Springfield Township High School Library
library report SEPTEMBER, 2010
LIBRARY REPORT
VOLUME XI, ISSUE 1
Welcome back, colleagues! This is going to be an exciting school year and I am looking forward to working with all of you to integrate information and communication technologies, new and traditional information fluencies, and to encourage reading in all its growing and glorious variety. Nearly everyday I discover new tools to inspire our learners to create and communicate. Among them are the many new tools for digital storytelling. Here's a page I gathered for our summer Digital Storytelling Academy, and another page for digital publishing of traditional writing. Get ready, the Springfield Foundation will be sponsoring the first annual Digital Storytelling Festival this spring and our students must be ready to create and contribute. Let's work to see where digital storytelling might fit in your program.
Finding Documentary Films Check out our new Pathfinder for finding documentary films (http://only2clicks.com/pages/ joycevalenza/345904) also accessible from our Pathfinder menu. In addition to these videos, and those physically available in our collection, don't forget to use our streamed video databases: Safari Montage http://172.20.5.202/SAFARI/ montage/login.php (use your network login) and Discovery Education http:// streaming.discoveryeducation.com/ (see the password list for login information).
Academic Integrity Draft Please view this newsletter online on the Virtual Library: springfieldlibrary.wikispaces.com
to make the most of the shared hyperlinks!
New (and veteran) teachers Our library has so many resources that might help make your (first) year at Springfield even more successful. Please stop by and schedule some time for me to show you materials—on- and offline—that will help deliver your curriculum. You are not alone! I can also help you design instruction and assessments, integrate relevant new technologies, and partner with you as you teach!
Other new pathfinders include: (all are works in progress and would be improved by your suggestions!): Political Cartoons Avatar Makers Copyright-friendly portals International News Nations Google Tools Teaching Portals
During one of the summer academies, a team of your colleagues gathered to draft a tighter and more universal version of our Academic Integrity Policy. We'll need to do a bit more revising and we'll need to get Board approval. During class meetings this week, Jenn, Peggy, and I will prepare students philosophically for what we hope will be an improving climate/culture of honesty and offer students a preview. More to come on this story at an upcoming faculty meeting.
Turnitin.com Turnitin.com is an effective (and kinda green) tool for encouraging academic honesty. It is also a teaching tool. In addition to storing papers and allowing students and teachers to assess the originality of their work, the program offers features for grading student writing online, a customizable library of rubrics and drag-and-drop comments, and peer review options. The interface recently shifted to Turnitin2. I hope to train myself when the dust settles and offer support. Attached is a document that describes the updated program and shares our passcodes for signing up. The Turnitin Support page offers a variety of helpful print and video tutorials. It might be helpful to begin with the 4-minute Walkthrough video of Turnitin2.
Database (Bad & Good) News It's been a tough year in the database world. Due to belt tightening in Harrisburg, we lost many of the ACCESS PA POWER Library databases you knew and loved. While it doesn't completely compensate for those losses, I was able to negotiate a bit with our kind vendors and we got a few replacements. ProQuest (http:// proquest.umi.com/login) was kind enough to add three databases to our collection. You can search the combined interface, or, from the pulldown menu, you can search the combined interface, or, from the pulldown menu
ProQuest Education Journals (replacing the Professional Development Collection, leading fulltext journals in education and related fields) View titles AP Science (Advanced scientific and medical periodicals View titles ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry (business, economics, trade and industry journals) View titles Career and Technical Education (Vocational and technical periodicals covering all aspects of the Vo/Tech curriculum) View titles
The site currently hosts: Marie Kitto's history of our Township four short video tours of Township sites three oral histories local news feeds relevant ebooks websites relating to the Township
Back in June, with the help of several LEEP students, we began to build Virtual Springfield (http:// virtualspringfield.ning.com) The new network could turn into a valuable resource for archiving our community's rich history and culture. We welcome your contributions!
Opposing Viewpoints In Context (contextual information and opinions on hundreds of today's hottest social issues, drawing from the Greenhaven Press series) Science In Context (contextual information on hundreds of today's most significant science topics) Student Resources In Context (contextual information on a broad range of topics, people, places, and events.) BTW, if you use Gale databases on a regular basis, and you have an iPhone or iPad, consider getting the free app-AccessMyLibrary: School Edition from the app store. I'll help you set it up. AccessMyLibrary (regular edition) offers access to public library resources.
ProQuest Education Journals (replacing the Professional Development Collection, leading full-text journals in education and related At
Virtual Springfield
From Gale we received:
If Virtual Springfield connects with your program in any way, please consider helping us build. We could use additional oral histories, written work, digital stories, photographs, and so much more! Student voices would be most welcome.
Wednesday Night @the Library The library will be open on Wednesday nights, from 7—9 PM, beginning September 22nd. Honor Society peer tutoring will begin in October, at a date TBA. This is a perfect time for students to work on group projects, use our tech resources, or focus on getting some work done in an academic environment. Please let your students know our evening hours and services.
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LIBRARY
REPORT
VOLUME XI, ISSUE 1
What’s attached? Attached to this newsletter you'll find: our current password list: use this to access our databases from home. Consider making copies for your classes. the Instructor's Quickstart Guide to Turnitin2. Check the first page for your Account ID and Join password. From there you will be prompted to create your own login/user profile. our journal list. Use this list to participate in our Current Awareness
service. You can request the tables of contents of new issues of your favorite journals by checking titles on this form. We will send you those tables of contents as the journals arrive. Circle the titles of articles you'd like and we'll get them back to your mailbox. information and registration information about the Newspapers in Education (NIE) program.
a PowerPoint presentation on effective use of NoodleTools with learners
You are not alone! Need a few new ideas? As I discover new tools for learning, I regularly share them on our NewTools wiki. Please feel free to use this wiki as your own sandbox! Feel free to stop by for a brainstorming session!
Miscellaneous library stuff . . . Please help us manage crowds during busy class visit times by limiting the number of drop-in students you send to the library to five or six. Please also call first to see if space is available. (Our extensions: 2501, 2023, 2502) And please send those students with a pass. If you have any transfer-in students, let me know and encourage them to set up a time for an informal orientation session. I’ll get them up-to-date on wikis, and digital storytelling, and databases, and documentation and anything else they may have missed outside our District.
Looking forward to working with you and your learners!
joyce