste (Control V) it into Microsoft Office Picture Manger (under Microsoft Tools in MSOffice). Crop it there and save as a picture file. It was easy to insert into a PowerPoint after it is saved as a picture file too.
Idea:
I want students to create a Wordle that describes an animal that they researched first. Then we could all guess what the animal is. Wordle allows you to print too, but I have no place to display printed work in the library. So, it will have to be an electronic presentation.
Can you guess the animal?
I'm brainstorming ways in which to use Wordle with students.
How To:
The easiest way to save a Wordle is to take a screen-shot of it (Alt-Print Screen) then paste (Control V) it into Microsoft Office Picture Manger (under Microsoft Tools in MSOffice). Crop it there and save as a picture file. It was easy to insert into a PowerPoint after it is saved as a picture file too.
Idea:
I want students to create a Wordle that describes an animal that they researched first. Then we could all guess what the animal is. Wordle allows you to print too, but I have no place to display printed work in the library. So, it will have to be an electronic presentation.
This is my "How to use a computer" Wordle:
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
How Many Books Should Students Be Allowed To Check Out?
It's the end of the day. My wonderful assistant has emptied "The Cart" and all the books are re-shelved for the moment. There's a lot of books in here. The shelves are full. Something is wrong with this picture.
Two reasons for this come quickly to mind: 1. I need to weed the collection or 2. Kids are not checking out very many books. Both reasons have validity and I realize that I need to work on both areas. Weeding is ongoing and needed right now because we have been so lucky to have great funding this year for library books and there really is not space to keep everything even if I wanted to. So weeding aside, what about circulation?
Our flex/fix schedule is not the best for encouraging lots of circulation. For one thing, kids are not "allowed" by their teachers to come to the library because of the rigid schedules classroom teachers must adhere to. Some teachers work around this well, most do not. We do a crazy-busy amount of checkout before school from 7am-7:30---but that is the most stressful time of day and so rushed. We have the school store and the morning TV show in the library during that time also. Hurry-hurry-rush-rush.
During the fixed week, it is really up to the classroom teachers to make sure the kids bring their books back when they come to the library for Specials time. If the students forget their books they can't go back to the classroom to get them. Other issues that affect checkout during Specials time is the fact that some classes come directly from the recess on the playground and they don't bring books. The 5th grade goes directly to lunch from Library Specials and the kids don't want to carry books through the lunch line then out to the playground for recess. Again, it is the classroom teacher's attitude towards all the schedule issues that affect if her kids checkout books.
One thing I've been considering is changing the number of books each student can checkout at one time. Last year I upped the number for 2nd-5th grade from 2 books to 3 books. Kindergarten is 1 book and 1st grade is 2 books. Should I raise the number this year?
The last thing is my observation on what is happening with circulation. Teachers are not checking out books for their classrooms like they used to. Why? I think it is because the kids do not read books much anymore. They read computerized programs designed to increase test scores, they read printed-out on paper leveled booklets, they rotate through "stations" that are laminated worksheets and paper games, and they listen to teachers read from books that are deemed to teach a certain comprehension skill. They also have tubs and tubs of paperback books called "classroom libraries". My final observation is that kids are not checking out chapter books as they get older--they really do not want to checkout picture books either. They are choosing non-fiction books more often than a picture book or chapter book. This is interesting and I've added more non-fiction books to the collection in the past few years than fiction books because of the demand. What this means I do not know...I'm still observing.
Two reasons for this come quickly to mind: 1. I need to weed the collection or 2. Kids are not checking out very many books. Both reasons have validity and I realize that I need to work on both areas. Weeding is ongoing and needed right now because we have been so lucky to have great funding this year for library books and there really is not space to keep everything even if I wanted to. So weeding aside, what about circulation?
Our flex/fix schedule is not the best for encouraging lots of circulation. For one thing, kids are not "allowed" by their teachers to come to the library because of the rigid schedules classroom teachers must adhere to. Some teachers work around this well, most do not. We do a crazy-busy amount of checkout before school from 7am-7:30---but that is the most stressful time of day and so rushed. We have the school store and the morning TV show in the library during that time also. Hurry-hurry-rush-rush.
During the fixed week, it is really up to the classroom teachers to make sure the kids bring their books back when they come to the library for Specials time. If the students forget their books they can't go back to the classroom to get them. Other issues that affect checkout during Specials time is the fact that some classes come directly from the recess on the playground and they don't bring books. The 5th grade goes directly to lunch from Library Specials and the kids don't want to carry books through the lunch line then out to the playground for recess. Again, it is the classroom teacher's attitude towards all the schedule issues that affect if her kids checkout books.
One thing I've been considering is changing the number of books each student can checkout at one time. Last year I upped the number for 2nd-5th grade from 2 books to 3 books. Kindergarten is 1 book and 1st grade is 2 books. Should I raise the number this year?
The last thing is my observation on what is happening with circulation. Teachers are not checking out books for their classrooms like they used to. Why? I think it is because the kids do not read books much anymore. They read computerized programs designed to increase test scores, they read printed-out on paper leveled booklets, they rotate through "stations" that are laminated worksheets and paper games, and they listen to teachers read from books that are deemed to teach a certain comprehension skill. They also have tubs and tubs of paperback books called "classroom libraries". My final observation is that kids are not checking out chapter books as they get older--they really do not want to checkout picture books either. They are choosing non-fiction books more often than a picture book or chapter book. This is interesting and I've added more non-fiction books to the collection in the past few years than fiction books because of the demand. What this means I do not know...I'm still observing.
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