It seems hard to believe that 2 months have passed since my last post. Being a library media specialist is akin to walking the Schuylkill Expressway during rush hour traffic in Philly. Always something to do, learn, ponder, research, and more. Speaking of Philly (my home town region), I'm watching a center city Philly piece on HGTV which makes me a wee bit homesick. I so miss my museums and the huge Philadelphia Library in center city.
Meanwhile, back in Beaufort I'm getting ready to spring March Madness at the Media Center upon my school community. I can hardly wait! Books are ready for the Read Across America book give-away. One of my two costumes is on hand. I'll be the chick with the blue hair at some point during the week. Friday, March 6th will be our Books, Blankets, Jammies and Reading Stuffies Day. Everyone, YES, EVERYONE puts on their jammies, stretches out on a blanket and reads. This will be an all morning event and Thing 1 will be on the loose, and maybe the Cat in the Hat, too! Kids will be challenged to read as many books as they can in March. Logs will be kept and the ones who reach their goals will be rewarded!
Next on the to do list will be the SCASL conference in Greenville, SC. I'm looking forward to this one as Doug Johnson will be there. Author Angela Johnson [The First Part Last] and others will be on site as well.
Now that I've told you where I'm going, I need to tell you where I've been. January and February have been busy months - like what month isn't, right? Many books to read and share, poets to introduce and more. This week was a classic example. To cap Black history month, I focused on Langston Hughes who was, in my estimation, a very compelling author. I shared two of his short poems with the kids: Dreams and Children's Rhymes. I read a newspaper article about St. Luke's AME Church in Lawrence, Kansas - the church Hughes attended as a child. It is in need of restoration and was added to the National Historic Register in 2006. Hughes stated that his church influenced his writings. Then I used Google Maps and the Google Dude to take them to Kansas and stand in front of the church. WOW! The kids were spellbound! After that we "flew" via Google Maps to visit President and Mrs. Obama. The only problem was we did not make a reservation and the Secret Service would not allow the Google Dude to stand on the White House grounds. UGH! Not to disappoint my young travelers, we used our Google Map "jetpack" and went a few blocks west to visit the Lincoln Memorial. One class visited Arlington National Cemetery. After that we sent the Google Dude to our Principal's office at our school.
Like I told the kids, you have to hang on to your dreams as dreams can and will take you just about anywhere. Without a dream, you have no hope. I shared what my 2 dreams were. #1 was to become a teacher when I grew up, and I did. #2 was to become a library media specialist, and I am living that dream now!
I do believe that this is the best of times to be an educator, and the greatest of times to be a library media specialist. I am indeed very fortunate.
So what if I miss center city Philly, the Franklin Institute Science Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Free Philadelphia Public Library, Independence Hall, and others. I may miss them, BUT with Google Maps and the Google Dude, I can stand in front of them whenever I want!
Til my next great adventure, read, read, read and dream!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Time Flies or what?
I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted on my blog. Well, I'm back for a quick post for now. The first semester has concluded, and the second has begun. I feel like I've been caught up into a time warp called library media and more. I'm enjoying and savoring every moment of every day. I'm in a constant learning mode, and when time allows, inventive/creative mode. In short, I really do believe I have found "the job" for which I was wired by the Creator.
What's it like being a library media specialist? Hmmmm....hard to put into a few words. I love books, technology, diversity, creativity, kids, and people in general. Now if you take these raw ingredients and mash them in the media center, life gets very interesting. I am always exploring with my school kids, constantly looking for that new, something special twist to put on the learning ball to minimize the learning curve for the kids and the teachers.
Books are a great adventure, and when coupled with learning projects, it creates a very royal cranial explosion of ideas, thoughts, and products. Take the past week as an example. I meet with a small group of 4th graders daily to work on ELA skills. These are the classic digital natives who really come to life when given anything of the digital kind as their tools of choice. The task was learning about a variety of evergreen trees. This mini project started when they had a short story to read about the red mangrove tree a.k.a. the walking tree. It is in the evergreen family and yours truly decided that these kids needed to expand their depth and breadth of knowledge about all things evergreen. They were busy researching using virtual library resources as well as traditional reference books in the media center. Once they had learned all they could possibly learn, they created and communicated that new found knowledge using PowerPoint. I must say that they did an awesome job. Little do they know that this is their first digital artifact for their e-portfolio. They are true 21st century knowledge workers.
Stay tuned as I hope to update more frequently about my life in Library 2.5 or the 21st Century Library Media Center. I really don't think it can get much better than this. But with emerging technologies and intelligent kids, it surely will.
