Summer Reading Underway

I am almost finished reading "the Evolution of Calpurnia Tate."  This was an award winning book that flew under my radar.  I received it just before school ended this year, and decided it was one to take home for summer reading.  I am so glad I did; it is an interesting look back to life at the turn of the century, what things are the same and what things are different for girls today.  Each chapter has a heading that is a quote from Charles Darwin, Callie's grandfather is doing his own study of wildlife and corresponding with Darwin, a new voice that not everyone agrees with.  This would be a great read aloud for middle grades, as a subtle introduction to plant and animal classification and the importance of study through the naturalist lens.

Summer time!

Summer is here! Well, actually tomorrow morning at 7:30, but close enough for me to talk about what I plan to do with my summer vacation. To begin with, I am not taking or teaching classes; I am taking the summer off. What I am doing is: catching up on my reading, if you follow me you can find out what and if I liked it.
I am also organizing my professional thoughts, ideas, and ideologies. Follow along with me as I explore ways to embed 21st century skills into my teaching.

Happy New Year!

Wow! 2010, already. What I will do this year to make the world a better place? Starting at school I will:
1. implement a series of reading activities to engage students;
2. find ways to make my students more self-directed learners;
3. visit grade level meetings and design more integrated lesson/units to meet the needs of students & teachers to allow them to be effective 21st century learners.

In my professional life I will:
1. organize my calendar and prioritize my deadlines;
2. decide what extra activities I most love to do and filter out the rest;
3. enjoy myself as I do what I love!

In my personal life I will:
1. actually start to have a personal life!

How about you? What will you do to make the world a better place?

I wonder?

I just saw a posting on LM_Net from the California library organization that says they are offering a 23 things challenge. You know, learning about new Web 2.0 technology a week at a time? I am wondering if that is something we can do here in Ohio. Why not? How does one get something like that started? This sounds like a New Year's resolution to me.

Link to Booklink online article

I am still learning my way through the world of online. I just realized that I never connected the Booklinks online article I co-wrote with Christina to this blog. It is the article that shares ways to use some of the AASL's award winning websites for teaching and learning. Well, I'm going to try, so here goes nothing ...

http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=3804960

Let me know if this works or not!

Conference reflections

First things first, here are the items I told folks I would post.
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=118439&title=21st_Century_Literacy
Video from AASL standards presentation

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/bestlist/bestwebsites.cfm
Website address for AASL's Top 25 websites for teaching and learning

And, my 6 word "memoir" list to start one thinking about 21st century learning:

Change happens, but for the better?
21st century brings new challenges, great!
Rest your curriculum on great standards.
Wash, rinse, repeat. Introduce, revisit, master.
When are busy students productive learners?
Reading for pleasure, a lost art?
Remember why you chose this career?
21st century is here, you ready?
Students moving ahead of us, yikes!
Be the change, make it happen.
Is inquiry encouraged when you teach?

Our latest state conference, OELMA 2009 was a great success! One the the best ways to measure the success of a conference is how much it causes you to reflect on what you currently do, and how you can improve it. I am still thinking, and reflecting, and making a plan to integrate at least one change this week!

A Successful Web 2.0 integration

As part of my orientation this week, I talked with my students about the importance of words. No surprise there, I am always calling on them to "wordsmith" and detail their writing. After reading a book about words (Max's Words or The Boy Who Collected Words), and then talking about the kinds of books we like to read, I brought up the website "Wordle" on the Smartboard. (This is one of the sites on AASL's Top 25 websites for Teaching and Learning.) I had each student give me one word to describe the kind of book they liked to read. Once everyone had a turn, we created a word cloud. The kiddos loved it! We followed it up with ideas of ways to use Wordle in class. They had great ideas.
Now that each class has visited, I have 16 word clouds and I am making a quilt of these clouds to show what our students think about reading. In a week, the school board will be having their September meeting in our school, and they will pass this display and the blurb that describes this process of using 21st century tools.
One of my goals this year is to model the teaching and learning websites by using them with students myself, I'm off to a good start!

New school year, new opportunities!

One week of school under my belt, and I am still excited about this year! My students are so thrilled to be back in the library media center, even "nagging" their teachers to schedule orientation times with me so that they would be able to begin their flexible check out. What powerful advocates they are, both to their teachers and their parents. In response to that, I plan to extend and enhance that enthusiasm in every way possible.

Here are my goals for this school year:

• I will share the newest technology and Web 2.0 sites available and offer ways to use them to foster inquiry and learning;
• I will use any means at my disposal (book fairs, grant writing, PTO requests, and more) to continually make available new book titles and share them with students both in whole class and individual student situations.
• I will suggest curriculum tie ins to my faculty, and offer to collaborate.
• I will maintain my cheery disposition all day every day even if those around me are not.
• I will find time to professionally develop myself, make time to share with library colleagues, and make time for myself personally!

