The DRC tour

A number of schools have asked to come in and get a tour of DRC. I usually begin by outlining the electronic resources (EBSCO, Gale, Worldbook, etc) and then talk about our professional ISL collection as well as our magazines, AV resources and hands-on kits. Participants then get a review of how to search and book materials from our online catalog. (LINK here) We wrap up with introductions to the DRC staff and a chance to browse the stacks. Feedback is always very positive!

IWB substitute: Wiimote

McRoberts invited me to their Pro-D day to speak to the Science department about using "Wiimote" IWB bundles. High schools often find it difficult to find the funding to purchase enough of the standard Interactive Whiteboards (ie SMARTBoards) to make a difference to  how they integrate technology into instruction. One or two boards a year is not enough to be transformative. However, with a Wiimote bundle (costing perhaps $150), teachers can try out the IWB experience and begin integrating this exciting technology into their classes. DRC purchased 2 Wiimote bundles (each includes a Wiimote, charger, bluetooth dongle, 2 IR pens and a tripod, along with a flash drive preloaded with software.) so schools could experiment at no initial cost.

See my presentation notes here.

More ESL resources to explore

Diane T asked me to present some ESL resources to this year's September gathering. I updated a previous presentation and added some newer links. (LINK here.)

I divided my session into : video resources, audio links and text sites. In particular, manythings.org is a treasure trove of material.

September 2010 Teacher-Librarian mini-conference

What will tomorrow's library look like? How different will it be from the facility of yesteryear? And how is the role of the Teacher-Librarian changing? The RTLA Fall conference sought to address some of these issues.

This year, instead of a live keynote, I put together a series of video clips with pauses for discussion. This was a great way to kick off the conference.

We then spent time looking at the world of eReaders, models, formats and features. And the third session featured 5 "biblioapps" TLs can use with their staff. There was time for networking, and browsing the ULS display (Thanks Ren). The afternoon was spent sharing ideas for the upcoming year. Follow this link to the conference webpage.

More Smartboard

I have recently done another couple of sessions on using the Smartboard. (Bridge, Thrift, DRC)  I revamped my previous presentation and created an updated webpage with links and resources. (LINK here). One of the things I've tried to do in this latest series is to demystify the equipment ("it's just a big trackpad") and give a few troubleshooting tips that everyone can use ("little kids having trouble can try using a tennis ball.")