Category Archives: Academic

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Robot Teachers?

Could it be true? Are robots teaching classrooms full of children in South Korea? An article I stumbled across today on Yahoo News from AFP, titled S. Korea Schools Get Robot English Teachers describes this trend as it’s occurring in South Korea. Apparently it seems to be a success. It keeps children interested, allows shy children to express themselves more easily, and allows students in towns that have been “shunned” by foreign English speakers to learn English. Another article from CNN dated October 22, 2010 delves into this trend as well. Both articles claim that the robots are not replacing teachers, rather they are a learning tool available to students, and they act as assistants to the teachers.

Image: ‘Robot’ from http://www.flickr.com/photos/avoiretc/3441244946/

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

School Librarians: Headed for the History Books?

The December 11th edition of the Star Tribune included an article titled School Librarians: Headed for the History Books, which summarized the current state of affairs for Minnesota school libraries and their staff. The article brought to light the fact that a quarter of the state’s librarians have lost their jobs. Some of the largest districts in the state, including Anoka- Hennepin, St. Paul, and Minneapolis, have very few school librarians considering the number of schools and students served.

MEMO’s president, Tori Jensen, was interviewed for the article. Jensen states that if librarians are cut “ [Schools will] …be OK for three years and then find out there’s nobody there to teach kids the skills that we are experts in. It’s not a matter of bringing the resources to them, it’s about teaching them how to use them.”

Click here http://www.startribune.com/local/east/111702274.html?page=1&c=y to read this article in its entirety.

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

ELM + History Day + Time Management Workshop

This free workshop will focus on:

  • How to help students choose and develop their History Day (HD) topic
  • Helping students search ELM databases to locate primary and secondary sources to support their topic
  • Using the new Research Project Calculator as an expert system to help students manage their HD project

Audience: Media specialists, librarians, teachers, paraprofessionals, student interns, volunteers

 

ELM + History Day + Time Management

Friday, November 19, 2010

Hosted by Minitex, CMLE and Rasmussen College

9:00 a.m. – Noon  OR 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (your choice of time- sessions are identical)

Location: Rasmussen College

226 Park Ave. So. St. Cloud, MN  56301-3713

Fee: No cost, but registration is required at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/elmhistoryday

Expert Minitex Trainer: Jennifer Hootman

Need financial assistance to join us? There are two options…

1. MN Legacy monies are available to cover mileage and substitute staffing as needed.   Lodging can be covered for those coming from long distances (200 miles).  If you or members of your staff are interested in attending, please email JoEllen Haugo as shown below.

JoEllen Haugo, MN Legacy History Day Library Manager

Tel 952-847-8175

Email Jhaugo@hclib.org OR

2. Scholarships are also available to CMLE member libraries for expenses like mileage or to cover the cost of getting a substitute so you are able to attend. The CMLE scholarship application and guidelines are available on our website at www.cmle.org