Friday, August 31, 2012

Curating Content with Tumblr

This Prezi was curated by Buffy Hamilton on Scoop.it
It highlights how libraries can take advantage of Tumblr to increase their public library profile and connect with patrons. Many great ideas here.



Friday, August 24, 2012

Teens are getting annoyed with Facebook!


because it's so competitive and commercial...

Teens are moving to other venues for sharing such as Twitter and Tumblr  are more likely to connect folks with similar interests.


Facebook is “the teenage version of email,” said danah boyd, an assistant researcher at New York University specializing in youth and social media. “What’s so interesting about Facebook is that it’s not interesting to [teens]. 

Read more and watch the video from the new Huffington Post live!  Much interesting programming happening here.




Given this state of cyberspace, it is more important than ever to help teens "curate" the web and create a positive digital footprint.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Notes from the Connected Educator Webinar



Does the wise use of technology and rich information really boost both teaching and learning?

It is not really being measured yet because we don't have a metric. Joyce Valenza is  seeing better writing
now, former students are professional bloggers and film makers.

New type of reading that Valenza is seeing is not being measured..."underground reading"...students are attached to author blogs and responding to them.  We don't know how to look at this type of informal learning and connectedness.

We are not celebrating many of the achievements of students beyond high school who are using technology in very rich ways.

Michele Luhtala adds that we need to get apps on student mobile devices in order to get moving. The first things we have to do are mechanical, getting everyone connected.

Gwyneth Jones is a middle school librarian who brings in mobile apps in different ways because cell phones are not permitted at that level. If parents sign permission slips to bring app-rich phone to school to work on projects, the students can bring in their devices.  She uses QR codes to promotes books to students by putting a sign on bathroom walls: "do not scan this".  This  ensures that students will scan these codes and ask for books to check out.

How to evaluate information seems to be more important than helping kids to find information.

David Loertscher uses Google docs for collaborative writing which is a high level enriching experience; it is amazing how much more students can learn in a short time frame using the collaborative tools.

Joyce Valenza:  On Curation Efforts

We are losing so much evidence of good student work.  The librarian is in a perfect spot for portfolio curation to collect good work/reflections on that work.  Products such as papers, digital stories, artwork, etc can be put into the "right" containers so that we do not lose this work.  Google apps such as Google sites could work for this curation.
Check end of Valenza's curation slides on Authorstream.com
See also:  
beeclip.com

Curation now seems to be "the new search". It's about evaluation. Discover who the best people in a field are and then look at Scoop.it for kids who can build their own knowledge centers.  Paper.li can also be a learning experience. Students choose 10 feeds to include in their paper.li and then choose #hashtags.  Choose a person? an organization? a business?  Choose the feed of a curation expert.  If I don't curate for a particular project, things don't get discovered.  If you curate collaboratively, knowledge gets built.  We curate for ourselves just to feed our own thinking.

Gwyneth Jones on creating a positive digital footprint:
Everyone is so concerned about safety and privacy issues, that not enough is being done to start creating positive digital footprints.  High schoolers should not have their work hidden in private places.  We need to promote the idea of positive digital publishing as they enter college and the job market.  How are we modeling if we are not publishing and contributing online.
see: Transparency is the New Black
http://www.slideshare.net/gwynethjones/web-presence-isthenewblack2#btnNext

Michele Luhtala:  agrees that students publish in the real-world.  It steps up their level of investment in their work.  It changes the way they feel about their work.

Joyce Valenza:  "Give a Kid a Camera" idea is a way for students to shine who are not the top honor students.
Students who are great designers, musicians, theater, stagecrew are now those with the best YouTube videos.  There are students who don't care about being in the top ten percent of their class who are doing terrific work worth published online.

Loertscher:  Three levels of participation in the work/school world
1) my own participation
2) cooperative work
3) co-collaborative intelligence: build together creatively, which is where real innovation happens

In the chat window: (zmidler)
The statement "We will publish your work to the world", has been one of the most powerful & motivational things we have ever said to our students. Publish, publish, publish, that's our focus (and we are getting publication quality work).

Dr. Rita Oates, ePals #2

Find allies in high school in student newspaper, yearbook adviser, broadcast/tv teacher. They advocate and DO have students publishing in multiple places.

Edmodo is not enough.

What challenges and what recommendations do you have for the school environment?

Michele Luhtala
describes her school as a "Choose Your Tool" school. It's very difficult to test tools, to get kids excited and to push the boundaries using technology without support of administrators who are supportive.

Gwyneth Jones:  We need to push with our "Ninja ways" of getting around obstacles. We need to get beyond the "Banned Websites" .

