Thing 10: Productivity Tools

The students and I have used diigo for a couple of years now and we also tested out Box since we are always looking for ways to share and access documents.  We like diigo for its ease of use and ability to share marked up documents with each other.  However, now that our friend NoodleTools has iCyte built in we have now shifted away from diigo a bit more.  iCyte not only starts a citation within NoodleTools, it also allows students to add highlights and notes.  The ability to have the integration with one login really simplifies things for us at TAE, especially since we are not on block scheduling and those 40 minute periods fly by (especially if the internet is slow).  Diigo is nice if we are just doing a cursory review of a topic and simply want to share ideas and information in a less formal research setting.

The ability of Box to allow the online collaboration was a major consideration for me in choosing a resource to explore.  Students all have access to a teacher drop box, but not to shared drop boxes.  It seems that when they are working collaboratively the student who is absent is always the one who has the group project in their student drive and then no one can access it!!  Box integrates with Google Docs which is also a plus!  Also, it lets us share some bigger files from either home or school so that was a plus!  We have only tried this a couple of times with my smaller classes but it seems to be working quite well. 

I'll be looking through the list for other resources to use as we come to the end of the school year so that we can better integrate some of my new finds from the Cool Tools program next year!

Thing 19: Online Learning & DIY PD

As far as my learning plan goes I truly value any opportunity to take a class either at the college or professional level.  In the past several years I have been lucky to receive some credits from the credit pool at work which have allowed me to take several graduate classes from a local college.  I have also participated in the offerings provided by our local School Library System through BOCES which have included several wonderful speakers including Marc Aaronson and Kathleen O’Dean.  BOCES also offers a monthly Mandarin support group as well as super opportunities, like the Cool Tools program, to our librarians.  I have also found some really great webinars (freebies) offered through vendors and other library listservs as well as exploring some information on my own (like the Google Power Searching course which I took two years ago).  I really like the webinars and I think that they provide excellent opportunities for learning on your own time (even if you can’t attend ‘live’ most of these are archived).  Although some of the vendor webinars include a ‘plug’ for this and that, many of those offer eminently qualified folks providing the information and it is almost always on current library topics, such as Common Core, Inquiry-Based Learning, RTI, etc. 

Since we all need to keep track of our learning for our continuing education hours for NYS, I think webinars and online courses are great ways to obtain hours while really increasing our knowledge as librarians.  I know that many districts are able to provide PD credit for participation in these types of programs, or they if you get so many hours you can convert those hours into credits (which you may be compensated for).  I am very interested in pursuing National Board Certificate and have been to one seminar on this offered, again, by our BOCES.  I am still not sure if I have the time and money to invest at this point but I am seriously considering this as an option in the future.  I truly believe that we are better teachers when we are participating in school too.  We can share our struggles, successes, and failures with our students and it helps them, and us, become more passionate and dedicated lifelong learners. 

Unfortunately, due to budgetary issues, there is virtually no funding available from my district for PD so I have applied for some grants in order to fund some of my adventures in learning.  Some I have received gratefully and some I haven’t but I keep applying and keep finding fun and exciting learning adventures along the way.  My most recent endeavor is a graduate course in Writing and Critical Thinking so that I will be able to be certified to teach ACE English.  I am excited about the class but a bit overwhelmed by the amount of work (since it’s a short term things are fast and furious).  I now can empathize with my more Freshmen who seem to have six tests at a time during benchmark time!  My next steps will be to try and find funding for my National Board Certification and begin that in the fall and perhaps look into becoming a Microsoft Certified Trainer.  I have to say I love school (both teaching and learning) and if I win the lottery I will be pursuing my Ph.D. in curriculum!!  Cross your fingers for me J

Thing 9: Databases and Search Tools

I am thrilled that you asked us this question in this forum.  I am fortunate enough to have a Superintendent who really supports our online access here at TAE and we are lucky enough to have a budget for databases in addition to those supplied by NOVEL.  We have several between the high school and the middle school which include Biography Reference Center, World Almanac, Geography & Culture, Culturegrams, Science Power, World Book, and EBSCO's Ultra package.  I highly recommend the Ultra package at the high school level.  It is extremely affordable and really gives students that 'college' experience when it comes to searching and finding articles.  We've had it for three years now and teachers and students alike are thrilled with the variety and materials we are able to find within the database.  In my opinion, it definitely offers more than the NOVEL databases and is well worth any extra cost. 

At the high school we use EBSCO a lot and I have the kids do an entire unit on searching including advanced search features like full text, date range, using subject terms, and peer reviewed articles.  I've also taken the Google PowerSearching class and found it extremely helpful and a great resource.  In fact, I've shown it to my kids within the searching unit.  They especially love the part where you can drag in a picture and find where it is from and the color select on image searches!  I highly recommend this class to all of you.  It takes a bit of time, but it's well worth it. 

I haven't used the custom Google search feature much.  In fact I'm preparing some links for Regents prep so I think I will try that out and post it to my webpage at www.heightsschools.com/taelibrary.  Hopefully it will be a hit. 

I just used instaGrok with my freshmen to get background information on their unit papers.  It was a great hit, especially with those visual learners.  Packs a lot of bang for the buck and they liked the notes section (of course).  I have recommended SweetSearch to the social studies teachers especially and I'll see what feedback that receives soon.  We also use Only2Clicks which is a favorite among faculty here.  It's easy and let's you post lots of stuff in a great visual format.