CANVAS and the Library

During the summer our district moved from Google Classroom to CANVAS for our course management system.
Background on my district
-3 early childhood schools
-20 elementary schools (k-5)
-8 middle schools (6-8)
-5 high schools (9-12)
We have over 33000 students. 
Lower-grade levels use Seesaw with CANVAS usage beginning in 2nd or 3rd grade. 
I am a middle school librarian and our school is in a hybrid model right now as students have the opportunity to be in person or virtual and can change that every six weeks. 

My Top 3 Favorite things about using CANVAS:

1- It keeps all of my information in one place (and I love that I can pull data from that- I love having data to share with my admin and also my patrons) I do still update our website as well

2- I can post passwords because it is protected

3- I feel like I am reaching more students, and I think some students feel more comfortable asking questions through email than face to face (middle schoolers) I also love that I can set up announcements- more information on that below.

There are so many ways to use CANVAS- how I do it is just one.  I have one CANVAS course for the school and added all of our students to the class.

Landing Page- I used my Bitmoji/Canva/Picmonkey to make the buttons- but there are so many free ones that are available. Each button either leads to our Lamar Library Website, a different website, or a Google Slide with interactive links.

First Row

Each of these buttons leads to a specific Google slide that gives more information on our different resources.  The Lamar Library button leads to our library page.

For the Google Slides- I published them to the web so students can click on the different links (much like Google classroom)

-although I get data information on how much students are interacting with CANVAS, I did change all my links to bit.ly so I can see how often they were actually clicked.

This is what one of the Google slides looks like- what you can't see is at the bottom of each of these I have the passwords listed or how to login to them. Although.. many of our items are now in Classlink which I LOVE! One less step for signing in!

Second Row

This row has links to my different activities that I do. 
Literary Lions
Every Monday I have Literary Lions- where I am reading a book that students chose- I think that I am going to change this up a bit. It is from 8am-8:15am every Monday morning.  Remote students can log in, but I also send calendar invites to teachers so they can join as a class while students are eating breakfast.

Monthly Calendar

I started creating these in October using Canva, but I realized it was so much easier through Google Slides (and easier to copy and paste) I get the ideas for dates from BrownieLocks and link back to our databases for students to access. 
-Another reason I love CANVAS- is I can schedule announcements. So, although this is a button for students to click on, I also make it a daily announcement and set it for 8:15am when school begins (and encourage my teachers to have students interact with my page.  

-Want a copy of the March calendar? Click on this link and it will copy the Google Slide (there are no links- you will have to add your own.

First Chapter Friday

Every Friday from 8am-8:15am I have a First Chapter Friday. Much like Literary Lions on Monday I invite students and classrooms to join in (and I love that I have Band and Science joining me too!)

I cam currently doing a First Chapter from authors that will be at the North Texas Teen Book Festival (which is FREE and VIRTUAL this year!!) Each book is also linked back to our system so a student can place it on hold.

Third Row

This is just a spot where students can learn more about me and check out our Library social media.

I also a FlipGrid where I post a #BookTalkTuesday every Tuesday (I do this through TikTok as well) and a #WAYRWednesday (What are you Reading Wednesday) every week.  This way students can go back and look at book talks.  The Events button leads to a Google Slide that has all the monthly challenges and events that are happening or I am hosting.

Overall

In reality- database usage, book check out, and digital book usage has declined.  Not everyone participates in my different activities.. but I feel successful if even one person does because that student probably needed it.  Students, teachers, and librarians are learning how to navigate during this crazy time.  

BUT-I have also noticed an increase in databases since I started posting the daily announcements and engagement with the page has also increased.

I am always looking for ways to grow and reach ALL of my students, teachers, and community. I like having the CANVAS data and the bit.ly data to show what students are interacting with. I also like that I can still have a "safe" space in CANVAS. One of my favorite things about being a librarian is being able to have a space and different opportunities for students.  

How do you use CANVAS for your library?

Each Six Weeks

I take a look at my data every six weeks and create a Piktochart to share with admin and patrons as to what has been going on in the library.  Much like everyone- we are shifting/growing/changing.. and not everything works.

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My Top 5!

Friday (12/18/20) I finished my first official semester of being a librarian during a pandemic.  Wow what a semester it has been! There have been many downs, but also many ups. I have a reflection blog coming up, but I wanted to share my 5 Top Favorite Things of this first semester.

