One of the questions I have about diversity in literature is "who does it serve"? I know the "mirrors, windows, doors" argument but sometimes I wonder how much my relatively, well probably actually absolutely privileged mainly expatriate international school students buy into it all. Or for that matter any student of privilege. My "Iqbal" or … Continue reading if you name it will it come?
INF536: Assessment 4 – Part A: Applying spatial changes and design thinking to middle school reading– a three phase collaborative approach
Introduction There is a long history of research into the value of and elements contributing to the success of classroom libraries. They have an important role in ensuring accessibility of written works to promote fluency and skill in literacy and thereby contributing to academic achievement. But the literature appears to concentrate on elementary schools (Hopenwasser … Continue reading INF536: Assessment 4 – Part A: Applying spatial changes and design thinking to middle school reading– a three phase collaborative approach
Are we there yet? No … and this is why – an appeal to database owners and academic libraries
I'm about to write another assignment. This must be about my 40th serious assignment of over 1,500 words requiring academic research, looking for good peer-reviewed studies, reading through 1,000's of pages to try and distill exactly what is being said, whether it is of relevance (directly or tangentially), and once I'm finished that to pause … Continue reading Are we there yet? No … and this is why – an appeal to database owners and academic libraries
The forgotten bits …
This is just the BEST and funniest and most worthwhile article I read and then I forgot to include it ... enjoy! Schlipf, F. (2011). The dark side of library architecture: The persistence of dysfunctional designs. Library Trends, 60(1), 227–255. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/903205684?accountid=10344
Design – space thinking and time (2)
I can't believe more than a week has flown by. As promised here is the next update ... I still haven't managed to get to my whole "to do" list, but there has been some progress! We've probably catalogued about 700 of the 1,000 chinese books that need to be catalogued - thanks to the … Continue reading Design – space thinking and time (2)
Design – space, thinking and time (1)
Time to make a quick reflection of the last 3 weeks before I forget it all in the blur of activity of the coming weeks. When I started my job I inherited a library that is not very large, serves around 650 elementary school students ranging from Kindergarten (age 3) to Grade 6 (age 11/12). … Continue reading Design – space, thinking and time (1)
Why can’t a library?
Be more like a store (with apologies to Frederick Loewe & Alan Jay Lerner)? And if it were a store, what kind of store would it be? Please don't say bookstore, because even though we apparently love them, they're dying and going out of business. Except for those that evolve beyond books, earn the respect of customers, get into … Continue reading Why can’t a library?
Mad rush to the finish line
Well it's done! Well it's kind of done. The digital essay part is done and I've got all the little interactive bits and pieces and I hope they work in real life and not just in preview. Thanks to Sharon who has also been experimenting with iBooks author and was the crucial hour or so … Continue reading Mad rush to the finish line
Hygiene factors that annoy …
After my last post got a pop up that my theme is retiring in 57 days and would I like to choose a new theme. No I wouldn't but I'd better. And I'd better do it now as I don't like to revisit that type of decision/action twice. Choosing themes for me is like choosing … Continue reading Hygiene factors that annoy …
Digital reading and studying – teachers are students too…
Last night I saw a flurry of posts on one of my Facebook groups - the one with teachers who are students, often back to school after a gap of years or even decades. That was me 30 months ago. Yes I had spent two years studying Chinese at HKU more recently, but that was … Continue reading Digital reading and studying – teachers are students too…
Informative Flights - Musings of a Teacher Librarian 