Are You Apt To Use An App in Your Library?

By Karen Mason               June 13, 2016

Don’t be shy! Using apps can save your library time, keep students occupied and double your teaching time. Am I kidding you say? No really! Here’s how.

Here comes your first second grade group of the week. What a  lovable but rowdy bunch. You have forty-five minutes and you need to work with small groups of them to teach them how to cite their sources for an upcoming research project. You also need to finish teaching dictionary skills to close out your midyear SMART Goal. What are you going to do? Well you can flip your classroom, (http://knowledgequest.aasl.org/flipping-in-the-library/ )use an app and get both pieces of learning tucked into your seven year old darlings in no time flat. 

Ahead of time make a video of the salient points that you want to teach your second graders about dictionaries.  Use the Enigma app and make a QR code. Dig out those iPads or iPods and have your students scan the code and watch you teach. The students then practice what they have learned and take an assessment on the Seesaw app, taking a picture of their work. Seesaw sends you a copy of their work to quantify for your SMART goal data.  Viola! Your students are occupied. You rotate through your groups and before you know it you have doubled your teaching time.

Apps can be very useful to school librarians. Students get the chance to be responsible for their own learning. They are naturally engaging and many apps are highly recommended by library professional organizations like AASL, http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards/best/apps .  There are great ideas from many in the library profession who have already discovered the joy of apps like the Elementary Librarian who loves to find free apps, https://elementarylibrarian.com/ipad-apps-school-library/ , and  get even more at eschool news.  http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/02/19/innovative-librarians-apps-408/ .  Get up your nerve and opt to app in your library.

That One Class...

What is that one class that you remember from high school that has been monumental in your success as a grownup and professional?  Was it Algebra?  British Lit?  How about 9th grade Health?  Maybe I could list Driver's Ed (I guess I've drawn from that one a lot:) or even Government (maybe...if I had run for office), but the class I would list as most valuable to me would be typing. Yes, typing. Today it's called keyboarding, but for me it is relevant all day long.  

So what is that class for kids today?  What is relevant today and will definitely be around when our kids are grown? ......................... Did you say "computers" or "electronic devices"?  If you did, you are correct!  But which of our classes is teaching them a practical skill that they probably wouldn't have thought necessary, but for which they will forever be grateful?  If you said coding, you are correct.  Wait, you don't know what coding is? Dictionary.com defines coding as "Instructions written by a programmer in a programming language are often called source code."  Click here for a quick video from DK Books about coding.  If all of our kids are holding a device at birth, it makes sense that they should have the skills to manipulate the technology. Maybe being empowered with that knowledge would take away some of the mystery and empower students with the confidence to set it aside and think for themselves! (I can dream, can't I?)  According to Code.org, only 1 in 4 schools is teaching coding, even though computer science is the number one job source today, 71% of STEM jobs are in computing, and computer science majors can make up to 40% more than a college graduate.

I have to admit, even though I had heard of coding, the "Hour of Code", coding in the MakeyMakey, I dragged my feet about learning what it was.  I am not, I say NOT, a programmer.  My brain doesn't work that way.  However, there are plenty of people in the library field who are adamantly declaring coding should be taught in every school.  Vicki Davis,  (@coolcatteacher) former VSTE keynote speaker, provides LOADS of links in her Edutopia article, 15+ Ways of Teaching Every Student to Code (Even Without a Computer).  Time Magazine posted 2 years ago Why Basic Coding Should Be a Mandatory Class in Junior High.  Kahn Academy has it's own Hour of Code.  You can even purchase a 4-year Computer Science curriculum for high school from CodeHS.com.  

So what am I going to do now?  I'm going to eat dinner and watch Jeopardy!  Then I guess I'm going to bite the bullet and try out Code Academy where they say I can learn to code interactively, for free.  And maybe I'll play around with one of the coding apps Vicki Davis recommended for 5 year olds...

P.S. If you're still not sure, here's a podcast episode from Vicki Davis called 7 Tips for Teachers Who Have No Interest In Coding. HA!

