The True Adventures of a High School Librarian

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Coding is a Basic Literacy Library Centers Deep Dive Part 3/15

Recently, CBS aired a 60 Minutes episode highlighting the gender gap in the tech industry. Hadi Partovi, founder of Code.org, along with top computer science based industry leaders and a majority of developed nations, recognizes coding as a basic literacy that schools should start teaching at the same time that we teach students how to read and write. Each year schools across the world observe Hour of Code, a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code", to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. Teaching coding just one hour per year is tantamount to teaching reading, writing, and mathematics just one hour per year, and simply will not meet the needs of the fastest growing job industry in the United States. Starting with Kindergarten, the Winkley Library incorporates coding and other computer science skills into library classes. Students rotate through a series of center activities each time they visit the Winkley Library. One center that has been a constant in the Winkley Library is the Coding Center. Coding is introduced to students in grades K-5 through both unplugged and device based activities. A few of the recent coding/computer science activities students in the Winkley Library have explored include:

Making binary code bracelets

Hour of Code

Tynker Hour of Code

OSMO Coding

Coding Awbie

Coding Jam

Coding Duo

Dash Robot 

Blockly App

Coding Safari

Scratch

Made with Code

Makey Makey

Bloxels

Additionally, thanks to a recent generous parent donation, the Winkley Library has been able to add one LEGO WeDo 2.0 kit that combines learning how to code with robotics. The Winkley Library is committed to supporting literacy, in all its forms, through library classes and collaborations with classroom teachers.

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Demystifying the Circulation Desk

Demystifying the Circulation Desk 

Library Helper Center 

(Library Centers Deep Dive - Part 2/15 )

Library Helper Center is the easiest center to put together. Most of the supplies you need are right there at the circulation desk. The kids are excited to be the librarian for the day. Plus, you get some much needed assistance. As with all Library Learning Centers there needs to be clear learning objectives. The main learning objectives students learn at the Library Helper Center include:

Dewey Decimal System

Genrification

Shelf Appearance

Book Check Out Procedure

Creating Holds

Student Privacy Guidelines

Customer Service

Book Processing

Library Displays

Other Duties as Needed

The basic Library Helper Center tasks that all students in grades K-5 are expected to do include:

Take all returned books out of the book drop and move them onto the book cart

Get one center at a time to check out their books

Assist students with checking out their books

Good customer service

Student Privacy Guidelines

These five tasks are the bare basics that I start with for Kindergarteners in the Library Helper Center. If there is time remaining after all students have checked out their books Kindergarten will sort books on the book cart. This gives me a chance to talk to them about the Dewey Decimal System and genrification and why books go in certain places in the library. I find that teaching just 3-5 students at a time makes this task not only more manageable but more meaningful as well. First and second grades continue building on previously learned skills adding in shelving Everybody books and filling shelf gaps. 3rd grade builds from there adding in shelving books in our “special” genre section. 4th grade branches out to shelving fiction books and 5th grade adds on the shelving of non fiction. All grade levels assist with other tasks including book processing, helping to create library displays, and other tasks a librarian may need to do. Recently our sweet library helpers collated and stapled informational flyers to be sent home with students about our upcoming Book Fair. They also helped make tissue paper flowers for our February LOVE display.

Dewey Decimal System, Genrification, Shelving, and Shelf Appearance I am a big proponent of John Dewey’s principle of learning by doing. Teaching students the why and how of shelving books goes hand in hand with learning the Dewey Decimal System, Genrified sections, and the appearance of shelves. One thing I have always disliked in the library is the use of paint sticks (or any other item) as student shelf markers. To me, they make finding a book cumbersome, a chore, and down right stressful. Instead of using shelf markers I have “I Changed My Mind” bins at the ends of each shelving unit. If a student removes a book from the shelf and then decides it is not the book for them they simply place it in the bin. Easy peasy. Other students often find the books they are looking for in the bins so it is a win-win for everyone. So, what does the abolishment of paint sticks have to do with learning the Dewey Decimal System, Genrified sections, and the appearance of shelves? Everything. As students learn in the Library Helper Center why books are shelved in certain locations the rest falls into place. Recently, I observed a 1st grade Library Helper assist another student with finding the Elephant & Piggie books. He knew, from actually shelving the books, where they were located and why. Shelf appearance also comes into play when teaching kids how to shelve books using Dewey Order or Genres. All of us who have been librarians for any length of time have had that kid who pushes all of the books to the very back of the shelf and proudly exclaims, “Look! I fixed the books for you!” Explaining while doing will help nip this little library quirk. When teaching kids how to shelve books in the Library Helper Center, especially fiction and nonfiction books, we have a chance to actually talk about how the shelves look and how that can make shelving books easy or hard. “When you shelved that book what made it easy?” “When you shelved that book what made it hard?” The most common answer to both of these is the ability to see the spine labels. If books are pushed all the way to the back it is difficult to see the spine labels and a tedious process to put the books in their place. It also makes it difficult for someone wanting those books to see them. Likewise, when the books are blocked it is easier to find and shelve. Filling in the Gaps Filling in the gaps with books from that section not only makes your library look full of wonderful books to read but is an awesome advertising tool. Actually being able to see the covers of books in the various sections of the library makes locating the books you want that much easier for students.

Book Check Out Procedure The overarching theme of the Library Helper Center is good customer service and setting an example of good behavior for the rest of the class. Library Helpers are the first center to check out books. Once Library Helpers have checked out their own books, they prompt students at each center, one center at a time, to check out their books. This keeps the number of students checking out books to just 3-5 students at a time. This is the perfect time to teach Library Helpers how to assist students with using the search computer, locating books, and with placing books on hold if needed. Kindergarten students have a library card that they scan when checking out their books.

Kindergarten Library Helpers follow a little script:

Please scan your card

Please scan your book

Please scan the reset card

Please go back to your center

By directing other students through the book check out process, Library Helpers are also solidifying their own understanding of the process as well. First, Second, and Third grade Library Helpers assist students in learning their library number for checking out books. There is a printed list of each class, the students in that class, and each student’s library number at the circulation desk for students to use if they haven’t memorized their number yet. Since Library Helpers have access to student information, this is when and where we address student privacy and the responsibility that goes along with being a Library Helper. There is little need for Fourth and Fifth grade Library Helpers to be tied to the circulation desk as most students are self sufficient by these grade levels. This frees these students up for shelving books, processing books, creating library displays, and working on other library related tasks. If you are thinking of trying out centers in your library I definitely recommend starting with the Library Helper Center!

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THE BEGINNING Library Centers Deep Dive: A 15 Part Series

Ladonia Elementary School

1997-2005

This 15 part series is a deep dive into the why and how of establishing Library Learning Centers.

THE BEGINNING

During my first year as an elementary school librarian in the mid-90’s I was a worksheet queen. Worksheets teaching how to shelve books by drawing a line from a book to the shelf where it belonged. Worksheets teaching Dewey order through cutting and pasting books in the correct Dewey order. Worksheets about book care for students to color. Worksheets where students labeled the parts of a book. Worksheet after worksheet after worksheet.

I also noticed that the students were less than enthralled with the barrage of worksheets they were confronted with during their library time each week. The students were fidgety and it was a struggle to get them to sit still, be quiet, and learn a formal lesson with or without worksheets. Students would draw pictures on their worksheets, fold them into paper airplanes, make origami fortune tellers and inevitably, throw the worksheets in the trash as they left the library. The lessons rarely resulted in the students ability to actually internalize and demonstrate through action the lesson taught. During this same time I was struggling just to find time to shelve books as over 800 students a week visited the library at 30 minutes intervals. One afternoon after a particularly “tooth pulling” day, surrounded by carts filled with returned books and putting together worksheets for the next days lesson about the Dewey Decimal System and Ordering Books on the Shelf, one of those face-palm moments hit me. Why was I having students draw lines, circle, cut and paste where books belonged on shelves on a worksheet when I had a whole library full of books that needed to be shelved?! Wouldn’t learning by doing not only be a much more effective way of teaching these skills, but would also assist with the seemingly never ending task of shelving books. I had the wherewithal to know that setting loose all 20+ students in each class to check in and shelve their own books would be a catastrophic disaster. I had to find a way to teach, model and supervise students in small groups as they gained hands on learning with the who, what, where, when, why and how of basic library skills like shelving books. I also wanted students to learn other skills that supported the overall elementary curriculum and gave them some hands on learning and fun. From there the idea quickly cascaded into the development of library learning centers. In the blog posts to follow I will share each Library Learning Center in detail. This will be followed by posts that explain ways to set up Library Learning Center set up. What Free Center days are and tips and tricks on how to run them. This series will conclude with a look at whole group lessons, mini-lessons, and storytime within a center based library.

