Week 12: Cataloging Part Two
I had a really hard time connecting with Catalog It! So much information to process! My big takeaway is first, gratitude that Follett's Destiny does the cataloging for me. However, I do appreciate having the opportunity to go behind the scenes and understand how cataloging works. I found myself thinking about the ways I search for books in my catalog, or the way I've been helping my students, and have realized that by tweaking the subject information I'm in search of I can get to the source I'm looking for faster.
While my library does have some periodicals, they never hold up long enough for them to be properly cataloged. I've tried using magazine covers, but found them to be cumbersome and kids weren't drawn to borrowing them. However, if I move to a middle school or high school one day, it was interesting to understand how to catalog periodicals.
Looking ahead to the future, I was excited to be introduced to BIBFRAME. Granted, it will probably be a long time coming before I have the opportunity to use it, but I appreciated getting a brief understanding of how it works and how it can better serve patrons and librarians. I am interested in hearing how BIBFRAME will impact school library cataloging systems in the years to come.
Monday, November 28, 2016
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Week 11: Cataloging
While I did struggle with the assigned reading this week, I did take away a lot of important information and certainly have a better understanding of how cataloging in general works.
Having the opportunity to expand my knowledge of Dewey was really helpful and frankly, I find his classification system fascinating and brilliant. While I don't believe students need to know what each 10 main classes of the DDC are, I do think it's helpful that the understand that there is a system, why there is a system, and how to access the system. I also really appreciated understanding why folk and fairy tales were classified as 384.2 as well as why poetry and graphic novels are in non-fiction as well. I like the flexibility that is accepted for school librarians to organize the remaining types of fiction in their own departments. Personally, I like having graphic novels remain in the non-fiction area because while students are browsing, they may discover other books in the 700s (or nearby classes) that they would not have found otherwise.
I was unfamiliar with the Metis and Bookstore models until reading Catalog It!. I like the idea of organizing a library in the 26 designated categories, because this can be a way to introduce students to more non-fiction during browsing. With that said, I don't feel confident pioneering a new organizational program at my library since I'm still new to the field and position.
The challenging part of the week was understanding the MARC records. I had a hard time understanding all of the components of a MARC, but I do respect the system. The vendors I purchase from create the MARCs for me, but it is important to understand how a title is classified. I definitely haven't hit mastery with this yet.
All in all, for an organizational lover like myself, this was great reading to tackle and I enjoyed learning more about the inner workings of cataloging.
While I did struggle with the assigned reading this week, I did take away a lot of important information and certainly have a better understanding of how cataloging in general works.
Having the opportunity to expand my knowledge of Dewey was really helpful and frankly, I find his classification system fascinating and brilliant. While I don't believe students need to know what each 10 main classes of the DDC are, I do think it's helpful that the understand that there is a system, why there is a system, and how to access the system. I also really appreciated understanding why folk and fairy tales were classified as 384.2 as well as why poetry and graphic novels are in non-fiction as well. I like the flexibility that is accepted for school librarians to organize the remaining types of fiction in their own departments. Personally, I like having graphic novels remain in the non-fiction area because while students are browsing, they may discover other books in the 700s (or nearby classes) that they would not have found otherwise.
I was unfamiliar with the Metis and Bookstore models until reading Catalog It!. I like the idea of organizing a library in the 26 designated categories, because this can be a way to introduce students to more non-fiction during browsing. With that said, I don't feel confident pioneering a new organizational program at my library since I'm still new to the field and position.
The challenging part of the week was understanding the MARC records. I had a hard time understanding all of the components of a MARC, but I do respect the system. The vendors I purchase from create the MARCs for me, but it is important to understand how a title is classified. I definitely haven't hit mastery with this yet.
All in all, for an organizational lover like myself, this was great reading to tackle and I enjoyed learning more about the inner workings of cataloging.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
And let's not forget the Top 5 Tools...
Creation tools are now a must for me. I particularly love: VoiceThread because you can use it for high or low tech type projects. Prezi is such a dynamic and powerful way to communicate with an audience (albeit more challenging to learn and navigate with elementary students, at least those in the lower grades).
Animoto is very kid-enticing and can certainly get a student more excited about a project than if the student had to produce an essay or poster. Tumblr is my new go to for images and inspiration. My goal is to connect a private school blog to it. Finally, I love podcasts. The 10 minute formats of ones like #edchat offer an easy way for teachers to stay abreast of trends. I do also love how students can create their own podcasts to share their knowledge.
Creation tools are now a must for me. I particularly love: VoiceThread because you can use it for high or low tech type projects. Prezi is such a dynamic and powerful way to communicate with an audience (albeit more challenging to learn and navigate with elementary students, at least those in the lower grades).
Animoto is very kid-enticing and can certainly get a student more excited about a project than if the student had to produce an essay or poster. Tumblr is my new go to for images and inspiration. My goal is to connect a private school blog to it. Finally, I love podcasts. The 10 minute formats of ones like #edchat offer an easy way for teachers to stay abreast of trends. I do also love how students can create their own podcasts to share their knowledge.
