Keeping the Teacher in Teacher Librarian... Learning Centre or Book Repository?

Given my last blog post, I have been asked what will be lost to library programs in secondary.

No final decisions have been made; however some suggestions have been to staff a library with a teacher librarian but no clerical support, or a library with clerical support but no teacher librarian.

I can speak from personal experience as my previous teacher librarian position, where I was for 17 years, never had adequate aide time - 5 hours or less a week - and for 12 of those years I was an 80% teacher librarian.

Here is a section that was annually included in my year end report for 17 years:

I consider the most important function of being a teacher librarian to be the curriculum development, information literacy, and literature appreciation components of a library program.

Unfortunately, due to lack of clerical support, many daily library administration tasks need to be completed by me. The five hours of aide time assigned to the library has never been adequate and are mainly spent completing circulation management tasks such as compiling overdue material lists. This lack of aide time is a constant frustration and limits the time available to spend on curriculum development.

In the absence of adequate aide time, I complete the duties normally assigned to clerical support staff, such as:

* receiving, and processing a wide variety of learning resources
* receiving materials, supplies, and equipment
* preparing orders for resource materials
* preparing bibliographies of materials for consideration for purchase
* processing mail, new materials, discards, and rebinds
* maintaining circulation procedures
* maintaining catalog records in electronic format
* maintaining a pamphlet or information file
* shelving of resource materials
* compiling and/or typing bibliographies, resource lists, unit plans, correspondence, orders, reports and/or overdue notices
* producing and/or assembling displays and other promotional material
* conducting an inventory of resources

Having to complete the above tasks, limits the time available to spend on my professional duties as a teacher librarian, which include, but are not limited to:

• Administration of the Learning Resource Program
• Professionalism and Leadership Activities
• Cooperative Program Planning and Teaching
• Promotion of the Effective Use of Learning Resources and Services
• Selection of Learning Resources
• Information and Reference Services
• Design and Produce Learning Resources
• Acquisition, Organization, and Circulation of Learning Resources

A teacher librarian's expertise in Curriculum Development, Literature Appreciation and Information Literacy is not utilized if the Library Administration Clerical duties become the focus of the job.

Furthermore, secondary school library hours are facilitated by both the teacher librarian and library aide. Noon hour supervision is often shared by the teacher librarian and the library aide. The library aide allows for the teacher librarian to take a lunch break at some point, either before or after noon hour, or during noon hour when the teacher librarian has a noon hour meeting.

School libraries could potentially be closed at noon hour.

Although, by contract, teacher librarians can have a prep period, we never take the time. If our job becomes maintaining a collection as oppose to curriculum development, then this prep time becomes important. This time is also important if the teacher librarian teaches a scheduled class. Therefore, the library could be closed a block or two during the day.

A library staffed with a library aide but no teacher librarian becomes a room with books that circulate. No collection development, no literature appreciation foci, no information literacy skills taught, no curriculum development, no teaching of research skills, no cooperative planning with teachers.

Furthermore, teacher librarians often take a leadership role in the adoption of new technologies. They have both the pedagogical and technical skills to do this. This leadership role becomes increasingly difficult to fulfill if the teacher librarian becomes a library clerk to maintain the collection.

Take a look at the blog entry below for information and background research as to how teacher librarians support the educational program and impact academic achievement.

Dr. Ken Haycock has summarized studies related to school libraries in The Crisis in Canadian School Libraries: The Case for Reform and Re-Investment, including the impact on student learning, best practice and recommendations.

So... to answer the question what's best for school library programs? For a school library program to be exemplary, to impact student achievement, both are needed. School library programs are the great equalizing factor in the educational program that provide support for all curricular areas - our students deserve no less.

"Libraries will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no libraries."
--Anne Herbert (1950- ), The Next Whole Earth Catalog: Access to Tools

Again, please forward this post to anyone who you feel should read it.
Back to the fun stuff in the next post - I promise!

"To Be or Not to Be"... a Teacher Librarian

I would be remiss if I did not devote at least one blog entry to my own soap box.

I expect we are no different in our school district than many, as financial strains and budget cut decisions are being made at the board level.

Again, cuts in school library programs are one of the areas under discussion, as they usually are.

Essentially, in British Columbia, all educational professionals who do not enroll a class are at risk because in 2002, Bill 28, The Public Education Flexibility and Choice Act was enacted by the provincial government that removed staffing ratios for all non-enrolling teachers from collective agreements.

I have worked in libraries since I was 12, being a librarian is all I have ever wanted to do. I did not foresee, when I chose this profession over 20 years ago, that I would have to be in a constant state of advocacy.

