Wikipedia's not all bad!

I read a fascinating article about Wikipedia and how banning the use of this source is a "silly" policy. The author advocates the position that "it is irresponsible for educatonal institutions not to teach new knowledge technologies such as Wikipedia". The "anyone can edit" philosophy that most teachers hate can be turned around and used as an invaluable teaching tool in learning how people create, share and record knowledge. Read this for yourselves; I've certainly seen a huge change in the accuracy of Wikipedia information available.

http://www.scienceprogress.org/2008/02/wikipedia-and-the-new-curriculum/

Kris

Gaming Professional Reading

Are you on the gaming in libraries bandwagon and want to learn more???

Are you curious about the new gaming phenomenon at ALD and other libraries?

Do you think this whole library gaming thing is crazy and won't change your mind until you hear some good reasons on why we should be involved?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, I recommend you take at this excellent bibliography of suggested reading about gaming and libraries posted by Beth Galloway on the "Game On: Libraries in Gaming" blog.

Teaching with Primary Sources

On Friday and Saturday, Feb 1st and 2nd, I attended an annual event called "Librarian Days" about teaching with primary sources. The event was held at the Auraria campus and was heavily geared for school librarians and teachers but there was still a lot of good information that can be applied in a public library setting.

There was a big emphasis on those ubiquitous "Web 2.0" technologies which are still relatively new territory for schools, though we are on the ball with our ALD blogs, wikis, deli.ci.ous accounts and more. We were also introduced to resources available through the Library of Congress American Memory website which has over 11 million (and counting) primary cources feely available to the public. There was a presentation by the Colorado Historical Newspaper project and another by the Denver Newspaper Agency.

Keeping with the Web 2.0 theme, they have a wiki up with links to PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and additional resources from the various presenters. I encourage you to take a look and I will probably comment in further entries about some of the presentations in more specifics. I especially need to write about my experience and thoughts about entering the new online 3D world of Second Life. I got to create my own avatar and wander around some virtual libraries and museums in Second Life. While I am not conviced Second Life itself is the way of the future, I think this kind of technology is and I'm anxious to learn and share more.

Assignment Alert-Sky Vista Middle School

Smoky Hill Library was recently contacted by Annie Olson, Teacher Librarian at Sky Vista Middle School. About 120 students from that school have been assigned to read a Utopia/ Dystopia novel over the next month or so. She sent a suggested reading list that was provided to the students which I have attached under CORE TITLES at our ALD Teen Services wiki in case students come in without their list. This is also a good list for other teen patrons seeking similar titles. Here are a few more that are not on the list that we have @ ALD that would also work:

The destiny of Linus Hoppe / Anne-Laure Bondoux ; translated from the French by Catherine Temerson.
In a utopian world, fourteen-year-old Linus, who is approaching the test that will determine which Realm he will live, rejects the accepted way of life and ventures to change his destiny.

The silenced / James DeVita.
Consigned to a prison-like Youth Training Facility because of her parents' political activities, Marena organizes a resistance movement to combat the restrictive policies of the ruling Zero Tolerance party.

The supernaturalist / Eoin Colfer.
In futuristic Satellite City, fourteen-year-old Cosmo Hill escapes from his abusive orphanage and teams up with three other people who share his unusual ability to see supernatural creatures, and together they determine the nature and purpose of the swarming blue Parasites that are invisible to most humans.

Do you have others you recommend?

~Monica

Learning Styles

Ok, we've all heard about learning styles, but have you ever taken an assessment survey? Take this survey at www.learning-styles-online.com, and glean an understanding about yourself, your own kids, or the teens you work with. One of my daughters is very much like me, and one is not - this helps me remember that she doesn't learn like I do. Will you find out that the survey accurately identifies you, or will you learn something new about yourself?

The Brown Bookshelf & 28 Days Later

There's a cool blog called The Brown Bookshelf, run by 5 African-American authors and illustrators with the goal of showcasing A-A youth literature. They have an initiative this year called 28 Days Later, where for the first 28 days of Black History Month they will profile a different author or illustrator. The showcase authors will be announced January 15. There's going to be a poster to download and print out as well. Looks good!

Sort Books by Middle School/High School???

Denver's teen website lets you sort books by middle school or high school with many books being categorized as both. What does everyone think of that? Our teen focus groups liked the idea - especially the middle schoolers who seemed very conscientious about avoiding inappropriate material. I like the way Denver's works because all items show up, but viewers can choose to sort if they want

If we decide to do it all staff picks, bibs... would have to come tagged as MS or HS or both. What would our criteria be? Will we have to be extra sure that anything tagged middle school is really clean? What would be our source for justification if any are questioned given that the catalog just says 12 and up for all YA?

Please comment on this soon, because that sorting feature will have to be built into the teen site.

Thanks,
Alyson