Surviving your first year: Strategies and tips that will get you through your first year as a Library Media Specialist.
I'd like to conclude my assignment #4 with this article written by an elementary school Library Media Specialist, Katie Cerasale-Messina. It seemed appropriate as in a few short weeks I will be beginning my first official librarian job for the Vancouver School Board. Needless to say I am very excited, but also quite nervous.
The article begins in a similar style to Margaux DelGuidice's article on advice on how to avoid TL burnout. It tells a story of how first year TL Cerasale-Messina ends up feeling frustrated and disappointed in how the school library is coming along. She is behind in shelving and administrative duties, feeling low energy, and just about burned right out. Out of her negative experience however comes an urge to teach others to avoid the mistakes she did and to follow some of her strategies on how to make it through the school year.
-take your time to master one skill at a time
-short staffed, no problem
-keep organized data
-sing your library's praises
One issue that this article brings up is the matter of what I will refer to myself as: teacher librarian or library media specialist? The latter seems to be more appropriate for the 21st century library. What do you think?
Surviving your first year: Strategies and tips that will get you through your first year as a Library Media Specialist. Cerasale-Messina, Katie. Library Media Connection, Aug/Sep2010, Vol. 29 Issue 1, p30-30
Monday, March 14, 2011
article 9 :reference sections
- Tough Love for Your Reference Collection.
- I wouldn't be surprised if I learned that there are students at the school where I work who don't know where the Reference section is. And, even if they did, it might not also be surprising to know that they've never used any materials from the Reference section. With these thoughts in mind we find out that this article's author Terri Kirk has gotten rid of her Reference section altogether. She begins by telling us that she usually weeds the collection using the famous MUSTY acronym, one that I myself have referred to before in other assignments.
- In her case what she found was that for weeding the Reference Collection these handy little guidelines didn't quite apply. She felt that she ended up keeping several items in the collection even though they might have been out of date, simply because she did find some value in them. Overall however Kirk was able to remove a whole shelf of reference materials so that she could have more space in the library for books that were getting more circulation.
- Kirk, Terri. Tough Love for Your Reference Collection. Library Media Connection; Oct/Nov2010, Vol. 29 Issue 2, p28-28, 1p
article 8: tech and lib
- Techno Geek Brought Very Near.
- This article is of an interview with highschool teacher librarian, Carolyn Foote who tells us about her roles and visions as a librarian in the 21st century.
- Certainly we are hearing more and more about 21st century learners. If you look up the term 21st learner in Google it will turn up over 18 million references. As a future librarian both Foote and I share a common opinion that being that the digital environment is one in which teachers need leaders to guide them toward available materials and technologies. One of the roles as teacher librarin is to do just that. Foote brings up the fact that "To think that libraries become obsolete because of technology defies logic" In fact today students are more in need of information literacy skills than ever before.
- The Vancouver School Board even has a site started on this subject, although in my opinion it barely shows the tip of the iceberg.
- http://www.vsb.bc.ca/21st-century-learning
Within this article I started to see a pattern with certain comments that many teacher librarians in various articles were saying. These include such things as :- 1.making sure our administrators understand our role in terms of student instruction.
- 2. Understanding how students think and learn (since they are my "customers") and how to convey information to them has been key to me.
- 3.being aware of designing a library environment that is respectful of ;and inviting to students
- 4.Teacher collaboration is key to becoming more central to this process
- A quote that I would like to take away from this interview, is the following: "I find that I continue to become a better teacher by being a librarian, because the library is like a learning laboratory. I get so many opportunities to see other teachers in action, and I have the opportunity to try new practices and approaches myself when working with their classes."
- A few other points
- -enrich ourselves by becoming comfortable with new tools for collecting, creating, and dispersing information so that we can be teacher-leaders.
- -how to deal with books
- Foote ends her article by telling us her goals which include
- -constantly reinforcing information literacy is for our students who are drowning in information yet don't necessarily have the skills to evaluate the multiplicity of choices on the web.
