The Unquiet Librarian

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.437676&w=425&h=350&fv=]

Check out this COOL and easy to use Web 2.0 tool:  VoiceThread!  Voice thread allows you to record a single or multiple voices and images to create a multimedia show that is personalized and applicable for educational projects as well as personal multimedia endeavors.  Your VoiceThread presentations can be made public to anyone or you can make them accessible to selected individuals.  You can even set up an account for individual classes that will allow multiple classmates access to the account for group projects!  As you can see, you can also embed your VoiceThread presentations in your blogs.    To learn more about the exciting features of VoiceThread, check out their FAQ page! 

Better yet, visit this actual VoiceThread presentation that SHOWS you what VoiceThread can do!

Check out these great sample VoiceThreads created by teachers and students….the possibilities are endless for integrating this into your classroom!  Goodbye, PowerPoint!

• VoiceThread as a Multimedia Venn Diagram (very cool)
• BookTalks/Book Reviews/Book Reports
• What is Function?
• Measurement and Uncertainty
• Density
• Measuring Volume of Weird Objects
• Graphs of Functions
• The Industrial Revolution

If you want to use this as an instructional tool or as an learning artifact for your students, please see me or Mrs. Fleet—we will be glad to help you get started!

Buffy Hamilton

I am playing with a cool new Web 2.0 tool for annotating web pages!

Live from Treasure Mountain: My Rant – NeverEndingSearch – Blog on School Library Journal

Thanks to the Teachers First Tech Edge page, I came across this fun tool, Fleck, for annotating web pages.  How, you may ask, does this relate to instructional real world practice?  Here is what the experts at Teachers First had to say:

Summary of Fleck:

Fleck allows you to put sticky notes and other annotations onto existing web pages and share them with others. Now you can tell students exactly what you want them to do on a page, point out instances of bias or unsafe Internet practice, etc. You can put effective reading strategies right ON the text of the page. See an example here. Your students can also “fleck” to each other as they work on group projects, noting how they will use information or categorizing what they find. Fleck uses FLASH and does not work well on TOP of Flash-driven pages. The annotated pages take a few moment to load, even on a quick connection.

Possible Uses:  Professional and Instructional

• Student research projects
• Guided reading of web sites,
• Comprehension questions, guiding questions, annotations for tough vocabulary with younger students or students who may be below grade level reading
• Internet safety lessons, students analyzing sites as part of information literacy lessons
• Art critiques by you or students
• Student collaboration and source-sharing
• Professional notes for your own reading or graduate work, etc.
• Assign students to “Fleck” a site as an assignment in critical thinking and turn it in by sharing with you

Skills Needed/How to Get Started

• Join the site and wait for the confirming email (usually pretty fast).
• While you are waiting, click over to the HOME page and watch the “How this works” animation. Then try the link to “So why don’t you give it a try.” (This trial will NOT be saved!)
• Enter the URL of a page you wish to annotate at the top of the Fleck screen and click GO.
• Use the toolbar that appears with the web page to add notes, etc. and SAVE.
• You can also download an extension for Firefox or bookmarklet for Internet Explorer (to make a Fleck button on your toolbar).
• Be sure to choose public or private for Flecks you make when you SAVE (can be changed).
• Share your Fleck by clicking the Share button and emailing a note to your recipients– or yourself.
• The email actually provides a URL (link) to the annotated page. Unfortunately, sending the email is the only way to get the actual URL. Once you have it, you can copy/paste it to give to students in an assignment, etc.

Safety Notes/Possible Web Safety Issues

• To use Fleck safely, you can have students use your login account to make their own Flecks. If students have their own email, they can also have log-ins, but you have no monitoring over what they do.
• For safety’s sake, you might want to require all student Flecks to be private and shared ONLY with class members.
• Since enforcement is tough, start with the teacher-only account and make Flecks for students to SEE. Once you are comfortable with the tool, allow students to use your account. You will not know WHO made inappropriate Flecks, but you can see and delete them from one place.
• Of course, you will need to test whether Fleck is blocked in your school (we hope not).   NOTE:  I am posting this from home, so I am not sure if this is blocked on our CCSD network.
• IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE: This is a public site, and some of the “recent Flecks” that show on the HOME page are NOT school-appropriate. TeachersFirst has contacted Fleck about this concern, but — until it is resolved– we recommend starting from the member home page we have provided and avoiding Fleck HOME altogether. 

