Friday, November 20, 2009
and next a video from Youtube:
End of my test.
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Lion is Back at Her Post
It was great to see a bunch of you at the Diocese meeting last Friday 11/13. oooooooo Friday the 13th and once again nothing of any weirdness happened. How Orange County.
I am back at the helm and am sorry I have neglected the blog for so long. I am hoping that some of you will jump in and add items to the blog. It is our blog - not mine. We are a collective brain and everyone has much to share.
The beginning of school this year has been a whirlwind. I have gotten through all my orientations and spent the entirety of my library budget for this term. As we speak, a fire seems to be brewing east of San Juan Capistrano back near Ortega Hwy. I hope that they get that under control quickly as the Santa Anas are in full and dry force today.
I went with all new EBSCO databases this year and so far, we just really like the products. I have cataloging to do now that all my print orders have arrived. I so love getting new materials on the shelf. I went a little non-fiction nuts this year focusing on required literature, but adding mostly non-fiction titles to the collection.
I want to mention the draft Model Library Standards which are under discussion by the California Department of Education. Now that the focus groups are over, the standards will be voted upon in March 2010. That will be such a major benefit to all California school librarians and libraries and we are all very excited about the new standards.
To view the standards, please visit:
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/lb
On another note, CUE is looking for Library media educators who are interested in getting involved with their SIG. A phone conference will be held on Monday, November 23, 4:30-5:30pm, as a virtual town hall. Here is more information about that from Mike Lawrence, Executive Director of CUE:
Hello Library Media Educators SIG members!CUE will be holding a virtual "Town Hall" meeting on Monday November 23, from 4:30-5:30pm for Library Media Educators SIG members and regional leaders to generate interest in Library Media Educators SIG. We hope that this meeting will generate enthusiasm for the SIG and its activities. The meeting will be held via phone conference, and all attendees of these meetings will be entered into an opportunity drawing to WIN a CUE Gear bag including a CUE mug, hat, pin and luggage tag!
CALL AGENDA:
Mission and purposes of Library Media Educators SIG
SIG Benefits
Activities of CUE SIGs
New ideas anyone?
Potential leaders
Next Steps
CUE-SN Town Hall Meeting
Monday November 23, from 4:30-5:30pm
Call in #: 888.387.8686code: 1072305
Please RSVP to attend: http://tinyurl.com/cueth09
I hope that many of you will join us on the phone for this town hall discussion. I will be there no matter what. And that is the beginning of our Thanksgiving Break, no less.
Things I am working on for JSerra at present: my Technology Handbook. This book will include all things technological and provide the framework for faculty professional development workshops I will begin teaching in January. Thanks to my healthy PLN, I have learned so much about technology integration and want to share it with our faculty.
Curriculum committee meetings are my focus this year and being able to have a voice in information literacy instruction and integration into classroom curriculum here at JSerra.
I also still have some work to do on the library webpage. JSerra went to a new website this year and a lot of my former content got mudged together in a miscellaneous polyglot of information, so I am working with the designers to move things around. I have access to edit the code on a few of my webpages, so I can add video and other things in order to break up the massive amounts of stuff.
That is all I have to say about that - for now. Best wishes to all my librarian colleagues from the Lions Den.
Jeanne S.
JSerra Catholic High School
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Library Live Going Online in August!!
Glen Warren of the OCDE and Jackie Siminitus of CSLA have asked school librarians to spread the word on the new Library Live videoconference workshops that will be offered one Thursday each month beginning August 27th... 3pm to 3:30pm Pacific (Cali) time.
Here is the announcement from CALIB - our CA librarian's LISTSERV:
"Mark your calendars! Here's some great news about a monthly School Library broadcast, starting the last Thursday in August and throughout the 2009-2010 school year. See Orange County Department of Education Library Media Coordinator Glen Warren's announcement below about "Library LIVE!"
Be sure to spread the word. Blog and send a "tweet" about the news. This is not just for teacher librarians. It is for everyone at your library, school, district, or county. Glen will also be at the CSLA Conference with his videoconferencing camera crew, so plan to be a part of this excellent effort to raise the visibility of strong school libraries, teacher librarians, technology, curriculum connections, and more!
Library Live!
Want to get the latest news that impacts school libraries and their learning communities?
Want to spread the news about 21st century school libraries?
Want to MAKE news about them?
Be a part of Library LIVE!
Beginning August 2009, on the Last Thursday of Each Month
Orange County Department of Education, based in southern California, will host a monthly live INTERACTIVE broadcast of Library LIVE!
