Can You Hear Me? -- Voice in Effective Blogs

I confess--I am a regular reader of the blog Zen Habits. I find the voice and the tone of its writer, Leo Babauta, distinctive and calming. On a typical school day, peace and tranquility are not typically around. But when a post shows up on Zen Habits, I take the time to read it and to find a window of calm in my day.

The post that I want to refer people to is effective in achieving the goals that Babauta states: he wants his readers to focus in on what they are doing, to savor that moment, and do that action with mindfulness. Such words are good reminders to teachers of all sorts. We need to be mindful of what we do, of how our actions shape and influence our colleagues and our students, and of how we learn and grow from what we do.

An effective post is exactly that—it creates in the reader an effect that the author wants. In the writer’s distinctive voice, the post encourages the reader to think, act, believe, or feel. It engages us to take something from the post and to find its relevance to our own lives.

The award winning blog posts of Frank Noschese and Joyce Valenza do the same sort of thing for teachers and librarians. They are trying to take us out of our usual realm of complacency and to catapult us into thinking and questioning about our practice. While they are both encouraging us to re-evaluate how we behave as teachers, they do so in voices that are strong and distinctively their own.

So what makes an effective blog post? Some are effective in their overt practicality, such as sharing useful links for teaching (Free Tech for Teachers, Larry Ferlazzo). Some share strategies or humor for a particular field (A Librarian’s Guide to Etiquette, Attempting Elegance). And some, like Zen Habits, work to make us feel our humanity.

In each of these blogs, the voice of the writer is clear and thoughtful. Before I shifted to being an elementary school librarian, I spent 20 years teaching college-level writing. And I can tell you that there is nothing more important to becoming a good writer than to find your own distinctive voice.

--Cross-posted to www.bookfrontiers.com

(image by dbphotographs via Flickr Creative Commons)

Taking the Teacher Challenge

I have signed up to participate in the "Teacher Challenge" as a blogger, and this new page is part of my effort. I am charged with taking on the role of a reporter who asks my blog ten questions, so here goes.

1. Why did I start this blog?
I created this website because I felt as if I need to share the many books that I read in my role as a school librarian. Because I work at a small, cash-challenged school, I usually pre-read books before I am willing to buy them for our school library. In addition, I have learned (the hard way, at times) that books that are labeled "young adult" vary widely in who they are directed toward--a twelve year old precocious reader should not be reading a book that might be completely appropriate for a mature high school senior. I wanted to make use of the time I spent, so I created this website.

2. When did I start this blog?
I began this website in the summer of 2009. I had just finished a course through PB Works for teachers and wikis, and I was inspired to take my technological training to a new level. I discovered, though, that the best intentions of a teacher in summer may fall prey to the realities of time constraints during the school year.

3. Why have I chosen to participate in the Teacher Challenge?
I need to develop the discipline and persistence necessary to make this website thrive. I hope that I can make myself walk away from the computer games to make time for the computer work.

4. Who is the audience for this site?
I see my audience as parents, teachers, students, and other school librarians looking for books to read and to add to their collections.

5. What are my goals for this website?
My primary goal is to help people find the books that might otherwise slip under the radar. Sure, I have read the Hunger Games series, just like everyone else. But that series doesn't need me to promote it. Instead, I have been searching for the hidden gems, those diamonds that will shine if someone just shines a light on them.

6. Why is the site sorted as it is?
I wanted to make it easy for people to find the sorts of books they were looking for. I have primarily chosen to focus on literature for children and young adults, since I am a school librarian. But I have included a section for the "mostly grown-up" as well. The library I manage includes an adult collection, so such a section is appropriate. But I also wanted to include it because I am going to be returning to teaching at a local college, and I feel that I should include books that I read as well.

7. How did I get interested in exploring technology?
My training is decidedly NOT technological. I have my doctorate in English and spent many years teaching writing at universities. But technology became an increasingly essential tool in my work. Then, when I shifted to working as a school librarian, I found myself using technology in many ways. I spent several years team-teaching with our technology specialist. Then I took a class targeting librarians and the "23 Things" and a follow up course. Now I have responsibility for both the library and the computer center at our school

8. What role does technology play in an elementary school in general
I have learned from my Personal Learning Network (PLN) that technology is essential in education today. Students today are completely plugged in and wired. Today I watched a preschooler playing games on his mom's iPhone while she sat in a meeting. He didn't need any help. He knew how to turn it on, how to find his game, and how to play it without any assistance. Technology is simply another tool to him. And so it is with our students as well.

9. And the library in particular?
As a school librarian, I feel responsible to help students think about how, when, and why they use technology when they do. I teach keyboarding to make them more efficient, we talk about cyberbullying, we explore how to use and find sources without plagiarizing. I give advice about e-readers and how to find books for them.

In the end, I can't imagine my job without technology.

