After missing NTAC 2012 due to the birth of my daughter, I felt a need to make up for lost time regarding my New Tech schools background knowledge. In particular, since I am stepping into the role of literacy coordinator this year, my number one priority for the conference was freshening up my skills in that department.
After years of cultivating an image as a 'techie' librarian, this new 'literacy' title is both a homecoming and a fresh identity. The main reason for my new professional focus is my disillusionment with education technology. When I adopted the techie label, I truly believed that tech integration was the number one need for reaching students and facilitating learning. Now, I just see technology as a tool, not a panacea. It's become part of everyday life and the education landscape for better or worse, and its something we education professionals must understand and adapt our instruction accordingly. The big downside of ubiquitous tech and constant online connection is that most students let the cloud serve as their brain. As a result, I see a decline in inquisitiveness, weaker problem solving skills, and lower attention spans for literacy tasks, which brings me to the rest of the story.
The best thing about conferences, is meeting people that practice in the same field. NTAC is full of great people and I met many literacy coordinators and English Teachers that helped me prepare for the role. However, I was very sad (and a bit worried) to discover few Library/Media Specialists in the sessions. In my 3 days at NTAC, only one person I met was a fellow librarian and this was in a session about using books for building bridges. She was the presenter of that session, and I found it to be among the most enjoyable of the conference.
In other sessions about literacy, I learned some terrific classroom strategies for developing thinking and writing skills related to literacy. However, I couldn't help feel that something was missing.
What traditional librarians (ideally) bring to the table is an orientation toward reading promotion as well as a focus on information literacy instruction. Literacy Tasks as defined by the New Tech Network are generally focused on writing. While literacy and writing are strongly connected and the practices I see employed by literacy coordinators are sound and effective, I see a lack of an emphasis on information literacy, which is basically the ability to locate information and determine whether of not it is reliable information. Information literacy is an umbrella term for a giant subset of skills that includes many New Tech outcomes such as critical thinking, real-world tasks, persistence, work-ethic, and much more.
If we truly want our students to thrive in the complex information universe of the Internet, we will have to demand more of them. This means asking students to locate reliable information on their own and use the information in a practical way. This goes beyond 'text dependent questions' and other literacy strategies.
Information Literacy instruction and PBL are certainly a natural fit. However, there are no easy answers and simple strategies. The best way forward in my view is the bring more of us librarians into the collaborative process of project design! The starting point for this collaborative process is on literacy; the fundamental questions being:
1. How to we get our students to read more and read more complicated and diverse text?
2. How can we wean them off their Googling and scrolling habits?
3. How can we coach students to be skeptical and critical about the information they encounter online?
Of course these questions are by no means the end of the discussion, but I believe we need to ask them when talking literacy tasks.
Showing posts with label librarians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label librarians. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Monday, August 20, 2012
Retweet! Not Reteach!
For quite a while now, I've believed that the skill of sorting and using information is of far greater importance than merely acquiring the information covered in the school curriculum. Therefore it behooves us to design learning experiences that require students to do that as we move through the curricula.
Today, students are accessing more information than ever via social networks. Unfortunately, young people are often abandoned to learn on their own and much of what they learn is just plain incorrect. Schools must teach skills and habits for students to not always believe what they read in the Twitter stream and to seek out the truth.
My latest presentation exhorts librarians to take the lead in teaching the habits and skills. Using current examples, including the Gabby Douglas hair controversy and the Apple asymmetrical screw hoax, I demonstrate how fake stories are quickly generated, spread and believed by millions of people. In my opinion, the detective work in getting to the bottom of these stories is downright fun!
Much of the material here is owed to Howard Rheingold and his amazing book Net Smart, which is currently serving as my reference Bible for planning my teaching. I welcome comments and requests for further explanation on any slide. Not all of the meaning is expressed, as much of it was spoken in my talk last week.
Today, students are accessing more information than ever via social networks. Unfortunately, young people are often abandoned to learn on their own and much of what they learn is just plain incorrect. Schools must teach skills and habits for students to not always believe what they read in the Twitter stream and to seek out the truth.
My latest presentation exhorts librarians to take the lead in teaching the habits and skills. Using current examples, including the Gabby Douglas hair controversy and the Apple asymmetrical screw hoax, I demonstrate how fake stories are quickly generated, spread and believed by millions of people. In my opinion, the detective work in getting to the bottom of these stories is downright fun!
