Lots of snow days and February vacation prevented me from updating my last pre-practicum visit, so in the spirit of being concise, figured I'd give a two-for-one with today's blog post.
Between the two visits, I had a good mix of library admin and classroom observation, so I'll organize my report along those same lines.
Library Admin
I had a few tasks related to processing donations, as well as making decisions on books to weed. From the donation standpoint, I will never just blindly drop off a box of books at a school library! It is actually a lot of work to process just one new book, let alone a whole box full. And, I hate to say it, but often times the books that are donated, while well-intentioned, are donated without thought to what a school or its population actually needs. I just did the initial processing - adding the barcode and entering it into the online catalog - I've already been promised that the next time I come, I'll get to complete the process, which includes adding the spine label and covering it for extra protection. Like I said earlier, not the most glamorous of jobs, but part of the job nonetheless!
I also had a chance to help weed through some books. Some of them are no-brainers - you know, solar system books that still list Pluto as a planet, or ancient fiction titles that have pages falling out of them - but some of them are harder to make the decision on. As a book lover, it's hard to take the hard line and say "this book is no good" but given the time it takes to get a new book in the shelves (see above), it's definitely something that needs to be done.
Classroom Observation
One of the challenges of being a 21st century LMS is not only keeping on top of all the new tools that come out, but figuring out which ones will be of greatest use to your students and teachers, and then effectively training them on how to use said tools. One of the new tools that is being introduced to students this year is NoodleTools, an online academic research platform. With successful integration of a tool like this, students have a handy place to access all their research (hello, no more note cards!), and teachers have a way to regularly check in to assess their progress and offer help or suggestions along the way. Plus, it's just pretty cool.
The LMS I am working with only purchased a trial subscription so she could test it with a few classes before committing the big bucks, but from my observation, it's working pretty well. There were a few hiccups with the first class that tried it, but the LMS and the content area teacher were able to tweak their approach the next time they introduced it to a new class. Today, I was able to witness the same assignment being conducted in both the "old school" (read: notecards) and "new school" (read: NoodleTools) methods. While both classes seemed to be similarly focused and productive in the research process, I give a slight edge to the NoodleTools method, primarily for the ease with which teachers can provide feedback and the less paper students need to keep track of. Having the ability to check in on individual students prior to them coming to class certainly helps class time be more productive.
Weeks 3 and 4 hours: 4.5
Total hours: 9.5
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Pre-practicum Musings: Part 2
This week in my pre-practicum I got to observe two 7th grade history classes in the library as they worked on their ancient Egypt "virtual library" project (in case you want to keep up as this project progresses, see the public link).
We have been reading about Media Literacy, Information Literacy, and in what is kind of a merge of the two, Information Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy in my class and there were some interesting parallels that I was able observe in practice as students worked on this project. From some of our reading on ICT Literacy, five competencies comprise ICT Literacy, including: Access, Manage, Integrate, Evaluate, and Create.
Students came to class with 4 artifacts that they had found online (Access) and got into teams of 4-5 each. Within each team, they then started to work on a classification system (Integrate and Evaluate) based on the 16-20 artifacts they had to choose from. Eventually, all the classes working on this project will need to come to some agreement on the classification system, as this will become the rooms or exhibits in their virtual museum, but it was a great first step to have everyone actively engaged in finding ways to classify their team's collection of disparate objects.
They will have to continue to evaluate the objects they come across as they narrow down which one or two they will contribute to the museum, and of course, the final part of the project will be to create their contribution (either physically or in some digital form). As the LMS said to me, her hope is that in the end, they will end learning much more about Ancient Egypt than they would have doing a more traditional project. They'll definitely learn much more than I did in the old school "read the chapter in the textbook and take a quiz" model that many of my teachers relied upon in middle school!
Today's hours: 2
Total hours: 5
We have been reading about Media Literacy, Information Literacy, and in what is kind of a merge of the two, Information Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy in my class and there were some interesting parallels that I was able observe in practice as students worked on this project. From some of our reading on ICT Literacy, five competencies comprise ICT Literacy, including: Access, Manage, Integrate, Evaluate, and Create.
Students came to class with 4 artifacts that they had found online (Access) and got into teams of 4-5 each. Within each team, they then started to work on a classification system (Integrate and Evaluate) based on the 16-20 artifacts they had to choose from. Eventually, all the classes working on this project will need to come to some agreement on the classification system, as this will become the rooms or exhibits in their virtual museum, but it was a great first step to have everyone actively engaged in finding ways to classify their team's collection of disparate objects.