The new AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner were unveiled on October 25 at the 13th National AASL (American Association of School Librarians) Conference in Reno, Nevada. 

“The new standards were developed by some of the best minds in the school library field,” Johns said. “AASL hopes that these standards will provide a foundation for a strong library media program in every school, where our students will research expertly, think critically, problem-solve well, read enthusiastically and use information ethically. Our students will succeed.”

Early in 2006, acting in accordance with the AASL strategic plan, the AASL Board of Directors voted to establish the Learning Standards Rewrite Task Force, whose charge was to develop new AASL standards for student learning in the 21st Century. The task force included co-chairs Cassandra Barnett and Gail Dickinson, Eugene Hainer, Melissa Johnston, Marcia Mardis and Barbara Stripling.

“The new AASL ‘Standards for the 21st-Century Learner’ are both a reflection of the current landscape and a vision for the future,” said Gail K. Dickinson, task force co-chair. “Good standards have to be practical enough to teach today but flexible enough to be able to teach tomorrow.”

The task force began with an intensive face-to-face meeting last September and worked virtually and during conferences over the next several months. To ensure that the new standards reflect the best of our thinking as a profession, the task force gathered input and feedback from the membership and other library media professionals throughout the whole process. Drafts were posted on the Web site for comment, AASL held an open forum for discussion of the draft during the 2007 Midwinter Meeting and a wiki was utilized for further input from the field.

The standards and common beliefs include:

Common Beliefs

The learning standards begin by defining nine foundational common beliefs:

• Reading is a window to the world.
• Inquiry provides a framework for learning.
• Ethical behavior in the use of information must be taught.
• Technology skills are crucial for future employment needs. 
• Equitable access is a key component for education.
• The definition of information literacy has become more complex as resources and technologies have changed.
• The continuing expansion of information demands that all individuals acquire the thinking skills that will enable them to learn on their own.
• Learning has a social context.
• School libraries are essential to the development of learning skills.

The Standards

The Standards describe how learners use skills, resources, and tools to

1. inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge;
2. draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge;
3. share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our democratic society;
4. pursue personal and aesthetic growth.

You can download the Learning Standards as an eight-page full-color pamphlet (PDF, 4 mb).

Do our practices as teachers and students truly reflect these beliefs in our school philosophy, learning activities, and teaching practices?  Do the mandates of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) intersect in reality with these new standards and beliefs?   How do we use these beliefs and standards as a framework for teaching and learning at Creekview High?

“I propose that we listen to the signals that come through the walls of our classrooms from the outside.”

Anne Ruggles Gere 

The value of social networking and its place in 21st century education was the talk of the town at last week’s National School Boards Association’s Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.  The association released a report, “Creating and Connecting”, that detailed the findings of a survey conducted by the association in conjunction with research firm Grunswald Associates that examined the use of social networks by school age children and the implications of those findings for public educators.  The study was comprised of three surveys: an online survey of 1,277 nine- to 17-year-old students, an online survey of 1,039 parents and telephone interviews with 250 school district leaders who make decisions on Internet policy.Here are some of the findings from this survey:

·          96% of the students surveyed who online access had reported they had used social networking technologies, which includes chatting, text messaging, blogging, and online communities like Facebook and MySpace.
·          81% of the students surveyed said they had visited a social networking website in the last three months.
·          71% of the students surveyed reported using social networking tools at least once weekly.
·          60% of students reported that they discuss educational topics on their social networks; 50% reported that they specifically discuss homework.

What do students use social networking sites and tools to do?
·          Posting messages
·          Sharing music
·          Sharing videos
·          Sharing photos
·          Building websites or online profiles
·          Blogging (1 in 6 reported adding to blogs they have created weekly); 30% of the survey participants reported having their own blogs.
·          Creating content

Students who identified themselves as nonconformists—students who step outside the rules of online safety and behavior rules—tend to be the ones who are the cutting edge of social networking.  Nonconformists tend to be significantly heavier users of social networking sites than other students. 

