Reading Review # 1

My School Library:

 Looking at some Issues, Interests and Opportunities

 

How can I improve my school library? How can I get students hooked on reading? What are the best ways to teach information literacy and technology skills, such as online safety? How can I ensure that technology is being used effectively? What is the best way to collaborate with teachers?...and I could go on and on and on.

There are many things that I would like to explore and learn more about. I am always trying to find new and interesting ways to make the library a fun learning environment. In particular, I am concerned about using technology effectively and safely and ensuring valuable class time is not spent waiting. There have been several occasions when technology has failed due to access and connectivity issues, which is not a good use of time. So, what is the best way to solve this? Also, I would like to involve teachers more by collaborating with them to use technology other than for educational games or typing up a project. Finally, I would like to ensure students can find a book they are interested in and get them hooked onto reading.

First of all, change needs to start with me. I need to become more comfortable using technology and not be afraid to try new technologies...such as blogging! If I want to ensure that students are using technology safely and effectively, I need to be able to understand and communicate these things. I know that technology in today's classroom is becoming increasingly more important. To start, I need to explore new and different websites that can be used effectively. For example, I recently played around with the website PowToon (http://www.powtoon.com), which is a way to create a short animated video for presentations. It is fairly easy to use and it is fun. Here is what I created... https://www.powtoon.com/show/d5K601XTqXt/quigley-library/

Over the course, I hope to explore more websites similar to this that I can use and share with teachers at my school. I have already been sharing PowToon with others at my school and I can't wait to use it with students! Here is another website that may be useful...(I need to spend more time exploring):  http://gws.ala.org/To ensure students can find a book they are interested in and get them hooked on reading, I would like to explore Web 2.0 tools that can help find engaging books. So far, one particular website that I have found to be handy in this regard is http://www.librarything.com/suggester. This site allows you to input a book you enjoy reading and comes up with suggestions of other books that you may like. This will really be useful with students who only want to read one particular type of book. Also, I would like to look at effective ways to run a successful book club by using engaging books to draw students in.Anyways, this is a start to my exploration of finding effective ways to use technology, collaborate with teachers, and to get students hooked on reading.I am excited to keep exploring and learning!