Are School Librarians Part of Your PBL Dream Team? Visit schools where project-based learning (PBL) is taking hold and you are almost certain to see teachers collaborating. They may be meeting face-to-face to plan projects, using critical-friend protocols to improve projects, looking at student work together, or even teaming up virtually with project partners in other time zones. A key player to invite into these collaborative conversations is the school librarian or library media specialist. Their understanding of information literacy and digital citizenship can make a difference across the arc of projects. How and when might school librarians contribute to PBL? At the project planning stage: At the design stage, ask librarians for specific feedback on project plans. Creating anticipation: If librarians know about upcoming projects, they can help to spark curiosity even before launch day. Guiding research: Because inquiry is at the heart of PBL, student questions guide the learning process. Build Your Connections
Authors on Twitter Using Social Media as a Professional Learning Tool Whether you’re new to Twitter or have 5,000 LinkedIn connections, one thing’s for sure: social media keeps getting more popular and more powerful. If you haven’t used it for your own professional development, what are you waiting for? Too overwhelming? We get that. To help you start, we gathered advice from some expert users. “Diigo + Twitter delivers a powerful one-two punch. “Let’s say you found a blog post about using Google Maps to help teach about the Civil War. “This is where Twitter comes in. —Beth Still, Social Studies Teacher, Educational Service Unit 13, Cheyenne, WY Tools She Uses • Blogger • Diigo • Dropbox • Edublogs • Educlipper • Evernote • Google Apps for Education • Hapara • Moodle • Twitter “My PLN is a toolbox of apps that help me connect and collaborate. —John Davidson, Director of Instructional Technology, Naperville (IL) Community Unit School District 203 Tools He Uses “My primary source is Twitter. —Sandy Kendell, Education Technology Specialist, Georgetown (TX) ISD
Assessment of Learning via Skype Skyping with students is great! They are learning…There is no doubt in my mind…! Skyping Hub- Learning Hub I know…I see motivation in their eyes… I feel excitement in the air…I hear them say: “How cool”, “That was awesome” or “When are we skyping again?”.I know… all about the different skills students are exposed to and are practicing while skyping.I know… that I am helping them learn differently than from a textbook.I know… that I am preparing them for a work environment where they are expected to collaborate with colleagues and teams who do not live in the same country, nor continent and operate in a different time zone.I know… that I am exposing them to a world, people and cultures beyond their horizon.I know… that I am broadening their perspectives, tolerance and for someone who is different …but… what about formal assessment and documentation of this kind of learning. You can download all of them as a pdf file here. Credit for middle image experience by tombodor Pre-Activities include:
Teacher Resources The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching. Find Library of Congress lesson plans and more that meet Common Core standards, state content standards, and the standards of national organizations. Discover and discuss ways to bring the power of Library of Congress primary sources into the classroom. Go to the blog Subscribe to the blog via e-mail or RSS. Using Primary Sources Discover quick and easy ways to begin using primary sources in your classroom, with teachers' guides, information on citing sources and copyright, and the Library's primary source analysis tool. TPS Partners The Teaching with Primary Sources Program builds partnerships with educational organizations to support effective instruction using primary sources. The Teaching with Primary Sources Journal
60 Inspiring Examples of Twitter in the Classroom Social media offers some great opportunities for learning in the classroom, bringing together the ability to collaborate, access worldwide resources, and find new and interesting ways to communicate in one easily accessible place. Teachers and educators around the world have found innovative ways to use Twitter as a teaching tool, and we’ve shared many of these great ideas here with you. Read on, and we’ll explore 60 inspiring ways that teachers and students can put Twitter to work in the classroom. Communication Twitter makes staying in touch and sharing announcements super simple and even fun. Twitter as a bulletin board: Jim Newman at Northern Illinois University uses Twitter as a bulletin board for his class, letting students know about last minute news like canceled classes. Organization Twitter’s hashtags and other tools share a great way to organize information for your classroom. Resources Use these ideas to take advantage of the vast resources that Twitter has to offer.
Title talk: Librarian + What? Teacher? Facilitator? Curriculum Leader? The last time our school posted a library job, it asked for a Teacher-Librarian (TL).* This time it says we need a Library Facilitator. (Apply by October 23!) Primary or secondary. Where did the teaching go? Work collaboratively with library staff across the campus and college.Work collaboratively with the curriculum leaders and department heads to develop resources and promote inquiry-based learning and all forms of literacy.Work collaboratively with all members of the community (whether students, parents, or staff) to support teaching and learning.Manage the library as a learning environment and public space, including patron services and library staff.Manage and develop learning resources, physical and digital, both for the library and classrooms/departments.Lead the development and promotion of the library as a centre dedicated to the spread of ideas, information, and learning.Other responsibilities as determined by the Head of Libraries and Head of Campus. We have great teachers.
