Post Conference Highlights...Part I

NCSLMA 15!

(For those who don't know, a group of school librarians/media coordinators attending a conference in North Carolina, and we call ourselves "N.C. Slamma")

I had the privilege of attending this year's conference with one of my best friends and fellow members of Librarian Royalty, Angela West. We made sure to peruse the conference sessions to divide up everything we wanted to attend in order to share knowledge and resources. I gathered too much for one blog post so I'll start with Friday's first session...

(Actually, I'll start with a quick shout-out to King's Crab Shack where we ate an incredible and affordable dinner Thursday night. Yum. Highly recommended yum. Back to the conference.)

My first session was #2JennsBookClub. No, I did not make a typo. The hashtag does belong! This is a Young Adult literature twitter book club! (Fun idea, right?) Started by two women who are both named....Jenn! The premise is that when a book is chosen, a day and time is announced with their book club hashtag. Everyone reads the book before the day of the "meeting". Then, the meeting starts with everyone giving a 140-character summary of the book. Then there are questions posted every 10 minutes. Q1 is answered with A1 at the start of the tweet, etc. All tweets included the hashtag for the book club and in one hour the book club ends. Everyone has to be succinct in their answers and it involves making every character, word, and thought count! Ideas were given on doing this even at the elementary level using grids on paper where students could only put one letter, punctuation mark, or use it as a space and do the same thing. This would allow everyone to participate without having that one or two students dominate the conversation or shy students too nervous to participate since its either online or on paper! The 2 Jenns club is actually for adults who love YA books, but definitely an idea that translates well to the media center setting. A week or so before each meeting the author of the book is contacted on twitter to let them know about the meeting too. Often the author shows up!

My second session was on Coding. Unfortunately, the presenter had set up her activities in the wrong room so we were unable to do the hands-on activities. She does a lot of coding introduction with kindergarten students. Her seventh graders created a "Winds of Change" garden, using QR codes and World War II research. Each Japanese-art inspired wind-chimed had a laminated QR code hanging from it. That led to the research done by a student on an event or a person who died in World War II. (Many were Holocaust victims.) The artwork was a great integration piece, and creating the website as a project gave students more practice at putting their research and technology skills to use. The garden became a talking point within the school and within the community as well.

Stay tuned for more about the conference!

Challenges of Copyright

Ah...copyright...the one thing (besides technology which doesn't always seem to be on our side) giving educators, librarians, and administrators headaches everywhere!

It would seem to be easy: you can't copy. You can't have public performances of movies or music. That's it in a nutshell. Right?

But...

This is education. In education, there is a way to utilize copyrighted items for educational purposes. This is the Fair Use Exemption. Unfortunately, in the technological and digital age, copyright is not as cut and dried as it was years ago.

For instance, we used to simply have textbooks, teacher ancillary materials (which were supposed to be copied: worksheets, quizzes, and the like), and workbooks (which were consumables so could never be copied). Now there are free printables on the Internet, teacher pay websites (where it is not always clear if the worksheet is to be purchased to be copied, or if one copy is to be purchased for every student), online textbooks with student materials (can these be printed, or are they only for digital use?), and so on.

Then, there were movies: only VHS, of course. These were rented by the school or owned and housed in the media center to be shown on a VCR/TV cart. Teachers had 45-50 minute classes and would need to rewind between every class so any videos being shown were short, educational films connecting the curriculum to a visual/audio format. Now, with the advent of the 90 minute block and digital media, the "rewind" chore of the past is not an issue and longer videos can be shown. With Smart Boards and DVD drives on computers, there is often no need for equipment checkout as well. There are also the numerous educational videos on YouTube and Discovery Education for teachers to enhance their curriculum.

Of course, music was played at one time in a tape player which often "ate" more than it played so very few teachers risked personal tapes and everything was "educational". Then CDs could be put in a CD player, allowing specific tracks to be played; teachers began bringing music from home. For years classical music was heard in many math classes after studies showed it might improve mathematical reasoning skills. With the Internet, music became more readily available through Pandora and other streaming sites.

But what meets copyright law? What breaks the law? What could potentially cost a teacher his or her job?

Well, through many different situations, I offer the following advice:

Regarding copies:

1. If the source says "Workbook" or "Student" anywhere on it, it is most likely a consumable, one-use only book. This means students are not to copy it on their own paper, it cannot be scanned onto a website or into Google classroom, or copied. Look on the bottom and the back of the title page and inside the cover. The back cover also sometimes has information regarding copy permissions.
2. If the source says "Teacher Resource", "Worksheets", or something similar, it is most likely intended to be copied. This means you should still check the above mentioned places for copy permissions.
3. If you are purchasing it off a pay-site like Teachers Pay Teachers, PLEASE read the site carefully. We need to support each other within our profession, not take items without paying for their use. If the item is intended to be copied, do not share it with other teachers but feel free to use with your students. If the item is one use only, you will need to purchase one for every student, EVERY YEAR.
4. When in doubt, ASK! There should be someone at your school who is familiar with copyright and fair use, often the media coordinator/librarian or technology facilitator. Don't copy until  you know it's okay to do so. This is not the time to "do first, ask forgiveness later" because breaking copyright law has legal and employment consequences. (Is that copy worth your job?)

