Why Are We So Tired?

Wow!  It's April!  All of the March testing (TAKS, TELPAS, & STAAR) didn't seem to slow us down much.  According to our March statistics, we still managed to see 205 classes, circulate 2000+ books, host 19 other meetings, see over 4000 students on passes, and solve 560 technology issues.  

Ok...now I know why I am tired!  I know why all 4 of us are tired!

In spite of our super busy schedule, we did manage to crank out a few new decorations...inspired by Pinterest, of course.

I did notice, however, that our grandiose plans to create our Makerspaces came to a screeching halt.  I guess we can't get it all done, even if there are 4 of us.  As we head to TLA next week, I am hoping to sit in on a few Makerspace sessions to renew my enthusiasm.  We always find something to inspire us at TLA.  Can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by!

Staff Development @ DHS

Ok..so we were a little behind in getting out our Staff Development schedule this semester, but it's ready now.

This year we sent out the staff survey at the beginning of the second semester, which begins for us after the MLK Holiday.  This is the 3rd year we sent out a survey (created in Google Forms), and we consistently try to keep it short...5 questions.

Our questions this year were

• What classes would you like to see the library offer your students?
• What classes would you like to see the library offer the staff?
• When can you attend training?
• I wish the library could help me with...
• Do you have any suggestions to make the library program stronger?

Only the first 3 were mandatory to answer.  The last two were optional.  Here were our results.  After we analyzed our results, here is the calendar we have created for Spring 2015.

At the TCEA (Texas Computer Education Association) conference, we actually presented at the Library Academy about this very subject.  The name of our presentation was "Keep Calm and #learnanywhere." Here is a link to that presentation,  Enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Makerspace...Phase I

We are taking baby steps with our makerspaces.  Since the last blog entry, "It's all about the Makerspaces," we have re-purposed one area to make a project center in hopes that students who have products which require art supplies will utilize this resource.  It seems like such a small thing, but I feel good about this change and also with the direction in which we are going.

Here is what we did for phase 1...

Instead of using the magazine shelves to store our supplies, as we mentioned in the last blog entry, 

we took out that set of shelves entirely.  That really seemed to open up the space.

After having maintenance move our magazine shelves to the back storage, we had to move the juvenile section because that is the space we decided to use for our art supplies.  

So we shifted the juvenile section to a set of shelves that were actually empty in the back of our library.  Now our makerspace for school-related projects looks like this...

We are planning to add more supplies as needed, but you have to start somewhere.  Having said that, here is our list of starter supplies...

Construction paper

Manila paper

Markers

Crayons

Pencils

Glue

Glue sticks

Staplers

Post it notes

Things we can add right away are notebook paper (which the students still ask for), rulers, and white copy paper.  After that, we will just see what the students request.

In order to keep the area in good shape for all to use, we did post our norms in a couple of different places around the area.

Of course we also made a sign to signify the purpose of the area and to advertise...

We debated on whether we should start making morning announcements to advertise but decided that the space really couldn't accommodate a large number of students just yet.  So we are advertising by word-of-mouth.  We haven't had too many takers yet, but our second semester has just started.  Give it time!

Now we focus on phase 2 of our makerspaces...the student production room.  We have pulled out the desktop computers since we have closed off that area completely.  As mentioned in the previous makerspace blog, this is the area we want to outfit with a few comfy chairs, our ipads, and the video production area.  In addition, we just received permission to paint one of the walls in that room with chalkboard paint so the students have a creation/brainstorming area.  We contemplated dry erase paint, but we decided chalk was cheaper and wouldn't "walk  away" from the area the way dry erase markers would.

Our progress with phase 2 has just come to a screeching halt due to the Junior English research.  Not that we mind because we all enjoy co-teaching the research classes and helping the students.  In addition to the research, we also have TCEA next week.  So phase 2 will have to simmer on the back burner for awhile.  Can't wait to see how the giant chalkboard turns out!

Thanks for stopping by!