How new are our new AASL standards?

I have read the new standards. I have read the books expanding on the new standards. I have come to the conclusion that they are not new -- they are intrinsic beliefs. Of course, I believe that reading is the cornerstone for the library, media center, or whatever you call your learning space. I practice inquiry with my students, whether it be whole class, small groups, or individuals. My question is: don't you? If you don't, why not??
I will continue to discuss the standards and indicators in the upcoming days, feel free to comment.

Ready for a new school year!

As I get ready to start a new year I am deciding what focus I want. Of course, I want to do it all; reading support, curriculum integration, cutting edge technology; but I know the reality is, once school actually starts, and the nitty gritty of daily life begins, it will be hard to stay out of a rut.
My current thoughts include: a rotating book display with student reviews (literacy), grade level teacher technology classes (technology), and monthy tech nights for families (community outreach).
Will I be able to follow though with all of this? I hope so. My overarching goal is to implement the AASL standards for 21st century learners; primarily concentrating on reading and inquiry.
Feel free to share with me any ideas you have for this year.

Why I Read

"http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dd57v2ff_2cdhts3d4&hl=en"

Some questions that have me wondering

I have started reading David Loertscher's book "The New Learning Commons: Where learners win!" and have several questions I would love to discuss with other media specialists.

Should we acquire the books kids want to read vs. acquire the books adults think the children need to be reading? This is a greater question than just the budget issue.

Along with this, should we allow students to check out as many books as they can be responsible for vs. a tightly controlled number (like 2 books apiece)?

Loerscher's book asks us to rethink our "open and they will come to us" philosophy. We should think more like the creators of Google. What do you think?

Back from ALA

I had a wonderful time at ALA, met some fabulous people, got to work with some committees, AND got free books! That is what I call a win-win situation! I was there for the awards ceremony, nothing like it! Have already ordered "The Graveyard" and "House in the Night" from Amazon.
Because we have had 2 snow days, I have had time to think about all the cutting edge ideas I heard and ways to implement some of them. I will add more later after I have processed this.

Long weekend in the cold and snow!

Well, Mother Nature saw fit to give us an especially long weekend and I am using it to catch up on reading by the fireplace in my jammies! I've tried to read, or at least skim, books that have been mentioned as a possible Newbery contender -- so far Savvy and A Curse as Dark as Gold are at the top of my list. As for Caldecott, I'm at a real loss. Maybe Kevin Henkes' Old Bear or The Black Book of Colors. Needless to say I can't wait for next Monday to find out! I am also reading the newest Stephanie Plum novel, just for fun.
Are any of these things on my to do list, not really; so now I am back at the computer trying to update my webpage and prepare for when school does start again.
Hope to see lots of folks at ALA Midwinter!

A new year, new items on to do list!

No, these are not new year resolutions, these are TO DO! Hopefully, this semantic ploy will nudge me towards completion of these plans.
1. Organize myself - a neverending task! But, I finally got a Palm, and am putting all my dates from all my calendars into it. Will this keep me from missing meetings? Time will tell. (To get all my contacts entered, I enlisted the help of my best teenage friend who makes these techno things look so easy!)
2. Find me time! This time, found when I become organized, will be spent reading new books, and writing whatever suites my fancy!
3. Create some authentic goals. What do I want to be involved with by next year, five years from now, ten even?
4. Immerse myself in a new technology, find out what it can really do, and share that with at least one other person. (Like my SmartBoard!)

OK, I am tired now, just thinking about all of this. But I will work toward these goals, and maybe share how well I am succeeding or not!

Summer time!

Now that I am officially beginning summer, I am ready to start my summer reading! I am in the middle of "The Host" by Stephanie Meyer, a science fiction for adults?/YA that has gotten a lot of press. It is very interesting, and is giving me a lot to think about -- do I like it? Not sure yet. Check back to find out, or email me your comments on the book.
I am getting ready to start "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" for my family book club, I love the classics! I am planning to blog the chapters, so if any of you reading are in my book club, feel free to comment
And finally, I am read for my annual summer reading of The Dark is Rising series ...
ahhhh..... all I need is a hammock!

First foray into this new world!

Well, I am off into this new world of blogging! As my blog evolves, I am planning on posting information of interest to my students, both elementary and college, as well as parents. Ideas I want to consider might include: and online book club, homework review, a draft space for student creative writing and poetry, and whatever else comes to mind!