Ten years ago I was a member of a district team that researched, then wrote our district's library service deliver model Libraries: Literacy and Literature in the Information Age: A Framework for Library Programs and Services in the 21st Century. The research was and is still clear.

At the time, researcher Dr. Keith Lance Curry and his Library Research Service Impact Studies team had just published his second Colorado Study on the impact of school librarians on student achievement. Since then Curry has conducted studies in over 14 states. Powering Achievement: How School Librarians Impact Academic Achievement reports library predictors of academic achievement and recommends staffing school libraries with professional & support staff, stocking them with current books & licensed databases as well as Internet capable computers, funding them to support school's curriculum and state's standards, adopt flexible scheduling and utilizing the school computer network to extend the library program’s reach into every classroom.

Past cuts to school librarian time have already jeopardized student achievement in our district. When librarian time has been cut it is seldom, if ever reinstated when the financial situation improves. The same may be said for library budgets.

The 2008 British Columbia Teacher Librarian's Association Working and Learning Conditions of Public Schools in British Columbia Survey shows where we land in terms with the rest of the province.

Locally, our own Dr. Ken Haycock has summarized studies related to school libraries in The Crisis in Canadian School Libraries: The Case for Reform and Re-Investment, including the impact on student learning, best practice and recommendations.

Statistics Canada published a study in 2005, Canadian school libraries and teacher librarians: Results from the 2003/04 information and communications technologies in schools survey. This study illustrated the influence on the students' education that the teacher librarian has in extending, beyond traditional teacher librarianship into roles that include ICT, skills such as finding and evaluating information online.

For my own thesis research, I was privileged to work with an exceptional group of teacher librarians and studied their practice for my Master's Degree Teacher Librarians, Technology and Collaborative Connections: A Case Study of Teacher Librarians from a Communities of Practice Perspective . The goal of this study was to document and analyze the work of teacher librarians and how it contributes to the delivery of educational programs. Data were analyzed using codes developed from Wenger’s Community of Practice research, and conversation analysis. The research questions considered whether the teacher librarians constituted a community of practice, the nature of that practice, and how this practice correlated with the delivery of instructional programs. It is argued from the findings how the notion of a community of practice may be helpful in reconceptualizing the nature and role of teacher librarianship.

This work is facilitated by having library aides in place to do the clerical administration of a library, processing and signing out books for example, while teacher librarians focus on curriculum development, literature appreciation, and information literacy.

Teacher librarians are often the unseen heroes of the school, providing safe havens for students to hang out, matching the perfect book to a student's reading interest, hunting down the best reference source...

Teacher librarians are the curriculum integration and information literacy specialists, we support all school programs.

We are the champions for integrating district programs, such as Web in the Classroom, Reading 44, and Literacy 44.

I was at a dinner party last weekend with one of my very good friend teacher librarian mentors. I was telling Mike about the current situation. He said that was why he left the library to become a classroom teacher - the constant advocacy was exhausting. The school library's loss was definitely the classroom's gain. Interesting idea. I have between 10 to 15 years left - I have the energy now to advocate again - what the future holds - we'll see.

To be or not to be a teacher librarian.

If you know someone who you think should read this post, please pass it on.

What to Read... Where to find it...

Continuing on the lit/reading theme, are you looking for something new to read? Check out one of the booklists below.

Then, check into the library for the book, if we don't have it, we'll find it!


Links to Great Reads
Cool Reads

Guys Lit Wire

Modern Library 100 Best Novels

Outstanding Books for the College Bound

Reading Rants: Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists

Teen Books in a Series or Sequel from the Bettendorf Public Library


Canadian Award Winning Books
Governor General Literary Awards

Young Adult Canadian Book Award


International Award Winning Books
Giller Prize

Man Book Prize

Newbery Medal and Honour Award


E-Books
Project Gutenberg


Author Info
Do you want to find something out about one of your favorite authors?

Check out the Teenreads.com author list for bios and interviews.


Do you have any favorite booklists in your bookmarks?
Pass them on!
The more, the merrier!

DEAR USSR...

DEAR USSR is not a letter to Russia - they are acronyms - DEAR meaning Drop Everything And Read and USSR meaning Uninterrupted Silent Sustained Reading - are just two of many acronyms for silent reading programs: FUR, FVR, SSR, SQUIRT, and WART to name a few more. Regardless of the name, the message and the research is clear. Reading improves comprehension.

Dr. Stephen Krashen, a linguistic educational researcher, has argued for years the benefits of FVR, by compiling numerous research studies in his books The Power of Reading. FVR is the most effective tool for increasing literacy. It is the act of reading itself that is the key to linguistic development.

Krashen recently wrote an article for School Library Journal, Free Reading, which summarizes the benefits of USSR.

