eLearning Opportunities

Alabama has developed a wonderful system for online PD. eLearning for Educators is a web-based system in which teachers can sign up for courses using STIPD, then participate in 6-week online courses that offer up to 30 hours of professional development. It also meshes nicely with Educate Alabama, so when you are determining your areas of growth for the year, try an eLearning course. 

There are courses offered on everything from "Teaching Students to Think Critically" to "Internet Safety in Schools." I took a course earlier this year on meeting the needs of English Learners in the classroom. I really enjoyed the format because the professor presented the class with our assignments from the first day, and we had complete freedom in completing each task whenever it was convenient for us. For me, sometimes that was at 2:00 in the morning; others, it was during my planning time. Flexibility is the greatest asset of learning in the 21st century, and that goes for professional learning as well! 

If you have any questions about these eLearning courses, please let me know. 

National Latino Children's Literature Conference

The National Latino Children's Literature Conference will take place on March 29-30. Because it is being held at the University of Alabama (and sponsored by UA's School of Library and Information Studies-of which many of us are alumni), we should consider attending this highly unique and pertinent conference. What better way to reach our growing population of English Learners than to attend a conference focused on their literature and cultural needs?

Go here to see the schedule of speakers and here to register. 

Alabama Virtual Library: Britannica Learning Zone

Another of our gems in the Alabama Virtual Library is Britannica Learning Zone. Though it is not searchable, it is a great database for the early childhood years. The interface is very simplistic and user-friendly. Once students "click to enter," they have four main categories from which to choose: Explore, Play, Read, or Draw. 

There are also several other content categories students may select. They include First Steps, I Can Read, Numbers, Sounds, Time, Words, etc. These scroll slowly across the bottom of the page, marquee-style to ease students' process of selection.  

One interesting feature is that once students enter BLC, the task bar as well as any additional open tabs are removed from the internet page, making it very difficult for the students to leave the site. I have a few little angels who like to click their way around the universe before I can stop them, so this is another very desirable feature for working with young children. :)

If students choose the "Explore" category, they can choose continents to learn about. Once they choose a continent, they can pick a specific area and one click will display a short video of life on that continent. This is an excellent feature for English Learners, as we work to build up their background knowledge about various topics. 

"Play" will take them to simple literacy and math games (instructions read aloud). 

"Read" will provide various words and definitions, with sample sentences (also read aloud). 

"Draw" is a more simplistic version of Microsoft Paint, but will permit printing so students can carry their work out of the library or computer lab. 

The only improvement I would suggest for BLC is to enable searching. Searching is the heart of information literacy, and even our youngest should be learning how to recognize and use search boxes. 

iPads

Apple iPads are quickly becoming infused in the technology program of many schools in our district. Priced relatively low with serious computing power, iPads are becoming the tool of choice for supervisors, administrators, and teachers. iPads are overflowing with learning opportunities for children!

 Here are some great resources to peruse when making a splash with iPads:

http://www.scoop.it/t/ipadsineducation


http://educationaltech-med.blogspot.com/2011/09/list-of-excellent-ipad-apps-for.html


https://sites.google.com/site/schrockipad/

http://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/ten-sites-supporting-ipads-in-education-a-post-of-resources/

http://learninginhand.com/blog/classroom-ipod-touches-ipads-dos-and-donts.html


http://www.ipadcurriculum.com/

http://www.tech2date.com/40-ipad-apps-for-language-learners.html

https://sites.google.com/site/digitalstorytellingwiththeipad/home

http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/10/13/ushering-ipad-into-the-classroom.aspx

Resource for English Learners

Mary Downey, one of our ESL coaches for the district, shared this resource with me recently. I was uber-excited because this resource is exactly what I've been searching for in the library realm. Colorado has created this website in support of English Learners and their families. Included on the website is everything from the latest research on supporting English Learners to free resources specifically for school librarians. The website is available in English or Spanish, and would be a good resource to share with teachers, students, and their families. Here are a few of the tools the site provides:

The part I loved the most was this section on the vision of the position of the school library in supporting English Learners: 

*There are translated documents available on this site, but we must always remember to go through OUR district's process for obtaining translations for our students. For more info, see your Handbook (pictured below) or check out the wealth of information posted on our ESL department's page. 

Alabama Virtual Library: Britannica Elementary

My favorite AVL resource for elementary students is by far the Britannica Elementary database. The interface is very user-friendly, and it promotes authentic information searches rather than sheer visual browsing. There is always a fresh "Activity of the Day" and every single time I open the database there are current headlines in the "Student News Net."

Personally, I have always found Britannica Elementary to be most dependable when guiding young kiddos in information searches. This is a fun database that does have learning games and high quality visuals to engage their attention, but also 

Some of my favorite Britannica Elementary features:

• There is a timeline creator that can be really helpful for research activities about historical figures. 

• On the home page there is a "Discover America" link that students can use to discover facts about each state (with visuals of state flowers, flags, birds, etc.) as well as the states' geography. This is a solid tool for supporting the curriculum of those grade levels who teach U.S. states and geography. (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th)

• Also on the home page there is an "Animal of the Day" section. The animal articles always include vibrant visuals and links to nurture the children's curiosity about information beyond the article. 