- -And I want people to understand that librarians are teachers too-we are teacher-librarians.
- - encourage teacher-librarians to continually rethink what they do and to be curious-not defensive-about change.
- It's also an environment which raises many questions for teacher-librarians and our future practices-so I am constantly working on sorting out issues like building a virtual point of connection for students and how e-books may affect our library collection, for example.
I recently had the opportunity to go to a District Technology Day. I found it to be very rewarding and felt relieved that the VSB, like some of the advice in this article, was heading in the right direction by hosting such an event.
- Teacher Librarian; Dec2010, Vol. 38 Issue 2, p59-60, 2p
Article 7: video games to reading
Videogames in the Library? What is the World Coming To?
In the past, videogames in the classroom have been looked upon with frowns and eybrown raises. The thought of videogames in the library provokes similar sentiments as well. In Sanford's article we are drawn to notice that there is indeed a place for what is referred to as this new Web 2.0 tool. It is well-known that motivation is the key ingredient in teaching. Without it a lack of interest and desire can hamper any lesson. Sanford's suggestion of using videos in the library is a clever idea for bringing motivation in to learning.
School Libraries Worldwide Volume 14, Number 2, July 2008, pages 83-88. Kathy Sanford – Videogames in the Library? What is the World Coming To?
School Libraries WorldWide Volume 14, Number 2 - July 2008. Web. 14 Mar. 2011. <http://schoollibrariesworldwide-vol14no2.blogspot.com/>.
articles 6 : preventing dementia
- The Role of the Library in Delaying or Preventing Dementia
- My first reaction to this article was a bit of a giggle I must admit, especially as it opens with this quote from Bill Cosby "My grandfather told me about senility, I'm not worried about that. My grandfather said, 'When you become senile, you won't know it." I was attracted to this article for several reasons, but the main one is because of the author being Stephen Krashen. Krashen is a linguist, educational researcher, and activist, whose name came up quite ofen when I was working on a Linguistics degree many moons ago. In this article Krashen looks at how literacy can prevent dementia in teh long term. He also touches on bilingualism as well as teh use of coffee as other ways to prevent dementia. Krashen makes us educators feel good in that he believes that when we help students become enthusiastic about reading, we are not only increasing their literacy and knowledge of the world we are also having a positive effect on their future mental health. Krashen feels the same about teaching students to read for pleasure in other languages. His studies show that in this case again we are not only helping students become multilingual, we also are making an additional investment in future mental health. This really struck a cord with me as I am a french as a second language teacher and have always encouraged all students to further pursue a second language even after graduating from school. Finally Krashen mentions coffee as being well-researched in its corollations with preventing dementia in adults. Thankfully he acknowledges that when it comes to children and teenagers drinking coffee there is some controversy! A safe choice is apple juice, which also has long-term mental health benefits. (Chan & Shea, 2009) It may be obvious to some that being a lifelong reader is clearly beneficial to mental health, but its nice to see a reconfirmation that our promoting of reading is not all for nought.
- Stephen, Krashen. "The Role of the Library in Delaying or Preventing Dementia." Teacher Librarian 38.2 (Dec 2010): 42-44. Print.
article 5: Stories from the Cloud
Stories from the Cloud
In LLED 462 we learned about booktalks as a way to promote books, and we were given the opportunity to share our ideas for booktalks with our peers. What we have here in this article is basically a review of Natalia Malesa's blog Stories from the Cloud.
Stories from the Cloud demonstrates an alternate way to promote books using Web 2.0 tools. Malesa's blog examines YA stories in their original, print versions and how they can be re-told in new ways using collaborative online tools. Some examples of Web tools she has used include Google Maps, TimeToast(maker of timelines), StudyStack( a flashcard maker), Blabberize (a humourous video maker), and PikiStrips( a comic strip creator).
