Emags

In the fall of 2012, I received a disturbing letter from Newsweek. They announced that the magazine was going all digital and would no longer offer print issues after Dec. 31. "This might be well and good for individuals with smartphones, home computers, etc," I thought, "but what does this mean for libraries - especially in rural, Title I schools? Where Newsweek goes, other magazines will follow." So I did what librarians do; I started researching.  I talked with my magazine vendor, my ebook vendor, and even the good folks at GALILEO. Nobody was doing emags!

Finally, I contacted Newsweek... "Hello! What are libraries supposed to do?" They told me to talk to Zinio, who was carrying their digital subscriptions. And that led, eventually, to the good folks at Recorded Books who had just started up a digital magazine subscription service for libraries, public libraries. Long story made short... We are one of three high school libraries in the U. S. offering digital magazines. Here is our subscription list:

Taste of Home

Seventeen

Scholastic Parent & Child

Prevention

PC World

PC Gamer

Outdoor Life

O (Opera’s Magazine)

Newsweek

National Geographic

Kiplinger’s

Hot Rod

Forbes

ESPN

Discover

Aviation Week

Is this a perfect solution? No. There are definite kinks to work out. For example, there is no way for me to block a specific issue of a magazine... you know, like hiding that swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated. But being able to put a copy of National Geographic in the hands of all thirty environmental science students at the same time... PRICELESS!

Advice for Parents on Teaching Digital Responsibility

For parents who are struggling to figure out how or what to discuss with their kids when it comes to digital safety, responsibility, etc. This article might help...

Helping Parents Teach Digital Safety

50 Educational IT Blogs to Follow

Getting started with your professional learning network? Wanting to know what other teachers are trying with technology? Check out these blogs...

Ed Tech's List of Educational IT Blogs

Digital Citizenship Resource List

Resource Roundup from Edutopia on Digital Citizenship... If we are not teaching students how to safely and responsibly use technology in school, we are not preparing them for the "real" world or the future.

Digital Citizenship Resource List from Edutopia

Doing Research on the Internet

It's a 140 character, cut and paste world... so some teachers tell students not to use the Internet for any research. But it's not that simple. With direction, students can find great resources on the Internet. Check out this article from LifeHacker...

How to Conduct Scientific Research

Here is the concluding paragraph:"The idea that you can't trust the Internet is misplaced. The key is just to find well-sourced, well-cited information on a given topic before you can trust it. It's not even that difficult to do—it's just not something that aligns with the fast-paced world of blog comments and Twitter arguments. Becoming literate in a subject area or even remotely knowledgeable requires time, patience, and a good bit of actual open-minded research. It's not something you can do in time to respond wittily to someone who made you angry on Facebook. That said, it's worth doing every time. You'll benefit with better understanding of a topic, and you'll be more prepared to have an informed dialogue, make better health and wellness decisions, or get excited about new research in the future."

Overview Effect

Check out this video “The Overview Effect.” It is AMAZING! STEM teachers will probably find it the most useful, but I thought it SO awesome, I had to share with everyone. Enjoy!

Overview Effect

Here are some questions that I created to go along with the film...

1. To be an astronaut, you have to be ___________________________________.

2. We are all made of ________________________________________________.

3. There is a word that starts with the letter “p” that is used a lot in this film and could be used to sum up the films whole meaning. Can you find it? ________________.

4. What is the Overview Effect?

5. In order to save our fragile planet, we have to ___________________________

_________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________.

6. One speaker says that being able to look back at the Earth was the most important part of going into space. What does he mean?

Easter Island: It's Scarier Than You Think

Article for my history and science folks... what defines success and failure in a culture?

What Happened On Easter Island

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I am the librarian at a large, rural high school in south Georgia, USA. I am interested in just about everything except math (it’s ok, my math teachers already know this about me, but they also know that they are some of my favorite people). I prefer “librarian” to “media specialist” but this is not because I am anti-technology. I simply see “librarian” as the original terminology for the keepers or collectors of knowledge. Over time, the format of the knowledge changes, but my job stays essentially the same. I match people up with the information that they need. Today, over half of my budget goes to ebooks and other electronic resources. I don’t see this as making me a “media specialist” instead of a “librarian.”

I decided that I needed a place to share information in a more organized way with my school family. Emails just tend to get lost or buried. The school website is too limited for what I want to do. Facebook is blocked at school – and I don’t accept friend requests from students until after they graduate. At the same time, this blog is meant for more than just my immediate co-workers and current students. It is for anyone who wants to learn more. 

I am trying to organize articles and links by the labels. Let me know if you think of a term I can add to a post. I am a generalist extraordinaire; you are the specialists. My favorite sources of information are educational blogs, reputable and award-winning news outlets, and TED talks. Lots of NPR listening since I have a one hour commute to work!

As for literature or "fun" reading as my students call it, young adult lit is about all I have time for... there is so much good stuff out there today! (And some not so great stuff, but, hey, Twilight had students reading who never read - so who am I to judge?) My personal preference is sci-fi, fantasy, and action/adventure, but I can appreciate and enjoy chick lit. See my LiveBinder page (see Books by Topic at the top of the page) for suggested readings by topic. 

So here I am… embarking on a new electronic adventure! I hope you learn something new here.