Tag Archives: Education

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

Distance Learning: The Next Steps

Image by Nazzen. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons' licensing.
Image by Nazzen. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

Distance learning is often marketed as a way to meet diverse educational needs by offering course flexibility, accessibility, and program diversity. In an infographic, Career Graphics illustrates the evolution of distance learning starting as early as 1728; emphasizing key factors which influenced its transformation to what we know it as today. Some of these elements include the first correspondence courses and the introduction of new technologies such as the radio, television and internet.

In an article by Edudemic, author Nina Hassing eludes to the number of times employees change career paths as an important variable in the growing need to apply broader, analytical thinking skills. She stated, “Memorizing facts will have a much lower value, while utilizing information for analysis and decision making will be a critical skill for educational and professional advancement.“  This is used as the backdrop to discuss why the concept of distance learning needs to evolve. Hassing lists 9 ways in which this type of learning will continue to grow, why change is needed and her predictions for the future of distance education. Click here to read the full article, Why (And How) Distance Learning Needs to Change (August 2013.)

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

Social Media: History Lesson

Image by Jason A. Howie. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons' licensing.
Image by Jason A. Howie. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

Do you consider yourself to be a history buff? Would SixDegrees, Friendster and MySpace come to mind when you think about social media? In Trivial Pursuit, the 20th Anniversary Edition, it would probably fall under the category for  “Innovations.”

Take a moment and breeze through Matt Smith’s quick history lesson about start-ups that built the foundation to what we refer to today as “social media.” In his article, October 2013, Smith gives a nod to early innovations such as the BBS (Bulletin Board System) and IRC (Internet Relay Chat.)  These technologies predated the World Wide Web in the mid-90’s; opening a market for other platforms which ultimately bolstering sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest.  Smith predicts, “While Facebook is king, there’s still room for niche alternatives, particularly those that emphasis images or video rather than an infinitely updating news feed.” Click here to read the full article, Social Media: Did it really start with Facebook? [Geek History Lesson], MakeUseof.

Tip: CMLE often highlights ways teacher librarians can incorporate forms of social media into classroom and instructional processes. Here are two additional free resources for you to consider;

  1. Facebook Guide for Educators: A tool for teaching and learning, made available online by The Education Foundation 2013. Click here to download the pdf.
  2. 15 Cool Ways Libraries Can Use Vine to Create Social Videos by OEDb (July 2013.)
Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist

Positive News for Academic Performance in Minnesota K-12’s

Image by Phil Roeder. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons' licensing.
Image by Phil Roeder. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

As you may know, the MN Department of Education (MDE) has a new mechanism to measure schools across the state. The new rating system is said to be fairer, and a more accurate accountability system for schools. Why the change? This new system was put into place because Minnesota was granted a waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act. The long and short of the new system is to improve disparities in academic performance and positively impact a school’s performance in four categories: 1) Proficiency, 2) Growth, 3) Progress in closing the achievement gap, and 4) Graduation rates.

The three Multiple Measurement Rating (MMR) school designations include:

  • Reward Schools: The highest performing 15% of Title I schools in the state. Reward schools will be identified every year.
  • Focus Schools: The 10% of Title I schools making the biggest contribution to the state’s achievement gap. New listing of schools once every three years.
  • Priority Schools: The five percent most-persistently, low-performing Title I schools in the state. New listing once every three years.

MDE and the newly created Regional Centers of Excellence will recognize Reward Schools, and work closely with Priority and Focus schools by helping them create a school turnaround plan based on federal turnaround principles. They will also share best practices from reward schools. According to Commissioner Brenda Cassellius, The October 1 “…press  release is about the hard work taking place every single day in our schools to ensure the success of each child. “…It is because of the inspiring commitment, dedication and collaboration of teachers, support staff and school leaders that we are seeing improvements in our Priority and Focus schools.”

Read the full press release which includes a list of schools who have progressed out of their previous category (scroll down in the press release).

Other Resources:

Read a list of the 2013 Reward Schools

See a summary of 2013 MMR results

View a spreadsheet of all of the 2013 MMR results data

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

STEM Programming Specific to Libraries

Image by Chase_Elliott. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common's licensing.
Image by Chase_Elliott. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.

Looking for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S.T.E.M.) content?

SimplySTEM has created a wiki for librarians interested in additional STEM related content. This resource provides a collection of completed program plans including activities, print materials, and suggested links. Click here to view this online resource.

To learn more about STEM, go to Why STEM Education Matters for a four page summary developed by the National Math + Science Initiative.

Tip: You can also highlight your library’s completed STEM programming by becoming a ciki contributor on this site.

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

Teaching Advice

Image by Charles Jeffrey Danoff. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common's licensing.
Image by Charles Jeffrey Danoff. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Common’s licensing.

All librarians/media specialists teach! Some are assigned specific courses, others work with classes throughout the year and many collaborate  with other teachers to identify resources and develop appropriate curriculum.

Dawn Casey-Rowe wrote an article for new teachers sharing her experiences, and offering sound advice that is applicable for first year newbies to seasoned veterans. This post includes lists of resources and adoption tips; stressing the importance of mentoring, developing checklists, managing behaviors, etc.  Even more valuable may be the links to additional resources. Click here to read the full article,            10 Digital Resources for New Teachers (August 2013.)

Tip: A learnist board is a visual repository of articles and resources. While reading the 50 Different Bulletin Boards for Your Classroom, I navigated my way to a “how to” learnist board about writing. Click here to view the board.