SRMS Library Learning Commons
Scotts Ridge LLC Annual Report 2016-2017
OUR FOCUS: STUDENT OUTCOMES & BUILDING INSTRUCTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Education Technology, school libraries are at the forefront of helping schools become future ready, focusing on:
- Building instruction partnerships
- Curating digital resources and tools
- Empowering students as creators
- Designing collaborative spaces
BUILDING INSTRUCTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
- Curricular changes and returning to longer class periods next year presents an opportunity for brief or longer-term collaboration
- Staying on top of creative and learning resources is hard work - and our job!
- Collaboration = elevated engagement level for students
- Have you worked with us?
CURATING DIGITAL RESOURCES AND TOOLS
- This year we introduced: Lightbox interactive eBooks, Research in Context Database, and began dabbling in Open Educational Resources: perfect for project-based learning, collaboration, and research. Stay tuned!
- Immersive learning games with Breakout EDU
- Virtual Reality immersive experiences - Read more about our Ridgefield Education Foundation Virtual Reality grant below!
- Information Literacy/Fake News educational initiative
- Regular teacher resource reviews - "Middle School Monday"
EMPOWERING STUDENTS AS CREATORS
- Tinkering and focusing on curricular connections in our new Makerspace
- Inventing with LittleBits
- Mobile Lego wall
- Classroom dry erase tables - metacognition
Coming in the new school year:
- More Makey Makey for hardware engineers designing real world challenges
- Sphero: robotics, coding, technology and STEAM
- More Little Bits for invention-based learning and building hands-on games and music with Little Bits Code Kit and Synth Kit
- Classroom set of Virtual Reality cardboard viewers
DESIGNING COLLABORATIVE SPACES
- Four new dry erase tables
- Additional mobile green screen
- Mobile TV screen for pop-up classroom in the LLC
MILESTONES 2016-2017:
- 1:1, Digital Citizenship and personalized lessons
- Increased social media presence via (Twitter) and introduction of Instagram to reach students
- MLA 8 PD
- NoodleTools upgrade and PD
- PD offered: 7
- PD attended: 7 webinars and Google Summit
- Increased use of Pathfinders to enhance student learning via GoogleSites
- "What to Read Wednesday" weekly book review segment featuring/by students
COLLABORATION AND CREATIVITY IN THE SRMS LLC
Lego Wall arrives
Dry erase tables & metacognition
Resources to Boost Engagement
Mock tweeting
C3 and inquiry
"You're Hired!"
Gr7 Human Body Systems “Create” stage - WOW!
Creativity in the Makerspace
Game Based Learning - Breakout EDU
PROMOTING LITERACY
Celebrating School Library Month
"What to Read Wednesday" on the SRMS Morning Show
Battle of the Books
IN THE NEWS: Read Across America and Info Literacy/Fake News
Read Across America
Information Literacy/Fake News resource
Facebook Live presentation
WHAT COMES WITH THE ARRIVAL OF CHROMEBOOKS?
As expected, book circulation is down from the prior school year. Are students reading less? Are we giving them enough opportunity to access the LLC? What can we as a building do to promote literacy and increase reading time in the face of technological distractions?
- We have purchased more eBooks and interactive eBooks
- We are collaborating with more English teachers
- A Humanities approach to learning presents opportunities for Fiction and Non-Fiction curricular connections and reading suggestions
- As always, when we promote and celebrate reading (Book speed dating, School Library Month, Read Across America, etc.), circulation goes up
Students' choices for visiting the LLC
COMING NEXT YEAR...
REF Grant - "Going Deep! Virtual Reality in the SRMS LLC!" and Nearpod trial licenses. If one minute of video is worth 1.8 million words, then what can this immersive experience do for learning?
Open Educational Resources: do you know what these are and how we can use them?
Longer class periods and curricular changes: Resource and collaboration opportunities!
Primary sources: for all disciplines
Additional "on the fly" teaching space with mobile TV screen
Broadening relationships with Founders Hall and Ridgefield Library
Increased social media presence via Facebook
Scotts Ridge MS Library Learning Commons
Emily Shiller, Library Assistant
Email: jjohnson@ridgefield.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/a/ridgefieldps.net/srmsllc/follow-us
Location: 750 North Salem Road, Ridgefield, CT, United States
Phone: 203-894-5725
Twitter: @SRMSLLC