Odds and Ends - Miscellaneous edition

It's time to clean out the digital closet. A few odds and ends here...

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Coming soon to a theater near you... The Hollywood Librarian. Premiering at ALA this summer. (YouTube trailer). I suppose if they can make an Al Gore PowerPoint interesting....

I grumbled on hearing this, asking the person who sent me the information, "I wonder how many school librarians are represented in the film?" I mean after all school librarians do represent the glamorous side of the profession. He got the director to write me back and this is her response:

It's an excellent question and I am proud to say there IS a school librarian in Act 1 of the film.  I was clear with myself from the beginning this film had to have a diversity of librarian positions in it, *especially* a school librarian, the most overlooked piece of an overlooked profession, in my opinion.

She comes onscreen at about minute 31 and says, "My name is Marilyn Martin, and I'm a Library Media Specialist in the Denver Public Schools.  And I'm in the best job in the world!"  [That can be heard in the trailer - she's the one wearing purple.]

She is just lovely and smart, and it's an interesting, heartwarming interview.  I also show a current student (a boy about 6 years old) and a former student, now in high school, who talks about Mrs. Martin being a loving presence in her life.  Also, there is her principal talking about how indispensable she is, and how well she knows children emotionally and psychologically.  I think school librarians are going to be very pleased with this segment.
Best,
~ann
Ann M. Seidl
O V E R D U E  *  P R O D U C T I O N S
The Hollywood Librarian, a documentary film
www.hollywoodlibrarian.com

Ann asks that I send folks to her blog at: http://hollywoodlibrarian.wordpress.com

I'm looking forward to seeing movie.

But it will need to be good to live up to the other librarian documentary, "March of the Librarians."

Good luck, Ann, and thanks!

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I finished David Weinberger's book Everything is Miscellaneous this weekend. While I found the book very interesting and most readable, I had this sort of "so what" feeling at the end. I couldn't think of one thing I will do differently as a result of having read Mr Weinberger's thoughts. I am disappointed since it was his message at NECC that got me interested in the whole Web 2.0 - information as conversation - thing. Maybe my expectations were too high.

Did I miss something?

 
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An insightful comment by Josh205 on Is there a problem here?:

I am a college student, looking to graduate in 2009 with an ED degree. Just recently I have been grasping the importance that technology has in the classroom and the effect it has on student learning. I know that tools like blogs, MySpace, and Facebook are overwhelmingly used by K-12 and college students. The statistic you gave at the beginning of your post is shocking, yet understandable. Teachers know what the future holds for education and the path by which it will follow, but are scared, I think, of accepting it and using social networking technologies to their advantage. There is an odd pause that takes place between students and teachers in this area, similar to two people standing on an elevator: each one knows the other is there but they do their best to not make eye contact and, of course, never move in the other person’s direction.

Most teachers and students view these new trends as "non-school" activities. Students don't expect their teachers to be looking at their blog postings and teachers don’t really care about what is being said on the postings. I'm taking an online course right now titled “Computers In Education” and am amazed at how effective technology can be in education. I see it as being really powerful. But yet, there remains a large, large gap between the online society and education. It is a shame. Worse yet, I'm not sure how to close that gap. The truth still stands that technology (including teacher aid technology) is increasingly going to have an affect on the way students learn and the way teachers teach. I’m interested to see how it all unfolds. 

Thoughtful writer. I hope he applies to the Mankato Schools for a job.

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 And you thought Second Life was only for sinners... From the infoisland blog:

May 19th marked the official opening of Peace Park on InfoIsland. A 3D religious resource area, it is a place where people on Second Life can come to learn about all religions, to meet and talk with others, or a place to quietly reflect. Several other uses were mentioned for the area at the opening and we hope to implement these soon, they include discussions of religious publications and interfaith discussions of today’s real life religious issues.

The variety of Second Life continues to amaze me. Can I buy a halo for my avatar?

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Always up to something, Miguel Guhlin asks Blog the Resume? 

 Is Around the Corner a worthy resume or should I scrap it?