Much of the material here is owed to Howard Rheingold and his amazing book Net Smart, which is currently serving as my reference Bible for planning my teaching. I welcome comments and requests for further explanation on any slide. Not all of the meaning is expressed, as much of it was spoken in my talk last week.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
The Accidental iPad-Yearbook connection
Sometimes the best ideas are completely accidental and the most simple.
I grew up in an era when disposable cameras became ubiquitous and many people would put them out at social events and let guests document the occasion. The host would collect the cameras at the end of the party, develop them and select the best ones for preservation and/or distribution.
This year I decided to purchase 5 iPads for use in the library, not knowing exactly how they would be used, but holding out a vague hope that the students would use them to read stuff. I put on various apps that provide access to reading materials including: Pulse, Follett Reader, Zinio, National Geographic, Classic Books, and quite a few more. However, the Apps that got by far the most use were related to the camera. Over the course of the year, students took hundreds of pictures, mostly in the library.
I thought of the old 80s idea of disposable cameras as documentation tools! The iPads were documenting daily school life and figured I could capitalize on this. I decided to lay out a plan to download and store all of the pictures from the iPads on my computer and send the best selections on to the yearbook. I use Windows computers and when I plug in the iPads I get an Autoplay window that allows me to download all pictures and videos in a single click. I change the settings to allow tagging of pictures and then erase the pictures from the iPad. The output allows me to sort the pictures in batches. It takes very little time and I think I'm providing a valuable service by organizing these pictures.
The yearbook sponsor was very grateful;and why should't she be. This simple project eliminated much of the need to send yearbook photographers around taking pictures and the pictures are real, spontaneous depictions of student life.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Update on Nooks in the Library
Last week, I was discussing the idea of putting a magazine collection on E-readers with some fellow library types and a couple were interested in my experience so far. Here it goes, the good along with the bad.
In the early part of the school year, I decided to adopt the Nook Color as a device to circulate in the library. My decision was based on recommendations from various colleagues, as well as the availability of the local Barnes and Noble representatives to help launch the program. I had a plan to purchase 6 Nooks, with each having a particular theme. For example, one Nook would have a Sports theme, another a comic/manga theme, another with a celebrity theme, etc. I planned on purchasing a mix of Apps, Magazines and books for each Nook so that a user that checked out a device would experience the joy of discovering interesting content and be motivated to check it out frequently upon visiting the library.
Well, at every stage of execution, my plan did not quite work as I had hoped.
I was happy with the support of the Barnes and Noble rep, who visited me twice on campus to help me work out some issues. However, there was considerable difficulty getting the managed accounts set up and the project was delayed by over a month because of inefficiency and confusion. I definitely wanted to get the so-called managed account because it would make it possible to purchase content with a purchase order instead of my personal credit card (I could get no guarantee of reimbursement for this either). The immediate problem was that as soon as I enrolled the Nooks in the managed account, it was not legal to purchase magazine subscriptions. This was a huge setback for me, as I had already cut my print magazine subscription list with plans to have a better selection of electronic magazines.
I was able to submit a list of books and received some very helpful suggestions to help fill in the collection on each of the Nooks. Another disappointment was cost. I found some great sale prices on the B&N Web site but the price granted to me on the managed account was full price for the same item. I was really impressed with the way the books were delivered. They magically appeared on the correct device once the purchase order was received. I was very excited when that happened and quickly prepared a mini-publicity blitz to let the students know about the Nook collections.
The most popular Nook, as expected, has been the Manga/Comics edition, which also has the Hunger Games trilogy. However, of the users that checked out this Nook, only a couple returned to check it out again. In a number of cases, a student got interested in reading a book on a Nook, and then would ask if I had the print copy of the same title. It seems that many are nervous about losing or damaging the device and this is a disincentive for some of the lower income students.
When the Nooks first arrived, there was a novelty factory that generated interest. However, the students quickly decided that the iPads were more quick and versatile as tablets, so the Nooks are no longer selected because of the device. On top of that B&N released a new tablet that would certainly be a better choice than the under-powered Nook Color. The only motivator to use the Nooks anymore is really the content. As mentioned quite a few would prefer that content in print.
