Category Archives: School Media Specialist

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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.

School Media Specialist

Children’s Literature Workshop Recap: A CMLE Scholarship

The following was submitted by a CMLE scholarship recipient.

 Submitted by: Jenny Hill, St. Michael Elementary School Media Specialist

On June 25th and 26th, I had the privilege of attending the 33rd annual Children’s Literature Workshop thanks to a generous scholarship from Central Minnesota Libraries Exchange.  This year, the conference changed venues and was held on campus at St. Cloud State University instead of the Holiday Inn as it has in the past.  The conference featured two key note speakers, Jacqueline Briggs Martin, author of the Caldecott Award winning book Snowflake Bentley and MN Newbery Honor winner Margi  Preus who wrote The Heart of a Samuri.

My favorite part about attending conferences such as these is gaining the opportunity to hear authors talk about the creative writing process.  Martin stressed that writing is challenging for everyone—it’s just that authors don’t mind doing the work.  Preus agreed.  She shared her beliefs that she herself is not a good writer, but she is good at rewriting and loves the work she does as an author.  This reminded me of what MN author John Coy wrote in his 2012-2013 Maud Hart Lovelace nominated book Top of the Order.   “The word RE VISION is a very simple word with two parts…it means to see again” (2009, p. 144).  I was reminded after hearing these authors speak that much of the work of writing is that of re-visioning:  examining stories from multiple angles until a story comes into focus.

Another thing I enjoy about the Children’s Literature Workshop is having the opportunity to learn from presenters during break-out sessions.  This year I attended a session about Google Lit-Trips.  I hope to project Google Earth on my SMART board in the media center this year to help students gain a stronger sense of the setting of their books.

I also attended a session on the award winning books of 2012 including Jack Gantos’ Newbery winner, Dead End in Norvelt, and Chris Raschka’s book A Ball for Daisy, which won the Caldecott.  I aim to promote this books this year on our school news broadcast during a segment that I created called Book Talk Tuesday.

 Finally, I attended a session where I learned how to create text sets, or groupings of books around a similar theme or genre.  I think that grouping texts in this way, whether through displays in the school library media center or through lists of recommended titles, will help readers discover their next great book!

Want to attend the Children’s Literature Workshop next summer?  It will be held on June 17th and 18th at SCSU!

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!

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

24th Annual Minnesota Book Award Winners Announced

On April 14th, nearly 800 people attended the Minnesota Book Awards Gala. During the event, winners in eight categories were selected and acknowledged, along with the Readers’ Choice Award. The nine winners include: BookSpeak! Poems about Books by Laura Purdie Salas for Children’s Literature, Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Lawsuit on Science in America by Shawn Lawrence Otto for General Nonfiction, Big Wheat by Richard A. Thompson for Genre Fiction, A Song at Twilight: Of Alzheimer’s and Love by Nancy Paddock for Memoir & Creative Nonfiction, Pioneer Modernists: Minnesota’s First Generation of Women Artists by Julie L’Enfant for the Award for Minnesota, The Law of Miracles and Other Stories  by Gregory Blake Smith for Novel & Short Story, Whorled by Ed Bok Lee for Poetry, With or Without You by Brian Farrey for Young People’s Literature, and The Tanglewood Terror by Kurtis Scaletta for the Readers’ Choice Award.

More information about the award winners and finalists can be found at http://www.thefriends.org/programs/mnbookawards/award_winners_and_finalists.html.

Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees!

Happy reading, Minnesota!