Were I giving a career climber advice, I might very well suggest that s/he NOT blog at all. I only say this based on knowing that I've hesitated hiring people in part because of letters to the editor they'd written to the local paper. I suppose it all depends on the job, but how much does any public, conservative organization really want to hire a boat-rocker or even a person who is willing to publicly state strong opinions? (Of course you may not want to work for a public, conservative organization like mine. Check out the local charter schools.) Don't we advise our students that their MySpace account content may someday be seen as a negative by employers?

Miguel, please don't stop writing your provocative comments. Just make sure your vitae also has a list of solid accomplishments to go along with your cover letter.

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OK, this falls under "Blogging the Cat" but here goes. I am extremely excited about going to Orlando this fall to speak at the FAME conference. And while I've always enjoyed working with Florida school library folks, one thing that makes this trip especially exciting is that I am taking my six-year-old grandson Paul and his mom with me for a Disney World experience. And I get to go play when the conference is over.

I have to admit I am a real Disney World fan. While every moment I am there feels like a giant mouse is holding me upside down by the ankles, vigorously shaking every last nickel out of my pockets, I still love the place. I took Paul's mom there in 1984, not long after EPCOT opened, and have taken my son a couple times more recently. Yes it is artificial, expensive and crowded. But the smile never leaves my face while I'm there.

What I have learned is that one needs a strategy and the best ones come from a book (and now website) called The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.  The book includes these little plans that say things like "Get to the park 1/2 hour before opening. Head directly to Space Mountain. Ride three times. Go directly to Big Thunder Mountain. Ride. Go to the Dumbo ride. " You get the idea. It's a studied means to minimize time in lines by hitting the most popular rides when the park is least busy. The book is also objective about rating hotels, restaurants and rides.

See you at It's a Small World. 

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The publishers have my number. It seems nearly all my "guilty pleasure" authors are coming out with new novels soon. These include"

• John (Sonchai Jitpleecheep) Burdett, Bangkok Haunts.
• Lee (Jack Reacher) Child, Bad Luck and Trouble.
• Michael (Harry Bosch) Connelly, The Overlook.
• Stephen (Earl and Bob Ray Swagger) Hunter, The Master Sniper.
• Daniel (Gabriel Allon) Silva,  The Secret Servant.
• Martin (Arkady Renkno) Cruz Smith, Stalin's Ghost.

Hmmm, six titles, $20 each. $120 for a summer's worth of entertainment. Plus I can give a couple to my brother for Christmas if I don't spill anything on them...

Any authors that I forgot? Remember, I like my mysteries with violence and intelligence. A tough combination to find.

Why I belong to ISTE

Last week I gave my reasons for paying my dues to ALA/AASL. Since I am also an active member of ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), I thought I ought be fair and look at why I pay my dues and volunteer and write for that "other" national professional organization to which I believe all school library media specialists ought to belong.  Or simply join if they don't see ALA as a good fit.

First, dues are not the issue with ISTE that they are with ALA/AASL -  $79 vs. $160. The basic membership includes one SIG (Special Interest Group) like SIGMS (Media Specialist) and one journal like Leading & Learning. ISTE is not a library association, but education organization, and school librarians have no higher or lower standing in ISTE than they do in ALA. And just as all librarians are represented broadly by ALA, so are all educators represented generally by ISTE.

I have concerns about ISTE, but they are quite different from those I have about ALA. If ALA is the dowdy old aunt of the family who needs to be encouraged to get out of the house and try something new but upholds cherished values, ISTE is the rowdy teenager whose values and character are not firmly formed and needs guidance. It's easy for the glitz and "gee-whiz" of technology to overshadow the primary purpose of the organization - to help educators learn how to evaluate and use technology to better educate students. This is why ISTE needs librarians as members - to provide some balance and little common sense to the organization. So being a member or ISTE and...

1. Paying dues gives me a voice. ISTE needs seasoning. As a member, I can express my concerns regarding any head-long rush of technology adoption. Counter the profit-motivated push by companies to blindly add technologies to the education mix. Promote research, demand assessment, and raise concern about the safe and ethical use of technologies. To remind ISTE that in its mission statement - "providing leadership and service to improve teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in education" - the operative word is "effective."