Overall, the circulation of Nooks has been below expectations. On top of that, consider the economics. On my initial purchase, I bought 6 Nooks and 30 e-book titles for a total of $1800. For the same cost, I could have easily ordered 100 print books, so there are 70 fewer books, because of the device cost. On top of that, the magazine plan was a bust, and I was also hoping to gain more subscriptions at a lower cost compared with print.
I should mention that my student population is only 130 this year. I work at a new campus with only a 9th grade. With a larger student population arriving in the coming years, I fully expect to see higher circulation of the Nooks, and if that is the case, I would certainly continue to purchase more titles to maintain interest. As with any technology it is often best to wait and see, and in hindsight, I would have waited to get the Nook Tablet, or considered the much less expensive black and white e-readers.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Grand Unification Theory of Librarianship...It's the Reading and Thinking!
With time off to think, its only natural that I turn my attention to reading, reflecting and writing. When I left for the Winter break, I had in mind to learn more about some of the latest trends in librarianship, particularly the notions of Enchantment, Transliteracy and Information Literacy. Specifically, my first goal was to read the E-book, School Libraries: What's Now, What's Next, What's Yet to Come, put together by Kristin Fontichiaro and Buffy Hamilton, two of the great stars of the School Library world. I was honored to be one of the contributors to this project. Of course, just as soon as I finished reading that one, Kristin Fontichiaro goes and releases another E-book by her graduate students called Information Literacy in the Wild. Reading that book is another goal for the remainder of this break.
What have I gained from this reading? In terms of content knowledge I now have a firmer grip on the distinctions between Transliteracy and Information literacy. More importantly, I learned about some more amazing colleagues from all over the World that I now follow on Twitter. Finding kindred spirits and role models is what keeps me going in this business, and that alone made the reading worth while.
However, reading through this book in one sitting, its easy to feel overwhelmed with all the talk of new professional standards, roles for librarians, goals for library facilities, as well as deeper concepts that require understanding before applying them to practice. For me, the big takeaways are not anything new, but reaffirmations of the core of my philosophy of librarianship, which can be summed up in two words; Reading and Thinking. Yes, it really is that simple, but its complicated.
Taking just the concept of Transliteracy, which describes a state where an individual is competent at various literacies that enable not just the acquisition of knowledge from reading, but the ability to process information from all forms of media and participate in the global conversations via the same types of media. Obviously, a very complex and high level outcomes are necessary to produce transliterate students, and it is overwhelming to think about the prospect of all of the individual teaching objectives and lessons that would be necessary. However, when one thinks about it, the underlying skills are really the same as reading.
Expert readers are really capable of being transliterate, assuming they learn various skills such as social media, video production and various other computer applications. None of these latter skills are difficult compared to becoming an expert reader. An expert reader has more than a strong vocabulary, but a habit of continually asking key questions while reading and highly honed skills of efficiently assimilating the most vital information and perspectives from text. It's practically impossible to become an expert reader without simultaneously becoming an expressive and competent writer and a learner that is at least somewhat comfortable in an ambiguous and complicated world of abstraction. Strong readers don't just passively absorb ideas, but they respond.
So, to make a long-story short, we as librarians should pay attention and teach skills related to transliteracy whenever we have the opportunity. However, out core mission of just plain old literacy is still number one. Kids that regularly read through books of hundreds of pages are prepared to be transliterate, while those that can't or don't read regularly will never be transliterate. Having a quality mix of books in print and E-book form is more important than ever, and the battle for student minds will be won by librarians that are transliterate themselves, who can connect with students and lead them towards the world of text and abstraction. This leads me to the last point, which is about thinking, specifically the types of thinking that don't happen with a book in hand.
If libraries are to be relevant in the age of the e-book, we have to serve a purpose that is beyond promoting reading. Librarians need to lead young people towards a life of the mind. For me, this means games. I allow and encourage video games and I make sure to praise and reward students that go beyond the level of just playing games. Video games can be a gateway to knowledge acquired through books or avenues for learning skills related to transliteracy.
Even more so, I am a big proponent of off-line games such as Chess and Bridge that promote problem solving, critical thinking and social skills on a very high level. These games figure into my library program. I recognize that not all librarians are inclined to start chess clubs and bridge clubs, but I think these two games have proven track records at boosting student skills and self-esteem. I encourage individual librarians to identify and promote all activities that lead to these outcomes. If librarians are creative, they will be sure to inspire creativity in others. Just as if we model transliteracy in our practice, we're likely to inspire it in others.