An article which complements Krashen's is this one written in Education World Silent Sustained Reading Helps Develop Independent Readers and Writers .

Check them out and get back into USSR!

As the article states:
If the teacher models, the students will follow!

A few years ago Educational Leadership devoted a whole issue to Literacy. Two articles I remember specifically:

Becoming an Engaged Reader presents information related to reading comprehension. The article emphasizes learning to comprehend as an ongoing process, as the individual reader encounters different texts, in different ways, for different purposes. Effective readers think within the text. They pick up the basic information to understand what the text is about. Both fiction and nonfiction reading require literal comprehension.

Strategies for Teen Readers presents information related to reading comprehension in teenagers. The article defines reading as a complex, purposeful, social, and cognitive process in which readers simultaneously use their knowledge of spoken and written language, their knowledge of the topic of the text, and their knowledge of their culture to construct meaning.

Both of these articles can be found in the Ebsco Professional Development Collection database to which we have access. The username and login can be found in the staff conference, along with navigation instructions.

Here is the complete bibliographic info:

Coutant, Carolyn, and Natalia Perchemlides "Strategies for Teen Readers." Educational Leadership 63.2 (2005): 42-47. Professional Development Collection. EBSCO. Web. 20 Nov. 2009.

Scharer, Patricia L., et al. "Becoming an Engaged Reader." Educational Leadership 63.2 (2005): 24-29. Professional Development Collection. EBSCO. Web. 20 Nov. 2009.

Read on!!!

To BOB or Not to BOB... back into USSR and into Literacy

Once upon a time there was a principal and teacher librarian who proposed a USSR block of time and BOB was born. There was a staff who embraced this notion and diligently had their students read and read themselves. Students who would not read at any other time were encouraged to do so. Students who were readers already either embraced this notion or were frustrated with the short time period - some staff were too. Students were seen reading in the halls, in the cafe, in the library, and in the classroom - administrators and teachers too.

BOB was considered so worthwhile that literacy was incorporated into the school goals.

BOB was not a panacea, but it was a start.
Fast forward in our story to the imminent arrival of the wrecking ball - a change in focus - a drifting away from the original purpose of BOB. There are still the devoted few, the last bastion of hold outs; however, students are wandering the halls, choosing to use BOB time to complete other tasks. The original purpose has been lost in a mirage of paper and pens, and BCESIS, not books. Yet, there is a glimmer of hope, the belief in BOB still lives.

The next couple of blog entries will be devoted to reading and literature related topics as we, as a staff, refocus on our school goal of improving literacy.

So, Who or What is BOB?
BOB stands for Bring on the Books. It is Sutherland's name for USSR, a block of time dedicated to Uninterrupted Silent Sustained Reading.

Did you know BOB was named after a real person? Bob Baldwin was a community coach, an inspiration in the manner in which he conducted himself and an example in how he dealt with the cancer that took his life – he believed in the dedication of practice and the devotion to learning well. Bob’s son was a student at Sutherland.

As with the skills of the sports Bob coached, practice makes perfect - be it sports, music, cooking, sewing, acting, painting, problem solving, scientific experiments and … reading.

BOB was established with the consultation of students, staff and parents.
As educators, we place value on learning opportunities we schedule in the school day.

Did you know reading comprehension is a provincial, district, and school goal?
Did you know Sutherland’s school planning council includes reading as one of its goals?

There are years of research and numerous studies illustrating the benefits of reading. One study showed evidence that 40% of Canadians cannot sufficiently read enough to compete in the job market or complete daily tasks … this is the equivalent of 400 Sutherland students. A second study reported students who achieved lower grades spent less time reading than those with higher grades.

Give 20 minutes, twice a week a chance… in the grand scheme of things… 40 minutes is not a lot of time to commit to a skill you will use for a life time. This amounts to 25 hours in a school year… a little more than one day of uninterrupted reading.

Long Live BOB!
Picture used under Creative Commons license by Yves
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yives/3025506130/sizes/m/

Zamzar to the Rescue for File Opening Issues

Are your students having difficulties opening files from home at school?

It is very important to remind students to save word processing documents as .doc or .rtf as other file formats will not open at school.

.docx and .pptx files will not open at school.

Encourage students to carry flash drives and have email accounts to facilitate the transfer of data between home and school.

If all else fails, direct them to Zamzar.
Zamzar is a free file conversion site.

I have introduced many students to this site and found it extremely helpful.

If anyone has any other tips, pass them along!