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THE POWER OF BEING A CONNECTED EDUCATOR

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

Cross Post with The Edvocate

A librarian shares her journey from approaching burnout to becoming her school’s technology innovator.

By Nikki D. Robertson

During the 2009–2010 school year, I became convinced I was missing out on something. So many of the educators around me were excited about their role, innovating at every turn and sharing those experiences with the world. I couldn’t help but wonder how they were able to do what they were doing with so much passion. Reflecting on this period of my career, it’s safe to say I was burnt out, but I also realized that feeling would only be permanent if I allowed it to be.

I wanted to learn and to expand my horizons, so I looked for my own PD experiences and discovered Shelly Sanchez Terrell’s 30 Goals Challenge. One of her challenges was to get involved in a Twitter chat, so I attended #EdChat, the first educational Twitter chat.

I was blown away by all the connections I made with superstar educators, and by seeing the amazing things they were doing with technology in their classrooms. One part of the process of becoming a connected educator is the overwhelming tide of emotions you feel. When you first start connecting with these incredibly accomplished educators, it can be intimidating. One night after #EdChat, I found myself thinking “I can’t do this. I’m not capable of being these people.”

After the chat, I emailed these new friends of mine who I had connected with online and said, “It’s been really fun learning from you, but I’m not capable of doing these things.” I sent that off at about 10:00 PM, then got up at 5:00 in the morning and checked my email, wondering if anyone would have replied.

Every single one of those superstar educators, people I admired so much, had emailed me back. And they all said basically the same thing: “You can do this. We’ve got your back. All you have to do is try every day to be a little bit better than yesterday.”

Since that day, I’ve never looked back, and nothing I’ve done has been through my own power alone—it’s been through the power of my tribe, my professional learning network (PLN). For example, our district has really embraced augmented reality and virtual reality, and through my network I’ve been the one to introduce new technology to my school: the WITHIN app for my older kids, along with Discovery VR and 3DBear, which mashes up AR and 3D printing. I’m no longer intimidated by trying new things in my library, and I’m willing to step off that cliff because I know that my PLN is there to help me fly.

Why Every Librarian Needs a PLNBeing a connected educator is important for all of us, but especially for school librarians. We’re usually the only person in our schools with our specific role, which makes finding collaborative networks within your own building challenging, to say the least. In several districts I’ve worked for, I was at the only high school; which meant I was the only high school librarian.

For years, I had no one to brainstorm ideas with. Getting connected via social media introduced me to a world of other school librarians asking the same questions I was wondering about myself. Branching out of your own school, district, or even country will bring the best ideas from around the globe straight into your classroom.

How Librarians Are Reclaiming PD LeadershipPart of being a connected educator is being a PD leader in your own school. Librarians have always been the gatekeepers of technology in schools. Way back when the overhead projector came in, who was the one leading the PD and making sure teachers knew how to change its light bulb? When devices went from rolling around school on a cart to digital platforms and clouds, schools felt they needed a technology person—and some of them forgot that librarians have been their tech advocate all along. Our interest and knowledge regarding technology didn’t necessarily change, but our leadership role in PD did. With all the emerging technology these days, librarians have to step out of the stacks and become PD leaders.

We can do this in large-group presentations, one-on-one meetings, co-teaching, or providing “just in time” PD by recording Tech Tips sessions. With my current schedule, the most effective way for me to model new technology use is to “ride shotgun.” I’ll see new technology come across my social media feed, and my wheels will start turning. I’ll run in the next day to tell my kids about this cool new tech. They’ll ask me what it does, and I’ll say, “We’re gonna figure it out together, and you tell me how it works!” We explore together, and they can’t wait to share their discoveries with their classroom teachers.

Once I get more familiar with the technology, I find an organized way to incorporate it into curricula and then share it with educators on social media. This gets other educators with their own tool belt of ideas to engage on my feed, so the cycle of collaboration continues.

As educators, we’re all in this together. Getting connected via social media launched me to where I am now. I went from being a burned-out educator to being completely ignited—and more on fire than I was when I first started teaching.

Nikki D. Robertson is an educator, librarian, instructional technology facilitator, and ISTE Librarians Network President. 

Follow her on Twitter: @NikkiDRobertson.

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Guest Post: Worthwhile Rainy Day Activities for Your Children

Guest Blog by Jenny Wise, a stay-at-home parent to four beautiful children.  Jenny's blog, Special Home Educator,  has a focus on homeschooling and children with special needs.

Image courtesy of Pixabay

When your kids are cooped up and going stir crazy, it can make the whole house feel a little nuts. Take the edge off with worthwhile activities! Here are some ideas that are educational, entertaining, and help your children grow.

Physical Playtime

I confess, sometimes I envy the energy levels my children have! Doing something physical is a terrific way for youngsters to blow off steam. What’s more, some studies show children need exercise to help them grow strong muscles and bones. In fact, they need a full hour of play every day to meet their bodies’ requirements. To meet those needs when they are stuck inside, you can turn on exercise videos from YouTube or teach them some pillow fight games. Competing in pillow fight games is a fun way for them to be active inside while also learning game strategy and how to follow instructions. They’ll enhance their motor skills, work on coordination, and build self-confidence, all while having a wonderful time!

Explore Creativity

Encouraging your children to get in touch with their artistic and musical abilities is a great way to keep them learning and productive on a rainy day. A2Z Homeschooling suggests a variety of music-oriented online lessons. For example, your children can learn to play an instrument on websites such as FiddleQuest, which helps kids learn violin with support from an interactive community of instructors and students. Danman’s Music Library and Music School offers instruction on a wide variety of instruments, such as flute, piano, guitar, trumpet, drums, or violin, along with voice lessons and instruction on composition and music theory. For those more inclined toward drawing or painting, Our Good Family recommends Sparketh for online tutorials, noting instruction is clear enough for children to follow on their own, and lessons are broken into easy-to-swallow segments so kids don’t become bored or overwhelmed.  

Recreational Reading

Pleasure reading is a terrific way for kids to pass the time, and it also is a hobby they can enjoy for the rest of their lives. Reading opens up their ability to pursue information when they want it and keep their minds growing. One idea for your rainy day entertainment is to start a book club. Your kids can participate with friends, or you can develop other activities from your children’s selections, like creating elephant’s toothpaste after reading about elephants. Talk with them about the size of the toothbrush for those big tusks! And if your kids aren’t too keen on their own hygiene, it’s a fun way to bring up the subject of their dental care. I love multitasking teaching opportunities, and some experts suggest incorporating storytime into toothbrushing. You could entwine your elephant stories with your daily routine and capitalize that way, too!  

Get Cookin’

Kids love to make things in the kitchen, so Babble recommends cooking up some fun! Make a batch of brownies or cut-out cookies you can decorate together. Or, make bread dough and have the kiddos help with kneading it and then watch it rise! You can also throw together a batch of soup with a kid-oriented recipe. Soups are a healthful and interesting way to eat veggies and can provide a variety of nutrients. Cooking and baking involve math and reading skills they won’t even notice using, and they will work on following sequential directions to boot. Let them select what you make so they have ownership in what they’re doing. In the end, you can enjoy your yummy creations together -- it’s a win-win!

Rainy Day Fun!

When it’s raining outside and your children are feeling cooped up, find entertainment that is good for them. Give them exercise, inspire their creativity, encourage reading, and get them in the kitchen. With well-chosen activities, you and your kids will look forward to those rainy days together!

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New School Year! New Ideas! New Centers!

New to Texas and new (again) as an Elementary School Librarian last year I wrote a blog post detailing my library procedures and centers. After a year working through mistakes I have entered this new school year with lots of new ideas. *Disclaimer: This post is in no way meant to undermine the way any other librarian runs their library.  I do, however, point out examples of various ways other libraries are run that just aren't my thing and, yes, occasionally rub me the wrong way.

Let's start with Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes:

Before going to centers or checking out books, I like starting off each library class together as a team. The first thing we do is empower student voice by giving students an opportunity to share. Last year we shared using "Hey! Listen To This" where students could share whatever they wanted to share, from a tooth falling out to a grandparent dying.

It was a great way to come together as a class and learn about and better understand each other.

This summer, I came across a video where students shared either an Appreciation, an Apology, or an Aha! moment.

Even though the video example showed older students using this process,  I felt that it could also be used in my K-5 library as a replacement for "Hey! Listen To This".  The main reason this method appealed to me so much more than "Hey! Listen To This" was that the focus added deeper meaning and more self reflection to what students shared.