They will have to continue to evaluate the objects they come across as they narrow down which one or two they will contribute to the museum, and of course, the final part of the project will be to create their contribution (either physically or in some digital form). As the LMS said to me, her hope is that in the end, they will end learning much more about Ancient Egypt than they would have doing a more traditional project. They'll definitely learn much more than I did in the old school "read the chapter in the textbook and take a quiz" model that many of my teachers relied upon in middle school!
Today's hours: 2
Total hours: 5
Friday, January 30, 2015
What I'm Reading: January 2015
Just because I haven't been blogging doesn't mean I haven't been reading. Quite the opposite, actually! Here's a snapshot of my Goodreads for since my last update and a quick rundown (in case you care!)
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Pre-practicum Musings: Part 1
New year, new semester, 2 new courses towards my LMS degree.
It's hard to believe I'll be about 2/3 done with the program after this semester!
The two classes I am taking this semester are Sheltering Content for English Language Learners (an EDU course) and Information Literacy and School Curriculum (an LBS course). For the Info Literacy one, I am also required to do a 25 hour pre-practicum in conjunction with the course, and so I humbly present to you a new feature on my blog as I record my experience (and let's be honest, track my hours) in my pre-practicum.
I'll be doing my pre-practicum at my local middle school, which is also where I have been volunteering for the last 18 months or so. It was a slow day today - first day back to school after 2 snow days (have you heard about this 'lil storm called #juno?), but a good one to get my feet wet again.
Although most of my classes so far have focused on the more thoughtful (and in my opinion, interesting) parts of the profession, there are simply nuts and bolts that have to be taken care of in the administration of a library and today it was overdue notices. That took the bulk of my time - running the reports, printing the notices to go home, and alphabetizing by Team and Homeroom. Who said being a librarian wasn't glamorous?
I did have some time to informally chat with the LMS about some of things coming up in my class, including how Information Literacy is taught in the school and where there are gaps. Lots of good info to add into my class discussion board.
Today's hours: 3
Total hours: 3
It's hard to believe I'll be about 2/3 done with the program after this semester!
The two classes I am taking this semester are Sheltering Content for English Language Learners (an EDU course) and Information Literacy and School Curriculum (an LBS course). For the Info Literacy one, I am also required to do a 25 hour pre-practicum in conjunction with the course, and so I humbly present to you a new feature on my blog as I record my experience (and let's be honest, track my hours) in my pre-practicum.
I'll be doing my pre-practicum at my local middle school, which is also where I have been volunteering for the last 18 months or so. It was a slow day today - first day back to school after 2 snow days (have you heard about this 'lil storm called #juno?), but a good one to get my feet wet again.
Although most of my classes so far have focused on the more thoughtful (and in my opinion, interesting) parts of the profession, there are simply nuts and bolts that have to be taken care of in the administration of a library and today it was overdue notices. That took the bulk of my time - running the reports, printing the notices to go home, and alphabetizing by Team and Homeroom. Who said being a librarian wasn't glamorous?
I did have some time to informally chat with the LMS about some of things coming up in my class, including how Information Literacy is taught in the school and where there are gaps. Lots of good info to add into my class discussion board.
Today's hours: 3
Total hours: 3
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Using Photography to Tell a Story
One of my courses this semester is Electronic Media and Design - it's an EDU (vs. LBS) course, and it basically covers ways to effectively communicate through images. It is one course where my Marketing background has come in handy - I've done my fair share of presentation creation, that's for sure!
This week's assignment centered on photography, and telling a story using pictures. One of our choices was to do a "how-to" feature, such as in a recipe. As an avid recipe blog reader (shout out to 2 of my faves, Skinnytaste and Emily Bites), I hadn't ever tried my hand at actually photographing food. It's harder than it looks!
So without further adieu, here's my inaugural attempt.
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With the first truly chilly weekend, what better way to kick off fall than with a warm, hearty soup? Found just the candidate I was looking for in my new favorite cookbook and settled in for some (hopefully) delicious French onion soup.
This week's assignment centered on photography, and telling a story using pictures. One of our choices was to do a "how-to" feature, such as in a recipe. As an avid recipe blog reader (shout out to 2 of my faves, Skinnytaste and Emily Bites), I hadn't ever tried my hand at actually photographing food. It's harder than it looks!
So without further adieu, here's my inaugural attempt.
###
With the first truly chilly weekend, what better way to kick off fall than with a warm, hearty soup? Found just the candidate I was looking for in my new favorite cookbook and settled in for some (hopefully) delicious French onion soup.
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Kicking things off with (lots) of onions, butter and olive oil    |
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| Cheesy, oniony goodness is served ... Bon appetit! |
Cheesy, oniony goodness is served! Bon appetit!
