Here is the link to my final project -
http://mccurdy5240.wikispaces.com/Project-Library+Policies+and+Procedures
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Reading Reflections - 7/12
Assessing Learning: The Missing Piece in Instruction?
Harada and Yoshina discuss how to assess whether or not students are actually learning the skills taught in the library. They provide examples of ways to assess. The first example is for a second grade class. In this example, a checklist is used as the assessment tool. In the secondary example, a rubric is used as the assessment tool. On each of these examples, the last step was to use the assessment results to improve instruction. I think that many times assessments are given, but then the data is not analyzed, therefore, the assessment is basically useless. I think that data analysis after assessment is vital, whether in the library or a classroom.
Harada and Yoshina also suggest using assessment tools that are already available. There is no sense in re-inventing the wheel!
Woolls - Chapter 13: On the Job: Managing Program Evaluation and Assessment
This chapter really reiterates why program evaluation is a vital part of the library program. Woolls mentions that it is important for those who have misunderstood the purpose of the library program.
There are two types of measurements: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative measurements are not always good because too much emphasis may be put on how many materials the library has and not on the quality of the materials. Woolls stresses the importance of weeding the library collection in order to keep high quality resources. If measurements are done quantitatively, the necessary weeding may not be done. Qualitative measures are "much more significant, but much more difficult to determine" (Woolls, 205). Qualitative measures compare "what is" to "what should be" to assess the quality of the materials.
Woolls also talks about the importance of staff evaluation. The evaluation should match job expectations that are determined in advance. Clerical staff must be evaluated as well.
Collection measurement is very important, but yearly analysis is impractical because of the time it would take. Woolls suggests that part of the collection should be done every year. Again, she stresses the importance of weeding the collection in order to maintain a high quality collection.
Evaluation is so important because it lets others, such as administration, know how important the library program is. Budget cuts are getting worse, and unfortunately libraries are on the chopping blocks in many districts, but it will be harder to justify the cut of a highly successful library program.
Harada and Yoshina discuss how to assess whether or not students are actually learning the skills taught in the library. They provide examples of ways to assess. The first example is for a second grade class. In this example, a checklist is used as the assessment tool. In the secondary example, a rubric is used as the assessment tool. On each of these examples, the last step was to use the assessment results to improve instruction. I think that many times assessments are given, but then the data is not analyzed, therefore, the assessment is basically useless. I think that data analysis after assessment is vital, whether in the library or a classroom.
Harada and Yoshina also suggest using assessment tools that are already available. There is no sense in re-inventing the wheel!
Woolls - Chapter 13: On the Job: Managing Program Evaluation and Assessment
This chapter really reiterates why program evaluation is a vital part of the library program. Woolls mentions that it is important for those who have misunderstood the purpose of the library program.
There are two types of measurements: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative measurements are not always good because too much emphasis may be put on how many materials the library has and not on the quality of the materials. Woolls stresses the importance of weeding the library collection in order to keep high quality resources. If measurements are done quantitatively, the necessary weeding may not be done. Qualitative measures are "much more significant, but much more difficult to determine" (Woolls, 205). Qualitative measures compare "what is" to "what should be" to assess the quality of the materials.
Woolls also talks about the importance of staff evaluation. The evaluation should match job expectations that are determined in advance. Clerical staff must be evaluated as well.
Collection measurement is very important, but yearly analysis is impractical because of the time it would take. Woolls suggests that part of the collection should be done every year. Again, she stresses the importance of weeding the collection in order to maintain a high quality collection.
Evaluation is so important because it lets others, such as administration, know how important the library program is. Budget cuts are getting worse, and unfortunately libraries are on the chopping blocks in many districts, but it will be harder to justify the cut of a highly successful library program.
Monday, July 11, 2011
AASL and NETS Standards
Reflect on this question: In what way do the AASL and NETS standards represent a departure from education as you experienced it when you were in high school? We're already 11 years into the 21st century. Are we already behind in implementing these standards? Using your own school (or a school you know well) as an example, how would your school measure up. Use specific examples.
I graduated high school in 2002, so only 9 years ago, but there have been so many changes within the last 9 years! I think that each teacher had a couple computers for student use when I was in school, but we had a computer lab and the business classrooms, which had several computers. I do not recall working collaboratively very often. Most instruction was done through lecture and note-taking. I don't recall very much inquiry-based learning, like the AASL and NETS standards both lean towards.
