I want to see our student reading because they are soooo excited about a new book. I believe that we can entice our students to read using all these wonderful Web 2.0 tools and look forward to watching them grow and share their reading experiences. We'll be using blogs, podcasts, book discussions both online and live group, Photostories, scrapbooking, plays, news broadcasts. I'm sure there are many other ideas that will "grab" students and have them drooling for a specific book.
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rating: 5 of 5 stars Wow, wow, wow! My friends Mary Alice and Doris highly recommended this book (thank you!)and I must confess it took me toooo long to get to finally read it---along the way---I lent it to a mom and she lent it to her daughter and they CRIED but oh did they love it AND SO DID I!!!! I just love the way Jordan Sonneblick gets it- the right on 13 year old musings of Steven, his fear and anger and his constantly annoying little brother. I couldn't put this book down, polished it off in 2 days and I miss it already. I just loved the way Sonneblick takes leukemia and helps us laugh with Steven's humorous take on girls, Jeffrey, drums and his mom and dad. There were so many times I wanted to read it out loud to whoever would listen---for a great book about family, friends and dealing with cancer- THIS IS A MUST READ! What did I learn---alot about cancer, hospitals, drums and drumming and that being 13 years old has alot of drama goin' on. Now I have to read his other book- The Art of Zen and Faking It.
rating: 5 of 5 stars Deanna Lambert was thirteen when her life changed from good to bad. In a car with her brother's best friend, her dad discovers his little girl is no more. Deanna has a hell of a life since her dad doesn't speak to her anymore- now she is a junior, her brother got a girl pregnant and they live in the family basement with adorable, April and dead end jobs. Deanna has a horrible reputation she has never been able to escape---so what did I learn- Deanna takes a life of lemons and makes it lemonade- she is a girl who wants to escape her life at home for a better life and a nice apartment for her brother. She strives to tackle things deliberately, gets a job and begins to trust HERSELF and be strong, responsible, wanting to do the right things in life and not be like her dad! A great, great book, now I can't wait to read her next one---Sweethearts!
Carl and I concluded our first run of (WSI) Website Investigation: An Introduction to Information Forensics. This is a fully facilitated Moodle based online class. We had a lot of fun and the participants were great. We also radically underestimated the amount of time the course would take. We figured 5 hours in one week. When we polled the class everyone reported taking far more time with each case study.It doesn't surprise me. As I worked through each case I became fascinated with chasing down the evidence. It's like peeling an onion, layer after layer reveals new information. In the end we decided to double the length of the class. So WSI is now a two week course.I'd like to invite you all to the next session of WSI. You can check things out here: WSIThe next class opens on August 11, 2008 and is open for registration right now. Drop in and give it a look?Dennis & CarlQuestions?E-Mail wiredinstructor@gmail.comInformation Fluency Partners!
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I was surprised a few months ago by an email from the editor from Ed Tech Magazine inviting me to write a column on the role of school librarians in today's schools. It illustrated for me excatly how inter-connected we have all become. How did he come to ask me for this? A mention in David Warlick's blog following an opportunity to talk with him at dinner, prior to an all-day workshop with teachers in my school district caught his eye. Also present at dinner was the new administrator for our distirct's soon-to-be-launched online high school, and I was attempting to engage him in conversation about the need for a teacher-librarian to be a part of his staff. I am not sure I made much progress in convincing this young adminstrator to add a "cybrarian" to his staff, but perhaps my words can have an impact somewhere! Here is a link to the article. What do you think? Do school librarians have a place in an online school?
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This book is over 400 pages and I couldn't stop reading it- what a super read- very unsettling and compelling. Josh Mendel was 12 when his middle school teacher molested him. I learned that individuals can't always TRULY confront what happens to them even with psychological help....it takes Josh over 5 years to finally come to terms with what happened to him...how he has pushed everyone away and really can't deal with many issues due to the trauma of not understanding sex, love and many other life emotional feelings- highly recommend this!
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Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle ZevinPosted by BJ Neary on June 30, 2008 at 8:52am
This is a Reading Olympic book I read (give it 5 stars out of 5!) and now I have to make up 5 questions and the answers with pg # and chapters... I really liked the main character, Naomi,a teen of 16 years who falls while returning to school to get the yearbook camera. Zevin nailed the protagonist's angst, humor, anger and introspective thoughts. You could really feel Naomi's amnesia---loved Will, her best friend ---and James, the darkly handsome, new guy in school who saves Naomi ---and Ace, the jock boyfriend who has it all. Her dad was really quirky and sweet and Naomi's new outlook, "forget the past, who cares?" ---helps their relationship grow. I learned you can make changes, Naomi in the school play...and the resulting future can be a good one.