How do these facts relate to school district policies regarding access and the use of social networking tools and technologies? 

·          84% of school districts in the survey prohibit online chatting ; 81% prohibit instant messaging on school networks. 
·          62% of school districts in the survey do not allow participation in blogs on campus; 52% of the districts do not permit students to use any social networking sites at school.
·          School district leaders seem to believe that negative experiences with social networking are more  common than students and parents report. For example, more than half of districts (52 percent) say that students providing personal information online has been “a significant problem” in their schools, yet only 3 percent of students say they’ve ever given out their e-mail addresses, instant messaging screen names or other personal information to strangers.      Similar differences occur between districts’ beliefs and students’ and parents’ reported experiences with inappropriate material, cyber bullying and other negative incidents.  While many educators now require their students to use the Internet or have web access for assignments, school policies across the country do not show that administrative decision makers are convinced about the value of social networking technologies as effective educational tools.  However, the survey indicated that attitudes may be shifting; the following results may be hints as that policy changes could be on the horizon:  ·          District leaders say they hope social networking will help students “get outside the box” in some way or another.  However, fewer than one in three (29 percent) believe that social networking could help students improve their reading or writing or express themselves more clearly (28 percent).
·          Large proportions of district leaders say that a strong emphasis on collaborative and planned activities (81 percent), strong tools for students to express themselves (70 percent) and an emphasis on bringing different kinds of students together (69 percent) would be required for them to buy into social networking for school use. But most also would insist on adult monitoring (85 percent) and would continue to prohibit chat and instant messaging (71 percent) as conditions of social networking use in school. 

After reviewing the data in the survey, The National School Boards Association made the following recommendations in their report:
 ·          Explore social networking sites.
·          Consider using social networking for staff communications and professional development.
·          Find ways to harness the educational value of social networking.
·          Ensure equitable access.
·          Pay attention to the nonconformists.
·          Reexamine social networking policies.
·          Encourage social networking companies to increase educational value.  

How might the findings of this study and these recommendations affect our technology use in the Cherokee County School District?  What are ways we can harness the educational value of social networking?  We are already using del.icio.us, a social bookmarking service, as part of our pathfinders here at the Creekview High School Media Center as well as blogs.  We are also considering how we could establish a presence on Facebook and MySpace like many college libraries have already done in order to be more accessible to our patrons.  What do you, as students, teachers, and parents, see as the potential of Web 2.0 tools for learning and true educational value?  Do you feel the current use of Web 2.0 tools by CRHS is helping you learn?     

“The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2007 conference theme is “Playing with Boundaries”. This year’s conference begins with a pre-conference keynote the week of October 8, 2007. The following two weeks, October 15-19 and October 22-26, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog (this website) for participants to download and view. Live Events in the form of three “Fireside Chats” and a culminating “When Night Falls” event will be announced. Everyone is encouraged to participate in both live events during the conference as well as asynchronous conversations. More information about podcast channels and conference web feeds is available!”

We would like to strongly encourage everyone to attend our Follett Destiny OPAC training for teachers on Monday, November 5, 2007.  We will offer it every period during the 1^st half of each period, so you can drop in at a time that is convenient for you.  The training will last about 25 minutes.  We will show you:

• Basic searching
• Advanced Search/Power Search
•  How to view reading lists we have created for your classes
• How to create personal reading lists for yourself and how to edit those
• How to browse the standards feature (this feature shows you materials we have related to all Georgia Performance Standards!  VERY COOL!)·         
• How to view materials you have checked out.

 We will have yummy treats available for all faculty who participate in the training.  Also, door prizes will be awarded each period to participants, including gift cards to local restaurants as well as Barnes and Noble!  Other prizes will include goodies from School Box.  Come join us Monday, November 5 for knowledge and fun! 

