Build the Bridge

Tomorrow morning I am speaking at a local conference, The 21st Association of African American Educators. My topic- Using Digital Resources to Build Bridges. As educators we want to ensure our students have equal access to current, accurate materials- even beyond the bricks and mortar of the library.

What are these resources? Digital databases. Doing a “Google” search on ancient China, yields almost 11 million hits. Digital databases provide manageable results to a search. Remember when Pluto was demoted? The very next day, online encyclopedias had edited the entry and added one on dwarf planets. Databases provide reliable, updated information. Whether you’re at school, home or grandma’s in Texas, you have 24/7 access to information on varied reading levels with different modalities of learning.

In our workshop we will look at SDUSD’s one stop shopping site, Destiny, for digital resources. We will also look at the digital portal at the SD County Office of Education. And let’s not forget the public libraries. In San Diego, we have the Public Library and the County Library. Both of those organizations have digital databases and even ebooks for their patrons. If we are trying to build a bridge and bring resources to all students, we need to teach them to fish. Let’s be sure we remind them that after school, they can still use public libraries.

As teachers or librarians, there are several strategies we can use for integrating these digital resources. The first is to collaborate. If you are a teacher, contact your library staff about what resources are available in your library. Are they available outside the district? Do I need a password? Can they teach your staff or classes about how to use them? Work together with a specific curriculum standard and use the resources for a reason.

If you are library staff, make sure your administration, teachers, students and parents know about your digital resources. If you have district staff, perhaps they can make a presentation to the groups. One of the biggest parts of my current job is to do Destiny digital database presentations. I can do it in a 15 minute teaser or a two hour workshop. I even have an elevator talk.

What are other strategies educators can use to build the bridge with digital databases? Stay tuned. Tomorrow we’ll go a little further.

California Young Reader Medal- 2.0 Style

Tomorrow is my day at IMC, so I’m presenting another Saturday Matinee. Topic: California Young Reader Medal- 2.0 Style. In this fast-paced one hour session, participants will learn a little bit about the CYRM and the resources that are available for including it into their curriculum or library program.

Launched in 1976, this reader’s choice award program has 5 different categories: Picture Book (K-3), Intermediate (3-6), Middle (6-9), Young Adult (9-12) and Picture Book for Older Readers (Grade 4 and up). It is the only national reader’s choice award to be sponsored by four different professional organizations: California Association of Teachers of English (CATE), California Library Association (CLA), California Reading Association (CRA), and California School Library Association (CSLA). A committee of representatives from each organization coordinates CYRM activities at the state level.

California children and teens can read the nominated books from May through March and vote for their favorites. Teachers and librarians introduce the nominees, often reading them aloud. They provide ballots for voting, compile vote totals, and submit results to the CYRM committee. CYRM ballots must be postmarked by April 1st of each year. Winning titles are announced in May. New nominees are announced on February 1.

Saturday Matinee Focus
The class focus will be on reviewing and voting for the nominated books. We’ll review using Photo Story and Power Point games. We’ll look at the free resource booklet that is available at the program website. Reader’s Theater scripts are available for all awards.

We’ll also look at how teachers and librarians can use their whiteboards for interactive voting. Even without all the bells and whistles, educators who have access to computers can create online surveys that take the counting out of voting and put the fun back in.

Looking Ahead
Though this class is only an introduction, we are planning more training for teachers and library staff. Mark your calendars now for our Second Annual SDUSD CYRM workshop. Wednesday, November 16. From 2:30 to 3:00 we’ll have poster sessions, door prizes, shopping with Yellow Book Road and refreshments. The program will be from 3PM to 4:30PM with continued door prizes, poster sessions, shopping and refreshments until 5PM. All are welcome!

