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Thing 14 – Augmented reality

I’ll admit this is something that I have not used before, although I did come across the concept in another course that I did last year.  My problem is that I am not a great user of mobile technology.  I have an iPad but my phone is just that.  I do not have a smart phone and cannot access the web from mine.  At some point in the past I decided that I wanted freedom from the shadow of the mobile phone.  My family will tell you that I am terrible about having the thing switched on and they can never get hold of me when I am out.  I do use my iPad quite a lot but it is for web searches, emails,  twitter, Facebook and taking pictures.  I have mentally assigned different uses for my various bits of technology and if I am using most digital tools then i prefer the laptop because of the bigger screen size.

I tried creating an ‘Aura’ yesterday and again today but I don’t think they were particularly successful.  Perhaps I need to see someone else creating them, or maybe it is just that I can’t see a use for the tool as far as my work is concerned.  Something for later, I think.

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Thing 10 – Live Streaming

I must admit that this could be the most daunting of the modules that we are looking at.  I do have a Skype account which I use to talk to family but I have not used any live streaming in my work.  I have definitely been at events that were being streamed and that is becoming more and more popular.  This year’s Carnegie and Kate Greenaway awards ceremony was streamed but I know that a lot of people had problems with buffering, so that the pupils did not get the experience they had hoped for.This suggests that the sooner we all have high speed broadband the better.

There are definitely times at conferences that you have a really great speaker and you wish that everyone was able to listen to them. I think it is still more common for sessions to be recorded and then uploaded rather than risk the problems of streaming.  The technologies have moved forward in a dramatic fashion over the last few years but I think there is still room for improvement.

I had a look at at Periscope but I would need to think how I would use it.  There are several positives and negatives about the way it is set up and I need to think through whether there is an overall benefit.

Live Streaming is something that is going to continue to grow and particularly as it becomes more expensive to physically attend training and even to get the time out of work to do this, or attend meetings.   It is something that I am going to have to think about, especially for author events perhaps.

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Rudai 23 things

Something of a strange title, but it is the name of an online course I am undertaking and which is being run by members of the Western Regional Section of the Library Association of Ireland.  It was mentioned on a forum that I belong to, so in a moment of weakness I  signed up.  Luckily several of my colleagues from across the UK have also signed in, so we can keep each other company and hopefully make some new friends as well.

the course literally takes you through a range of 23 topics which are important for modern librarians, from digital literacy to collaboration and marketing.  Each topic takes one week, so it is going to be a long slog, even if they say it is only about 2 hours per week.  I will be adding to this blog on a weekly basis for the duration, talking about what I learn, what I think.

Back from Conference

The past week has been particularly hectic for a large group of school librarians.  First we had the School Library Association conference in Manchester over the weekend and on Monday there was the announcement of the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway book awards which had been shadowed by around 5000 groups nationally.  I was extremely lucky and attended both of these events, so I am now trying to catch up with sleep and all my emails etc.

I have a soft spot for Manchester as I spent 2 years there as a library school student in the early 1970s.  The city has changed dramatically, but it is still a hub for libraries and books, as I was reminded as I drove past the  world renownedJohn Rylands Library. There is also the newly refurbished central library, with the great round reading room, and the Cheetham’s Library which is part of the school.  The venue for the weekend was great with quite luxurious rooms (compared with student accommodation from past years) and all the talks, workshops, cake tastings within easy distance on the hotel mezzanine floor.

A comfortable sleep

A comfortable sleep

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We’re going on a Bear Hunt.

 

Whilst meeting authors and illustrators is the icing on the cake, conference is really about updating skills and gaining knowledge.  This is not just from the talks and workshops but also through the networking with colleagues from a range of other school settings.

There were two keynote sessions and both provided a lot of interest. Despite all my years in the profession and all the people I have met, I think this is the first time that I have had the pleasure of hearing Malorie Blackman speak.  She was in discussion with the lovely Wendy Cooling and the topics ranged from her role as the children’s laureate to her love of libraries and how they had been important throughout her life.  She was so full of enthusiasm and a wonderful ambassador when talking to members of the government.2014-06-20 15.06.01The second keynote session was by Niall  McWilliams, the head at Carterton Community School and winner of the School Library design award.  It was great to have a headteacher who was so supportive of the role that school libraries and their librarians have in the achievements of the school.

Workshops were wide ranging, from storytelling to EPQ  and also how librarians can work with publishers.  I particularly enjoyed author Steve Hartley who persuaded about 10 of us to step inside the most enormous pair of knickers that we had ever seen.

Really big knickers

Really big knickers

He also spoke about the importance of humour in connecting children to reading, something that we could all agree on.

It was also great to see the ever cheerful and brilliant Neil Griffiths, who as a headteacher many years ago had come up with the idea of Story-sacks.  He is wonderful at showing how storytelling SHOULD be done, so that the children are truly captivated by the experience.

Finally, I attended a workshop with Alyx Price from Macmillan and Harriet Bayly from Oxford University Press who were discussing how schools can work directly with publishers in a variety of ways.  This can range from reviewing proofs of new books to having author visits.  Publishers can also provide materials such as bookmarks which are always very popular with the pupils.

One of the really great things about a conference is usually the exhibition.  This one covered a wide range of areas for school librarians but it was rather short on publisher stands.  However those that did attend were friendly and very helpful, giving everyone a chance to catch up on what is new out there.  Overall this was a lovely conference which stimulated the mind and provided much needed time to talk to colleagues.

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Hello world!

Welcome to my blog about schools and reading.  The aim is to help signpost what is happening in the book and education worlds, but mainly to inform schools and librarians about the help that is available to them.

So many School Library Services have been closed in the last few years and it is becoming increasingly difficult for schools to find advice that has a local focus.  I hope to link with those that I have worked with over the years in the South West, whilst also highlighting colleagues who are able to provide services elsewhere, including where a SLS still exists.

This is very much a work in progress and I hope to increase the range of things I discuss as they crop up in conversations with people.  I am off to the School Library Association Conference at the end of the month and I am sure that will give me a huge amount of information to feed back to people.