The Scanner SIGMS Newsletter Volume 4, Number 2
Spring Issue March 2013
FEATURING
Teaching and Learning SIGMS provides a support network to school library media specialists and others in leadership positions who are working to promote the use of instructional technologies to enhance student learning. It provides a forum to consider and explore ways in which to best use existing and emerging technologies to improve and enhance teaching and instruction, student learning and management, helping students and teachers become competent, critical and ethical users of information. This newsletter is one way media specialists can share their knowledge with one another and anyone interested in instructional technologies. This issue introduces four tools of the trade used by media specialists.
In this issue: Message from SIGMS President
2
Message from SIGMS PD Chair
3
Giving Students What They Want—ebook Style
4
Education Unleashed
8
Paper Blogging With 4th 10 Graders—What Fun They Had! The Learning Commons 12
Message From SIGMS President Maureen Sanders Brunner SIGMS President Spring Break! A time for busy educators to step
Center Playground coordinator. In the near future,
back from the overfilled day-to-day work of
look for information about our swanky SIGMS
teaching and learning, get some well-deserved rest, Reception the SIG Open House - you don’t want and consider what is in store for the summer. And
to miss that annual photo-op session!
summer time often brings increased opportunities to concentrate on your own learning and
In the meantime, while you are still waiting on
professional development. For me, that means
snow to melt, days to get longer, and the academic
making plans for the
year to draw to a close,
ISTE annual conference.
this issue of The Scanner offers the busy school
For ISTE staffers and
library media specialist
SIGMS Leadership,
professional food for
spring means that plans
thought. Have you ever
for the ISTE 2013 are
wondered what it would
heating up, hopefully
be like to turn your
along with the
library into a learning
temperature outside. In this issue of The Scanner
commons? Is it time to start thinking about starting
we have provided updated information about many an e-text collection development project? Has a of our annual SIGMS events! Specifically look for
teacher asked you about using blogs as a way to
registration information for the annual SIGMS
integrate technology, common core, and content
Keynote and Breakfast Meeting and SIGMS
standards? What can you do to connect your
Forum. Those are ticketed events and often fill up
students with their global community without
fast! I know many of you may be hoping for an
spending a dime? These questions and more are all
opportunity to present and share at ISTE 2013. If
wrapped up for you in this issue of The SIGMS
so, pay close attention to the early call for
Scanner!
volunteers for the 21 st Century Media
Read. Relax. Enjoy. And think spring!
Update on SIGMS Professional Development Opportunities Jenifer Grossman SIGMS Professional Development Chair
Professional development can be hampered by Kimber Scarlett and Shelly Brievogel are both limited resources of time and money. SIGMS
Symbaloo Certified educators. In January 2013
recognizes the need to provide free online
they were the Spotlight Educators for
professional development for our community
Symbaloo's monthly series. During their 1
and therefore have joined forces with SIGILT
Tool @ a Time session they will introduce
to produce a series of 30- or 60-minute
Symbaloo, how to sign up for it and ways to
webinars every other month. These webinars
utilize it in the classroom for your professional
focus on Web 2.0 tools with educational
learning community (PLC) and students. You
applications. Classroom integration strategies
will also learn how to use it with parents and
are highlighted and time for discussion is
even how to become Symbaloo Certified!
provided after the presentation has ended. Some tools are available to the public for free; other applications require purchasing.
Join us as we share all the fabulous ways you can use Symbaloo in a classroom setting.
Currently, these webinars are accessed through
When: Tuesday, March 19th at 8:00pm ET /
Anymeeting. This Web 2.0 tools is free to use
7:00pm CT / 6:00 pm MT / 5:00pm PT
for any webinar or web conference with up to
To register: http://bit.ly/ZufzSF
200 attendees! However the free version is supported by advertising.
Past One Tool at a Time webinars can be accessed by following this link: http://1toolatatime.wikispaces.com/home
March’s Webinar will be about Symbaloo EDU and will be presented by Kimber Scarlett & Shelly Brievogel, who are 2nd grade teachers.