2. Paying dues shows I support and recognize the need to know about cutting edge educational practices. Any school librarian who does not get and stay on the forefront of accessing, using, communicating and evaluating information in digital formats and is not seen as a building technology leader is irrelevant. Simple as that.

3. Paying dues gives me more opportunity for inter-species communications. ISTE has a great mix of educator types. Technology specialists, of course, but also lots of classroom teachers, administrators, college professors, and librarians. When we librarians present at AASL conferences and write for ALA/AASL journals, we are preaching to the choir. Writing and speaking through ISTE gets the sermon about the importance of good libraries to the sinners who actually need to hear it.

4. Paying dues gives me access to NECC. Yes, I have described this mega-conference as a "love fest to all things that go beep," finding it far too vendor driven. But it is exciting and motivational. This blog is a direct result of hearing David Weinberger's NECC keynote in Philadephia in 2005. Unlike most ALA conferences, I actually attend sessions at NECC. Oh, the organizational work of ISTE (affiliates, SIGS, committees) is all pretty much done the days just prior to NECC or virtually - no need for the  expensive "midwinter conference" idiocy.

5. Paying dues shows my support for the NETS standards. This is the set of learning standards the nation's states and schools actually use when it comes to what kids need to know and be able to do with information and technology. Librarians, we need to make sure the NETS  focus remains on information literacy, problem-solving, communication and the use of HOTS. The "refreshed" NETS do this and even add a "creativity" component. Now if we could just merge them with the AASL standards...

6. Paying dues gives me the chance to influence legislative lobbying efforts. These efforts of ISTE need some serious work. At the present time unfortunately, it's all about the money - making sure E2T2, E-rate and other national funding sources are preserved. Important to be sure, but less important in the long run that ISTE being a voice on education policy, especially in speaking out against issues like DOPA. I don't think ISTE "gets" intellectual freedom. School librarians, your voice is needed here very much. Or do you like your Internet blocked?

7. Did I mention paying dues gives me complaining rights? This is tough for me since I have served on the ISTE board for the past three years and gotten to know both the other board members and CEO Don Knezek and the ISTE staff. I genuinely like these people. They are smart, dedicated, competent, and have their hearts in the right place. They care about the organization and its members. But as members, we not only have the right, but the obligation to try making all our professional organizations better through constructive criticism - including ISTE.

I said it before and I will say it again, "Joining a professional organization is not necessarily about the good we as individuals get from membership, but the differences our contributions in both money and time make to the profession as a whole - and to those whom the profession serves. It isn't always about you!" This goes for ISTE as much as it does ALA/AASL.

School librarians, join ISTE.  Sure, we'll take your dues, but it is your values and sense are what we really need.

ISD77 TechTip Notebook 2006-07 #4

ISD77 Tech Tip Notebook 2006-7 #4
May 18, 2007 – 14 days left but who’s counting?

Busy summer ahead
Our department will be busy this summer training 120+ CODE77 teachers, installing 62 new SmartClassrooms, and upgrading computer labs, servers and switches throughout the district. We will be moving district and elementary websites to rSchool. (The old web server is not going away yet). We will also be installing and configuring a special device on our network called a packetshaper that will allow us to prioritize web traffic and will speed up most web access. Stop in and say hello if you are around.

Prepare for the next school year
Now is a great time to make a backup of your files to your Profile account. YODA is going away this summer for both students and staff so everyone will need to use Profile (Lodestar) accounts. YODA is on an old computer and is very difficult to reliably backup which is why we are retiring it.  If you are uncertain how to access your Profile storage area, see your media specialist or technician.

This is also a good time to unsubscribe to any e-mail lists you may be on if you don’t intend to check e-mail during the summer. (Yes, there are still a few staff members who don’t read e-mail all summer!)

And finally this might be the time to give your computer a little spit-and-polish – wiping down the outside of the machine, cleaning the screen, dusting around the workspace, and cleaning the keyboard. See your tech if you’d like help or need cleaning supplies.

Enlarging digital videos in United Streaming
It is possible to show United Streaming videos in a full screen mode. To do so, you need to check the button below the movie that says Stand Alone Application. The movie will then be played in Quicktime or Windows Media Player depending on file format instead of within the webpage. By going to the View menu and selecting Full Screen or by simply resizing the video window of these players, you can make the movie larger. Do remember that quality of the image suffers when enlarging. Try a number of sizes to see which gives the best balance of size and clarity.

