Library Media Tech Talk

Whatever career you have chosen, it is important to rest and recharge. For most teachers, down time in the summer is key! I try to get away every summer for at least a week even if I just have a stay at home vacation. I always try to do some of the things I enjoy doing or visit places that are recreational. Any place or activity can be inspiring to a teacher. It might be a museum, a state park, a great movie, a concert, a novel or professional book. For me, the inspiring place this summer was Walt Disney World! It was good to get away and relive the things that inspired me as a kid. This is a great practice since we all teach young people! It was good for me to go back and remember what it was like to be a teenager again for a few days. I enjoyed seeing Mickey Mouse, C-3PO, Kermit the Frog, and even Indiana Jones! It was also great to learn about Walt Disney’s life and his innovations to the entertainment industry. Too often we tend to think that success just happens i...

Through the magic of social media and this blog, others in our state have found out about our 3D printing antics in the library media center. About two months ago, our technology director (Mrs. Melinda Dodd) and Hot Springs Technology Institute (HSTI) director (Mr. Don Benton) approached me about teaching 3D printing basics at the upcoming HSTI pre-conference in June 2015. I was very excited about this opportunity, especially for our students. One of the items I have worked on this year is student led presentations. I saw this as a great opportunity to include a few of our EAST students that have become knowledgeable about 3D printing this year! Melinda and Don were both very supportive of including the students in the presentation! I decided to use two upcoming sophomores for this project. They had spent the most time working with our MakerBot Replicator and they had also presented successfully many times during our library lunch programs. They both agreed to join the presentation t...

I have started another educational adventure this summer. I have wanted to start an American Library Association (ALA) accredited Master of Library Science degree for several years. I finally took the plunge to return to graduate school since our high school will begin offering an associate's degree program this fall. I thought it might be interesting to pursue the training of an academic librarian to better serve our students at Lakeside High School. I began study at the University of North Texas today in my first graduate course since 2009. One of the first discussion topics the professor brought up in the Web Institute class was "Why are libraries still needed?" This is not a topic I generally ponder in my daily mission as a school library media specialist. It is one we all need to consider since there are many people that think technology and the Internet have made the library an outdated resource. Because of this threat, we should strive to make our library ...