Goodreads

Rosalyn's books

The Sunbird
How Full Is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life
Goldie Socks: And the Three Libearians
The Wedding Planner's Daughter
Monsters of Men
The Ask and the Answer
The Knife of Never Letting Go
Okay for Now
The Wednesday Wars
One-Dog Canoe
The Good Earth
But Excuse Me That Is My Book
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
Whales on Stilts: M.T. Anderson's Thrilling Tales
Feed
Hatchet
The Angel Experiment


Rosalyn's favorite books »

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

TIES Conference 2013

Isn't it time to change not only how we teach but what we teach?

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Destiny Quest App



Does your school library media center use Follett's Destiny Quest?

                             

Get Graphic - More about Graphic Novels

Have you ever been shocked to hear that children are reading "Graphic Novels" before you found out what the term meant?  Check out "Get Graphic" to get familiar and get into graphic novels!

http://www.getgraphic.org/

Monday, November 11, 2013

Meeting Students Where They Are in the 21st Century

We are in an age where technology is transforming the way our children learn, communicate, and experience this world. We no longer are the gatekeepers of information, but the facilitators in guiding students through the tsunami of information that they now have access to. 

We need to teach children information literacy skills so that they can be successful in locating, evaluating, using, and presenting quality information. Whether your school has gone 1:1 or you're nowhere near that yet, it is important to jump right in and meet our students where they are with the resources you DO have. 

How can you get started? Pick one tech tool and try it out with one of your lessons or units. Dive right in! Below are just a few of the great resources for teaching in the 21st Century that I am excited about. 

Schoology
ScribblePress
Glogster
Poll Everywhere
Storybird
Duolingo
Symbaloo
World Book's - This Day in History 
Educreations
MentorMob
KhanAcademy 
Showme 
Animoto 
Blogs & Websites- Weebly, Kidblog 
Socrative 
VoiceThread 
Digital Public Library for America 
Science 360


For more description, and to find a web 2.0 tool or app in a specific category I recommend checking out:

Techtoolsforteachers.org

Appolicious

...Or my own recommended list at 

LibrOLibrary

Ask the kids how they want to present and demonstrate their learning!

Monday, October 21, 2013

Tech Integration Resources


Welcome Teachers & Staff to
Your Tech Integration Resource Space.


Here are a few technologies currently being integrated at RMS: 

 
 

  An interactive online classroom and collaboration
  space with a layout much like Facebook.



              
 
 
 
Looking for tech tools to enhance learning in your classroom? Try a few of the resources below:





Professional Development Made Social
Build your Personal Learning Network (PLN) through social media. Follow collegues, authors, and educational "gurus."
Follow your library media specialist on Twitter (it's fun, really!):

Follow Mrs. Obando 


or try . . .   
  

Sunday, October 13, 2013

How to Find Stuff Online



How do you know if what you're finding on the web is reliable? Look at the "InfOSavvy" tips on how to "surf" safely and be smart about the information you are finding.

Reliable ResOurce


What is a Reliable Resource?
A way to know if your source of information is reliable is to check it for the following:
ACCURACY
AUTHORITY
BIAS
CURRANCY
RELEVANCE




1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1





1
1

1







1
1

1





ACCURACY
Currently no web standards exist to ensure accuracy.
  • Are there mistakes in spelling or word usage?
  • Is the info reliable and error-free?
  • Is there an editor or someone who verifies/checks the info?
AUTHORITY
Anyone can publish anything on the internet.
  • Who is the author? Is she an expert on the topic?
  • Does a reputable organization back this website?
  • Is there a link to more information about the author or sponsor?
  • What is the URL domain? The URL domain can provide information about the producer of the web site, and its purpose:
.gov = Government Agency
.net = Internet Service Provider
.com = Commercial Site
.edu = Higher education
.mil = Military Site
~ ("tilde") = Personal Site
.org = Organization; may be charitable, religious, or a lobbying group.
Other domains include: .museum, .info, .biz
BIAS
View any web page as you would an infomercial on T.V. and ask yourself why it was written and for whom.
  • What is the purpose of the web site? Selling you something, informative, educational, entertaining, persuasive, personal, a joke/hoax?
  • Is the information factual or opinion?
  • Is the content bias? Is the bias hidden or clear? How does the bias impact the usefulness of the info?
  • Is there advertising on the page?
CURRENCY
If information is outdated it may not be accurate.
  • When was the page last updated?
  • How current are the links? Do they work?
  • Is the info up-to-date or outdated?
RELEVANCE
You want to make sure a web site you find covers the information you are seeking.
  • How in-depth is the material? Does it cover enough for your topic?
  • Does the site contain original info or just links?
  • Is the material at this site useful and accurate, or is it doubtful and repetitious?
Created by Rosalyn Obando on March 27, 2012.

