Parent Teacher Night

As you can probably guess from the title of this post, I am sitting in my library during Parent Teacher conferences.  Obviously NOT conferencing with parents.  Is there something wrong with this picture?  Should we as teacher-librarians seek out opportunities like this to have more formal talks with parents?  I have had several pleasant conversations with parents who have stopped by, and even more with wayward students wandering the halls, but not of these had educational merit.  I did not have a conversation about learning.    Maybe we should start!  What kind of projects could we collaborate on that would involve students and parents visiting the media center for a true conversation about the learning that occurred?
I don't know about you, but this is something I will be pondering and by the next conference night I will have an authentic reason to be here!!  Please share any ideas you have, and especially if you have had teaching and learning moments you have shared with parents.

Happenings at the library ranch!!

Haven't heard from me in a while?  That's because the media center has been crazy busy.  Was it just last September that I wondered whether anyone would use the library in a collaborative manner -- well, let me tell you, times have changed!  I am working with English teachers on a novel unit, with my own group of students I am blogging with (and yes, I am grading my part of the unit), math teachers with whom I have created a PBL unit (so cool, they are creating 21st learning tools) so there are geometry students using all manner of technology and teamwork to create this learning tool, and a marketing plan as well. ELL students are creating book talk videos for our Destiny catalog, and my Student Advisory board is beginning all kinds of projects.  Add to this mix those beloved study hall students who talk about how much they love to be in the media center to work (translation, socialize) because the atmosphere is a happy place -- one period today I had 90+ learners creating that special buzz that comes with active learning!  Happy, crazy days at the library ranch!  I think I am starting to build an authentic learning commons, the variety of  uses of the media center dictates how things are arranged and what type of learning grouping are working.  Students love to stop by the circ desk to talk, make book suggestions, and talk about additions they think would make the library better.   What fun to hear these ideas, and even better when I can implement some of them.
I am trying to catch up on my reading as well, but I have to say it takes a lot longer to read those full length novels than those 32 page picture books!  I have a long list of books to be read, again complements of the students and their passion for sharing!  (Of course, I just added the newest award winners to my list of books to read!)
With all of this activity, am I happy?  Yes.  Satisfied with my media program? No way!  I still need to get teachers to include me in the collaborative planning, integration of technology for 21st century learning, include pre and post assessments that demonstrate growth in these areas, and more!!
Life is good, but it can always get even better!

New Year, new ways of thinking about media centers!



A new library without books

http://www.cilip.org.uk/filedownloadslibrary/sliv32b.pdf 

This is a longish article, but well worth the time to read.  I have been thinking about change, when is it purposeful and prudent, and when is it just following the current trend.  The attached article has definitely given me a lot to ponder; I will be wondering and wandering through ideas about this "new" library space for a while.

What a lot to think about! After 25 years in elementary settings, I am in the secondary (15-18 year olds) for the first time. The media center usage is so different! It's January, and no one has used any of the reference section yet, except for a few dictionaries! Everyone goes directly to databses or the Internet! Because this school level is new to me, I go back to the evaluative resources I know, like the Wilson evaluation, or the evaluation in Follett's Titlewave, when I order materials for the library, but I wonder if "someone" out there is thinking of a  revisioning a model of what the "ideal" media center should contain.  For example, a student came in last week, to find a book about a US state; we did not have any, and I don't plan to order any, the Internet is the logical place to find update information for things like that.  Add in an online encyclopedia, and voila!, instant, current information!  But what about these areas of nonfiction that students read for pleasure -- sports books, leisure activity books, or crafting books?  Or, how many print sources should we maintain to support that teacher who has not yet joined the 21st century's tools for teaching arena?
Curation is a thoughtful, responsive idea, but your faculty needs to embrace it for it to be successful.
It seems as though we, media centers and librarians, are currently caught between two worlds, in which one do you live?  Or, are you like me, a foot in both worlds and tottering at the edge of both.

Next big wonder -- show me the books?!?  There are still students who come to check out physical books for the simple joy of reading, what about them?

Reading, researching, and reflecting, first post of 2012

I don't believe in New Year's resolutions.  As soon as someone, anyone, tells me I can't do something I will try everything in my power to do it.  Hence my love/hate relationships with exercise and weight loss plans.  Yes, I was the one who fasted all day before a weigh in, then celebrated by dinner at DQ!
So why am I embarking on an inquiry into exercise equipment? Is it masochism, or the sad fact that time marches on and my metabolism has sunk into its own depression?  I'll never tell which one, but I am actually researching home gym equipment.  (Maybe I am just honing my research skills?)  Whatever comes of this I am seriously planning my approach to this new year. 