10. What future do I envision for the students of today?
All I can safely predict is that there is no way we can imagine where they will find themselves. I went to college with a manual typewriter in an era before photocopiers. I began graduate school using a Commodore 64 and a word processing program called "Paper Clip." I could never have imagined the internet, cell phones, or microwave ovens. I really can't imagine what the future will hold. But I do know what my job as a teacher is--I am to help students learn how to think, how to find out information, how to evaluate that information, and how to reach good decisions and judgments based on that information and knowledge. No matter what the future holds, those skills will serve them well.

Smart Board Lessons

Well, I have attempted to upload SMART Board lessons directly to the blog, but was unable to. So instead, I am going to keep a running list of the lessons I have created in the Side Bar. If you are a media teacher and are interested in using any of these lessons, based on their titles, you can contact me and I will happily share.

Librarians just want to have fun...

I cracked up at this video of librarians (and Library students) doing this riff on Lady Gaga.

The Role of Social Media in our Lives

I found this in Free Technology for Teachers by R. M. Byrne, who cites Gary Hayes as the creator. I find it interesting just how prevalent the technology has become, and how much more comfortable we all are becoming to it.

But where is the reading?

I think it is somewhat sad that reading (except for email and maybe educational activities) appears nowhere on this chart. I spend a good chunk of my day reading, and so do most members of my family--on-line, newspapers, books, etc.

Why isn't reading listed as recreational either? Sigh. Maybe I am a dinosaur after all.

SMART Board Lessons and the Media Center

Well, I am torn about this new piece of technology I have been working to learn and use this school year. On the one hand, the bells and whistles makes certain things really so much easier. I love using the lab's board to show on-line videos to a class, to demonstrate how to use a new website or kind of software, or to have students present their own research to classmates. But I also find frustrating the effort involved in putting out those gadgets and gizmos when simple classroom instruction might suffice.

That said, I have completed my lesson on "Ben's Dream" by Chris Van Allsburg that includes links to Google maps. I am sure that there are ways I could have made it more fun (a colleague suggested adding the views from the tops of the landmarks), but it works pretty well as it is.

It can be found at http://www.legacyheritage.org/SJED/?file=find_lesson under "Ben's Dream."

I welcome feedback and comments.

Muppets--Bohemian Rhapsody

I just couldn't resist sharing this video. It is a wonderful reminder of why I so loved the Muppet show long ago and far away.

Enjoy.

Surprised Reactions

A bit of wandering from my usual rants into a different one today--the importance of working to inspire and challenge gifted students. I am a reader of the blog "Unwrapping the Gifted" (which I highly recommend). Today the writer posted this video, which managed to move me to tears. Granted, I am home sick today, so my emotions are a bit closer to the surface, but this poem is amazing.






I hope that we as a culture move toward encouraging these wonderful students because our future depends so much upon them.

What is a Librarian's Job?

Okay, this is NOT a complaint. What it is, however, is a description of the various things I spent my day on. Some of them clearly fall under my other job--Special Programs--but I find that my days are not what many outside the field would envision.


Today I:

• worked on creating a template in Davkah (which supports Hebrew and English) for a booklet that will contain text and artwork by our 5th grade students when they read Torah for the first time.
• designed a Publisher template for an invitation to an event celebrating the learning of our 1st and 2nd graders--the illustration on the invitation will be created by the students using KidPix
• added a new category and link to our staff wiki to help teachers work with special needs students
  
• worked with a teacher and afternoon school principal on creating and finding materials to use on the SMART board--included teaching how to do a screenshot
• helped 5th graders use their personal log on for one of the first times
• worked with a teacher to create a few shelves of "good books" for 7th and 8th graders
• worked on a SMART board lesson on "Ben's Dream," a Chris Van Allsburg picture book
• planned my lessons for the week, which includes having 3rd and 4th graders begin to do basic research on some popular children's authors
• took down a display case on the Bubble festival which we did about 6 weeks ago

Gee, I'm tired just looking at the list! No wonder I come home and want to take a nap. I confess, if someone had told me 10 to 15 years ago that my job would involve so much time on the computer, I would have laughed. But I find myself energized by the interaction between reading and using technology--I enjoy the daily complexity I encounter. Now if only someone could invent a book that puts itself away....

A Perfect Day for Reading

It's rainy, and an autumn chill is in the air. I want nothing more than to curl up with a book, a cup of tea or coffee in my hand, with some music in the background.

Instead, it is computers, lunch duty (with 7th and 8th graders), and maybe a couple of stories for the smaller ones. Sigh. I least I get to be NEAR books, if not amusing myself with them.

dreams of autumn

I am so happy that is at least technically autumn. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur should come when it is cool, when the apples are fresh and numerous and varied, and when baking a pie is a pleasant thing. I made my first pie of the new season this past weekend, and it was a thing of beauty. (It also tasted pretty darn good!) Today I think I will branch out into making an apple cake, one that also looks fun from the bundt pan.

My house has Cortlands, Haralsons, Honey Crisp, and Ginger Golds right now. And still I want more varieties and more options.

I was going to paste in photos of the varieties, but instead I include a link to the Minnesota Apple Growers Association. Look, drool, bake.

Happy Autumn!