50 Awesome Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom - 2014's Top Teaching Degrees: Compare Programs by Cost, Location, Size Written By: Jillian Terry Skype is a free and easy way for teachers to open up their classroom and their students to a world way beyond their campus. With Skype, students can learn from other students, connect with other cultures, and expand their knowledge in amazing ways. Teachers and parents can also benefit from Skype in the classroom. Read below to learn how you can take advantage of the power of Skype in your classroom. Promoting Education These great ideas are all about teaching students in dynamic ways. See Me, Hear Me: Skype in the Classroom. Promoting Community Using Skype in the classroom can promote communities within a school or globally. Inclusion — helping a classmate join the classroom from home. Skype Ideas for Teachers and Parents Teachers and parents can benefit from Skype in the classroom, too. Professional development. Resources for Getting Started and Using Skype Find out how you can take advantage of Skype with the advice below. Finding Others Using Skype ePALS.
Resources and Kid Lit About American Indians | Focus On At a conference held at the University of Wisconsin’s Cooperative Children’s Book Center in the early 1990s, James Ransome was asked why he had not illustrated any books with American Indian characters. His response, in short, was something to the effect of, “I haven’t held their babies.” He captured what it means to really engage with a people whose history and culture are not one’s own. In SLJ’s November 2008 “Native Voices” column, I featured only books by Native writers. In writing about a culture that is not one’s own, it is imperative to be able to make those connections. Eric Gansworth’s young adult novel, If I Ever Get Out of Here, exquisitely exemplifies what I’m talking about here. Though the Common Core and the idea of multiple viewpoints are put forth as new, teachers and librarians have been searching for multiple viewpoints for a long time. Board Books BLACKSHEEP, Beverly. PreS-K –Who will be the first to make baby laugh? HIMANGO, Deanna. SLIER , Debby . WINDSOR , Paul .
How To Create An Effective Classroom Library by Kimberly Tyson, learningunlimitedllc.com If you’ve read previous posts in this series, you know I’ve shared about the importance of a classroom library as part of a literacy-rich environment. I’ve also shared strategies for growing your collection, as well as tools and tips for keeping it organized. As you build your collection of books and other media, you’ll want it to best meet the needs of your students. There are specific, research-based guidelines toward which you should aim when building your classroom library. In addition to a variety of books and formats, a classroom library should ideally be in a clearly defined area out of traffic flow, if possible (see images). As you can see, classroom libraries should include diverse materials from a variety of text types and formats to best meet the needs of students and their independent reading. In addition to the pictures posted here, you can view more examples and photos of quality classroom libraries on our Pinterest page.
Top 50 School Library Blogs One look at the titles of blogs narrated by school librarians reveals the evolution of a profession within an institution that is at a pivotal point. Charged with the vital duty of promoting digital literacy, today’s librarians are daring, unquiet, sassy and definitely e-literate. This list features the top school library blogs ordered by website popularity metrics and social media engagement including the number of websites that link to a blog and number of followers on Twitter. We commend these school librarians for taking the time to share their ideas, experiences, and advice with the school library community. Our list of top school library blogs is based on website popularity and social media engagement as measured by the number of sites linking to the blog, Google Page Rank, Moz’s Page Authority, MozRank, and number of Twitter followers. If you would like to recommend a school library blog to add to this list, please email info(at)teachercertificationdegrees.com. Whoohoo!
Teaching Librarians & Project Management: New Expectations for the Digital Age - Archive Journal Issue 3 Librarians have long been critical collaborators with their faculty in higher-education classroom settings, teaching research-education principles and providing one-on-one help with students to locate and evaluate sources for research projects. Until recently, most of these student projects have been research papers of varying lengths; each writing experience is a solo project that leads students to monkish behavior in solitary library carrels and dorm rooms. Today’s students have new opportunities to apply critical thinking and research skills in transformative digital and collaborative projects. At Harvard, for example, students in an African and African American Studies course recently created digital stories about music, language, and digital media in former Portuguese colonies. This type of venture requires a different level of support from and collaboration with librarians who work in classroom settings. Skills for Teaching Librarians & Archivists in the Digital Age