What have I gained from this reading? In terms of content knowledge I now have a firmer grip on the distinctions between Transliteracy and Information literacy. More importantly, I learned about some more amazing colleagues from all over the World that I now follow on Twitter. Finding kindred spirits and role models is what keeps me going in this business, and that alone made the reading worth while.
However, reading through this book in one sitting, its easy to feel overwhelmed with all the talk of new professional standards, roles for librarians, goals for library facilities, as well as deeper concepts that require understanding before applying them to practice. For me, the big takeaways are not anything new, but reaffirmations of the core of my philosophy of librarianship, which can be summed up in two words; Reading and Thinking. Yes, it really is that simple, but its complicated.
Taking just the concept of Transliteracy, which describes a state where an individual is competent at various literacies that enable not just the acquisition of knowledge from reading, but the ability to process information from all forms of media and participate in the global conversations via the same types of media. Obviously, a very complex and high level outcomes are necessary to produce transliterate students, and it is overwhelming to think about the prospect of all of the individual teaching objectives and lessons that would be necessary. However, when one thinks about it, the underlying skills are really the same as reading.
Expert readers are really capable of being transliterate, assuming they learn various skills such as social media, video production and various other computer applications. None of these latter skills are difficult compared to becoming an expert reader. An expert reader has more than a strong vocabulary, but a habit of continually asking key questions while reading and highly honed skills of efficiently assimilating the most vital information and perspectives from text. It's practically impossible to become an expert reader without simultaneously becoming an expressive and competent writer and a learner that is at least somewhat comfortable in an ambiguous and complicated world of abstraction. Strong readers don't just passively absorb ideas, but they respond.
So, to make a long-story short, we as librarians should pay attention and teach skills related to transliteracy whenever we have the opportunity. However, out core mission of just plain old literacy is still number one. Kids that regularly read through books of hundreds of pages are prepared to be transliterate, while those that can't or don't read regularly will never be transliterate. Having a quality mix of books in print and E-book form is more important than ever, and the battle for student minds will be won by librarians that are transliterate themselves, who can connect with students and lead them towards the world of text and abstraction. This leads me to the last point, which is about thinking, specifically the types of thinking that don't happen with a book in hand.
If libraries are to be relevant in the age of the e-book, we have to serve a purpose that is beyond promoting reading. Librarians need to lead young people towards a life of the mind. For me, this means games. I allow and encourage video games and I make sure to praise and reward students that go beyond the level of just playing games. Video games can be a gateway to knowledge acquired through books or avenues for learning skills related to transliteracy.
Even more so, I am a big proponent of off-line games such as Chess and Bridge that promote problem solving, critical thinking and social skills on a very high level. These games figure into my library program. I recognize that not all librarians are inclined to start chess clubs and bridge clubs, but I think these two games have proven track records at boosting student skills and self-esteem. I encourage individual librarians to identify and promote all activities that lead to these outcomes. If librarians are creative, they will be sure to inspire creativity in others. Just as if we model transliteracy in our practice, we're likely to inspire it in others.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Getting Social: My presentation to 9th grade students
I'm grateful for a job that gives me the opportunity to talk to young adults about social media and it's importance to their futures. Most of the talk in schools that I have seen primarily focus on the 'fear factor' and telling students what they shouldn't do. I wanted to talk solely about the positive possibilities of social media with the intention of opening up students' minds about the tremendous benefits of using social media effectively.
For this talk, I used CPS systems to anonymously poll members of each class. The slides with the tan background and black text are the questions for the 'clickers.'
The interactive nature of the talk gave me some interesting insights into the students thinking. Here are a couple of things I learned:
For this talk, I used CPS systems to anonymously poll members of each class. The slides with the tan background and black text are the questions for the 'clickers.'
The interactive nature of the talk gave me some interesting insights into the students thinking. Here are a couple of things I learned:
- Students have a fairly low regard for expert opinions. They had a strong preference for getting information from Google or people they know, but seemed completely disinclined to seek out an expert in a field. I will certainly follow up on this when presenting on sources and credibility of information!
- In one class only 1 of 20 students reported writing for their own blog, while in the others the percentage of bloggers was right at 50%. The class with only one blogger was also the least engaged and receptive to my message. To me this suggests that teaching social media in itself would be ineffective without addressing the students' writing abilities and confidence in their communication skills.