*Images found at ISTE sites
Webinars from November and January, recorded through Anymeeting, as well as upcoming webinar information, can be accessed here: http://www.anymeeting.com/ISTESIGMS
Giving Students What They Want — e-book Style Courtney Lewis Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School Kingston, PA Anyone working in a school library cannot help While studies of teens found many prefer but be bombarded by questions regarding the browsing shelves to find new reading material future of paper books in a library. While the
(with the library alongside the bookstore as
majority of professionals believe that books in the preferred place to find new reading), paper format will be around for quite a few
much of this research was conducted prior to
years, it’s an easy admission that electronic
the explosion of e-readers (Fitzgerald, 2009,
books (e-books) are becoming more common. p. 22). Shelf-browsing in libraries with fiction If there are enough electronic devices
sections arranged by author, is ineffective
available to access them, librarians like
when compared to bookstores arranged by
providing both print and e-books, with a
genre. The growing number of students using
growing tendency toward e-book purchases in Kindles and Nooks (to say nothing of iPads) for their recreational reading, have school research reference material. Searching individual names or keywords is an easier
librarians contemplating subscribing to
exercise than wading through an index! But
Overdrive (http://www.overdrive.com) to
the real dilemma regarding e-books comes in
provide e-books to this increased
the arena of recreational reading.
demographic. As librarians figure out how to best deliver ebooks to their patrons, we wish to recreate the serendipity of browsing the stacks or loafing through a bookstore. How do we help students find exactly the books they want, even when they don’t know they want it? The answer is in promoting those tools that are best able to help find exactly what they
Image found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ereaders.jpg
want to read. Supplementing physical
strong community of readers, which allows
browsing means creating an environment of
users to not only rate and track their personal
electronic browsing, and most librarians
reading, but participate in groups dedicated
would admit that our catalog is not the best
to a specific subject or genre. Participants
tool for the job. It’s surprising to see how few
can also follow their friends; a brilliant part of
students are aware of websites designed for
Goodreads, since data suggests that
readers.
recommendations from friends is the
Teenagers continue to get their recreational
lodestone for teenagers selecting new
reading recommendations mostly from
reading material. A thriving author presence
friends and family, followed by author
also satisfies the adolescent desire to find
websites and blogs, so it’s vital to let them
out the latest news about the next book to be
know that online recommendation sites exist published and what books the author reads. Goodreads is the premier source for tracking beyond the promotional selling tools like Amazon and Barnes & Noble (Fitzgerald,
a series’ reading order, particularly those
2009, p. 22).
pesky e-novellas or short stories between
With fourteen million members, the hands down favorite reader site is Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com). More than just a place to read reviews, Goodreads is a
installments. The interface is highly attractive, easy to navigate and the website’s ability to recommend books based on past ratings is uncanny. It is the best system there is!
specific work. While Shelfari links to Amazon (naturally) or Abe’s Books for a used copy, LibraryThing and Goodreads offers to search various online dealers for price comparisons Shelfari (http://www.shelfari.com) and
(including e-book formats) as well as major
LibraryThing (http://www.librarything.com) are library catalogs (WorldCat for Goodreads and two other popular book communities that
a host of your local libraries for LibraryThing).
focus on recommendations for readers. At
Goodreads alone offers the user the ability to
this point, the interface for LibraryThing is
customize where to find the book, deleting
becoming outdated and does not appeal to
sources never used. The Goodreads interface
teen users, although adults with large book
is easier to click through to complete the sale
collections might like the idea of buying the
or get more details about a library location.
$20 scanner and spending an afternoon
But how do we reconcile the library catalog,
zapping all their books into their account. Shelfari is more appealing, but has the commercial overtone of being directly attached to Amazon. For students heavily using the Kindle Fire they received for their
growing rich with e-books, with the increased
birthday, this could be a great tie-in. The
need for attractive reader recommendation
benefit of being tied to Amazon is that the
websites like these?
recommendation for future reads is blessed with Amazon-like accuracy. Groups and reviews are available and users able to search for friends on Shelfari by linking their Facebook and/or Twitter accounts.
