All posts by Angie

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Local author and SCTCC professor gives Tedx talk

Jessica LoureyJessica Lourey is a successful local author and professor of creative writing and sociology at St. Cloud Community and Technical College. She has a new book coming out next May, titled Rewrite Your Life: Discover Your Truth Through the Healing Power of Fiction. The book is nonfiction and aimed at helping people work through difficulties in their lives by fiction writing. The book was inspired by Lourey’s discovery of the therapeutic ability of writing fiction while  working through an extremely traumatic event in her life.

She recently gave a TEDx talk about the experience, which you can watch below. TEDx “is designed to help communities, organizations and individuals to spark conversation and connection through local TED-like experiences.” Learn more by visiting their site.

Interested in learning more about Lourey? Read about her in our Author Spotlight post, or check out our review of Lourey’s first book in her Murder by Month series, Mayday. She even gave an engaging presentation during a CMLE event last year.

General, School Media Specialist

Alternatives to Round Robin & Popcorn Reading

 

cori_middle_school_reading
Help students become better readers

 

Wondering if Round Robin and Popcorn styles are really the best practice when it comes to working on reading in the classroom? This article from Edutopia takes a look at the traditional Round Robin style of reading out loud and offers some alternative practices.

Round Robin reading is defined in the same article as students reading “orally from a common text, one child after another, while the rest of the class follows along in their copies of the text.” Popcorn style is a type of Round Robin reading, where one student is reading aloud, then says “Popcorn” before choosing another student to continue reading.

Author Todd Finley makes the argument that when it comes to improving literacy and encouraging kids to read, the Round Robin style may not be the best approach. He shares several studies and their findings that Round Robin may have a negative effect on students and their reading progress.

Happily, the article includes 11 better approaches for you to try instead! A few of them include:

  • Choral reading: The teacher and class read passages or paragraphs out loud together, which reduces potential embarassment for struggling readers
  • Teacher read-aloud: The teacher shows how proper pronunciation and inflection are used while reading
  • Buddy reading: Students read out loud to prepare for reading to children in a younger grade

Do you use Round Robin or Popcorn style reading? How about any of the 11 alternatives? What have you found works the best in your library or classroom?

 

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

32 of the world's most gorgeous libraries

Vancouver_Public_Library_Atrium
Another beautiful library, the Vancouver Public Library

In case you are looking for some travel inspiration, or just want to feast your eyes on some beautiful architecture, check out this article from the BookBub blog that highlights 32 of the world’s most beautiful libraries. The list is diverse with the libraries that are included, with designs that range from Baroque to extremely modern. It’s interesting to see the various influences that have impacted the libraries’ designs – many are theological, some have been influenced by nature, or the history of their location. In the article, each photo features a short description that discusses the uniqueness of each library. Here are some samples:

  • The very first library profiled is the Abbey Library of St. Gall in Switzerland. It’s a World Heritage site and also contains the earliest known architectural plan, written on parchment!
  • The impressive Kansas City Central Library in Missouri is number thirteen on the list. It’s easy to tell the function of the building from the outside, since one of the walls features huge paintings of the spines of 22 different books! Each book is twenty-five feet high and nine feet wide.
  • Take a look at the Tianyi Pavilion Library in China at number twenty-seven on the list. It’s the oldest private library in Asia! The tranquility of the location is very obvious. The library is next to a lake and surrounded by gardens.

It’s so hard to choose a favorite, but I think the libraries in Austria are especially breathtaking. Which one(s) would you like to visit in person?

 

 


	

	
	




	
	

				

			Academic, School Media Specialist
		

			
Use Cloudschool to create & publish multimedia lessons

		

			 		

	


		

		
 


laptop-and-yellow-flowers
Make lesson planning easier!


Cloudschool is a platform that allows teachers to create and publish multimedia lessons. It is also free!


This article from the blog FreeTech4Teachers explains how both teachers and students can benefit from using Cloudschool. Instructors can choose how they want their lessons to appear, by using text, pictures, audio, and videos. They can download and print copies of their lessons, or share them online with other instructors. Students are able to access their lessons from anywhere, and can see their grades and feedback easily.


The platform also has a way for instructors to ask discussion questions, and have students answer them within Cloudschool. There are lots of special features, like visibility control and keeping up with current grade level curriculum.


Watch this short video for an introduction to Cloudschool:



 


 


 

	

	
	




	
	

				

			General, School Media Specialist
		

			
AASL Recommended App: Organization & Management: OneNote

		

			 		

	


		

		
one_noteIn June 2016, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced their 25 Best Apps for Teaching and Learning. The apps encourage qualities such as innovation and active participation, and are user-friendly.


OneNote is an organizational app designed for note-taking. It has pages and tabs just like a physical notebook, but also allows users to record audio, make comments on existing text, and capture images. The app can easily transfer between platforms like desktops, tablets, and mobile devices. Educators can create notebooks to share assignments and feedback with students.


This article from MakeUseOf gives ten tips (including several helpful videos) on how to effectively use the OneNote app, both for teachers and students. Author Saikat Basu has also written an another article detailing how helpful OneNote can be in everyday life, outside of the classroom. Looking for more examples of OneNote success stories? Check out the OneNote education blog.


Cost: Free

Level: Elementary, Middle, and High School

Platforms: iOS and Android