Vermont School Library Association

Hi Folks, Here are a few new tech tools for you to play with…

New Google search options:
Done a Google search lately?  Notice the new “Show options…” button on the search results page -under the search box next to “web”.  Google is now letting users filter searches with easy to use options.  You can limit searches by type (videos, forums, reviews), by time, by images from the page, etc.  The Wonder Wheel option (toward the bottom of the options list) is a graphical web of related terms for searches.
Note- in all cases, results of the new search appear on the right- it’s time for wide-screen monitors!

Video tutorial of new Google search options:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtirDMfcOKE
(BTW- Google just announced another round of free Google Teacher Academy training.  The upcoming session is 8/5/09 in Boulder, Colorado, application deadline is 7/3! )

Wolfram Alpha Computational Knowledge Engine:
It’s finally here… after all the hype, Wolfram Alpha, debuted last week.  It’s a powerful new tool for computational information, your teachers are going to want to know about.

In their words:  “Wolfram|Alpha’s long-term goal is to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable and accessible to everyone. We aim to collect and curate all objective data; implement every known model, method, and algorithm; and make it possible to compute whatever can be computed about anything.

Wolfram|Alpha contains 10+ trillion of pieces of data, 50,000+ types of algorithms and models, and linguistic capabilities for 1000+ domains.

Wolfram|Alpha’s knowledge base and capabilities already span a great many domains, and its underlying framework has the power and flexibility to support ready extension to essentially any domain that is based on systematic knowledge.”

Joyce Valenza’s review of WA

Check it out at:     http://www20.wolframalpha.com

Best,
Shannon Walters, VSLA Board Member for Technology Concerns
Library Media Specialist
C.P. Smith School
Burlington, Vermont  05401
swalters (at) bsdvt.org

In case you haven’t heard, these Vermont book award winners have all been announced for this year.

The Green Mountain Book Award: Crank by Ellen Hopkins

The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award: Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

The Red Clover Book Award: Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend! by Mélanie Watt

Here is a new brochure on the Vermont confidentiality law and school libraries:
vsla-patron-confidentiality-brochure.pdf

One for the bookmarks! The New England School Library Association’s new site is: neschoolibraries.org

Brattleboro Reformer, April 25-26, 2009

WESTMINSTER — Kurn Hattin Homes’ librarian has again received national recognition for outstanding support of reading education. Sally Mundell, Librarian at Kurn Hattin Homes in Westminster, was awarded Reading Model Library by Renaissance Learning, a Wisconsin-based company. Library certification indicates that Mundell’s efforts to support teachers have resulted in measurable improvements in student performance at New England Kurn Hattin Homes.”Sally exemplifies the kind of commitment to the success of every student that is at the heart of effective schools,” said Judi Paul, chairwoman of the board at Renaissance Learning.

read more at:

Brattleboro Reformer, April 25-26, 2009

It’s here, it’s here! The VSLA Spring News …

VSLA News 2009

The new, 2009-2010 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Book award list is now here (drum roll please). You will find it at two locations: it is now on DOL’s website:

http://libraries.vermont.gov/libraries/cbec/dcf

and, very soon will be on the DCF website: www.dcfaward.org

NEEMA Leadership: Implementing The New Standards
Saturday, March 28, 2009
SERESC • 8:00-3:30 • Bedford, NH

Featuring:
Kathy Lowe
Chair, AASL Learning Standards
Indicators and Assessment Task Force
and
Susan Ballard
Chair, AASL Standards
and Guidelines Implementation Task Force

Register at http://www.neschoolibraries.org/neschoolibraries/

AASL has just launched our third year of the longitudinal study “School Libraries Count!”  All K-12 schools, public and private, are invited to participate on a voluntary basis.  Past participant’s continued involvement is crucial when examining trends over time, as well as new participants so that an accurate reflection of the US educational demographics are represented.

Additional questions were added to last year’s study that focused on the use of social networking in the classroom. Findings showed that the majority of public and private schools were incorporating social networking tools into the classroom to aid in collaborative learning. This year’s study will include additional questions regarding English Language Learners (ELLs) and resources made available to them through school library media programs.

The number of participants between years one and two of the survey almost doubled, in large part due to the collective efforts of AASL volunteers getting the word out, and we hope to double again in 2009.

Please spread the word now!  Post to your website, listservs and blogs!  The survey may be accessed directly at http://www.aaslsurvey.org. The last day to complete the survey is March 12.

Thank you for your support.