Learn your German prepositions using YouTube
Check out Todd Coyour’s very funny video on YouTube at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY9J8C2eKJg> This is great example of reaching students  by using media that they use and like.

Parent and teacher Internet safety resources online
There is a list of web resources on Internet safety now on the Parent page <http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/parents>. Help make parents aware of these sites. Thanks!

Images in PowerPoint don’t show when using a PC?
If you have ever opened a PowerPoint presentation on a Windows computer that was created on a Mac you know that the graphics sometimes are replaced with a large white block containing an error message. This is the fix:

All graphics need to be added to slides using the Insert menu – they cannot be cut and pasted in. To create a graphic file from an existing PowerPoint graphic, just right click and choose Save as picture. Delete the original picture, then re-insert the picture by going to the Insert menu -> Picture -> From File. This all needs to be done on a Mac and then tested on a PC. (If this can be fixed with Windows computer, I don’t know how.)

Blogs and RSS Feed Aggregators
Three pretty darned interesting Minnesota bloggers who you might want to read are:

1. Dennis Fermoyle, classroom teacher, Warroad, From the Trenches of Public Ed <http://publiceducationdefender.blogspot.com>
2. Scott McLeod, U of Minnesota professor, dangerously irrelevant <http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org>
3. Mike Smart, Minnesota Teacher of the Year  <http://www.toymn.org>
   

If you are finding it difficult to keep up with blog changes and other pages with RSS feeds, set up a GoogleReader <http://www.google.com/reader > or Bloglines <http://www.bloglines.com> account. By checking a single webpage, you can tell which webpages have been updated.

Websites of Note: del.icio.us
Bookmarks in your webbrowser becoming over whelming? Set up a del.icio.us account <http://del.icio.us>. It’s a simple way to store, describe and share bookmarks – and access them from anywhere.

Email from an ISD77 teacher...
I wanted to let you know one more way the LCD projector is helping me teach
our students.  Right now, I am requiring that every [student] create an 8-slide
power point presentation on Europe for my Geography class.

Because of my classroom technology, in each class, I was able to create a
new powerpoint with input on the content from the kids and show it on our
big screen.  We covered layout, design, animation, and other skills right
here in class. That is nice, because kids pay more attention here in the
classroom where they are used to working and being on task...

It has been going very well so far, and the kids seem very engaged. I just
wanted to update you as to how this technology is working in the classroom.

Book of Note: Sixteen Trends and Their Profound Impact on Our Future (Educational Research Service, 2006 by Gary Marx. The District Curriculum Committee is using this book to launch discussions about the future of education. The trends Marx writes about include:

• the shift in population demographics and its role in life-long learning
• the need for school curriculum and practices to reflect the dawning of the "information age"
• the importance of equilibrium and acceptance of divergent viewpoints in preparing for emerging generations
• how continuous improvement will replace "quick fixes" and challenge the status quo theory of education
• why the globalization of politics and the economy today will mandate the need for interdependence in educational practice
• technology will increase the speed of communication and the pace of advancement or decline

Quote of note:
Those who speak most of progress measure it by quantity and not by quality. - George Santayana

Words of wisdom
Will Rogers, who died in a plane crash with Wylie Post in 1935, was probably the greatest political sage this country has ever known.  Enjoy the following:

• Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco.
• Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
• There are 2 theories to arguing with a woman...neither works.
• Never miss a good chance to shut up.
• Always drink upstream from the herd.
• If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.
• The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back in your pocket.
• There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves.
• Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
• If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.
• Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back.
• After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring.  He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him.  The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.
  

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The Tech Tip Notebook is Mankato Area Public Schools' an informational bulletin about library media and educational technology issues in the district designed to alert you to new resources and services, handy "how-to" suggestions, and answer questions about media and educational technology use. If there are topics you would like to see covered in the TTN, please let me know. Back issues can be found at:  <http://www.isd77.k12.mn.us/district/media/techtips/techtips.html>  Thanks - Doug Johnson <djohns1@isd77.k12.mn.us>.