Category Archives: General

General, School Media Specialist

TIES 2010 Conference Summary: A CMLE Scholarship

The following was submitted by a CMLE scholarship recipient.

Submitted by: Mark Krueger, North Junior High Media Specialist

The TIES Conference 2010 was an excellent conference. There were many very good sessions to take part in. It seemed like the focus was more mobile devices than in the past. Such devices that were discussed in many sessions were iPods and iPads. Administrators who attended the conference received their own free iPads.

The keynote speaker on Monday was Sir Ken Robinson. He was an excellent speaker. Sir Robinson talked about how each learner has strengths and weaknesses. Each person has something that they are good at and education needs to change to help develop these personalized strengths. What also made him an excellent speaker was his ability to engage the audience with humor.

Overall I thought TIES 2010 was worth the trip. It is always a good experience to meet with other professionals in the area of education and technology. It is also a great time to talk with vendors about individual school needs. I know I talked with numerous vendors for multiple hours about what they have that could contribute to my school’s success. Such tools include projectors, document cameras, and audio devices. I would recommend the TIES conference in the future for any teacher or media specialist interested in technology and education.

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.

General, Public, School Media Specialist

TIES Conference Summary: A CMLE Scholarship

The following was submitted by a CMLE scholarship recipient.

Submitted by: Joan Nevitt, Paynesville High School & Middle School Media Specialist

After attending one day of the 2010 Ties workshop, I was energized and inspired by the professional and relevant information that was presented. Unfortunately, I could only partake in 2 breakout sessions of the many offered.  Time and money would not allow for more this year. A big thank you to CMLE and the scholarship that allowed for me to attend. The first workshop that I chose was “Building a PLC (Professional Learning Community) using Google Docs and other tools”. Not only was the presenter knowledgeable, she also shared how this technology can inform staff with the ease of not rushing to countless meetings, etc. The other workshop provided insight and free applications for High School teachers to use with their Smart Boards.

The first staff meeting after the conference, I shared the many opportunities available for those who attend.  We will be sending staff members every year in the future. Serving on the Staff Development Community and Technology Committee will allow me to keep the word out about this amazing experience.

General, School Media Specialist

MEMO Conference Summary: A CMLE Scholarship

The following was submitted by a CMLE Scholarship recipient.

Submitted by: Wanda Erickson, Upsala Area Schools K-12 Librarian

6:30 a.m. came much too early for this night person!  Two mornings in a row I grumbled out of bed to meet my ride (Deb Disher, Holdingford’s master Media Specialist) and beat the sun into St. Cloud.  You will all laugh with me as I jerked awake Friday morning at 6:20, my alarm set for 7, because Deb was to arrive at 7.  Some have a reading dyslexia; I have a math dyslexia.

But I try not to miss the MEMO Fall Conference and especially appreciate the multi-year contract in St. Cloud as it means I can attend more easily.  Thursday evening’s vendor reception allows me to scout out the vendor area, talk to the various sales reps and begin to place my name in drawing bins.  (Whom do I talk to about not winning anything this year?)

Buffy Hamilton, Cathy Jo Nelson and Marcia Thornton Jones jogged ideas through my brain.  Participatory librarianship = a BIGGER vision!  PR will not make you relevant; YOUR vision for how the library can contribute does!  Develop 23 Things On a Stick for students and call it 5 Things In Our Pockets (put jeans pockets or old card pockets on a bulletin board-kids collect laminated activity cards when they complete each task-master Flip video camera, layout a poster, read an ebook, teach another student to request a title).

Assisting Joan Larson at the book tables in the past has whetted my appetite for more.  This year I volunteered to help with the author visits and the book tables.  What a wonderful time!  I gathered information from the authors to disseminate to my public library staff, who invest Legacy funds in author and illustrator visits.

I am a Boomer librarian who is not transitioning easily to life in the cloud.  I ponder the definition of library.  Where do my libraries live and just exactly when did they transform because I missed it?  Can a Skyped author visit really encompass the same energy as a F2F visit?  Seeing Pat Bauer and Dave Geister in full costume cannot be reproduced.  And, perhaps, there is no substitute for ‘real’ experiences.  After all, I learned one can storyboard very effectively with post-it notes on a laminated piece of cardboard.