Category Archives: Public

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Language Learning Courses for 60 Languages Now Available at GRRL Libraries

Pronunciator, the world’s largest language learning service, is now available free of charge at Great River Regional Library (GRRL). Through the library’s subscription, cardholders have access to Pronunciator at all 32 library locations and also from home.

Learners can choose from 60 languages in the Pronunciator database, including European languages, Arabic, Chinese, Croatian and Hebrew. Language learning through Pronunciator is self-guided and interactive with options for both written and spoken language. Users simply enter their native language, choose a language they want to learn, then select a unit and lesson. Three thousand courses are available with three million online lessons and a range of learning levels. The service also has 45,000 hours of MP3 files that users can download for learning on the go.

•             Pronunciator’s first level provides important vocabulary

•             the second provides important verbs in conjugation

•             the third combines them into simple sentences

•             the fourth includes phrases for tourists and travelers

•             the fifth is a virtual conversation mode.

A library card is required in order to establish an online account with Pronunciator. Computers are available at all GRRL locations. Please contact your local library to obtain a library card and determine local procedures for reserving computer time.

Great River Regional Library (GRRL) provides library services at 32 public libraries in Benton, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright Counties. It provides Central Minnesota residents with nearly 1 million books, CDs and DVDs, 250 public computers, programming and information services.

Contact: Karen Pundsack

Patron Services Coordinator

320-650-2516

Public, School Media Specialist

Explore the Magical World of Harry Potter

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Author J. K. Rowling launched the Harry Potter Reading Book Club for young readers in July. The website, sponsored by Rowling’s US publisher, Scholastic, is intended as a resource to help teachers and parents encourage children to read. The site includes a guide for everything about the boy wizard, an overview of the series of Harry Potter and information about the author. New activities will be added to the site every month.
Click Here to Visit Harry Potter Reading Club Website
Click Here to Visit Harry Potter Website
Click Here to Visit J. K. Rowling’s Website

Plus: J. K. Rowling will appear in a live global webcast on October 11, 2012, from Edinburgh, Scotland, in which she will speak with her fans about the magical world of Harry Potter. Scholastic describes the webcast as a “live virtual author visit to classrooms.”
Click Here for More Information About Global Webcast

Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

WebJunction News

As the new academic year approaches, WebJunction has provided new “Office of Mac” courses plus an interesting list of Webinars.

New Office for Mac Courses
WebJunction has added five new Outlook and four new PowerPoint for Mac courses. You’ll find these listed under Microsoft Office for Mac 2011.

Outlook for Mac 2011:

  • Getting Started
  • Managing Contacts
  • Managing Conversations and E-mail
  • Mastering E-mail
  • Scheduling with the Calendar

PowerPoint for Mac 2011:

Getting Started

Adding Simple Presentation Enhancements

  • Animations and Presentation Tools
  • Using Media Files in a Presentation

New Digital Inclusion Resources
The Digital Inclusion section is growing! Here’s what’s new:

§  The most recent addition comes from Mary Ann Van Cura, Minnesota State Library Sevices — a case study of efforts in Minneapolis to conquer the digital divide: Everyone Connected, Everyone Informed in Minneapolis.

§  Digital Communities Leadership Summit in St. Paul is an overview of the summit that was a key part of our IMLS-funded project.

§  The Twitter feed for #digitalinclusion is always new. Just today, WebJunction staff noticed a tweet about the new Internet Essentials Learning Center—check it out.

And, August-October WebJunction Webinars

Telling the Library Story

Thursday, Aug. 23, noon Central, 60 min

Registration: http://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/Telling_the_Library_Story.html

Learn how to tell a succinct, powerful story about the value of libraries. Based on OCLC’s “From Awareness to Funding” and the latest findings of brain research, this session focuses on turning the evidence of our daily patron encounters into short, compelling, and memorable messages that build support.

Presented by: Jamie LaRue, director, Douglas County Libraries (CO), blogger, and chair of committee who created The Big Hairy Audacious Goal, a public library advocacy initiative.

