Dear Librarian

What’s explore.org?

Dear Librarian — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:10:19 +0000

Explore.org is an amazing multimedia resource library that educators and students may benefit. The mission of explore is to “champion the selfless acts of others.” (That might explain why subscribing to explore is free.) There are more than 250 very good original documentary videos to choose from as well as over 30,000 high quality photos to view. The focus of explore’s content is global while impactful–from a video about the Three Gorges Dam in China to pictures of humpback whales or children in Darfur, all the images are breathtaking. The multimedia resources found on this excellent site takes the viewer around the world learning as they go. Take a look….

Is there a place to find student videos?

Dear Librarian — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:41:45 +0000

The access to videos is abundant onlline, yet sometimes parents or teachers might have concern for the content that students might be exposed to. There is an alternative: SchoolTube. SchoolTube is a site for teachers and students to upload their videos. Every video that is uploaded has been monitored; every video also must be original content. There are many channels to choose from on SchoolTube as well sponsored contests for students to participate in. SchoolTube is easily searched and has categories to browse. You can signup to join or search it without being a member. Best of all, SchoolTube is easy for kids to use.

Why tag?

Dear Librarian — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 04:47:05 +0000

Here’s a great short video by MIT explaining why we should tag things. Just watch, and it will help you understand the value of tagging. It helps us find online information so much easier.

Since you are a school librarian, where do you go for the summer?

Dear Librarian — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:30:48 +0000

Today is the last day of school at the International School of Beijing, so I start my summer vacation tomorrow. My family and I will spend our summer at Spirit Lake, Idaho swimming, cooking, playing, and of course reading. With a nice break ahead of me, I will resume posting in August for the 2010-2011 school year. (Although, when I get some really good questions, I’ll probably post answers. As your Dear Librarian, I too want to know the answers to many questions, so go ahead and ask me anything….)

I’d like a summer project. Can you give me one?

Dear Librarian — Mon, 31 May 2010 06:46:44 +0000

For the summer, the Elementary Library at the International School of Beijing is promoting two different Summer Reading Projects. For the lower elementary, we’re asking students to make Story Sacks out of their favorite books. Then in August, when their favorite books get checked out, the new readers have a little treat to accompany the read. In the upper elementary, we’re asking the students to create a visual representation of their favorite books. Again in August, we plan to run this student generated slideshow on our new, large, library screen. Both projects are not limited to lower or upper school students. An upper elementary student may create a Story Sack and vice versa for lower elementary students if they’d like to make a visual representation. Mainly, the focus, is to share your favorite summer reads when we return in August!

Click on the following links for the project details:

Summer Reading Project for LES

Summer Reading Project for UES