School Library Month - Thoughts

The following post is a submission I sent to my Alma mater, Pratt Institute, for a request for participation for a blog series in April in honor of school library month. It was published in April 2013. Here is a link to the Pratt SILS blog post:  Enjoy! 

When Pratt SILS asked the alumni to share thoughts on the importance of school libraries in honor of school library month, I was excited by the opportunity to share my thoughts on why school libraries are crucial for student learning.  Students in this country have the freedom to read and access nearly any kind of information they can imagine.  In order to fulfill their potential, students need to be able to think critically about the sources and types of information they seek.  As we learned in library school at Pratt, one of the most important responsibilities of school librarians like me is to teach this skill.  A school library should provide a solid foundation to prepare the next generation by fostering their curiosity in the pursuit of information, while teaching them how to effectively find and assess that information

            I am a librarian in a middle school near Washington, D.C.  In my library, I have the opportunity every day to teach students these crucial skills.  I teach lessons on open source versus authoritative source, advanced searching strategies, evaluating websites, plagiarism, citing sources, and copyright.  Working in collaboration with my school’s learning community, I develop and promote a collection of materials with the intention of pushing students out of their comfort zone so they can become better readers and learners.  I actively recommend books and materials to students and teachers for all reading levels and interests.  I emphasize the importance of sharing ideas and that students need to think for themselves and develop their own opinions.  I teach students how to use technology responsibly and creatively to source information and share new knowledge and understanding.  All of this is aimed at helping students develop their critical thinking skills—skills that are proven to impact student achievement and are directly correlated with my state’s curricular standards.

            These are my brief thoughts on why school libraries staffed by licensed library media specialists are so important to help young people reach their full potential.  School libraries and librarians are a necessity for our student achievement and are vital to our nation’s future.

Lauren McBride, MSLIS

Pratt SILS Alumni 2009

Licensed Library Media Specialist

Seneca Ridge Middle School

Sterling, VA

iPads Have Arrived!

With funds from our book fair, we recently purchased 4 new iPads for our library. We chose the iPad 4 rather than a refurbished 2 or 3 because we felt it wouldn't get outdated so quickly. The iPads are to be checked out by teachers for classroom use. We purchased adaptors so the iPad screen can be displayed onto a Promethean board. Now, I am in the process of selecting and downloading apps to be used by the teachers.

What apps do you use for your school iPads? I will compile a list of apps once I have them downloaded.

Dr. Seuss Day for Read Across America Week.

I work in a middle school library and we are having our students watch YouTube videos of famous people reading Dr.Seuss books. However, I wanted to share this picture of my littlest dude in his "Thing 1" get-up for his school's celebration. Isn't he adorable?

Advanced Power Searching With Google

Have you heard about this free course, Advanced Power Searching with Google? I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who is interested in becoming better power searchers with Google. With challenges and videos like the ones above (Google Scholar) you'll learn how to use their advanced searching tools. It's a free course and you get a certificate at the end. Check it out!

VATE Literacy Explosion! Glogster, Book Trailers and Book Jackets.

I've been working in collaboration with a 6th Grade English Teacher on a cool project that is part of a contest by the Virginia Association of Teachers of English (VATE) called the Literacy Explosion. Once the word got around that I was doing all kinds of fun technology stuff,  the teacher approached me and asked if I would be interested in working with her on this project. Of course I said YES!

According to the VATE website, this is a competition that celebrates and promotes the integration of literacy and 21st century learning skills. Students read a novel and then create a media literacy project based on that book - either Glogster, Book Trailer, Podcast, Digital Movie, Photo Essay or Book Cover/Jacket. We introduced the project by having students select a book in the library and then I gave an introduction to the six categories.  Next, we had the students narrow it down to three categories: Glogster, Book Trailers, and Book Jackets. Now we are in the phase where they are creating their project and so far it's been a blast (or should I say LITERACY EXPLOSION!?).