As far as being 11 years into the 21st century, I think that my school falls somewhere in the middle. I do think that the district that I work for (which is the same one I graduated from) is pretty advanced for a rural district. We are an eMINTS district. Most of the classroom, I believe from third grade and up, have at least 8-10 student computers. Each classroom has a Smart Board. One big part of eMINTS is the collaboration piece, which is also very important to the AASL and NETS standards. Looking at the AASL standards, I think that we have definitely reached the goal of #3, which is all about collaboration and teamwork. My school is also trained in MRI (Missouri Reading Initiative), which also focuses a great deal on collaboration. My principal really pushes Kagan in my building, in fact, she requires a monthly observation of a Kagan strategy being used in the classrooms. So, as far as collaboration goes, I think we are there. I also think we do quite a but of inquiry-based learning, but I am not sure we are at the goal quite yet. The students have the knowledge and the tools, but aren't always capable of putting it all together to create new knowledge.
I graduated high school in 2002, so only 9 years ago, but there have been so many changes within the last 9 years! I think that each teacher had a couple computers for student use when I was in school, but we had a computer lab and the business classrooms, which had several computers. I do not recall working collaboratively very often. Most instruction was done through lecture and note-taking. I don't recall very much inquiry-based learning, like the AASL and NETS standards both lean towards.
As far as being 11 years into the 21st century, I think that my school falls somewhere in the middle. I do think that the district that I work for (which is the same one I graduated from) is pretty advanced for a rural district. We are an eMINTS district. Most of the classroom, I believe from third grade and up, have at least 8-10 student computers. Each classroom has a Smart Board. One big part of eMINTS is the collaboration piece, which is also very important to the AASL and NETS standards. Looking at the AASL standards, I think that we have definitely reached the goal of #3, which is all about collaboration and teamwork. My school is also trained in MRI (Missouri Reading Initiative), which also focuses a great deal on collaboration. My principal really pushes Kagan in my building, in fact, she requires a monthly observation of a Kagan strategy being used in the classrooms. So, as far as collaboration goes, I think we are there. I also think we do quite a but of inquiry-based learning, but I am not sure we are at the goal quite yet. The students have the knowledge and the tools, but aren't always capable of putting it all together to create new knowledge.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Blog Posts - 7/8
Bloggers must be on vacation this week or something, because I didn't have very many new postings in my Google Reader this week!
Free Technology for Teachers - I was intrigued by "Turn-O-Phrase" blog posting, so I clicked on the link and headed over to the site. I think I could spend a lot of time playing this! I love riddles and brain teasers! I also think this would be something to use in the classroom for those "fast finishers"! It would keep them occupied, but still keep their brain working. So fun!
Free Technology for Teachers - Mr. Byrne posted a tutorial video for using Google Books. I have realized that I really need to take advantage of Google and all of the services that it has to offer more! Google Books is a great tool that now that I know more about it, I will be using!
Blue Skunk Blog - Doug Johnson writes about what to do with Kindles in the library. He suggests having a plan for them, don't just get them to have them. I think he has a point. Some ebooks are available at a discount, but for the most part, they still cost about the same as any new release. My school has a couple Nooks that were purchased by the Special Ed department. We have a couple students that are visually impaired,(not blind, but they must have everything in super large print), so these work great for those students. My job, as the librarian, is to get with their teachers and find out what books they already know they will be reading this year and make those purchases. I think Johnson definitely has the right idea as far as planning ahead and knowing what they will be used for.
Never Ending Search - Joyce Valenza blogged about the evident similarities between the Mashpedia site and the new site, Zomobo. I had never heard of either until reading her post. She is right, Zomobo has clearly stolen from Mashpedia! Mashpedia looks like a pretty neat resource. I will definitely have to add it to my bookmarks.
This isn't exactly from a blog I follow, but I came across it the other day and wanted to share. A friend was talking about this program, and I wanted to look further into it. The friend, also a teacher, just completed the GO STL marathon this past spring, which is how she knew about this program. It is called Read, Right, Run. The program is for students to read 26 books, do 26 good deeds around the community (or school), and then run 26.2 miles over the course of six months. What a great idea to get the whole school involved in reading! The running part could be done in PE and the good deeds, or even the reading, could be done in all classes. The website has a day that all participants get together in STL, but you could even do it without that day. Check out the website!
