Welcome back teachers! I hope you had a restful summer and are ready to come back. Let’s hope this year brings a little less budget drama. As you know, the library will remain open for upcoming school year. However, due to budget cuts, we have lost our library technician. This means that library services will be changing. Here’s a breakdown of what those changes are:

The library will be open from 7:30-3:15 daily.

• Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays the library will be open for studying and book checkouts. THE COMPUTER LAB WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE!
• Tuesdays and Thursdays the computer lab will be available for typing, research, and printing. THERE WILL NOT BE BOOK CHECKOUTS OR TABLES FOR STUDYING AVAILABLE.
• Wednesday mornings will proceed with quiet study time from 7:30 until 9:00. The computer lab will then open at 9:00am until the first bell rings.
• Please only send students to the library on passes DURING THE LAST 15 MINUTES OF EACH PERIOD. I will most likely be with a class up until that point.

Remember, if you have any questions or comments, please email me or call me at x8092.

Discussions are swirling around in regards to the research paper in many different curricular areas. For one reason or another, many students do not complete the research paper which  sometimes results in failing the class. As you mull over next year’s research papers and projects, think about the following questions:

1. As a department, do you emphasize the process (gathering and synthesizing information) of research, or the product (typically, the paper) of research? Or both equally?

2. Are the prompts designed appropriately? Do the students understand the academic vocabulary usually found in a research prompt? Do they know the meaning of the words SIGNIFICANT, EMPHASIZE, ANALYZE, etc?

3. How comfortable are you incorporating more technology into the research assignment? Does the final product have to be a paper? What about using other forms of technology that demonstrate the students’ ability to research effectively while utilizing their computer skills?

With these questions in mind, here are some great alternatives to the research paper. Instead, they are ideas for a research project that use various forms of technology. If any of these interest you, count me in as your collaborate partner. We’ll make it happen!

1. VOICETHREAD–  This is a free online media that allows the user to import and display a variety of media for classroom or group discussions. It’s composed of images, audio narration that the user creates over those images, videos, and music. Click HERE to see how a teacher in North Carolina uses it. He has created a wealth of information on how to use it as well. When you visit the site, click BROWSE to see samples of voicethreads. Click HERE if you’d like to see how a Monterey High School used it in his English Class.

2. ANIMOTO– This is a web-based video creation toll that allows you to create your own animated video using digital photos, video clips, and backgroud music. Click HERE to see one I made in about 20 minutes! I also just posted it on the right side.

3. WIKISPACES– This is another free web tool that allows multiple users to “create” and edit their own web space. A great substitute for group work– instead of it being on all on paper, have the students create their own wiki space. Check out the wikispaces that the librarians use to collaborate. Click HERE.

4. WEEBLY– This is a free website host. Students can create their very own website!

1. The students from the Library Advisory Committee and from the ASB will be gathering in front of the school on Thursday March 4th from 7:15- 7:45 to raise awareness to our parents and community about the budget cuts we are all experiencing. They have been making signs and are excited about getting their voice heard. Please support our students as they move forward in this. It’s empowering to see them wanting and trying to make a difference.

2. Next week begins term 4 of the school year. We’ve got textbook distribution happening on Monday March 8th and we are starting to fill up fast for research and projects in the library. Email Karin if you’d like to schedule library time.

3. Interested in integrating more technology into your curriculum? Tired of always doing power point? Let’s spice up your next project with a wiki! Or a blog! Or a free website! I’d be more than happy to collaborate some projects with you.

4. Here are some of my current favorite websites that will work with any class:

AWESOME HIGHLIGTER– This enables students to turn their cursors into a highlighter and highlight text when reading a website. I’ll be showing this tool when teachers come in for research.

PBS FOR TEACHERS–  Aside from producing great videos, PBS has some great lesson plans, too.

GOOGLE SQUARED– You can now build charts of information based on a Google search.

It’s been entirely too long since my last post. The hosting site for this website is no longer supported by the district and I’m working on switching it over to EduBlogs. So if you can read this post, then I’ll call that luck! Some computers are filtering it so it shows up as ACCESS DENIED…….

Here are some quick library updates:

1. Your library staff is still here! We won’t the status of next year until negotiations are over. It could be a long wait…….

2. Did you know that the Federal Government has a website specificially for delivering free teaching resources to students? Check it out at http://www.free.ed.gov.