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Hey Everyone,Nine amazing library media specialist graduate students have just joined the ning. Welcome them, please, and give them some pearls of wisdom!! Invite them to be your friends! You will see who they are by looking at my friends.Thanks!,Karen
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Thinking about the research skills that we use as adults has got me thinking (ok, that is a bit circular, but you get the point). What do non-TLs consider to be the research skills they use everyday? Maybe that is how we focus and sell it to our students. I worry that we have a research lingo that the general populace doesn't share (what in the heck is information literacy anyway???)I am going to make it a point to ask regular folks (at the swim pool, during bike rides, at the grocery store) what research skills they employ on a daily or weekly basis, and work from there.Here are some hypotheses:1. keyword and subject searches happen pretty regularly (internet, phonebook)2. summarizing and notetaking (sharing articles and info with friends, summarizing tv shows and conversations, notetaking (even in our heads) about events of the day, prices at the store)3. versions of graphic organizers- where is the cheapest gas and which is closest to my house (does this count?)4. reading for information- how do I put these shelves together? (am I being too self referential here?)anyway...what are your hypotheses...and how do they bear out?
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So sometimes I get down about doing research in school with students and teachers. Don't get me wrong, I think it is fun...I think it is valuable...and I think all students should have multiple opportunities to practice research skills. However, teachers don't always share this viewpoint. I know they have a lot on their plate- the WASL, scope and sequence and a myriad of other responsibilities tug and pull on them and their time. I truly believe, though, that we are doing a disservice to students by not providing them multiple opportunities to do research, to practice skills that will definitely help them long term. I also think that by golly, by gosh, if you can write a decent research paper, you will pass the WASL!So, what are some ways to get others to believe like we do? How do we get them to be as passionate about it as us? (ok, that might be unrealistic) How do we get teachers to provide research opportunities for their students?I don't want to be top down, and have the principal require it...but maybe that is an option? Or is top down not the way to "get em psyched?"What are some ways to get em psyched about the value of doing quality research?
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Welcome to TeacherLibrarianNing, one of your most valuable networking resources. Use this ning to learn, to ask questions, and to make new librarian friends from all over!! Put a badge on your blog; invite friends to join, and add me to your friend list!~Karen
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This is a Reading Olympic book I read (give it 5 stars out of 5!) and now I have to make up 5 questions and the answers with pg # and chapters... I really liked the main character, Naomi,a teen of 16 years who falls while returning to school to get the yearbook camera. Zevin nailed the protagonist's angst, humor, anger and introspective thoughts. You could really feel Naomi's amnesia---loved Will, her best friend ---and James, the darkly handsome, new guy in school who saves Naomi ---and Ace, the jock boyfriend who has it all. Her dad was really quirky and sweet and Naomi's new outlook, "forget the past, who cares?" ---helps their relationship grow. I learned you can make changes, Naomi in the school play...and the resulting future can be a good one.
My middle school in Colorado Springs has 18% ESL students, and I am trying to add minority literature to the library collection as well as include engaging activities. I know ethnic identification is a sensitive topic, and I would like to have minority literature and activities available for our ESL students. What reading lists would you suggest and what activities can I use to engage the ESL students into using the library collection?
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I emailed Meredith Farkas to let her know I was reading and enjoying her book. she wrote backThanks Allan! I'm so glad you're enjoying the book. There are a lot ofgreat applications for social software in a K-12 setting and I wishyou the best in learning and applying these new technologies.Best,MeredithCool huh?
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Reading 2.0I thought the title of this blog was interesting. It has only been up since October 2007. There is a book review for each month and a place for comments. Some of the reviews have a Youtube.com link containing a short interview with the author. Refreshing! I enjoyed the book jackets and short reviews. I was able to copy and paste the reviews and pictures into a Word document. This would be nice to use to promote books on a “Featured Item” bulletin board in the library (or outside the library). The books seem to be at a high school reading level.librarian.net: putting the rarin back in librarian since 1999 Touted as one of the best blogs, I had to check it out for myself. Jessamyn West is a rural Vermont library consultant and a moderator at MetaFilter.com. She talks about her current involvement in library consultation combined with a few personal items, political items, fun stuff, etc. She provides many links to other places containing a variety of information within her blog entry as well as in categories listed on the side. Very interesting titles such as: stacks, libcrisis, and pr, hype & bs. Visiting this site was like walking through my grandmother’s attic. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular but found many wondrous things. I don’t know that I would call it the best blog, but it was certainly was an exciting place to visit.Information wants to be free Although there are a ton of excellent links, categorized for ease of finding information, her current discussion is, well, a blog about blogging. If you are not familiar with blogging, this might be worth a few minutes of your time to read. Social Software in Libraries: Building Collaboration, Communication, and Community OnlineMeredith G. FarkasThe laughing librarian This is what is sounds like. Fun stuff oriented to librarians. Be sure to check out bobditties The Bookmobile Ran Over My Dog. Very silly. Lib.Sig has quotes useful for your e-signature. "In the nonstop tsunami of global information, librarians provide us with floaties and teach us how to swim."Linton Weeks(Washington Post article, 13 January 2001, p. C01)I found some of this material offensive and suggestive. Beware of Stories for Boys. I enjoyed some of the video links and even posted “The Librarian Song” to my Facebook page. A good place to visit after a hard day in the library or after a staff meeting – maybe before the staff meeting!LibVibe: library news Updated weekly, titles of news stories regarding libraries and library issues lead to a wide variety of articles. Links to discuss each article are on most of the pages. The titles appear in a small,light blue font which is difficult to read. If you don’t have time to read, click to listen to a five-minute newscast give a brief overview of each article.