As it always does, it comes down to a plea for vendors. Having a cataloging system that goes beyond the authority record in its interface is the beginning. While many catalogs now offer book covers and reviews,
Once a reader has found a book on one of
how about taking the next step and letting
these sites, the next question is “now what?�
patrons personalize their log on information
This is where Goodreads runs ahead of the
by linking their profile to their Goodreads,
pack by connecting interested readers with a
LibraryThing or Shelfari account? If a catalog
could actually suggest books to a student
References
based on their highly-rated books or the
Fitzgerald, C. (2009, October 26). What do
genre they read the most, the catalog would
teens want? Publishers Weekly, 256(43),
be used more (insuring a renewal of service), 22. Retrieved from ProQuest eLibrary the library items (print or electronic) would database circulate more, and the student would be more satisfied with the experience of finding a book statistically more likely to be exactly what he or she wanted.
Education Unleashed Jacqueline Liesch Head Librarian InterAmerican Academy Guayaquil, Ecuador Two months into my first year as an emergency-
the students’ study of water and continued to be a
certified library media specialist, my veteran mentor project for many years. teacher suggested that we connect classes when she traveled to the Bahamas to build libraries the
Another project that the district distance learning
following month. The idea was intriguing, so
coordinator headed is ‘Wisconsin History Mystery,’
naturally I presented the opportunity to classroom
held every year in May. This is tailor-made for the
teachers, who
fourth grade study of
enthusiastically agreed.
Wisconsin. Students
The next step was for our
across the state chose a
students to plan their
site of local prominence
presentation to the
and wrote clues that a
Bahamian students. They
partner class used to find
chose to share facts
the mystery location
about Wisconsin and the
through research.
United States. This seemingly simple
When I studied in South
invitation was the
Africa in 2010 as part of
beginning of a deep passion to connect students
my Master’s program, I was able to share the
across cultures. I have witnessed many cross-cultural experience with students in grades one through ten, connections since.
discussing cultural differences and the societal effect of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Now in my second year
Later that year, I facilitated connections between
as head librarian at an international school, I have
students in Wisconsin and experts and students in
had the wonderful opportunity to arrange interactive
Guatemala through the district distance learning
videoconferences with all grade levels and in many
coordinator who was there helping to build water
content areas.
tanks in small villages. This fit perfectly with
2.b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats 2.c. Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures Each videoconference is incredible and unique. Depending on the content and age group, they can be incorporated to enhance a variety of courses. With the plethora of resources available, it is easy to integrate these experiences into your instruction. Skype is a common tool to connect classrooms. Its ease of use allows for seamless integration. Their network of educators, Skype in the Classroom, is a wonderful resource where teachers can join existing projects and post their own. ePals is another resource to find possible classroom collaborators. Teachers can search by geographic area or subject. I have also used Kidblog, a safe site for blogging using authentic writing among students to enhance videoconferences. Interactive videoconferences meet many of the ISTE NETS standards for students: 5.a. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology 5.b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity 2.a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media
Jacqueline Liesch is currently the Head Librarian at InterAmerican Academy, a Nursery through Grade 12 international school in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Paper Blogging With The 4th Graders ‌ What Fun They Had!
Shannon McClintock Miller Teacher Librarian & Technology Integrationist Van Meter, IA
If you are looking for a perfect way to connect with
it. When they reach the end of the book, students
others online while covering some of the Common
will have created their very own blog post! The post
Core Writing Standards, then look no further than
can be printed for the next step in the activity.
bogging. Blogging facilitates connecting and collaborating with classmates and other young
In between creating blogs on the eBook and posting
people globally through
them online on Kidblog, our
writing, sharing, reading,
students created blogs on paper;
commenting, and even
they paper blogged! Students
responding to comments made
were encouraged to write about
on their posts. Continue
anything they thought their
reading to learn how we
classmates would be interested
prepared our fourth graders to
in hearing and learning about.
use Kidblog.