Free Technology for Teachers - I was intrigued by "Turn-O-Phrase" blog posting, so I clicked on the link and headed over to the site. I think I could spend a lot of time playing this! I love riddles and brain teasers! I also think this would be something to use in the classroom for those "fast finishers"! It would keep them occupied, but still keep their brain working. So fun!
Free Technology for Teachers - Mr. Byrne posted a tutorial video for using Google Books. I have realized that I really need to take advantage of Google and all of the services that it has to offer more! Google Books is a great tool that now that I know more about it, I will be using!
Blue Skunk Blog - Doug Johnson writes about what to do with Kindles in the library. He suggests having a plan for them, don't just get them to have them. I think he has a point. Some ebooks are available at a discount, but for the most part, they still cost about the same as any new release. My school has a couple Nooks that were purchased by the Special Ed department. We have a couple students that are visually impaired,(not blind, but they must have everything in super large print), so these work great for those students. My job, as the librarian, is to get with their teachers and find out what books they already know they will be reading this year and make those purchases. I think Johnson definitely has the right idea as far as planning ahead and knowing what they will be used for.
Never Ending Search - Joyce Valenza blogged about the evident similarities between the Mashpedia site and the new site, Zomobo. I had never heard of either until reading her post. She is right, Zomobo has clearly stolen from Mashpedia! Mashpedia looks like a pretty neat resource. I will definitely have to add it to my bookmarks.
This isn't exactly from a blog I follow, but I came across it the other day and wanted to share. A friend was talking about this program, and I wanted to look further into it. The friend, also a teacher, just completed the GO STL marathon this past spring, which is how she knew about this program. It is called Read, Right, Run. The program is for students to read 26 books, do 26 good deeds around the community (or school), and then run 26.2 miles over the course of six months. What a great idea to get the whole school involved in reading! The running part could be done in PE and the good deeds, or even the reading, could be done in all classes. The website has a day that all participants get together in STL, but you could even do it without that day. Check out the website!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Article Reflections - 7/7
Josh Catone's article talks about education moving online. A poll done by the NY Times showed that students in online learning conditions outperformed those in a classroom setting. I agree that this is not necessarily true. I think it depends on the student and the teacher. I do think that education is evolving towards more integration of online resources in the classroom, but I think it is safe to say that classrooms are not going anywhere.
Buffy Hamilton talks about the librarian's role in education. She mentions budget cuts and cutting personnel. I've mentioned it before, but this is a subject that hits very close to home for me. I will be the librarian next year, but after that my position is questionable due to budget cuts. So for me, I think that getting into the classrooms and making a difference during this upcoming school year is absolutely vital. Buffy stated, "I dream of a model of school librarianship that embeds us in the classroom whether it be the classroom of a teacher, our library space, or a learning space outside the traditional school building (such as virtual)." I totally agree with this comment. That is a dream of mine too. We need to make it happen!
I love the poster that Joyce Valenza created! So many do not understand what librarians teach or that they teach at all. They don't understand the essential role that a librarian plays in the school. It makes me sick to think about library positions being cut, but that is why... we need to let me know that we TEACH and WHAT we teach!
Zmuda and Harada talk about redefining librarians as "learning specialists". I like this idea. This theory is very similar to what I have in mind. In fact, I talked to my principal about this just recently. My district has a Literacy Coach that serves the entire district. She has so many places to be and people to see all the time, that it is sometime hard to make contact with her. I envision the librarian at each building being basically a building literacy coach, or I guess you could call them, the learning specialist. I do think it will be difficult role, especially when working with those staff members that don't like change, but I feel like it is a necessary one. It's time to put and end to those "bad practices".
Buffy Hamilton talks about the librarian's role in education. She mentions budget cuts and cutting personnel. I've mentioned it before, but this is a subject that hits very close to home for me. I will be the librarian next year, but after that my position is questionable due to budget cuts. So for me, I think that getting into the classrooms and making a difference during this upcoming school year is absolutely vital. Buffy stated, "I dream of a model of school librarianship that embeds us in the classroom whether it be the classroom of a teacher, our library space, or a learning space outside the traditional school building (such as virtual)." I totally agree with this comment. That is a dream of mine too. We need to make it happen!