Each show targets school librarians, media specialist, and technologists across the country, featuring news about the triumphs and challenges facing the 21st century community.
The Framework of the broadcast will include four spheres of influence within education:
1. Community (educational partners)
2. Curriculum (resources and best practices)
3. Legislation (state and national policy )
4. Technology (technology trends and innovations)
Each show will feature at least one interview, with QA time.
And it's FREE.
You can connect TWO ways to the broadcast:
1. Through live web streaming AND/OR
2. through a video conferencing unit (e.g., Polycom or Tandberg).
The video streaming chat feature allows live interactive chat through most district firewalls.
Each broadcast will have its own unique URL link (for web streaming) and IP Address (for videoconferencing). If you would like to be a part of the Library LIVE! experience and receive up to date program information then please sign up at the below link:
If you have any questions and/or programming ideas, please contact Glen Warren at: gwarren@ocde.us "
So, I hope school librarians will jump on board for these broadcasts. I have already participated in one, and I am sure they will provide timely and informative content for all school librarians.
Jeanne Swedo
JSerra Cath HS
jswedo@jserra.org
Thursday, June 11, 2009
http://schoolingdotus.blogspot.com/2009/02/our-students-ourselves.html
Jeanne S
JSerra Cath HS
Latest OC Register Article on School Libraries
Jeanne S
JSerra Cath HS
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
A Video Job Application
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ue6OvW7aHs
Jeanne S
JSerra Cath HS
Pre & Post Assessments in Library Instruction Classes
I found this great June 2009 report from Texas college librarians who did a study of pre- and post-assessments in library instruction at their institution. They analyzed results from eleven sections of library instruction courses held in fall 2008. These courses were Introduction to Library Research, their one hour credit course, which is taken by freshmen through seniors and some graduate students as well.
Their introductory class covers:
Campus Libraries & Intro to the Research Process
Writing a Thesis Statement
Search Strategies
Controlled Vocabulary
Proper Citing
Ethical Use of Information
Introduction to the Information Cycle (databases)
Newspaper Articles
Popular Magazines and Scholarly Journals
Documents and Books
Encyclopedias
Critical Evaluation of Sources.
They had 310 students enrolled in the courses, but only 176 of them took both the pre- and post-assessments. They used the exact same questions in both assessments with each question having only one correct answer. The average score on the pre-assessment was 43% and on the posts-assessment was 56%. They attributed these low scores to high turnover in librarians and their relative inexperience as instructors.
They recommended a book: Tools for Teaching by Barbara Davis.
Their final evaluation of their study discussed revising the course content and designing a more accurate post assessment, which might include a final exam, portfolio assignment, or standard test.
To read the entire survey, please see this link:
http://www.acrl.ala.org/acrlinsider/2009/06/09/crl-preprint-what-are-they-learning-pre-and-post-assessment-surveys-for-libr-1100/
Jeanne S
JSerra HS
AASL Independent School Section
It is the first day of final exams here at JSerra. I am knee deep in end of the year duties, as I am sure all of you are as well.
I received an email yesterday from the AASLForum listserv indicating AASL is solicitating nominations for 2010 committees. I have nominated myself for the AASL Independent School Section Chair-Elect position. I really hope I make the ballot so that I have an opportunity to bring a new California voice to this national committee.
As California school librarians, we all have to do our part, however small, to advocate for school libraries in order to end the cuts in public (and some private) schools.
I will be meeting with Darla Magana at St. Margarets in a couple of weeks to discuss the collaborative and plans for a meeting. I hope all of you have a great summer, if you are a 10-month employee (like me).
I also will be visiting UCLA and Esther Grassian this summer, so will report on that visit after it happens.
Jeanne S
JSerra Cath HS
Friday, June 5, 2009
OC Register Article June 3rd
I saw this article on CALIB today, courtesy of Richard Moore. This OC Register reporter, Yvette Cabrera, did a story on a school librarian in Garden Grove who is being cut to half-time and being put into the classroom half-time. Please read:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tsuruta-library-school-2442999-district-students
Jeanne S
JSerra Cath HS
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Remote NECC Meeting - June 30th
The OC Dept of Ed is having a remote NECC meeting at their offices in Costa Mesa on Tuesday, June 30th. They are live streaming keynote speakers and sessions from the NECC national meeting in Washington DC. The cost for attending is $105 and includes continental breakfast and lunch.
Please join me and Glen Warren at OCDE and many others for this most interesting day.
Flyer: http://edtech.ocde.us/Assets/EdTech/assets/neccflier.pdf
Jeanne S.
JSerra Cath HS