Resources
Destiny
California Young Reader Medal official site- (complete resource guide available)
100 Web Resources for Teachers
Libraries Matter wiki CYRM page
TeachingBooks.net http://www.teachingbooks.net/quicksearch.cgi

And the nominees are…
PRIMARY K-3
On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole. Greenwillow Books, 2007.
Let’s Do Nothing by Tony Fucile. Candlewick Press, 2009.
The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2009.
Princess Hyacinth: The Surprising Tale of a Girl Who Floated by Florence Heide. Illustrated by Lane Smith, Schwartz & Wade Books, 2009.
I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll. Illustrated by Howard McWilliam. Flashlight
Press, 2009.

INTERMEDIATE 3-6
Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning by Danette Haworth. Walker & Co., 2008.
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look. Schwartz & Wade Books, 2008.
The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis by Barbara O’Conner. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2009.

MIDDLE SCHOOL/JUNIOR HIGH 6-9
Revolution is Not a Dinner Party: A Novel by Ying Chang Compestine. Henry Holt, 2007.
Waiting for Normal by Leslie Conner. Katherine Tegen Books, 2008.
Every Soul a Star, by Wendy Mass. Little, Brown & Co., 2008.

YOUNG ADULT 9-12
Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Harcourt, 2008.
Beastly by Alex Flinn. Harper Teen, 2007.
If I Stay by Gayle Forman. Penguin Group USA, 2009.

PICTURE BOOKS FOR OLDER READERS Grade 4+
Goal! written by Mina Javaherbin. Illustrated by A.G.Ford. Candlewick Press, 2010.
Henry’s Freedom Box written by Ellen Levine. Illustrated by Kadir Nelson. Scholastic Press, 2007.
Wabi Sabi written by Mark Reibstein. Illustrated by Ed Young. Little, Brown & Co., 2008.

Orientation 2.0 Style

One of the first things we “do to” our students is bore them to death with an Orientation. Rules, procedures, what we will learn this year… Yak. Yak. Yak. Snore. Snore. Snore. Sometimes, I think we should just herd them all into the cafeteria and do it all at once. Get it over with- like ripping off a band-aid. It’s a necessary evil. We have to do it, right?

Maybe we do have to do it, but it doesn’t have to be boring- for your students or for yourself. They only have to hear it once. You may have to do it 6 to 25 times! Enter a solution. Orientation 2.0 Style. On Saturday @ the IMC I’ll be teaching a Saturday Matinee about modern ways to teach the same old thing. We'll look at websites that offer free digital tools. For example, we’ll learn how to make a Voki, like the one here (click on the play button to get your homework assignment). I'll show you how to work smarter by looking at what other folks have done. For example, my class for elementary teachers has its own website- Best of the Best- Top 100 Web Resources for Teachers or a wiki like Web 2.0, Cool Tools for Schools.

During our quick hour, I’ll introduce you to PowerPoint games that you can adapt for Orientation- Jeopardy, Millionaire and Smarter than a Fifth Grader. These interactive games can be adapted by your older students and played by your younger students. They can be used later in the year as pre or post tests for your curriculum units. The more students are involved in the learning, the more likely they are to remember.

We can also take those same slides, add some pictures, and create movies in Photo Story or other video programs. One of the best uses of this media is that it saves your voice (and retains your enthusiasm). You can play it all day long without having to repeat yourself, ensuring that all students get the same message. Once your movie is created, you can also place it on your website and students or parents can watch it when they need to do so. Be sure to do “best practice” and introduce your video as well as discuss it afterwards.

You can also use your interactive whiteboards for your orientation. You could create a flipchart that has students take a test. Use Inspiration and have older students create a chart of rules and procedures. You can easily use it with the PowerPoint games you created.

Online voting is another interactive way to use 2.0 technology is You can create a survey that students have to complete online. As the creator, you can get their compiled answers. It’s a great way to test students who ought to know the answers. There are many free online sites for creating surveys- Survey Monkey, Google, or even your school website. Our district uses School Wires which has surveys as a component.

Another fun way to use technology is to create a QR code. Anyone who has a Smart Phone can scan the QR code and it will take them to your website. It’s a great marketing tool. Once you create it, put it on your brochure or newsletter. How about a bookmarker for your parents?