Movies:

1. Copyright law regarding movies and the educational exemption is very clear: showing a "home use only" video (which is clearly marked on all VHS, DVD, and Blu-Rays) in the classroom is considered a "public performance". Buying the video gives you the right to use it personally only. HOWEVER, if it is shown in ONE classroom (not to multiple classes at once or over a video retrieval system) DURING face-to-face instruction by the teacher or instructor (NOT a substitute) in the NORMAL educational setting (i.e.: a classroom, not a charter bus), then you are allowed to show it. (Although check your school board policy. In my school system it is AGAINST school board policy to use a personally owned video in any format, even if you specifically purchased it for use at school.
2. The video cannot be a reward, to occupy students while you grade/do report cards, or because you are not ready to start the next unit (like on the day before a major holiday).
3. Many school systems have rules regarding the ratings system and whether or not Disney movies can be shown. In my school system it is school board policy that NO DISNEY MOVIES can be shown.    
4. One solution: utilize video sites like Discovery Education for your video needs if at all possible. If your school system does not use this resource, perhaps you can work with your media and technology department on getting a subscription for your school. 
5. Once again, ask yourself: For what movie are you willing to be fired and possibly lose your teaching license?

 Music:

1. This is a difficult one for most people because we listen to music in so many places: stores, our cars, restaurants. But to play music purchased for personal enjoyment (CD, MP3 file, Itunes, etc.) in the classroom means you are holding a public performance of the music.
2. Just a little over one year ago, a restaurant in Raleigh was fined $40,000 for having played TWO songs without public performance rights. Do you have that much money if you are fined?
3. Pandora recently contacted our school system and alerted the county office that playing Pandora for free in the classroom was a public performance and was not allowed. Remember, most school systems can and do track what students and employees do on school machines on the school servers!
4.  One solution: search for music in the "public domain" or in the "creative commons" because these are ALWAYS copyright allowed. Of course, the most up-to-date music won't be playing on your speakers, but there is some interesting music from by-gone eras to which your students can listen.
5. Can you guess what I'm going to recommend  you ask yourself? That's right. Always think: is the music you want to play (or your students are asking to play) more valuable than your job?

Here's a video made with the help of some wonderful library assistants to teach copyright to students:

Art and Novels (or should it be Novel Art?)

Collaboration between teachers is an important part of education these days. No longer is it the "old school" of teachers being an island of independent knowledge behind the closed classroom door. Collaboration is also a very important part of the media center.

This week will focus on two things. Can you guess?

Art.

Last year I collaborated with the art department regarding large paintings for the media center. These will be a permanent art display above the bookshelves. (One painting, done before I came, is already in place.) Three student submitted ideas were chosen last year, and the remaining three ideas will be selected from entries into a contest in the spring.

Canvas #1 is almost complete:

Canvas #2 is in the beginning stages of work so a picture of it is forthcoming. Once #1 is finished, the work on #3 will begin! I'm trying to determine the best way to give credit to the artists and all the students helping them with the 36" x 48" paintings. 

Here is the fascinating painting already in place.

Now for part two of this blog: novels.

Our English and Social Studies departments have always used novels within their classroom. This year, I have several teachers in other departments working on incorporating novels in the curriculum. They inspired the following video, in hopes of collaborating with teachers across the school in every department.

Budget Woes

As always, the wish list is much longer than the budget will allow. Knowing the budget amount from last year, I have been creating a wish list through one of my library vendors since last January. Students would ask for the latest in a series or for a book that had been lost in the past. Naturally, the list seemed to multiply itself overnight!

Today I received the news of my preliminary budget. Unfortunately, it is only one-third of the budget from last year. Obviously, the list is too long. Now how do I cut a list by two-thirds?

This was truly difficult. I kept the items teachers had asked for since it is for classroom instruction and will benefit a lot of students. However, that still left the vast majority of books on the list to look at and reduce.

What is on the original list?

• The continuation of the 3 most popular graphic novel series
• The books in the middle of 12 series that have been lost over time
• The continuation of 8 novel series
• Updated nonfiction books on topics used in a lot of research projects
• Highly recommended books students suggested
• And even more.

What is on the current list?

Well, I did keep the "in the middle" books since students starting a new series get frustrated when the books in the middle are missing. I postponed the nonfiction books until later since databases and reference books on those topics are available. As for the continuation books? We can only get one-third of what we need to finish out the series, but at least students will be able to continue them. Unfortunately, I could only get a few of the highly recommended books at this time. I tried to be fair and cut it all down by the "two-thirds" amount.

Naturally, budget concerns are always present in education. However, I know the only way to "fix" the problem is to raise taxes which then create budget woes for everyone, not just the library.

Advertising Books

How to advertise a book? Let me count the ways....