Buffy and Ruth  

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.436105&w=425&h=350&fv=ql%3D2%26src1%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fpic20.picturetrail.com%2FVOL1430%2F9782676%2Fflicks%2F1%2F2580242%26src2%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwidgetize.picturetrail.com%2Fflicks%2F2580242]

Mrs. Hamilton and Mrs. Fleet attended the 2007 Georgia Council of Media Organizations Conference (COMO) at lovely Jekyll Island from October 17-19 last week.  Highlights of the conference included but were not limited to:

• “Motivational Programs Inspiring Students to Read”,  Chad Crews
• “What Grabs a Patron’s Eye—Eye Catching Displays”, Tim Wojcik
• “Cool Free Tools”, Jennifer Link Jones, Georgia State University Librarian
• “United Streaming Meets the iPod Generation”, Craig Coleman
• “Authors of Mystery and Horror”, Chad Crews
• “Whose Truth Is It Anyway?  Wikipedia in the World of Information Literacy”, Dera Weaver and Steve Piazza

When we were not browsing the latest and greatest products from a dazzling array of library vendors or learning the coolest new trends in information literacy, Mrs. Fleet and Mrs. Hamilton enjoyed the natural beauty of Jekyll’s pristine beaches and sand dunes. 

We look forward to integrating our new knowledge we gained from this conference into our library program later this year!

In the spirit of super librarian Joyce Valenza, I will be rolling out a new learning initiative for our students and our faculty, http://theunquietlibrary23things.edublogs.org.  Our program, which is modeled on the dazzling array of 43/23 Things library sponsored programs across the United States, is designed to help our patrons learn about exciting Web 2.0 technologies and tools that can increase productivity and improve student achievement.  Mrs. Fleet, another super-librarian, will be my partner in this venture as we work to help all of our patrons become lifelong learners!

Of course, the intrinsic thrill of learning is the primary reason for participating in this self-paced program, but we will also be offering prizes to patrons who complete our program.  Stay tuned as we launch our http://theunquietlibrary23things.edublogs.org/program in November 2007!

Buffy Hamilton

Check out this interesting article from The New York Times called “Spreading Out Homework So Even Parents Have Some.”  Damion Frye, an English teacher at Montclair High Schoolin Montclair, New Jersey, requires parents of his ninth grade students to participate in weekly homework assignments that mirror those he gives to his students.   Parents are given identical assignments as their children and asked to respond on a blog set up by Mr. Frye. 

The point, he said, is to keep parents involved in their children’s ’ education well into high school. Studies have shown that parental involvement improves the quality of the education a student receives, but teenagers seldom invite that involvement. Mr. Frye  decided to help out.

While a few parents have been resistant to the idea, Mr. Frye reports that most have eagerly jumped in and found the experience to be a positive one. 

Tracy Parsons, whose son Danny is the second of her two boys to be a student in Mr. Frye’s class, said that the weekly assignments had changed the way she approached homework with her children.  “In high school, to some degree you have to back off from homework, so they can gain independent learning skills,” Ms. Parsons said. But teenagers, she noted, “leave a lot out. You ask, ‘What’d you do in science?’ and they say, ‘It was fine.’”

While some educators caution against Mr. Frye’s policy of penalizing students’ grades if parents do not do their assigned homework, Mr. Frye reports that only one parent has flat out refused to participate in the three years of assigning parents “homework.”  He states that he is flexible and works with parents who may not have Internet access or who may have challenges dealing with language differences. 

What do you as teachers, students, and administrators think of Mr. Frye’s creative way of involving parents in homework as a means for involving parents to be involved in their children’s education?  The primary suggestion I have is that he have the students blog along with their parents rather than doing all the assignments in the traditional format of paper and pencil.  If students are having the opportunity to blog too, then perhaps more dialogue could be ignited between parents and students.

Let us know what you think! 

 Here is a VERY cool, fun, easy, and free Web 2.0 tool:  ANIMOTO Video Player!  Take a look at this little “test” one I created.  There is no cost to create an account, and they even provide you copyright-friendly music to use with your videos!  This is a web-based service that helps you create slide shows that look more like videos.  I think this could be a great PR tool for showcasing student work, school programs, or other events/concepts you want to promote—also a fun little tool for student projects! 

Visit http://animoto.com/ to get started—no special tech skills are required for this spiffy Web 2.0 tool!