And because I am a firm believer in working smarter by collaborating, I have added a page on my wiki- Libraries Matter for Orientation. As folks create their orientation, I'll invite you to post yours to my wikispace page. Then, as we add projects, we can borrow what someone else created and adapt it to suit our needs.

And yes, I know everyone doesn’t have a Smart Phone, interactive whiteboard or even an LCD projector, but just like everything else we do, we need to reach out in all manner of ways. Different fish are caught with different bait. Why not try some new bait this year? You never know who might actually bite.

Developing New Seminars

On Monday- was that just yesterday?- I sent in my handbook for my newest seminar, How School Library Staff Can Impact Student Achievement: Collaboration Ideas that Work. (See Institute for Educational Development to find out if I am coming to your area. Like most other things in my life, one deadline follows another.

Now I am working on another seminar on Using Technology in the Library. I have my own ideas about what to include, but I am curious as to yours. What would you like to learn about in a 5 hour seminar? Though there will be breakout exercises, this seminar will be mostly show and tell. Participants won't necessarily bring their laptops or have internet connectivity. So, put in your two cents and let me know.

Off to Chicago

Tomorrow I leave for a short trip to Chicago to teach a seminar called, The Best of the Best: Top 100 Web Resources for Elementary Teachers, K-6. Sponsored by the Institute for Educational Development, this full day seminar includes:

• Teacher-friendly templates to use upon returning to your classroom
• Grant funding opportunities for educators to add much-needed resources to your classroom
• Best subscription databases and the resources they provide to teachers
• Searchable databases filled with engaging Webquest adventures for all elementary subject areas
• Timesaving teacher tools to ease the strain of all that paperwork in your classroom
• Exciting online collaborative projects that can connect your students with a world-wide community of learners
• Copyright-free digital images to enhance your presentations and Web sites
• Explore the wonderful world of free Google tools
• The latest, most cutting-edge Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis and Webcasts and how to use them in your K-6 classroom
• Web site addresses (URLs) and what the various parts mean to make you a savvy surfer
• Web browser choices and why you may need more than one on your computer
• Online bookmark services to organize your favorite Web sites in one location for easy access from any computer
• Tips for conducting successful searches to ensure that your valuable time online is well-spent
• Elementary curriculum sites that focus on elementary math, social studies, art/music, ELA, reading, science, special education, and ESL
• Software to create your own Podcasts to communicate world wide or locally
• Online translator tools to help improve your communication with ESL parents

This is a new seminar for me. My biggest hope is that the teachers who attend will learn how to save time and money by finding the best resources that are available. When you search Google for Ancient China, you get over 10 million hits. Life is too short to sort through that.

So, what are your 5 favorite sites? Oh, and by the way, the Voki, is one of those cool things we'll learn now to do.

Aunt Betty Skypes

Today Aunt Betty had a new experience. She Skyped with a school- in Michigan. Pansophia Academy is a school in Coldwater, Michigan. I met the librarian at a recent workshop. Her school planned a read-a-thon, so she asked Aunt Betty to share a story with her school.

Enter Skype (or Google Voice and Video Chat). Skype offers free audio and video chats, all for the downloading of the software. You can talk (and see) someone from anywhere in the world without leaving your house. How about Skyping with an author? Try a Virtual Visit. Check out teachingdegree.org for more ideas about how to use video chats in your classroom.

To do this with a guest speaker you will want to do a few things ahead of time.

1. Download Skype,
2. Invite your speaker to be a contact within Skype.
3. Check your Privacy settings in Skype.
4. Get an LCD projector to connect to your computer.
5. Get speakers- you may need to place a microphone near your speakers, depending on the size of your audience.
6. Do a practice test with your guest before there is an audience.
7. You may want to use a USB web cam so that if you want to show other things in the room, you won’t have to move the whole computer.

Because we used a USB web cam, Aunt Betty was able to show her office and a Google map of the distance between San Diego and Coldwater, Michigan. We sang a song together and Aunt Betty told the true story of the Itsy Bitsy Spider.

As my mama always says, “a good time was had by all.” Try it. You’ll like it.