Engaging Your Whole Community: Principles and Practice to Influence Policy

Thursday, Sept. 6, 1 p.m. Central,60 min

Registration: http://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/Engaging_Your_Whole_Community.html

AmericaSpeaks is a U.S. nonprofit that wants to increase citizen engagement and participation in government decision-making by bringing together diverse participant groups to represent broader community interests. Learn how to create community engagement around library-led initiatives such as digital inclusion and gain facilitation skills to help build healthy, prosperous and cohesive communities. The presentation will provide examples of effective tactics for reaching even those who often do not participate because of limited access to and familiarity with new technologies.

Presented by: Steve Brigham, President, and David Stern, Director of Online Engagement, AmericaSpeaks

Best Small Library in America 2012

Tuesday, Sept.11, 1 p.m. Central, 60 min

Registration: http://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/Best_Small_Library_in_America_2012.html

Library Journal’s annual Best Small Library in America Award, cosponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was created in 2005 to encourage and showcase the exemplary work of libraries serving populations under 25,000. In collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries and Library Journal, we are pleased to host this webinar featuring the 2012 Best Small Library in America: Independence Public Library. The multi-award-winning library’s staff of eight serves a population of 13,420 through innovative programs and partnerships, leveraging social media and the Geek the Library campaign for sustained marketing and advocacy efforts. Using a participatory management style and collaborating with other Kansas libraries, along with others in their community, IPL has reached out to individuals and partners to deliver programs and services that bring the community into the library. The session will include an overview of the nomination process and details for next year’s award.

Presented by: Julie Hildebrand, IPL director; Lily Morgan, director, Learning Resource Center at Independence Community College; and Francine Fialkoff, editor-in-chief, Library Journal.

Incubate leadership @ your library

Tuesday, Oct. 16, 1 p.m. Central, 60 min

Registration: www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/incubate_leadership_at_your_library.html

Effective leadership in a library community is not performed by any one person. Instead, it is a collective act of many players contributing their toolset of complementary and evolving skills. Leadership “incubates” best in an environment nurtured by collaborative and continuous learning; it often grows accidentally, sometimes unbeknownst to the leader-to-be. Through peer mentoring and other methods, explore ways to create a generative space that nourishes the infectious qualities of leadership. Develop a network of seasoned learners who will incubate leadership, both within your library and in support of the broader community, collaboratively building and leading a rich and fulfilling learning organization.

Presented by: Jennifer Peterson, Community Manager, WebJunction|OCLC, Board Member, ARSL, and 2011 LJ Mover & Shaker

Freedom Rings in Philadelphia: community technology adoption

Thursday, Oct. 25, 1 p.m. Central, 60 min Registration:

 Early registration:  http://www.webjunction.org/events/webjunction/Freedom_Rings_in_Philadelphia_webinar.html

The Freedom Rings Partnership is a digital inclusion initiative funded by Federal stimulus monies. We are bringing Internet access, computer assistance and digital opportunities to Philadelphians with the least access to broadband. Comprised of a coalition of grassroots organizations, government, and universities, we proudly count People’s Emergency Center and the Free Library of Philadelphia as Managing Partners in this city-wide effort. Extending beyond the library and traditional organizational walls, our public-computing centers—KEYSPOTS—are located in community organizations that have the trust of their constituents; technology access is a complimentary asset to their diverse missions. Learn how to develop sustainable partnerships and adapt this model to meet your community technology adoption needs.

Presented by: Jennifer Donsky, Public Services Technology Library Coordinator, The Free Library of Philadelphia; and Lorelei Shingledecker, Program Manager, Broadband Technology Opportunities Program at People’s Emergency Center

Sincerely,
WJMN Team

Cecelia Boone, Minitex

Mary Ann Van Cura, State Library Services

Explore: http://webjunction.org/partners/minnesota!Follow Us: http://twitter.com/webjunctionmn! Contact Us: mnwebjunction@gmail.com!

Affiliation with WebJunction Minnesota is free and available to members of the Minnesota library community. Tell your colleagues!

