Library & Technology Center
Learning & Reading at the Pine Glen Elementary School
September 2012 Report
Curriculum & Instruction
1:1 iPad Pilot Program
In September, the LTC handed out 140 ipads to our fourth and fifth grade students in the first ever Pine Glen 1:1 program. With Mr. Callahan and Mrs. D'Elia, students learned how to use their ipads; discussed Digital Etiquette; set up their Gmail, BrainPop, and Destiny accounts; and got a quick tutorial on using iMovie for Back to School Night videos.Standards:
BPS--Help peers with digital technologies
BPS--Understand basic technology hardware and software and their applications
BPS--Demonstrate appropriate online safety
BPS--Demonstrate a basic understanding of AUP's
BPS--Understand the consequences when people use inappropriate communication online
BPS--Use devices and applications to create content
BPS--Access and organize information and media
Library Love
Students in grades K-3 listened to stories about how much we love libraries and reading while brushing up on LTC rules, routines, procedures, and using the library catalog Destiny.
Standards:
BPS--Choose books according to interest and reading level
BPS--Introduction to local library resources and environments
BPS--Access and Identify resources in the school library catalog
Network & Google Accounts
Students in grades K-5 set up their network logins and students in grades 3-5 also set up their Google accounts. Each student now can create and share text documents and presentations with other students and teachers helping to build a collaborative culture of learning.
Standards:
BPS--Explain simple ways to protect identity online
BPS--Demonstrate appropriate online safety
Reflections
- Students especially in younger grades will require a lot of practice to become proficient at logging in to their network accounts
- Parent night movies were a big hit! This is a great project for any 1:1 elementary iPad program as a way to show off the potential for learning to parents. With younger grades, this could be done with Toontastic instead.
- This is our first year that we are documenting the standards related to our instruction and we feel that this is an important step in integrating information and digital literacy skills into the curriculum.
Goals for Next Month:
- Create a system (like a keychain with login cards) to help young students remember and use logins efficiently and effectively to prevent disruptions in instruction
- Begin implementing our project calendar, with a goal of completing at least two fully integrated projects with each class this year
- Introduce blogging to first graders, with a goal of having them able to do so independently by January
We use shelfmarkers so that we put the books back in the right place on the shelf.
The Destiny app is like having the library in your hands.
We sure do love our library.
Most Popular Checkouts
#1 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney
Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late by Mo Willems
Cat and Mouse in a Haunted House by Geronimo Stilton
No, David! by David Shannon
Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
Ready, Set, Podrace! by Simon Beecroft
The Collection
Welcome Volunteer Assistants!
We are extremely lucky to have such a great group of Volunteer Assistants working in the LTC and keeping it organized and inviting.Volunteer Projects:
- Shelf reading, or, putting the shelves back into order
- Labeling Halloween books
New Curricular Additions:
- Force Flight and Motion books and new unlimited access ebooks for Grade 4
- Electricity books for Kindergarten
- Unlimited access ebooks on mammals for Grade 1
Reflections:
- Recognized a need for age-appropriate information on Christopher Columbus for Grade 1
- Lack of shelf signage makes it difficult for students to use the LTC independently
- Have not yet used the ebooks with classrooms and we are anxious to see how having digital texts that all students can access at the same time will affect learning and instruction.
Goals for October:
- Create shelf and subject signs to make it visually easier to locate books of interest.
- Purchase the first round of Birthday Books
- Create list of subject areas that need a boost in the collection
Coming Soon!
The Mark of Athena
Book #3 in The Lost Heroes series by Rick Riordan
The Starry River of the Sky
Companion novel to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
J.K. Rowling Live!
Live Webinar with J.K. Rowling on October 11 at noon!
Professional Development
- Laura attended Librarians and the Common Core: Making the Implicit Explicit hosted by the Massachusetts School Library Association.
- Dan has begun teaching the online graduate course Powerful Learning Designs for the 21st Century for Antioch University New England's Next Gen Learning program for experienced educators.