Thank You Harry Wong

Years ago, I was the Susan Lucci of education. Every year I was nominated for Teacher of the Year and every year I lost. Then I earned my library degree. After that, I was nominated for Teacher of the Year and Media Specialist of the Year, and lost. Again and Again.

Then I read Harry Wong's The First Days of School. my classroom management was transformed. I taught more because kids knew what to do. I learned the difference between rules and procedures. Rules have consequences. Procedures get practice. If a student runs, he practices walking. Eventually he learns to walk.

Wong also teaches that students are our customers. Especially in a secondary library, we need to remember that. In a flexible schedule, students can and will go somewhere else, if their needs are not met or they don’t feel welcome. That’s the beginning of this story…

So we need to teach the rules and share the consequences. One way to do that is the yakking power point. You can improve that by adding photographs of students demonstrating the rules. Maybe they even do them incorrectly.

Now take this a step further. Save your power point presentation as jpgs. Then create a Photo Story using the rule slides that are now picture files. (See my blog article about Photo Story if this is news to you.) You will have to go into the motion feature and adjust the time and movement on the word slides. Choose start and stop in the same place and make sure the movement is the whole frame.

Narrate the slides. Add some opening and/or closing music and TA DA! You have an interesting movie to share with your students about rules. You’ve used technology that will capture their attention. Students like to see themselves “on camera.” And you save your voice. If you ever need to change it, and you will, you can just change or add pictures. Re-record the voice over and save your new production.

Now for the rest of the story…
After I learned the difference between rules and procedures and practiced. I was not only voted Teacher of the Year, but also Media Specialist of the Year for my state. Harry Wong made a difference in how I taught. My kids learned more, because I was able to guide them more when less time was wasted. How about you? Couldn’t you use more time to guide your students? Check it out at your library.

I Can't See the Pictures

If I had to name one tool that revolutionized the way I teach, it would be my document camera. How many times have you read a picture book to a class and there is a chorus of “I can’t see the pictures?” Using the camera, or visual presenter, everyone can see both pictures and text. If I find something in today's newspaper that I want to show a class, I can place it on the table and everyone can see the small print. If I want to show an example of a student’s work, I can take it from his desk and show the entire class. Kids get immediate feedback on their work.

A document camera replaces your old overhead projector. It's not loud. It doesn’t get hot. Many models don’t even need to use the lamp, so there is little maintenance cost. No transparencies or pens to buy. It’s a choose-and-go kind of tool. Choose what you want to show and place it on the table. Prep time is minimal and set up is fairly easy.

How can you use a document camera? Let me count the ways. You can use it to do experiments so that everyone can see your hands. You can use it to explain how to complete a worksheet or form. You can model writing samples. You can zoom in to show details of a painting. In a music class, you can show one piece of music and everyone can play it. If it’s too hard or too easy, you can easily change to another piece.

A document camera is great for assisting the visually impaired. Tiny print is now easy to see. When you only have one copy, and you show it on the document camera, you can still use the resource you want, but no copyright violations have occurred. It saves time and money. No overhead transparencies to make. No copies to make. Teachable moments are a reality.

The camera (or visual presenter) that I use only weighs 5 pounds, so it is easy to transport in my luggage or from school to school. My current camera of choice is a Lumens DC166. You do need some sort of projection system to use one. Perhaps you already have a Promethean board or Smart Board. I use an LCD projector and also hook up my laptop. This way I can switch between the camera and my powerpoint or the internet. Where do you get one? Probably the same place you can get an overhead projector. Certainly where you can buy a new LCD projector.

Last year I went to a school and worked with a Language Arts teacher on point of view. We were going to begin with a reading of Jon Scieszka’s The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. When I started to hold the book out to my right to read, there was a loud chorus of “No, Miss Ford. You have to use the document camera so we can all see.” So you, see, even kids know the value of the tool as well. Try it. You’ll never miss your overhead. I promise.

For more ideas, see Educational Technology Network. For lesson plans (all grade levels) see the Document Camera Experts. For even more ideas, check out 101 Ways to Use a Document Camera.