Linda
What's it like being a library media specialist? Hmmmm....hard to put into a few words. I love books, technology, diversity, creativity, kids, and people in general. Now if you take these raw ingredients and mash them in the media center, life gets very interesting. I am always exploring with my school kids, constantly looking for that new, something special twist to put on the learning ball to minimize the learning curve for the kids and the teachers.
Books are a great adventure, and when coupled with learning projects, it creates a very royal cranial explosion of ideas, thoughts, and products. Take the past week as an example. I meet with a small group of 4th graders daily to work on ELA skills. These are the classic digital natives who really come to life when given anything of the digital kind as their tools of choice. The task was learning about a variety of evergreen trees. This mini project started when they had a short story to read about the red mangrove tree a.k.a. the walking tree. It is in the evergreen family and yours truly decided that these kids needed to expand their depth and breadth of knowledge about all things evergreen. They were busy researching using virtual library resources as well as traditional reference books in the media center. Once they had learned all they could possibly learn, they created and communicated that new found knowledge using PowerPoint. I must say that they did an awesome job. Little do they know that this is their first digital artifact for their e-portfolio. They are true 21st century knowledge workers.
Stay tuned as I hope to update more frequently about my life in Library 2.5 or the 21st Century Library Media Center. I really don't think it can get much better than this. But with emerging technologies and intelligent kids, it surely will.
Linda
Friday, August 15, 2008
Life in the Media World
As I reflect upon my first three weeks as a new media specialist, the words that come to mind are exciting, exhausting, evolving, and educating. It's been a whirlwind to say the least. So much to be done, and yet every aspect of it is enjoyable and fun! A person should not be allowed to have this much fun in the process of coming up to speed as a new media specialist. Perhaps it's my insatiable love for learning, chasing the ever elusive butterfly so to speak.
Destiny is our library management system. It took 2 weeks for the district to finally send someone to add me to the system and give me a 45 minute crash course. It's fairly intuitive, so I'm happy about that, and the more I use it, the better I like it. On a scale of 1-5, I'd say I'm a solid 3 with this one.
Flexible scheduling seams to have a different meaning for anyone asked about it. Teachers have been so used to delivering their charges to the media center and heading off to plan, call parents, grade papers or even go to the bathroom that the thought of working together is new to them. I'm bound and determined to win them over in the process, so suffice it to say that the teachers and I are very patient with one another. That's a good thing.
Inventory is interesting - I need to discover what my predecessor did with this. Books, hardware, software, videos, other media formats, etc. all need to come to order. It's like calling the troops to attention at a morning meeting and obtaining updates and information to get a solid status on things in the media center.
The collection is another fascinating adventure. I need to rally the troops to go from one end to the other to do a shelving check (that's what I'm calling it) to ensure that books are where they are supposed to be. Right now they might be standing up straight BUT I have discovered that they are not in their correct location.
The morning news show - oh yes! This has been the orphan child thus far due to getting a handle on other things. This next week I pledge to pull all the hardware together, check it's working status, and begin organizing this important piece of the media center puzzle.
MAP testing begins this week and I'm involved in this to some degree. I'll learn this as I go along as well.
I think the safest thing to say at this point is that I am learning to take each day in stride, as throughout any given day, life takes interesting twists and turns. There is never a dull moment, there is always something to be done, something to learn, and something to celebrate. I LOVE being a media specialist even if I am as green as the grass in my backyard.
The icing on my cake is that my media center is huge. The entire length (81 feet) has a spectacular view of the Beaufort River and marsh area. It is so relaxing to look out the window and observe the cranes wading in the marsh, watch the boats on the river, and tourists walking past my school.
The sparkly part of my job is the people. The teachers, children, administrators and others working at my school are so friendly that they are beyond user friendly. It's like a huge family under one roof. Isn't that how a school should be? I think so.
Welcome to my world, my life in the media world.
Destiny is our library management system. It took 2 weeks for the district to finally send someone to add me to the system and give me a 45 minute crash course. It's fairly intuitive, so I'm happy about that, and the more I use it, the better I like it. On a scale of 1-5, I'd say I'm a solid 3 with this one.
Flexible scheduling seams to have a different meaning for anyone asked about it. Teachers have been so used to delivering their charges to the media center and heading off to plan, call parents, grade papers or even go to the bathroom that the thought of working together is new to them. I'm bound and determined to win them over in the process, so suffice it to say that the teachers and I are very patient with one another. That's a good thing.
