Creativity in the School Library

Laura Fleming writes: "A hashtag for your school library can be a call to action by serving as an invitation for others in your school community to participate in telling your library’s story. By posting things related to your hashtag on social media, colleagues, school leaders, parents, and students become a part of your library’s story by helping it to take shape and unfold.

Although hashtags were “born digital” as opposed to originating in print, an effective strategy for promoting your library’s hashtag is to post it on bulletin boards and walls in your library and school. This will help drive hashtag use and lead to further community engagement and participation, even beyond the hours of the school day."

Dashka Slater writes: "Ellen Oh, the Korean American founder of We Need Diverse Books, points out that librarians don't fret over whether kids will relate to a title like The One and Only Ivan, told from a gorilla's perspective, yet faced with a book about a Chinese kid, the literary gatekeepers—from agents all the way down to parents­—may balk. "Some of our most popular books deal with worlds that aren't Earth and people who aren't human," Oh says. "But the people you walk beside on this Earth have stories too.""

When a 6th grade ELA teacher approached me about updating a project, I jumped at the chance. Every year she had her students choose 5 songs, analyze the lyrics, and pick 5 paintings that represented the songs. The work was then displayed on posterboard in the classroom. The teacher was intrigued by an article in our district tech newsletter about app smashing. So, let the planning begin!

We decided to take the project digital. Students still had to choose 5 songs, but we asked them to use the Google Art Institute (now Google Arts and Culture) to find their art works. They used Google Slides to create digital art galleries, adding the art works (with citations!), the song lyrics, and their analysis. 

Initially students were going to present their Slides in class. While looking at the Common Core speaking standards, I realized screencasting would be a perfect addition to the project! Students came to the library for a quick lesson on using Nimbus Screenshot. When they encountered technical issues getting their screencasts to work nicely with their school Google accounts, several girls worked to find a solution--then made a screencast to show everyone how it worked!

While students were in the library working, I mentioned how I visited art galleries while I was in college--sometimes only for the free food! During the ensuing discussion, we decided that these projects begged to be displayed in a gallery--and that gallery would be our library! 

On art gallery day, students dressed up (one nailed the hipster look, another very conservative students wore a suit because he was sure he'd grow up to buy and not create art!)  I provided scarves and glasses for anyone who wanted a more arty look. We distributed Chromebooks all over the library with half the classes' projects ready to play. Students could either stand by their project to answer questions, or walk around the room and view other projects.

We also planned on using Google Hangouts to broadcast the gallery for families, other classes and administrators to watch. A technical glitch meant we broadcast without sound, but we were able to record several one on one interviews students did with classmates. 

Another 6th grade ELA class came to visit the digital art gallery. Those students took notes, responded to the presentations, and provided thoughtful critique of the work. We also had our functional skills class visit, as well as all of our administrators.

Then everyone dove into the chocolate covered strawberries, chips and salsa and drinks the teacher provided, not even realizing they'd just covered so many of the writing and speaking and listening Common Core Standards. Here's a link to some of the photos and interviews, and another link to a few of the student presentations. 

This project was a true collaboration, and definitely a lot of work in the classroom and library. There were moments of utter frustration as we struggled with the screencasting and Hangout issues. It was also the highlight of the year in the library! Student feedback was overwhelmingly positive, even though they spend much more time on this than if they'd made posters. The other teacher who brought her class in wants to do a similar project next year, as do two other teachers who heard about it. So, all the hard work paid off. Collaboration ROCKS!

From a picture-book presidential election to a course in cleaning up digital footprints, designer garment upcycling, and TOEFL test prep, these initiatives pack a powerful impact.

In many high-poverty urban neighborhoods, it’s nearly impossible for a poor child to find something to read in the summer.