I only have two days of school and 11 classes under my belt using this new method and it has been a great success! I was surprised with how many students wanted to share an apology or an appreciation.

One student shared an apology because she yelled at her mom because her mom wanted her to wear one outfit on the first day of school but she wanted to wear something different. Her mom started crying. I asked her if she had told her mom the apology she shared with us.  The student responded that she had not but she would do it as soon as she got home.

Another students shared an appreciation to her grandparents for taking care of her this summer and letting her have so much fun.

Yet another student shared a great Aha! moment he had when he and his mom were just sitting around the house not really doing anything but watching TV.  He said, "Then I had a great idea!" He asked his mom, "Hey! Don't you think it would be fun to get out of the house and go to the pool?!".  He said his mom loved the idea and they had a really fun day together because of his great Aha! moment.

There have been some pretty powerful goosebumps and teary eyed moments in our two short days.

Center Changes

The first change to our center activities this school year was to expand the center choices from six to nine to match the nine week Elementary School rotation schedule.  The nine centers now include:

Google 

Google Classroom

Google Sites for Digital Portfolios

MyMaps 

Research

Library Helpers 

Students check books in/out and 

Shelve books

Straighten shelves

Add genre tags to books

Oh Snap! Team

Take pictures on students working in centers for the @WinkleyLibrary social media sites

Games

LEGOs

Magnetic Building 

Puzzles

Card Games

Board Games

Coding

Scratch Jr

Scratch 3.0 (still in beta)

Hour of Code

Made with Code

Tynker Hour of Code

Incredibox 

Green Screen

Varies

Reading

LISD Online Book Resources

Unite for Literacy

Epic! Books for Kids

Books

Magazines

Arts and Crafts

Varies

OSMO

Word

Numbers

Masterpiece

Newton

Tangrams

Coding Awbie

Coding Jam

Pizza Co

Monster

Technology

Augmented Reality

Virtual Reality

Various websites and apps that do not neatly fall under another center category

Bloxels EDU (3rd, 4th, 5th only)

It is important to align centers for minimum materials/equipment transition as there are only have five minutes in between classes to change out center materials.  Centers also need to be as self explanatory as possible and can be started and completed in 20 minutes or less.

My detailed Center plans can be found in this Google Folder: 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tRBAXkNYxXzdmupTNZciOWaqJ4UEUlSE

Bye Bye Center Binders

This year I have done away with the Center Binders. Ya'll, I don't know what kind of crazy I was for even thinking of this time consuming idea...but it is GONE!

I have replaced the Center Binders with Teams!  Students are put into teams of 4 or 5 students (sometimes 3).  These teams are assigned a Team Number that they will keep all year long. Then all I need to change out every six days are what center each Team Number sign will be placed. Students wear Team Badges that match the Team Sign at the center they are to work in that day.

What Hasn't Changed

Book Check Out

I know so many Elementary School librarians who don't allow Kindergartners to check out books on the first day. Even if (or when) they "allow" Kinders to check out books they pull a selection of books off the shelves and put them on a table.  Kinders can then only pick out books from the selection the librarian has made for them.  Even when librarians allow Kindergarteners to pick out books from the shelves they limit their choices to just the E books (everybody/easy reader books).  They further incumber students and make the process of finding a book a chore by saddling students with shelf markers (often in the form of paint stirring sticks).

*Don't even get me started on not being genrefied....

Many librarians further make going to the library, a less than enjoyable experience, especially that first week, by having students color worksheets and read books about book care.  Yes, we do need to teach book care but aren't there better ways to do this that aren't so incredibly boooooorrrrriiiiinnnnngggg?

1:

I empower Kindergarteners (and all students) check out books on the FIRST day of library.

2:

I empower Kindergarteners (and all students) to find books on ANY shelf in the library. (YES! Even *gasp* chapter books)!  My grandson was reading Harry Potter by himself in Kindergarten. I would have ripped his librarian a new one if she had restricted his selection of reading materials.  Additionally, I have lots of Kindergarteners whose parents read chapter books with them to help form a firm foundation of the joy of reading.

3: 

I empower rather than encumber Kindergarteners (and all students) by providing "I Changed My Mind" boxes at the ends of each stack.  If students pull a book off of a shelf and decide it's not the book for them they just place it in the nearest box.  Other students can look through the boxes for a "just right" book as well.

4:

Students check out books one center at a time. Once they have checked out their book they return to working in their center until it is time for story time.

I have a conversation with each child as they checkout their books asking them to tell me some things they should do to take care of their books at home.  This way each child get my undivided attention and gets to show me how grown up and responsible they are for knowing how to care for a book rather than being lectured to.  We review how to hold books when we line up to leave the library.

5:

Clean up of centers so that they are ready for the next group coming in the library. This is a lifesaver with transitioning from one grade to another in a fixed schedule.

6: 

Story Time happens after all centers have checked out books. Many librarians have a prepared book to read to students during this time.  I prefer to read the titles of each child's book they chose on their own. I also have students stand up if they got a non fiction book, a chapter book, or an everybody book. this way we have an interactive conversation about different types of books rather than a lecture or worksheet.

I then choose one book from those that students have check out to read aloud. Any book you chosen can easily be tied to predicting, reflecting, comprehension, etc. PLUS...students will soon learn to slow down and choose their books more carefully in anticipation of story time.

With that said I have seen librarians who have storytelling down to an art with incredibly engaging follow up activities. If you are one of these talented, Broadway worthy librarians, please don't change what you are doing. I am in awe of your talents but am also self aware enough to know I don't possess those same talents and must find my own path.

Wolverine News (Morning Announcements)

Wolverine News will continue to be an "extra" library activity that runs before and sometimes after "official" school hours and mostly at students homes with parent assistance. 

Wolverine News has both stayed the same AND changed.

Wolverine News will continue using the Green Screen Room, an iPad, iPad tripod, WeVideo, Youtube, and Google Slides to produce and distribute each show.

Wolverine News stays the same as select shows will be 100% student produced from beginning to end.  

Wolverine News stays the same in that I will produce Wolverine News when there is not a student assigned to that date.

Wolverine News stays the same in that I retain all rights to edit student produced shows. (yes...this was an issue last year)

Wolverine News will stay the same in that we will continue to use FlipGrid to incorporate ALL student voice.

Wolverine News is different in that it is much more organized:

Students in 4th & 5th grades have the opportunity during the first and second 9 week periods to apply to become a Wolverine News correspondent. Students in 3rd grade will gain the opportunity to apply during the third and fourth 9 week periods. Students interested in applying must have a strong work ethic, be able to complete tasks independently, have access to a computer/laptop and the Internet at home, have a positive teacher recommendation, and parent commitment to assist student at home with completing tasks associated with Wolverine News. Students who participate in Wolverine News will meet in the Winkley Library twice a week from 7:20-7:45 to work on their Wolverine News assignment(s). Skills students gain by being a part of Wolverine News include (but are not limited to): Use of a green screen in video production Uploading and downloading videos from one device to another device Downloading and converting of images and videos online Editing of videos Adding transitions to videos Adding title slides to videos Adding backgrounds to green screen videos Finding and adding music to videos Giving attribution to resources used Collaborating with others Creative thinking

DEADLINE to apply is Friday, August 31, 2018.

I have also created a checklist for Wolverine News Team members to use to assist in making sure they have all of the news segments covered in their production.  In addition, I have every teacher on a list to be included in the pledges, Book of the Day, and Quote of the Day.  Wolverine News Team members are not able to choose a teacher to use in their show until ALL teachers have been given an opportunity to be a part of Wolverine News.

You can watch Wolverine News episodes from last year here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1z8WsuLgCbfi03On7d_EYxoPzVRV5P7m-k6aXvboTvgQ/edit?usp=sharing Or watch this season here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/18O1JAOCPckHXxN2H8MsaOfR86yCCczl1WHlx7CbpLgE/edit?usp=sharing

  Welcoming, Fun Environment free of "yet more work to do"

I want my library to be a place where students get solace from the desk bound, worksheet encumbered, being talked at environment that still exist in many classrooms. I want them to learn without feeling as if they are learning. I want the library to be a safe place where they can explore, discover, create and learn.

Be sure to follow our adventures this school year via our social media platforms.

Watch our slideshow grow!

