Xtranormal text to movie, and kindness...

Here is a post shared on LM_NET :

"Joyce Valenza was the keynote speaker at our annual NYC librarians' conference last week. To say the least, it was inspiring to see how she uses Web 2.0 tools with her students. I am teaching a College Research class and having my students keep blogs of what they are learning in class using the write-to-learn process. The students are not always motivated to write on their blogs but today I taught them how to make blog entries with xtranormal. Here are 2 examples of what my students did. They are now highly motivated to write blog entries via xtranormal.
http://alacr.blogspot.com/
http://mhpcr.blogspot.com/

Patricia Sarles, MA, MLS Jerome Parker Campus Library Staten Island, NY USA http://csihslibrary.wikispaces.com

Have a look at the wikispace, and here is a link to xtranormal text to movie http://www.xtranormal.com/

And Patricia signs off with these great quotes about kindness :

"Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind." - Henry James

"How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong....because someday in your life you will have been all of these." - George Washington Carver

"The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof. What I want is so simple I almost can't say it: elementary kindness. Enough to eat, enough to go around. The possibility that kids might one day grow up to be neither the destroyers nor the destroyed. That's about it..." - Barbara Kingsolver

"Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind." - Henri Frederic Amiel

Manifesto for 21st Century School Librarians

On the school library list serv, Catherine Lee, Teacher Librarian at Epsom Girls' Grammar School shared this essay by the inspiring Joyce Valenza, and it is a lively and challenging "job description"...

http://www.voya.com/2010/09/15/tag-team-tech-october-2010/

and my colleague Janet McFadden shared this item:

"The one photo in this report doesn't make this look like the most physically up-to-date library, but as we all know, Joyce Valenza is such a dynamic educator that the services provided are second to none, esp in terms of digital developments. Here's a brief report on the accolade the Springfield Township High School Library has just been given by the AASL:

High school library named best in state
Montgomery Newspapers Staff photo by BOB RAINES By Nicole Jenet
The Springfield Township High School library has been selected as the “outstanding” school library in Pennsylvania ...

Things that keep us up at night

Joyce Valenza and Doug Johnson have written an inspiring and challenging article : Things that keep us up at night , originally published in School Library Journal, and reprinted in the latest SCIS Connections newsletter

http://www2.curriculum.edu.au/scis/connections/things_that_keep_us_up_at_night.html

It opens "The library, as we once knew it, may no longer be relevant. School librarians, as we once knew them, may no longer be relevant. And, yet, this is undoubtedly the most exciting time in history to be a librarian..."

Here are a couple of extracts :

Economic shifts

We face a major change in the economic rationale for libraries. Libraries were created under an economic model where it was more cost-effective to buy something (a book, a video, a magazine) and share it than to buy a copy for everyone. And for centuries this model has given libraries their value. But for the first time in history, we are moving from a time of information scarcity to one of information abundance. Can we define why libraries are necessary when information is ubiquitous, more scalable, far more convenient, and often 'free' online?

Libraries need to change from places where we just get stuff to places where we make stuff, do stuff and share stuff. Our libraries should not be grocery stores. We need to use the groceries, to open the boxes, pour the milk, mix the batter, make a mess (see Joyce Kasman Valenza's 'Library as Domestic Metaphor', NeverEndingSearch blog www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334/post/90032209.html). We need production space. We need to serve up our creations in presentation or story space. We need to inspire masterpieces of all sorts, and we need to guide members of our communities through new library metaphors.

Missing the potential of reading 2.0

Are we moving fast enough to embrace shifts in how and what people read? In what reading is? Are we promoting traditional books in ways that reach young readers where they live and play? What do literature circles look like when we add powerful new tools for discussion? Can we promote new titles and award winners and involve students and teachers in sharing and celebrating favourite reads in new, media-rich ways? How can we successfully integrate new book formats - Playaways, e-books, audiobooks, interactive web books - into our programs? Are we making the connection between increased voluntary free reading and increased performance on reading test scores emphatically enough?

Are we preparing our libraries to serve a post-literate society (See Doug Johnson's 'Libraries for a Post-Literate Society' in Multimedia & Internet@Schools, July/August 2009, reprinted in Connections Issue 72), one in which people can read but prefer to meet their information, communication and recreational needs in formats other than print? How do we begin to understand that literacy is no longer restricted to print? Learners must be able to construct and deconstruct messages in a multitude of media. They need to read, interpret and create all types of writing and scripting: YouTube video, Tweets, blog posts, digital stories.

Joyce Valenza & Springfield Township HS Virtual Library

The amazing, indefatigable Joyce Valenza runs the library at Springfield Township High School - here is the link - http://www.sdst.org/shs/library/ - do go and explore... It is a busy place !




Scroll down to check out the list of links listed below the illustration
eg Looking for a good read which will take you to a wiki http://bookleads.wikispaces.com/ with author websites, YA author blogs, podcasts, e-bo0k portals, reading resources... and that is just one link !

Joyce Valenza, web 2.0 and the unquiet library

Here is a link to a Joyce Valenza blog (on SLJ) post
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334/post/1090041909.html

Joyce wants to recognize "the value of forward-thinking virtual library service and instruction. If I had my way, we’d formally recognize professionals who get it---who know how to identify and grab the tools now available for information and communication, who know how to use these emerging tools in ways that engage young people and promote learning and reading, in ways that model effective communication strategies for today's world. An award for those professionals who present themselves and their libraries in attractive, interactive, professional, and usable ways. "

Joyce opens the door of the of the Unquiet Library (also known as Creekview High School Media Center in Georgia), which features a dynamic blog, and lots of widgets--including Browse Inside invitations to Printz Award titles and the library's Del.icio.us bookmarks; an option to subscribe to library Twitter tweets or the feed to the library blog, scenes of library life via Flickr, other updated slide shows (stored on Slideshare) including the Georgia Peach Award for books tor teens, and a tag cloud index. ...

This is a school library which is wholeheartedly embracing web 2.0 opportunities - make a virtual visit and be inspired !