Edmodo in the School Library

During a recent Professional Development day, our staff was introduced to Edmodo. Edmodo is a safe and easy social learning network for teachers, students, and parents. With Edmodo you can connect and collaborate while sharing ideas and content. You can also access homework, grades and important school notices. 

At this point, myself and my teacher-librarian partner have decided to start using Edmodo in the school library. We have set-up a student group, a parent group, and a teacher group. Our student group will be updated on a regular basis with library happenings. There is also an area where students can complete a book wish list. Our parent group will be where parents can go to find out more information on  becoming a parent volunteer. Finally, our teacher group is all about collaboration. 

Since the students enjoy being members of different groups we hope that once we have more student members we can create a book review group. What groups have your created so far for your students to join? 

Online Library/Teacher Collaboration Form with Google Docs

The role of teacher-librarians are to collaborate with teachers to assist with accessing resources, teach research skills and to promote a love of reading. Teacher-librarians are also to work with teachers to plan, teach and assess learning. As teacher-librarians and teachers work together, they can develop a new understanding of how effective collaboration is in the school. As 21st century schools are focusing on learning collaboratively in order to build learning partnerships, I decided to create an library/teacher collaboration form to encourage teachers to work with the teacher-librarian to plan, teach, and assess learning. 

Technology in learning is also another focus for 21st century schools. To embrace in new technologies I thought it would be great to integrate the collaboration and technology components and create an online collaboration form using Google Docs.

Google Docs is a free online word processer that allows you to create documents, presentations, spreadsheets, forms and more. Whatever you create can then be shared online to collaborate with others. To make my online collaboration form I first created a spreadsheet document with all of the components that I wanted my teachers to fill in. Once the spreadsheet was complete I was able to save and share the document online. When you share your document you are able to fill in the form, edit your questions, change the template, and email it directly to whoever you'd like to fill it in. Once someone fills in your form all of the data collected will be available to view as a spreadsheet within your Google Docs account. You can also enable email notifications to receive instant emails as soon as someone fills in your online form. Your forms can also be added to your blog to collect information from your visitors. Below you will see my embedded library/teacher collaboration form. 

Conte, J. (n.d.). Collaborative Teaching Inquiry and the School Learning Commons. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/treasuremountaincanada2/conte

Ontario School Library Association with the support of the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat of the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Education. (2010). Together for Learning: school libraries and the emergence of the learning commons a    vision for the 21st century.  Ontario, Canada: O.S.L.A.

A Teacher-Librarian’s First Contact with Teachers

I’ve been thinking about emailing my colleagues at my new school a welcome back/collaboration letter. I am hoping that this letter will plant the seed for collaboration growth. Most importantly, I am hoping that my new colleagues will see me as approachable, organized, and professional. I decided to create the letter using Comic life to show that I am technologically savvy. Since I am new to the teacher-libraian role I would really appreciate any feedback regarding the letter prior to emailing it out. Please be brutally honest!

Build a Rockin’ Library Volunteer Program

The other day I attended another free webinar called How to Build a Rockin’ Volunteer Program, presented by Michelle Luhtala, Head Librarian, New Canaan High School. I found the webinar on the EdWeb.net.  The purpose of this webinar was to assist librarians in getting more work done in less time by utilizing parent and student volunteers. Michelle Luhtala shared with us the importance of having a volunteer program and what her volunteer program looks like at New Canaan High School by sharing with us the New Cannan High School Library Volunteer website.

At the start of the webinar Michelle recommended two great reads. The article A Tale of Two Students and the book Growing Schools: Librarians as Professional Developers. Michelle ended the webinar by talking about workflow. She mentioned how to organize the loads of information teacher-libraians receive using various tools such as: Flipboard, Pearltrees, IFTT, and Evernote.

Click HERE if you’d like to check out the recording of the webinar.

Collaborating Around the Globe with ePals

Today I attended a webinar called Introduction to ePals, presented by Steve Hodgin. I found the webinar on the Global Education Conference Network.  The purpose of this free webinar was to provide an overview on how to collaborate with other classrooms across the globe using ePals Global Community, and learning about the key features and functionality.

ePals is a social network that has been created for Kindergarten – Grade 12 learning. This network provides teachers and students with the ability to learn by connecting with other classrooms around the globe. Writing emails, sharing projects and accessing content and lesson plans are just a few ways to facilitate collaboration through ePals Global Community. This network is a great way to learn about different countries while enhancing technology skills at the same time.

Next week, I will be attending the second session, ePals 101, which will focus on integrating ePals into the classroom while providing a safe and secure learning environment for students. Please check back next week to see how you can use ePals as an instructional tool in your classroom.

I am excited to give the term “pen pals” a new meaning in my school by allowing  my students to participate in the largest social learning network.