They also learned about commenting, what would make a
First, we introduced what a
comment meaningful and what
blog is and how to write and
would not.
comment on one. We used the new interactive
When students finished printing
eBooks from Rosen
their posts, it was time for
Publishing to work on creating a great blog post
sharing. We started by going around the room and
with text and images. Using one of the digital
reading all of the great blog posts. Then students
content creation tools within these eBooks, students
used sticky notes to make comments on their fellow
work through steps on each page to create a blog
students’ blog posts. It was so much fun watching
post. This really helps the students think about the
their excitement about which blog they were going
structure of a blog post, along with what makes one
to read next and their seriousness about the
interesting so others would be excited to read comments they were writing.
After about 30 minutes, the students returned to
social; students individualized their learning
their own blog post to read the comments their
while collaborating and creating together.
classmates had left stuck to their posts. After
The next step is to have the students make
they read the comments, the students took more
comments on the blog posts they created within
sticky notes and responded to the comments that the Rosen interactive eBooks. Then we will set were made on their blogs.
up their accounts on Kidblog so the students can post about themselves.
And something really awesome happened during Remember I mentioned the Common Core Standards? Here are the ones we covered: blogs again so they could respond to those W.4.2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and comments! It was so convey ideas and much fun to watch this information clearly. W.4.3. Write narratives happen on its own. The to develop real or level of engagement and imagined experiences or events using effective excitement during this technique, descriptive project was amazing. details, and clear event sequences. W.4.4. Produce clear With paper blogging, and coherent writing in which the development students got much better and organization are at writing an interesting hook-the-reader type appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. post; they also became comfortable sharing their W.4.5. With guidance and support from work and looking at the work of others with peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, confidence and care. and editing. W.4.6 With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the By the end of this project, 23 fourth graders internet, to produce and publish writing were excited about learning. It was so exciting as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient and inspiring to see what happened in the library command of keyboarding skills to type a that day. The successes were educational and minimum of one page in a single sitting. this part, too - they started passing around their
*This article was adapted from the blogpost by Shannon McClintock Miller. It can be found online at: http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.ca/2012/11/paper-blogging-with-4th-graderswhat-fun.html
The Learning Commons Catherine Vance Naomi Press Elementary McKinney, TX Libraries in McKinney Independent School
assist learning about new digital tools available for
District (MISD) transitioned into a Learning
the classroom.
Commons this year, paving the way for some extraordinary changes to our traditional classroom When creating such a storehouse of information, model. No longer just a repository for our print
inevitably there are issues to overcome. Where
and digital resources, the Learning Commons is
can we find enough web space to store the
expanding our concept of information acquisition. information? How will teachers access this information easily and efficiently? Twenty-first century learners have digital tools integrated into all aspects of daily life. The
Our solution came in
Learning Commons gives all learners a shared
the form of Safari
area to collaborate and interact with one another in
Montage. Although
meaningful ways, encouraging experimentation
we have used Safari
with new digital tools, investigating new ideas,
Montage for several
and developing new concepts.
years to access video resources, we have only recently utilized the Creation Station module,
As do many other schools, we embrace the
allowing us to store our video and print tutorials in
“flipped� model, encouraging teachers to create
a common area. Content can be tagged with grade
video tutorials and lessons for students to access
level, content descriptions, correlation to
online. Some teachers in the lower grades are
curriculum standards, etc., allowing users to locate
creating training videos to assist parents working
relevant content quickly. An example of our
with their children on specific concepts.
tutorials can be found at this link: www.tinyurl.com/MISD-Tutorial
Media specialists, the technology leaders in the district, are spearheading an initiative to provide both video and print tutorials for teachers to
At Naomi Press Elementary, several factors have expedited our ability to provide the digital
resources necessary to meet the needs of our 21st- “Penguin Palooza Digital Storytelling century learners. For instance, we were the
Contest.” (http://tinyurl.com/PPalooza) Second-
recipient of a grant that provided the equipment
grade students created digital stories in pre-
needed to create a student and staff Production
defined categories using any tools they had at
Studio.
their disposal.