Resources used to create this document:
Beck, S. E. (2009). The Good, the bad, & the ugly: Why it’s a good idea to evaluation web sources. New Mexico State University Library. Retrieved from http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/ evalcrit.html.
Johns Hopkins University. (2010). Evaluating information found on the internet. Retrieved from http://www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/ index.html.
Kapoun, J. (1998). Five criteria for evaluating web pages. Cornell University Library. Retrieved from http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/ webcrit.html.
Kupersmith, J. (2010). Evaluating web pages: Techniques to apply & questions to ask. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved from http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html.
Lesley University Library. (2007). Evaluating web sites: Criteria for the classroom. Lesley University. Retrieved from http://www.lesley.edu/library/guides/research/evaluating_web.html.
Piper, P. S. (2000). Better read that again: web hoaxes and misinformation. Searcher 8(8). Information Today. Retrieved from http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/sep00/piper.htm.
Schrock, K. (2010). Classroom resources. Discovery Education. Retrieved from http://school.discoveryeducation.com/ schrockguide/eval.html.
University of Southern Maine. (2004). Checklist for Evaluating web resources. Retrieved from http://library.usm.maine.edu/research/researchguides/ webeval.php?ID=0.

Stargirl

Book Trailer

Repossessed

AtoZ Book Trailers




The Garden of Eve


Dash & Lily's Book of Dares


Sunrise Over Fallujah


Private Peaceful


Books Are Windows & Mirrors Into Our Lives

Books are windows and mirrors into our lives.

I Heart You, You Haunt Me


City of the Beasts


Book Trailer

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda


Code Talker


Vietnam #1: I Pledge Allegiance


Lies Beneath


The Secret of Zoom

Book Trailer

Tomorrow Girls


The Vietnam War


Book Trailer

A Boy at War

                            


Before I Fall


The Eleventh Plague


War Horse


Beastly


Book Trailer

The Wave


The Scorpio Races


Book Trailer

Girlfriend Material


Goddess Girls: Athena the Brain


Book Trailer

The Future of Us


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Why Not Just Google It?


Why not just "google" to get information for my research paper?
Top 10 Reasons Why not to Google for School Research*:
1) Google is an adult search engine, created for adult like searches
2) Google is geared towards commerece, not education.
3) Google automatically combines keywords and may give results with unrelated information.
4) Google does not consider authority (who posts info).
5) Google does not consider reliability (accuracy) of information gathered.
6) Google does not consider bias of information.
7) Google likely finds an overwhelming amount of results which is very inefficient for students to weed out unrelated information.
8) Google does not consider readability for students' reading levels.
9) Google has a page ranking system where likely, the best educationally sound result is not in the top 10 hits.
And . . .
10) Google functions based upon a quick parallel processing algorithm that groups results based upon likeness with the keywords.

* Found at www.merton.k12.wi.us/faculty/wieczorekS/nogoogle.cfm on Mar. 26, 2012.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Best Practice: A Look at a 21st Century School Library Media Program


Defining a 21st Century School Library Media Program
 Barb Blahowski, Melissa Glavas, and Rosalyn Obando, Media Specialists, Richfield Public Schools, May 10, 2013.



“Technology has profoundly impacted the school library, providing access to information that was once available in only the largest academic and research libraries. The Internet, far from making libraries obsolete, reinforces the need for instruction in critical thinking and evaluation of information. All of these are essential teaching areas for the school library. Technological and information literacies, along with reading development and promotion, are basic to the mission of the 21st century school library,” (Iowa, 2007).

The mission of a 21st Century School Library Media Program, in summary, is to provide students and staff with access to a wide range of materials and technologies, encourage literacy and a love of reading, develop 21st century skills (Framework, 2013), support the learning of all students, and inspire curiosity and creativity. It must adapt to support today’s world of information, technology and digital natives and foster a desire for lifelong learning.

High quality information resources are no longer primarily paper based and so 21st century media programs adapt to provide access to digital resources. Media specialist stay on top of technology trends, evaluate, and provide access to quality, relevant informational materials (print and digital) that are to be used throughout the curriculum.

 
As part of a 21st Century Media Program, library media specialists work with classroom teachers to design authentic learning experiences to give students the necessary skills to survive and thrive in the 21st century. These skills include the ability to locate, evaluate, use, create, and communicate information. The media staff creates an environment that is inviting, engaging and designed to support 21st learning.




