All posts by John

General, School Media Specialist

We’ve Learned

LightbulbThis announcement comes to us from the Elk River School District.

 

We have two (2) open full-time technology positions for a district-wide Site Computer Technician (working 8 hours per day 12 months per year). The postings closes 5/3/2015. Salary starts at $44,050. These are new positions created by passing a 10-year levy.

Site Computer Technician professionals work with the district technology support team and each of our school building technology/media staff to maintain district technology, assisting staff with technology needs throughout the district. The selected candidate will have experience managing Apple computers, Windows computers, iPads, Chromebooks, basic network administration, printers/multifunction devices, and typical K-12 software systems. The techs will be part of Chromebook 1:1 initiative aimed at rolling out Chromebooks for students in grade 6 through 12 over a 3-year plan starting this coming school year. 

For more information, visit http://www.applitrack.com/elkrivermn/onlineapp/jobpostings/view.asp?internaltransferform.Url&category=Technology&category=Technology 

Our Computer Technicians Benefits and Compensation Provisions 2013-2015 is available at the district’s website.

Also, toward June we will be posting additional paraprofessional Technology Assistant positions for the coming school year, working an 8 hour day on teacher contract days (190 days per year, mid-August through early June). Starting pay is $17.50 per hour. The Technology Assistant will work at their assigned building maintaining technology and assisting staff and students with technology needs throughout the site. I will send a follow-up email when these are posted.

Regards,

Joseph Samek  |  Manager of Technology, Elk River Area School District #728
office 763.241.3538  |  Mobile 763.238.5938 | Support 763.241.3400 x1300

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

2015 CMLE Needs Assessment Results

movie nightThe final results are in for the 2015 CMLE Needs Assessment. Staff in CMLE member libraries had almost one month to respond and we sincerely thank the 152 people (20%) who took the time to share their thoughts, feedback, and dreams for library support services in Central Minnesota.

CMLE serves 320 libraries in 12 counties, and one of the biggest challenges is understanding your specific needs while also trying to spot opportunities to convene academic, public, special and school librarians when a topic cuts across library type.

For those of you also wondering, the 4 Amazon gift cards were awarded and winners were notified. Thanks again to those that spent the time to complete the survey.

Here is a link to a results summary: http://bit.ly/1Gp9fvO

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/ldkd7ws, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Oh, how the interface has changed

Tragedy, ComedyHow do you interact with your devices? A mouse? Speaking? Touch? Typing? Many of these ways we use without even thinking about them. But what interface changes lead to these modern conveniences?

The staff from Ars Technica checked out the Vintage Computer Festival East to find out. This festival examined the periods of interface innovation in many of our devices – young and old. From looking at an old Commodore 64 to exploring the Palm Pilot, the exhibits looked at how interfaces have changed but also what changes those interfaces lead to.

Check out the whole article here. The pictures of the “vintage” devices alone are worth the visit!

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/kayqjgu, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

5 Best eReaders

tablet_man_hiresDo you have a favorite eReader? Don’t have an eReader? Well you’re in luck! Lifehacker’s newly updated list of the five best eReaders is ready for you. Alan Henry writes, “If you like taking your books on the go, you’ve never had more options. The best e-readers are slim, have batteries that last for weeks, come in both E Ink and color varieties, have multiple screen sizes to suit you, and offer different price points.”

See the full list now!

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/p7mg9dq
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

14 things everyone gets wrong about librarians

< - Information“Yes, I can help you find books.”
“No, I don’t spend all day reading them.”

The scholars at BuzzFeed recently asked librarians to tell them the most frustrating misconceptions people have about a librarian’s job. Surely, many on the list you’ve probably heard before but there’s also some new ones!

“The library profession is really wide-ranging. We work in corporations, law firms, research institutes and laboratories, the government and military, special libraries. We are researchers, computer specialists, collection developers, archivists, subject experts, meta data experts and a lot more.”

Check out the full list here.