Shiver Me Timbers!

 

 

I will have to say last week was a success.  Of the 28 classes that were scheduled, we actually saw 27 of those classes.  One class had to reschedule due to a 5th block assembly.  That means we pumped about 810 students through the library last week.  Yikes! 

 

I believe flipping the policies to avoid a boring lecture worked.  Over the last 2 weeks, we had only 1 teacher who didn't review the book and give out the brochures to any of her classes, and then we had 1 teacher who didn't flip the lesson for 3 of her classes and did for the other 3.  In order to find out if the students had actually reviewed the eBook, I had to resort to asking them.  3 classes gave me the blank stare which led me to realize no flipping had taken place, but the other 3 had a spark of recognition in their eyes when I asked.  I found that the students were a pretty good indicator.  I would have asked the teacher straight out, which was our tactic with the others, but this teacher arrived 5 minutes after her students did.

 

This week we have 4 more Freshman classes, and then it is on to the next set of tasks...We have some individual classes coming up along with helping teachers upload grades for progress reports.  In addition, we were approached by one of our Design Coaches to hold a Google Docs and Diigo training class.  :)

 

On a side note, Karen did a little research and found out that Wednesday, Sept. 19th, is National talk-like-a-pirate day.  So we are going to extend the costumes one more day and pass out some of the "pirate loot" we gave to the Freshman classes.  Never a dull moment!

 

 



First Week of Freshman Orientation

I think our first week of our Freshman Orientation went well.  We saw 12 Freshman classes.  This week, we will see 28 classes, and we will close out the following week by seeing 4 classes. 

We usually have to block off 3 weeks to see everyone.  The first week we schedule the teachers willing to go first and be our "guinea pigs" because we redesign our class every year to address the needs of our current audience.  So we start slow and learn from our mistakes. (Let's just say I always feel bad for the first set of classes; they are never as polished as those we schedule the 2nd week.)  Then we roll the rest of the classes through the library during the second week.  The 3rd week is reserved to finish up the classes and reschedule make up days (in case of random assemblies or teachers who are sick).

So our lesson went something like this

• introduction of librarians and pirate theme
• Knows and Need to Knows of the library
• discuss "knows" and take short policy quiz
• discuss "need to knows" and go on scavenger hunt
• meet as group to play Library Jeopardy
• revisit "need to knows" to make sure all questions were addressed
• learn card catalog and check out book or choose another library leisure activity (magazines, chess, library craft, homework, log onto a computer, puzzles, or games)

Flipping the Library Policies so that the librarians could skip the first 20 minute lecture went well.  Two of the teachers chose to show our Pirate eBook (link in last week's entry) and pass out the library brochures.  With those classes, we had a brief review by having the students brainstorm what they know and what they still need to know about the library; this is part of the PBL process that we adapted for our classes... 



We addressed what they already knew, and then took the quiz so the teachers could put that grade in the grade book as promised.  Then we addressed their "need to knows" by sending them on a QR Code scavenger hunt around the library.  Those with the smartphone were able to scan the QR codes and store the information in theie phones.  For those without a Smartphone, we also printed the same information for students to jot down notes or to take a picture if they had a phone with a camera.

 

 

We had 15 different QR codes hidden around the library.  Each group of 3-4 students had a map with 15 Xs on it to identify where the codes could be found.  The map helps them keep track of which codes they have found so they don't scan the same one 3 times and count it as 3 different codes.  They were given 15 minutes to find 15 different codes.  At the end of the 15 minutes, we came back together to play Jeopardy with the information they collected.  The team that won Jeopardy was able to pick a treasure from the treasure chest.

 





 

 

As I mentioned last week, we were able to anticipate what to do with the classes where teachers did not Flip the lesson and how to handle the QR Scavenger hunt if there were not enough students brought a smartphone.

What we did not anticipate...the amount of time needed for troubleshooting the students with their phones; they needed time to log onto our wireless including access to their new passwords, to download the QR Reader, and to practice scanning codes.

Luckily, we had built in "free time" at the end of the lesson.  So the amount of time we originally had budgeted for the free time was cut in half.

 

This week we will see the bulk of our Freshman students, 28 classes.  We will see how we hold up! 

 

Have a great week, and thanks for stopping by.

 

 

First Week of School

The first week of school is always a balancing act.  It's about how to be there for the students and teachers while taking care of library business as well.  To be honest, it wasn't all that balanced; of course the needs of the students and teachers took presidence over library business. 

We had 2 major issues this week that put stress on the students and teachers, and therefore affected the library....schedules and technology.  While dealing with classes that needed a place to go, students who didn't know where the J Hall or the West Gym were, and new laptops that were not communicating with the projectors, the 3 librarians did manage to redesign our Freshman Orientation classes (which start on Wednesday).  Actually, we didn't get it all ironed out, but we each have a bit of homework this weekend.  Hopefully when we come back on Tuesday, we will be ready.

So we are taking a page from the "Flipped Classroom" model with our Orientation this year.  We are starting by asking the teachers to take 5-8 mins of their class time to introduce our library policies with a "mixbook" we created.  http://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/education/dhs-library-policies-for-students-7923701  Then they are going to pass out our Student Brochure for the students to take home and review before coming to the library.  By doing this, we hope to eliminate the very boring 15-20 min lecture that begins each class.  Then we will start the classes with a review (what they know about our library and what they still need to know) and then a quick quiz.  The teachers are planning to tell the students about the quiz; it will not be a surprise.

To address those questions they may still have about the library, we have created a scavenger hunt using Quick Response (QR) codes posted all over the library.  Students can bring their Smartphone or iPod to scan the codes.  Each QR code reveals another bit of information about the library.  After sufficient time gathering the information, we will reconvene for a Library Jeopardy game. Since we have a Pirate theme going here, the winning teams will be able to pull a trinket from the Pirate Treasure Chest.  Yes even 9th graders like to pick a prize!  After Jeopardy, we show the students how to use the card catalog and allow them to check out a book.

Things to consider when attempting a lesson with this many parts...
1. What if the teacher didn't do his/her part by showing the eBook and passing out the brochures?
2. What if the students don't bring their electronic devices?

There should always be a Plan B, right?

For #1, we plan to review the brochure with the students and take them through the quiz as a group instead of testing them individually.  The advantage of testing the students individually is giving the grade to the classroom teacher who can then put those grades in his/her grade book.  So hopefully, the teachers will be motivated by a "free grade" to help us Flip the lesson.

For #2, we plan to group the students into pairs, 3s, or 4s, if needed.  If no one from a class brings an electronic device, we are creating a low tech (paper) version of the scavenger hunt.

We'll see how this goes.  I'll have pictures next week.  Have a great Labor Day weekend!