It's been busy in the media center since the open house. So busy, in fact, that I've neglected to post updates as promised. We had a very successful book fair, raising more than $600 to be used to purchase reading incentives and books. I've had several colleagues call and email since the open house to ask questions about our eReading program. (I have to say again that our open house was a huge success! I wish we could have one every year!) I tuned in to a webinar on BYOD this week and listened to information on managing digital devices brought from home. One nearby school is purchasing more than 200 Nooks for students next year! That's exciting!
Ben Meyers (Follett representative) worked with our technologist Mike Robbins at open house to import student data into Follett Shelf. This means our students can now login and check out eBooks we've purchased through Follett on their electronic devices. If you have an iPad, there is already a Follett Shelf App! This morning, J.C. Barb, of Barnes and Noble, came by to "test drive" the Nook Color and Follett Shelf. We were able to check out an eBook and read it using the page turn icon at the top of the page. Pages can be turned by swiping a finger across the screen on an iPad, which makes everything so much easier. For those with Kindle Fire and Nook Color devices, disable pop-ups and read without Flash for now. Turn pages by using a mobile stylus to select the page icon at the top of the eBook. I'm crossing my fingers that Follett will make a deal with Amazon and Nook to develop apps for those devices soon. In the meantime, try out the eBooks on your digital devices this summer! Use your lunchroom number as the user name. Your password is the same one you use to take an AR quiz.
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This new blog will include discussions about topics related to library/media and technology, among other things. The library/media profession has changed so much since I started my "second career" in 1993. I threw out the old card catalog when we became "automated" -- my first year. It was so redundant to type information over and over on an electric typewriter for subject, keyword, title, author... The media specialist before me used "accession numbers" that tracked when an item was added to the collection. She had cataloged ALL the videos by accession number! Multiply that by two -- I replaced her at TWO schools -- and perhaps I will be forgiven for throwing out the old way so quickly.
Ah, but I've "changed channels" a bit there. The blog... Oh, yes. I like research, so I will include comments about the research process. I like history, so I will talk about history -- especially local. I like reading, so I will talk about books (which will blend into our other blogs -- What We're Reading Now and our main reading blog. I also like innovative technology (like this Weebly blog) and will spotlight the apps that are particularly useful (or fun) to me. And, I like Bluegrass music, which tells stories and history accompanied by a banjo and fiddle. Now, there are a few things I don't like and I'll be obliged to discuss them from time to time. I don't like plagiarizers. I don't like inappropriate scenes in an otherwise well-written story. Same thing with authors who use an abundance of "cuss words..." I don't like American companies outsourcing jobs overseas and I don't like seeing SO MANY things NOT MADE in America. Okay... gotta adjust the antenna again. All that's for another day... Initially, this blog will focus on our library media program, which was named an "Exceptional" program by the Georgia Department of Education for 2011. Our open house will be Thursday, March 15 from 9 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. and we hope to have many visitors! If you plan to attend, please let me know. Everyone who signs our guest book gets a chance to win something! How does a B&N Gift Basket sound? Our Words With Friends: Students Vs. Admins Tournament will continue throughout the day, so be sure to see who our top strategy spellers are! Stay tuned! Til next time... --G |
Glovis SOUTHI'm a library media specialist, former newspaper editor and freelancer, who uses technology every day to promote and deliver information about reading, literacy, judging resources, researching and writing. Archives
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