Category Archives: General

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Bed bug guide for your library

No SignAre you worried about bed bugs infesting your library?  What would you do?  Here is a wonderful resource specifically written for public libraries but can also be useful for all types of libraries.

The book’s expert author, Sarah Kittrell, is the Collection Development Division Manager of the Wichita,Kansas Public Library. She has served as her library’s pest management coordinator since 2012.  Her expertly written guide is meant to “help you and your library develop the plans and tools that are necessary to ensure introductions are caught and dealt with as quickly as possible”

This book will help you:

  • Recognize the signs of bed bugs
  • Create an action plan
  • Develop policies to work with customers who have bed bug issues
  • much more

Some chapters include:

  • Working with Customers Suspected of Returning Items with Bed Bugs
  • Talking with the Media and Public About Bed Bugs
  • The Fall and Rise of the Modern Bed Bug Problem

Click here for more information on the Bed Bug Guide and to digitally download it.

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/h68gcm4, licensed under Public Domain
Academic, General, School Media Specialist

OER: Open Educational Resources primer

photo-1443745029291-d5c27bc0b562Leave it to Edutopia to give us an excellent primer on open educational resources or OER. OER has become quite the buzz acronym recently but did you know it’s basically FREE stuff you can use in your classroom or library?! Technically, “open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge.” We like FREE things too!

But OER isn’t just about consuming, it’s about contributing to the repository too! Edutopia has you covered there, giving you ideas on how you can get some of your lesson plans, ideas, and materials added to the network.

Read all the details about OER and how you can get started contributing to them!

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/cF6fz9QwfrY (William White), licensed under CC0
Academic, General, School Media Specialist

Amazon launches OER platform for K-12

photo-1453814279372-783dc5b638aeRecently the School Library Journal shared that Amazon is in the process of launching a new platform that will allow K–12 schools to upload, curate, and share open education resources (OER). SLJ reports that the site, called Amazon Inspire, is currently in beta and is expected to go live in two to three months and will be free of charge.

While exciting and new, the announcment drew many educators/librarians into a discussion about the pros and cons of such a service. Although free, how will Amazon use the information and data it gleans from users is one question. Hack Education’s Audrey Watters’ piece about those issues struck a cord with many who thought that Amazon’s true aim is ultimately about making money.

Regardless, CMLE is excited more OER resources are being made available to educators. How about you? Will you use Amazon Inspire? Why or why not? Are you currently using other OER services? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/R-HXWCbCBGU (Alex Holyoake), licensed under CC0 1.0
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Irish Jokes for St. Paddy's Day

St_Patrick's_DayNeed some new jokes for St. Paddy’s Day? Check out all the fun on St-Patricks-Day.com.   Here is one to get you started:

A Spanish singer chatting on television used the word ‘manana’. When asked what that meant, he said it means “maybe the job will be done to-morrow, maybe the next day, maybe the day after that, next week, next month or next year. Who cares?” An Irishman in the conversation, Shay Brennan, was then asked if there’s an Irish equivalent. “No. In Ireland we don’t have a word to describe that level of urgency”

 

Image credit: http://tinyurl.com/glrjb4j, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

 

Academic, General, School Media Specialist

Spring ITEM Conference – Call for Proposals and Registration

spring ITEM confGet ready for the second annual ITEM Spring Conference. The conference will take place on April 30th at Hopkins North Junior High.

With the motto “Reimagine Learning” teachers, educational leaders, technology integrationists, and media specialists come together to talk about makerspaces, learning spaces, and the future of the media center.

Check out the website for registration.

Got something cool you’re working on? Share it! The conference has a call for proposals until March 18th. Submit your idea now.