Library Media Tech Talk

I attended the Schools Without Walls (SWOW) annual conference just a few weeks ago. The conference was held in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I enjoy attending the conference each year to learn the latest about educational technology! The sessions always challenge my thinking. This year, I was excited to hear a presentation by keynote speaker Ginger Lewman (follow her on Twitter @GingerLewman). Ginger asked great questions: "Are we transforming curriculum with technology or are we substituting digital worksheets for paper worksheets?" This helped me reflect about my role as a library media specialist and technology consultant. I can help teachers enhance curriculum in their classroom with technology... In what ways am I doing this? (something we should all ponder as school librarians) "How do we ensure that all students have the opportunity to learn outside of our walls?" My three biggest takeaways from SWOW: Genius Hour Ginger explained that this comes from Goo...

Lakeside High School Library Media Specialist, Misti Bell, presents this article about a recent library collaboration program: On October 29th, our library hosted Africa Day for the third time (go here to see how this event started in 2012).  Once again the library staff, tenth grade English teachers, and Chartwells collaborated to make this year’s Africa Day the best yet!  The tenth grade students are reading Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and this event was developed to help the students have a better understanding of the Igbo people of Nigeria in the late 1800’s.  Stations This year we focused on giving students more time at each station.  Students participated in four learning stations:  food, art, music, and games.   Students spent twelve minutes at each station; this provided them an opportunity to go more in depth and have a more meaningful experience.   Taste of Africa was our food station; Chartwells (our food se...

On a Saturday in late September, one of our Lakeside High School Assistant Principals, Mr. Mathew Thornton, (@Mat_Thornton) mentioned me in a Tweet. The message was from Dina Moati (@dinamoati) who is a Professor of Education in Ontario, Canada. After seeing that Dina was looking for volunteers to speak to her class of aspiring educators, I Tweeted a message to her immediately! I love sharing about how Twitter has changed me professionally! I have also been looking for opportunities to connect our learning community to educators outside of the United States. Dina Moati leads the Virtual Experts Panel I knew this could be a first step to lead the way to more international collaboration! Dina messaged me back and the date was set.  Stephan Hughes This event took place for two of Dina's classes as a Google Hangout forum with two other educators: Stephan Hughes from Rio de Janeiro ( @ stephwurking ) and Tammy G. Neil from Florida ( @ TG_Neil ).  T...