Epic! - Online Books for Kids

Parents and Teachers,

  

I have recently discovered an incredible resource for ebooks called Epic! Epic! is a website and also can be downloaded as an app. The site calls itself the "Netflix for children's books" and is filled with thousands of primary and intermediate books in all genres.  The ebooks are current and of high interest to children. I have already seen available many of the new books I have recently purchased for our library!

What's even more incredible, though, is that the site is free for educators to use. Because of this, starting next week I will be showing students how to use the site when they visit me in the library media center. I have created a school account to make the sign-in process easy for everyone. I will also be modeling the site for our teachers at the next staff meeting. 

While the service is free for educators, Epic! asks parents to subscribe to the service for $4.99 a month - still an excellent value. 

Encouraging reading for pleasure is one of the most important things we can do for our children's long-term success in school. I believe the use of this tool will make the job a lot easier for us all. Find out for yourself though. After your child's visit to the library next week, please maker sure to ask them about their experience with Epic!. I can barely wait to show them all the fun!

GoodReads.com

Professional Profile Username: MsBoese

Edison GoodReads Group: Edison Otters Love to Read

By now, I am sure most of you have heard about the social networking site GoodReads.com. I would suspect that most of you even have an account, as this site has grown exponentially over the last few years. A virtual meeting place for book-lovers, GoodReads.com is a growing site that allows readers to  review books, connect with other readers, and build and share virtual bookshelves. It can also be something teachers and parents use as a resource for staying on the cutting edge of children’s literature.

Although I cannot use this site with your children because of age-restrictions (Like Facebook, you must be at least 13 years old to join the site), I am interested in connecting with our parent population at Edison. I think this would be a great way for me to showcase what's popular in the library, what's an excellent book to read as a family, and it is also a way parents can contribute to the conversation. I have already connected with many parents over books in person, but by using the GoodReads platform, this will give us a chance to share book choices, review books read, and to start discussion groups on popular items. This could be our virtual children's literature book group. How fun!

If you don't already have an account, it's easy to join. Check out this GoodReads tutorial from YouTube.

This tutorial will also show you how to add my Edison GoodReads group: Edison Otters Love to Read. I have set the group up as private, which means I will need to approve your request to join. The challenge question asks how you are a member of the Edison community. You should be able to search for the group and send a request.

In addition to adding our group to your profile, you have the option of adding my professional account to your list of friends: MsBoese. This will allow you to see my bookshelves, which will showcase things like the most popular fiction, graphic novels, picture books, and nonfiction titles. Please remember that I am just starting this account up and I plan to add a lot to it over the next few weeks.

Please remember to add the following to your GoodReads account!

Professional Profile Username: MsBoese
Edison GoodReads Group: Edison Otters Love to Read

Screencasting in the Library

Parents,

There are a lot of great technology tools our there these days. It can almost be overwhelming. As I am half way through my second year in the library, the field of technology seems less daunting. I can quickly evaluate what will be great for the library and my students, and what will be nothing more than a novelty item.

In addition to teaching my students to become  information literate, which includes transliteracy, it is also my job to share resources with my classroom teachers. Some of these resources include books, websites, and items in which the integration of technology into the classroom can occur organically. With the roll-out of Google Apps for Education (GAFE) this year to our school, the majority of my attention has been placed in this arena, for both students and teachers. But I have just learned about a great screencasting platform called Screncast-O-Matic. Check out this short video on the tool.

There are so many uses for screencasting in our schools. From showing teachers how a certain website works, to recording how-to videos around math or science for students, to being able to guide parents through the process of online forms, there are a plethora of uses for screencastings in our school community. I have already started to create screencasts that support the library's curriculum. I hope to create many more screencast how-to videos for your children, in addition to training teachers on this great tool. Check out my first screencast for using the website CitationMachine.net.

Transliteracy in the 21st Century

Parents,

Today’s children visit their school libraries for a whole lot more than just checking out a great books to read. Students visit school libraries to learn to seek, evaluate, and use information in practical and tech savvy ways. Literacy, information literacy, digital literacy, technology literacy - these are all terms that refer to specific sets of skills students are required to master if they are expected to compete in our 21st Century world. Transliteracy is an umbrella term that encompasses these literacies. Transliteracy is the ability to read, write, and interact across a range of platforms, tools, and media (Newman, 2009). And in addition to finding a great books to read, it is the fundamental reason your children visit the school library each week.

Transliteracy is a term that was born out of a need to describe how communication has changed (Jaeger, 2011) Technology is evolving quickly and it is the school’s teacher librarian who will keep students, teachers, and staff up to date on the most relevant technological innovations in education today. In a world in which everything is becoming digital, students must be taught to use these devices and programs accurately and effectively.  From searching for books in a web-based catalog program, to being able to navigate Google Drive and Docs, to being able to access information from an online database or from a YouTube video , students must learn the ins and outs of using these tools and resources.

Transliteracy is the ability to read, listen to, view, understand, synthesize, and apply what we gather across different platforms (Jaeger, 2011). Children become transliterate by doing. Over the years when your children come to the library each week, I will be guiding them through lessons that will allow them to become transliterate. By collaborating with classroom teachers around research and literature studies, we will first figure out what we want students to learn. Then we will figure out how technology can be used to reach this goal. This will allow your children to develop transliteracy skills in an organic process. Your child will leave elementary school having had many opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of science, history, and other subject matter in transliterate ways.

Transliteracy Voicethread

Work Cited

Jaeger, P. (2011). Transliteracy: New Library Lingo and What it Means for Instruction. Library Media Connection, 30(2), 44-47. Retrieved February 17, 2015, from Eric.

Newman, B. (2009). Libraries and Transliteracy. [Video File] Retrieved from http://youtu.be/sk4Cw8vrDuM

What is Information Literacy?

One of the most important set of skills students will receive from their experience in our Library Media Center centers around Information Literacy, the ability to seek and use information to solve a problem , answer a question, or make a decision. Information Literacy is a broad term that includes other forms of newer literacies, including media literacy, digital literacy, technology literacy, and 21st Century literacy. The term also includes the ability to think critically.

There are many ways to go about becoming information literate. In our library, we will be using Michael Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz' Big6 information problem-solving model, which is the most widely know and used method in K-12 schools around the world. This six step method can be used over and over again to solve all kinds of information seeking tasks. 

Successful information problem-solving encompasses six stages:

1. Task Definition

1.1 Define the information problem
1.2 Identify information needed

2. Information Seeking Strategies

2.1 Determine all possible sources
2.2 Select the best sources

3. Location and Access

3.1 Locate sources (intellectually and physically)
3.2 Find information within sources

4. Use of Information

4.1 Engage (e.g., read, hear, view, touch)
4.2 Extract relevant information

5. Synthesis

5.1 Organize from multiple sources
5.2 Present the information

6. Evaluation

6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness)
6.2 Judge the process (efficiency)

Whether someone realizes it or not, we all go through these stages when seeking out information. It's important to remember that we do not need to go through these steps in a linear way. You might find that you go back and forth through these stages until the process is complete.

Work Cited

Eisenburg, M. (n.d.). Big6 Skills Overview. Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://big6.com/pages/about/big6-skills-overview.php

Michael Eisenberg Vodcast #1- What is information literacy? [Motion picture]. (2010). United States. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/l9UXEDNP1lc

Viva la Library (The Information Literacy Song) [Motion picture]. (2013). United States. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/aMlDQlsna1U