The Daring Librarian

( an after-school special webinar that's not totally awkward !) Monday September 13th - 8pm EST ( NOTE: changed date due to Labor Day holiday ) Guests: Gwyneth Jones, Shannon Miller & Keisa Williams Host: Gwyneth Jones Back to School Special : Wikipage A casual discussion to generate ideas on how to build school allies, support new teachers & become indispensable to admin & staff at the beginning of every school year. Here's an example of what I do for my teachers...Every year I create a new PPT Slidedeck to give out to my teachers & staff to make their getting ready for Back to School Night easier. Then all they have to do is to modify the slides, add their own info, and Voila! It's all good! This year I'm sharing my slidedeck with you! BTSN Daring Welcome View more presentations from gwyneth jones . You can download the slidedeck from Slideshare OR visit the Daring Librarian & MHMS BTSN wikipage Oh and if you get the chance...visit my oth...

I received and gave several gifts this week to friends that has filled my heart and warmed my soul. WARNING: Stop reading this post now if you're looking for my usual snarky comments & tech tips - though I don't blog about books as often as most librarians - I will always be a book lover! This post is a heartfelt thanks, celebrating my relationships, and mentally positioning myself with a air of grattitude for the upcoming school year that starts....for me...on Tuesday. I met with dear librarian friends and Maryland PLN peeps Brenda Anderson , Kyra Kreinbrook , and Andrea Christman at the Ram's Head Tavern this past week for happy hour ales & laughs. We stayed well beyond the hour of happy talking, bonding, scheming, and planning for the next coming school year. Brenda surprised me with a gift of a hand-made bracelet which I love & touched me! I want to share it with you! Awwww! Damn. So lucky. During our conversation, Andrea mentioned a book - ...

Watch this video and I think you'll change your mind! In 2007 I blogged on my MHMS Media blog about the amazing video "Did You Know" by Karl Fisch and Scott Mc Leod -- then last year '09 I posted the updated version to my community. And as we watch the phenom of Social Media and the newly coined Socialnomics the video above..... AND WOW! This has rocked my world - ALMOST as much as the Did You Know vid did in 2007~ I am even thinking of featuring this new video during my MASL keynote ! "Social Media Revolution 2 is a refresh of the original video with new and updated social media & mobile statistics that are hard to ignore. Based on the book Socialnomics by Erik Qualman." Btw, ROI means Return on Investment. What it means for us is how much we invest in our web presence and PLN will directly relate to what we get in return for our kids, school & the community - in other words - connecting with our kids! Of course, the most important ROI is teac...

I admit it... I have an Etsy.com addiction. Last week I bought 3 big over the top gorgeous sem-precious stone rings from DazzleFinger and 2000 year old Roman/Bactrian Glass sterling necklace & earring set from HARDWEARART . Being on VaCa brings out the interweb shopper in me! I also admit, I have a bling and jewelry addiction problem. Admitting it is the first step. ANYway..... ....Seeing that Aunt June was a Featured artist on the Etsy front page, I discovered & immediately LOVED this Overdue Book Calendar for Institutions & Schools ! It's so graphic cool! Cute but not TOO Elementary for my Middle School kids! The super talented AuntJune has hand drawn illustrations and pages that once you buy it - you'll get a .PDF to download and print for your ENTIRE SCHOOL! Only $30.00! You can print these out and give them to your kids so they can keep track of their due dates VISUALLY! (my kids rare...

So, thanks to my friend Sondra I am totally, irrevocably, and joyously a Gleek now! I just pre-ordered the Glee: The Complete First Season on Amazon to be released on Sept. 14th because I missed the first part of the season - and yes, I know I can watch them on Hulu - but I want to OWN these - maybe even show musical clips at school! And no, Glee may not appropriate for elem kids but for middle+ and hip grownups it's a HOOT! AND it provides a lot of teachable moments if parents watch the show with their teen. Glee almost makes me contemplate graduating to teach High School - then I come to my senses and say Naaaaah! I'm still too immature for HS! Two bits of exciting Glee news: Apparently even Sir Paul McCartney is a Gleek! He passed onto Ryan Murpy the show's creator a CD of music! What the what!? According to the New York Times & Reuters : “It came out of blue in a package, handwritten, and it had two CDs, and it said, ‘Hi Ryan, I hope you will consider some of th...

WOW! Thank you Lauren Barak & School Library Journal for the lovely article - (update: that doesn't work anymore! Doh!)   pinch me! I hope my principal Mr. Donyall Dickey doesn't get irked by the last line...but I'm ready to help him set up his blog.....when he's ready! He's a great Admin, very supportive & inspiring, and has a lot to share! He also wrote a book! "The Integrated Approach to Student Achievement: A results-driven model for improving performance, leadership, and the culture of instruction at your school " I would love to inspire all Admins to share more with the community in an ongoing conversation their hopes, dreams, & plans for their kids! No need to have JUST a newsletter home - an Admin can have an online relationship and inspire the world! A great list of Admin blogs can be found in this excellent blog post by Mrs. Smoke called Educational Blogs You Should Be Investigating And yes, dear readers...I did admit ...