https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCyZ2YAusmU
and
http://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/Pubs/MondayMemo/041513features.html
I am starting a new Blog postings for my LME 545 class. It concerns a service learing project. I have decided to do a service learning project that helps beautifies our campus. Last year, our environmental class made a nature trail on the campus of my school. Moore Traditional School in Louisville, Ky. My class and I have decided to help upgrade the trail with bird feeders, planting new plants, clean up the area and to make a new walking path for the trail. We are excited to get start although the weather keeps us in doors! What a way to begin March. I will keep weekly updates here on our progress. Here is some information that has been posted on the previous venture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCyZ2YAusmU and http://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/Pubs/MondayMemo/041513features.html
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Final week of the class. It was a learning experience to help out in the library and to fulfill my hours for my practicum. I learne a lot about the functions and the daily duties of the LME at our school. People who think that she just sits there and checks out books are sadly mistaken. It is a non stop roller coaster ride that changes from one day to the next. I learned that she is given duties by the principal that hinder her upkeep and changes in the library, but she still manages to get it done. While there are things that I think that could change, it really boils down to a time and preference. She works hard by providing the students with great reading material and helps teachers track down books. She also wishes that there would be more time for collaboration in the classroom, but the high school schedule to not allow that to happen. Plus, we have a middle school in the same building so collaboration is really out of the question. She says she is lucky to help teachers get materials much less fully collaborate. She said that is the case in all of Jefferson County middle and high schools. In elementary, the library is used as a service period so that teachers can have a planning time. There is just not enought time. I thank her for her guidance and all the things she has helped me with on top of all of her other duties. Have a great holiday break! Peace
This week I focused on the CEBS disposition of valuing diversity. I worked with the ESOL students in the library on doing research. The ones I worked with did not a have a good grasp on the English language. The teacher said that this was a tough class, many are new to the states and to the area and still speak so much Spanish in the home that they have a hard time translating English. I noticed that the computer really helped this out a lot. SInce many of the students are familiar with the computer and are able to communicate with common terms like search engine, website that it went better than I thought. They worked hard and were very patient with me as I tried to help them.
Once again this weebly site did not put up my post. Of course I forgot to save it and here I go again. This week took the CEBS disposition of leadership and did something on my own. I organized the teacher workroom and the video/DVD storage area. They are two different areas. The storage area is a room that is connected to the LME's office. The collection is put on shelves and needed to be put back in order, due to staff coming in and looking through them and not putting them back where they found them. The room was also cluttered with equipment (carts and overheads) that does not get used much. The LME later said they are slowly getting rid of it all, but they like to have some tv's and equipment in case it is needed by the school.
Next, I took a look at the workroom. First, I can honestly say it was a mess. I can say this because I have only used it once this year. The teachers professional journal were in clutter and the laminarting machine had been left on. The LME said that she was getting ready to use it and it had to warm up. Although she did say that some teachers come in to use it without asking assuming they know how to use and usually mess it up. My LME was glad that I took the initiative and cleaned it up and thanked me for it. It was an eye opening week to see how other teachers view the library. Most of them do not clean up after themselves! There is so much traffic in our library it is really hard to see who does what. I think that this should be an area of concern for the LME to address it in a facutly meeting. 1. Contextual Factors
School – Moore Traditional School (high and middle). Public Library Serves – ages 11 – 18. 6th grade – 12th grade 63% free and reduced lunch ESOL students – 35% The strength of the school is that it is a diverse population. Weakness is that is at or below the poverty line for socioeconomic descriptors. There is not a lot of community involvement due to the fact that it is not a neighborhood school. Students are bused in from areas set by the district. Thus, there is not much that can be done for improvements. 2. Nature of Reference Collection The average age of the collection is 1987 with approximately 174 titles. The reference section cannot be checked out by students. The teachers are able to check them out for a time of two – three days. The online database that is used is the Kentucky Virtual Library. At this time a massive weeding is going on and there is a large collection development report that was issued to the principal for approval to get newer items. The library was reconstructed was done and non-fiction was put into genres. A need for improvement is to update the reference section to be newer that the average age of 1987. Many of them are obviously outdated and thus they are not used much. 3. Information Inquiry Program There is not an Inquiry program that is being used. A suggestion for improvement would be the implementation of the Big 6 inquiry program. It can be started by using the power point that I made for this class to introduce it to the staff. If started now, it can be fully implemented by the start of the next school year. Also, if the reference section is updated teachers and students can also use these books for the information inquiry. This in my opinion is a must to move the library into the 21st century that is outline in the textbook. 