Friday fun.....

okay so it's been a long week and I just want to share with you something I stole borrowed from Joyce Valenza--it's a great infographic about what Teacher Librarians actually do---we teach!!!

Have a great weekend!

Falling SAT scores

When I began this blog, I promised myself I wouldn't get all political or use this forum to scream about the current lousy state of education in my state.  My goal was to share information with other educators.  However, in our local paper today, an article caught my eye and I had to write a letter to the editor.  I am usually fairly quiet and calm, but this whole issue just makes my blood boil.  So please forgive me today if I sound a little bit like a rabble rouser......

An article published in this month’s School Library Journal is entitled “Something to Shout About: New research shows more librarians mean higher reading scores.”   Wow, what a concept…but wait a minute, Texas is cutting librarians—school as well as public--due to budget issues.  According to the article “…students in states that lost librarians tended to have lower reading scores- or had a slower rise on standardized tests-than those in states that gained librarians.”  The research also shows states that gained librarians showed an increase in scores at twice the rate of those without librarians.  When students are taught “an authentic lesson by a certified librarian, scores are impacted and learning takes place.”

So with great interest, I read today’s article “SAT reading scores fall to lowest level on record.” Am I the only one who finds this ironic? Governor Perry?  Legislators? Texas school boards?  Are you listening?  Why are the SAT scores dropping?  Seems to me to be a simple correlation.  And I’m afraid we are only starting the worst of the decline. I think in a few years Texas will see the true results of our current budget fiasco and considering SAT scores are already at the lowest point, how much further can our students  fall?

So what do you think?  Do you agree with me?  Or am I just being a rabble rouser? 

Tag Team Tech

Okay so today's a "two-fer" posting day....I get so excited sometimes with the material I run across I want to post it right away so 1. I don't forget! and 2. so you can share in my excitement!

This is a posting from Joyce Valenza--one of the library world's blogging geniuses.  In her post she talks about using Twitter as her Personal Learning Network.  And I must admit, everything she says is spot on. 
Joyce Valenza -- Tag Team Tech

I use Twitter more and more for professional development and professional reading suggestions.  I don't use Twitter for the "follow the celebrity" type of tweets, but people like Joyce Valenza and Buffy Hamilton have shown me some invaluable information.  I can sift through their tweets--following up on topics that look interesting (most of the time) and ignoring ones I don't want to read (not that often!). 

Check out this article and see what you think.  And if you haven't used Twitter yet, give it a try.  You can sign up for free and just sort of lurk around for a while till you figure it out.  I would suggest you sign up from your computer using the Twitter website and then pick it up on your smartphone.  I get irritated trying to do things like that from my phone....but that's a whole 'nother rant......

And if you sign up for Twitter, follow me @dlpierce2.  See you in the Twitterverse!

Dewey Rap

okay librarian buddies....I dare you to watch this video...you'll have the song stuck in your head for the REST of the day.......the video came from my dear friend Sally, who has moved to the land of FarFarAway.......miss you!!

Funny new novel

I just started reading a great new YA novel--Beauty Queens by Libba Bray.  You know the old saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover"?  Well, I saw this cover and thought, "Hmm....maybe I better read this one before it hits the shelves."  A tiny bikini over a well endowed body.....with what I thought was a string of ammunition.  Well, it was ammunition.......lipstick!!!  The tubes of lipstick were all lined up in a ammo sling--pretty cute!

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray  -- link courtesy of Amazon.com

So I started reading and before I finished the first page, I was reading parts of it out loud to my assistant.  The story is Miss Teen USA meets Lord of the Flies on Survivor Island!   The Corporation sponsors the Miss Teen Dream pagent every year and this year, the plane carrying the contestants crashed on a deserted island.  The inevitable power struggles and  the prety girl cliches keep the story moving ahead at full speed, peppered with "commercials" from the Corporation--which is what makes me think of Survivor Island.  I wouldn't be surprised to find out the whole incident is being taped for a reality tv show!

I haven't finished it yet so I can't give away anything.  I'm hoping the message of the story,while not a total slam of prettiness, is one of girl power.  I've all ready read one mention that if girls had been characters in Lord of the Flies, the story would have been entirely different!

I will caution, though, this story is for more mature teens.  I've all ready read some parts with some pretty adult subject matter--nothing too wild, but not the type of subjects you would want in a middle school library.

I'll let you know how the story turns out--hopefully, I can be done with it soon.  My assistant is trying to take it away from me every chance she gets.......

Show some razzle dazzle to your students.

I mentioned QR codes.  I thought you might like a simple tutorial on making one for a website.  This is so easy that I hesitate to tell you---you might think I'm hiding something---just kidding!!  But this really is so simple and will make you look really snazzy to your students, their parents and your staff.

Take a website--I like to use my LibGuides for various projects.  Copy the URL.  Go to the URL shortener site--bit.ly.  Lots of these sites exist but I'm just partial to bit.ly--no special reason. 

Paste your URL into their shortener.  You can make a customized URL if the keywords you choose haven't already been used.  Once you have your short URL, go to the Info+ link--there's your QR code just waiting for you to cut and paste it where ever you want!

Lots of QR code generator sites exist.  Some allow you to use text or pictures for the QR code.  I'm still using the websites at this point.  I still think the best use for QR codes for me right now is to help students find project LibGuides.

I would love to see some examples of how other librarians are using QR codes--anyone willing to share?

Never Forget

Just wanted to take a moment to say God Bless The USA.  We will never forget the events of September 11, 2001.