I hope others can benefit from my experience and would love to here from other educators that are presenting or wish to present a positive message regarding social media to teenagers.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Daring Librarian in Action!
I'm continuing my series of posts related to the ISTE SIGMS forum. The only bad thing about the SIGMS forum is that only 250 library professionals got to see it live. It is such a great event and I hope that my work here allows many more to enjoy and learn from the speakers. Here's Gwyneth Jones, the Daring Librarian. Underneath all of that flamboyant wackiness is a woman of substance. In this presentation she gives some great examples of the online learning commons in practice. I have been wrestling with how to implement the online learning commons on my campus, and there are some great, concrete ideas here along with an important general message.
My only regret is that You Tube guidelines do not allow me to include more than 15 minutes in a clip. The result is Doug Johnson's perfect straight man introduction is lost. Oh well. You had to be there to appreciate it.
My only regret is that You Tube guidelines do not allow me to include more than 15 minutes in a clip. The result is Doug Johnson's perfect straight man introduction is lost. Oh well. You had to be there to appreciate it.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Sharpening the Saw
Steven Covey was one of the featured speakers at the ISTE conference this year. One of Mr. Covey's 7 Habits is "Sharpening the Saw," which has to do with the spiritual renewal necessary to remain fresh and vital in one's profession. That's why I go to ISTE. I find it energizing to be among like-minded people and to listen to and learn from the shining lights of the library profession.
The truth of the matter is that the last 2 years of my career have been very difficult for a variety of reasons. I have not felt successful in creating a vibrant and dynamic library program since I moved to Dallas. I've even considered moving more in the direction of instructional technology and leaving behind the title 'librarian.'
There were many great speakers, including Mr. Covey, but the most amazing presentation was Buffy Hamilton's on creating enchantment in the library. This is a woman that really gets what libraries are all about and her talk was full of passion and authenticity. I'm very grateful that I was among the 250 people in the room for the SIGMS forum. Ms. Hamilton's talk reminded me of why I chose this career and really got me motivated to make the library program at my new campus something special. I think everyone in the library profession should see her speak. If we all took her message to heart, we could go along way towards preserving the library profession just as it preserved my desire to say in it. Here's her slide presentation, and hopefully the video will be available soon.
The truth of the matter is that the last 2 years of my career have been very difficult for a variety of reasons. I have not felt successful in creating a vibrant and dynamic library program since I moved to Dallas. I've even considered moving more in the direction of instructional technology and leaving behind the title 'librarian.'
There were many great speakers, including Mr. Covey, but the most amazing presentation was Buffy Hamilton's on creating enchantment in the library. This is a woman that really gets what libraries are all about and her talk was full of passion and authenticity. I'm very grateful that I was among the 250 people in the room for the SIGMS forum. Ms. Hamilton's talk reminded me of why I chose this career and really got me motivated to make the library program at my new campus something special. I think everyone in the library profession should see her speak. If we all took her message to heart, we could go along way towards preserving the library profession just as it preserved my desire to say in it. Here's her slide presentation, and hopefully the video will be available soon.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Librarians, Media Specialists and New Tech
Today I confirmed what I long suspected...I am the only Library/Media Specialist at the New Tech Network training in 2011. This is very worrisome to me. Most of all, I am concerned about what this says about the library profession.
I'm personally very invested in this profession and I've called myself a librarian for a full decade now. I've always bought into the idea of a librarian as a leader in teaching 21st Century skills. There are many of us that play this role and I'm proud of many of my colleagues, but the writing is on the wall. Not enough librarians are making the leap into the 21st Century.
Many of the people from New Tech Schools that I have spoken with recently cut their library positions after their librarians retired. Others have librarians, but they have not made themselves critical to the mission of the school. One person said that it took 3 years for the administration to figure out the librarians role in their New Tech school. That is so sad.
I am not just concerned about the profession, but our entire culture. Libraries represent so much that is critical for the continuation of Democracy. I don't think the Internet by itself is a substitute. I believe the future needs reflective people that understand complexity and the many perspectives of different people and cultures; people read widely and deeply. Nicholas Carr has called the human mind of the Internet era "The Shallows." I think he's correct. I'm concerned that there won't be enough people capable of deep and abstract thought to sustain this great country as a bastion of freedom. Ignorant people are prone to tyranny.
