Memory Care at Your Library

Aubree Burkholder

IL

Brautigam, F. (2016, September). Memory Care at Your Library. Retrieved, from http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2016/09/memory-care-at-your-library/

Summary:

This article outlines the importance of library programming for the community. The programs that are focused on primarily are those that are designed to help those afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease and their families/caregivers to feel less isolated. Programs such as the Memory Project in Waukesha Counties, Wisconsin have enjoyed a great participation rate and successfully helped form new bonds within the community.  

Evaluation:

I enjoyed this article because I myself have known family and friends who have suffered with Alzheimer’s disease and I saw firsthand how difficult it was for their families. I feel that programs like the Memory Café are great resources for caregivers and sufferers alike to not feel so isolated when dealing with this devastating disease. 

Pop-Up Perfection: Staging a Pop-Up Library

Aubree Burkholder

ET

Fiore, S. (2016, September). Pop-Up Perfection: Staging a Pop-Up Library. Retrieved from http://publiclibrariesonline.org/2016/09/pop-up-perfection-staging-a-pop-up-library/

Summary:

This article outlines the value behind community outreach and making personal connections with members of the community, especially when trying to plan new events or even pop-up libraries. The author gives a good explanation of what exactly a pop-up library is and the role that a pop-up librarian needs to have.  The article also gives great tips on how to promote the pop-up library and the ways to incorporate as many library departments as possible.

Evaluation:

I enjoyed this article because it shines a light on how important community outreach really is. It also gives great tips on how to begin setting up a pop-up library within a community that has never hosted one before. 

Very helpful starter kit for becoming a "connected educator"

Ramos, Tara

IL

Powerful Learning Practice.  (2015).  Connected educator starter kit.  Retrieved from https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38904447/connected-educator-month-starter-kit-2015.pdf

Summary: This tool kit was designed to accompany the activities surrounding Connected Educators Month in 2015.  It provides an introduction to what a connected educator is and gives about thirty tools and ideas (one for each day os the month) that teachers can engage with to become more connected.  Examples include tips on using Twitter, building your Personal Learning Network, collaborating online, blogging, Wikis and more!  A favorite quote: "To become a connected educator, you must first become a connected learner.”

Evaluation:  I found this kit to be extremely useful as a budding teacher librarian.  It is exactly the introduction I needed to many tools and ideas that I have heard about surrounding 21st century learning and Web 2.0, but that have yet to become instrumental to my practice as an educator.  Just reading through the suggested activities and engaging with several of them, I am seeing a whole new world open to me before my eyes.  I highly recommend this kit to anyone who considers themselves to be at the beginning stages of becoming a 21st century educator.

Creating a Students' Library Website

Debbie Gibbons

IL

Schroeder, E. E. 1. & Zarinnia, A. E. 2. (2012). Creating a students’ library website. School Library Monthly, 28(7). 29-32. Retrieved from  http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=llf&AN=86858664&site=ehost-live

Summary:

Many librarians curate a website for their users. This article explains why and how a librarian should use the website to support knowledge creation. In contributing to a collective library website, learners engage in conversation and collaboration to build and share knowledge. They develop the skills of reasoning, problem solving, and the ability to work with others. The article names several elements of an engaging website and lists tech tools and programs for the librarian to implement.

Review:

As a longtime classroom teacher, I have been studying educational theories and trends for years. But in a recent move to the computer lab, the learning curve for educational technology has been steep. I appreciate articles like this which list technology applications and their functions in encouraging student learning. This article was published in 2012, so new programs have been developed since, but many of the tools suggested are still relevant.

Learning to teach through video

Jones, Erik

ET

Leeder, K. (2009, Oct. 14). Learning to teach through video. Retrieved from: http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2009/learning-to-teach-through-video/

Summary 

Knowing how to use more modern methods of teaching is essential for the growing digital world that we find ourselves a part of. This article does a good job at discussing how teaching though various media platforms allows for a wider diversity of lessons in addition to a larger online audience through video based websites like YouTube. The author goes into the pedagogical theories of instruction and learning which is necessary to understand the framework that a tool such as video can be useful and beneficial to both instructors and learners. The principles for multimedia learning are great takeaways for readers as they serve to set the boundaries and limitations that should be adhered to when lesson planners use this form of instruction to teach students.

Evaluation

Not having much experience with web tools and teaching, I really found this article to be incredibly informative and useful. I had an assignment for another course in which I used a screencast to teach viewers how to use the Disc Cleanup and Defragment tool that comes pre-installed on their computers. It was an eye-opening experience for me that opened up a lot of different avenues for getting lessons, ideas or messages to more people using more modern tech tools. I also enjoy this blog and follow a lot of the articles they post as it is frequented by fellow librarians and assistant librarians.

The future is in doubt: Librarians, publishers, and networked learning in the 21st century

21st Century Skills

Julian Zamora

IL-21st Century Skills

Menchaca, F., (2012).  The future is in doubt: Librarians, publishers, and networked learning in the 21st century.  Journal of Library Administration.  Retrieved from PDF Link.

Abstract: 

This article considers the relationship between social networking tools, such as Facebook, and learning. It examines the consequences of personalization associated with such tools on research, critical thinking, and information literacy. New roles for libraries and librarians are discussed, as are the broader social, political, and cultural implications of changes to how students are educated.

Evaluation: 

We've all learned in this class that 21st century skills are a critical asset to have if you want to 1. Do well in school, and 2. Be successful in your desired career.  This is true because as technology moves forward, so will our jobs that use these technologies.  For the students that were surveyed in this study at a college, they understand how to use this technology, but the library use as a resource of references are dwindling.  

So what's interesting is that the Menchaca advises libraries to become places of "networked learning", where 21st century skills are put to the test and maximized with instructors, librarians and students.  At the same time, Librarians should be "research sources" and be better utilized in the online marketplace.