DENSI2018

First, it's pronounced Den-s-i. Not Den-c. I know, it might take a little getting used to that extra syllable.

Back in the early spring, I applied to attend the Discovery Education Network Summer Institute because it would be held in Wilmington at UNC-W. As a DEN Ambassador and DEN STAR who trains teachers and others about how to best utilize this great resource, I felt this would be a wonderful way to receive more training myself, network with others from around the world, and find ways to help the teachers at CHHS use Discovery Ed.

Fortunately for me, I was accepted.

Starting yesterday, July 15, I have been at DENSI. Although living on campus is taking a little getting used to, not to mention walking all over a campus again, so far this has been a marvelous experience. I have already learned ways to work with students who need the written words of the videos on Discovery Ed, leveled texts within the site, more strategies for teachers to use...IT'S ONLY BEEN ONE DAY AND A SESSION ON SUNDAY!

Talk about feeling a bit overwhelmed! I try to keep notes but can't always keep up. Fortunately we are being given so many great resources. Tomorrow we have a field trip to help us learn more, and, of course, the best resource so far has been...

...my Discovery Channel Shark Week Hat! (as modeled here with my fellow teammate, Miguel from Miami!)

Captain is also enjoying himself:

 Wearing the fin!

 (He's a bear. A bear's gotta eat.)

 With new friends, Jonathan from London and Diego from Mexico.

 Getting ready to use DE for World Emoji Day!

 More ways to differentiate with DE!

Whose plate belongs to whom?

 Virtual Reality

 Seahawk Popcorn!

 Merge Cubes for 3-D experiences

 Engineering contest!

 Mohamed Ali from Egypt!

 Motto to remember!!!!!

Recap

Somehow time disappeared, and I appear to be missing a few months. NO, I don't want them back. That would mean recalling all seniors and everyone retaking exams...

Here's a recap:

The foot is mostly fine and Da Boot is gone.

The school year finished as it normally does: inventory, inventory, inventory! Shelf order, cleaning, exams, etc.

Other than that, what else to say about the missing months?

I spent 2 weeks in June in professional development. More on that later.

Feel caught up? Good!

ReIntroducing "Da Boot"

Although my Library Assistants and Library Science Students would much prefer I create and dedicate an Instagram page to Da Boot, I will simply dedicate one blog post instead to the rather ugly device being worn upon my left foot at the moment. We shall call the device "Da Boot." (And I have vehemently rejected the idea of continuing to wear Da Boot long after the doctor's okay to ditch Da Boot simply to dress and photograph Da Boot in new and interesting outfits!) I wore a similar device a while back on my right foot, which became Rudolph, Frosty, and other Christmas-themed boots. Hence the "re-introduction" of Da Boot.

Because anything this ugly has to have attempts made to make its appearance more palatable, I have decorated it everyday since the incident.

To summarize the incident: over spring break I decided to paint the foyer, downstairs hallway, stairwell, upstairs hallway, living room, and kitchen walls. (blast those open floor plans!) On the morning of day two, I slid down the step ladder as my heel went "thump, thump, thump, THUMP" on the steps of the ladder --- did I mention I was walking down it like a set of stairs? Needless to say I spent the next 6 days walking on the ball of my foot to avoid my heel as the pain worsened. I did finish painting, continued my second job as a cashier, ended spring break, and finally decided I'd better see the doctor.

Diagnosis? Initially I did tissue damage to the heel and bottom of the foot. Walking on the ball of my foot caused ankle tissue damage. Oooops. Although Da Foot is feeling better and Da Swelling has decreased, Da Boot has stay stick around for a few more days. Each day, Da Boot has had a new ensemble.

So now, for the Da Boot:

"The Royal Boot"

"The Great Gatsby"

"The Bootquet"

"Flower Power"

"Bota de las Muertas"

What else is coming?

Well, there might be a Buccaneer (a.k.a. Pirate) boot. And maybe a Buckaroo (Cowgirl) boot. Then let's not forget prom is on Friday! My "date" will be looking rather spiffy with a bowtie, don't you think?

Addendum:

"Buccaneer Boot"

"Boot Bandit" (a.k.a. Cowgirl Boot)

"Formal Friday"

(originally to be paired with silver "Frank Sinatra" fedora, 

but the constantly falling glitter would have driven me insane 

so...I had to nix the hat!)

AND THE FINALE: 

(For Prom, of course)

Help! The Captain is Missing!

Okay, maybe MISSING is the wrong word. Deliberately HIDING is infinitely more accurate!

To celebrate NATIONAL SCHOOL LIBRARY WEEK, Captain Corinth is hiding in different areas (or in different book collections) throughout the library. Clues are being read on the morning announcements and posted on twitter @QueenofLibraria and @CHHSPirates, the media center website, and my website.

