November 16-21, 2009 , its goals and tools.

What about the week of November 16 - 21, 2009 being assigned to the NESA Library Week ?
Does it look good on your calendar? Please let me know.

Our next step would be identifying goals of the week:

• Do we want our students get in touch with students from other NESA schools and thus extend the walls of our library? - I would say yes, we would like to build and reinforce the connections built during other NESA projects, such as Science Fair in Middle School or festivid (a video contest) in High School.


• Do we want to try some communication technologies in action? - Definitely, we would like to show our students and teachers how to use Web 2.0 tools for educational purposes.


• Do we want to promote reading, critical thinking, and our libraries in general? - There is no doubt, we do. These will be main themes of discussions during the week.

There are more questions to consider:

Location: class vs. home: Would you like to organize your students during a class period or give them a homework assignment to participate in a discussion?

Frequency: If you will do it during your class, would you plan to have only one session or several classes (how many) devoted to the Library Week?

Students' age: what grade level will be involved?

We would also need to share responsibilities: are you willing to set an account? enroll librarians? create a common base for discussions? Your initiative is greatly appreciated!

Brainstorm online via VoiceThread.com. An account that I've set up will also help us try this tool, identify and remove possible barriers when we use it with students: VoiceThread.com.

Another way to hear each other's feedback and suggestions is by using YackPack. You are invited to YackPack account as well.

While YackPack allows us to share voice messages only, VoiceThread provides other ways to communicate. A conversation around a picture, video, or presentation can be made by videos, microphone, text, or file-upload (view VoiceThread 1 minute movie below). The only requirement to participate in a discussion is that everyone has an account.

I would like to encourage you to use both of the tools and discover activities that can be used to connect our students during the week.

Tip: You will be able to leave a comment only after having created your free account. When you log in you will see the thread. If you don't, send me a note with your current email address and I'll send you an invitation.

Looking forward to seeing you and hearing your voices!
Marina

One Minute Video on VoiceThread

Library Technology week 2010

After Spring break everybody starts planning events for next year, and I am afraid to be late to talk through details for NESA Library Technology Week in 2010! Your ideas and willingness to participate in the event inspire me to continue building the plan.
To run it simultaneously in NESA schools, we would need to define

its time and activities that promote interest in books, reading, and using technological tools and methods.

Time: Last week of October, October 25 - 30, 2009, or November 16 - 20, 2009 looks good on our school calendar. Let me know what time is good for you. An alternative time can be the week of April 11-18, 2010, National Library Week. But it will take us a long time to wait.

Activities: sharing stories, pictures and videos about our libraries, and book reviews.

After we will have tried some technological tools it'll be more clear which ones suit our collaboration needs the best:

VoiceThread is a web-based communication tool that makes it easy to share stories. Students can either record their stories or share them in writing; we can build their discussions around their pictures of the library or library activities and favorite books. To see how this tool works watch a one minute tutorial here.

YouTube or other video sharing sites will allow our students to share their two-three minute videos about the library (video project "My library").

Create audio files with the help of Audacity with stories about favorite books and library activities and share them online.

Flickr or Picassa are good for sharing pictures about the libraries and maps where they were taken, and posting labels.

We'll give a try to any of your suggestions. Please email them to me or post as a comment.

These tools are not new, but it's always helpful to go over and try one in a time before we pass them on students and start the big project. We'll do it together over next months before the Library Week in October.

Let me know which week would work for you:
October 25-30, 2009, November 16 - 20, 2009 or April 11-18, 2010.