Bubble Festival Redux

Well, I now have seen some of the wonderful photos from our school bubble festival. I won't post the ones that are appearing in the local neighborhood paper out of courtesy, but here are some that one of our teachers took.

Even though everything did NOT go according to plan, children learned and had fun. What more can you ask of a special, whole school event?

Too Many Balls in the Air

I had forgotten how much attention everything at school can take. While the bubble festival went quite well, I still had classes to plan and teach, a SMART board to learn how to use, a back-to-school night for parents to prepare for, and also a new special project to plan, organize, and shop for. I am, quite simply, exhausted. And we've only finished two weeks of school. Sigh.

On top of all that, I had wanted to keep up my so-called professional development, with writing here and at my book review site, Book Frontiers. I managed to get two reviews posted this weekend, but it is hard to have time to read and write if you are lurching from special project to special project. I need to get organized again. And, not surprisingly, I haven't written any poetry lately, since contemplation seems to have evaporated from my life.

But even given all that, I wouldn't trade working in education for anything else. It is what I am meant to do.

It's Back to School!

Today is our first day back to school, and the butterflies are fluttering mightily! But I came into my office with some flowers on my desk (I suspect the principal), the children seem both nervous and excited, and the day is bright and sunny.

I don't see classes today, but I am in charge of the Bubble festival on Friday. Yikes! I will post pictures when I have succeeded (or at least survived).

Happy first days of school everyone!

On Line DNA

Okay, I am a sucker for the fun and colorful. What can I say? Today, thanks to Helene Blowers, I calculated my online DNA based on my name. I figured out that I had to add my middle initial to get the profile to focus mostly on me and not others with parts of my name. Here is the image I ended up with:

I love the colors it came up with and I am tempted to use it as a header for any number of documents or on-line stuff I am doing. But I am going to wait and see what calmer heads might consider reasonable.

If you want to find out your online DNA, here is the link to Personas at MIT.

SMART boards and the Library Lady

My school got its first SMART board, and yesterday was my first day in training. At first I wasn't sure if installing it in our media center was the best choice, in part because our upper school science teacher wanted to use it a great deal.

But now that I have had enough training to become dangerous :-D , I think our principal made the right choice. While I like the potential that I see in the board, and think that I would love to play with it, I also think it is good that it is in the Lab instead of in a particular classroom. Not only will a greater variety of teachers get to play with using it, but it also prevents a teacher from using it when a different sort of lesson would be better. As Richard Byrne says in his blog, Free Technology for Teachers, if a teacher simply uses technology to present the same notes in a different way, it really isn't integration.

Plus, the librarian in me wants to make sure that we don't become so hooked on bells and whistles that we forget the fundamentals of teaching. We need to draw on as many different ways and platforms to present material as we possibly can, so that we can reach as many students as we possibly can.

At least that is my opinion for today. We'll see what my attitude is after I have played more with it. Maybe it's just that I am reluctant to share....

Trying a new endeavor

For all those librarian types out there, I am starting a site for reviewing books for school-aged children, with an occasional foray into the grown-up books I read for fun. In part I am trying to put to use the skills I learned in my 23 Things and More Things classes. I put together a static (relatively speaking) front page as a web site, and then added blog pages for the reviews themselves. Some aspects will be varying, because, as we have learned, most things on the internet are works in progress. (I typed "woks in progress" first, which made me hungry for Asian food....) I want the reviews to be useful to teachers and librarians in particular.

Anyway, I would love you to look at the site and to offer any suggestions, feedback, ideas for books to review, whatever. I have come to value our community of learners, and would love for you to share your opinions.

The site is Book Frontiers and hope to hear from you.

Fun Avatar Generator

Just made a new avatar using a model based on MadMen (thanks to School Library Journal feed!). It was fun to play with and I like my stylish new look! See what you think.


Mad Men Avatar

A New Poem

For those of you who have read my work here, you know that I also struggle with writing poetry as well. This summer an acquaintance died by her own hand, and I wrote this poem to help me figure out my thoughts about it all.

As always,I welcome feedback. It is very much a work in progress. Unfortunately, I can find no way to keep the spacing and formatting, no matter how much I tweak it. But at least you can read the words.

____________________________________

The Inchworm and the Heron

On my son’s shoulder sat the inchworm,
Having hitched a ride into the sanctuary.
The eulogy progressed.
I gently coaxed it
Onto a Torah cover,
To bide its time
Until I could help it
Return to its world.

It measured the cover’s perimeter—
Up down, up down—
At the corner it stretched out
Sightlessly reaching
seeking
striving
A life carefully measured,
Centered on words of wisdom
Trying to find connection
purpose
community

When we went to leave
It had vanished, lost to view.

At the cemetery we mourners
unmoored
unconnected
unsure,
Struggled to strengthen our earthly ties,
Reaching out, looking helplessly,
For what had been lost

Over our heads a heron
Crossed the sky
Effortlessly floating
gliding
drifting

Might rootlessness be desirable?
Might the ceasing of striving be purposeful?

Above the confines of earth
the heron soared.


(c) Lydia A. Schultz 2009