Category Archives: Guest Blogger

Guest Blogger, Materials, Services

Report from CMLE Mini Grant: LittleBits

This is a guest post from Sarah Gerber, 4th grade teacher at Talahi Community School.  She worked with their Media Specialist Jenny McNew to receive this CMLE Mini Grant. Need a Mini Grant to purchase materials or try an interesting new program at your library? Apply today! 

As part of our Grade 4 standards my students worked on circuits. While working  to STEMify our curriculum the students began using LittleBits to understand how circuits work and how to use them in the design process to create a machine that utilizes electronics.

My students were thoroughly engaged as they learned about inputs, outputs, wires, and power sources. They needed to rely on their collaboration and problem solving skills while following a guide to design an art invention tool. From there students could choose to create a design of their own to solve a real world problem. From using the buzzer for an alarm, to having light sensors help us navigate the dark, the students amazed me with their curiosity and perseverance in completing a design. It was common to hear, “This is so cool!” and “Oh, now I get it!”

LittleBits are an excellent tool to create projects that are STEM and STEAM related. They helped my students understand the MN standards on Energy and Engineering regardless of their technical ability. The color coded electronic “Bits” snap together magnetically and can be used to create many different inventions for multiple skill levels. We purchased the STEAM Student Set and found that it worked best in groups of two to three.

Conference, Guest Blogger

TIES Conference Report: Holly Nelson

This is a guest post from Holly Nelson, Media Specialist at Kennedy Community School. Need a scholarship to attend a conference or participate in Professional Development? Apply today! 

Attending the annual TIES Conference provided me the opportunity to experience an array of multiple educational initiatives and innovations all in one event.  As a school librarian, I’m cognizant of the vastly changing role of libraries within schools and the learning I experienced was beneficial for my personal professional development but more importantly for the staff and students at my school.

I was able to learn about a new technology integration initiative we’ve now begun at my school.  The SeeSaw tool is used now with teachers, students, and parents to share student learning and build student digital learning portfolios.  Learning from other educators who are using this tool also opened a communication network between multiple professionals and collaborative opportunities.  I am now able to provide support to all users of this new tool and/or extend my support beyond the walls of our school.

The various topics available for exploration at TIES was invaluable. Sharing my knowledge of computational thinking using coding in the “Digital Playground” was a great way to network with other educators. Another great resource that I learned at TIES is how to help students using their 1:1 iPads to create book commercials for an engaging way for students to share their learning. I can’t thank CMLE enough for this chance I received to learn and help grow my school library and its vital role in education.

 

Conference, Guest Blogger

Guest Post: Zine Librarians unConference

This is a guest post from CMLE member Violet Fox. Have you gone to a particularly interesting conference or class? We’d love to hear about it!

Did you know zine librarians across the U.S. and beyond will be visiting Minnesota this July 12th through 14th? Minneapolis will be the site of the eleventh Zine Librarians unConference and you are cordially invited!

(Do you need some background information on what zines are, and how they can have a positive impact on your library? Check out this interview we did with Violet in 2016 where she tells us all about them!)

It’s been nine years since the first Zine Librarians unConference (ZLuC) took place in Seattle in 2009—I had just started volunteering with Seattle’s Zine Archive & Publishing Project, and I was delighted to meet so many folks who were excited about talking about zines in libraries. Since then, ZLuC has been held around the country, including Boston, Long Beach, Pittsburgh, Austin, and Portland. This year the site selection committee chose Minneapolis, likely because of the strong zine libraries community that is developing in the Twin Cities and beyond.

The unConference is a multi-day affair that welcomes workers and volunteers from academic, public, and special libraries, as well as community-oriented independent libraries and archives. Like other unconferences, the topics that will be discussed aren’t determined in advance—they’re decided on by the participants during the event. Typical topics covered often include collection development, event programming, teaching with zines, preservation, cataloging, and acquisitions. Previous ZLuCs have resulted in the creation of the Zine Librarians Code of Ethics, collaboration on a variety of projects, idea sharing, and general support for people dealing with the challenges and opportunities of providing access to zines in libraries and archives.

Because there are multiple libraries that collect zines in the Twin Cities area, ZLuC 2018 will be held at three different sites over three days. The afternoon of Thursday July 12 there’ll be a half day of ZLuC at MCTC (Minneapolis Community and Technical College). MCTC’s library has a huge zine collection and a zine lounge area. Friday July 13 there’ll be a full day of ZLuC at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. The UMN Libraries holds the incredible Marshall Weber Culture Wars Zine Collection. And the morning of Saturday July 14 ZLuC will wrap up with another half day at the Hennepin County Library’s beautiful Minneapolis Central Library. HCL is in the process of ramping up their zine collection and will be the host of this year’s Twin Cities Zine Fest in September. Social events for all three evenings will be planned, likely including a free visit to the Walker Art Center and a zinester reading.