Banned Sites Awareness Week is October 3:   http://www.ala.org/aasl/advocacy/bwad

Joyce Valenza:  stop doing things that are a waste of time.
TL Cafe is planning a back - to - school special.  TL Chat will be live on Monday or Tuesday nights.
More info on the Back to School Special September 10:   http://tlvirtualcafe.wikispaces.com/Back_To_School









Saturday, August 18, 2012

Google Docs Research Tool

I have been playing with this tool today:  totally slick citation feature.  However, it is the librarian's role to teach students that they cannot do adequate research using only Google!

Twitter 102 for educators

This is the "ultimate" Twitter tutorial which covers how to use Tweetdeck, posted by Tom Whitby at Educators PLN.  This tutorial was made by Josh Stumpenhorst,
who is a 6th grade Language Arts and Social Science teacher in suburban Chicago. (Lincoln Junior High School in Naperville Community Unit School District 203.)  

Steps to getting started with Twitter:
1) Read, read, read  (decide who to follow)
2) Start re-tweeting
3) Start writing a blog and contribute to community; tweet it out.

As you get more fluent with Twitter, Tweetdeck becomes essential.  Twitter support provides written instructions:  click here.




Josh's other video tutorials include: Google Docs 101; Blogger 101; Green Screen 101; Crazy Talk 6 Tutorial (paid for animation product); UJam; Evernote tutorial.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

NICE News!

The following "save the dates" were sent by the the NICE board (Northern Illinois Computing Educators):


Monthly meeting schedule for 2012-2013:

As always, we have a monthly meeting schedule filled with great opportunities. A new feature this year is the Bring a Buddymeeting. NICE members who bring a NICE 1st timer to these meetings will receive a special gift.

Another change is to our annual mini-conference, which will be hosted by District 219 at Niles North High School on Saturday, January 26th, so mark your calendar now!

Prior to each meeting we will send out an RSVP and more detail about the meeting.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012: Share-a-rama @ Caruso Middle School, Deerfield - Bring a Buddy! Meeting

Monday, October 22, 2012: Technology Integration for Formative Assessment Location TBD - Bring a Buddy! Meeting

Saturday, December 1, 2012: Tablets, iOS, Chromebooks, oh my! @ Oak Grove School, Libertyville

Saturday, January 26, 2013: NICE Mini-Conference @ Niles North High School

February 26-March 1, 2013: ICE Conference @ Pheasant Run Resort, St. Charles

Thursday, March 14, 2013: IDEaS of March Location TBD

Monday, May 7, 2013: HOTS- Higher Order Thinking Skills with Technology - Common Core is Coming! Location TBD

These meetings are an essential part of my own professional development.  (Let me bring you as a buddy because gifts work for me!) I can forward your emails if you want to receive the newsletters.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Key Issues for e-Resource Collection Development: A Guide for Libraries


Publisher: IFLA Acquisition & Collection Development SectionEdited by members of the Acquisition and Collection Development Committee

Take some time to read this updated Guide to key issues libraries encounter and must address as they expand their electronic holdings. This document attempts to update the current situation with e-holdings and is "simply a snapshot of best practices at this point in time".

It includes ongoing guidelines for a collection development policy, licensing consideration for e-resources,  evaluation and review. It leads me to realize that we are seriously lacking an e-resource collection development policy.  I think we in the library are mostly focused on content, pricing, and vendor support for each  resource and not so much on technical requirements.  That is something we depend on our IT support to figure out later. Probably not the best approach.

One question that comes up every year from faculty is whether they can use database articles freely as course readings.  This guide answers that query by suggesting a collection development policy that
requires purchases of e-resources which promotes the latest practices in 'fair use':

"Electronic copies of articles or a discrete portion of the information content from the e-resource should be permitted to be included in a library's course reserves (print or digital), as requested by an instructor for a restricted set of authorized users in conjunction with specific courses."
Another consideration is availability.  I would agree that vendors should recognize that:
"The electronic version of a serial e-resource should be available no later than the printed version."
Unfortunately, the databases are so large (e.g. ProQuest Central) that not all publications included adhere to the same standards of availability.

This collection development guide is a must read for all libraries and encompasses the most current thinking across the library profession.  It's time to get more systematic with purchasing decisions and demand that vendors stay current with up-to-date best practices.

Appendices include a helpful glossary and sources.

The IFLA is the global voice of the library and information profession.

Thursday, August 09, 2012

Shared by Scott McCleod

An interesting discussion starter for the beginning of the school year.  Are we catching up to our students?