Saturday, October 4, 2014
What I'm Reading: October 2014
After my YA binge this summer for my Children's Lit course, it's been a little slow going on the reading front, but now that I'm in the swing of things with my classes, new school schedules for the kids, and so on, I am ready to get back at it!
My book club book this month is The Interestings, by Meg Wolitzer, which I just recently finished. It was, surprise, surprise, another one picked up from the Parents' Picks shelf at my local library, but I had also remembered one of my Goodreads friends reviewing it a while back. I have a soft spot in my heart for summer camp - which features pretty prominently in the story - but this one fell a little flat for me. It was certainly readable, and I liked Wolitzer's style, but the characters didn't quite do it for me. There's another one by her that seems pretty applicable to my stage in life - The Ten Year Nap - which I might check out soon.
For my YA pick, I am finally reading If I Stay, and will likely follow it up with Where She Went (damn Gayle Forman...there's no way I can *not* follow up with the companion book right away!). So far so good on this one - certainly very readable and have a feeling there may be a tear or two shed before all is said and done!
My book club book this month is The Interestings, by Meg Wolitzer, which I just recently finished. It was, surprise, surprise, another one picked up from the Parents' Picks shelf at my local library, but I had also remembered one of my Goodreads friends reviewing it a while back. I have a soft spot in my heart for summer camp - which features pretty prominently in the story - but this one fell a little flat for me. It was certainly readable, and I liked Wolitzer's style, but the characters didn't quite do it for me. There's another one by her that seems pretty applicable to my stage in life - The Ten Year Nap - which I might check out soon.
For my YA pick, I am finally reading If I Stay, and will likely follow it up with Where She Went (damn Gayle Forman...there's no way I can *not* follow up with the companion book right away!). So far so good on this one - certainly very readable and have a feeling there may be a tear or two shed before all is said and done!
Thursday, October 2, 2014
New semester
Hooray! I'm actually not commencing another semester-long break from blogging, even though it's not required for either of the classes I am taking this fall. Progress, for sure.
My two classes this semester are EDU classes (vs. LBS) so not as interesting to blog about but I am doing some library volunteering that has me pretty excited.
In my home school district, there isn't budget for an elementary librarian, so all five elementary libraries are parent-run. Which, coincidentally, is a good opportunity for an elementary school parent looking to become a librarian.
I'll be helping out with my daughter's K class (mostly checking in and out books, and choosing a book to read aloud), but another way I'm helping is through a really cool program called the Massachusetts Children's Book Award (MCBA).
In a nutshell, this program was designed to continue momentum for reading for upper elementary students in the hopes that it will carry them through middle school and beyond. It essentially culls a list of 25 books - across genres, targeted to all levels of readers - and encourages students to choose at least 5 to read between now and March. Those students who read all 5 (or more) will be eligible to attend a special breakfast event at the school and vote on their favorite.
I attended one of the kick off meetings for a 4th grade class this morning and it was awesome. The kids were SO excited about the program (helped by the strategic reading of some introductory sentences of a few of the books by my fellow volunteer - a very effective form of booktalking) and eagerly waited their turn to peruse the special shelf designated for the program. I'm looking forward to seeing which books are the most popular, and hopefully reading a few myself.
Another highlight were the questions they had after our spiel - apparently they really want French toast and waffles brought in - I'm glad we have a few months to hone our breakfast menu!
My two classes this semester are EDU classes (vs. LBS) so not as interesting to blog about but I am doing some library volunteering that has me pretty excited.
In my home school district, there isn't budget for an elementary librarian, so all five elementary libraries are parent-run. Which, coincidentally, is a good opportunity for an elementary school parent looking to become a librarian.
I'll be helping out with my daughter's K class (mostly checking in and out books, and choosing a book to read aloud), but another way I'm helping is through a really cool program called the Massachusetts Children's Book Award (MCBA).
In a nutshell, this program was designed to continue momentum for reading for upper elementary students in the hopes that it will carry them through middle school and beyond. It essentially culls a list of 25 books - across genres, targeted to all levels of readers - and encourages students to choose at least 5 to read between now and March. Those students who read all 5 (or more) will be eligible to attend a special breakfast event at the school and vote on their favorite.
I attended one of the kick off meetings for a 4th grade class this morning and it was awesome. The kids were SO excited about the program (helped by the strategic reading of some introductory sentences of a few of the books by my fellow volunteer - a very effective form of booktalking) and eagerly waited their turn to peruse the special shelf designated for the program. I'm looking forward to seeing which books are the most popular, and hopefully reading a few myself.
Another highlight were the questions they had after our spiel - apparently they really want French toast and waffles brought in - I'm glad we have a few months to hone our breakfast menu!
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