Monday, November 14, 2016
Week 10: Teaching the teachers
For this week's assignment, I chose the option of creating a PD for teachers who wanted to learn about Social Bookmarking. The idea for this came about in a very organic way. About 6 weeks ago a teacher came to me to get some good research websites. I noticed the teacher jotting down each URL and when I asked if the teacher used Social Bookmarking, the teacher had no idea what I was talking about. Cut to the teacher's lounge during a lunch break a few days later. I casually inquired about Social Bookmarking and none of the teachers in the room had heard of it. I'd made a mental note to create an overview presentation but hadn't gotten around to creating it until last week.
As much as teachers (myself included) focus so much of our energies helping our students learn new tools, I find that we don't give ourselves the support we need to discover new ways of doing things. I decided to use Prezi since it's a more exciting and dynamic way of presenting information. I also wanted to explain what Social Bookmarking is without being too preachy or heavy handed. I also included YouTube basic tutorials so I wouldn't be standing in front of the crowd talking for the entire time.
Following this mini-PD, I would survey teachers to see which platform they were interested in learning more about. Then I would hold mini intro workshops on Symbaloo, Diigo and/or De.li.cious.
For this week's assignment, I chose the option of creating a PD for teachers who wanted to learn about Social Bookmarking. The idea for this came about in a very organic way. About 6 weeks ago a teacher came to me to get some good research websites. I noticed the teacher jotting down each URL and when I asked if the teacher used Social Bookmarking, the teacher had no idea what I was talking about. Cut to the teacher's lounge during a lunch break a few days later. I casually inquired about Social Bookmarking and none of the teachers in the room had heard of it. I'd made a mental note to create an overview presentation but hadn't gotten around to creating it until last week.
As much as teachers (myself included) focus so much of our energies helping our students learn new tools, I find that we don't give ourselves the support we need to discover new ways of doing things. I decided to use Prezi since it's a more exciting and dynamic way of presenting information. I also wanted to explain what Social Bookmarking is without being too preachy or heavy handed. I also included YouTube basic tutorials so I wouldn't be standing in front of the crowd talking for the entire time.
Following this mini-PD, I would survey teachers to see which platform they were interested in learning more about. Then I would hold mini intro workshops on Symbaloo, Diigo and/or De.li.cious.
Monday, November 7, 2016
Week 9: Tech-Infused Unit Plan(s)
The big challenge for me this week was figuring out which app or tool would fit most appropriately with the lessons I was creating. I found that a "one size fits all" was certainly not the case as I brainstormed potential projects and/or exercises students could use to demonstrate their learning and to create new knowledge on a topic. In other words, I couldn't just choose an app, such as VoiceThread, and plunk it into the lesson. Not that that is my style, but what I'm trying to say is that each app or tool offers its own set of opportunities for student exploration. If I felt that retelling was important to students, using VoiceThread or Animoto would be helpful. If I wanted my students to connect with other students during the research process, or just after completion, Padlet would be a better fit.
Having had the chance to speak with my AT was so valuable, because now I have some very useful tools that I can offer all of my students to help them as they process information. I also like that I created a strong variety in the types of resources students could use to help them process what they were learning and to share their new knowledge in a purposeful way.
One area I do need to learn more about is helping my ELL students. I couldn't help but think a lot of my assignments would be difficult for them if they didn't have an aide with them. I know there are translation apps, but I wonder if that would slow down the learning process?
I was very intentional with the units I created. Since it's November (aka National Picture Book month) I'm planning on using the essence of these lessons with my students. I also am making good connections with the 2nd grade teachers and I like the idea of educating myself on the China mini-unit they teach in January. By doing so, I can reach out to them confidently in December and share some ideas I have to help support the learning in their respective classrooms.
The big challenge for me this week was figuring out which app or tool would fit most appropriately with the lessons I was creating. I found that a "one size fits all" was certainly not the case as I brainstormed potential projects and/or exercises students could use to demonstrate their learning and to create new knowledge on a topic. In other words, I couldn't just choose an app, such as VoiceThread, and plunk it into the lesson. Not that that is my style, but what I'm trying to say is that each app or tool offers its own set of opportunities for student exploration. If I felt that retelling was important to students, using VoiceThread or Animoto would be helpful. If I wanted my students to connect with other students during the research process, or just after completion, Padlet would be a better fit.
Having had the chance to speak with my AT was so valuable, because now I have some very useful tools that I can offer all of my students to help them as they process information. I also like that I created a strong variety in the types of resources students could use to help them process what they were learning and to share their new knowledge in a purposeful way.
One area I do need to learn more about is helping my ELL students. I couldn't help but think a lot of my assignments would be difficult for them if they didn't have an aide with them. I know there are translation apps, but I wonder if that would slow down the learning process?
I was very intentional with the units I created. Since it's November (aka National Picture Book month) I'm planning on using the essence of these lessons with my students. I also am making good connections with the 2nd grade teachers and I like the idea of educating myself on the China mini-unit they teach in January. By doing so, I can reach out to them confidently in December and share some ideas I have to help support the learning in their respective classrooms.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)