WHAT? My final project is this blog, Learning in the Library, and its “baby” blog, Maine Student Book Award Nominees: 2007-2008.
WHY? I need a new webpage for my library. I created this blog to replace my current onewhich is very static and unexciting. I want to have a site that can/will change often and easily. My current webpage does not allow interaction. It is strictly Web 1.0, author to audience.
WHAT AM I GOING TO CHANGE? I am going to use a blog instead of a webpage to communicate what is happening in the library. I chose a blog format because (1) it is easy for me to update and (2) readers can (and will–I hope) give me feedback or ask questions through comments. As it stands, I don’t know who my audience is (if anyone). I don’t think kids are using it at all, but I would like them to. I don’t know if the information I have up suits anyone’s needs.
Features I plan to include in my blog:
- Instead of writing a monthly newsletter and making it available on my webpage as a pdf, I plan to post news whenever there is something noteworthy to tell. (This will be a change in frequency.)
- I plan to increase the number of links to good resources. I think a set of links for students and another set for teachers might work nicely. Using a blog will allow me to organize the links into categories such as “Research” and “Math.” (This will be a change–a definite improvement.)
- One category that isn’t showing yet in “Contests.” Each week I sponsor a contest in the library. I plan to post the results under that category weekly. Perhaps I can even “advertise” the current contest at the beginning of the week. (Although I “publish” the contest results via an announcement, a sign in the library, and in my monthly newsletter, I will be able to publish the results each week instead of once a month.)
- Another goal is to create online contests that would act as online scavenger hunts. A post can pose the question and students can put their answers in a post. Thanks to the moderation tool, I could wait to post the comments until the contest is over. (This long-time goal will be a change.)
- I started a “baby blog” (linked to this one) specifically to increase interest in the Maine Student Book Award (MSBA) project at my school. I have set up my MSBA blog with a post about each book nominated for the award this year. The posts will feature brief booktalks and some statistics (genre, number of pages, and Lexile). The statistics serve as categories for browsing. Instead of having student fill in a sticker which is added to a folder about a MSBA nominee, I will encourage them to comment on blog. Perhaps people from other school will comment as well. If this works, maybe the MSBA project could use a state-wide blog to encourage students (and adults) to talk to one another about great books. (I currently only have a link to the MSBA website.)
- Since my school serves children in grades K-5 and the MSBA project is for fourth to eighth graders, I hope to create yet another baby blog for the Chickadee Award: The Maine Children’s Choice Picture Book Project for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. (I currently only have a link to the Chickadee list.)
- Someday I hope to create a wiki where students can booktalk books that they are reading (non-award books) and comment on each other’s reading. I would link the wiki to this blog.
- A “new book” or “book of the week” post would be another worthy addition. I will make them available under another category. (Another change)
- I plan to change the current “Class Work” and “Project” categories for EPC 500 to “Summer 2007 Professional Development” and save my work. I thought about deleting my posts, but Alice suggested that I keep a record of my learning for students (and others) to see. It will become part of the archives, a sort of history of this site!
HOW IS THIS PROJECT COLLABORATIVE? So far, colleagues and I have collaborated orally on the construction of this site. I only have two posts so far, but I hope to get feedback (comments and questions) from students, parents, and anyone else who reads this blog. Perhaps readers will help develop new categories that interest them or suggest new links to be included in my list.