All posts by John

The Weekly Review is Coming!

CMLElogoFY11Starting next week on Thursday, September 11 (about 11 am), we will begin our Weekly Review email message to staff in 320 Central MN libraries. The weekly review is published each week on Thursdays (except summer and holidays) and is received by at least 400 individuals! In a typical week, CMLE’s “What’s Happening” blog sees over 350 unique views!

Excited? We are too, and thought we would share a few little known facts about the Weekly Review…

• The Weekly Review message takes the place of a CMLE newsletter (published from 1979-2010), and is your weekly news feed from CMLE staff to you!
• The combination of a weekly email and library news blog allows us to provide more timely information, while keeping the clutter in your inbox to a minimum.
• Our CMLE staff are watching multiple library news sources including professional organizations like ALA, AASL, ISTE, MLA, MEMO (now ITEM) and State Library Services in addition to following leaders in the library field on social media too!
• Each week, our staff combs through hundreds of news possibilities on your behalf. Lots of items hit the cutting room floor! Why?
• We know your time is important so we limit the number of posts each week to 7-15, captured in one email with links to all news stories.
• The Weekly Review is a CMLE service and takes roughly 25% of our staff time!
• Do you have staff that aren’t receiving the weekly review? Get them added by sending their info to cmle@stcloudstate.edu
• Occasionally we will be asking you to complete poll’s. We hope you’ll take the time to help us collect information about what you’re doing at your library.
• Traditionally, reader’s favorite blog posts are about library/media center happenings in the region. Have a subject or idea for a story? Feel free to submit your stories at cmle@stcloudstate.edu anytime.

 

23 Mobile Things Final Spotlight – Thing 23 Evaluation

It’s the last 23 Mobile Things spotlight, and we hope you’ve enjoyed looking at them as much as we have. Remember the end date to complete all 23 Mobile Things is June 15th, so keep blogging about those Things and make sure to collect those badges!

GalaxieTab
Galaxie Tab 4

Badges: If you haven’t already, don’t forget to let us know when you’ve earned a badge (at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 23 Things completed)! Just email minn23@gmail.com with your blog name, multitype region (CMLE), and how many Things you’ve completed. We’ll add your badge to your region’s blogroll and send you one you can display on your blog to share your progress. We will enter CMLE finishers into a prize drawing based on the badges we see!

All finishers will receive an incentive prize! And, CMLE staff will also enter all finishers from our region in a drawing for either a new Galaxie Tab 4 OR a new iPad Mini!

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iPad Mini

Appropriately, this week we take a look at Thing 23, Evaluation of the 23 Mobile Thing Program. Current finishers in the CMLE region offered some great posts from which to choose and share. All bloggers were asked a few questions to summarize their impressions of the program and here are some of the best responses.

Go back to your thoughts/ideas about  mobile devices and apps. Has anything changed as a result of this experience?

The bloggers agreed that they had learned a lot about their mobile devices and the apps on them. One of the best quotes came from Sarah about her experience, “I would say the #1 thing that changed for me was my view of mobile devices not just as a personal tool, but as a tool that could be used professionally as well.”

What were your favorite Things and discoveries?

In her Thing 23 post, Zoma did a great job of summarizing all of the Things and what she liked. Others apps that seemed to be recurring favorites were: Pinterest and Instagram.

How did you connect with others doing the 23 Mobile Things?

Several bloggers mentioned how the program helped develop relationships for them – both online and at their library. One blogger “loved following the blogs of people I know, as well as discovering new ideas and friends via Twitter. Oftentimes when I was stuck on a specific Thing, I would troll others’ blogs for inspiration.”

Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?

Holly’s unexpected outcome turned a negative into a positive. “The fact that I got to try out apps that I didn’t like was also helpful. If a staff member comes to me asking about something that didn’t work so well, I can look back to my blog and remember why.”

How would you describe your learning experience in one word or in one sentence, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities to others?

We think Kathy’s quote might summarize the program for you. “Taking this course made me feel less like a digital immigrant and more like I can hold a conversation with a digital native.” OR maybe Duane’s works better for you: “In my position as media specialist, I’m expected to be on the forefront of technology and to share that technology with other teachers. This course has helped fulfill both of those criteria in addition to improving my relevance in an ever-changing library environment.”

CMLE would like to thank all participants and remind you that the 23 Mobile Things Program will be available after the June 15th deadline. If you’re not able to finish by then, you can always revisit the program at your leisure.

Tip: See what people are saying on Twitter about 23 Mobile Things by following the hashtag #23ThingsMN  and join the conversation!

Infographic – The 1:1 Classroom

TribehutCMLE found this easily read infographic about the issues surrounding the 1:1 digital classroom. Visit this link to get answers to the following questions….

  • “What devices are vying for 1:1 dominance in a digital classroom?
  • What devices are teachers and students primarily using?
  • What are the critical issues districts need to consider before going to a 1:1 model?”

Created by Troxell and MDR’s WeAreTeachers, this infographic addresses all of these questions and more!

Academic Libraries Pinterest Boards

7-recap-1.0Are you looking to get your library on Pinterest but need inspiration? Look no further than Librarian Enumeration’s post about the Top 10 Libraries for Academic Libraries to Follow on Pinterest. From Downton Abbey to cat-related boards there’s enough material here to last a lifetime!

10 Libraries not enough? Check out part two where you get 10 more libraries.