Online Research Databases - Reliable Research Info in a Click

When MIA, I have been learning more about online research databases and giving workshops around the Lower Mainland. We have access to a couple of fabulous, reliable online research databases. World Book Online, EBSCO Research Databases, and the Encyclopedia of British Columbia Online. World Book offline you are familiar with, but there a lot of extras in the online version. World Book has incorporated primary source documents, maps, timelines and e-books. World Book has also incorporated Canadian Sources. I was very pleased to see among the 24 Canadian e-book titles Pauline Johnson's Legends of Vancouver and Robert Service's The Spell of the Yukon and Other Verses.

EBSCO Research Databases include 1,750 periodicals, 8,300 journals, 100,000 primary source documents, 300,000 photos, maps and flags and 520 full text education journals. The Canadian Student Reference Centre has full text for many magazines as well as thousands of historical essays and biographies. All full text articles are assigned a reading level indicator. It also includes over 100,000 primary source materials and more than 300,000 images.

For teacher reference, EBSCO includes over 260 titles of teacher and administrator journals, periodicals, and books covering education topics such as Assessment, Continuing Education, Current Pedagogical Research, Curriculum Development, Instructional Media, Language Arts, Literacy Standards, Science & Mathematics, and more.

Access in the school is automatic. Drop by the library for the passwords for at home access - our license allows for this.

Please encourage our students to go beyond Google and Wikipedia to use these databases - make it an assignment requirement. It will be databases such as these our students will be accessing in post secondary education and at the public library.

I'd be happy to come and do an intro lesson with your class - fyi all the grade 8's become familiar with World Book Online during orientation.

Check out the video about Online Databases, you might recognize a few familiar faces... our students were great... I'm not a fan of being on camera;)

Paperless Classroom Challenge

Here's some follow up information to the Paperless Classroom Challenge I proposed at last week's prod.

The idea of a paperless classroom challenge was bantered around last year between Lesley, Bryan, Audrey and I. Given our extraordinary photocopying costs last year, I thought it would be an interesting idea to float for two months - November and April.

The idea came to Lesley and Bryan through a blog they read.
Educator Shelly Blake-Plock writes about the paperless classroom on his blog TeachPaperless.

A few posts from his blog you might find interesting as an introduction to the paperless classroom concept:
I Was a Paper Junkie
Cost Benefits of Going Paperless
At the End of the Anomaly of the Age of Printed Books

Have no fear, the later is not about giving up books, it is about how information is printed today!

The Paperless Classroom, written by a San Diego State University graduate student, offers a good overview of the pros and cons of going paperless, and offers links to other resources.

We are fortunate to have the technology at Sutherland to take a stab at going paperless.

Think about a unit, a lesson, a presentation, a student assessment option that could be given paperless - plan to reduce your paper use in November and April. Think about adopting a speedgeeking application to assist with your paperless goals or revisiting the pdf scanner to digitize your already fabulously created lessons and exercises.

Plan for a paperless November and April!!!

Speedgeeking Start Up

Let's begin where we ended in June!

Last week the Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies in the UK posted its list of 100 Top Tools for Learning compiled from learning professionals worldwide.

At our Speedgeeking session back in June you were introduced to applications found in the top 10 of the survey.

Now that we are back, which application would you like to spend some time getting to know this year - Google apps, Delicious, Blogs, Wikis, Twitter, or Skype?

You can revisit the speedgeeking handouts in a couple of locations. The info handouts are still in the Novacom Sutherland staff conference. I am also in the beginning stages of creating a wiki for the library - you can link here to the Staff Stuff and scroll down to the bottom for the handhouts.

Those of you who put your speedgeeking introductions firmly on the summer back burner, see if you can move one forward into this school year.

Happy to help you get reintroduced to your speedgeeking date.


Graphic used under Creative Commons license by Daniel F. Pigatto http://www.flickr.com/photos/pigatto/332193181/

Multiple Uses for Multi-Media Projector Access

I came across this blog posting that lists 50 ways to use a projector in the classroom. Many of the 50 suggestions are already in practice here, but there may be a few you might not have thought of before or that may spark an adaptation idea - I'd love to hear about those!

FYI, last week parents I know from my past life over the hill, who are now on the Carson Amalgamation Response team, asked to meet with me to talk about the advantages to teaching and learning available in a new, technology rich building. Part of that discussion was certainly about the computer/projector set up in classrooms. They also spoke to a student, who commented that she felt her comprehension had increased because of the use of computers and projectors to provide explanations and/or visuals to supplement lessons.

To Blog...

After a bit of a hiatus from my blog, it's time to dive right in again. Where have I been? Good question. In my offline meanderings I've been talking and teaching with technology, and keeping a Google doc of blog entry ideas - it's quite the list. A figure it's about time I practice what I preach.

So, where to start? Let's start back at the beginning, why blog?

For me, I'm hoping to develop this into a place to think and reflect on practice, to introduce technology, new teaching and learning ideas and resources, and to disseminate information.