I love the poster that Joyce Valenza created! So many do not understand what librarians teach or that they teach at all. They don't understand the essential role that a librarian plays in the school. It makes me sick to think about library positions being cut, but that is why... we need to let me know that we TEACH and WHAT we teach!
Zmuda and Harada talk about redefining librarians as "learning specialists". I like this idea. This theory is very similar to what I have in mind. In fact, I talked to my principal about this just recently. My district has a Literacy Coach that serves the entire district. She has so many places to be and people to see all the time, that it is sometime hard to make contact with her. I envision the librarian at each building being basically a building literacy coach, or I guess you could call them, the learning specialist. I do think it will be difficult role, especially when working with those staff members that don't like change, but I feel like it is a necessary one. It's time to put and end to those "bad practices".
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
School Library Web Presence Webinar
Wow! There were so many wonderful ideas mentioned in this webinar. Web presence is definitely an area that needs some work in my library. I have big plans to make this a priority this year. I felt like I couldn't jot down ideas quick enough!
Carolyn Foote was my favorite presenter. They all had great ideas, but I really liked many of the tools that Carolyn mentioned. I thought it was interesting that she uses a blog as her main library page. This is something that I made note of to look into. I'm not sure if I would be able to do that in my district or not, but I think it is definitely worth investigating. I also really liked that she uses Shelfari or Library Thing to advertise what is new in the library. That is something else that I would really like to focus on this year.
Barb Jansen's website has so many great research tools. I could see why her former students still come back to use it.
Using Facebook to communicate with parents and library patrons was mentioned a couple times. I like that idea. Facebook is definitely a way to communicate these days. I know I spend way too much time on it, so why not use it in a way that would be beneficial to the students, parents, and even other teachers? The only issue that I could see there is getting it unblocked at school. I'm not sure how easily that could be done. Again, it is worth looking into.
I can't wait to further investigate some of the links that I jotted down during the webinar!
Carolyn Foote was my favorite presenter. They all had great ideas, but I really liked many of the tools that Carolyn mentioned. I thought it was interesting that she uses a blog as her main library page. This is something that I made note of to look into. I'm not sure if I would be able to do that in my district or not, but I think it is definitely worth investigating. I also really liked that she uses Shelfari or Library Thing to advertise what is new in the library. That is something else that I would really like to focus on this year.
Barb Jansen's website has so many great research tools. I could see why her former students still come back to use it.
Using Facebook to communicate with parents and library patrons was mentioned a couple times. I like that idea. Facebook is definitely a way to communicate these days. I know I spend way too much time on it, so why not use it in a way that would be beneficial to the students, parents, and even other teachers? The only issue that I could see there is getting it unblocked at school. I'm not sure how easily that could be done. Again, it is worth looking into.
I can't wait to further investigate some of the links that I jotted down during the webinar!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Reading Reflections - 7/5
Empowering Learners - Chapter 2
Chapter 2 is titled "Teaching for Learning," which seems kind of silly at first, because isn't that what teaching is all about? Learning? Students need to be taught in ways that will be beneficial to them and will meet the needs of all learners. This chapter really focused on inquiry-based learning. Most of the teachers in my district are trained in eMINTS. I really related my eMINTS training to the information in this chapter. eMINTS is all about inquiry-based learning and teaching the students to dig deep. I think that the library media specialist plays a major role in this, and collaboration with the classroom teachers is a necessity. The section on assessment focused on data. This is something that my district is really working on right now. We have formed data teams and at every faculty meeting it is preached about how important data is in forming instruction.
Empowering Learners - Chapter 3
The Learning Space - The library is broken into two parts: the physical space and the virtual space. The virtual space is more important than most people think about because it gives students access to the library 24/7. I know I have always been one to procrastinate, which means that access to resources while I'm at home is vital. The virtual space should be a resource center. I think that this is important not only for students, but for teachers too. I think that a professional virtual library needs to exist as well. I have many ideas for creating this in the upcoming school year.
Collection and Information Access - A well-developed collection is important to a library media center. All libraries are different depending on size and patrons, so that means that their needs will be different as well.
