Library Lingo

Hi all. Well, I think we can all agree that these are some strange times in the world, let alone public education. I hope that you're all staying healthy and feeling engaged with whatever you have going on at home. I just wanted to drop a quick tidbit for you, since you might  have some time on your hands to explore some new things. I say "might" because I know, personally, my "free" time is definitely limited to however long my toddlers deem appropriate! Ha! Which, I must add, is totally fine by me. I love that they are mainly oblivious to the current situation, though my oldest has told me emphatically that we need to wash our hands. All of that aside, this would be a great time to check out Google for Education's Applied Digital Skills. They have lessons for all ages, and you can sort by age group. I'm pretty new to this myself, and will be exploring it a bit over our time at home, but it seemed interesting enough to share with all of you - a big th...

Well folks, it's April - which means it's national poetry month! There are various poetry books on display on top of the shelves on the non-fiction side of our library, so feel free to take a look or check some out. I know, I know, the title of this blog post is "Makerspace Sphero Minis," but I just had to sneak poetry in there! That being said, I just wanted to let you know that Makerspace is a place for students to come and be creative. They can do that through crafts, writing, tech...the possibilities are basically endless. We have a small, but steady stream of students who come to Makerspace every Monday and Friday during lunch, but I am hoping that our numbers will continue to grow. Did you know that we have two Sphero Minis in Makerspace?  These small, spherical robots can be driven around using the Sphero Mini app, or can be programmed using the Sphero EDU app. Yes, they are definitely a ton of fun, but did you know that you can use them for some fun and...

Well, I'm sure that you've all noticed it's March - and it's also reading month! Hence, our annual Dr. Seuss video! Thanks to all of the Who's who participated! What else is going on this month to celebrate?? Well, for the first time ever, I'm trying out a student-staff book club. It will be Wednesday, March 21st after school, and we will be reading The Wednesday Wars  by Gary D. Schmidt. I'm trying to build our reading culture in the building, so we'll see how this goes! Any and all are welcome to participate! The book isn't horribly long, and is a humorous historical fiction novel (plus, the author is from Michigan - cool)! If you're joining us, please encourage your students to join us as well! You never know if something will work until you try, right? Battle of the Books is launching this month, with the actual battle taking place on April 27th during first and second hours in the media center. Students who choose to participate will...

Well, this blog post will be short and sweet - just like the month of February! Thanks to our awesome PTO, the library now has a large TV on the collaborative table that is up by the front windows. And, thanks to Tom, that TV is equipped with an HDMI switch and cords and can be used for group work. I've already had students using it to display group presentations for collaboration, and even to present to small groups! In order to use the TV, students just need to stop in and see myself or Scott and ask for the remotes for the TV and HDMI switch. I know students go everywhere with a pass, but if they have requested to use the TV, please be sure to send them with a pass stating that is what you would like them to do. It will operate on a first come, first served basis unless a teacher reserves it ahead of time for a specific purpose. Please take advantage of our nice, new collaborative space in the library!

Do you ever find yourself thinking, "Gee, I wonder how often the library gets new books?" The answer is...all the time! Whether it's a new release that I know the kids are dying for, or books chosen by reading reviews and blogs, or non-fiction titles chosen based on interest as well as our curriculum, books are constantly coming into our library. New books can always be found on display in the library on top of the shelf labeled - appropriately - "New Books." Please feel free to stop by and check out our selections! There is another shelf in our library labeled "Staff Picks." I would love it if any of our staff members chose books from our library that they have read at some point and enjoyed, and put them on display on that shelf. Believe it or not, students (and library patrons in general) tend to take books that are on display! You may also have noticed the bulletin board in the library with Bitmojis of staff members. This is there so students...

You - yes, you! Did you know that citation is something that should be done in every subject? Did you know that you need to cite not only written works but also images, music, and graphs (unless, of course, they were self-created)? Did you know that citation makes our students responsible research and digital citizens? Well...it's all true! If you have not yet familiarized yourself with Noodletools, now would be a good time to do so. Noodletools is our online subscription citation and research website, and it is exceptionally helpful for citing sources and organizing information for research. How to you access this awesome tool? It's super easy - it's actually one of your Google Apps. Simply go to the waffle of boxes up at the top of your gmail, and scroll down until you see Noodletools. Noodletools gives users the ability to cite any type of source of information. It also allows users to create digital notecards that are tied directly to the source they came from, a...