Why do others' blog?

Well, this is what's happening in our building... great blogs for teaching and learning!!!

Jacquie, Kevin and Norm blog their lesson plans and homework for their Social Studies classes. Tina blogs weekly descriptions of course activity, copies of handouts, and links to curriculum-related sites for her English classes. Tracey uses blogs with his English class to explore non fiction issues. Darcy uses blogs with his English class to initiate discussion and respond to literature. HwlieLie posts daily Math homework on her blog. Jen posts "spanglish" assignments, quizzes, and test dates on her blog. Tara and Jen use a blog with their Journalism class for students to write and collaborate on the Sabre Trooth.

Have I missed anyone? I'm happy to add in.

Looking for blogging ideas or inspiration, check out:
What does blogging do for you or your students?, a seven point summary from the You are Never Alone: communicate and collaborate in an online world blog, and the Why Should Teachers Blog? Practical Theory blog has an interesting comment by Will Richardson posted about blogging, with a follow up discussion.

Will Richardson has a great blog himself Weblogg-ed: learning with the read/write web.

Here are some links to other school bloggers. This wiki indexes Educational bloggers: teachers, principals, classroom blogs, individual student bloggers, blogs about literacy, and professional development blogs - to name a few.

I really like this graphic - a great brainstorm of possible blog characteristics and posted information.


Graphic used under Creative Commons license by Mexicanwave
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mexicanwave/2404978535/

Country Online App

Here is a really easy to use online application called Visited Countries. This was created just for fun, by Douwe Osinga who works for Google.

I see a few applications for his Visited Countries:
Countries in conflict;
Countries where specific languages are spoken;
Countries you have visited;
Countries where the Olympics have been held.

I've created a map of where our students come from, based on the Peace messages conveyed at our Rememberance Day Ceremony.



If I have missed anyone, please let me know... happy to add, the more the merrier!

If you come up with another curricular idea to use the application, please comment and share.

National Symbols and Statues... et al

Ok, my very last post about Ottawa, I promise. Those of you who know me well, know that red and white run through my veins. I am very patriotic and I celebrate all things Canadian (and Australian, for my other passport;). To this point, I had seen more of Canberra than Ottawa. I'm happy to say this has been corrected. Everywhere you turn in Ottawa, you are reminded of being Canadian. Aside from it being our nation's capital and the home of Parliament, you are surrounded by our national symbols. I took numerous pictures of our provincial coat of arms which, along with all our province and territory coats of arms, flowers, and flags can be found either laid in wood, stone, doors, walls, ceilings, fountains, stain glass, carpet, or flying in stands.

Throughout the halls of Parliament are paintings of our Prime Ministers and Monarchy. On the grounds of Parliament are many statues, including some of our Prime Ministers and the Famous Five. This is a picture of me having tea with Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Irene Parlby, and Louise McKinney.

Across the street from Parliament is a statue of our Canadian hero, Terry Fox. Just down the block from Parliament is the National War Memorial.

Our country's flag flies everywhere... inside buildings, in front of buildings, on top of buildings. It was National Flag of Canada Day my last day in Ottawa - that is when the picture of Parliament Hill on the last post was taken.

I visited the Canadian War Museum, the National Gallery of Art and the Museum of Civilization - each absolutely amazing! I also walked on the Rideau Canal and eat a Beaver Tail.

My visit to Ottawa was unique because of the Teacher's Institute; however, I encourage everyone to visit our capital and the opportunity to reflect on all things Canadian whenever the chance arises.

Teachers Institute Round Up

Before getting back to library, literacy, and tech topics, I'd like to summarize the last week in Ottawa at the Teachers Institute on Canadian Parliamentary Democracy: who I met, what I saw, what I did...

I met 70 educators from across the country who were passionate and enthusiastic about teaching and learning. We were organized into groups by province so I had a teacher in my group from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador, our facilitators were from Prince Edward Island and the Yukon - great for discussions about what's happening regionally.

With fellow participants, we toured Center Block and East Block and had meetings in West Block . We toured the Library of Parliament - an amazing building - it has been called "the most beautiful room in Canada - I agree! Rich in architecture and history - it was the only part of the building that survived the fire in 1916 - there were iron doors on the entrance to the library.

We had a tour of Rideau Hall, the residence of our Governor General Michaelle Jean. What a beautiful building, inside and out! We went on a tour of the Supreme Court of Canada, sat in a courtroom, met a supreme court judge, and watched a mock trial.

I sat at an MP's desk in the House of Commons and at a Senator's desk in the Senate while the Speaker of the House, the Honorable Peter Milliken, and the Speaker of the Senate, the Honorable Noel Kinsella, addressed us. We also observed a question period.