 Creating something gives you a special feeling. Take a bunch of random objects and violà you have created something else. The problem with making is that sometimes it can cost a lot of money. We're always looking for funds or swiping our credit cards. Constant trips to the local craft store. Can we support this type of making…

John Spencer writes, about asking students to redesign learning spaces:

So, the following were the most common places mentioned by my students:

1. Playgrounds: Whether it’s the little kid playground equipment or the skatepark, there is value in finding inspiration from playground design. Playground designers focus on intuitive, fluid movement. I realize that learning isn’t always play. However, there are elements of playground that we could easily incorporate into our spaces. For example, why can’t we have slides that go down from the stairs in our classrooms? Why can’t we rearrange furniture so kids can move more easily? Why can’t we create places where kids can stand?
2. Libraries: For all the talk of finding inspiration outside of our schools, many of my students described the library as an ideal learning space. They loved the choice and differentiation. They loved the blend of semi-private and totally open. And they loved the totally vintage Michael J Fox, Back to the Future READ poster.
3. Arcades: This isn’t a surprise, really. Kids described loving the noise, the action, and the fun in an arcade. Although I personally couldn’t handle teaching in an arcade, I wonder what elements of an arcade might work in a learning space redesign.
4. The Outdoors: When I asked my son to describe the ideal classroom space, he said, “a lake by a waterfall.” About a quarter of my students (often the most introverted) described similar spaces. They wanted to work in quiet. They still wanted to write, draw, edit multimedia, etc. But they wanted to do that in a way that would allow them to walk away from the screen and escape to nature.
5. Studios: This could have been the result of teaching journalism, but students wanted to be in a space that looked more like a media studio, with moving props, green screens, and scattered places to work.

The end of the school year is quickly approaching and we are all looking forward to some rest and time to recoup from our busy year. Probably the last thing we want to think about at this moment is putting... Read More ›

Naomi Bates writes: "And so, it got me thinking....what are some other things that we, as librarians, could tweak just a little, to make a HUGE impact?  Here is my top five list of
habit-breakers for librarians.

Mr. Scott writes: "One good way to see mood (and, to a degree, tone) in action is through genre-crossing movie trailers. In film editing classes throughout the States, a common assignment is to take an existing film (say, a comedy) and create a film preview that presents the film as a different genre (for example, a horror film). This is accomplished through editing and splicing scenes, adding new, anxiety-producing music and sound effects, and adding a new voice-over introduction."

Joyce Valenza writes: "There’s redecorating and there’s just plain old decorating.

When it comes time for a bit of library refreshing, in the form of posters and bulletin boards, there are so many wonderful shared options. In the spirit of fall refreshing, I thought I’d refresh on of my posts, Fall decorating: a round-up of smart (and free) posters, from a few years back.

As I mentioned back then, every year, as we move back into our libraries and classrooms, we search for meaningful, inspiring, attractive visuals to fill our display cases, to grace our bulletin boards, to embed on our websites and most importantly, to engage and inspire those who visit."

Joanna Gerakios  writes: " The Future Ready Librarianswebpage states, “If properly prepared and supported, school librarians are well-positioned to be at the leading edge of the digital transformation of learning.” What about you? Are you ready to champion the future ready cause and lead in transforming learning at your school? I bet you are already actively involved in this effort. I encourage you to reflect upon what you are already doing and consider how you and your library can build from there. I also urge you to explore these resources at the Future Ready website so you can be fully prepared to play a central role in the “future ready” conversation and implementation in your school or district."

"Reading and walking might not seem like two interconnected hobbies, but at Municipal Park they are.  That is because the park annually plays host to a story trail.

The trail, which stands next to the paved multi-purpose path that winds through the park, contains an illustrated story.  Each year, third graders from Pataskala Elementary (NJ) create the story as part of an effort backed by the Pataskala Public Library and the city." (NB: Pataskala is in Ohio, not New Jersey.)

It's that time of year y'all. We're desperately holding on to our "summers when we know that in just a few weeks we'll be deep in orientations, classes, workshops, and meetings. The important thing is that we're not there YET and we still have some time to get in some great design projects, like today's submission…"

Tennessee's Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools is blazing trails in innovative library and media center design to bring true 21st Century literacy to 83,000 students in more than 150 schools.   Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools is blazing trails in innovative library and media center design