Genrefying Your Library

As we have gone through our library classes and met at various high schools, one thing I have noticed is that some of the school libraries are genrefied. This is not an actual word, and yet I bet you know exactly what I mean when I say it. Essentially, instead of following Mr. Dewey’s system for organizing and shelving books, you go rogue and organize them by genre. I talked to our school librarian about this last year, and at first she was hesitant. I think the logistics overwhelmed her, in particular what to do if a book qualifies as several different genres (e.g. Twilight = fantasy & romance). She has, however, succumbed to the overwhelming circulation numbers of our county’s school libraries which are genrified, and she is making the change this summer. I can’t wait to see how it works with our struggling and apathetic readers!

Here are some links that discuss why you should consider this method (cough, cough, higher circulation) and how to get started.

“Are Dewey’s Days Numbered?” – School Library Journal Article (2012)
Un-Deweying a School Library Wiki

Genre-fying Your Library’s Fiction Collection – Public Libraries Online Article (2015)

Library Book Clubs

Something I would like to learn about is having library book clubs. I am familiar with the two book clubs my school library currently participates in Cafe Book (http://www.librarypoint.org/cafe_book) and Virginia Reader's Choice (https://www.vsra.org/vrc/).  These two book clubs already have specific books chosen for students to read.

I would like to create a book club that is specific to the needs / interests of the students. An idea that really interests me is how to start a book club to include parents or other community members. For example, I would like to begin a program where teens could pair up with a strong mentor from the community. At an elementary level, college students enrolled an Education program could volunteer and pair up with students. I think this experience would be extremely valuable for students who may not have a positive adult role model. Having parent-student book clubs could also be a great way to help parents bond with their child.

While I was  searching for information, I also became intrigued by the thought of incorporating technology into a book club. As mentioned on the site ilovelibraries (http://www.ilovelibraries.org/article/librarians-reimagine-book-clubs-help-technology) having an online book club can help issues of time constraints or students who may not be able to get a ride home after school. The students can participate in the club with their phones either by posting to a blog or even using FaceTime.

Here are some other sites I found helpful in creating book clubs:
http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2015/12/11/teen-book-clubs-library/
http://educationblog.oup.com/primary/your-guide-to-starting-a-book-club-in-your-school

I would love to hear about anyone else's experience with setting up a unique book club in your library!

Twitter Techniques

I really like the idea of expanding the use of Twitter to make professional connections.  My previous experience was to make social connections.  I currently have a mostly inactive account and check into other people’s accounts of interest, mainly because of the difficulty of filtering all of the other threads and connections that are attached to one tweet. 

However, this would not seem as great of a challenge if the conversations were already topic related and quick bits of information are shared with one another.  The article, Chat It Up, by Carpenter and Krutka, provides a concise guide as to the use of and value of Twitter.  They include vocabulary, such as hashtag.  In addition, the authors explain a chat and its value.  They then continue by sharing how a chat is organized, how to participate in a chat, and then how to start your own chat.

Furthermore, the article by Steven Anderson, Twitter Toolbox for Educators, shares how some educators are innovatively incorporating the use of Twitter to enhance lessons, foster digital communication, and a beneficial and balanced use of technology.     

For a person such as myself with limited use and experience, even if by choice, I now have a better understanding of how to use Twitter to make connections that will enhance professional knowledge.  

The Joys of Summer

Have you seen the looks in some parents’ eyes lately? Many of them are a little jumpy and panic-stricken. Summer is right around the corner and they will soon have to keep their children busy at home. We know that our students will no longer have access to our school library collections and it is important to keep kids reading throughout the long summer months to prevent regression of reading skills. It is time to inform parents and students of the wealth of reading available to them to occupy their summer vacations. I like to direct parents to the RIF Summer Fun Booklist to help them get an idea of what will interest their children. This site also has ideas for summer fun and links to 50 free Ebooks as well as many more links to keep the learning fun rolling. In the weeks before school ends, remember to talk-up the local public library programs to students in your library classes and post the link to that library on the school website for easy access. Reading Rockets has a “virtual beach bag” that you can share with parents to help them plan activities and reading experiences. One of my favorite ideas on this site is to link family excursions to local attractions to literature such as a trip to the Eastern Shore of Virginia with the book, Misty of Chincoteague  by Marguerite Henry. Parents with older children can be directed to YALSA’s summer reading list suggestions.