I witnessed a mock committee in action - excellent to understanding parliamentary procedure.

I listened to non-partisan panel discussions by MPs about Minority Governments and Senators about Senate Reform. There was also a Media panel of Parliament Hill Journalists, Julie Van Dusen CBC, Bob Fife CTV, and Kady O'Mally Macleans. Kady writes a live blog of happenings on Parliament Hill Inside the Queensway. The last panel was a bear-pit question/answer session with Parliamentary clerks. The panels were the most informative and incredibly interesting way to learn about parliamentary procedure.

Each day we had lunch with a different government related group: lobbyists, bureaucrats, and parliament staff. It was very interesting hearing about their respective jobs on the hill.

We had dinner at the Chateau Laurier with our provincial MP's. I met our MP Andrew Saxton, very hospitable.

I was honoured to give a little thank you speech to Dr. William Young, the Library of Parliament librarian in our two official languages, at a breakfast in the MP's restaurant.

John Ralston Saul was on a panel on the last day. He spoke about his new book and talked about his views on education. He said when he visits a school, his first stop is the school library. He asks whether there is a full-time teacher librarian, whether he or she is bilingual, what the budget is, and how it is spent. Saul says he can trace the literacy skills in an area to the elements of a library program in place in the school. I was cheering inside!!!

It was a jam-packed, inspiring week! This was the most well-organized and enriching professional development opportunity I have had the privilege of being involved and have participated in in 20 years - I encourage you to apply!

By the way, on my last day in Ottawa, they were preparing for President Obama's first visit, hence the picture with all the flags.

Ottawa Meanderings...

So, have you ever wondered when you would use your high school French again other than a trip to France? Here I am, 26 years after high school, giving a speech that is required to be a mix of our two official languages. I did need some help with the grammar, but the words and the pronunciation were not foreign to me! Yesterday I was asked to thank the Parliamentary Librarian for his hospitality - an incredible honor! We were hosted to breakfast in the MP's restaurant, after which we sat in the MP's chairs in the House of Commons and learned about the Legislative Process. In the afternoon we attended Question Period. In the evening we had dinner with MP's. I met our MP Andrew Saxton - very hospitable.

Yesterday we met the Speaker of the House, today we met the Speaker of the Senate. Yesterday we observed a mock committee in action. Today we visited the Supreme Court of Canada.

Our days have been starting at 7 am and ending at 10 pm. Tomorrow is another early day...

P.S. Yes, there are books in the House of Commons, picture evidence above!

Teachers Institute Meetings et al

All our meetings are in the West Block. You go through security when you enter any building on Parliament Hill - the buckles on my boots were not so helpful for a speedy exit;)

We've had interesting guest speakers and Non-Partisan Panel discussions on government topics. Guest speakers have thus far spoken on the Constitution, Elections, the Executive, and Democratic Reform.

The Non-Partisan Panel discussions have focused on Minority Governments and Parliamentarians' Perspectives. A question posed to the minority government panel was what is the greatest asset and what is the greatest liability in a minority government? Answer - In a minority government there is an opportunity to be more inclusive in policy making, to listen to others ideas and opinions, and engage in a consultation process across party lines. The greatest liability is the short term focus; no long term investments in our country are made because the threat of an election that looms in a minority government. An interesting conversation arose about the benefits of a Coalition Government and the lack of knowledge the Canadians really have about what this means.

We toured Rideau Hall, the residence of our Governor General Michaelle Jean - what an amazing building - again heaps of history and heraldry! I'll write about that later this week!

Tomorrow we get to sit in the House of Commons, not just in the gallery, but physically in MP's chairs. I have been asked to speak for the Institute and thank the Parliamentary Librarian, Dr. Young, for his hospitality - I'm off to write a speech.

By the way, this is a picture of Sir John A MacDonald's desk, located in East Block, very cool!

Teachers Institute on Parliamentary Democracy

I'm in Ottawa, from February 8 to February 13, to participate in a Teachers Institute on Canadian Parliamentary Democracy. A very cool opportunity. After quite an application process, 70 educators from across Canada were chosen to participate in a week long, intensive professional development workshop about our government. I am looking forwarding to learning with like-minded individuals about our parliamentary system. I have never been to our Nation's capital before so I am also looking forward to having a look around Ottawa and visiting museums.

Yesterday was a "get your bearings" day. We had a tour of the Centre Block of the Parliament buildings which included the House of Commons chamber, the Memorial Chamber, the Peace Tower, and the Library of Parliament. So much history! The House of Commons carpet and chair upholstery are green - symbolic of the commons, the green commons ground, and the common people who are served by our parliament. I could have spent heaps more time in the Library of Parliament, but we weren't allowed to go into the shelves - what an amazing room! The library is the only part of the orginial Parliament building that survived the fire in 1916, ironically on my birthday, February 3rd.

