This month saw lots of activity in the upper library makerspace as we had a 'soft opening.' The Maker PLC meets in the space regularly and students have been wandering in. We have three groups doing their senior project focusing on the makerspace. One senior will post a 'weekly challenge' for students to take part in. The challenges will be of a low-tech and high-tech nature. This past week the challenge was a monster mash-up drawing activity. Another group is looking at 'how spaces influence learning,' they will be designing the space for functionality and flexibility. Currently, the space has a few old tables and a bookshelf. Lastly, one student is going to hold a 'how to build a computer workshop' as part of his senior project. The space is open Monday and Thursday after school and during the day during some lunches. Primarily, the space is for self-directed learning and inquiry according to student interest. When the door is installed, we will have a space for video-recording and green screen activities.
More ebooks were bought as part of the library summer book order. Some of these are unlimited use ebooks, meaning they can be viewed simultaneously by any number of users. About half are intended for use by students and teachers in early childhood and elementary, while half are for middle school & high school use.
Grade 8 science students worked with Ms. Victoria to learn about infographics. In this introductory lesson, students learned how to 'read' an infographic and how to create a 'story' in an infographic format. The focus was on how infographics = data + narrative + design to make an effective visual tool for telling a 'story.' In this activity, students introduced themselves to Ms. Diane via the infographic format. Click here for an example.
Laptops & iPads in the US libraryThe upper library now has a collection of devices for student and teacher use. There are 12 laptops (8 PC, 4 Mac) and 5 iPad minis which students may use in the library. So far, they are very popular with students and teachers as 5th and 6th grade teachers are checking out the cart for classroom use. The laptops are being used frequently in the library by 5th and 6th grade students working on homework. The laptops cart was used recently in 6th grade Spanish history class and the ipads were checked out by the art teacher for a project. ALA annual conference
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More!This page features what is happening in our libraries and Technology Center. Also, please look at the sub-pages with teacher and parent resources. Archives
May 2017
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