Last year I hosted Dundee's first "Hour of Code" and it was very popular with the students. I know that in the future coding will be extremely important, and that there is a high demand for coders and programmers. This year I was able to have some students dive in a bit deeper with Code Studio through Code.org. These are 20 hour courses that some students were able to complete while they had "double" library classes. They already had a Code.org account through Office 365, all I had to do is create a class and have them get started. I am thrilled with the enthusiasm and joy that the students had when I would tell them that today is a "coding" day. Several students completed more than one 20 hour course, and a few admitted to working on it at home.
I turned these learning opportunities into real life coding with our robots in the Makerspace. Students had to code the robots through a set of obstacles. It was amazing to see them work together to get the coding right to accomplish a real-life task. Or to see them collaborate to complete a puzzle on the Code Studio courses.
This year we continued working on different inquiry based projects with all grade levels. 5th grade students studied a Historical Figure from the American Revolution and created a digital poster called a "Glog" to show off their findings. 1st graders researched the needs of different types of pets using Pebblego and wrote a persuasive piece on what pet they would like and why. 6th graders showed off their creative side by making a book trailer. They were able to vote for five categories from their class. The winners can be found here: http://dundee.ops.org/LIBRARY/BookTrailers/tabid/420/Default.aspx
3rd graders researched an endangered animal and created a Sway to show to their class. My hope is to not only continue these projects next year, but to add more opportunities for students to choose their own topics of interest for an inquiry project.
Collection Development
This year I really focused on our Graphic Novel section and getting requests from students. I ask every class what they wanted to read, and I wanted to start building part of our collection around that. The overwhelming request was for Graphic Novels that were geared more toward the girls. Usually I don't take gender into account for our collection, but more and more girls were asking for graphic novels on topics that they enjoy, like dance and the arts. So I dove in and started looking on Titlewave. I was able to find books by Raina Telgemeier that seemed to fit the mold! I purchased several of her books and I could not keep them on the shelf. Students then started branching out into other Graphic Novel authors. The Grapic Novel collection numbers went from 204 titles to 248 (as of January 2017). We are currently working to move the Graphic Novel collection for the third time in the last 2 years. It has become a large part of our library!
I was also focused this year on raising the age of the over all collection. For the past 2 years the average age of our collection was 2003. While the overall percentage of "aged titles" has raised from 30% to 33%, I am happy to see that the overall age of the collection moved up one year to 2004. I know there is still a lot of work to be done, but I am happy we are getting current materials in to the hands of our students!
I am also very excited about Overdrive and the ebooks it provides to our students over the summer! We are not eligible for a Sherwood Summer Library program since we are so close to A.V. Sorensen, but having access to books at home is a huge advantage for our students. Some students are not able to go to the library, but many do have devices at home! I was able to send out some information about how to access Overdrive over the summer and I hope it helps with the "summer slide" that can affect students' reading levels. I know several of the teachers were excited about it too.
This year I focused on continuing a two year goal I set for myself last year, I wanted to incorporate Makerspace items and STEAM toys for our students to use. Finally in February of this year I was able to get the students into the Makerspace! I feel fortunate that Library services provided funding for some of the makerspace items we have. I was also able to use other funds, such as the Scholastic dollars from the book fairs, to purchase more. What a hit the Makerspace has been! I've seen students come alive with the possibilities of creating things, students who usually are shy and reserved have become architects and problem solvers! I started off with a simple challenge for them to complete, it was the first week of Spring and I had them create a nest out of the materials in front of them. I gave them three plastic eggs that had to fit in the nest. I was met with some reluctance at first, but many students dove right in and got creative. I am thrilled by the results the Makerspace has created. I plan to expand the Makerspace next year and create more STEAM challenges for the students to participate in.
A portion of our Dundee Makerspace, which will be expanded next year!
A 3rd grader learning about circuits using Snap Circuits.
Students building their nest in the Spring Nest Challenge
One area we really focus on is teamwork and building things together.
Another goal I had was to have Dundee certified as a Digital Citizenship School. Through the use of Nearpod lessons, Digital Compass, Digital Passport, and other Common Sense Media lessons, we were able to complete the necessary steps and get certified! I was also able to renew my educator citizenship. Digital citizenship has been an important aspect of my teaching, I find that more and more students are face with digital challenges that I never did as a student. I feel that students, staff, and parents all need the tools to help students deal with digital citizenship challenges. I held a PD session with the Dundee Staff to let them know what I was teaching and why. I also spoke at a PTO meeting to let parents know about my lessons and where they can find resources for support at home. I sent home an infographic/newsletter to parents with the same information. These are real challenges that our students could face, and part of the job of a Media Specialist is to give students the tools they need to work in the digial age.
My final goal this year is actually another two year goal that I have set for myself, I'd like to further my education and work to become a better educator. I was absent for a majority of the first semester due to the birth of my son, and when I came back I felt overwhelmed, so many things had happened while I was gone. I decided mid-year that I wanted to start getting back into PD opportunities or find ways that I can return to the classroom as a student. I have joined a pilot program using Classflow and I am excited about using this new tool with our students. I also was recently accepted into the Instructional Technology Leadership endorsement program through OPS and UNO. I am looking forward to getting started this summer and using the new skills I to improve my instruction and help students learn!
Omaha Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, age, genetic information, citizenship status, or economic status in its programs, activities and employment and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following individual has been designated to address inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Superintendent of Schools, 3215 Cuming Street, Omaha, NE 68131 (531-299-9822).
Las Escuelas Públicas de Omaha no discriminan basados en la raza, color, origen nacional, religión, sexo, estado civil, orientación sexual, discapacidad , edad, información genética, estado de ciudadanía, o estado económico, en sus programas, actividades y empleo, y provee acceso equitativo a los “Boy Scouts” y a otros grupos juveniles designados. La siguiente persona ha sido designada para atender estas inquietudes referentes a las pólizas de no discriminación: El Superintendente de las Escuelas, 3215 Cuming Street, Omaha, NE 68131 (531-299-9822).