Best of all, registration for ZLuC is free. If you’re coming from out of town, there will also be an option for cheap dorm rooms at the University of Minnesota residence halls ($46/person/day for a shared room, $61/person/day for a private room).

Whether you’re thinking of starting a zine collection, planning your first zine workshop, or already considering the nitty-gritty details of maintaining your collection, consider attending one or more days of ZLuC 2018 in Minneapolis! Please get in touch with me (violetfox@gmail.com) if you have any questions.

Conference, Guest Blogger

TIES Report: Jenny McNew

This is a guest post from Jenny McNew, Media Specialist at Talahi Community School. Need a scholarship to attend a conference or participate in Professional Development? Apply today! 

I would like to thank CMLE for the scholarship to attend the TIES 2017 Conference: What’s Your Story! Both Keynote speakers Ken Shelton and Jennie Magiera delivered great keynotes on the how and why of sharing your voice.

In the past I have attended many TIES conferences and each year it gets better. As a Media Specialist in a working school library of very diverse learners this year’s title of “What’s your Story” really spoke to me. We have so many staff and students that really need the opportunity to share their voice. We need to believe that each person has an important voice, and we need to be a listening ear in order to create a community where everyone is welcome, seen, and heard. It really made me think of all the opportunities I can help provide so those I come in contact with have the knowledge and technology to share their all important voice while being mindful of the implications of sharing that voice on a digital platform. Ken Shelton referred to it as a digital tattoo which is so true.

What I love about TIES is it isn’t just about the newest and coolest technologies but it has embraced the application of those technologies in learning situations. I attended several sessions where again Leslie Fisher saved the day by showing me some cool new tools that will make my everyday job easier, or the presentation by Shelly Sanchez which gave me insight on putting together digital citizenship activities.  

This year I presented in the “coding playground” giving me the opportunity to share some of our story using Blue and Bee Bots, Lego robotics, and Edison robots. It was evident that even though I am not sure we are doing anything “exceptional” to someone else it is worthy and cool, once again proving that we all have a story to tell.

Thank you CMLE for providing the opportunity to attend this amazing conference. The ability to attend professional development is priceless!

Conference, Guest Blogger

TIES Report: Amanda Holstrom

This is a guest post from Amanda Holstrom, Instructional Technology Specialist/Library Media Specialist at Sartell Middle School. Need a scholarship to attend a conference or participate in Professional Development? Apply today! 

Ties 2017 was a very intense and exciting conference. The sheer amount of people and the ideas that were being shared was enough to excite all learners. The focus of the keynote speakers was “What’s Your Story?” and the message was to focus on sharing ideas around the world and letting students share their learning with an authentic audience.  Jeanie Magiera, one of the Keynote speakers, did a wonderful job of explaining the impact of storytelling and how using technology to share her ideas and learning has helped her personally and professionally. This idea that sharing is encouraged rather than trying to keep thoughts and ideas inside was very motivating and gave me the reassurance that our new independent reading curriculum is beneficial to students.

In regard to reading/independent reading practices a shift was made for the 2017-2018 school year. Whereas past practice had teachers assign a given amount of AR points for students to earn by reading and taking a test of recall, after discussion on best practices in reading and reflection on the Common Core Standards a change was made to honor choice independent reading time and conferring practices into daily lessons. This overhaul on student reading and subsequent shift of the focus from points and books to sharing stories has made a huge impact. Students are required to read but they choose the novel as well as meet with the teacher to discuss their reading and learning that is taking place. Students are also encouraged to share their reading with others. This new shift in the reading curriculum has shown growth in student reading and natural conversations centered on reading are taking place.

Another speaker that I felt will help me in the classroom was Dave Burgess. He offered two sessions: Teach Like A Pirate, which explained his book and how he approached education in his classroom and Teaching Outside The Box, that covered how to use creative ideas in your classroom to harness student learning potential. One of his ideas was to capture trends and use them in your classroom rather than trying to ban them from school.  His examples included using fidget spinners for probability math problems, science experiments with data collection, writing exercises that focus on poetry for spinning, and learning about trends and inventions in social studies. His main message was to look at learning with lenses of opportunity rather than rules and rote memorization.