The Infrastructure - What it Would Look Like
Staffing:
      Each building would have a fully licensed school library media specialist (6 total in Richfield), who is engaged in professional duties, provides regular staff development in information literacy, information technologies and integration into content areas.
      Each building would have sufficient clerical (1 FTE per building/minimum of 32 hours a week) and technical help to allow the media specialist to perform professional duties listed above (in lieu of spending time on clerical and technical duties).
      The district would have a Media-Tech director, leadership team, or department chair responsible for planning and leadership.
      Media Specialists would participate in district level technology planning and provide staff training.
      The media program would have support from district and building leadership.
      The media specialist would be knowledgeable about student achievement data, content area standards and curriculum.

Curriculum:
      The information and technology literacy curriculum would be integrated into all content areas where appropriate.
      The media specialist would be an active member of grade level and/or team planning groups and curriculum writing committees.
      The media program would be examined as a part of the content area curriculum review cycle.
      Information and technology skills would be taught by media specialists in collaboration with classroom teachers rather than in isolation.
      Flexible scheduling in the building would permit the media specialist to be a part of teaching teams and collaborate on info-tech projects.
      A clear set of information and technology literacy benchmarks would be written for each grade level  based on 21st Century Learning Standards such as the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), the American Association for School Libraries (AASL) Standards for the 21st Century Learners, Minnesota Educational Media Organization (MEMO) Information and Technology Literacy Standards; and Common Core; standards which include and call for: 
      Improving higher-order thinking skills, such as problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity.
      Preparing students for their future in a technology-dependent competitive global job market.
      Mastery of multiple literacies, including technology literacy, and information literacy (the ability to locate, interpret, use, evaluate, create, and communicate information).
      Sharing knowledge and participating ethically and productively as members of society.
      Fostering students’ abilities to effectively communicate and collaborate.

Collection & Facility:
      The media center print and digital resources would align with and support the curricula and would be well weeded and current.
      Materials would be available in multiple formats to meet the needs of different learning styles.
      Sufficient computers/devices and Internet access would exist to allow use of digital resources.
      The media center would have an atmosphere conducive to learning and would be available to the community.
      The media center would serve as a “hub” for technology and information and would house tech and media staff.
      Media center staff would maintain a frequent web-presence in linked resources for students, staff, and families.
      The collection would have a wide variety of online reference tools such as databases, encyclopedias, etc.
      The program would have a wide variety of software (on-site or in the cloud) that would allow students access to collaborative learning, and graphic creation and presentation.
      The budget would reflect both a maintenance and growth component to the program and would take into consideration technological needs.
      New technologies would be identified and added to collection when appropriate to instructional needs.
 
           This 21st Century Media Center space includes pods of collaborative spaces, wireless access, and plenty of outlets to allow use of devices and computers.
Instructional Technology: 21st Century Media Centers. Forsyth County Schools. March 23, 2012.




Forward Steps


The Library Media Center of the past ...                                   
Richfield Middle School Media Center, prior to 2010

                       … moving into the 21st Century.                                
 Sage Hill School Library, May 14, 2013


Richfield Middle School Taking Steps Toward a 21st Century Media Center ...
 
RMS 6th grade students were actively engaged in a research project which required them to find information. While trying to model a 21st Century Media Center, the lack of outlets, insufficient wireless, slow functioning devices, and lack of equipment left many students without the ability to access rich online resources. The tables had to be pushed to the very few outlets available, which was necessary to recharge the devices with a short battery life. Notice the students in the middle (right photo) who were using print resources that currently have an average age of 1993 at RMS. The information they are accessing in the print resources is 20 years older than the information the students using the digital reference materials were able to access.



21st Century School Library Media Program Recommendations

Below you will see recommendations for a 21st media program. It is not much different than what has been proposed in the past. That’s because the model is still effective. There is a great deal of research that supports that a sufficiently staffed and well stocked media center can positively impact student achievement.

So what’s different?
Media programs and spaces are dynamic. They are constantly changing to meet the needs of users and provide equal access to information and technology.

From their early beginnings, the goal of libraries was to give all users equal access to information implementing the latest technology and practices. Starting with the concept of organizing information in one place to make it more accessible, to the introduction of the Dewey Decimal system (which is currently being re-vamped by forward thinking media specialists), to what has been spelled out in these pages, media staff and media centers continue to be a place where people can visit either in person or now virtually to access information and learn about technology.

