Image by Sergey Galyonkin. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.
Gaming programs are growing in some libraries across the United States. In ALA’s blog The Scoop, Brian Mayer wrote an article detailing how he facilitated game creation, with students, using classroom curriculum. Mayer is a gaming and library technology specialist at the Genesee Valley (N.Y.) Educational Partnership. When creating this game-based type of makerspace, he focuses on “…demonstrating concept understanding and mastery throughout the design process and in the finished product.” This work is accomplished in collaboration with classroom teachers and the school librarians. Find out more about how Mayer engages and empowers youth in Creating Game-Based Makerspaces, (July 2013.)
Note: Interested in incorporating games in your learning process? Read the related article, How to Gamify Your Classroom (October 2013), in which the author decodes how you can win students over in five simple levels.
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;
Facebook Guide for Educators: A tool for teaching and learning, made available online by The Education Foundation 2013. Click here to download the pdf.
Registration is open for the TIES conference Fast Forward: Transforming Pedagogy with TechnologyDecember 14-16thin Minneapolis, Minnesota. Focused on technology based educators, Fast Forward will highlight tools and resource solutions to incorporate into existing teaching methods. Conference keynotes will be internationally acclaimed speaker Marc Prensky writer, consultant and innovator (Monday) and on Tuesday international expert Mizuko “Mimi” Ito, cultural anthropologist.
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.
Information in this post was provided by Laurie Conzemius, MEMO.
The MEMO Fall Conference, It’s About the Learning, is being held on Oct 3-5 at St. Cloud’s River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Each year attendees comment that the sessions at this conference, more than any other they attend, support their work in schools and provide the tools and training they need to do their job.
As teacher librarians we share a love of books and authors. For those of you able to attend, Thursday evening will feature a new special event, Journey of a Young Adult Book: From Writer to Reader. Dr.Heidi Hammond from St. Catherine University will moderate a discussion with young adult authors Carrie Mesrobian and Mary Losure, along with Carolrhoda Lab’s educational director Andrew Karre and Red Sofa Literary agent Dawn Fredrickson. Mary Casanova, featured Minnesota author, will delight us with a Saturday luncheon keynote address.
Both Joyce Valenza and Stephen Abram, recognizable names for those working in school libraries, focus on integrating technology in all aspects of education.
Keynote speaker Steve Hargadon, host of the Future of Education interview series and creator of the Classroom 2.0 social network, also has a strong connection to school libraries. Their keynote sessions are certain to inspire you, and Joyce and Minnesota’s own Doug Johnson will be hosting a “unconference” format for our Saturday breakout sessions. This format allows attendees to tailor the conference sessions to their own needs, and will be certain to provide you with a wealth of knowledge and a list of connections for your professional learning network.
Several Minnesota authorswill be on hand throughout much of the conference to share their stories, offer autographed copies of the books, and provide information about their interest in school visits and other communication with students and libraries.
Breakout sessions of interest to K-6 library media specialists include iRead at the eLibrary; Minnesota Youth Reading Awards; Literary Rotations with a Technology Twist; Books for Teaching the MN Native American Standards; 2013 Mackin BookTalk Live!; Information Literacy: The Transition; Be Essential – and Convince Others that You Are; Younger American’s Reading and Library Habits Report; and much more!
Breakout sessions of interest to secondary media specialists include: YouTube (Your Channel/Your Resources); iRead at the eLibrary; Research Collaboration Librarian & Teacher; Research Projects and EasyBib; Supporting the New MN 6-8 Social Studies Standards; Online Information Literacy – Creating Effective Search Strategies; How Twitter Changed my Professional Life; Books for Teaching the MN Native American Standards; Teaching and Learning with Graphic Organizers; 2013 Mackin BookTalk Live!; Information Literacy: The Transition; Be Essential – and Convince Others that You Are; Tech Tools for Reading & Writing in content Areas; Younger American’s Reading and Library Habits Report; and many more!