Inventory is interesting - I need to discover what my predecessor did with this. Books, hardware, software, videos, other media formats, etc. all need to come to order. It's like calling the troops to attention at a morning meeting and obtaining updates and information to get a solid status on things in the media center.
The collection is another fascinating adventure. I need to rally the troops to go from one end to the other to do a shelving check (that's what I'm calling it) to ensure that books are where they are supposed to be. Right now they might be standing up straight BUT I have discovered that they are not in their correct location.
The morning news show - oh yes! This has been the orphan child thus far due to getting a handle on other things. This next week I pledge to pull all the hardware together, check it's working status, and begin organizing this important piece of the media center puzzle.
MAP testing begins this week and I'm involved in this to some degree. I'll learn this as I go along as well.
I think the safest thing to say at this point is that I am learning to take each day in stride, as throughout any given day, life takes interesting twists and turns. There is never a dull moment, there is always something to be done, something to learn, and something to celebrate. I LOVE being a media specialist even if I am as green as the grass in my backyard.
The icing on my cake is that my media center is huge. The entire length (81 feet) has a spectacular view of the Beaufort River and marsh area. It is so relaxing to look out the window and observe the cranes wading in the marsh, watch the boats on the river, and tourists walking past my school.
The sparkly part of my job is the people. The teachers, children, administrators and others working at my school are so friendly that they are beyond user friendly. It's like a huge family under one roof. Isn't that how a school should be? I think so.
Welcome to my world, my life in the media world.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Both Sides of the Fence or Is This a 21st Century Role Model?
What is a fence? According to Wikipedia, "a fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary." Now that we know what a fence is, a physical barrier to keep something in or something out of a defined space, then what is a role? Loosely defined, a role is a set of behaviors ascribed to a position or social level. Can two or more roles be mixed to form a newly defined role?
This leads to the next strand of thinking on my part. Can a defined role function as a fence of sorts? I think so. And that is my dilemma...or maybe not. Media specialist, technology specialist, teacher, instructional technology coach all have defined attributes that take one to the role level. The role's title implies a set of attributes or a job description if you will. This begs the question: What is the role of the 21st century media specialist? It is gradually being formulated over time as we move forward in time. I, for one, plan to push it a bit faster than others care for it to travel.
The 21st century media specialist is a multitasking individual who removes the fences that we heretofore have straddled. It's the technology, right? Uh huh...it's the technology that removes the fences so that we can embrace all there is to enjoy in the world of media, information, communication and collaboration. Perhaps the next job title will be Instructional Media Technology Specialist or perhaps to create an acronym, Technology Instructional Media Educational Specialist (TIMES). I just have to be careful that in the process of breaking down the fences that I don't fracture the sound barrier.
This leads to the next strand of thinking on my part. Can a defined role function as a fence of sorts? I think so. And that is my dilemma...or maybe not. Media specialist, technology specialist, teacher, instructional technology coach all have defined attributes that take one to the role level. The role's title implies a set of attributes or a job description if you will. This begs the question: What is the role of the 21st century media specialist? It is gradually being formulated over time as we move forward in time. I, for one, plan to push it a bit faster than others care for it to travel.
The 21st century media specialist is a multitasking individual who removes the fences that we heretofore have straddled. It's the technology, right? Uh huh...it's the technology that removes the fences so that we can embrace all there is to enjoy in the world of media, information, communication and collaboration. Perhaps the next job title will be Instructional Media Technology Specialist or perhaps to create an acronym, Technology Instructional Media Educational Specialist (TIMES). I just have to be careful that in the process of breaking down the fences that I don't fracture the sound barrier.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Doc and the Techno-Vat
Yes, as the title indicates, I somehow managed to fall into a techno-vat. You might ask, what on earth is a techno-vat? Well, visualize this: 1 large vat steaming with its very hot contents. Add one person [me] and there you have it. I've spent this afternoon exploring sites unknown to me before today, and I felt like I had fallen into a large vat chock full of red hot techno goodies - oops, web sites that are well worth exploring. I won't tell you a thing about them f or now as I want you to enjoy the same experience that I had this afternoon.