It's all about the Makerspace

We decided to jump on the Makerspace bandwagon.  We have read numerous articles on the movement (click here for Pinterest board on Makerspace Ideas) and attended a couple of conference sessions too.  As I read these articles and attend sessions, I am able to picture the end result, and it looks fabulous.  Getting there is another thing.  Where do you start?

Blanca, Karen, and I have been discussing this idea since August after Blanca visited the Grand Prairie Public Library.  Then in November, we had a visit from one of our top administrators talking about this "radical idea"he saw at a conference.  He began  describing the various "stations" in the library with legos, tools, craft supplies, etc.  All three of us responded with "the Makerspace Movement." So after that we decided to sit down and figure this out.

I will be the first to admit that we have yet to figure it all out, but one does have to start somewhere.   Here are a few things we have already learned on our Makerspace journey.

My advice at the beginning is to read as much as you can and decide where you want to start.  Do you want a passive makerspace area where students can work on projects assigned to them?  If so, what types of supplies should your provide? Do you want to host workshops using your Makerspace area? If so, what types of products are you envisioning? I know this sounds very elementary, but it helps to drive your budget.

We decided to then analyze the budget and purchase what we could.  We went in 2 different directions.  We bought a lot of craft type consumables like duct tape, markers, crayons, glue sticks, paints, paper, and glitter which we bought through Office Depot & Every Season.  Then we bought board games like Battleship, Connect Four, Sorry, Boggle, and 3 giant games....Connect Four, Checkers, and Jenga.

Why board games you ask?  What does that have to do with the Makerspace movement?  When we attended the TLA (Texas Library Association) conference 2 years ago, there was a conference within the conference called TT4L (Texas Teens 4 Libraries).  We were able to take our Book Club students to this event because it was in Ft. Worth.  During the Teen Makerspace time, the moderators put out all of these stations.... a photo booth, a 3D printer, circuit boards, games, a jewelry making station, and a soldering workstation.  We watched  how engaged the teens were with these giant games (as well as the other stations), and that is how we decided to include the board games.

Our next step... where to put our Makerspaces?  After scoping out our options, we decided to start small.  We have a student production room that has 4 computers and a video production studio which is in the process of being installed.

We decided to pull the desktop computers out, and we plan to put a couple of tables or maybe some more comfortable furniture in there; we are not sure.  We have an iPad lab that we plan to keep in there along with the the video studio in hopes to make the area more flexible to fit the needs of our students.

In addition to the production studio room, we have a rarely used magazine rack that we also plan to use for our passive Makerspace supplies.  We decided to place the magazines and comics in a more visible place so the students will discover them...

...which frees up the area for a crafts Makerspace.  As classes or small groups come into the library to work on a project, we will now have an area for them to physically create.  It's about more than just providing databases, print resources, computers and printers. We also need to think about those assignments that are more crafty in nature; not all teachers ask students to design digital products for every assignment.  We want to be there for our students when the product assigned is a poster, scrap book, or sculpture.  As many of our students do not have printers or computers at home, it it also true that they lack many common supplies like crayons, construction paper, markers, glue, paper, etc. We know this to be true because our students ask to use these supplies all the time.  So why not stage a DIY station to help out.

More on Makerspaces soon!  Thanks for stopping by.

'Tis the Season

Well, the holiday season is in full swing, and our library looks the part.  During our many visits with students, teachers, and classes alike, we were able to eek out some time to prepare our library for the winter months ahead.  Of course, most of our inspiration came from Pinterest. What did librarians do before Pinterest was in place?

Here is our classic book tree with the addition of a book fireplace to keep it company.

Our student aides also made these book trees from weeded books.

The wreath above the fireplace is also a new addition this year.   

Once of our student aides made it by recycling the book pages from some of our weeded books and a few pine cones he found in one of our winter boxes of decorations.

The cute snowmen and penguin came straight from Pinterest and will be staying up during January.

Our paper chains and snowflakes, also made by students, will also continue to stay up in January. That is why we chose blue and white instead of the traditional red and green.

Then there is "Blocky the Snowman."  Our library kids named him...for obvious reasons.