So why do we need media staff – aren’t the resources enough?
Without people, the media center stagnates. Technology isn’t maintained. Resources get old. Shelves get crowded with outdated books. New information resources and technologies are not introduced or supported. And those individuals that don’t have access to these resources through other means are cut off.

But can’t teachers teach information and technology skills in their curricula?
Some teachers can and will. In fact, it should be an expectation for teachers to integrate these skills. However, just like any subject, we can’t assume that every teacher is going to be good at it. Teachers are experts in teaching their subject matter. But they may need assistance when it comes to media skills. There are many great teachers who would like to use information resources and technology more. But they may need some assistance and training to navigate the exponential amount of continuously changing tools and resources out there.

Even the digital native generation varies in their exposure to devices and technical abilities. There is a definite population of students who don’t have access to new technologies at home. Those that do can certainly use phones, get on YouTube and socialize on Facebook. But can these digital natives find and access credible information? Do they know what credible information is? Can they use it ethically? Creatively? Collaboratively? As stated, like any subject, some have more skills than others.

And what about the current media centers – aren’t they sufficient?
As mentioned, the amount of new information resources and technology tools has grown exponentially. Also, students are being asked to research, collaborate, create, communicate, etc. in ways that were not available just a few years ago. These developments have new infrastructure demands and require a new way of teaching and learning.




Staffing, Support and Space

Full time media specialist in each building (6 FTEs total) – responsible for:
      Teaching students in information and technology literacy – flexible schedule
      Leading staff training
      Aligning curriculum
      Library and collection management (more info below)
      See supporting information above for details

Media paras:
      RHS, RMS and STEM = 1.5 to 2 media para positions (7.5 - hour min./day FTE) per building
      Cent, RDLS and SH = 1 media para position (7.5 - hour min./day FTE) per building
      Responsibilities include: student management in media center, book checkouts, cataloging, AV tech management

Tech paras (for consideration in the tech department staffing):
      RHS, RMS, STEM = 1 FTE tech para per building
      Cent, RDLS and SH = 1 FTE tech para split between two locations (need to include DO, RCEP, etc.)

Collection Management:
      Align with curricula
      Select and purchase
      Promote and display
      Weed!
      Needs to include digital offerings
      Equitable funding between schools

Space:
      Hub of school – digital café
      Area for collaboration for students and teachers
      Staffing sufficient for assistance to all learners
      21st Century (includes digital) resources/content to support curricula and a love of reading

Again, is the 21st Century Media Program model different from the past? Structure – No. Teaching, content, tools and infrastructure – Yes! We are providing education and support for things that weren’t even in existence a short while ago. We are striving to design any time, any where learning using new resources and tools that are becoming available. We have evolved and will keep doing so to serve students and staff while offering equal access and opportunities to all learners.




Resources & Bibliography

21st Century School Library Programs: A Vision. University of Wisconsin. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from  http://merlin.uww.edu/uwsslec/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=92&Itemid=182
Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs. 2009. American Association of School Librarians.
Framework for 21st Century Learning. Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://www.p21.org
Instructional Technology: 21st Century Media Centers. Forsyth County Schools. March 23, 2012. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://www.forsyth.k12.ga.us/Page/31241
Iowa School Library Program Guidelines. Iowa Department of Education and the State Library of Iowa. 2007. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://educateiowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=959#documents
Johnson, Doug. January 10, 2012. A 12 point Library Program Checklist for School Principals. Blue Skunk Blog. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2012/1/10/a-12-point-library-program-checklist-for-school-principals-2.html
National Educational Technology Standards. 2012. International Society for Technology in Education. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://www.iste.org/standards
State of the Library: October/November. 2012. Sage Hill School Library. Newport Coast California. Retrieved on May 14, 2013 from http://libraryatsage.blogspot.com/
School Libraries in the 21st Century. Library of Michigan. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan/0,2351,7-160-34169_51980---,00.html
School Libraries Count: National Longitudinal Survey of School Library Media Programs. American Association of School Librarians. 2009. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/researchandstatistics/slcsurvey/2009/slc2009.pdf
Standards for the 21st Century Learner. American Association of School Librarians. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/AASL_Learning_Standards_2007.pdf
Who school librarians are and Learning4Life. American Association of School Librarians. 2009. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://www.ala.org/aasl/aboutaasl/aaslcommunity/quicklinks/el/elwho

Videos
Teaching in the 21st Century.  Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://bit.ly/YivC3q
The 21st Century Media Center. Retrieved on May 9, 2013 from http://youtu.be/AsaACY1NM-k