4. Physical Characteristics The library is laid out with the librarian’s desk and checkout area in the front center. It is located directly in front of the main doors so it makes it easy to monitor who comes into the library. There is a line of 30 computers in the front of the library. These computers were added in 2011. Along the backside of the library there are another 30 computers that were added in 2012. Behind the main desk are the bookshelves. They are about 3 feet tall and there are positioned diagonally. There are 10, 30 feet long cases. Starting on the left side are the fiction books, they are categorized in genres rather than the Dewey Decimal System. My LME said that this is becoming the norm in Jefferson County. The teacher work room is located on the left side of the library. There is a classroom in the back left of the library. On the right side is the Go College area. There are desks there for the people that work there. The STC coordinators office is in the front right office area. Next to that there is the librarian’s office. There are also group tables on both sides and in the back area for group work. The only recommendation that I would make is to get better chairs for the tables and computers. Also, I would begin to replace the older computers. The computers have McAfee protection on them and they are also filtered and monitored by the district. 5. Virtual Characteristics The library does have a link on the school website, but you cannot access any virtual references from here. The LME said that she has not updated this in a couple of years. You can go to the Jefferson County district home page and get to the virtual library but it is difficult to navigate. The suggestions are obvious. I would update the school library webpage so that you can easily use the OPAC, Kentucky Virtual Library. I would also link in the districts website for libraries and add other links that would be helpful for students, parents, and staff. This would not take very long and I cannot personally believe it is not been done. 6. 21st Century Information Services There are tables for group work located in the library. We have wireless communication so that laptops can be used. The furniture could be update but since it is functional it will suffice. The lighting is good. The physical characteristics meet the 21st Century ideas that are in our textbook. I think that the information services are lacking. There should be accessibility to the OPAC and to the KY Virtual Library on our school website. The books chosen for the Good Reads: 1. Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. I chose this book because of it fitting the category as an encyclopedia. It is a great book to look at the African Americans that influenced the movement in the arts and writing. It was easy to find information and it had a lot of updated pictures. 2. Dr William Hunter's Papers And Drawings In The Hunterian Collection Of Glasgow University Library: A Handlist. I had to go to the public library to find this one. We did not have many books that fit the category for bibliographical. This book is definitely for high level learning and the topic is not very useable for most. I found it to have a lot of material, but it was rather boring and unimportant. I used it because I wanted to compare it to similar books we had are our library. 3. National Geographic Atlas of the World. I used this book because not only was it an atlas but it was from the National Geographic Society. They have been around for a very long time and they are very reputable. The pictures were amazing as can be expected from them. The information was accurate and informative and up to date. 4. The Atlas of Middle-Earth. I chose this book because it was a little different that you average atlas. It had to do with the concepts of the Middle Earth that was created by J.R.R Tolkien in “The Hobbit” and in “The Lord of the Rings”. This book was so good to have next to you while reading these classics. There is so much of a fascination with this topic in recent years. I wished that I would have had it when I read the books. I found the book to be useful and helpful. It was accurate to the description that Tolkien created in his writings. 5. Human Achievements. This world record book was used so that I could compare it to the more popular of its kind, the Guinness Book version. It had just as many good pictures and it had accurate information. Not sure who has the final say on world records but it gave a lot of interesting information that kids would enjoy. It is cheaper than its Guinness counterpart. 6. Scholastic Book of World Records 2014. Another world record book. This one came from Scholastic which is very reputable. Their whole way of thinking is anything that is better for students learning they publish. They have been around for many years and very popular among schools. They offer affordable books for the students and teachers. That is why they are popular for book fairs at school. The book had great pictures and good information. 7. The Book of Animal Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know Is Wrong. This is a very good book as a reference book for middle school students. It talked about misconceptions in the animal kingdom. It was filled with antidotes and funny story along with factual information that is often misconceived. 8. Longman Young Children’s Picture Dictionary. A great book for the young reader. A lot of often used words and pictures went along with each word. Easy to use and a great resource for beginning or struggling readers. 9. Desert Solitaire. A very good book that can be used for a handbook for survival situations. It was filled with stories and gave solutions to problems that may arise while in this environment. I thought that it was misplaced until I thumbed through it and got a better understanding of while it was in the reference section. 10. From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books. A great book to add to the professional library in any school. It gave great ways to evaluate books and it would help to see if the book was good for the content that you were teaching. The book gave ways that you could assess students. 11. Giant Print Reference Bible-KJV. A great book to have while reading the Bible. It gave a lot of meaning and descriptions. It also had some great pictures. I found this at the public library again to compare because it cannot be in the school library because of the topic of religion. 12. The Secret (The Secret, #1). It is a self help book that can be compared to the “Chicken Soup for the ….” series. It gave a lot of ways to make the best out of life and high school students who are preparing to enter the world of work and adult living would find it inspiring. 13. Seabiscuit: An American Legend. I asked why this was in the reference section and my LME said that they are two copies. One here and one in the non-fiction section. She said it has a lot of information on the Great Depression era and would be a good resource for social studies. I have read this book and would have to agree with her on her assessment. I never thought of putting it as a reference but could see how it could be used as one. 14. My Life. This book by President Bill Clinton gives a great personal view point on how his time in office went. It was not sugar coated. It would be a great reference to compare the different Presidents and their views on politics and why they made the decisions they made. It is very common not for Presidents to do this. 15. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. A great handbook for those who are interested in the world of comics. It gives information on not only how to draw but how to add dialogue to the stories. It would be a great way to help teach writing. I found it enjoyable with the little bit I read, that it would keep the students attention. It can be used in high school and middle school. References Abbey, Edward. (1968). Desert Solitaire. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Anonymous. (1994). Giant Print Reference Bible-KJV New York, NY: Zondervan Publishing Company (within In Harper Collins) Brook, Helen C. (1990). Dr. William Hunter's Paper's and Drawings in the Hunterian Collection of Glasgow University. University of Glasgow Byrne, Rhonda. (2006). The Secret (The Secret, #1). New York, NY. Simon and Schuster. Clement Alexander Price, & Sandra L. West. Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. (2004). New York, NY. Checkmark Books Clinton, Bill. (20105). My Life. New York, NY: Vintage Publications (Random House) Fonstad, Karen Wynn. (1991). the Atlas of Middle Earth. Houghton Mifflin Company. Graham, Carolyn. (2002). Longman Young Children’s Picture Dictionary. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Publishing. Hillenbrand, Laura. (2003). Seabiscuit. New York, NY: Ballantine Books (Random House). Horning, Kathleen T. (1997). From Cover to Cover: Evaluating and Reviewing Children's Books. New York, NY: Harper Collins. Human Achievements (Book of Records). (2010). Franklin TN.: Kamalu, LLC Lloyd, John (2008). The Book of Animal Ignorance: Everything You think You Know Is Wrong. Random House LLC 256 pages McCloud, Scott. (1993). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York, NY. William Morrow Paperbacks. 215 pages. National Geographic. (2004).National Geographic Atlas of the World. National Geographic Society. Eighth Edition, 416 pages Standards for the 21st Century Learner. (2014). Retrieved from the website www.ALA.org on 11/19/2014. Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action. (2014). Retrieved from the website www.ALA.org on 11/19/2014. Well again I have to repost my comments. Not real happy with this site sometimes. I have to post things two or three times for it to appear on my blog. This was a short week because there was no school Monday or Tuesday. I spent some of the day Monday focusing on the CEBS disposition of professionalism by evaluating some of the things we have done in the library like the online book club and the opening of the library before and after school. As far as the book club goes, we looked at how we could get more students involved. We look at some teen literature that might draw interest. We also commented on that we wanted them to read books that they may not normally choose like the Color Purple. We decided to look at some older teen books that would be of interest and still fell in the category of titles we wanted them to experience. We thought of the Outsiders, even though many may have read it, we wanted them to read more into it and to be able to discuss the underlying themes of the book.
We also discussed how well the extended library hours are really helping students to do research. We had to weed a few of the kids out that were in there just to play games and not go to the cafeteria. I was really amazed at some of the ways the students started to look at research. For example, some I gave tips on how to look for meaningful information and don't go to the first website that Google pops up. They have started to read it more carefully making sure that it fits their topics. Thus they are producing beter qualities of work. This week in the library I focused on the CEBS disopositon of collaborating with teachers. I went around to each departments PLC meeting and talked to them about ways the library could be used in their classes and how I could help teach their students how to do research and cite their work. I explained to them that there is a date book that they need to use to sign up so we can make sure there are enough computers available for them. I stressed the importance of calling ahead of time because the spot fill up quickly. And also if they decide not to use it the day they signed up for to let us know so we could accomadate other teachers.
I also took some time to log in some books that came in from orders. Since they are already coded, I just had to enter them in our system and then shelve them. I also looked over with my LME at the purchasing forms and how she goes about ordering new books. After she writes down what she wants she must get it approved by the principal and then they can be ordered. Like teachers, she has to get at least one other bid from a company to be turned in as part of the paperwork. This is third time trying to post this week. I worked with a student from the University of Kentucky. She too is getting her LME and we talked about the differences and the similarities between the programs. She is now taking her practicum class as well. She works in Shelby County and she was telling me the differences between Jefferson and Shelby. She thinks that there is more support here because of the county sze. We talked about trying to motivate students and we found that there are a lot of similiarities between kids not wanting to take the time to read or do research. The go to fast and do not look for better information. It was good to talk to someone who has the same concerns and frustrations as I do. This follows the CEBS disposition of collabortration.
In keeping up with my hours, I have been attending professional meetings to improve my professional growth. It is somewhat overwhemling at times to put the hours in and work at the same time. The way I figure it is if I can keep up with this hopefully I can learn a new profession as a LME. I continue to learn more and more by helping out in the library. From what I can gatther is that Jefferson County does a lot for the LME compared to other counties. I had a meeting with a student from UK and she said that in her county they have to do a lot of the coding of the books and numbering themselves. As I continue to fulfill my hours I am becoming more excited about working as an LME. This applies to the CEBS standard of collaboration because I was collaborating with another professional
· CEBS Dispositions: Values collaboration. Actively seeks out and incorporates ideas of others. |
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