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I was wondering what user of this site think. Do you prefer using your blog or the comments to post in? A small consideration. Also on the issue of using an aggregator, do you prefer a desktop application or a web based one?
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Here I was jazzing up my site and adding all kinds of posts and content, when lo and behold I quit Firefox and when I came back in it I found I was on an older version of my 21st C. site and a lot of my stuff was gone, including some of my friends! So I am starting again. Come back friends.
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I'm working on a project related to parent participation in elementary, middle, or high schools, and am interested in learning about any examples of school librarians in particular working with parents and families.Does anyone have any knowledge of particularly successful efforts, or suggestions on other vehicles besides this Ning network I can use to find out?Thanks!
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If anyone is experiencing the same butterflies about blogging as I am I may have found a few sites that might be helpful. I really haven't had time to fully explore them; however, they looked intresting so I wanted to share.EdutopiaEdutopia, sponsored by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, is the online companion to the Edutopia magazine. The site provides an “in-depth and interactive resource, with practical, hands-on advice, real-world examples, lively contributions from practitioners, and invaluable tips and tools.” You can read articles online, or sign-up for an email newsletter.http://www.edutopia.org/Classroom 2.0Classroom 2.0 is a wiki-based resource for educators interested in new Internet tools for education. The site has articles and resources for those just getting started, and a forum for communicating with other teachers.http://www.classroom20.com/Open Educational Resources CommonsOER Commons is a global teaching and learning network of free-to-use K-12 resources. “The mission of OER Commons is to expand educational opportunities by increasing access to high-quality Open Educational Resources (OER), and facilitating the creation, use, and re-use of OER, for instructors, students, and self-learners.” Content is searchable by key-word, subject, or grade level. Members can submit their own content and links.http://www.oercommons.org/EduBloggerWorldEduBloggerWorld, is “an international network for educational bloggers and friends. A meeting place, as well as a coordinating location for live face-to-face and virtual events.” This site is dedicated to facilitate connections and community among educational bloggers from around the world.http://edubloggerworld.ning.com/2. Read blogs from interesting peopleDavid WarlickEducational consultant and author, David Warlick speaks frequently on issues surrounding 21st Century Literacy. His Landmark for Schools web site (http://landmark-project.com/) provides resources from his presentations as well as web tools such as the Citation Machine.http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/Vicki DavisVicki Davis, also known at the Cool Cat Teacher, self-described teacher, entrepreneur, and freelance writer, is the author of the popular Cool Cat Teacher blog, covering topics from her conference presentations on innovative uses of web resources in the classroom. Vicki is also a frequent contributor to Ed Tech Talk podcasts.http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/Larry FerlazzoLarry Ferlazzo is a high school teacher English Language Learners. His blog specializes in web resources for teaching ELL, ESL, and EFL students. Larry is best known for his collections of “Best of” resources for everything from “The Best Websites To Help Beginning Readers” to “The Best Online Video Games For Learning Language & Content Knowledge” and more.http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/3. Listen to Podcasts and Watch VideosEdTechTalkPodcasts by educators for educators. EdTechTalk currently sponsors shows like EdTechWeekly (a weekly roundup of technology and education issues,) Teachers Teaching Teachers (hosted by teachers who mentor and teach other teachers,) and WOW2 (featuring women educators.) Episodes are broadcast live, and are also archived.http://www.edtechtalk.com/TeacherTubeTeacherTube is kind of like YouTube, but for teachers. Their goal “is to provide an online community for sharing instructional videos.” Videos are searchable and also organized into channels like Elementary, Middle School, and High School, as well as groups like Bilingual Parenting or the 505 Youth Film Festival. If you sign up for an account, you can also add videos to a list of favorites.http://www.teachertube.com/TED TalksThe TED Conference (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an annual conference bring together some of the most significant voices from divergent fields from around the world. Short video presentations are available from people like Al Gore talking about global warming, Amy Tan discussing creativity, Malcolm Gladwell exploring the nature of intelligence, or Stephen Hawking posing big questions about the nature of the universe. http://www.ted.com/Keeping up with all these new sources of information can be a daunting task. To make this task simpler, learn to use RSS, also known as Really Simple Syndication. RSS lets you collect all of the updates from many sites in one place. Lee Lefever, on his Common Craft blog has a terrific video explaining how this is done.http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_englishThose of you who are more experienced at blogging, your comments would be helpful so I can get a better idea as to what is good, great or just not worth my time.
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