Makerspace and More

Although it's not yet the end of this year, in between all the EOY tasks I normally do, I am already looking ahead to next year! I keep reminding myself not to "wish my life away" by being impatient about the new school year prior to the end of the current one! (Plus, I have great summer plans so I don't want to skip July!)

The first thing I am eagerly awaiting is being one of the Digital Learning Coaches (DLC) for my school. I will get to spend time with different departments and other groups helping them utilize technology and introducing new technologies to them. Zaption, LitTrips, and DiscoveryEd classrooms will be the first topics, and there are many more after those! Working with staff is always rewarding because, ultimately, it also helps my students (and with a projected enrollment of 1811, I have a LOT of students).

Another exciting addition to my school is the implementation of MTAC. I was co-chair of MTAC (Media-Technology Advisory Council) at my former school for 8-1/2 years. Having a council of teachers to determine technology and media needs, especially after teachers return from conferences with new ideas, helps to budget for these needs and discuss the effectiveness of different tools and programs. This also will help teachers since they can present information to their rep and the reps will have some helpful troubleshooting tips for our existing technology.

Finally, my most exciting addition to the media center (pending final approval -- fingers crossed!) will be our Makerspace! (Makerspace is a learning environment that is student-directed for the creation, discovery, and innovation of S.T.E.A.M. activities. -Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math.) Because a lot of students come to the media center for either A or B lunch every day to work on projects, study, do homework, and read, this is the perfect place to have students explore one of our four Makerspaces. (A different one each day, Monday thru Thursday. Fridays are reserved for something special!) The first four Makerspaces, decided upon with a lot of student input, will be Forensics, Engineering, Future Fashion Design, and Animation.

Forensics: learning how to take and compare fingerprints, blood splatter, DNA analysis, shoe and tire prints, and solving a mystery contest.

Engineering: CAD, designing bridges online, creating penny catapults, and more!

FFD: working on the Shoe of the Future Contest and the Stuck-at-Prom Challenge.

Animation: Using our GoAnimate accounts to create entries into the Pirate Film Festival!

Whew! Sound exhausting? Well, since students can only do one of those a semester, they will hopefully be excited every week to work on a project.

Oh, what about Fridays? Well...we are planning to start a Makerbot Academy donors choose page to get a 3-D printer. Students will have to sign up on Mondays for a printing slot (and pay for the materials...fortunately it will be a small printer so it won't be expensive). I'm SO excited about having that technology!

Keep watching for updates and how-to information regarding Makerspaces in the Media Center!

(Reminder to self...this year is going very well, and you're not ready to be done with it quite yet!)

Librarians to Watch Out For!

I have never figured out the stereotype of librarians: glasses, hair in bun, frumpy clothes, and an outrageously stern disposition who hate everyone and only live for the books and, maybe, a cat. True, I wear glasses. Sometimes I put my waist length hair in a bun. (And while I refuse to dress like my teenage daughter or students, I would like to think my clothes aren't too bad!) Plus, I enjoy interacting with students and expect the library to be quiet enough for others to concentrate, but not silent. I want people to visit my library! (And my dogs don't think to kindly of the neighbor's cats...but that's another story.)

Of course, then there's that OTHER stereotype. The one with librarians cast in the exact opposite of the first.  Where did that come from?

Well, if you look at our culture, you'll see both of those stereotypes plus a few more interesting characters portrayed in books and movies. (the strict Madame Pince in Harry Potter, murder-solving elderly Ivy Malone from Lorena McCourtney's Invisible series, Dr. Yanina Zenchenko in Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library -- the library itself is coveted by librarians everywhere with its robots who shelve books, holographic statues, and a holographic tiger wandering the aisles)  Noah Wylie's series of movies turn librarians into a cross between Indiana Jones and every big winner on Jeopardy! The spin off TV show, The Librarians, makes us into crime-syndicate fighting super hereos. (How do I apply?) And then there's this video by a New Zealand band, Haunted Love. I think every school librarian in the world wants those bookshelves...

End of Year Already?

Once May shows up on the calendar, the library becomes a slightly different place. Every year I wonder, where has the time gone? Is it already the end?

This year, thankfully, I am not alone with library inventory. (Technically I wasn't alone for the last 6 years, but one of us had to teach classes while the other worked the inventory tasks.) With the aid of all 7 assistants, we have been moving through the scanning of 22,000+ titles, putting things in order, and I've been able to complete my portion of the AMTR (Annual Media and Technology Report) for the state.

But other than those chores, how else does a high school differ from elementary at the end of the year? To begin with, during over a week of AP testing, I get to see some students who have not spent a lot of time in the media center since they have been displaced from their regular room. Then there is the large numbers of students struggling to finish the final research papers. We've actually had to rotate students on and off computers at smart lunch just to give everyone a chance to finish and print! I have very few "empty spots" on the calendar for classes as well. Don't worry, I'm not complaining! I enjoy guiding students to finding the correct sources, format their outlines and writing, and helping them make sure the works cited pages are complete.

In my spare time, I'm going through student applications for library science for next year.