March Madness

There are lots of things to do during March.  In addition to helping our Junior English classes with their research, we also swapped out our winter displays for something more appropriate for Spring.

For Women's History Month ...  

For Spring ... 

I also organized my first March Madness book bracket.  Blanca always did the whole shebang with 64 books.  That seemed a bit daunting for my first try.  I decided to stick with the "Sweet 16."

Before voting, I had to build some hype.  So I advertised early, and I even put up a poster in the Commons area for easier access to the voting ballots.

The part I was not looking forward to was making the bracket.  I went to Pinterest to see what I could find.  I ended up with this.

Then I had both teachers and students vote for their favorite books to set up the tournament at the start.  We ended up with quite a range as you can see.  I provided both written and visual brackets for everyone.

We have made it from the Sweet 16, to the Elite 8 ...

Next week will be the Final 4.  After that we will vote for the Top 2 and the Champion in the same week.  Both the students and faculty members are anxious to see how this first March Madness ends.  It's fun to talk to people in the hallway about how this game has unfolded thus far.  However it may end, the library wins because both students and the faculty are talking about books.

Every day is an Adventure!

TCEA 2018

This post is a bit late in coming, but I always like to recap my adventures at TCEA.  I do love going to the technology conference each year to learn about new things.  This year did not disappoint.

Here are some of the highlights of the trip ...

Waiting for our keynote speaker, Marlee Matlin.

Presenting at the library academy, "Socially Booked."

Coding at the TCEA Makerspace.

Dinner with Kathy Tran (no photo taken) :( 

Last, but certainly not least, the sessions.

Sessions I visited that were intended for librarians.

• Top 25 Tech Tools for the Teacher-Librarian
• AASL Best Websites that Rock
• Socially Booked (our presentation)
• 50+ Makerspaces for the Secondary Library
• Google Classroom in the Library 
• Bilingual Booksnaps using Google Drawing

Sessions I visited that were intended for all audiences (teachers/librarians/administrators/curriculum coordinators/etc.).

• Gamify Learning with Digital Badges
• Relevant Learning using Digital Badges
• Curriculum Tie-Ins & the 3D Printer
• Augmented Reality in the Palm of your Hand
• Breakout EDU in Forney ISD

My top 3 picks ...

• Relevant Learning using Digital Badges - I am trying to get a reading program started where the students can earn badges for reading different genres.  This session seemed manageable.  The presenter was concise and didn't try to create her own badge platform.  She rigged up a system where an automatic email went to the student once he/she filled out the appropriate google form.  That is something I could do.
• Augmented Reality in the Palm of your Hand - Using Aurasma (which is now called HP Select), students created an "about me" cube.  The cube could be adapted for other uses.  The app seems easier to use now.  I tried it a few years back with the Duncanville Art Show.  Although, most of the auras worked, it was a LOT of front loading which took longer than I anticipated.  The app has gone through some changes since then.  
• AASL Best Websites that Rock - there were many websites/apps I have heard of or had used before seeing this presentation, but there were a few new ones too.  Buncee was new for me.  This is for digital storytelling or interactive multimedia presentations. Sugarcane was also introduced in this presentation.  Apparently there are all kinds of educational games on this site.  Of course, there is Flipgrid.  I have heard about this site, but I have not tried it yet.  Everyone is talking about it though.

I enjoyed the conference and learning new things.  I enjoyed hanging out with Karen and Blanca.  I enjoyed bumping into colleagues and friends. I even enjoyed presenting at 8 o'clock in the morning.

Every day is an adventure!