Woolls - Chapter 8: Managing Access to Information
Library privacy is something that I didn't know much about until I completed a research paper on the topic for Dr. Antrim's Foundations course. During the research process, I realized just how important patron privacy is. I also realized how many librarians, including some in my district, were not educated on this issue.
We have been talking about the importance of a selection policy in the LIS 5250 class, so the sections of this chapter that touched on that subject really stood out to me. Before covering this in 5250, I did not realize the importance of having a selection policy. I kind of compare it to insurance. It lists the criteria for choosing books, policy for challenged materials, and also "weeding" the collection. I think it is important to have a policy for weeding. I also liked in the chapter when it mentioned that everyone needs to work together on this. Students need to contribute their input on whether or not materials are useful.
Woolls - Chapter 10: Managing Services
There were a couple sections in this chapter that were interesting to me. The first, when Woolls mentions a professional reference collection of all textbooks in the school. Part of my library design project included the addition of a professional library, but I have to admit, it did not occur to me to add all of the textbooks to the library. I think that in a small district like mine this is probably not as big of an issue as it would be in a larger school. In my school, the departments are familiar with the textbooks used throughout the grade levels, but I could definitely see having a textbook library as being beneficial in a school where the departments are not as close-knit and communication is not as easy.
The section on the media specialist's role in the classroom is one of interest to me. I have many plans to go into classrooms next year as the lms. One of the top priorities on my list is teaching students to use the online databases. This issue also came up in 5250, and I did not know about databases or how to use them until I got to college, where I had to teach myself. If I can get to the students at the middle school level then it will be so beneficial to the rest of their education.
Chapter 2 is titled "Teaching for Learning," which seems kind of silly at first, because isn't that what teaching is all about? Learning? Students need to be taught in ways that will be beneficial to them and will meet the needs of all learners. This chapter really focused on inquiry-based learning. Most of the teachers in my district are trained in eMINTS. I really related my eMINTS training to the information in this chapter. eMINTS is all about inquiry-based learning and teaching the students to dig deep. I think that the library media specialist plays a major role in this, and collaboration with the classroom teachers is a necessity. The section on assessment focused on data. This is something that my district is really working on right now. We have formed data teams and at every faculty meeting it is preached about how important data is in forming instruction.
Empowering Learners - Chapter 3
The Learning Space - The library is broken into two parts: the physical space and the virtual space. The virtual space is more important than most people think about because it gives students access to the library 24/7. I know I have always been one to procrastinate, which means that access to resources while I'm at home is vital. The virtual space should be a resource center. I think that this is important not only for students, but for teachers too. I think that a professional virtual library needs to exist as well. I have many ideas for creating this in the upcoming school year.
Collection and Information Access - A well-developed collection is important to a library media center. All libraries are different depending on size and patrons, so that means that their needs will be different as well.
Woolls - Chapter 8: Managing Access to Information
Library privacy is something that I didn't know much about until I completed a research paper on the topic for Dr. Antrim's Foundations course. During the research process, I realized just how important patron privacy is. I also realized how many librarians, including some in my district, were not educated on this issue.
We have been talking about the importance of a selection policy in the LIS 5250 class, so the sections of this chapter that touched on that subject really stood out to me. Before covering this in 5250, I did not realize the importance of having a selection policy. I kind of compare it to insurance. It lists the criteria for choosing books, policy for challenged materials, and also "weeding" the collection. I think it is important to have a policy for weeding. I also liked in the chapter when it mentioned that everyone needs to work together on this. Students need to contribute their input on whether or not materials are useful.
Woolls - Chapter 10: Managing Services
There were a couple sections in this chapter that were interesting to me. The first, when Woolls mentions a professional reference collection of all textbooks in the school. Part of my library design project included the addition of a professional library, but I have to admit, it did not occur to me to add all of the textbooks to the library. I think that in a small district like mine this is probably not as big of an issue as it would be in a larger school. In my school, the departments are familiar with the textbooks used throughout the grade levels, but I could definitely see having a textbook library as being beneficial in a school where the departments are not as close-knit and communication is not as easy.
The section on the media specialist's role in the classroom is one of interest to me. I have many plans to go into classrooms next year as the lms. One of the top priorities on my list is teaching students to use the online databases. This issue also came up in 5250, and I did not know about databases or how to use them until I got to college, where I had to teach myself. If I can get to the students at the middle school level then it will be so beneficial to the rest of their education.
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