Category Archives: Public

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.

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

General, Public, School Media Specialist

Top Ten Things I Took Away from the Fall MEMO Conference: A CMLE Scholarship

The following report was submitted by a CMLE Scholarship recipient.

Submitted by: Debbie Disher, Holdingford High School and Elementary Media Centers

Balance is a matter of perspective and is temporary.  We need to embrace the ups and downs and the wobbles.

Data collecting library statistics doesn’t have to be that difficult.  Start simple!  Do it on a monthly basis and then it won’t be so overwhelming at the end of the year.

“Real Men Read” program really can be done and doesn’t require special things.  Using a regular digital camera, PhotoShop Elements or other editing software, a poster size printer (or a local print shop) and some willing men.  I am now in the process of working with our photography teacher to have students do these as an assignment.

Things to consider with ebook readers:  batteries, how to circulate, cataloging, siding audio with electronic text can be done.  Great River Regional Library just started using overdrive.

Who will be responsible for teaching social networking ethics to students if we don’t teach it at school?

Web 2.0 tools that I need to take another look at included:  Library Thing, Shelfari, and Polldaddy.

Thanks to the conference I am going to try to be a better blog follower.  Plans to pursue:  The Ubiquitous Librarian (Brian Mathews), Techno Tuesday (Cathy Nelson), The Unquiet Librarian (Buffy Hamilton).

Kelly Tenkely has a new Bloom’s Taxonomy visual that looks really neat.  http://ilearntechnology.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Screen-shot-2010-08-31-at-11.36.54-AM.png

Two Youtube videos worth sharing with staff:  Infowhelm and Information Fluency and A Vision of K-12 Students Today.

Great statistics were given in the session 21st Century Learner.  Such as:  A higher percentage of adults admit to sending and receiving text messages while driving than teenagers.  Another thought that was shared is that our children are growing up in a world of filled with multimedia messages, yet they receive little if any training on evaluating and understanding these messages.

All in all, a great conference with many excellent sessions.  Now to take the time to put some of these ideas in motion.