Using the grant money, we purchased an Apple
Along with the digital storytelling, students also
computer with movie editing and DVD writing
used the production studio as a “Tweeting
software, a
Station” to share
camcorder,
collaboratively what
tripod, digital
they were learning
camera, two
about penguins. The
quality
hashtag
microphones,
#misdPPalooza came
storage devices
to fruition at Press
and media and
Elementary in a
production
second-grade design-
studio lighting.
team weekly
We converted a
meeting, which
former laptop closet into a Student Production
involved teachers, the media and instructional
Studio. The studio lighting was set up in our
specialists who design engaging, product-based
green room for producing videos with a chroma
lessons for the following week.
key effect allowing different backgrounds to be superimposed. Our first grade students utilized
The result was amazing. The media specialist
our green room for their recent “If I were
shared the hashtag with the district, inviting
president….” project.
others to join the conversation and began following some penguin experts. Soon, the
Our new production studio was most recently
hashtag was shared with schools around the
used for creating student projects in our district’s
country. This was a great learning experience
for our second graders as they interacted with
three years ago that provided one-to-one iPod
students and penguin experts globally.
Touches for all third through fifth grade students, and five iPads per classroom for grades K-2 in
The Press Elementary after-school “Movie
Title I schools.
Creating” club is also utilizing the Learning Commons’ green room and Student Production
This massive technology change brought hurdles
Studio. Press students are invited to join
to overcome: What is the best way to manage app
extracurricular clubs offered throughout the year,
purchases? How can we provide the bandwidth
to enrich their
necessary for
experiences in
this many
various fields.
devices? How
The movie
do we manage
creating club
updates on
allows
20+ devices
students to
per
experiment
classroom?
with both
We learned
recording and
that the Apple
editing video
volume-
creations.
purchasing
Once more
program is a
students
great way to
become experienced, they will be invited to use
purchase apps in quantities of 20 or more,
their skills to create video tutorials for other
allowing us to purchase apps at 50 percent off the
students on various topics.
regular price. We learned that “cloning” devices is the fastest and most efficient way to update,
Another factor that provided students with access
manage settings, set up folders, and add/delete
to digital product creation was a district grant
apps to a class set of devices.
*Images supplied by author
MISD is working on upgrading our bandwidth
small groups, and classes to visit at their own
capabilities in all schools within the next
convenience. Its distinctive features encourage
couple of years, as the budget allows.
collaboration, interaction and experimentation. These qualities work together in harmony,
As technologies advance and adapt to our ever- ensuring that all students and staff are effective changing needs, we, as digital pioneers and
evaluators, users, creators and communicators
leaders, will blaze the trail for our students,
of ideas and information, enabling them to be
teachers and support staff to effectively and
literate life-long learners.
efficiently utilize these tools for engaged learning.
Note: Images in this article contain an “Aura.” To see the Aura (augmented reality video),
The Learning Commons has an integral part to
download the free “Aurasma” app, search for
play as the nucleus, the hub of learning in our
Press Elem, and follow us to view our Aura
schools. Its flexible space allows individuals,
within the Aurasma app.
Find us on-line: sigms.iste.wikispaces.net/
Do you have something to share? Would you like to write an article for the newsletter?
SIGMS Newsletter Committee Shelley Friesen Jane Gorman Katie Kotynski Elaine Lawrence Jacqueline Liesch Larnette Snow Mary Carole Strother Karen Webb
Enter your proposal in the Google form: http://goo.gl/rdC4m
Authors of approved proposals will be contacted via email. Submit as many proposals as you wish, but be prepared to write them all! Next Edition:
Email SIGMS newsletter: sigms.newsletter@gmail.com
Pre-ISTE Conference Issue: June 2013
SIGMS Executive Committee Members
Maureen Sanders Brunner President Ball State University Muncie, Indiana maureenbrunner@me.com
Jenifer Gossman Professional Development Chair eLearning Coach, EVSC Evansville, IN jgossman123@gmail.com
Tiffany Whitehead President-Elect Central Community Schools Baton Rouge, LA twhitehead@centralcss.org
Lisa Perez Member at Large & Past-Chair Chicago Public Schools Dept of Libraries leperez1@cps.k12.il.us
Jennifer Hanson Communications Chair Primary Source Watertown, MA jennhanson9@gmail.com