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4 Back to School Tips for New (and not so new) School Librarians

*originally written for School Library Journal

Congratulations on your new job as a school librarian! It is hands down the absolutely best job...EVER!  Last year, entering my twenty-sixth year as an educator and twenty-first year as a school librarian, I found myself in the position of being a new librarian again in quite a few ways.  I retired from Alabama and moved to Texas for an awesome school library position to work for an administrator for whom I have great respect and admiration. I moved from working at a high school library for the past twelve years to working at an elementary school. I moved from having a flexible schedule to a fixed schedule as part of the Specials rotation with Art, Music, and PE. I moved from having amazing, full time library aides to having no full time aide. I changed from having no district library supervisor to having and incredibly supportive one. I moved from not having a unified district library structure to having a very well structured program. So much was all new to me! Below are four tips to help you as you enter this new chapter of your life.

Get Connected

Being a school librarian can be a shockingly isolating profession, especially after having formed tight, supportive networks while you were a classroom teacher.  As a school librarian you are in a sort of no man’s land. You aren’t part of the teacher peer group, you aren’t part of the administrative peer group. Often, you are the only person in your school that works in and understands what it takes to run an active, engaging, supportive library.  Many school districts, unfortunately, often perpetuate this isolation by not allowing time for district librarians to meet and plan collaboratively which only exacerbates the isolation.

FIND YOUR PEOPLE

Don’t wait around for your district to connect you. Reach out to the other librarians in your district and find out what you have in common. Maybe your children both play softball, go to gymnastics, or dance class. Perhaps you could set up playdates, or other social interactions to get together outside the school day.  My favorite since my children are grown and out of the house is to set up weekend brunch/lunch meetings or after school dinner meetings. Talk, have fun, swap ideas and plan. Plus, it’s fun to have time away with friends who really get each other. Don’t stop there. Connecting with librarians outside of your school, district, and state, and country brings a unique worldview into your library program and enriches student learning.

Where To Find Your People

Twitter

Twitter is one of the best places you can go to connect, share, learn and grow with other school librarians and connected educators. Twitter is how I went from being a burned out educator to feeling like I never want to do anything else but teach.  Teaching before Twitter was lonely, frustrating, and boring. Teaching with Twitter is energizing, invigorating, fun, creative, and I never want to get off this ride of bringing awesome learning opportunities to my students and teachers.

There are a few secrets to truly harnessing the power of Twitter.  

Hashtags: By following, commenting, sharing, and connecting using hashtags you will maximize your own professional learning.  

Three hashtags I’d recommend for school librarians are:

#TLChat

#FutureReadyLibs

#ISTELib

Don’t limit yourself to just these hashtags. Make sure to connect using state education hashtags, makerspace hashtags, and educational technology hashtags as well.

Twitter Chats: Twitter chats are the scheduled conversations, usually in a Q/A format lead by a moderator or moderators that take place on a weekly or monthly basis.

Two places to find hashtags for you, your teachers, and administrators are:

Participate Learning Chats

Cybraryman’s Educational Hashtags

Facebook

        Facebook is a great place to join groups. A few of my favorite Facebook Groups include:

Future Ready Librarians

ISTE Librarians Network

The School Librarian’s Workshop

MakerSpaces and the Participatory Library

Professional Development Resources for School Librarians

Below are a few professional development resources where you can find your people and have official professional development at the same time.

Future Ready Librarians Webinars

Library 2.0 Webinar Series

ISTE Librarians Network Professional Development

I owe my much of my success to my PLN. Without their strength, support, guidance, ideas and more I would not be able to accomplish so many of my professional and personal goals.  Through social media connections I have developed true friendships with other librarians and educators who will cry with you and lift you up when you are struggling and laugh, dance, and celebrate with you when you are successful.

Be Fearless

Be fearless even if you are trembling on the inside.  Be the one who demonstrates that it is ok to not know something but be willing to learn, fail, and start again. We need to model for both our students and our teachers the willingness to not know everything and the need to not control everything.  

While I am in no way a fan of being on a fixed schedule as part of the Specials rotation, was awesome to have a captive audience to try out new ideas garnered through my incredible and diverse PLN (Professional Learning Network).  I loved learning about a new technology, app, website, craft, and more and knowing that I could go into work the next day and try it out with the kids even if I didn’t really know how to do it myself. Part of the fun was learning right along with the students and letting them teach me!

We also need to assist our teachers with expanding collaboration beyond the school building to forge authentic real world learning opportunities with others across the country and around the world using video conferencing tools like Google Hangouts, YouTube Live, and Skype. Events like Read Across America, World Read Aloud Day, International Dot Day, Andy Plemmons’ Picture Book Smackdown, Elissa Malespina’s virtual debates, Stony Evans’ #StonyStories empowering students to be in house PD and national presenters, National Poetry Month/Poem in Your Pocket Day, Mystery Skype, and so many more events can be made exponentially better by connecting with other schools celebrating or doing the same things.  I love that Shannon Miller put together a Google Document this past year where we can all share monthly Library Celebrations, any of which could be made collaborative.  

One new technology I want to use this year is #GridPals via FlipGrid. I introduced my students and school to FlipGrid during my first year.  Students, teachers, administrators, and parents could all contribute to our two FlipGrid topics; Book of the Day and Quote of the Day.  These grids were then incorporated into our morning news show. That way the whole school community had an opportunity to be part of the morning announcements.  

This year I want to connect my students through the new #Gridpals program. While FlipGrid has a Google Form where you can connect your students with other students around the world, you can always team up with another teacher or teachers you know to do something similar on your own.

I challenge you this year to be fearless! Part of being fearless is stepping out and trying new things even if you have never tried them before.  The willingness to learn and put yourself out there even if failure ensues (and it will) is the most fearless thing you can do!

Remember That You Are HUMAN

Entering a brand new chapter as a school librarian I set an impossibly high bar for myself in part because I knew what I had been able to do in my past schools.  I failed to take into account all of the supports that I had in place in my old schools that I no longer had in my new school; a full time aide, a flexible schedule, student library aide (a great high school perk), and more.  

I worked myself at a frenzied pace to try to meet my own unrealistic goals. I weeded a collection that had not been weeded properly in twelve years with the help of my new district library supervisor, Becky Calzada. I genrefied the collection. I ripped shelving off the walls, moved and discarded furniture, and took apart and rearranged the circulation desk. I started a morning news show for our school’s morning announcements. I created makespace style centers and introduced cool new technologies to the kids like green screens, robotics, coding, and more. My third through fifth grade students created and maintained digital portfolios.

I found myself working all night at home and all weekend just to keep up with all the tasks I had heaped on my professional plate. I was exhausted, frustrated, angry, and after just the first year at my new school I was quickly moving into burnout mode.

Then I talked to my library hero and mentor, Jennifer Lagarde.  After attentively listening to my woes she said, “What advice would you give another librarian if they were saying these same things to you?”  Jennifer also asked, “Would you talk to another librarian the way you are talking to yourself?” Wow! Jennifer’s words really made me stop and think.  

I would advise another librarian to choose just one goal for each school year and concentrate on that. I’d also say, “Give yourself a break. Celebrate the cool things you are doing rather than beating yourself up over the things you aren’t doing.”  Being a connected educator is great for ideas and support from people who “get you” but can also make you feel as if you aren’t doing enough. As long as students are your main focus you are moving in the right direction. You are not a superhero. You are a beautiful, wonderful, talented human being with much to offer to your new students, staff, administrators, parents, and community members.

Make Community Connections

The PTA, parents, and grandparents this first year in Texas were my saving grace. I was so fortunate to have an involved and supportive PTA.  They took charge of the first Scholastic Book Fair of two booked by the previous librarian for the school year. I still felt as if I was drowning when that first book fair came around and couldn’t have possibly done it without them.

I was also blessed with some pretty incredible parent and grandparent volunteers.  With over 800 students and a tight back to back fixed schedule the ability to just shelve books was overwhelming.  My two grandparent volunteers, Ms. Gloria and Ms. Jean came every Tuesday and Thursday to shelve books. Whew! If it weren’t for them I would be buried under piles of books.  Ms. Phan, Ms. Bercu, Ms. Roberts, and Ms. Williams were also great helpers, often coming in to shelve books but also to help out with our library center activities.

My new school also hosted a WatchDog Dads program. My very basic understanding of the program is that the dads come to school with their kids and help out where needed but also spend time with their kids in class.  Just at moments when I thought I would just curl up into a ball and start crying, a WatchDog Dad would walk into the library and save me. One day in particular the Internet went out which meant my book checkout system was down as were most of my center activities. I was frantically trying to devise a plan when three WatchDog Dads walked into the library. Together we quickly came up with a plan of action and the day was saved!

My principal and front office staff also helped me out by sending substitute teachers to the library whenever they had a planning period on their schedule. I liked this because I could learn more about the school and community by talking and making friends with them. I can’t believe I went 25 years without knowing you could have substitutes help out like that!