For the Glogster project, they are using ww to create a Glog, which is basically a web-based multimedia poster with images, text, sound, video, animation, links, etc. For the Book Trailers they are using PhotoStory 3 to create trailers and for the Book Jacket they are just using a template I created in Microsoft Word to create their Book Cover. Our school already owns PhotoStory and Word through their Microsoft Office package, but I had to purchase a subscription to Glogster EDU in order to get enough student accounts, and for all the bells and whistles. It was only $99 for the whole year though, for 200 student accounts, which was reasonable.

Although I was familiar with all the technology, prior to this project I had never used Glogster or PhotoStory to actually create something. As I started playing around with the programs, I found it to be relatively simple to use. With Glogster, at one point I had a question about adding student accounts and I instant messaged a customer service rep about 2 minutes before the class walked in and he helped me out right away. Crisis resolved!  For PhotoStory, I was introduced to the program in a district training seminar about integrating technology. I created an easy trailer in about 15 minutes. Done. Ironically, the book jacket in Microsoft Word probably took me the longest to figure out how to do, but once I decided to create a landscape template, it was no problem. Once I learned the technology, I taught lessons to the students on how to use the programs. Now it's pretty much just computer lab time- answering questions about citing music and image sources, trouble shooting technical questions, helping students follow the rubrics, etc. As far as the technology side goes, as usual, I have found that the kids are very good at figuring out how to use the programs and they enjoy creating the projects and taking ownership of their work. It's cool to watch and be a part of.


It's been a lot of fun and I would definitely recommend this type of project. Although the idea of taking on several different software programs at once may seem daunting, you will find that the students are more comfortable with technology than most adults and can figure out the problems on their own or just work around any issues.

My Heart Goes Out to Sandy Hook Elementary

      I was teaching back-to-back lessons to 7th grade classes all day on Friday, the same day of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting.  Although I was teaching online researching skills, I was limiting students to using our subscription databases, rather than using Google or other websites (that is a different lesson). I checked my email between classes and had no real access to outside media or news. I left school around 3:30 pm, eager to pick my kids up from their school. I didn't find out about the tragedy until I got to their school parking lot and I checked my Facebook and Twitter accounts on my iPhone. I sat in the parking lot of my sons' school and read the news on my phone, while watching my smiling kindergartener play touch football on the playground with some friends. Like many parents across America, I raced into the school to pick them up and hug and kiss their sweet, innocent faces. As I entered my passcode to get into the building, I overheard tidbits from quiet conversations among other parents and the front office staff. Words like: Columbine, Virginia Tech, Movie Theater. Walking down the hall to their classrooms to get them, I heard the principal say in a sad tone, "I think a lot of parents will be picking up their kids a little early today." Imagine the feeling the victims' parents had when they went to pick their children up from school that day. Imagine the absolute terror the teachers, staff, and students must have felt when they heard the gunshots.  Imagine the gut-wrenching feeling of the people who had to deliver the news to families of the 26 victims of this horrible tragedy. My heart goes out to the entire community.

       It's now Sunday night and my heart is still heavy and my stomach is uneasy. This is going to be a long week.  

Pinterest for School Libraries

I started using Pinterest a while ago but never really got into it. Most of the pinners I followed were my stay-at-home mom Facebook friends and they seemed to follow recipes, crafts, and those funny/sarcastic greeting e-cards that are always going viral on social media sites. Although it was cool and creative, it just wasn't my thing. Now that I've gone back to work full time as a school librarian, following my crafty friends on Pinterest just made me feel like I wasn't channeling my inner Martha. 

Recently, however, Pinterest was reintroduced to me in an SLJ article from an educator perspective and I think it really makes sense for me. According to the article, pinterest is "fast becoming a powerful resource where teachers and students share images, store lesson plans, read about current events, watch video clips and collect their favorite apps." This sounds like a useful tool for sharing and organizing links. In fact, I set up a Pinterest account just for professional use and created 4 boards- New Books (In my library), Library Stuff, Education - General, and Library Media Technology.  I also shared this account and info in an article I wrote for my monthly School Library Newsletter that I send out to my entire staff. 

Are you using Pinterest? Follow me.