Malesa also uses some more familiar Web tools such as VoiceThread to represent Hunger Games. This was particulary interesting in that it showed several students points of view on the book without spoiling the plot.
I can imagine this being a great link on a school library website. Or, if one were ambitious enough one might consider starting a similar blog of their own.
In LLED 462 we learned about booktalks as a way to promote books, and we were given the opportunity to share our ideas for booktalks with our peers. What we have here in this article is basically a review of Natalia Malesa's blog Stories from the Cloud.
Stories from the Cloud demonstrates an alternate way to promote books using Web 2.0 tools. Malesa's blog examines YA stories in their original, print versions and how they can be re-told in new ways using collaborative online tools. Some examples of Web tools she has used include Google Maps, TimeToast(maker of timelines), StudyStack( a flashcard maker), Blabberize (a humourous video maker), and PikiStrips( a comic strip creator).
Malesa also uses some more familiar Web tools such as VoiceThread to represent Hunger Games. This was particulary interesting in that it showed several students points of view on the book without spoiling the plot.
I can imagine this being a great link on a school library website. Or, if one were ambitious enough one might consider starting a similar blog of their own.
article 4 : move over gym class
Move Over Gym Class!
This article is written by a very proud teacher librarian who is told by her students that the best part of school is the school library. Throughout this artcile we hear a lot about Killeen's goals. It got me thinking as I am about to start a new position as teacher librarian, what my own goals for the library are.
Killeen believes in doing "whatever it takes to get those kids to read and learn". She hopes that much of what she teaches them becomes part of their self -talk. Some of the words of wisdom she mentions are "Research is hard work." "Learning is what we do every day." "The best thing in the world is to learn something new." "I have really high expectations from you because I know you can do it." and "Reading can take you anywhere and teach you anything."
An important point in this article is where Keileen ponders what the students need most? The answer she comes up with is, "a way to learn, a place to collaborate, an attitude of acceptance and help, a chance to risk and fail, and a safe environment to create will do more for their futures than anything else." I was pleasantly surprised to read this response, as it seems almost exactly what I have written down as my teaching philosophy. I realize that it is not about the end goal of being the best and brightest student on Earth, but instead it is about the journey of getting there, and what life skills you learn along the way.
Move Over Gym Class! By: Killeen, Erlene, Teacher Librarian, 14811782, Dec2010, Vol. 38, Issue 2
This article is written by a very proud teacher librarian who is told by her students that the best part of school is the school library. Throughout this artcile we hear a lot about Killeen's goals. It got me thinking as I am about to start a new position as teacher librarian, what my own goals for the library are.
She says, "first, let me share why I think the kids like coming to our library-notice I said our library and not my library. I think that is step one!" Killeen brings up a good point; that although it may feel like your library, it does in fact belong to the whole school community. She seems to highlight this as the main reason for why students love the library so much. By trying to involve the students in making the library a place of their own, she has instilled a sense of ownership and pride.
Killeen believes in doing "whatever it takes to get those kids to read and learn". She hopes that much of what she teaches them becomes part of their self -talk. Some of the words of wisdom she mentions are "Research is hard work." "Learning is what we do every day." "The best thing in the world is to learn something new." "I have really high expectations from you because I know you can do it." and "Reading can take you anywhere and teach you anything."
An important point in this article is where Keileen ponders what the students need most? The answer she comes up with is, "a way to learn, a place to collaborate, an attitude of acceptance and help, a chance to risk and fail, and a safe environment to create will do more for their futures than anything else." I was pleasantly surprised to read this response, as it seems almost exactly what I have written down as my teaching philosophy. I realize that it is not about the end goal of being the best and brightest student on Earth, but instead it is about the journey of getting there, and what life skills you learn along the way.
Move Over Gym Class! By: Killeen, Erlene, Teacher Librarian, 14811782, Dec2010, Vol. 38, Issue 2
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