Media Literacy

According to the article, A Land of Readers, published in Educational Leadership,"Being media literate refers to the student's ability to understand the purpose of a given article, the choices an author made in the course of writing it, and the visual impact of the article's visual and textual components." What are we doing as educators to prepare students to comprehend today's literature and to reflect on yesterday's prose? Myriad forms of writing that students come across today include hidden agendas; are our students able to make informed decisions about the information they stumble upon and/or research? Do we model the process we as practiced readers use to identify deceitful written communication?

Press Release for Graettinger-Terril Library Renovation (G-building)

“Flip the G-T Library!”

“We would like to transform this space into an inviting atmosphere that is plugged into the 21st century as well as make our facility more user and community-friendly. We have such great space to work with, and with a little rearranging, painting, and new carpet, we can increase the traffic of this newly revamped learning center.”

We began this project with a $50k grant in mind but unfortunately we have not yet been one of the lucky in getting a chance to compete. The show must go on. Since the school board has committed to replacing the unraveling carpet, I would like to take this opportunity to spice up the paint scheme.”

Mrs. Alesch’s library crew of students is selling raffle tickets for four fleece blankets with the winning names to be drawn on graduation day right before the ceremony. They also hosted an ice cream social the night of open house and one day during the school week for students.

The painting date is tentatively set for the week of May 24.

“By then we will have the library cleaned up and out and ready for some renovation. We hope to have raised enough money to purchase paint and supplies.”

“Year by year, we plan to make small improvements to furniture and shelving with this year providing the major makeover in terms of interior appearance. Willing students and staff members will be donating their time to the project. We are going to continue to be resourceful and work with what furniture we currently have as well as seek any talents or donations from community members interested in helping out. The crew includes Morgan Mortenson, Leah Bisienius, Tiffany Harris, Nikki Brown, Alysssa Hoffman; please contact any of these young ladies or Mrs. Alesch if you would like to help in any way."

The project is estimated to cost a little over $1000.

Our Plan:

• Revamp the main area of the library to create a Java/Barnes & Noble-like atmosphere (thematic in design/color, artwork on walls, etc.) 

• ADD: a community room/superintendent's office/student showcase room, media/production room, PD/work-study room, student study room, and tech room/librarian office (currently it is being used more as storage) 

• Children's Section: playful theme, colorful, add comfortable sitting for individual reading (beanbag/rocking chairs or carpeted steps for story time?) 

• Multimedia room: Transform one room into a multimedia/production/green screen room Remove shelves in west section; clear space for instructional area - table desks for classroom instruction or PD in-service (disperse shelving by different arrangement) 

• Technology upgrades: add a big screen TV or projection device to show movies to school and/or community (could be a SmartBoard) 

• Add 21st century technology to be checked out by school/community: cameras (digital/video), projectors, movies, cds, etc. 

• Market library for more community use  

• ...and of course... add new books/databases for students to enjoy!

Dream big - working together, we can accomplish great things!

The following sites were created for our initial planning, feel free to check them out and/or participate in the discussions:

PLANNING/INFORMATIONAL SITE- http://sites.google.com/site/flipourlibrary/

BLOG PARTICIPATION SITE- http://flipourlibrary.blogspot.com/2010/03/lets-begin.html

 















The Terril-Building library is going to undergo some changes to promote better teaching and learning as well following the completion of the Graettinger-Building project. STAY TUNED!!!

Report: Iowa nearly worst for teen driving safety

Report: Iowa nearly worst for teen driving safety

"Iowa's youngest drivers rank among the nation's worst when it comes to safety."
"Take mom and dad out of the car, and Iowa researchers found the teen crash rate increases 700 percent and seat belt use drops to less than 40 percent on average."

This information is stomach turning. The power of parental involvement here is SO critical.

How to Write Thesis Statements for Essays: Teach High School Students to Write a Great Essay Thesis

For my students: Please use this site to guide you in your persuasive essay/thesis planning.

How to Write Thesis Statements for Essays: Teach High School Students to Write a Great Essay Thesis

1:1 Research Poster

Please click on the poster below to see it enlarged. For the University of Iowa's School of Library & Information Science [teacher librarian grant] program AND due to the fact that Graettinger-Terril will be deploying 1:1 August of 2010, I have been researching the elements necessary for successful implementation in initiatives both nationally and internationally. Although I have studied document upon document, my research is just beginning, I hope to report back our progress in one year.

One-to-One Computing Initiatives: Success Factors for Optimal Learning by Teresa Alesch is licensed under a 

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. 

Based on a work at gttechandinfolit.blogspot.com.