Doc's Techno-Vat Contents
Doc's Techno-Vat Contents
- Reading 2.0 - using technology to promote books site a la Joyce Valenza [Remember her name - she's a media specialist's virtual guru/mentor of all things techno-kind for school library media centers.]
http://readingtech.wikispaces.com/ - David Warlick's Son of Citation Machine [Remember David Warlick - similar guru/mentor type like Joyce.]
http://citationmachine.net/ - Where I fell into the techno-vat: Cathy Nelson's site - head end of today's Techno-Vat Adventure [Cathy is a techno guru/mentor who frequents similar venues as David and Joyce.] I started exploring, and the rest just happened! http://technotuesday.edublogs.org/
- LlibraryThing: Virtual Library Catalog site - this one's dangerously fun. Enter at your own risk
http://www.librarything.com/ - VoiceThread: There's more to this one than meets the eye. Plan to hang out here for awhile.
http://voicethread.com/ - EdVoiceThread: Ditto the above but for k-12 kids and teachers that provides a safety net for this venue.
http://ed.voicethread.com/
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Welcome to my blog spot
On a Saturday afternoon in early July, I find myself gearing up for another one of my infamous life's greatest adventures. In a few short weeks I will be working as a school library media-technology specialist. As I begin to imagine what life will be like in this new role, I revisit my experiences with school libraries and media centers.
I have always loved books. In fact, they were and still are my best friends as once engaged with a good book, I can travel anywhere in the universe - for FREE! I grew up in a small borough outside of Philadelphia, PA. Our borough was barely 2 square miles in size, and our library was located in an old store that was about 900 square feet. It was open a few days per week, and whenever I would go, I would check out as many "friends" as I could find to take home and read. Fast forward a few years to when I first started my teaching career. I discovered that the librarians had the best toys - things that plugged and played like 35mm projectors, 16mm projectors, record players, cassette tape recorders, and Systems 80 machines. A few even had a spare tachistoscope collecting dust on a shelf. Uh huh - you guessed it. I gathered up as many of these toys as I could carry and set them up as learning centers in my classroom for my kids. Oh what fun I had! As the technologies advanced, so did my fascination with them. Moving ahead a few more years to the 1980-1994 time frame, and I discovered that librarians were called media specialists. I also learned that they had, in addition to great books, more new "toys" such as VCR's, laserdisc players, and computers!
Now I find myself in the first decade of the twenty-first century pondering what my new media center will look, feel, and sound like. For sure it won't be the quiet library I knew as a child and young adult. I envision it as a place where children come to explore, learn, and become actively engaged in information resources that will be in a variety of formats. They will extract from this plethora of information data sets to create their knowledge in forms that only they will be able to imagine and craft. Things like podcasts, vodcasts, blogs, wikis, virtual libraries, and virtual museums come to mind. Add to this project-based learning activities with children located somewhere else on the planet - Germany, Japan, Alaska, Pennsylvania, or wherever else we can make connections, and you will readily see that my media center, BES Media 2.0, will be center stage for children who will be excited about exploring, learning, communicating, and sharing what they are learning and discovering about the amazing world in which they live.
See you at BES Media 2.0 - where life is taking on a new twist.
I have always loved books. In fact, they were and still are my best friends as once engaged with a good book, I can travel anywhere in the universe - for FREE! I grew up in a small borough outside of Philadelphia, PA. Our borough was barely 2 square miles in size, and our library was located in an old store that was about 900 square feet. It was open a few days per week, and whenever I would go, I would check out as many "friends" as I could find to take home and read. Fast forward a few years to when I first started my teaching career. I discovered that the librarians had the best toys - things that plugged and played like 35mm projectors, 16mm projectors, record players, cassette tape recorders, and Systems 80 machines. A few even had a spare tachistoscope collecting dust on a shelf. Uh huh - you guessed it. I gathered up as many of these toys as I could carry and set them up as learning centers in my classroom for my kids. Oh what fun I had! As the technologies advanced, so did my fascination with them. Moving ahead a few more years to the 1980-1994 time frame, and I discovered that librarians were called media specialists. I also learned that they had, in addition to great books, more new "toys" such as VCR's, laserdisc players, and computers!
Now I find myself in the first decade of the twenty-first century pondering what my new media center will look, feel, and sound like. For sure it won't be the quiet library I knew as a child and young adult. I envision it as a place where children come to explore, learn, and become actively engaged in information resources that will be in a variety of formats. They will extract from this plethora of information data sets to create their knowledge in forms that only they will be able to imagine and craft. Things like podcasts, vodcasts, blogs, wikis, virtual libraries, and virtual museums come to mind. Add to this project-based learning activities with children located somewhere else on the planet - Germany, Japan, Alaska, Pennsylvania, or wherever else we can make connections, and you will readily see that my media center, BES Media 2.0, will be center stage for children who will be excited about exploring, learning, communicating, and sharing what they are learning and discovering about the amazing world in which they live.
See you at BES Media 2.0 - where life is taking on a new twist.
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