Series of the Month - Leveled Readers haul!!!

This month we're featuring a big haul of leveled readers that just came in. Some of these series are familiar such as Trucktown and but others, such as Digger and Daisy, are new to our library. These leveled books tailor our younger readers due to their abundance of pictures, larger fonts and use of sight words with small pictures included in the words. Although these are tailored for younger readers they can be enjoyed by just anyone.

Here are some of the books we have in the library right now. There are more but are currently checked out. Swing by and check them out! Happy Reading!

Digger and Daisy go to the Doctor by Judy Young.
Quiz Number: 169448
Reading Level: 1.7

Digger and Daisy go to the City by Judy Young.
Quiz Number: 173427
Reading Level: 1.8

Digger and Daisy go to the Zoo by Judy Young.
Quiz Number: 163904
Reading Level: 1.9

Trucktown: Uh-Oh Max by Jon Scieszka.
Quiz Number: 129710
Reading Level: 0.6

The Croc Takes the Cake by Melinda LaRose.
Quiz Number: 154072
Reading Level: 2.2

X Marks the Croc by Melinda LaRose.
Quiz Number: 159984
Reading Level: 2.2

The Story of the Avengers by Thomas Macri.
Quiz Number: 154740
Reading Level: 2.1

Trucktown: Kat's Mystery Gift by Jon Scieszka.
Quiz Number: 158365
Reading Level: 0.9

Sofia Makes a Friend by Catherine Hapka.
Quiz Number: 160326
Reading Level: 2.2

Trucktown: Trucks Line Up by Jon Scieszka.
Quiz Number: 166018
Reading Level: 0.8

Series of the Month - Carlos and Carmen

Hello readers!

This month's featured series comes from Calico Kid Publishing. The series is called Carlos and Carmen. It follows the fun daily adventures of two Latino twins with their family and friends. The books are easy readers but have great storylines and quite a joy to read.
Some are pictured below. They flew off the shelves before we got to take a picture of all them.
Stop by to check them out!
Happy reading!

The Big Rain by Kirsten McDonald.
Quiz Number: 179206 A.R Points: 0.5

The Sandy Weekend by Kirsten McDonald.
Quiz Number: 184028 A.R Points: 0.5

The Green Surprise by Kirsten McDonald.
Quiz Number: 179207 A.R Points: 0.5

Series of the Month - 21st Century Junior Library

This month's featured series comes from Cherry Lake Publishing. They have series on all types of topics. Here in the library we just received some books on two of those series, Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures and Creepy Crawly Critters.

They each have amazing pictures and are filled with facts about each animal. They also have information on how those animals relate to animals in our world today. These books would be great for those students doing research projects for class or those who are just curious about any of these animals and wish to know more about them.  Come by and check them out! Happy Reading!

Pterosaur by Jennifer Zeiger.
Quiz Number: 178514 Reading Level: 3.0 A.R Points: 0.5

Saber-Toothed Cat by Jennifer Zeiger.
Quiz Number: 178515 Reading Level: 3.3 A.R Points: 0.5

Mammoth and Mastodon by Jennifer Zeiger.
Quiz Number: 178511 Reading Level: 3.3 A.R Points: 0.5

Brachiosaurus by Josh Gregory.
Quiz Number: 178505 Reading Level: 3.3 A.R Points: 0.5

Praying Mantis by Tamara Orr.
Quiz Number: 178513 Reading Level: 3.2 A.R Points: 0.5

Final thoughts

The semester is coming to a close and there is a lot of useful information to reflect on. I was able to use web applications that I didn't even know existed, others I had only heard about but not personally used as well as others that proved to better than similar programs I had used before. There were a few that were completely frustrating and will hesitate to ever use again but the exposure to it is still a great learning experience.

Top personal fave:
Pod bean

By far my favorite app to use to create podcasts, especially because you can record directly from your phone. Podbean is definitely better used on a mobile device than on a computer but still quite user friendly.

Most beneficial to students:
Screencast-O-Matic

This web-based app is great when teaching students how to do something on the computer without having to repeat yourself with each student. This is would be extremely helpful when teaching students how to log on to certain websites or access certain online resources. It would be great to create a screen cast to demonstrate how to navigate the school's library website.

Most difficult to use:
Jing
Jing was used to be similar as screencast-o-matic I just could not figure it out. I also did not like the I had to download it onto the computer and not web-based like others.

The important thing is to adapt to your needs. I, for example, am speaking from an elementary focal point when describing apps and tech tools that I like and are beneficial to me. If I become a librarian in a middle school or high school then I would have to change to what fits their needs which are completely different to those of an elementary school student.

I will most certainly keep a log of all the amazing tech tools I was able to explore because I know they will definitely be handy not just currently in the classroom but in our future library as well.

Sample Infographic

Here is one example of how to use infographics and websites like PiktoChart to present information is visually appealing ways.

Online Book Communities

Online book communities are great ways to share with others what books like you like, would want to recommend to others, disliked or would want to read in the future. There are several websites that can help sharing what they call "shelves" with other and even rate and include reviews. Such websites are those like GoodReads, LibraryThing, BookLikes and Biblionasium.

GoodReads

The site is the most commonly used site from the four listed. It is also the one I liked the most using than the other. The site itself is very user-friendly and allows users to create different shelves and rate and write reviews for books.

LibraryThing

This site was my second favorite of the four to use. It's a bit plain and it took me a few tries until I figured how to add books but it was fairly easy to use. The site has little to no images and it's mainly just text. You can also rate, review and recommend books and there is a tab for local literary events happening in your area.

BookLikes

This was my least favorite of all sites to use. It took very long to load even after trying on different internet networks and different computers. It took me way too long to figure out how to put books on shelves and how to create shelves as well. The site itself looks very modern since you are able to choose different themes to create a desired look. The site is tailored to look more like a blog than anything else. Like the rest of the websites it allows you to rate and review books.

Biblionasium

This site was very neat and offered different types of accounts for different users such as educator, parent and student. This site is geared for more school children and teachers. It allows teachers to create shelves of books that they recommend the students read and the students from their accounts can write short reviews for them. Very user-friendly for both children and adults. It can also be linked with Follett Destiny.

Which ones have you used? How well did they work for you?

Comment below!

Media (is) the message

There has been a long running debate between Richard Clark's and Robert Kozma's views on technology. Richard Clark states that "media are mere vehicles that deliver instruction but do not influence student achievement any more than the truck that delivers our groceries causes changes in our nutrition". Robert Kozma states that certain media "possess particular characteristics that make them both more and less suitable for the accomplishment of certain kinds of learning tasks". Both have agreeable stances in some sense but taking into consideration the day and age the debate initiated to where we stand now I must side with Kozma. Media, when used appropriately, can definitely enhance any lesson or skill that needs to be taught. It can also add various types of differentiation for students with different needs. Technology allows for an extension of what a student needs to learn or wants to explore on their own which is definite proof that technology CAN heavily influence learning. The keywords of course would be to teach children the basics and ethics of using media appropriately to ensure than learning is effectively taking place. Having an abundance of technology tools doesn't necessarily mean that effective teaching and learning is happening. It is up to educators to take advantage of these tools to try to reach every child's learning goals and to create independent learners and critical thinkers. There are so many more things that educators can create with technology than a paper handout could ever possibly do. Reference: The media debate. (2012, August 30). Retrieved November 19, 2016, from http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/The_media_debate