Final Thoughts

More than any other advice I can give I think the most important things you can do as a new librarian is have fun, don’t take yourself too seriously, and always put serving others with joy (even when you don’t feel joyful) before all other tasks (management tasks can wait...people are more important).  

Want to read my 5 Tips for New School Librarians (and those who aren't so new) posted summer of 2017?  Click HERE and enjoy!

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School Librarians: The Batman of Superheroes

I often see School Librarian avatars take on a Superman persona. Just type in "Super Librarian" in a Google Image search and see what you get (goo.gl/BxAAk3).

Copy short URL)  Heck, I've even purchased the  "Super Librarian" T-shirt!

Rather than Superman, I feel that School Librarians have more in common with Batman.

Batman is unlike other superheroes. He wasn't bitten by a radioactive spider. He wasn't sent from a far away planet gifted with a unique and super human DNA. He didn't absorb a vast quantity of gamma rays. Batman is human. . .  just like school librarians.

The thing that enables Batman to be a superhero can be attributed greatly to the tools Batman has at his disposal. School Librarians, like Batman, also have a powerful set of tools at their disposal as well.

POW! School Librarians are alternative fact fighters! They teach students (and teachers) information         literacy to help curtail the spread of fake news!                   BAM!  School Librarians have standards! AASL, ISTE, and Future Ready!                                       SMASH! School Librarians smash teacher/admin fear of new technologies                                             by providing individualized professional development including                                             co-teaching when needed!                                                                                                        ZAP! Full Time Certified School Librarians operating on a                                                                  flexible schedule increase standardized test scores....                                                                  without ever once "teaching to the test"!                  BOOM! School Librarians develop a rich and diverse collection to meet the needs of                         of their teachers and students!                                            CRUNCH! School Librarians teach and model digital literacy and good                                                      citizenship both IRL and on the digital "playground"! WHAM! School Librarians empower students as creators through creating Makerspaces, either in          the library or on portable carts for use in the classroom!                                                          ZOOOM!  School Librarians develop in students a life long love                                                                  of reading by connecting them with "just the right book"!

These are just a few examples of the tools School Librarians have in their "tool belt".  Administrative support of the library program is critical to the successful, effective, and consistent use of these tools.

Similar to Batman, a School Librarians success greatly depends on their ability to "reach & use" the tools they have at their disposal.  Even Batman can be reduced to a mere human when access to his tool belt is impeded.

A few things than can impede a School Librarian from effectively using and implementing the tools at their disposal include, but are not limited to:

Fixed Schedules

Funding (or lack of)

Spreading one librarian across multiple schools

Lack of Administrative support

No Library Aide (Robin)

Hiring aides in place of librarians

Library Aides are the Robin to our Batman.  Robin doesn't have the training (library certification) or pay grade to adequately do the job Batman (Certified Librarian) can do.   

With this said, Batman needs Robin. School Librarians and Library Aides are an essential team in the endeavor to empower students and teachers from the library.

For Batman to be at his maximum super hero capability it takes a whole team working together toward a common goal.  School Librarians are also empowered with a team. Their team includes library aides, teachers, administrators, a robust PLN (Professional Learning Network), library volunteers, parent and grandparents, community and local businesses.

When we, as School Librarians, find ourselves standing alone, hands tied, we must garner within ourselves to do the best we can and find inventive ways to meet the needs of our school community.  Fighting with ourselves about all the things we simply do not have to ability to do because our "hands are tied" is poisonous and is the tough lesson I have had to learn this past school year.  Having recently retired after 25 years of service in Alabama, I moved to Texas and "started over" again in an elementary school after 12 years at the high school level.  I had been spoiled in Alabama with flexible schedules and library aides so it came as a shock when confronted with a fixed schedule that was part of the Specials rotation with PE, Art, and Music/Performing Arts.  For the majority of the school year I had an internal struggle with the inability to access my "tool belt" to provide anything beyond student library services.  My schedule and lack of a full time library aide left me literally and figuratively tied to the library.  Other librarians with similar schedules advised me, "If the Library is considered a Specials class then we should treat the library as a Specials class and close it when no classes are scheduled", (a very rare occurrence in a school with my student population). This advice felt like a betrayal of my professional and personal ethics, yet, trying to go at a marathon pace all the time only caused me to feel like an abject failure because my focus was on all the things I couldn't do. It was when I finally realized I am HUMAN that I was able to make changes that met my personal and professional standards while also allowing me to jog and/or walk as needed. I also changed my mindset from that of seeing my shortcomings as failures to celebrating the student learning taking place in the library. I might not be able to do everything I want to do and should do as a certified School Librarian to my level of satisfaction, but I can provide tools to empower my students to be their very own Batman!

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[nikkidrobertson]

Winkley Elementary Wolverine News (Morning Announcements)

What an exciting school year this has been! I started creating our Wolverine News Youtube Channel with students in grades K-5 creating special segment introductions to teach Green Screen skills.  From there students applied to be Wolverine News Team Members and learned how to create a news broadcast from beginning to end!   Additionally, students, parents, teachers, and administrators have also submitted over 1000 Book Reviews and Quotes of the Day (using FlipGrid) to be included in our Wolverine News broadcasts!  I am so proud of all that our Winkley Family has learned and accomplished this 2017-2018 school year! ​

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[nikkidrobertson]

Empowering Student Voice and Choice in the Library

Pictured above is how I use ClassroomScreen to keep kids on track with directions and how much time they have left to complete their learning goal.

My first school year in Texas and back in Elementary School after 12+ years at the high school level is more than half way over! It has been a fun yet challenging adventure. I started off the school year using a center rotation system so that I could work with smaller groups of students to teach a wide variety of skills. You can read more about how I run centers in an Elementary School library HERE.

Now that this routine has been established and the majority of "basic" skills I wanted students in grades 3-5 to master have been achieved it is time to switch things up to empower even more student voice and choice while also continuing to teach technology skills, digital citizenship, support the curriculum, and more.

While students K-2 will continue learning in center rotations, 3-5 students have begun their first steps towards creating digital portfolios. I have been presenting about digital portfolios for at least seven years after having discovered Dr. Helen Barrett's Electronic Portfolios website.

Then I was fortunate enough to work my last two years before retiring from Alabama in the Madison City School District with visionary and digital portfolio advocate, Daniel Whitt.  Daniel has successfully implemented digital portfolios for students 3-12 with the help of school librarians and others.  In fact, librarians & teachers Missy King, Sara Baragona, and Ashley Strode are presenting at ISTE 2018 on Monday, June 25, at 9:00–10:00 am to share what Madison City Schools has been able to accomplish with their digital portfolio initiative.  You can access Daniel's digital portfolio files any time HERE.

Before jumping right into building our digital portfolio websites (we are using Google Sites) I wanted to give my 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students a chance to reflect on themselves since their digital portfolio home page is their "introduction" to the world.  While I would encourage high school students to write an About Me introduction (example: Sean Neal) I felt that the age group I was working with could better express themselves through an "All About Me" assignment.  Rather than simply printing out the All About Me worksheet I found online, I created my own All About Me in Google Drawings.  Then I pushed this out to students using Google Classroom so that each student had their own copy to work on.  This way I wasn't only letting them reflect in preparation for their digital portfolio home page, I was also teaching kids how to use Google Drawing.  Since I would be out of town during this time I used YouTube Live to record my lesson for my substitute to play.

So far so good! I've been really pleased with the creativity students are showing in completing this task.  Take a look at this one done by a 3rd grader!

One motivator for students to work diligently on the tasks we will do while building or digital portfolios is the ability to have "free" time after successfully completing each task or goal.  "Free" time includes access to makerspace activities like our BB8 robot, games, LEGOs, arts & crafts, Bloxels, VR and AR, Merge Cube, OSMO, coding activities, working on homework, reading, relaxing and listening to music, socializing, etc.  In other words, as long as students are doing something school/library appropriate once they have completed their task they have the rest of their classroom time to do what they choose to do.

The reaction from kids has been extremely positive and it feels good to see the kids so excited about this change.  I also love that as we build our digital portfolios it will be something teachers can start using in their classrooms and with parents during parent/teacher conferences to highlight student accomplishments.

Be sure to follow the Winkley Library on social media to stay up to date with this new adventure!

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[nikkidrobertson]

ISTE Librarians Network Playground Sign Up Now OPEN!

http://ohekidstech.blogspot.com/2015/07/

ISTE Librarians Network Playground is happening on Monday, June 25, 8:00–11:30 am CDT. This playground, hosted by ISTE's Librarians Network, is an opportunity to connect with school librarians and educators as they share their favorite tools and resources. Visitors will learn about innovative technologies and resources that support development of information literacy skills, research and information fluency, as well as creativity and innovation. We will also have 9 total tables and two large screen presentation areas with 2-3 tables designated for vendors who would like to demonstrate how their products enhance libraries. FYI -  You will not be allowed to sell your products at the playground. If you would like to participate please fill out the form below. The deadline to submit a playground proposal is Saturday, March 24, 2018. Accepted submissions will be announced on Saturday, March 31, 2018.

