All posts by Kate

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

The New iPad Mini and 4th Generation iPad

On Tuesday (10/23), Apple unveiled their new iPad Mini with comes in at a mere 7.9 inches and is expected to be a major player in the growing mini tablet market. Additionally, the new iPad 4 will soon be available. It boasts a new A6X chip that “delivers up to twice the CPU performance and up to twice the graphics performance of the A5X chip, all while delivering an incredible 10 hours of battery life in the same thin and light iPad design.”

A word of caution: Due to its small screen size, the new iPad Mini does not meet the minimum specifications issued by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) for the next-generation Common Core State Standards assessments coming in 2014.

Read more about the new iPad Mini and the 4th Gen iPad at THE Journal, 10/23/12

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Register for the Lake Superior Libraries Mid-Winter UnSymposium

Register now for the Lake Superior Libraries UnSymposium, where you determine the conversation!

At your typical conference, the sessions have been planned months, if not years in advance, so the most current, pressing concerns in Library Land are relegated to informal conversations that pop up along the sidelines.

At the Lake Superior Libraries UnSymposium, the sidelines are the conference. Topics and agendas are determined in a bottom-up, democratic manner, rather than being handed down from on high. Everyone wants to talk about how publishers are handling e-books? Done. You’re the only one who wants to talk about the classification of old-timey radio programs? Too bad. Join your brethren in informative conversation and don’t forget to check out the tech petting zoo. This is an event for folks who want to actively participate (see: unconference). Interested in facilitating a discussion? Read this first: How to run a great unconference session.

You’ll come away from the UnSymposium invigorated by lively discussions and ready to take new ideas and excitement back to your library.

Register now!

Kim Pittman

Reference & Instruction Librarian

University of Minnesota Duluth Library, L270

kpittman@d.umn.edu | 218-726-7829

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

We’ve Learned: Staffing News and Updates from Around the Region

We’ve Learned… is designed to keep our readers informed about news concerning personnel in CMLE libraries/media centers. Please keep us informed of any “happenings” regarding staff members in your area so that we can include them in the next write-up! Happenings can include: changes in staffing, awards, honors… you get the idea!

  • Robin Ewing, Associate Professor & Reference Librarian at SCSU,  received the 2012 MLA President’s Award at this year’s MLA Conference. Way to go, Robin! Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to the organization.
  • Please use the comments area to let us know if there are updates in your library or media center!
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

The Flipped College Classroom

1 Comment

A recent Star Tribune article, Internet Flips the Idea of How to Teach a Class, highlighted the efforts of some local college professors and instructors utilizing the flipped classroom method in their classrooms. Not only is this article (and its information) local, but it also details some of the successes and failures of this new teaching method. In addition, a recent study of 720 physics professors showed that at least 72 percent had tried various interactive teaching methods (like those that are a part of the flipped classroom); however, at least a third of those instructors tried — and eventually stopped using interactive methods. Some cite push back from students in the flipped classroom, as well as little support for instructors once they’ve “made the switch”. Ongoing support, continuing education, and access to professional resources is a must for forward-thinking instructors who have gotten up the gumption to attempt the flipped classroom.