One-to-one Computing Initiatives: Critical Elements for Optimal Learning

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate one-to-one computing initiatives, where schools provide wireless connectivity and equip students with personal laptops. My guiding question was, “What features do successful one-to-one programs have in common?” To answer this, I examined the results of published one-to-one implementation and outcome reports authored by state and technology/education organizations.

From these studies, I identified common themes in successful programs and extracted six elements that provide a foundation for positive outcomes:leadership system, technology management, professional development, research-based pedagogy, program evaluation, and implementation plan. Though each initiative differed in structure and in goals ranging from raising academic achievement, increasing equity, decreasing digital divide to preparing students for today’s technology-driven workforce, data used to measure success remained similar including stakeholder satisfaction, instructional observation, discipline, attendance, and achievement.

Multiple studies mention constructivist teaching as a variable, so I drew from educational theories of Piaget, Vygotsky, and Dewey and further deduced that coupling laptop technology with active learning methods results in positive outcomes. Previously published findings report that teachersincorporating active learning approaches transition more proficiently into differentiated instruction, project-based facilitation, and higher-level inquiry-based teaching. As a result, students respond eagerly to a more relevant curriculum allowing teachers to increase engagement, individualize instruction for varied learning styles, leverage resources, and level the playing field with universal access.

Using the six elements with an emphasis on constructivist instruction, I created a formula for implementation, which may guide administrators, teachers, librarians, and IT coordinators in integrating laptops as instructional tools.

Flip the G-T Library!

On May 1st, G/T library (Graettinger building) is applying for a grant to remove the hazardous asbestos and to redesign our space. Upon removing the asbestos, the students and staff of Graettinger-Terril CSD would like to redesign our library to improve accessibility and atmosphere so that the entire community can benefit from a more inviting, tech-ready learning space.

To see this video in its full capacity, please click on the linked title above.

Teaching: The Unprofessional Profession

I thought this article provided some valuable thoughts to ponder. While the content targets administration as boring or claims that teachers blame administration for being boring, I think we need to look past it and analyze what the message means to us as teachers. If we are getting nothing from professional development (this could be applied to anything in life), maybe we should look a little deeper into our own personal motivation. Should bettering ourselves professionally and raising academic achievement be extrinsic or intrinsic? Is it someone else's job to motivate us, or should we be responsible for our own learning?

Teaching: The Unprofessional Profession

Teresa Alesch

One-to-one Computing Initiatives: Critical Elements for Optimal Learning

The purpose of this research was to investigate one-to-one computing initiatives, where schools provide wireless connectivity and equip students with personal laptops. My guiding question was, “What features do successful one-to-one programs have in common?” To answer this, I examined the results of published one-to-one implementation and outcome reports authored by state and technology/education organizations.

From these studies, I identified common themes in successful programs and extracted six elements that provide a foundation for positive outcomes: leadership system, technology management, professional development, research-based pedagogy, program evaluation, and implementation plan. Though each initiative differed in structure and in goals ranging from raising academic achievement, increasing equity, decreasing digital divide to preparing students for today’s technology-driven workforce, data used to measure success remained similar including stakeholder satisfaction, instructional observation, discipline, attendance, and achievement.

Multiple studies mention constructivist teaching as a variable, so I drew from educational theories of Piaget, Vygotsky, and Dewey and further deduced that coupling laptop technology with active learning methods results in positive outcomes. Previously published findings report that teachers incorporating active learning approaches transition more proficiently into differentiated instruction, project-based facilitation, and higher-level inquiry-based teaching. As a result, students respond eagerly to a more relevant curriculum allowing teachers to increase engagement, individualize instruction for varied learning styles, leverage resources, and level the playing field with universal access.

Using the six elements with an emphasis on constructivist instruction, I created a formula for implementation, which may guide administrators, teachers, librarians, and IT coordinators in integrating laptops as instructional tools.

Join the G-T Staff, Students, and Community in Flipping Our Library!

We are attempting to gather multiple stakeholders to combine efforts in redesigning our library space. For too long, the G-T library has gone unchanged (other than the change of deteriorating carpet, shelving, books, paint, etc.) We would like to enhance our space to provide greater opportunity for students and staff to use and enjoy our space.

Please visit our project site and our collaboration blog.

Flip This Library: School Libraries Need a Revolution

Click the title.
This article describes the modern learning space... a hopeful future of our Graettinger-Terril Libraries!

...this site is a great example.
New 'Learning Commons' defies commonplace 
Chelmsford library revamped

...and this site puts it all together. 
Library Program Administration - Facilities Management