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[nikkidrobertson]

World Read Aloud Day (Week) 2018

On Monday, January 29th the Winkley Library joined thousands of other students all across the world to bring attention to the importance of reading and writing by observing World Read Aloud Day by connecting with other schools across the United States to read and share our love of reading with each other. For the past few years Shannon Miller and Andy Plemmons have teamed up to encourage educators to observe World Read Aloud Day and provide a way for educators to find each other to make connections using Skype and/or Google Hangouts. This year was my first year to ever observe World Read Aloud Day as an Elementary School librarian.  Being on a fixed library schedule as part of the Specials rotation, finding coordinating times across varied time zones to connect with other libraries and/or classrooms proved to be a daunting task but with perseverance we were able to connect the majority of our library classes! YAY! Our first connection was with Ms. Hincks' 2nd grade students from Bloomfield Hill, MI. We read Windows by Julia Draw.  I love that our students also had time share a "Window To Their World" by talking and sharing with each other after the book was read.

Our next connection was with Ms. Walterich's 2nd graders from Buffalo, NY.  kicked off our week long journey of introducing R. J. Palacio's book, We're All Wonders to many of our Winkley Elementary students.  

Then Sherron Gaughan's 5th graders from Minnesota blew us away with a spirited reading of 

The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors by Drew Daywalt. We absolutely loved the expressions they put into each characters voice!

The week continued on with many wonderful connections. I was thrilled to connect with my friend, April Wathen, and her amazing students as we partner read, We're All Wonders.

Then Angie Dickerson's 7th graders connected with our 5th graders to read We're All Wonders.  I was blown away by her students and our kids really enjoyed listening to the kids reading rather than the adults.  Ms. Dickerson's students also shared that they had read the dedication page in the book and had researched Nathaniel Newman. During their research they discovered a 20/20 story about Nathaniel on whom the book "Wonder" is based.  After talking with Ms. Dickerson's 7th graders our kids also checked out the great 20/20 story to learn more about the boy behind the story.

We wrapped up the week with Mary Hundt from Wisconsin, Sarah Gobe from Maryland, and with the incredible Sherron Gaughan again.

Did you miss connecting for World Read Aloud Day this year?  Mark your calendars for next year and then in the meantime let go of whatever has been holding you back and get connected for Read Across America Day coming up March 2nd!  Shannon Miller has compiled some great resources for Read Across America Day here: http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/2018/01/lets-celebrate-and-connect-for-read.html

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[nikkidrobertson]

My Top 10 "Go To" Techs of 2017

Google Google, Google, Google! From Google Docs, Slides, to Google Classroom and Google Photos I simply can't get enough of Google.  Google is the ultimate tool for collaboration.  Two of my favorite bloggers that keep me up to date on all things Google are Alice Keeler and Kasey Bell.

          Unsplash I learned about Unsplash in 2017 from Librarian at Lowndes County Public Schools, Holly Ballard O'Neal.  Unsplash gives you access to over 300,000 copyright free high-resolution photos.  Chances are if you see a great image on something I am presenting it most likely came from Unsplash!

Buffer Buffer is the ultimate social media tool.  Basically Buffer allows you to compose social media messages, choose which social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Linkedin) to send the message out through, and schedule what day and time the messages are to be sent.  Buffer saves me so much time and makes me look like a social media guru!

Remind Remind is a K-12 communication platform that helps educators reach students and parents where they are.  This year I am part of a six day Specials color rotation.  I have a difficult time keeping track of what color day it is so I can only image the difficulty parents must have, especially if they have more than one child at the school.  I use Remind mainly to help remind parents of what color day it will be so that they can remember to get library books packed away in their child's backpack.

S'More Smore makes it easy to design beautiful and effective online flyers and newsletters that can be seamlessly shared via social media, via a link, or embedded on a webpage/site.  What I love the most about using Smore is that, similar to Google, when I inevitably discover a spelling error AFTER I have sent out the Smore there is no need to worry. I can make any changes to the Smore and the changes take place universally.  No need to send out an email telling people to ignore the previously sent newsletter! YAY!

WeVideo

This year I began making our school morning announcements via video.  When I first started I used iMovie but knowing that I would be transitioning production responsibilities to students I began my search for a collaborative video production tool.  Thanks to my awesome PLN (Professional Learning Network) I quickly found WeVideo and am now ready to start working on collaborative video productions! WeVideo is fantastic for so many reasons! I would never go back to using iMovie now that I've discovered WeVideo.

Canva Canva makes me look like a genius graphic designer. Whether I need to design a presentation slide, poster, infographic, resume, etc, I can always count on Canva to help me know the right sizes, fonts, colors, placement and more!

Clipping Magic Have you ever been looking for the perfect graphic but couldn't use it because you needed a transparent background and couldn't quite figure out how to get rid of the background? ClippingMagic.com is a website dedicated to helping you remove image backgrounds as quickly and painlessly as possible.  

Do Ink App

Do Ink Green Screen app has been invaluable to me as we produce our video morning announcements.  I simply couldn't do this task without this easy to use green screen app.  "Green Screen by Do Ink makes it easy to create incredible green screen videos and images right on your iPad or iPhone. The app lets you combine photos and videos from the camera roll with live images from your iPad or iPhone's camera."

FlipGrid FlipGrid is one of the most amazing tech tools I have used to empower and amplify student voice.  There are a million different ways that you can use FlipGrid. I have used it this year for students to submit Book Reviews and Quote of the Day submissions to be included in our morning show.  The thing I love most about FlipGrid is just how easy it is for anyone to use.  As long as students have an Internet connected device they can contribute.  I love seeing so many students and their parents contributing.  FlipGrid is also a great way to get the conversation about digital citizenship started in a a way that is real and relevant to students.  Below is a FlipGrid submission a student made with her mom!

BONUS: EasyPrompter is a free, easy to use teleprompter that I use all the time while filming for our morning news program.  It works in a similar manner as the teleprompters news anchors use. I have my kids create their news scripts in a Google Doc and then copy and past into EasyPrompter.  I also love that you can highlight and change the color of different parts of the script so that students know which parts are theirs to say.  This tech is a definite must have for anyone making video productions with students.

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[nikkidrobertson]

I Wish My Principal...

I am working on a presentation specifically for school administrators to help them gain a better understanding of school libraries and school librarians.

Please help me gather information that YOU wish your principal/administrators knew about you and your library by answering the questions pictured above via the Google Form below.

Thank you in advance for helping me curate this information.  No names or locations will be used in the presentation.

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[nikkidrobertson]

Tell Me One Good Thing

As we all sat down to Christmas dinner with my daughter's family in Kansas my three year old granddaughter turned to me and said, "Grandma, tell me one good thing".  Inquisitively, I looked to my daughter not completely understanding the request.  It turns out that at my granddaughter's school, right before lunch is eaten, they go around the table and share one good thing about their day so far.  After sharing one good thing about your day you are then prompted to "ask a friend" about their one good thing until everyone has had a chance to share.  

As this year comes to an end I challenge you to not only look back at 2017 and find the good things but make it a point to stop each day and find that "one good thing".  

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[nikkidrobertson]

This Holiday Season in the Winkley Library

The 1st nine weeks had come to an end and I had just started in on my 2nd nine weeks of Library Center rotation activities when it dawned on me that the quickly approaching holiday season was going to throw all of my plans into utter chaos. Thanksgiving Break, the Scholastic Book Fair, special school wide Holiday Events, Winter Break, and me being out sick (UGH) all took big chunks out of the normal library routine. I am extremely lucky that the PTA is in charge of the Book Fair. All I do for the Book Fair is provide our Library as a space in which it can be set up; PTA does the rest. Since the conditions in the library with all the coming and going of Book Fair patrons wasn’t conducive to teaching and learning, I moved the library to an empty classroom upstairs. My wonderful library aide, Sandy Perez, and I worked together to turn the room into a pretty awesome little library space. We pulled a few carts of popular books so students could still check out books, we carried the reading carpet up, and redesigned our library activities to better suit the space and limitations we faced.