We can help our students keep reading, making real-world connections, and connecting with their parents with these suggestions. I can visualize those jumpy eyes relaxing and a fun, productive summer ensuing. That will give us time to research ideas for September when a different set of panic-stricken eyes will be seeking our suggestions for what students would be excited to read in the classroom…

Makerspaces in the library

One topic that really interests me is makerspaces.  I am very excited to be going to a school that has a makerspace designated area.  As I was talking with the librarian that I will be working with she shared that the makerspace is used mostly at this time for class projects, posters, etc.  We both would like to see the space used for a lot more than a place to just to make a poster. 

One obstacle we face is time.  When are the students available to work in the makerspace?  Another obstacle is what else should in the space? I have been searching for ideas of how to improve the space and how to get students and staff in the space and found a couple of good ideas.  One is from Edutopida  and another is from Open Education Database. The Unquiet Librarian also has a good article that explains exactly what a Makerspace is.  The School Library Journal came out with a good article last May about makerspaces.

 

I think the next thing to do would be talk with the staff and see what they would like to see in the space, how can we support their curriculum.  Then survey the students to see what they would like to have in the space. So by asking the right questions, I think I will have my answers.

I hope these articles give you some insight to successful makerspaces. 

Cool New Ideas to Bring Attention to the Library

Librarians are always looking for cool things to do, whether it is a library program or a collaborative lesson with a classroom teacher.  These cool new ideas bring attention to the library.  An idea may be new to you, but it is really nice to find tried and true ideas shared by others that you can tweak to make just right for your library. Or you may find a new version of something you already do, ways to change it up or make it better.  An easy way to bring attention to the library is prepare a simple new program and put up front work into publicizing the event.  

I found a short article, Better Than Book Clubs, that shared ideas and even referenced the Common Core Standards the ideas addressed.  This article was a great one to add to my electronic ideas file. 

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and finding a few new ideas to freshen up your fall library lineup.  

Libraries and testing

The library and librarians are a wonderful resources in schools.  Often this resource is not available during state testing.  Many school libraries are used as testing locations, therefore are closed for all of or most of testing.  The librarians themselves are often used as test administrators or proctors.  This means that neither the physical location of the library nor the librarian themselves are of use during the testing block.  My school is one of theses schools.  My library has been closed for 55 days thus far this year for testing.  That is more than 30% of the school year.  We were used as a location for all of the SOL's and the WIDA (ELL) test.  Each day there were SOL's the library staff was assigned to run testing sessions.  This made it impossible to teach lessons at all.  There was no way to even be able to work with classes in their own classrooms.  This article speaks to the amount of time school libraries were closed in Florida.  In one county 1 in 4 school libraries were closed for more than 40 days in the year.  While it is comforting to know that these closes are happening in other places, it is no less upsetting.  A study of NM libraries indicated that out of 100 librarians responding most had at least some closures due to testing.  It is interesting that the majority were closed for less than 20 days.  This make me wonder if there is not as much state testing as there is in Virginia.  While these closures are common place, it needs to be noted that this impacts all the members of the school community.  Students do not have access to book, teachers do not have the option to teach with their librarians, everyone misses out on research help, book recommendations and more.  I often wonder if these closures happen because administration does not see and understand the value of having a certified librarian and an open library or if there is "no other option."  School Library Media Research points out the massive impact the library closures have on students and student achievement.  I can only hope that sharing information like this with administrators will help to reduce the amount of closures and the amount of time spent proctoring.

Welcome to our class blog for SLIB600, Emerging Trends in School Librarianship!

Assignment #3:  Blog:  Post a commentary on the class blog on an issue pertaining to school libraries that is of interest to you.  Your post may be an opinion piece or provide helpful tips.  It MUST contain links to articles, Web sites, and/or other blogs or wikis related to your topic. There is no required length for the blog post, but it should be short and must demonstrate reflective thinking, new ideas/approaches, and/or justifications for the opinion presented.  Post by Monday, June 13.

Respond to at least one classmate’s blog post no later than Monday, June 20.