Thursday, April 21, 2011

AASL's Distinguished School Administrators Award recipient “walked her talk” and improved student learning | American Libraries Magazine

American Libraries Magazine


CHICAGO – Donna Haye, district assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction for the Atlantic City Board of Education, is the 2011 recipient of the American Association of School Librarian’s (AASL) Distinguished School Administrators Award.

From instituting schedules that allowed for flexible scheduling to ensuring that each elementary school had a fully cataloged online collection, Haye’s philosophy that the “school library should be the heart of the school” has transformed schools in the Atlantic City Public School District.  Upon assuming her role as assistant superintendent, Haye created a new district library supervisor position and rallied library colleagues to evaluate the current status of the district’s school libraries.  Finding the libraries in dire need of an update, Haye immediately took action.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

ALA | Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database

ALA | Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database

The American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database is a tool to support school librarians and other educators in teaching the essential learning skills defined in the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner.

Friday, April 15, 2011

From a School: A Letter in Living Color


We recently received, in a tube sent by postal mail, something new in our experience: a 15-foot-long scroll to the editor, below. Birch Lane Elementary School in Davis, Calif., took issue with an article about picture books, and set out on a monthlong campaign to promote and read them.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Court sides with B.C. teachers on their ability to negotiate class size

The B.C. Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional a provincial law that denied teachers the right to bargain class size and class composition.
In a decision released today, Justice Sandra Griffin sided with the B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF) in finding that the Liberal government trampled teachers' rights nine years ago when it passed legislation limiting their bargaining power and significantly reducing their ability to influence their working conditions.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Indigo's Heather Reisman faces digital reckoning


Heather Reisman is, as usual, clutching a new book in her hand. But this one isn’t just another bestseller to tout as one of “Heather’s Picks” on the shelves at Indigo Books & Music Inc. It’s a book that may hold a blueprint to the chain’s survival.

Ebook rush challenges our libraries


The demand for electronic books in public libraries has rocketed and is expected to continue rising, but their popularity is giving librarians a headache.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Heed your own advice, Mr. Knaus


Budget restraints mean that many programs designed to help students succeed have been cut; no school in this District has a full-time teacher librarian (many elementary schools have a negligible service)... 

Jenny Garrels, president Sunshine Coast Teachers’ Association

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Making Good Technology Choices


One of the questions that I’m asked all the time is, “Bill, how do you decide what technology you’re going to integrate into your classroom?”

My first reaction to this question is always to breathe a sigh of relief simply because far, far too many educators—teachers, principals, school leaders—make haphazard choices about technology integration, wasting our already limited time and money in the process.  

Skype In The Classroom


Skype is a valuable tool that many teachers are discovering can break down the walls of their classroom. I have been doing several workshops lately to get teachers started with Skype and how they can connect their classroom to the outside world. Maybe you haven't had a workshop where you are or you need more information.

The use of models and other abstract forms in literary study has recently seen a revival in a digital age that puts data and sophisticated data management systems in the hands of the literary scholar, teacher, and student. Pedagogical applications of these abstract models are rich with possibility for the literary classroom, and offer exciting opportunities for engaging non-English majors and non-traditional learners in the advanced study of literature, as well as challenging students to verbally articulate visual and spatial knowledge.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Publisher drops print for apps


Publishing has long had a reputation as stuffy and slow. It's a business where lunches are long, with short summer Fridays so New York editors can recharge on Hamptons beaches, a business where it takes months to respond to manuscripts and more than a year to publish a book.

But in the past year, publishers have made rapid changes. They have fought with authors and agents for digital rights, negotiated with Amazon and Apple over their sales commission and are fighting libraries on the number of times e-books can be loaned.

School libraries feeling the pinch


School library collections are aging and staff time is slowly being eroded, concerning some local teacher-librarians. 

Constant budget pressures mean money is getting tighter and tighter and libraries can't replace old, worn books, or buy all the titles they'd like their students to be reading, according to Suzanne Hall, district librarian for the local school district.