September 2012 Volume 13 Issue 1
LIBRARY REPORT
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY
Welcome back, colleagues! I look forward to working with you and your classes this school year. Remember you always have a partner in planning instruction, integrating technology, implementing CCSS, assessing learning, reforming communication products, and simply brainstorming here at your library. Set up an appointment and we’ll plan together. I am excited about sharing new tools for inquiry, research, reading, curating and creatively communicating knowledge! NEW CREATIVE COMMONS LAB! At the end of June we launched our new Creative Commons lab. The kid-planned making space was funded by a generous memorial grant from the Altman family. It features five Macs, cafe-style seating, high-top tables, drawing tablets, a borrowable green screen, a large monitor, an expansive countertop workspace, network drops, and receptacles for charging. You are welcome to book this space for meetings or for collaborative projects and class work.
CHRISTINE’S ESL STUDENTS IN THE NEW LAB!
The graphic above represents just a few of our most popular databases! We have an impressive collection available for students and teachers. Our password list is attached to the print version of this newsletter. Please share it with your students. These collections of magazine, newspaper, and journal articles, ebooks, documents, and films make excellent content for student research needs, curriculum planning and for addressing the complex text requirements of the Common Core. Please encourage your students to take advantage of these resources when you assign and assess research. Please also let me know if you’d like a tour of the databases that would best support your learners and your own professional development.
LARGE MONITOR AND COUNTER-PERFECT FOR DEPARTMENT MEETINGS, PDE, STUDENT GROUPS!
Our Guides! Our Guides are growing. The Spartan Guides platform allows me to better highlight our database and e-book collections by discipline and by assignment and to present instruction, projects, and assessments.
Database & Research Portals Research Tools Current Events New Tools
For any project or any course, I would be happy Student projects to create a full Guide or a simple page for you! Please let me know if you’d like to be an editor For Teachers yourself and I will set you up with a login. TL Guides I’d like to also curate the many online student Young Adult Lit projects produced each year. So if you’d be Test Prep willing to share your online lessons, regardless of the platform, I’ll link to the Student Projects ESL Guide for easy access. Common Core Resources
“Lunch & Learns” I’d like to begin to host informaEon professional development sharing sessions in the new CreaEve Commons Lab during lunch.
I’ll be working with a few of our colleagues to design a schedule. Let me know of any tech-‐connected topics you’d be interested in teaching or learning more about.
Our library is portable! Did you know you and your students can carry our library in your pockets? Please try opening our mobile site (http:// sdst.libguides.com/mobile/1552)on your tablets and smart phones! Also don’t miss Gale’s fabulous AccessMySchool/AccessMyLibrary apps (http://www.gale.cengage.com/apps/). All of our Gale databases and ebooks are beautifully portable through that app with a one-time login. See the password list for the code or stop by and I will get you set up. The EBSCOhost apps is also available through the App Store and should work with the barcode number on the back of your public library card.
2012-13 JOURNAL HOLDINGS American Heritage Booklist Consumer Reports CQ Researcher Current History Economist Educational Leadership English Journal Essence Glamour Health Internet @ Schools Library Journal Library Media Connection Marie Claire National Geographic NY Times Upfront People Phi Delta Kappan Philadelphia Magazine Psychology Today Redbook Rolling Stone School Library Journal Seventeen Sports Illustrated Teacher Librarian Teen Vogue Time Voice of Youth Advocates We will be happy to send you tables of contents of current issues as they arrive!
Note: If you are reading this newsletter in print, remember that a clickable copy of this newsletter, minus passwords, is available on the Virtual Library: http:/springfieldlibrary.wikispaces.com
Some of my favorite summer discoveries: MentorMob (http://mentormob.com) allows users to individually or collaboratively create annotated media playlists of any content, either on your desktop or on the web. A great tool for assigned readings and activities, for flipping your classroom, and for student presentations. Present.me (http://present.me) A super-easy tool for converting PowerPoints into narrated videos by adding sound and/or video. Meograph: (http://www.meograph.com) This where and when approach to digital storytelling, allows users to integrate maps, timeline, links, and multimedia in their Web-based narratives. PowToon: (http://www.powtoon.com/) This presentation tool allows users to combine graphics, text and voice to create animated presentoons. Citelighter: (http://www.citelighter.com/) For organizing research, citing and highlighting documents.
Need some ideas for research products? I’ve significantly
updated my Fifty Wa ys to Leave your Term shared it as a Google Paper list and Doc. You can visit it here and please feel free to contribute your ow n best ideas.
A few of our subscriptions for teachers:
BrainPop: Brief videos and instructional activities across the disciplines. Teacher username: **************** http://www.brainpop.com/
ActiveHistory: Historical activities, games, and simulations. http://www.activehistory.co.uk/ User ID: ******************
Discovery Education Streaming: Curricular video and instructional tools now aligned to the Common Core http:// streaming.discoveryeducation.com/ Passcode: ********** (Then follow prompts and set up your own username and password)
Turnitin.com: Plagiarism prevention, online comments and grading, automatic rubrics aligned to the CCSS http://turnitin.com/ *********************
NoodleTools/NoodleBib: Integrated tools for note-taking, outlining, citation, document archiving/annotation, and collaborative research and writing. Have students share their work with you. http://www.noodletools.com/login.php
Shmoop: Please attached sheet for teacher and student logins for our premium versions of Shmoop. You may want to set up student accounts for these communication tools:
Looking forward to working and teaching with you soon!
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