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Reflections from a Teacher-Librarian

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 Reflection is one of the most powerful routines people can build into their daily lives. Thinking about what we have done, and what we want to accomplish moving forward can help us achieve goals. The past couple of months I was enrolled in a technology class in a Library Science program at the college in the Midwest. I have had an opportunity to study the intersection of education and technology, and I have learned a great deal in the process. Did anything change for me? I would have to admit that my perspective has broadened as a result of taking this technology class. I have a greater appreciation for technology in the classroom. I have always been a proponent of using technology and I was thrilled when the first SMARTboard was installed over a decade ago. Even though the pandemic was disruptive and very costly for many, one positive to come out of it is the widespread use of Chromebooks. Image source: Giphy.com/ Did I find a new tool useful? One lesson I particularly enjoyed wa...
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You Can Improve Your Mental Health!

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Image source: Rawpixel.com/ The pandemic has had an enormous impact on me. First of all, I caught Covid in the summer of 2022 and spent several days without the ability to taste or smell. I seem to have recovered without long Covid, but as a result of the disruptions to every facet of my life I centered mental health in my daily consciousness. I joined an online meditation group where we meet twice a month, and I even incorporate meditation into my teaching practices. There are many great videos on YouTube I have found and my students seem to enjoy! Why should Mental Health be a priority? An analysis from Pew Research titled " Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022 " found many surprising, and some unsurprising findings regarding teen use of technology. The first finding is that nearly 95% of teens report using apps like YouTube "almost constantly". There were some surprising differences among internet and social media use with regards to gender and ethnic groupin...
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What's in a name?

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We would all like to think we are incredibly unique, and in a sense we are. Have you ever stopped to wonder how many other people share your name, and how accurate your information is out there on the web? What the internet says about me. I am rather fortunate that I have a common name. According to Google there are over 800 Jason Hill's in the United States, and 15 of us live in Illinois. We are a rather illustrious group. There is the Jason Hill that plays football for the San Francisco 49ers . There is the Jason Hill that teaches at DePaul University . There is the Jason Hill that has an IMDB profile and works as a film score composer . All of these accomplished Jason Hill's come up in a Google search. We sound like a rather interesting group, and I wouldn't mind having a drink with the Jason Hill's of the world. My own information is rather difficult to find, and I'm perfectly satisfied with that! Image Source: Screenshot of the "Jason Hill" Google sea...
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If a picture is worth 1,000 words, a Tweet is worth....

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Do you love social media? Do you hate it? No matter how you feel about it, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are powerful tools that can bring disparate groups of people together. I have been a Twitter user for nearly a decade and one useful aspect of that platform is knowing what people are thinking. Since 2016 this has proven to be a double edged sword, and Twitter has become even more problematic under it's new ownership. Despite all of those downsides, Twitter is still a powerful platform for education professionals to exchange ideas. Whom do I follow? I follow many educational experts and organizations, but one that I find especially helpful is Edutopia. Edutopia was founded back in 1991 by the George Lucas Educational Foundation . The mission of Edutopia is to integrate emerging technologies with educational strategies.  As a long-time follower of Edutopia on Twitter I have read useful articles that have transformed my teaching practice. What resource has Edutopia ...
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Can I learn if I can't see?

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It's no secret that all of us with struggle with some kind of physical impairment or disability at some point in our lives. Maybe you broke a bone, like me, and spent several months with limited mobility in a limb. Perhaps you struggle to hear, speak, or see the world around you. Our students share these struggles. Some are temporary, and some are permanent. As teachers we need to find a way to help all students learn.  How many students struggle to see correctly?  In 2021 the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published in the Morbidity and Mortality weekly statistics that I found rather surprising. It looked at children from age 2 to age 17 and found that as children aged, a greater percentage needed glasses or contacts. From a low of 3% of 2 year old boys and girls needing corrective lenses this number grows to 38% of boys and a whopping 48% of girls by the age of 12! Last year I taught sixth graders (12 years old) and I was lucky to see one or two students in a classroo...
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Social Media vs. Our Teens

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Image source: Rawpixel.com   When you download a new app onto your device, do you take the time to read the user agreement? As a sixth-grade teacher I begin the school year with internet safety and digital citizenship lessons. I wrote in a previous post about the difference between digital visitors and residents. While my sixth graders have grown up with technology being a daily part of their existence, I often find they are clueless as to how to use it safely and responsibly.  What social media platforms do you use? For many students, Snap is a preferred platform for social engagement. One of the huge appeals of this platform is their belief that their messages "disappear". My students are always blown away when we take the time to read Snap's user agreement . In any given year nearly half of my students are using Snap, despite the fact they are 11 or 12 years old. According to Snap's terms of use you must be 13 to use the service, and if you are under 18 you need ...
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Active learning looks like what!?!

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  Have you ever played "Name that tune?" Two contestants battle back and forth to see who can name a song using the fewest notes possible. Recently, Olympic athlete Adam Rippon wowed the judges by naming a Britney Spears song with only one note. The brilliance, and joy, of a game like "Name That Tune" is that it challenges someone to be knowledgeable with concise information. How else can thinking concisely be used? In the 1920's, Ernest Hemingway was enjoying the company of friends. Already famous for his prose, his friends challenged him to tell a story in only six words. After bullfighting, and fighting in the Spanish Civil War, he was not one to back down from a challenge. Hemingway wrote the now famous words - "For Sale - Baby shoes, never worn".  What can be conveyed in only six words? "For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn" certainly gets the mind turning. What happened to the baby? Where the shoes never worn because the baby died? Did t...
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