3. Interested in using our computer lab? Send me an email request as soon as you know what dates you’d like. We are filling up fast.

4. The Sheldon High Library website has changed over to it’s new home. You can find it at:  http://blogs.net/sheldonhlib.

5. Thinking of having students do a research project? Check out the new rules about creating a WORKS CITED PAGE. Click HERE to view the changes.

6. The library maintains the Computer Internet Agreement forms but we do not have extra copies of it. Instead, we have one master copy that the students can photocopy for 15 cents. However, the front office has some extra copies.

7. Social Science Teachers– Check out all the new websites listed on this website. Click the Social Science tab at the top. Numbers 5-13 are new additions!

We are happy to announce that the SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR will once again be visiting Sheldon High School!  This will be a great opportunity to buy Christmas gifts as the book fair will be stocked with a great variety of books for children, teens, and adults. The fair begins on December 2nd and runs through December 8th. TEACHER PREVIEW DAY will be held on December 3rd. Stop by during your prep period for some shopping and FOOD. So start planning now and support your school library!

SHELDON HIGH SCHOOL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CLASS– Using the Internet in the 21st Century Web 2.0

20 of your fellow teachers are taking this class and doing a great job! To see what they are working on, click HERE. It’s all about using blogs, wikis, Google advanced features, etc. in the classroom. Many of the enrolled teachers have already gone above and beyond the class work and have set up professional and/or personal blogs. If you have questions about the this class and would like to enroll for it in the Spring, let Karin in the library know.

AND WE ARE NOW ON TWITTER!

As you may already know, the Sheldon Library has it’s own Facebook Fan Page. Now you can also follow us on TWITTER! There’s not much there yet, but we’ll be “tweeting” very soon. ClickHERE to visit us on Twitter.

AND DON’T FORGET………..

The library no longer receives the Sacramento Bee Newspaper, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get news in your classroom. So if you are wanting students to have access to current events, here’s where you can send them:

1. The Sacramento Boo Online version of the newspaper I sent out every morning. Feel free to share the link and passwords to any students that need them.

2. Visit the STUDENT LIBRARY BLOG and click the CURRENT EVENTS tab to get a list of direct links to various newspapers, including international newspapers.

3. Go to the right side of this website to view CNN News for Students. This should be updated at least once per week.

) Become a fan of the Sheldon High School Library on Facebook! I’ll be updating this page, (at home, of course) with book reviews and suggestions, research tips, study strategies, and anything else library related. Both students and teachers are welcome to become FANS! You’ll find the link to Facebook on the right side of this page.

As you are well aware, the district budget cuts are very likely to effect library services next year. Unless voices are loud, and unless we explicitly express how the library impacts our students’ education, the library, as we currently know it, will be gone. Even if you only use the library to check out textbooks, you can assume that most of your students, if not all, use the library for research, reading, studying, and computer use. Students who might not feel safe anywhere else come here, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day! And over the last year, we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of students needing to use the internet– it seems that many families are discontinuing internet service as a way to cut costs.

The library staffs a credentialed teacher and a classified technician. My primary roll is to teach information literacy through teacher collaboration. I take care of the educational side of our library. My technician, Michele, takes care of the organization of this space. We cannot do either of our jobs without the other person. So even if the library doors will technically be “open” next year, there will not be staffing to maintain the services you and the students have come to depend on.

So here’s how you can help:

1. Email the board members at http://www.egusd.net/discover_egusd/board/index.cfm

2. Express your concern about the budget crisis through emailing the budget committee at:http://www.egusd.net/news/budget/index.cfm

3. Attend the October 6th board meeting. It starts at 7:00 at the district office.

As always, we APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT!!!

Welcome back, teachers! In light of the technology that we are constantly surrounded by and in an effort to be as paperless as possible, the Sheldon High Library Newsletters will now be posted on this blog. Not only will this allow me a quicker way to get information out to you, it will also allow you to familiarize yourself with blogging technology. Here’s what you will find on this blog:

1. Library rules and regulations.

2. Links to interesting sites for each subject area.

3. Links to website evaluation lessons and tutorials.

4. Links to everything Google has to offer.

5. A place for you to comment back about the resources I’ve posted.

I hope to include resources that you will find directly useful in your classrooms. If you have something you would like me to specifically add, shoot me an email and I’ll be happy to oblige.

Here’s to the start of a technologically great year!!