Wired Wednesday- Tech Tools

         Bigmarker.com is a site developed for conducting online collaborative  meetings and classes. Teachers and librarians can build an online community to share presentations, files and resources.  It allows you to tack events, share information, and do collaborative projects with both staff and students.
       You can make your " room" private( for a specific members of a class) or public, where anyone can join in to give ideas and discussions.  Private areas requires a password for students and members to log in.
        Once in "Big Marker) originators can share screens  with texts or audio.   You could also turn your web cam on so students can see you. This would be a great way to begin using the technology to create an 'online ' class or discussion area. There is also a whiteboard that you and your students can write  or draw on and can give comments, questions and ideas.
        Originators/ Creators control who can be seen or heard in the audio and video so you will have a way to screen the content that goes   in to your 'room' on Bigmarker.



https://www.bigmarker.com/

Collaboration - Cooperation ( Level 2)

   You  may be past the first level of collaboration  or you may have begun to press on to the next level.  The cooperation level is an extension of the coordination level because of its not having teachers and librarians truly work and plan together.
  On this level , there are informal and short term tasks , activities, and lessons that librarians and teachers work on at the same time. There is no yet an established mission or defined structure.
    In this level of collaboration, librarians and teachers share information about the current project. Each one has his/her own part of the project that they are working on , but they work is done individually. The out come is a cooperative  event and the learning of skills is given by each partner.  Students will see the benefit if this type of learning. They will learn skills that are needed for the project at hand.

  Here is what a level 2 cooperation collaboration might look like:
 
    A teacher requests that the librarian teach the students certain research skills because    he/she wants the student to do a research project on a certain subject/ topic.  The librarian leads the class to the steps of the research and they do research on their topic along the way of doing the research.
    Then the teacher has them continue their work on the project, possibly bringing the students to the library or computer lab to help them complete  the assignment. The teacher does the final  grading/ assessment of the assignment. The librarian might keep a shelf of resources reserved for the students to use as they complete the project.

Library Bulletin Boards for June

   Some ideas for you for your June Bulletin Boards::  It's the end of the year so get ready for lots to do!



  Summer Read- Feature covers of student favorites . Use names and say" Jeanne recommends"

  Get Carried away with Books- Balloons or hot air balloons. If you want - add titles to balloons.

   Hot Days- Cool Books- summer scene-  reading on the beach

  Photos of students  reading their favorite books in their favorite places.

  Dive Deep  Into Reading- under the ocean, fish, sharks, water plants.


Special Days:
Fathers Day
Flag Day
Summer

Wired Wednesday - Techology Tools

       Paige Jaeger is the School Library Coordinator for WSWHE BOCES , NY.. which covers many counties.  This is a huge area!  She  is the author of librarydoor.Blogspot.com  which is a great place to learn about the most current issues of school librarians.
      You will find this site that she has hosted to have a wealth of information  and ideas on advocacy for school librarians. 
  Currently  there is an inforgraph that would be helpful for showing all the different tasks and activities that school librarians do on a daily basis.  There are posts on Common Core and Information Literacy. Other posts discuss readability, reading levels, and complexity of text. There are charts and graphs on measuring reading.
      There are blog posts that discuss the need for research as it helps students build and share new knowledge. Also you will find links to Paige's books and articles. Some are direct links to the  actual articles that she has had published in library journals.  
   Check her link to Scoop it- they are very interesting!!   So check out this blog to keep up to date and learn something new!



librarydoor.blogspot.com

Beginning Collaboration

   The first steps of collaboration has a few different names, but the names are not as important as the process.  As a school librarian, how do you begin the first steps towards   teachers seeing  the value of working with you?

   First things first: begin wherever you are!  Here are a few easy ideas to help you get more involved with and working with your staff.

   1.  Attend grade level meetings to see what lessons/units are being done. Take notes!

    2. Offer to pull books and materials for teachers on what they need to supplement their lessons and activities.

   3. Help teachers incorporate various websites and technology that would go along with their units and curriculum.

    4. Volunteer to help the classroom teacher. Give some ideas on how you could help them

    5. Give some ideas on using the library resources that would enhance and extend the curriculum and lessons.

    6.Read the curriculum standards and the state standards or the Common Core  adopted by your state. This way you will know what the teacher is covering. 

    7. Order materials that go along with your schools curriculum.

    8. Use face to face meetings and email to keep in touch with  your teachers.

These are just a few ideas to get you noticed by your teachers. Use these to begin working with your staff.

Why should we Collaborate?

       True  Collaboration is a process of shared creation of lessons and activities , where at least two educators share the work of creating lessons that provide students with authentic learning.
There are many way to collaborate: in person, on the phone, by email, or a web based tool that allows several people to share ideas and work together.
     Teachers and librarians can work together to identify and develop what students need to know ( information needs , and what skills ( information skills) they can use to find the information . The students need to be able to use the information and share with their classmates. By doing this, teacher and librarian integrate  ELA, Reading, and Media Literacy skills  into one subject area. Students learn the skills they need when they need them and have a reason to learn them.
      The role of the school librarian has many different aspects . Being a  teacher / instructor is just one  major part  of our roles in the school. We need to become more active in encouraging teachers to use our services in this area.
    Librarians can and should be an essential member of every school education team. There are several levels  and stages of collaboration that we will discuss in further posts.

More On Blogging

   There are more reasons for using blogs in your library or classroom.  A blog provides more communication between students , teachers, and even the  community.

    Blogging is a tool for online storage and students can compare notes on a certain topic, or book.     Comments can be made , annotations of books read, and insights on group projects can be given. Pod casts can be put in blogs, photos, and videos can add student interest.  All this adds up to students wanting to be included in the blogs work.

     One of the first things to do  before starting a class blog or student blogs is to get permission form the school board, administration and parents.  This is especially true if you want students to have their own blogs.
     .The benefits of blogging can be seen as students progress in their posts on the blogs.  Peer editing is a great tool to help students improve many writing skills. Posting comments, and writing posts , students are motivated to be writers and readers.  They begin top care about spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

    A library blog is a great way to introduce the students and staff of your school to the world of blogging.  Think about the advantages and how it will help you library and  your readers.