The New Tech model of teaching is wonderful, but I think every New Tech school needs a library (even if it is called the Media Center or the Learning Commons). The library is nothing without a passionate and skilled librarian. Without such a person, who will advocate for students to read full-length books in the course of their high school careers? Who will teach how to find and process quality information in the vast sea of propaganda and who will man the information hub of our schools? It's possible that teachers can fill this void, but it is equally possible that no one will do so.
I'm proud to be a part of the New Schools Network, and I don't blame anyone within the organization for the state of affairs in public education and school libraries. I simply urge more of my librarian colleagues to get involved and be a part of the future of education.
I'm personally very invested in this profession and I've called myself a librarian for a full decade now. I've always bought into the idea of a librarian as a leader in teaching 21st Century skills. There are many of us that play this role and I'm proud of many of my colleagues, but the writing is on the wall. Not enough librarians are making the leap into the 21st Century.
Many of the people from New Tech Schools that I have spoken with recently cut their library positions after their librarians retired. Others have librarians, but they have not made themselves critical to the mission of the school. One person said that it took 3 years for the administration to figure out the librarians role in their New Tech school. That is so sad.
I am not just concerned about the profession, but our entire culture. Libraries represent so much that is critical for the continuation of Democracy. I don't think the Internet by itself is a substitute. I believe the future needs reflective people that understand complexity and the many perspectives of different people and cultures; people read widely and deeply. Nicholas Carr has called the human mind of the Internet era "The Shallows." I think he's correct. I'm concerned that there won't be enough people capable of deep and abstract thought to sustain this great country as a bastion of freedom. Ignorant people are prone to tyranny.
The New Tech model of teaching is wonderful, but I think every New Tech school needs a library (even if it is called the Media Center or the Learning Commons). The library is nothing without a passionate and skilled librarian. Without such a person, who will advocate for students to read full-length books in the course of their high school careers? Who will teach how to find and process quality information in the vast sea of propaganda and who will man the information hub of our schools? It's possible that teachers can fill this void, but it is equally possible that no one will do so.
I'm proud to be a part of the New Schools Network, and I don't blame anyone within the organization for the state of affairs in public education and school libraries. I simply urge more of my librarian colleagues to get involved and be a part of the future of education.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
My Letter to the Texas Legislature
In these times of budget shortfall, it is reasonable to expect cuts to State services. However, it is another thing to cut so severely that it stymies progress on matters vital to the State's future. No one disputes that a first rate public education system is critical to our economy and our people, but progress in public education depends on vital people such as school librarians.
Cutting libraries and librarians during this budget crisis would be a huge mistake for countless reasons, but mostly it is about the librarians and the role in they play in school improvement and student outcomes.
Many studies conducted in States around the USA show a clear correlation between library funding and staffing and student achievement. Behind those numbers are talented, dedicated professionals that involve themselves in all aspects of the school including: staff development, classroom instruction and innovative programs that encourage student creativity and personal growth. Without librarians, classroom teachers would lack valuable partners that help them incorporate technology and critical thinking skills into their loaded curriculum.
I urge the Texas Legislature to avoid short-sighted budget cuts that will only hamper efforts to improve schools in the long run. Librarians are creative and resourceful. They can do more with less, but not without any support from the State. Please help assure a brighter future in public education by funding school library positions and resources as much as practically possible.
Cutting libraries and librarians during this budget crisis would be a huge mistake for countless reasons, but mostly it is about the librarians and the role in they play in school improvement and student outcomes.
Many studies conducted in States around the USA show a clear correlation between library funding and staffing and student achievement. Behind those numbers are talented, dedicated professionals that involve themselves in all aspects of the school including: staff development, classroom instruction and innovative programs that encourage student creativity and personal growth. Without librarians, classroom teachers would lack valuable partners that help them incorporate technology and critical thinking skills into their loaded curriculum.
I urge the Texas Legislature to avoid short-sighted budget cuts that will only hamper efforts to improve schools in the long run. Librarians are creative and resourceful. They can do more with less, but not without any support from the State. Please help assure a brighter future in public education by funding school library positions and resources as much as practically possible.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
My First Prezi for Librarians Summit
At the point of this writing, I am 2 days away from presenting at the Dallas ISD Librarians Summit. I'm really stretching myself for this one. It's the first time I am using Prezi instead of Power Point. I'm a little nervous about it, but I've prepared a good rough draft I think. Take a look and send me any corrections/suggestions.
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