Everyone I follow (PLN guys, not stalking!) seems to be able to organize their reading and reader response so that it is easily available to share with others.  I have accounts for: Goodreads, LibraryThing, Google, Amazon,  and a blog, a wiki, a webpage, and even a Moodle account.  Do I use any of them in a consistent fashion to record my books? Well .......

Therefore, this year I pledge, here for everyone to read and hold me accountable, that I will pick ONE site and use it to catalog and share my reading for 2012!  Feel free to place bets at this time.  So, if anyone reading this has one site in particular that they would like to advocate for as the best site to choose, I would love to hear from you. 

Just in case you do not see the connection between my two thoughts today, high on the list of necessities for my "alleged" exercise tool is a book rack, or an iPod connection so that I can read or listen to books as I "work out."  My personal theme for this year is Enriching the Body and Mind, so I will be reading about topics of professional interest as well as for pure enjoyment.  Suggestions?

  I just read the article http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/ (thanks for the post, Kristin) which in turn caused me to check out what Finland thinks about its school libraries.  Turns out, not so much, which now requires further reflection.  Read the article above, then read "The Role of the Principal in an Information Literate School Community: An International Panel?  http://farrer.csu.edu.au/principal/survey/report/paper_FI.html
After you read and reflect (while exercising, perhaps?)  I would love to read your thoughts and  comments about this interesting educational thread.
And by the way, Happy New Year!

Twas the week before Christmas ...

If you know me you know that my idea of a perfect day is pajamas, coffee, and a stack of books!  Well, I am having that perfect day (actually, morning, since I will be springing into action this afternoon!).  I am in Canada, visiting my son, there is the gentlest hint of snow lazily drifting to the ground, and holiday music as my mood enhancer.  I have several books to read: "The Rules of Survival" by Nancy Werlin, which I will be using as part of English 11's tiered novels; "Marked," the first book of the House of Night series and part of my quest to read the fiction section of my new high school library; "Bal's Quick & Healthy Indian," my son's latest attempt to get me to eat healthier!  I am about to put a new Christmas novel on my Kindle, something warm and mushy, sentimental, and fun -- anyone with a suggestion??
Of course, there is also a stack of work by my chair, which I am currently ignoring; a few articles to flesh out, some lesson plans to critique, a newsletter to create, and planning to do.  All of these can just wait until later, I am enjoying that endangered art of enjoying a good book. So ... Here's hoping you are also having that perfect day ...

Wondering and Rambling Thoughts

Are  the holidays here?  I guess it depends on whether yours begins before or after school is out for the winter break!! I have 3 days (but who's counting?) before my official holiday break-- two weeks with no alarm clock, a stack of books to read, and no schedule run by bells!
I've been doing a lot of reading about trends in education, the flipped classroom, curating instead of collecting, uses for cell phones in classrooms and all of these have me thinking -- can we convince the educator leaders that school libraries are the next great trend? After all, we can flip, our media centers.  They can be used to accommodate the inquiry learning of individuals, small groups, or large classes.  We can share all the potentials of smart phones (and how to get information without one!), and all the other new technologies.  We curate all the time, by pulling collections, in print and online.  Thinking about this, those educational leaders should say we are their most economical investment in education!  Anyone out there using these tools for 21st century learning with their faculty?  Do you have a winning strategy for building that collaboration?

Further reflections from AASL conference

It has been two weeks since the AASL conference and I am reflecting on what exactly were my take-aways from the conference, and what one thing am I going to do as a result of what I learned.  I literally took away many free books and catalogs and cards from the vendors who participated -- and really enjoyed taking the time to really talk to them about what is happening in school libraries today, and tomorrow.  I learned a great deal about ebooks (I need to "put on my big girl panties" and jump on this train!) and got a few ideas for funding the project.  From my peers I learned about collaboration ideas, curation rather than collection, and how one person can actually affect change.   As a result of the conference, I am now using Scoop it to collect articles about curation and 21st century education.  (Check out Scoop.it, easy, free and informative!) 
What one thing am I doing as a result of what I learned?  That is the hard one, folks.  Because I am in a new building and grade level, I don't have the collaborative piece here yet.  So, I am trying to zero in on one teacher from each content area with whom to build a dialogue; it may lead to my team teaching, collaborating, or even just assisting with a project, but I have decided that one person can affect change, and this year that one person will be me.