Use of Blog

I am now developing my blog for all the teachers and staff at E. B. Comstock to use.  This site will be for you to request space in the library, which I will confirm and then place on the calendar found on the Cougar Nation Wiki.  I will inform you about new tools I find for your use, url's of importance, as well as give instructions or offer classes after school or through your department that will help you gain in your computer expertise.  Once you have enrolled in the blog, you will be able to comment which will allow you to give me ideas of what I can do to help you and your students.  This site will be available to you 24/7 and I will get back to you on all your questions, concerns, or needs.  Remember that this site is reserved for the teachers and staff at E. B. Comstock.  The wiki will be available for all students, parents, teachers and staff to read 24/7. This will be a read only site for everyone as the calendar will be there along with book reviews and notices of a wide variety for all to be able to access, along with URL's to be able to do research at home or elsewhere when they are not at the school.  The purpose is to help our school community to be able to get where they need to go quickly.  I welcome your suggestions to improve the wiki by comments on this blog.  We are all here to help each other and the students learn and experience success so let me hear from you.

Comments on wiki

The new system seems to be to put everyone in the class as a user and then designate each person as a reader.  That way they can't change your wiki but can comment.  Have added everyone on mine now so if someone feels like tesing this, I would appreciate it.  Just another answer I would like to have to make it more usable for the upcoming school year.  Thanks to everyone while I continue to try and get a handle on this!  You are all so appreciated!!

Profile

Finally figured out how to put my avatar in to the participants page rather than the smiley face!  Hurray!  I knew from seeing others that it could be done.  Another odd thing learned!

I am just so amazed with all the people in this class that have shared, struggled and helped throughout this process.  All of you are what keep me going!! Thank you and I loved being in this group with you.

Decimal's Reading Enjoyment Corner

    

I am excited to introduce to you the new reading incentive program for E. B. Comstock during the 2011-12 school year.  All student, staff and faculty are eligible to participate and are automatically members in this program.   Information, forms and  listings of recognition will be found on the wiki .

Links will be provided for books of interest, award winners and new books that have been added to the library.  The only limitation on a book choice for participation will be that the book cannot be required reading for a class at E. B. Comstock.  All other books are eligible that have been read by the participant during this school year.

At the end of each 6 weeks the top 7th and the top 8th grade reader will be identified.  These two students will have a poster made of them that will be displayed in the library showcase.  The two students will also be able to choose a book for their own library from  the prize shelf of books purchased for this purpose.   All students who participate will receive a certificate  acknowledging their participation in the program. 

Book review forms will be provided on the wiki for students to submit each time they read a book that qualifies.  These reviews will be placed in a notebook that will be available on the circulation desk for others to look through for recommended reading ideas.  The form will include permission to use the review for display, for Decimal to include in the wiki by Voki, or for reading over the public address system with recognition being given to the reviewer.

Decimal's Dewey Review

                   

Learning curve

Here I am - two days later - trying to plan out my steps.  Today I tried to post on a number of blogs so hope I did it right.  Woke up this morning to a virus on my computer so had to call for reinforcements to get that cleared off. Hoping everything is cleaned up now and I can figure out some more of this process.  It's fun when something works right but it likes to play hide and seek with me.

Voki update

Went and got a stand alone microphone today and I'm getting closer. It started to allow me to set up and said it was ready to use. Unfortunately you still can't get the actual voice recognition done so I'm delaying. Have inserted Voki on both the blog and the wiki using the text to voice mode and that worked. Also went in and, hopefully,fixed the settings on my wiki so you can get to it now. Learning a lot by the seat of my pants and with the help of Johnnie - ty, ty, ty. Will keep trying to get more done each day until this begins to make sense. Going to be reading all the blogs and getting ideas and help there too. See, I just admitted that I will be swiping, or is that sharing, ideas??

Comstock Advocacy

Library Advocacy Action Items for 2011-12

This year the Cougar Library will be concentrating on the items listed here to begin the visible advocacy for the year.  A new brochure will be developed that will advertise the blog as well as a website calendar for all to be aware of the activities taking place in the library on a daily basis.  This technology move will be supplemented by wearing library paraphenalia on a daily basis, talking the library at every opportunity and preparing special pathfinder bookmarks to help students and teachers in their library research and overall experience in using the library. The wiki will be used as an on-line newsletter for the entire school community which will include items/articles of interest, book reviews, technology hints, special happenings/offerings in the library etc.  My main focus, once it is up, is to update often to keep interest with the school audience.  I've seen too many be made and then there they are years down the road.  I must model good advocacy for the use of technology in our library.

Beginning the Journey - July 18, 2011

It is my desire to have something that will be much like a newsletter for students and teachers at Comstock.  Since we don't have a website, I believe I can start this through a wiki or blog.  I need to know more about them to know what I can achieve this year.  I plan to put live links into the site to put them into the school links once they are set up.