Fortunately, these hiccups actually worked out for the best as Hour of Code week fell within this time period and could be accommodated in our smaller space using MacBook and Chromebook laptops. Kindergarten and 1st Graders learned how to code using Tynker’s Hour of Code Puppy Adventure game. This is the one I found was most compatible with the ability level of my students with regards to understanding coding as well as with use of a trackpad on a laptop. 2nd through 5th graders learned how to create a Holiday Card using Scratch. Scratch is awesome because it passes the “If Ms. Robertson can do it” test! Scratch has great step by step directions that, with a little modeling, can easily be followed by students. I absolutely love seeing the lights go off in students eyes as what they are doing “clicks” and then they take off on a creating rampage! Getting them to come to a stop so the next library class can come in is the hardest thing I have to do.

5th Graders got an extra little treat this week. I wrapped up our Scratch coding lesson about 10-15 minutes early each class and then we “made” a silent movie. Ask your kids what a silent movie is. The responses are so cute! Then actually explain the concept and the confusion on their faces is so precious. “Why didn’t they just record what the actors were saying?” What made it even funnier was that I’ve had laryngitis while teaching this and the kids thought it had something to do with not being able to talk! Once explaining what a silent movie was we then made our own silent movie using the Chrome Experiment, Peanut Gallery. We watch a movie clip and then worked together to write a “script” on the dry erase board. Then students were chosen to speak the parts in Peanut Gallery. Then we watched our silent movie! Watch two of the ones we made using the links below: Ms. Reed’s Class: https://youtu.be/g2D0Ftk5-Jo Ms. Evrard’s Class: https://youtu.be/l8dhiUEP3Q0

3rd through 5th graders also had the opportunity to participate in a “mock” Mystery Skype. What Sandy Perez, Dorothy Marinski (Instructional Coach), and I did to facilitate this activity is as follows. We explained the concept of Mystery Skype to students but told them just like in Sports or other competitions we wanted to practice first before competing against a “real” team. Thus, we split the class into two teams. Each team drew a state and city from a box where I had cut out 50 states and cities. In advance, I had also printed and laminated two sets of Mystery Skype “playing cards” that I got from Teachers Pay Teachers. I also printed on cardstock and laminated the US/World Maps provided inthe Teachers Pay Teachers package. Then, with dry erase markers in hand, Sandy and Dorothy took half of the class to a different room and we “Skyped” with each other. I say “Skyped” because we actually used Google Meet instead of Skype because it just worked better in our school setting. Students then proceeded to play Mystery Skype until one team was able to guess the other teams state or until we ran out of library time. Now that we have played Mystery Skype the kids are super eager to play it for real! I promised the kids I would search over Winter Break for classes who wanted to challenge us to a game! This activity was a great way to teach so many different skills! Research skills, map skills, deductive reasoning, critical thinking, effective questioning, and so much more!

A few classes these past few weeks even had some time to get silly with some apps! Check out the carnage that happened when BB-8 went crazy and attacked this 5th Grade class! OH MY!

The holidays can be such a stressful time. I love that we found a way to teach our kids lots of important skills while also having a bit of fun!

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Library Centers: Empowering Students to be Masters of Their Own Learning

This year has been one marked by big changes for me.  I retired from Alabama after 25 years of service.  The last 12 of those years was spent serving students and teachers at the high school level.  Over the summer I moved to Texas and am now back in an elementary school library which takes me full circle back to the environment where I first started my career in school libraries in 1997.

People often ask me which level of library I liked working in best, high school or elementary.  My answer is both! Each level offers its own unique teaching and learning opportunities that really can’t be compared. The students and teachers are also completely different at these different levels and are equally challenging and delightful.

Being back at the elementary level is a joy and is allowing me to explore new avenues of teaching and learning that simply did not exist my first time working in an elementary school library.

The challenge I faced in my new library was as a part of the very crowded six day “specials” rotation, thus, a fixed schedule with one 50 minute time period each day for management tasks like shelving books, creating book orders, creating displays, budgeting, lesson planning, and so much more.  

During my first incantation as an elementary school librarian it took me several years to stumble upon the magic of centers. Centers allow you to work with small groups of students and serve more as a facilitator of learning rather than the holder of the key to learning. Centers also empower students to be masters of their own learning. Centers are also a great way to teach lessons and incorporate aspects of a MakerSpace in a manageable way that won’t have you completely frazzled by the end of the day. Creating centers requires quite a bit of front loading work, but all that up front work pays off fast, resulting in a smooth running, well oiled machine of a library.  

In addition to centers, I also conduct whole class mini lessons when appropriate, as well as special lessons like Mystery Skype, Breakout EDU, and other opportunities to connect such as Dot Day, Read Across America, World Read Aloud Week, Poem in my Pocket, and more.

Aren’t Centers Just Playtime?

This is my first year at my school and the first year for students to be exposed to the various tech tools and other activities at centers, therefore, I have scaffolded the learning process in my centers by nine week periods.

1st Nine Weeks- Students will be introduced to and become familiar with the general operation of the school library and center equipment and expectations. Yes. This does look like and feel like “playing”.  Students, however, must first feel comfortable with the centers and their equipment before deeper learning can be applied.

Example:

1st Nine Weeks-Green Screen Center:

Students will use the green screen room to record clips for the Wolverine News Morning Announcement show.  Students will also learn how to use the green screen to take pictures and videos with varying backgrounds by student choice.

2nd Nine Weeks:

K-2nd students will use the green screen app, iPads, green folders, Lego characters, green straws and tape, to create stop motion videos or images that support classroom curriculum and/or student created stories and/or book reviews.

Lesson resources:

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3rd-5th students who want to go further with producing and editing videos will learn how to import green screen clips into iMovie for editing and producing Wolverine News.

All other 3rd-5th grade students will follow the K-2 plan outlined above.

3rd Nine Weeks:

All students will continue to build on previous green screen knowledge and add in app smashing components with apps like Tellagami, Chatterpix and more.

Students fine tuning their video production skills will start making changes to Wolverine News with regards to backgrounds, transitions, stories, and more.  Language Arts teachers will work collaboratively with the library to prepare student interest reports in these and other categories created by students:

Sports Beat

Football

Baseball

Basketball

Soccer

Gymnastics

Cheerleading

etc

Entertainment Beat

Music

TV

Movies

Video games

etc

Technology Beat

The More You Know Beat

This Day in History Beat

Science Beat

PSAs & Advertising Beat

4th Nine Weeks:

Similar to the 3rd Nine Weeks but with higher quality of work expectations.

How We Start Each Class:

Having an established routine is very important to maintaining order in your elementary school library.  I am working to help students and teachers know the library’s procedure for entering and leaving the library.  For us, students must line up on the wall outside of the library and wait for me to walk them in.  I have found that if students just “come in” it creates a sense of  chaos that echos throughout their 50 minute library time. Students also line up on the wall outside the library to finish the day in an orderly, managed manner as well.

As students enter the Winkley Library they are walked past our book return book drop area so that they can return their books as they proceed to the whole class reading carpet area. Once all students are seated in the whole class reading carpet area I welcome students to the library and let them know if we are doing any special mini lessons or other special activities. We then proceed with our “Hey! Listen to this!” time.  During this time students get to share anything they want to share with the whole group like getting a new pet, their sports team winning the big game, making a great grade, a fun vacation memory, a visit with grandparents, etc.  Being new to the school this is a great way for me to get to know more about the students and also a great way to empower student voice.

After our “Hey! Listen to this!” time I introduce students to any new procedures, technologies, or other special activities they need to be aware of pertaining to the library.  Grades 2-5 then disperse to centers for the remainder of the time.  Once students are in their center areas we begin allowing one center at a time to check out books, starting with our Library Helper Center. For grades K-1 we have students check out their books before going to centers.  After students in grade K-1 have checked out their books we all meet back in the whole class reading carpet area for storytime.  I choose a story to read from the books the students have checked out. I find that by doing this students are more thoughtful in their book selections. I can always work in important reading/language arts TEKS into almost any book selection.

QUESTIONS FROM THE INTERNET:

What rules do you have for centers? How much time do you spend on directions? Do you directions for each center to the whole class, do they read the directions when they get to the centers? Do they get started and you go around and explain?

When I open a new center that has not been assigned to a team before I will review the expectations with the whole class.  Most centers are self explanatory. If I will be introducing a new technology at a center then I will explain the new tech component whole class as well.  After students go to their assigned centers I walk around, supervise and answer questions.  

I also use the “3 Before Me” rule in the library to help students become independent thinkers and learners.  

Center Procedure:

QUESTIONS FROM THE INTERNET:

How do you have students change between the centers? Is it based on time or their choice when they move? If it is their choice on when to move, how do you handle too many students at one center?

