Category Archives: School Media Specialist

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

“Like” CMLE on Facebook – Chance to Win a Prize!

Did you know? CMLE has a Facebook account! We think Facebook is a great way to connect informally with one another. And, it’s easy — no muss, no fuss! Check out what CMLE has been up to, and provide comments and feedback, all while cruising casually through Facebook. What’s easier than that?

If you work at a library or media center in CMLE’s 12-county region (Aitkin, Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd, and Wright), “Like” us by November 9, 2012 for a chance to win a free Flip Your Classroom book, by Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams, (valued at $19.95, copyright 2012) or an Amazon gift card.

So, visit CMLE’s Facebook page today and click the “Like” button! The winner will be contacted via email after November 9th!

School Media Specialist

1:1 Snapshot Survey – Please Respond

The ISTE SIGIS group have put together a 1:1 survey that will be of great benefit to all of us as educators and advocates for 1:1 programs. Would you please either respond to this survey or send this along to the best person at your institution?

This 1:1 Snapshot Survey aims to inform educators about 1:1 initiatives and programs across the country.

The survey can be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/1to1TodayFall2012 and must be filled out by October 31, 2012.

CMLE will follow-up on this survey by providing a link to the results/summary in November.

General, School Media Specialist

We’ve Learned: Staffing News and Updates from Around the Region

We’ve Learned… is designed to keep our readers informed about news concerning personnel in CMLE libraries/media centers. Please keep us informed of any “happenings” regarding staff members in your area so that we can include them in the next write-up! Happenings can include: changes in staffing, awards, honors… you get the idea!

  • Angie Kalthoff is the new Tech Integrationist for District 742 (St. Cloud)
  • Be sure to send CMLE updates from your school or district as well! Send us an email or post in the comments area. We’d love to share them!
Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Victory for HathiTrust

Judge Harold Baer Jr., ruled on 10/10/12 that online library/book repository, HathiTrust, was operating within the the boundaries of fair use while digitizing and making available more than ten million works to online researchers around the world. This is a major boon for HathiTrust, as well as the five universities responsible for building the online repository.

The Author’s Guild along with several other entities and individual authors had filed a lawsuit in September, 2011 seeking to shutdown the HathiTrust due to “…the systematic, concerted, widespread, and unauthorized reproduction” of copyrighted material.

Those from the library world, fair use supporters, and advocates for the visually disabled applaud the Judge’s recent ruling, believing that the HathiTrust is for the greater good — making materials more accessible to researchers, allowing for different and new uses for materials, and for opening access to materials for the visually impaired.

This ruling could have great impact on future library digitization projects. Additionally, the outcome of this case is expected to have implications on fair use.

Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/22/12.

School Media Specialist

Recommended App: Nearpod

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Teachers are loving the iPad app, Nearpod. Nearpod allows teachers to add lesson content (like texts, images, and video) to pre-built slide templates, and then push the slideshow presentation to the entire class. The students then receive a student version of the presentation. This set-up allows teachers to set the tempo and pace of their lessons. One teacher from Miami said “It’s like Powerpoint on steroids.” Beyond just the slide sharing aspect, teachers also appreciate the interactive elements that the app provides — like tests, quizzes, polls, Q & A, and other assessment pieces mid-lesson. Another huge plus — a little red light appears on the teacher’s Nearpod screen when a student has navigated away from the slideshow. They’ll think you’re psychic!

Nearpod is free and is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 4.1 or later.

Learn more about Nearpod at THE Journal, 10/9/12 and at www.nearpod.com/