In the afternoon we went to the Canadian War Museum - a must-see when you come to Ottawa. Very well done! The details are amazing! In one particular corridor you can see the Peace Tower through the windows. The light shining on the wall in the corridor from little windows says "Lest We Forget" in Morse Code. A lot to see - I skimmed through part of it to spend most of my time in the World War II section because Dad was a 2nd Lieutenant in the tanks and the South Africa section because my Aussie Grandpa fought there.

We also met our working group for the week - grouped with teachers from other provinces and territories - arranged by colour - I'm in the purple group - no, I did not plan this!

Common Craft

In my last post I linked to a video by Common Craft. If you have never perused the Common Craft site before I highly recommend it. The creative team and brains behind Common Craft are Sachi and Lee LeFever, a husband/wife team from Seattle, Washington who take complex ideas, then make videos to easily understand them. They have created a series of videos explaining technology applications in simplified terms, as they say in Plain English. They are great - short, concise, informative, and entertaining! There are a few you might want to check out in their Social Media section on Blogs, Podcasting, RRS, Twitter, and Wikis in Plain English.

Why is Delicious so good? Take a bite!

Have you ever lost all your bookmarks/favorites in some weird network breakdown/reconfiguration? Have you ever been some where away from the computer you primarily use and could not remember a web address?

Delicious Social Bookmarking can help you out.

Delicious is an online system that allows you to store, organize, search, and manage your bookmarks. It's accessible anytime/anywhere. You create your own subject headings, known as Tags, to help categorize your websites. You create folders, known as Bundles, of your categorized websites.

And... here's the social part... two heads are often better than one. Imagine having many heads searching for the same topic as you, then sharing the website online. You can automatically share a website you find with a fellow Delicious account user. You can link to someone else's Delicious account. My account is linked with other teacher librarians. I have also linked to other educational professionals and every so often I go and check in to see what websites they have saved.

Take a look at my account if you like delicious.com/sabrecybrarian.
North Vancouver Social Studies teachers are linking up through Delicious to share websites at delicious.com/NVSDsocialstudies

Here's a short video clip from Common Craft that explains Social Bookmarking in Plain English.



Once you get started saving your bookmarks this way, you'll be hooked.
Happy to help you get started!

Video clip from Commom Craft http://www.commoncraft.com/bookmarking-plain-english
Photo used under Creative Commons license by eco2oh
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eco2oh/3062380890/

Glogster - Creating Electronic Posters

The minute I saw Lesley's Glog, I knew I had to try creating one. Students will love this electronic alternative to the traditional poster project.

Glogster is a free, online application that facilitates the mixing of graphics, photos, videos, music and text into an electronic poster format. There is a Glogster version for education .

Students could create a glog as an alternative to a book report, or to represent an historical event or time period, or to explain concepts in math and science - there are endless possibilities - if you come up with a cool idea, pass it along!

Scroll over the glog I've created about some of my Literature favorites. When the red circle appears, this indicates a web link. The YouTube video about songs inspired by literature is also viewable. I don't think it's too bad for a first attempt - I did learn a few things along the way that I am happy to share if you would like to create one of your own.



Click on Literature Links to view the glog larger.

Finding the Good Stuff in the Invisible Web

Let's teach our students where to find the good stuff. There is an immense amount of information hidden away in the Invisible Web. The Invisible Web is the term used to describe all the information available on the Internet that is not found by using general-purpose search engines, such as Google. In addition to teaching the secrets of good search strategies, we need to introduce our students to searching the invisible web through web directories such as InfoMine or The Librarian's Internet Index.

And... sometimes you get what you pay for... in terms of information. Many excellent research information databases are only available by subscription. In our province ERAC, the Educational Resource Acquisition Consortium, has arranged for district pricing for access to some great research reference resources such as World Book Online, Gale Electronic Database, and Ebsco. Gale Electronic Database includes a Biography Resource Centre database, as well as a Virtual Reference Library, a Student Resource Centre, and CPI.Q., the electronic version of the Canadian Periodic Index. Ebsco is an awesome resource for accessing magazines and journals, current and up-to-date.

It is these kinds of databases our students will face at the public library or in post secondary education - let's show them where to find the good stuff now!

The Odyssey of Internet Searching

Searching for information on the Internet can sometimes turn into a never ending journey - especially for our students. The "Google Generation" needs to learn how to search the internet effectively.