The Institute of Museum and Library Services, a Federal Agency that fosters innovation, leadership and a lifetime of learning, in conjunction with State Library services, a division of the Minnesota Department of Education, which administers federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grants, supports the WebJunction Minnesota project.

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Evaluating Educational Apps

By billsoPHOTO
http://tinyurl.com/c5ar6dd

Have you ever wondered if you should be evaluating apps before you begin using them with your students? The question is certainly valid, and one that others in the field have been pondering as well. Independent Consultant, Tony Vincent, author of the Learning in Hand blog and former teacher, recently wrote a blog post on this very topic http://tinyurl.com/72gnytk. Here, Vincent provides an app evaluation rubric and explains that others before him asked the same question – he provides a bibliography of sorts for app evaluation. Vincent credits Harry Walker, Doctoral student from Johns Hopkins University, for first developing an app evaluation rubric and Media Specialist, Kathy Schrock (a MEMO Conference Keynote Speaker!), for later adapting and editing the rubric.

So, what are some key pieces of information to keep in mind when evaluating apps? First, is the app relevant and does it instill or reinforce what your students need to know? Is the content appropriate for the age group? Are there advertisements – and how easy is it to accidently click on an advertisement? Can the app’s settings by customized to vary according to the individual’s or learning cohort’s needs? Has the app been updated recently? Does it promote collaboration and critical thinking? These are just a few questions to consider asking when evaluating an app.

What are some things you and your teachers consider while evaluating apps? Do you evaluate them, or do you tend to choose what is used based upon recommendations, what you can find through a basic search through the iTunes store, by price, or by teacher requests?

This topic is one CMLE staff is currently stewing on, and hopes to possibly explore further in the future. Media specialists and librarians are masters at evaluation and at creating and utilizing rubrics effectively. As such, this could be an important new role for media specialists working with teachers, as well as for librarians in a number of other settings. It is our role to inform others on how to ask the important questions about the resources we’re using – why should apps be any different? Be on the lookout for more on this topic from CMLE in the near future! Hopefully you’re excited to explore it with us too!

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Education and Broadband Access

“[Broadband is]… just as important as having electricity and water. It’s really become a core component of the whole business of delivering instruction and also managing school districts.” …This according to TIES Technology Integration Development and Outreach Facilitator, Mary Mehsikomer, in a recent St. Cloud Times article regarding the importance of broadband connectivity in education. The article goes on to explain that parents may have thought that a dial-up connection was enough, but now dial-up connections are not robust enough to handle the type of information that students are required to access online. But, it’s not just at home; some rural schools and colleges are facing the same problem as households. Some district budgets simply cannot afford high-speed connectivity. Due to this difficulty, some schools have now joined forces via the Minnesota Educational Technology Network. The network strives to improve access to broadband in rural areas. It allows for the cooperative purchase of internet access and video services to rural schools and libraries. This network of rural schools and libraries effectively has greater buying power than each institution on its own. A few institutions in the network have even begun the cooperative sharing of servers or IT departments.

In addition to seeking out cooperative arrangements, schools and libraries may also be interested in securing grants to support their technology needs and updates. Locally, a $4,000 grant was received by the Foley School District from the Blandin Foundation’s MIRC Program for the installation of additional wireless units in the schools for school and community use.

At the college-level, there may be even greater need for high-speed connectivity. With the boom in online courses and fully online programs, high-speed connectivity for college students is essential. Vi Bergquist, Chief Information Officer at St. Cloud Community and Technical College, says “Internet access has gotten so vitally important for college students. It’s almost a must.” Bergquist goes on to explain that there’s often an assumption (especially at larger metropolitan campuses) that all students will have a device and access to high-speed connectivity — but that’s a dangerous assumption. Bergquist explains that there are still students that don’t have this access, and students that simply don’t understand the technical requirements for taking online courses.

With demand will ultimately come greater access to connectivity and high-speed providers. James Koenig, Director of IT Services at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, explained that already “…there’s enough [provider] competition in the area that we can buy from a local provider”. This is certainly a move in the right direction!