Category Archives: Services

CMLE, Services

Want to try something new in your media center? Apply for a CMLE mini-grant!

We get pretty excited at CMLE about the new technology, programs, and makerspaces that have made their way into school libraries and media centers over the past few years. We also know that trying out new ideas may not always be in your library’s budget.

That’s why we started CMLE’s Mini-Grant service!

Last year we awarded six of these mini-grant awards, in amounts up to $300. You can read about the past recipients and their marvelous success on our website. From books about empathy to coding robots, you’ll see the possibilities are endless!

Maybe you got some inspiration for a new tool you’d like to try from a conference you attended this fall? Maybe you finally feel ready to try a new idea you’ve been thinking about for months? Read through our parameters for the mini-grants here, and then fill out an application!

As always, contact us with any questions at admin@cmle.org.

Guest Blogger, School Media Specialist, Services

CMLE Mini Grant: Dash and Dot Robots

This is a guest post from Amy Serbus, Media Assistant at the Kimball Elementary School Library. Need a Mini Grant to purchase materials or try an interesting new program at your library? Apply today! 

Students at KES have had a lot of fun playing with and learning coding from our new robots, Dash and Dot! Through various apps on an iPad, they are learning to program the robots to communicate with each other and perform tasks such as bringing messages to their teacher, play the xylophone, tell jokes on command and so much more. When using the apps, students can program, or code, the robots by connecting blocks with specific commands. For example, if you want Dash to tell a joke, you start with a block that tells him to “wait”, then listen for voice command of knock, knock, then say “who’s there”, etc. It teaches students the basics of coding and how specific and important each step is.

Resources, Services, Training

Check out this webinar: Revitalizing Library Volunteer Engagement

Webinar-m

So many libraries now use volunteer – parents, people doing community service, teens, seniors, and more. It’s great to take a few minutes here to think about some strategies to bring in volunteers to help with meaningful tasks in the library, so you can spent time focused on your patrons!

Check out this free webinar from WebJunction. (And while you are there, browse around some of their other offerings! They have all kinds of free classes and webinars available for you to check out on your own time, to be sure you stay current with the skills needed to best serve your community.)

“This webinar explores new trends in library volunteerism and presents practical steps to recruit skilled volunteers to help grow your community of library advocates and supporters.

Library volunteerism is evolving. Gone are the days of looking for tasks to keep your volunteers busy. Libraries are now enlisting high impact volunteers who are bringing unique skills and expertise to enhance the library’s mission. Join us to learn how you can harness the power of skilled volunteers in your community and hear success stories of innovative volunteer engagement in libraries of all sizes and budgets.

Participants in this webinar will learn how to:

  • Identify what motivates potential local and virtual volunteers and how to ensure the right fit
  • Utilize skilled volunteers at the library
  • Design volunteer job descriptions and targeted recruitment plans
  • Earn staff buy-in and other strategies for successful volunteer engagement

Volunteers can be your strongest advocates, helping you gain funding and recruit human resources. This webinar will help libraries and library groups revitalize volunteer engagement and grow their community of advocates and supporters.

Presented by: Carla Lehn, principal consultant of the Lehn Group, former Library Programs Consultant of California State Library, and author of the new book, From Library Volunteer to Library Advocate: Tapping into the Power of Community Engagement.”

CMLE, Guest Blogger, Materials, Services

CMLE Mini Grant Report: Computer Science Tools for Elementary Classrooms

This is a guest post from Technology Integrationist Angie Kalthoff from District 742. Need a Mini Grant to purchase materials or try an interesting new program at your library? Apply today! 

The mini grant I applied for was to purchase a variety of tools to help bring Computer Science (CS) into elementary classrooms.
I am excited to report that they were a success! I was able to purchase many board games and use them in classrooms before the end of the school year and at our local CoderDojoGRRL.

Here are a few items I would like to highlight!

Robot Turtles Extension Pack

I already had purchased the Robot Turtles game. Now, I was able to purchase the extension pack. Using the extension pack I am able to introduce more complex challenges as students progress through the game. In the image below, students are learning to play Robot Turtles.

Dash and Dot Learn to Code Challenge Card Set

We have sets of Dash and Dot in each of our elementary schools. Last year, I was able to work with amazing second grade teachers who created their own challenge cards which aligned to our second grade math standards. These challenge cards align with Code.org’s Computer Science Fundamentals A-F curriculum which we encourage our students to use in school and at home. The challenge cards are a great way to give kids freedom in their creation of code for Dash, while aligning them with skills they have learned about in Code.org! In this picture, we are exploring the cards at CoderDojoGRRL!

Coding Farmers

Coding Farmers is a game for kids seven and older. I used it in a first grade classroom. The goal of Coding Farmers is to “teach real programming concepts in a fun and intuitive way.” Students use cards and dice to move around the game board. A better description from their website is “action cards, which describe an action, like “move forward by two spaces” in two ways: regular English, and Java code. By playing the game several times, kids learn to connect their actions with written code. They become programming literate all while having a blast – rolling a dice, maneuvering around obstacles and chatting with their friends and family.”

Programs, Services, Training

Spotlight Program: Fake News 101

Digital literacy disciplines

At CMLE, we so enjoy all our different types of libraries, archives, and other members! Seeing all the work you are doing is so inspiring; and we want to return the favor by helping you to find some of the great programming going on around the profession.

Each week we will share an interesting program we find. It may inspire you to do exactly the same thing; or to try something related; or just to try out some different programming ideas.

This is such an important topic!!! And one that is increasingly crucial in all types of libraries! We will be offering a 2 hour class this summer, as part of our Summer Library Boot Camp series! Have lunch with us, get two hours of PD credit, and enjoy spending time with your colleagues who are also working to figure out the best strategies for developing great information literacy skills in their own patrons!

Training for Information Literacy
Tue. June 26

When people ask what we do in libraries, talking about Information Literacy will always be the right answer! In this session we will chat about the basics of Information Literacy, then talk about strategies for training different age groups and community groups. Identifying fake news is not a challenge; let’s help the communities we serve to understand the information that is both accurate and best for their personal needs!

REGISTER for Info Literacy HERE

 

This program model was written for the Programming Librarian website, by Diana Laughlin, Program Services Supervisor, and Kurtis Kelly, Communications Specialist, Estes Valley Library, Colo. Go check out that article for all the info!

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