• Every article has three features that are VERY important to our role as school librarians today. One is the ability to translate the article into Spanish, which benefits our English Learners. The second is the ability to click a button to have the article read aloud (in chunks) for the students who struggle with reading. The third is the ability to easily generate a citation for the resource. This promotes ethical use of information. 

Alabama Virtual Library: Kids InfoBits

Kids InfoBits is one of the AVL's best resources for elementary level students. VERY visual, it's one of the best picks for younger students. They can browse each category according to their unique interests OR they can use the search feature to locate information about a specific topic. 

One of the neatest categories is "Stories & Literature." When students access this category, they can then choose from a variety of literature-related sub-categories. 

*We have recently been told that the new ARMT+ standardized test will  measure higher, more rigorous standards in regard to literacy. Poetry is one item that we can hone in on, and this section of the Kids InfoBits database can help with that! Please be sure to share this database with the classroom teachers in your building who will be focusing on poetry this year. 

If you choose the sub-category of "Reading, Writing, & Language," you can see that there is an abundance of resources available to support literacy, and the instruction of English Learners. 

Kids InfoBits is also really useful as a safe, ad-free dictionary tool! 

Alabama Virtual Library: Enciclopedia Juvenil

Another vital database in our state's collection of resources on the Alabama Virtual Library is the Enciclopedia Juvenil. Created as a service for students whose primary language is Spanish, Enciclopedia Juvenil eases the barrier to information access for English Learners by providing a quality search resource they can use in Spanish.

Users can search the database for information they can then translate to English if necessary. This database also has the text to voice recognition feature, meaning 

This site even has games and videos created to match course of study content, created in the Spanish language to aide those students who are struggling with English language acquisition. These can also be used to create background knowledge which will help the students make stronger, clearer connections to their classroom content. 

One unintended but also potentially relevant use for this database might be using it to demonstrate to teachers how English Learners feel as they are attempting to utilize learning resources on an every day basis that is in a language so different from their primary language. 

Screen Recording Tools

Pinterest is one of the newest places to find creative ideas for lessons, teaching strategies, and classroom organization. I have a post in the works about Pinterest, coming to a browser near you very soon! 

Pinterest is also a place to find a bit of humor here and there. I  present to you, Exhibit A:

Like many of you, I have had this very conversation not only with my mother, but also with some of the tech-aphobic teachers with whom I've worked over the years. Advocating for technology integration is every bit as much about coaching and mentoring as it is providing exposure to new tools and resources. My standard phrase with teachers who are terrified of their computers is: You know way more than you think you do.

For those who really need that extra push to becoming confident using technology with their students, you may want to consider using a screen recording tool to provide them with short tech-support snippets or tutorials. Once you select a screen recording tool, you download the program to your computer and follow the simple instructions for capturing either images on your screen or recording a video of you manipulating and navigating content on your computer screen. You can even activate audio so that you can verbally coach users through the process. These pre-recorded "screencasts" can serve as a living anchor chart to which teachers can refer back later for assistance with computer-based activities.

Screen recording tools are incredibly powerful for visual learners. After all, telling someone how to do something is one thing, but showing them how is another!

Here is a very short example of a VERY basic screencast I've taken using Jing.

Screen recorders aren't just for tech support, either! You can also use them to record ways to access a database, or steps to take to retrieve citation information for a source. Because the screencasts generate a URL, you can post them anywhere from your OPAC to your wiki.

Teachers can utilize screencasting for students who are absent, or for unique tutorials to support English Learners. What other ways can you use/have you used screen recorders in the library?

Here are a few screen recorder tools...happy screencasting!

Community Clips

Jing

SnagIt

Just one more funny from Pinterest...

Supporting English Learners

English Learners (nationally, the terminology has moved from ESL to ELL to now just EL) are continuing to become a very specialized group of patrons in our libraries. Our district has recently moved from the pull-out model to the coaching model for EL support and instruction, and the EL department at our central office has done a fantastic job of communicating effective ways to best assist English Learners in our schools.


Although the inclusion of bilingual literature in a collection is an essential way to meet the needs of EL students, I have noticed personally that many EL students prefer English-only books. This may be a cultural issue, the desire to conform, or it may simply be that there are more options in English-only. However, we should support our EL students with selections of bilingual literature in every genre of our collections.


-With their permission to share, here are some helpful links provided by our EL department regarding bilingual literature in school libraries:


http://www.bilingualbooks.com/


http://www.wida.us/standards/elp.aspx


*Scholastic Book Wizard can help with this as well. Here is an example of a search for "bilingual."


These are specific tips offered by the EL department for all educators in supporting the needs of English Learners:
1. Establish a classroom community that values and celebrates all languages and dialects. 
[Implications for librarians: include literature with a variety of dialects!]


2. Encourage parents to develop and maintain primary language at home. 
[Implications for librarians: provide translations of library documents and communication in native languages. There is a procedure in place for securing authentic translations from professionals at the central office level. For more info, see your EL Handbook!]


3. Offer primary language support through bilingual parent and community volunteers, peers, cross-age tutors, and extended day programs.


4. Learn and use some second language yourself with students. You don't have to be fluent. Just learn a few phrases and key vocabulary! 


5. Understand the differences between supporting and developing the primary language.
[Implications for librarians: celebrate a variety of cultures through creative programming!]


What are some ways you have provided language support for English Learners? Please share!

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