I asked teachers to put their students into 4-5 member teams because I do not know the students as well as they do. I then create a Google Sheet with students names and the teams they are in  so that I can easily track what team completed what center during what week.  See example below.

Students rotate to a different center each time they come to the library.  Students in grade 2-5 find what center they are in on their own by locating the 3 ring binder that has their name displayed in the center area. (see image below)  Students K-1 are given center badges to wear that indicate what center they are in that day. This helps us know where students should be as Kindergarten is especially prone to wandering and claiming to have no idea where they are supposed to be.

There are three weeks out of the nine weeks period that are “Free Choice” days.  To control the flow of students to centers during these days I made 30 matching badge and tags combinations; enough for each student in a class.  Students wear their badge and then use the matching tag to claim their space at a center. Centers are limited to four students at a time. (see image below)

QUESTION FROM THE INTERNET:

Clean up between classes on a tight schedule?

I give students a 10 minute warning before the end of library time. Students are expected to clean up their centers and, if necessary, switch out the center so that it is ready for the next class coming in.  Most classes I have 5 minutes in between to make changes. There are a few classes where I have ZERO minutes in between, thus, training students to take care of the transition and clean up is critical.

To make the transition easier I try to have similar broad activities in each center area that use the same supplies/equipment and that are designed to span grades K-5.  For instance, in the arts and crafts center for the 1st nine week period we focused on fingerprint art.  For the 2nd nine week period the overarching theme is “paper crafts”. I will provide a few examples of paper crafts that span various grade levels but ultimately students will be free to let their personal genius shine within the “paper craft” theme.

While it hasn’t been any real issues, I have had to warn some center groups that they will not do centers the next time the come to the library if their center is left a mess.

Winkley Elementary School Library Centers:

Below I have shared our centers for the first nine weeks of school.  I will update this post each nine weeks throughout the school year. I have also provided the standards my centers, mini lessons, and storytime meet.

QUESTION FROM THE INTERNET:

Do you align your centers with any standards? Centers work great as a class management tool but my main goal is to try to make them purposeful where the students are learning something new or are practicing a skill.

Differentiation with centers? Assessments?

My centers are aligned with my district unit expectations/TEKS, ISTE Library Standards, and the Future Ready Framework.

Since there is zero time in my schedule to provide any sort of formal PD to teachers, centers are designed to not only allow students to explore and create, but to model for teachers how various technologies can be used to support curriculum.  

Assessments are informal and through observation.  I build my centers so that each nine weeks period builds on the one before.  For example, the green screen center is where we create our morning announcements.  Students spend the 1st nine week period learning what a green screen is, how it works and how to create news clips from a script.  The 2nd nine weeks students will build on this by learning how to take clips produced in the green screen room, import them into iMovie, edit clips, and put together a morning announcement.  The 3rd nine week period will have students pick a “reporter beat” that they are interested in. By choosing a “beat” to cover this leads students into the research and writing process.  We will also use this time to cover research skills, citing sources, knowing if sources are reliable, more Internet safety and digital citizenship.

Reporter Beats include but are not limited to:

Sports Beat

Football

Baseball

Basketball

Soccer

Gymnastics

Cheerleading

etc

Entertainment Beat

Music

TV

Movies

Video games

etc

Technology Beat

The More You Know Beat

This Day in History Beat

Science Beat

Leander ISD 1st 9 Weeks Unit Summary

ISTE Library Standards

Future Ready Framework

The purpose of our units of study is to support and extend the grade level language arts units of study, including the technology applications TEKS, while providing a guaranteed and viable library curriculum. In this unit, we will be setting up library systems and expectations, fostering  literature appreciation, and introducing the concept of digital citizenship to start our year off right.

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Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.

Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical.

Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.

Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.

Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions.

Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.

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Provides flexible spaces that promote inquiry, creativity, collaboration and community

Encourages and facilitates students to become increasingly self-directed as they create digital products of their learning that engage them in critical thinking, collaboration and authentic, real-world problem solving.

Arts & Crafts Center

Our Arts & Crafts Center is where students can show their own personal creative genius within a given theme.  

QUESTIONS FROM THE INTERNET:

How to keep students from wasting supplies (i.e. making bookmarks, using stickers, or foam supplies)

I have experienced an issue with this with the ink pads. When I see students wasting supplies I talk one on one with them. I also remind them that centers are a privilege and that if they are not respectful of the equipment or of their center team mates they might have to sit in a time out area instead of participating.  So far just talking with students has been enough.  I also try not to put all of my supplies out at once. Again, lots of pre-prep time invested here but well worth it.  I put together packets with only the amount of materials/supplies needed to complete the project.

Activity

Supplies Needed

Fingerprint Art

Paper

Ink Pads

Markers

Wipes to clean fingers

Laptop

Youtube

Google Chrome Extension: Magic Actions for Youtube

Ed Emberley Fingerprint books for inspiration

Build & Tinker/Game Center

Our Games Center is where students can build and tinker, hone social skills, explore the inner workings of electronics, read and follow directions, and so much more.

QUESTION FROM THE INTERNET:

How do you convince teachers that students are not “just playing”?

I also the library as a place where students can also just take a minute to BREATHE and break away from the stress of school, a looming curriculum, grades, and ever increasing expectations.  Not EVERYTHING in our libraries needs to be tied to the curriculum. Let kids have time to be kids!

Activity

Supplies Needed

Play games, build & tinker, explore inner workings of electronics

Board games

Card games

Old broken appliances/electronics for Equipment Autopsy

Legos

Building Blocks

Marble Run

Etc

Library Helper Center

Our Library Helper Center is where students learn library skills like the Dewey Decimal System, shelving books, book care and repair, customer service, locating books through the electronic book search, creating book orders, and so much more!

Why waste time and bore students to death with worksheets where they draw a line to where the book goes on the shelf when you have actual books that need to be shelved?! You can also use this time to teach small groups about the Dewey Decimal System (or Genre Shelving) within the context of why you need to know it rather than in theory on a worksheet.

Activity

Supplies Needed

Students in this center learn the ins and outs of being a school librarian.

Destiny Library System

Computers

Barcode Scanners

Library Helper Badges

Green Screen Center

Our Green Screen Center is where students learn how to use the green screen to create our morning announcements and more. Our focus the first nine weeks is to learn the basics of creating video clips using the green screen and green screen app.  The second nine weeks we will expand with 3-5 graders to moving clips into iMovie for editing.  The third nine weeks will have students taking on reporter rolls by researching and reporting on their special passions, like sports, animals, minecraft, skateboarding, etc.  By the fourth nine weeks students in grades 3-5 will be expected to be proficient in producing a mini movie/show from start to finish with little assistance from the librarian.

Activity

Supplies Needed

Students will use the green screen and the Do Ink app to record Wolverine News clips and other green screen related activities.

Green Screen

iPad

Laptop

Google Docs (for script)

Internet Browser to find background images

iPad Tripod

Do Ink app

EasyPrompter

iPad Lapel Microphones

Reading Center

Our Reading Center is where students can read books, ebooks, magazines, “special” books, listen to audio/video books, and record 90 Second Book Reviews to be featured on Wolverine News.

Activity

Supplies Needed

Students will use the Reading Center to discover the variety of reading materials available through the Winkley Library.

Laptops

Books

Magazines

FlipGrid

Leander ISD Reading Databases:

Tumblebooks

Follett eBooks

Starfall

ABDO Digital Bookshelf

Capstone eBooks

Mackin eBooks

OverDrive

RIF Book Zone

International Children’s Digital Library

Rosen Learning Center

Storyline Online

Storynory

Unite For Literacy

Augmented & Virtual Realities

Our Augmented and Virtual Reality Center is where students learn about and explore with augmented and virtual reality apps. Below are the two apps we are using during the 1st nine week period to expose students to what Virtual and Augmented Reality are.

Activity

Supplies Needed

Students in this center learn about and explore with augmented and virtual reality apps.

iPads

iPod Touch

Virtual Reality Headset

Printouts depending on app used

VR/AR Apps:

Discovery VR

Disneynature Explore

Dinosaurs Everywhere!

Coding Center

Our Coding Center is where students are introduced to and learn the basics of coding. Once students have been introduced to block coding this nine weeks we will bring out our BB8 Sphero and let students program BB8 during the second nine week period.

Activity

Supplies Needed

Students in this center are introduced to and learn the basics of coding.

Laptops

iPads

BB8 Sphero

Tickle App

Coding Apps

Code Karts

Scratch JR.

Scratch

Daisy the Dinosaur

Tynker

Code Monkey

More via Common Sense Media

Coding Websites

Hour of Code

Made With Code

Tynker

Incredibox

Code Combat

More via Common Sense Media

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