1. Bulletin boards or other wall displays. This would be great if I had a bulletin board! For many media centers, this is the easiest and most colorful way using book jackets and posters. Themes are easy to utilize for deciding what books to advertise, too.

2. Book displays. New books? Set them out for everyone to see! Banned Books Week? Go ahead a pull a few titles from the ALA list of the top 100. (Hey, if you've got the Harry Potter books and any by Mark Twain, you've got books from the list!) Maybe for October you would like to display mysteries, ghost stories, etc? Easy to do! Use the tops of the shelves and just set the books out with an introductory sign inviting students to "check them out"! (Be sure to let students know they CAN check these out...often students will hesitate since it is part of a display.) Downside? You may have to reshelve a lot of these books if you pulled too many!

3. Audio Book Talks. These little MP3 talks can be done by students on their favorite books. Tape them using mini-microphones, cell phones (where allowed), or any digital audio device. Then, upload to the media center's website! These are great for all students, but especially for younger students who can't read a book review yet. The personal recommendation helps a lot!

4. Book of the Day or the Week. If your school has any type of news broadcast, have a book of the day or week segment. This is also great to recommend a series or author. (And it's a great student involvement piece!)

5. Commercials. Whether the video uses still images and a narration or students use an animation program, commercials generate the most interest. (Students can even act out scenes if they would like and time allows! This is a lot of work, but has great results.) A commerical is only 30-60 seconds, so students have to learn to edit their ideas to get the most powerful infomercial on their book. Stay tuned for the library assistants' videos! Currently, the commercials are "works-in-progress"!

Classrooms - Discovery versus Google?

Most schools are now well into the digital world, adopting technology initiatives in many different shapes and formats. Our district is a "Google" world, and Google Classroom is a great alternative to Moodle, Edmodo, and other formats for organizing and assigning digital resources and tasks to students. With Google comes You Tube, Google +, Google Docs, and a whole lot of other things Google. Before we had Google, however, we had Discover Education (also known by some of us "oldtimers" as Unitedstreaming). Although not every school's faculty has been trained in recent years on this feature of Discovery Ed, it also has a classroom aspect for assigning videos, assignments, quizzes, and writing prompts.

So which is better?

On the one hand, Google is everywhere, and easy to log into since everyone in our district has a gmail account. With Google +, it's all linked together in our drives, and opening the classroom app is just a few mouse clicks away. The class discussion postings are private so all students can participate in them (unlike on a public discussion board where parental permission is required). Google forms can be used as quizzes to test comprehension of a topic, and embedding links, images, videos, etc. is incredibly easy.

So why even bother with Discovery Ed? Well, you never have to worry about the videos being blocked for one thing. That new iBoss and Guardian filtering system sure does make using You Tube a bit more challenging these days! All videos in Discovery Ed will play with no blocking (although previewing all videos in their entirety is a definite must). Discovery Channel shows, some from National Geographic and the History Channel, as well as a huge host of nonfiction video clips are all available for anyone in our system. You just log in and go! The videos can be bookmarked and organized in your account for easy reference next year too. This is all well known to most teachers who've been around for a few years. The classroom part is what most never knew existed.  All students are in the process of being updated (it hasn't been done due to some sync issues with Power School and the iCloud), and they just use their school log in to open DE. A teacher can create a class, enroll his or her students easily, and then create assignments for videos. These can be quizzes, discussion questions, and writing prompts. For some types of assessments, DE will even score the answers!

So, once again, which is better?

Why choose one?  I recommend using Google Classroom as the overall class setup. Then, make an assignment to log in to DE and watch the video clip, answer the questions, etc, just like any other assignment. This gives you and  your students the best of both worlds: the ease of Google with the videos of Discovery Ed...and you don't have to download, upload, or cringe that the software has been overzealous in its video blocking!

Introducing M.A.C.H.!

It's here (well, once the final piece arrives, but we're close enough)! Welcome to...

M.A.C.H.

(Makerspace At Corinth Holders)

Mondays: Engineering 

For this M. a. C. H., you will be able to choose:

• designing and testing virtual bridges
• creating rollercoasters and towers
• making mini-catapults
• and other feats of engineering.

Tuesdays: Animation

For this M. a. C. H., students will be assigned a student account for GoAnimate to: 

• Create animated videos using basic backgrounds and characters
• Learn to upload and design new backgrounds and characters
• Compete in the CHHS Oscars for Animation.

Wednesdays: Fashion Design

In this M. a. C. H., students will work on:  

• learning how to design with duct tape in order to enter the Stuck at Prom challenge
• compete in the Van’s shoe challenge representing Corinth Holders High School

Thursdays: Coding

In this M. a. C. H., students will use the Johnston County Schools access to code.org: 

• to learn basic block coding
• to learn Java Script coding

The Forensics Makerspace is on hold pending the acquisition of all the materials needed.

Sign-ups will start after Labor Day. You may, at this time, only select one M.A.C.H. to join so more students have a chance to participate. Each M.A.C.H. is limited to 16 students PER LUNCH due to seating and space limitations in the library nook area. Be sure to choose the correct SMART lunch!