MLIS Blog

For the collaborate competency, I interviewed Crystal Smith, the Media Specialist at Blythewood High School. The collaborate competency calls for school librarians to teach students to "work effectively with others to broaden perspectives and work toward common goals" (2018). She achieves this in her program by creating Breakout games. During my internship, I had the opportunity to observe a class complete a Breakout about Fake News. They used a mixture of online tools like articles and videos and BreakoutEdu kits for this game. This challenged students to work with each other and provide feedback to their group. She collaborates with a freshman study skills class each week and has open communication with teachers by managing a calendar for the Cyber Center. A challenge she faces with this competency is having access to all teachers. All teachers do not sign up for assistance, but when selecting materials if they receive something that will be relevant to a teacher she always...

  For the inquire competency, I interviewed Amy Whitfield, the Media Specialist at Blythewood High School. The inquire competency calls for school librarians to "build new knowledge by inquiring, thinking critically, identifying problems, and developing strategies for solving problems" (2018). She achieves this in her program by using technology with students to assist with the inquiry-based research process. When completing my internship, I was able to observe her use of  Ozebots in two freshman study skills classes. She collaborates with both teachers each week and provides their students with opportunities to practice different study and research skills.  Students were asked to use the Ozebot to create a path to graduation from their freshman to senior year with important academic milestones included. A challenge she faces when implementing this competency is allowing students to reflect on their learning. Students visit for the activity but normally reflect with teach...

  For the explore competency, I interviewed Elizabeth Harris, the Media Specialist at Catawba Trail Elementary School.  The Explore competency calls for school librarians to guide students to"discover and innovate in a growth mindset developed through experience and reflection"(2018). She achieves this in her program by creating eye-catching displays for cultural heritage months. She focuses on Biographies and Non-Fiction materials to increase their visibility and circulation. She also likes to do read-alouds with all her students. She does them less with her 3rd-5th graders but feels it's important for them to hear a read-aloud. She also has a suggestion box for students to submit books they think should be included in the library. These all help encourage students to read widely by showcasing books that are not checked out as often and give them a voice to help in the selection process. Elizabeth uses Sora, Epic, and Tumblebooks to expose students to materials in a vari...

  Last year I accepted my first media specialist position at an elementary school, and I was excited to see that we have a lot of resources that can be used for a Makerspace. The most exciting piece of technology we have is two 3D printers, but I have no clue how to use them or ways to use them with students. So, I was excited to see that we would be covering makerspace technology in this class. I found a great blog that describes how to use 3D printers with young students on Technotes. Makerspace technology can be expensive so I love that Ramirez mentioned writing a grant with a coworker so they can purchase the printer (2020). She then mentioned the training she completed so that students can design their own projects. She also mentioned wanting to align 3D printing with standards, so she came up with grade-level projects that were student designed. This is important for school librarians because all of our resources should connect with state standards and district curriculums. T...

  Cyberbullying is “abuse that occurs in various online forums, however, a number of nuances have been drawn in order to articulate what repetition, intent, and power imbalance represent when it comes to cyberbullying, such as: the potential for anonymity in online communications; the detachment that results from not seeing the target’s reaction to a message; the permanent nature of online messages (i.e. self-repeating); the wider audience of bystanders to cyberbullying; and the variable nature of the power imbalance in online communications” (Faucher et al., 2015). This is a rather new concept as social media and technology has grown rapidly in the last ten years. I was surprised to read that cyberbullying is highly underreported because children choose to suffer in silence (Faucher et al., 2015). One way I combat cyberbullying in my library is through discussions about digital citizenship. Having conversations with students about how we interact online is important and next schoo...

  In my district, every student has a Chromebook, and I have learned many ways that they can be used as an assistive technology device in the classroom. According to Google for Education, Chromebooks have the following accessibility options: - Screen Magnifier: Students can turn on a screen magnifier to enlarge content - Screen Reader: Students can have content read to them - Select-to-Speak: Students can highlight content and have it read to them - Braille Support: With the use of a compatible Braille display visually impaired students can browse content - Mono Audio: Students can have the same sound play through both speakers if they are hard of hearing in one ear - Closed Captioning: Students can read captions on videos - On-Screen Keyboard: Students can type with a touchscreen/mouse or use handwriting or dictation - Sticky Keys: Students can program keyboard shortcuts by pressing one button Google Chrome has lots of great playlists on YouTube with short videos that show you how...