In addition, we have other decorations that we have used year after year.  These were made with an old-fashioned OPAC projector, markers and crayons.

Here is the one I am working on for January.  Pinterest inspired...again!

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy Holidays!

Wow...What a Busy Start to the 2014-15 School Year!

When August rolled around, the DHS Library hit the ground running.  Before school started, we were involved in some summer training.  I always enjoy summer training because it seems more relaxed than school year training.  This summer Blanca and I taught...

• Google Drive Basics, http://duncanvillehs.libguides.com/googlebasics
• Google - Basics and Beyond, http://duncanvillehs.libguides.com/google
• Build Your Own App, http://duncanvillehs.libguides.com/buildapp
• Learn to Fly with Twitter, http://duncanvillehs.libguides.com/disdtweets

After summer training, we were also involved in New Teacher Orientation.  As Campus Instructors of Technology (CITs), we usually have a day to help with the laptop training.  Although the teachers are usually a bit overwhelmed by the time we see them, they are usually attentive.  This year was no different.  We have a lot of new teachers, but they seem to be quick learners.  

Once our week of staff development started, the campus CITs were give an entire day to cover all of the technology tools that the teachers needed including grade book. lesson plans, webpages, library policies, etc.  Since we have a staff of about 230 teachers, the traditional "sit and get" was not an option for us, nor did we want to do that anyway.  Who wants to sit in a room all day listening to us talk?  I believe we all know the answer to that...

Instead, we designed mini classes and broke up the training into 4 areas.  Each of us tried to have an activity to go with our training.  For instance, in my sessions, the teachers participated in some discussions about our BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy.  So I created QR codes that highlighted our AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) to keep the teachers from having to read the whole document.  

Instead, they used their devices, scanned the codes, and talked to their group about the policy.  In addition, we also read some current articles on BYOD.  I also covered some "housekeeping" programs in Eduphoria.  Here is a link to my session's agenda...  http://duncanvillehs.libguides.com/session4.

After staff development, the first month of school hit us hard.  I'm not even sure I can explain what happened.  So I'm going to let our September 2014 Statistics Report do our talking for us.  

I can't believe it is already October.  Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

It's Teacher Appreciation Time!

Each year the librarians take time out of our busy schedule to honor those who are in the trenches every day, the classroom teachers.  We started this tradition last year when we realized that not too many groups planned to do anything for the teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week.  The teachers were so appreciative of our efforts last year that we decided to honor our hardworking teachers yet again this year. Unfortunately, our campus had STAAR testing during that same week of May which prevented us from doing some cool week-long activity with our teachers, but we did dedicate our last Teacher Lunch Bunch of the year to our teachers.

Our Teacher Lunch Bunches are once a month.  The library has a conference room that we decorate, using a different theme each month.  We set out our microwave, pitcher of water, plastic utensils, and we also provide dessert.  So the teachers bring their lunch to our conference room to socialize and eat dessert.  It is a way for teachers to break out of their daily routine and enjoy the company of others.

Since our campus is so large, we have no designated "teacher's lounge" which forces most teachers to eat in their rooms or a colleague's room.  The Teacher Lunch Bunch gives teachers an alternate place to go.

Sooooo...for the last TLB of the year, we served cake while an art teacher made cookies and both the principal's and assistant principal's secretaries made yummy surprises too.

Then we set up a photo booth just for the teachers.

We went with our Super Hero theme because teachers are our Super Heroes.  After a little encouragement, some of the teachers even participated in this silly opportunity.  We had capes, masks, sunglasses, headbands, and props.  To see a PhotoPeach slideshow of all who participated, check this out...  http://photopeach.com/album/19ta85k

Our Teacher Appreciation Event was Monday, May 5th.  After our Lunch Bunch, the campus Parent-Teacher-Student-Association (PTSA) provided dessert on Tuesday, and our Career and Tech department provided lunch that Friday.  The administrative staff allowed us to wear jeans on Thursday and Friday which just goes to show that you don't need to spend money to appreciate the ones who work with you.  A little kindness goes a long way.

See you next time!