Monday's clue took a little while for anyone to find. Finally, the picture of the Captain was discovered by two girls in his photo album from Baltimore. They both got to spin the prize wheel app on the iPad.

Yesterday's clue was so easy it was solved within 10 minutes of the announcements. Is there any other master of horror than Stephen King?

Today was a bit more difficult because it was supposed to lead to a section of the Dewey Decimal System (nonfiction). HOWEVER, I inadvertently gave three clues that pointed to a specific novel that student after student searched through...OOPS!

So, for future reference in the hunt: no clue leads to a specific book in case it gets checked out! Instead, all clues lead to a collection of books or to an area of the library.

HAPPY HUNTING!

It's Coming!

What's coming?

Why, School Library Month, of course! (April is also National Poetry Month.)

This year, we will be celebrating SLM in style, with a contest! Where in the Library is Captain Corinth?

Each day on the announcements, a clue will be shared as to the location of the Captain in the library. It will also be on my twitter page and website barring any technological snafus. The first person to solve the clue and find the Captain wins! What's the prize? A spin on the prize wheel for free food cards to area restaurants.

😊

Happy hunting!

To Travels and Applications

I have an excellent excuse...I mean, REASON...for not blogging during February! It's difficult to write a blog entry when you have very spotty satellite WI-FI in the rural areas of Southeast Asia!

For a good part of the month of February I was either preparing for a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, or I was there. This wonderful trip was a gift to my husband and me for our 25th Anniversary. We had a marvelous time.

One of the highlights (although I will admit it comes after the temples of Siem Reap and Angkor Wat) was visiting a Cambodian school.

Several things are important to remember about education in Cambodia: Pol Pot murdered millions of Cambodians in the 1970s. The victims were the educated: teachers, professors, engineers, doctors, lawyers, judges, and religious personnel. As a result of his "Year Zero" policies, an entire generation went uneducated simply because there was no one to teach them. Now, education is compulsory for grades 1-6; however, it costs money to attend a "public" school where the teacher is only two years above a secondary school graduate. (That's right. Education college takes only two years.) Uniforms, tuition, supplies...these are out of reach for many Cambodians so their children stay home.

Grades 7-12 are optional, and the time spent in school is usually only a half-day because of the lack of teachers. The secondary school we visited concentrates on teaching English and computer skills. Students attend the village school for half a day, and then attend this school the other half or in the evening. ("Half" is a misleading term; they are in school for 2-1/2 hours.) The problem with the English classes? The teachers have only some experience in reading the language, less in speaking it. Computers? Ten for a school of 500 students. Despite these obstacles, the school is doing amazing work.

Now that I'm back, I've had to work diligently on my DENSI 2018 application. What is DENSI? (pronounced den-s-eye) It's a summer institute by the Discovery Education Network. With new features like the studio boards, I hope to attend in order to learn all the ins-and-outs to share with my staff and district. The video is finished! (Yes, there is a video component to the application.) I've uploaded my application and now have to wait...as patiently as possible...

Harry Potter Newspaper, Anyone?

One of the interesting parts of being a librarian/media coordinator is learning new technology so that, as a digital learning guru in my district, I can teach my staff how to incorporate it into their teaching. At NCSLMA17, one session mentioned briefly a way to make Harry Potter styled newspapers for student projects and bulletin boards. This intrigued me, but they didn't really give directions so...

It became an investigative project for Library Science II. (This class has students look at various units from the perspective of a librarian.) The project was to create a newspaper and have two pictures that used the information from the conference to "make the pictures come alive" as they do in The Daily Prophet. How does this work?

First, articles are written on the subject matter. Students in a class could research singly or in groups. Once the articles are written, and placed in Google Docs if making a shared document, they need to attach the pictures.

Using the green screen first, they film the actions for the picture. If it is going to be a"talking" picture, they will need to be sure to have good sound quality. The background of this video will be the still picture in the newspaper. Once this has been filmed and saved, they will move over to the app. (We use iPads which made the entire process very easy.)

The Aurasma app, which is free for Android and iOS, is being used at our school under one school account in the media center for my classes. A teacher could create one account for his/her classes to make this easier and so students do not make individual accounts. The necessary pieces are uploaded to the app and then inserted as a picture in the newspaper.

Now, when looking at the newspaper when printed, all you see is the background of the video. For instance, if the article is a literature piece set in a "fairy tale" you could use Neuschwanstein Castle as the backdrop. Without going any further, the picture connects to the article as a "normal" photograph. The magic occurs when the picture is viewed through the Aurasma app using a camera or iPad....be sure to have the sound on if it has audio! Suddenly the picture changes from black and white to color, people appear and move! Voila! Your own magical newspaper.

If doing this with multiple articles, be sure to have students work in columns to make the entire piece have that effect on the viewer. These can be displayed on a bulletin board with a device nearby for viewing.