The Read Up Room

  I am back again to continue the school librarian's work highlights. I've been fortunate to have pleasant conversations with two librarians so far and I am sharing from an elementary perspective this time with Ms. Rybak. Ms. Rybak and I focused on the following four shared foundations: inquire, collaborate, explore, and engage. I learned how much things can get done with younger students because they're often in the imagination stage so they are always inquisitive of things that are going on. It would be easy for me to implement carpet talks into my future library setting as Ms. Rybak gauges their knowledge the first time they enter to have them think and recall prior knowledge from their last visit. As students are taking turns sharing their feedback to a peer, then they are showing how they can collaborate without the teacher consistently having to check on their table to ensure everyone is staying on task when completing work. Ms. Rybak did mention that the only challen...

  Do you remember when I mentioned how remarkable school librarians are? They take on more tasks then we can imagine for the library! Well, I will share some insights from my interview with Mrs. Wendy Calcutt. I've learned quite a bit from this fabulous woman who enjoys being a high school librarian. I gathered with her to ask about her work as it pertains to the following shared foundations: inquire, include, collaborate, and curate. Together, we felt that all the domains and competencies contributed to the shared foundations that she shared about. I learned to pick high schoolers brains with asking an unfamiliar question to move into introducing the new concept after giving them time to think. Mrs. Calcutt has the library set up for all learners so everyone feels included. Each morning, she makes it a goal to engage in conversation before classes start with students as they come in and provide more food for thought for them to think about regardless of their separate circumstance...

School librarians are remarkable people once you take the time to sit down and learn about everything they do that pertains to the library. I've been fortunate enough to have a nice chat with Mrs. Donna Gaye Tanner who shared some incredible things that she does in her middle school library. The conversation between us was one that could last a long time because you can tell how passionate she is when it comes to those students and books! In this blog, I will be highlighting the main takeaways based on her work when I refer it back to the AASL standards. I questioned Mrs. Tanner about inquire, collaboration, explore, and engage. We focused on the domains of think and grow. Many of her work went back to providing students with the opportunity to see trending books on display. I learned how she does attempt to have students work in pairs often to collaborate on assignments. She allows them to explore the different spaces in the library when independent reading. She spoke highly of ho...

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality resources are the best thing that can happen to learners. This week, I focused closely on the hit sensation of 2016 which is better known as Pokémon Go for reference. Check out the image below for the image of the pok é  ball that every Pokémon gamer knows! The image below depicts the symbol that is used to catch and hold the Pokémon. Pokémon Go Logo from freepnglogos.com      Pokémon Go  has been very popular being that this is not a typical game where you have to be in one setting. It results in getting good exercise since you're constantly on the move catching and training the Pokémon characters that you find. You can find this application in your app store for free whether its an iPhone or android. Once you get it downloaded then they'll ask for you to enable your GPS settings to be able to show the map when you start walking around with your avatar. It'll ask for your basic information then you'll be able...

Based on all the reading this week, I took away how makerspaces are game-changers for learning for everyone. They provide that authentic and hands-on learning experiences that children need these days. They provide play which is so important to kids. Lauren Britton spoke on how someone more engaged in a playful area will learn more. The user will be taking the learning upon themselves so it will build some independence instead of always telling them what is going on. They will learn best through their creativity. Most people would just consider that we go to the library to research information and take in all the learning. I loved when Dr. Moorefield-Lang said "Libraries don't have to be a space where we are only absorbing information. Makerspaces allow us to create." It will vary for each community and their needs. Dr. Moorefield-Lang's lecture mentioned how there are high and low tech options for makerspaces to make it affordable for everyone.  Image from: colleengr...

With all the technology during these times, the more amount of time that children often spend on them instead of getting a breath of fresh air. It can only lead to more and more cyberbullying. We often witness some students being victimized in a school setting but I feel cyberbullying online is often hidden more by the kids in that situation. I was surprised about the increase in the adolescents' mental health issues and decrease in psychological well-being (Bickham, 2021). It is time for older folks to be more educated on the usages of technology so that we can help the younger generation. Technology can still have the benefits of networking and connecting with distant close people. Young people should be able to go online without always getting stressed out due to other people. October is national bullying awareness month where people often take a stance on educating kids to end the bullying but the consistency is the key. Hicks mentioned the horror stories of losing jobs due to ...