In Information Behavior of the Researcher of the Future , a virtual longitudinal study carried out last year by the CIBER research team at University College London claimed that, although young people demonstrated an apparent ease and familiarity with computers, they relied heavily on search engines, viewed rather than read, and did not possess the critical and analytical skills to assess the information that they found on the web. Too true if have you ever studied the Middle Ages and Renaissance and had students using research information from a seemingly credible site, but upon closer analysis is a travel agent selling vacations in a castle - one of many examples.

I don't know who to thank for the 10 hit Google rule I've been teaching students for years - read it in a journal years ago and have been preaching it ever since. If students are looking for information in hits beyond the first 10 hits, they are not going to find their information in the next 999,999 pages - refine/change/rework the search request - teach Boolean search terms and how to keyword search, show and tell specialty search engines.

To sharpen internet searching skills, check out the Google Game, a lesson developed by two educators, with the goal of making students’ Internet searches more efficient so that they end up with as few hits as possible.

Three crucial search tips are taught: use quotation marks to look for words in the exact order that you enter them (for example, “French Revolution” “human rights”); use a minus sign to exclude a word from your search (for example, bears -Chicago); and to limit a search to web sites created by certain groups, such as colleges and universities or organizations, use the site operator, an indication of the domain (for example, site:edu or site:org). There are some example questions at the end of the article. If you or your students come up a Google Game example, pass it along.

Photo used under Creative Commons by hidden side
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hidden_vice/209382586/sizes/s/

Wordle Words

Wordle is a web based application for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. Great for creating a visual! A "Wordle" enables you to see how frequently words appear in a given text, or see the relationship between a column of words and a column of numbers. Wordle draws each word at a size proportional to its frequency. Common words, such as "the", are filtered out. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like.

Here are a couple of examples I created - this is really easy to do - it took seconds!
You can click on the image to make it larger.

I found the tag cloud of my Delicious account interesting.



It really illustrates my focus professionally.

I also created an example using the Canadian National Anthem.



There is a list of 20 Uses for Wordle from a teacher's blog, Rodd Lucier, The Clever Sheep... Leading in New Directions.

Here are a few of my favourite Wordle ideas from Rodd's blog:

Convert a sonnet or Shakespearean play; or children's book (Dr. Seuss anyone?);
Turn an essay into a poster;
Show "Today in History" stories in a new way;
Enter keywords from weekly weather reports to obtain a seasonal picture.

If you come up with some other ideas, send them along!

Images created by Wordle.
Wordle images are Creative Commons Licensed

LAN Parties at Sutherland

The advantage to being in a brand spanking new school (and library:) is that you get to host really cool events. This week a second LAN - Learning at Night - Party was held. This was the brain child of Lesley Edwards and Bryan Hughes who picked up on the idea from Kim Cofino and Jeff Utecht. 50 to 70 teachers from around the school district, both elementary and secondary, have been attending. There has been mind-bending, inspiring, and energizing conversations about new teaching and learning practices based on presentations from the K-12 Online Conference. Once the presentations were viewed, we Skyped in the presenters from around the world, Bangkok, Sydney Australia, Kansas, California, Pennsylvania, and Saskatchewan, for a question/answer period. Very cool!!! We are hosting this unique professional development opportunity once a month. Check into what's happening at Innovative Learning - Learning at Night.

New Year... New Beginnings...

Well, it was about time I started a blog, definitely on the heels of my TL colleagues in my own district, Lesley Edwards, Bookminder of Webfooted Booklady, and Jenn Tieche of Love the Library. After getting hung up on the logistics for far too long, it was just time to jump in with a name I've used for years. Library Links has been the name of my library newsletter and collaboration request document for 20 years. Livin' the Dream has been the nick name for a group of secondary librarians with whom I share information professionally and personally, and have been my lifeline for many years. The name came out of a very famous superbowl commercial called Cat Herders. We envision our jobs as teacher librarians to be akin to the message in the commercial.

My intention is for this blog to be a place for me to compile professional resources and ideas, with a bit of fun thrown in along way.... because I truly am Livin' the Dream.

I have worked in libraries for over 30 years, since I was 12 years old. I love the organization of information and the disorganization of learning - learning is messy - so you might as well dive right in - be with books or bytes. I believe in melding technology with tradition. I love the opportunities for learning technology provides as much as curling up with a good book. Sooooo, here's to Library Links... Livin' the Dream.

Oh, and why books, bytes and butterflies? Books and Bytes, obvious.... and butterflies, for many years I have also loved and appreciated the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly in terms of the transformation, that we as people and learners can emulate.

Photo used under Creative Commons by Mundoo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mundoo/77952698/
Blue butterfly montage
Created using Grant Robinson's Montage-a-google
grant.robinson.name/projects/montage-a-google