If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what’s a video worth? I think when you’re trying to engage middle school students in a review about how to use the school library, a video example is priceless. If you’re able to get their classmates to be the actors in your little library drama, all the better! The following clip is one of several filmed for this year’s library orientation. Our students, and even the teachers, got a chuckle out of it and it spurred a lively discussion about how to properly return a book to the shelf.

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At our district’s Library Inservice last week, I hosted a breakout session called “Casting a Wide ‘Net for Readers:  Using the Internet to Promote your Library”.  If you missed it, I’m including the PowerPoint below (there’s not much to it, I tend to talk more than “present”), along with these links to three cool web tools we discussed:  LogoEase (to make unique logos for your library and its programs), Wordle (a fun, eye-catching way to get your point across), and Animoto (slick little videos of your uploaded pictures).

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Click HERE

to listen to a podcast created during the 2009 Teacher Tech Camp.

or

Click on the picture below…

Check out the following Animoto video for highlights of our Teacher Tech Camp!

Here we are at Teacher Tech Camp 2009!  We have teachers from all over our district here at the Technology Training Center for 4 fun-filled days to learn a ton about using technology in their classrooms/libraries/schools.  What a great resource!

I’m teaching a lesson on Blogging!  More later….

Last week, our district held it’s first annual Summer Tech Institute, a 30-hr technology camp for students all over the district to receive hands-on training in podcasting, digital photography, digital video, music, animation and gaming, and blogging. It was incredible! Were there problems? Did I mention it was the first year? That’s where the “incredible” part comes in… …The classes were taught by district teachers who, in some cases, were fairly new to the technology they were teaching. These teachers rallied and did what they do best, they inspired their students to learn. When the internet faltered, or the equipment didn’t arrive on time, or the application didn’t respond the way we thought it would, these teachers just kept adjusting and teaching. The result? Students and their parents left Friday afternoon saying they had a great time and were looking forward to next year’s Summer Tech Institute! You know what REALLY bowled me over? The teachers left saying the same thing!

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the SMCTE Spring Mini-Conference at Wooddale Middle School. I know… I’m a librarian and have never “officially” taught English, but they were very nice and didn’t kick me out or question my credentials. …and really, shouldn’t we all be teachers of English, promoting writing and reading throughout the school?

I thoroughly enjoyed the conference. There were three breakout sessions and I chose one with a writing focus, one with a focus on reading, and one with more of a technology focus. The first session, presented by an English professor from the University of Memphis, stressed the five common grammar errors that students need to correct before they graduate: spelling, fragments, run-on sentences, pronoun/antecedent agreement, and subject/verb agreement. Strategies to help students learn these skills were provided. The second session I attended was a discussion of graphic novels and their relevance in today’s classrooms. My third session was a demonstation by two Wooddale Middle teachers about using blogs with their classes. Using blogs in teaching is still relatively new in our area and some great points were introduced and debated.

Consider attending local mini-conferences when you can. The cost is typically low and we all need to keep learning, don’t we?