Tag Archives: PersonalLearningNetwork

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Do you work in a learning organization?

photo-1459623837994-06d03aa27b9bA recent article in American Libraries Magazine caught my eye, and reflects what I believe about continuing education for ALL library staff. With change happening so fast, all library staff need to feel confident in their skill set,  and engaged in staying current in order to be relevant to library users.

The conclusion to the full article by Meredith Farkas nails it….”Professional development doesn’t have to cost a fortune, but it does require time. And library administrators must consciously choose to make this investment. It benefits individuals and connects them more to the profession, and all that learning comes back to enrich the organization. A learning organization is always improving, and that can’t happen without an intentional investment in professional development.”

CMLE provides low or no-cost events and also offers scholarships to attend events other than what CMLE offers. Need a substitute so you can attend an event? No problem….this is an allowable scholarship expense. Take a look to see how easy it is to apply for a scholarship now in order to keep sharpening your skill set!

Patricia-

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/a7HJsX8HiuM (Josh Felise), licensed under CC0 1.0
Academic, Check this out:, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

Educator Finds Twitter Rewarding!

In her blog Canadian teacher, Lisa Noble, lists three very different ways Twitter made a difference in her life.  1) Among her peers she was able to stay connected with the latest labor union news.  2) In her class the students are able to view real-time images and information feeds sent from astronaut Chris Hadfield’s during his amazing space expedition. 3) After hearing about a science project, through her Professional Learning Network (PLN), Lisa tweeted about the need to find a less expensive alternative for materials her family could use to create electrically powered inventions. You may be surprised at how “tweets” rewarded her. Click here to read more.

License Some rights reserved by autumn_bliss
License Some rights reserved by autumn_bliss
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!

Academic, Public, School Media Specialist

Report about Real Learning Workshop: A CMLE Scholarship

1 Comment

The following report was submitted by a recipient of our new CMLE scholarship program.

Real Learning for the Real World

Submitted by Laura Mackenthun

What does it mean to be a “librarian” in the 21st century?  How do we explain our positions and responsibilities to our administrators, teachers, public?  How do we share/collaborate with other media specialists?  How do we learn, keep up with, integrate all of the new information that is available?

At the Real Learning for the Real World workshop held in Alexandria on January 25, Buffy Hamilton, a practicing school media specialist from Canton, Georgia  suggested multiple technologies that may address these questions: podcasts, rssfeed aggregators, twitter, social bookmarking, social networks, wikis, blogs, flickr, ning, video/webstreaming—-most are free or minor cost.

One of her strongest suggestions for media specialists is that we create a Personal Learning Network—using Google Reader/iGoogle–to collect resources to from which we can find information, resources, and inspiration from the many people who share their “worlds” online.    With the Google Reader or another rss reader, one can find multiple perspectives from many diverse voices for anytime, anywhere learning.  When others update, among other things, their blogs, web pages, or wikis, the Google Reader will aggregate all of that information into one easy to read location—taking out the time it takes to go out and check for newly added information.

Buffy’s web site provides a vast array of information on ways to get started building ones own Personal Learning Network and also ways to consider integrating Personal Learning Networks for students.  http://theunquietlibrary.libguides.com/pln

Her web site also lists many options for creating Research Pathfinders for use with students/classes.  These allow a variety of types of online information to be displayed on one page.  Some of the online resources presented to use as Information Portals were Pageflakes, Google sites, and netvibes. Examples and instructions for each of these are also available at Buffy’s web site.