The Daring Librarian

Education Trends-A-Go-Go It's SO easy to get overwhelmed with all the new education tech and trends going on in the world. 1:1 Flipping Future Ready Makerspace Genius Hour Common Core Mobile Learning Design Thinking Google Classroom Brain Based Learning Project Based Learning Learning Management Systems Transformative Brain Based Learning Spaces Sheesh....I could go on! It's EXHAUSTING! Ed Tech Relationship Anxiety Then....there's all the new technology that you have to get, use, and master! Don't have an unlimited budget or a super generous PTA? OK, now you have to get funding from a place like Donor's Choose . (Which is totally, doable! But does take a wee bit of effort) Once it was Smart Boards now it's Tablets and 3D printers. Then what? What happens when you run out of money to buy the supplies? OMGosh, again. Exhausting! Take a Deep Breath, It's OK! But I'm here to tell you...It's OK. You don't have to t...

When we comment we model. When we Tweet professionally, we show our kiddos how they should behave online by our example. Or at least that's what we should be aiming for, right!? Creating a positive digital footprint so that our kiddos can see what that looks like. Ethics: Why Aren't We Teaching This? I think it's important to teach our kiddos the right and wrong ways to interact with each other. Why aren't we doing this already is more the question!? I'm not talking about basic "home training" I'm talking about creating situations,  throwing out some shade, & seeing how they react. Perhaps work in small groups & brainstorm reactions then have a discussion about the choices. And NOT just online -- Oh no! Ethics are ethics. Let's  focus on choosing to do the right thing in real life as well as online. How to react with empathy to haters & people who provoke. Have them ask themselves before commenting (in the hallway, at lunc...

I was recently inspired by teacher librarian Ms. Diana Rendina , to create a professional Instagram account for our MHMS Daring School Library Media Center. Why should you consider it? “Go where your customers are” Here’s a quick look at the stats on Instagram. 200 Million monthly active users 13% of all internet users 51% of 2014 high school graduates use Instagram daily 23% of US teens consider Instagram their favorite social network 85% increase in global usage among teens from Q1 – Q3 last year 34% of US teens and millennials (14 – 34) use Instagram Our kiddos really are not much on Twitter (Shocking. I know, right?) they also think Facebook is sorta fuddyduddy (though they might have one, they don't "live" there) but almost every kid I've talked to lately is big into Instagram and Vine!  History Day in the Library w/ the Absolutely Awesome Alexandra! #HistoryDay @hcpss_mhms Ps. That's a record player! A photo posted by Gwyneth Jones...

Ever wonder where your Tweets are going? How many Favourites, Re-Tweets, & Replies? Well, Twitter analytics is here to help! View graphic in full size Do they really matter? Nope! Like the number of followers, it's really not about quantity as it is about quality. The quality of the conversations you're having on Twitter. How much are you are sharing, helping, listening, & asking? Are you participating in some Twitter Chats? Are you helping newbies?  Are you contributing to our EPIC PLN? If not, c'mon! We're waiting for you! But if you're really not ready that's OK, too! Keep lurking, listening, & RT-ing!  I try and never give out any social media guilt trips. We're here for you when you're ready to talk on Twitter :-) Hope this infographic helps! Your thoughts are always eagerly welcomed in the comments! Give me a break from the spammers, please! LOL Cheers! ~Gwyneth

Why not give a gift to yourself? Of balance. Do you sleep with the phone next to your bed? Perhaps binging or vibrating every time a text or Tweet comes in?  A friend of mine Friday night teased me when she saw my iPhone screen. That I had over 23,000 emails I hadn't read and she told me to take a screenshot. I shrugged & said, well - I don't use my phone for that- I read all my emails on my computer. Is that wrong? She laughed. Whatever. ;-) "The benefits of a smartphone sabbatical are many. Research shows too much tech can interfere with our sleep, make us feel insecure and more ." - HuffPo The purpose of this 7 Day Digital Detox Smart Phone Challenge is to find a balance in your life between the hectic, frenetic, continuous connectivity to the world and social media with slowing down, paying attention and valuing our loved ones, friends, & family. Do I practice what I preach? Nahhh! Ok Sometimes! But I hope this infographic abov...

  Creativity in all it's engaging guises but presented with a new technology and social media twist! I really can't remember how I stumbled across this idea of writing super short Tweet size stories.  I certainly didn't originate it - yet when I searched the hashtag I found an assortment of fits and starts with a challenge to write a short story in the form of a Tweet - and I was intrigued! I guess it's sorta related to the Tweet Me a Book Review idea I had and blogged about a few years ago with it's accompanying Wikispaces lesson page. The activity is below is copied from my Wikispaces page where, at the bottom of the page, I uploaded for you the doublesided paper PDF version for practice or when you want that social media engagement but you can't get to or have the machines. The Wikispaces version of the lesson features a java script character counter widget and a Google form to submit the story. A good portion of my kiddos are under 13 and I wou...

Happy New Year!  It's that time of year that I do my Geeky house cleaning, so it's another year going over my past posts about this topic and thinking how to improve them! At first I thought I could leave out the password comic & tip and then the Sony thing happened. WTHeck!? It was recently released that some Sony employees had a password of s0ny123 and the worst, "password!" Also, with brute force hacking making the rounds, I decided to update a few of my tips. "The only person you can rely on to keep your password secure is yourself. And let me tell you, you're probably not doing enough to keep number one safe. The reason: Your special lump of letters, numbers, and symbols are likely spread over too many sites, are not long enough, and are probably too personal. Most of our passwords suck. And it's kind of a big problem." - Gizmodo   1. Craft a Perfect Password & Dump Your Cache OK, so there IS no perfect!...