Puppet Pals App for iPads

(written by Cherie Osowski) Presenter Shannon Miller talked briefly about how she incorporates this App in her school district. Puppet Pals is an App for iPads, iPhones, or iPod Touches that allows students to create animated cartoons using their own voices. This app can be used in the classroom to create short instructional videos or students can use this app for storytelling, reports and retells. At our school we have many ESL students and this application can help them with their fluency and language skills. I am planning to use the app after story time as an avenue for students to retell stories.

Librarians discuss possible choices for Battle 13-14 @ AKLA

Check out the final Tentative List for Battle of the Books 13-14!

http://511.alaska.gov is an invaluable Alaska traveler information resource from the State of Alaska Department of Transportation. Load it on your mobile phone or computer to access updates on road conditions getting to and from the next remote AKLA conference.

 I had the pleasure of meeting Caroline Arnold at the Fat Mermaid restaurant in Valdez.  While enjoying our delicious fish tacos, we talked about her newest book, Too Hot? Too Cold? (2013), which our school library had just received from the Junior Library Guild. The book explores the amazing and similar ways in which humans and animals adapt to heat and cold. It is illustrated by Alaska artist Annie Patterson.

 Caroline Arnold’s session was titled: “Think Outside the Book: Projects and Activities that Reinforce Reading”.  She is dedicated to creating fun learning activites that engage readers and help bring books to life, related specifically to her books. Caroline shares them with librarians, teachers, parents and students, through school visit programs and her website.

Here’s an idea for library time I plan to do with my 3^rd graders after reading to them Caroline’s book, Birds Nature’s Magnificient Flying Machines. During her session, Caroline demonstrated involving students in the activity “Measure Your Wingspan” by having volunteers hold up a giant handmade measuring tape (which the kids can research and construct) labeled with the wingspans of various large birds. Other students would then stretch out their arms along the tape to determine how many third graders it takes to equal the remarkable wingspan of a California condor, for example.

Caroline Arnold grew up in Minneapolis and spent summers at Camp Bovey in northern Wisconsin, orginally called Camp Hodag. There, campfire stories about the Hodag, a giant beast with the head of an ox, feet of a bear, back of a dinosaur and the tail of an alligator, inspired Caroline to write the Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers in 2006. The activity related to this book is “My Mixed Up Animal” consisting of a fill in the blank for kids to create their own beast, with the head of a ____, feet of a _____, etc, and then draw a picture of their very own imaginary creature.

 These projects and more, to undertake after reading her books, are available at www.carolinearnoldbooks.com. Go to Actvities for ideas linked to her books.

Contact Caroline Arnold at caroline@carolinearnoldbooks.com

Follow her on Twitter @CarolineSArnold

(written by Carole Smallwood) The kind of groupie we want for libraries, is the 2^nd definition; however, we want the kind of devotion to libraries that the 1^st definition implies. How do we create groupies?

At the AKLA state library conference in Valdez, I attended a session presented by Face to Face Communications, presented by Gail Johnson, President, and Pam Parr, Senior Strategist of their  Chicago based company.

Gail and Pam define a groupie as being the cream of the customer crop, someone who “will defend you to the death”.  We, as providers of library services and products, want this kind of patron, or customer, or member. Our groupies will be staunch supporters of our libraries when we are faced with budget cutbacks, or dramatic changes to the services we are allowed to provide. Our staunch supporters will advocate to save school and public libraries and for library positions.

In this session, the presenters talked about connecting with our “customers” so they can’t wait to come back. For example, as a customer in any store, or retail space, restaurant, etc., when I get less than expected, I come away angry or frustrated. However, when I get more than expected, I’m happy and excited, and can’t wait to tell others about my positive experience.

As service providers, we need to engage our “customer radar”. When developing a new policy, look at it through a customer’s eyes.  Any experience our customers have is based on 1) what they see, and 2) how they feel – and feelings will override what they see. Customers will remember how they feel more than what they saw.  We need to look at our current policies, and ask ourselves, “why do we have them?” and, “how can we change them?”  Why do we have rules in the first place? We have them so that things run smoothly, and so that customers know what to expect. Sometimes we have rules because ONE person did something stupid. To enforce some of the rules seems ridiculous. In a school setting, I know that we need a few more rules in order to keep young students acting in a responsible manner. But we still need to look at our rules, and make sure that they not only keep things running smoothly, but that they still enhance our customers’ experiences.  I have been using the term “customer”, instead of “patron” throughout this article, because that term helps to change how I look at the people who come to the library.  Seeing my patrons as customers or members is likely to change my service, and that in turn will result in advocates for the library!

Revisit some of the terms we use in the library, such as Call#. What does a call# mean to a student?

The presenters had 5 points which they wanted to convey to us:

1)   Convert your current customers into groupies.

2)    Connect with your customers so that they want to come back.

3)   Tell them what they CAN do, instead of what they CAN”T.

4)   Do extraordinary things to keep and create groupies.

5)   Create memorable experiences.

Did you have fun today?

Did you learn or find something new today?

(written by Mary Ann Hickey) The Developmental Preschool of Kodiak is housed in Peterson Elementary School where I am the para-librarian.  This program currently serves approximately 45 children divided into five classes. At this time, one class makes weekly visits to the library to practice learning to sit as a group and listen to a story. I want to find a way to promote Literacy with more of our preschoolers.

The “Early Literacy Q & A” session presented by Terrie Weckerle, weckerletn@muni.org , at the AKLA Valdez conference provided me the information and tools I need to help these very young kids. Terrie, the project manager of the “Ready to Read” Resource Center at the Anchorage Public Library, introduced me to this exciting statewide resource, which promotes early literacy development for Alaskans.

This worthwhile project fosters early literacy development by providing Reading Tubs and themed lapsit bags and kits for anyone working with infants and toddlers in Alaska at no cost. The book tubs and bags contain board books, props, puppets, and CDs based on over 80 different topics from Alaska to Winter.

The “Language is the Key” DVD made available at this session, is based on the premise that learning to talk is the first step in learning to read and write. It explores three powerful ways to help children learn to talk and communicate by using books: make comments and wait for a response, ask questions and wait for an answer, and respond by adding a little more.  Using these practices while reading with young children teaches them how to make sentences and communicate feelings, concepts and ideas.

After explaining the essentials of the program to our head preschool teacher, I ordered four different lapsit bags with the themes of beach, rain, movement and potty training to enhance the lessons she and her colleagues will be using in the next few weeks of school. These book bag kits will be used in the preschool classrooms and library. The kits may be checked out for three weeks and the shipping is free to and from your library. Estimated delivery time is 5 days.

Go to: www.readytoreadak.org or look on the Kids Page at www.anchoragelibrary.org for information regarding the four types of reading kits and the theme choices available. You can order your book kits through Inter Library Loan or through your local public library.

Symbaloo also looks like it could be very helpful for organizing all the different websites I will want to use. It’s very visual, which will be appealing to many and allow for quick location of specific sites.

Symbaloo looks like it could be very helpful for organizing all the different websites I will want to use. I like that it’s so visual.