More about our Genre Based library

Y'all are probably tired of my discussion about the genre based library and I promise, I am about done.  I just wanted to show everyone what we decided to do with our History books.   If everyone elses' library is like mine, the History section takes up most of your non fiction.  Most of the teachers and kids who come in to use bound resources want history books. We decided to make the search easier.

Aside from adding categories to our books, as many of you are hearing me talk about a lot, we decided to also include a time stamp.   We made color coded labels for different eras.  Our era decision was based on the number of books we had.  For example, We have a lot of books that cover the decades in the 1900s but a lot less that cover the era before Christ, so, we mixed a lot of years.  We are labeling each book with the color coded labels (we just used an address label template, filled each label with a lot of text and printed it on colored paper).   When kids come in looking for a specific era, we can share the color coded label with them and say... look for this label.   If they come in looking for a specific situation (like the Revolutionary War) we can guide them to that specific area.

Yes, it took a lot of time.  Yes, it took a lot of energy and brainstorming.  Yes, I have gotten some slack from veteran teachers and librarians who think Dewey is God.  Yes, I have people questioning what I have done.  I don't care. Because it my eyes, I am doing this for kids and for that, it is worth it.

Attending a Conference, without Attending a Conference

I adore conferences.  I live for them, but often, I can't find the time or the money to attend.  Sometimes, it's hard to leave my kids.  Sometimes it's hard to do the sub plans for two days.  (Face it, as teachers we know it's easier to come to work sick than to do the planning and followup-  the same thing goes with a planned day or two off.)   Still, conferences are my passion.  I love to attend, I love to learn, I love finding new things and bringing them back.  I may have solved some of my conference woes via twitter.

Last week, the Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) hosted their annual conference in Detroit.   I'll be honest, I didn't know about it, but, the timing wouldn't lend for me to attend, either.  I came across the hashtag on several PLN tweets on twitter and started following it.  I had a blast following the conference.  I learned so many things interactively.   I saved about twenty sites (I didn't know before) to my pocket site, I retweeted some, I favorited a little and I even joined in some of the conversation.  It was fabulous.

The best approach to following a conference on twitter is use an app such as tweetdeck or hootsuite.  I prefer tweetdeck, myself.   It can be downloaded directly to your device or you can use it in a browser.  Chrome even has an app.   Pop it open, add a column for the hashtag and voilà, you are in business.   I also suggest you create an account at pocket. This is the new and improved version of read it later which was an innovative way to save links to refer to at a later time.   I do just that, I follow along, read the tweets, add the links of interest to my pocket.  I go back later and read them over, learn the site, check out the tool.

One of the gentlemen I follow on twitter named Tom Whitby (@tomwhitby) reminded me that one of the advantages of being a connected educator is virtual attendance at all the conferences.  Who said it has to be physical attendance?   I have attended conferences before the same way.  Sometimes I learn a lot, sometimes I learn very little.  It's defintely worth a shot, regardless.

What conferences are coming up that could be showing up on twitter?  There are a ton more if you visit the conference calendar website.

#ISTE2013
#NSTA2013
#ALA2013

PBWorks for class collaboration

For one of our PDs last year, I asked our trainer to share with us a site called PBWorks.  He did and now, I am in the process of using it for the media center to establish a collaborative site where we could do something with book clubs.   I have been too busy to do a lot with it, but the time has come to start looking at it again.

The site is set up almost like a moodle but not needing a host server to use.  It's a free site as well. You create a workspace in your account and from there you can add a lot of different tools:  syllabi, files, pages, etc.   The site has a lot of potential for the classroom as well as for the media center.   I can see it being used as a group wiki space for PBL projects.  

Since my focus next year is going to be more PBL based, I am thinking I will rely on PBWorks a lot next year to get my students communicating with each other and doing more useful tasks.  

I am also going to set up a workspace for the Media Center. I would love to start doing some online book chats, some informative tip sheets and maybe even a place for recommendations.   I can't wait to get started.  I think this will be a very useful tool for my students. 

What I am doing about Library Layout: Part Two

So my story of change continues. The summer before last, I decided the 1970s orange countertop that was waist high, made of laminate and particle board. It certainly wasn't a patron friendly space.  I wanted to be eye level and seated as I worked with kids.  I found some furniture in an old lab we no longer used and brought it in.  It was a beautiful color of blue, looked very professional.  I decided to paint the library to match.  So we went from drab brown walls to a lovely cornflower shade.  All of my orange was gone.  Next step, more shelving movements.

I am not a fan of tall shelving.  High School kids are more than willing to do what they aren't supposed to do if they have nooks and crannies to hide in.  I did everything in my power to do even more shelving relocation to open up spaces and make it hard for kids to be naughty.  My aid and I spent a few days with the drill taking apart the shelves and sliding them all over the library.  I am happy to say I now have a huge space where a class could meet and do lessons and I can see the entire thing happen.  I like to see it all. (That is why I added mirrors.

Last year, I got rid of the bean bags (they were dingy and well loved) and I got adirondack chairs. ($20, washable, and they are easier to maintain than the bean bags.) I kept the rugs and tables but relocated them to a quaint open space that is very visible from the circ desk.  There is a small chess area and a television (Which I got with an LSTA grant) right where kids can use it.  I moved my large magazine rack to the space so kids could come and go and read magazines as they relaxed.  We added a coffee shop so kids could come in, have a coffee and visit.  The library has become the school social ground and I love it.

My next plan?   Make my office into the coffee shop, move the circ desk to a more centralized location so I can work with kids and teachers but also be able to maintain a better social space. Hopefully I can find and win a $40K grant to get new, shorter metal shelves so I can open the space up and make it more of a "teen friendly area."  Maybe I can find money for new tables (since I have had to pitch four this year because they broke) and money for a coffee shop sitting area.  Guess I am dreaming now!