School background: We are a middle school hybrid model.  We have virtual and in-person students and our student enrollment is about 850.

Nearpod

Nearpod is my absolute FAVORITE app to use for lesson planning and creating!

Our school is a Nearpod school, but it is a platform I would be happy to pay for because of how amazing it is.  It is a platform that allows for interactive lessons, games, and ways to embed items. Students can access Nearpod through a web browser or an app on various devices.

How I use it:
-I create slides directly in Nearpod or use one of the many thousands of lessons already created and tailor it for myself
-I embed activities to keep students engaged such as Time To Climb, Matching, and videos
-Sometimes I just use it as slides while teaching
-I can give the teachers the embed code so they can embed into their Canvas course or give them the student link so the asynchronous learners can have access to the lesson as well

Canva
Being mostly virtual I love that I can use Canva for social media posts, flyers, and my monthly calendars. There is an option to embed and also share through links.  Back in October I created my first calendar, and have loved making them ever since. I also currently use the free version, but have put in an application for the educator account.

How I use it:
-social media posts (there is even animation available)
-the phone app is pretty good for ideas on the go
-monthly calendars that have hyperlinked ideas
-embed items into my Canvas course

January Calendar by akbusybee

Piktochart

I will be honest, there are not many things I pay for when it comes to apps (I do pay extra for Google storage), but I do pay for Piktochart- and it is the BEST money I spend a year.  Piktochart is fantastic for creating infographics, flyers, and other digital content.  There is an educator discount that I use. There are plenty of templates, but it is also easy to start from scratch.

How I use it:
-Each six weeks I create an infographic of all that happened in the library
-Each month I create an "Installment" which is a newsletter that goes in all the staff bathrooms
-I share the links to the different infographics through social media outlets along with downloading PDF (which has clickable links)
-I also love how interactive it is when looking at the PDF and website (and I can keep track of how many times it was viewed)
My second six weeks infographic for the library

Flipgrid
Flipgrid is a platform that offers video discussions. Once a topic is created students/staff can add videos to enrich the conversation, share their own information, or record a response

How I use it:
-I have a Book Talk Tuesday topic and a What are you Reading Wednesday Topic where I post weekly book talks (it is also open to students to respond)
-I have a Staff Recommendation Topic for teachers to share their reads
-I have topics for Try It Tuesdays where students can share what they have tried
I like that I can see how many views these have and how I can easily share it to Twitter.  I also like that I can control who posts and who sees videos

Sora

I want to get books in kids hands, but that has been a little tougher than usual lately.  Our district (and our public library) use Sora (which is under the Overdrive app) Because of Sora I have read and listened to SO many more books (but that too is for another blog on how my reading habits changed because of the pandemic)

How I use it:
-I use it personally- audiobooks for my walks and in the car and eBooks for my Kindle (I don't have the self control to read on my phone)
-promoting to our students- all of our students have iPads- although it works in the browser- the app is amazing!

I know that 2021 is probably not going to be much easier, but I am jumping for joy that I can check 2020 off my list!

What are your top 5? I know that there are several other items that I use on a regular basis, but these have gotten me through this semester.

Top 5 of #TXLA19

The Texas Library Association Conference ended on Thursday, and I am still processing all of the amazing things I learned. The conference was Monday-Thursday, and I used ALL of my time learning, connecting and taking it all in.  You can check out all my sketchnotes from the various sessions at my Beeinthebookends Instagram. I learned more than 5 things while at the conference, but these were by far the things that stood out to me.

Top 5 of  #TXLA19
1- Mindfulness 101 with James Butler and Rachelle Finck out of all the sessions I went to, this was the one that I needed the most.  Living with someone that has mental health issues, I understand the importance of needing to teach children (and adults) mindfulness.  Working in a middle school I have also seen first hand how students need help in learning different coping skills to help them through life and middle school (middle school is hard!)  I was so excited to be one of the first people in line to purchase James new book Mindful Classrooms as I plan to incorporate some of these ideas in the library next year.

2-Listening to Sylvia Acevedo keynote the first general session.  I have talked about her before as she is the CEO of Girl Scouts.  She shares such a powerful story of her own journey of being very poor to being a rocket scientist.

3-The general session with Scott Pelley.  I could have listened to him speak all day! His book Truth Worth Telling will be coming out in May. TXLA19 was his first book event, and what a masterful story teller he is.  Before he shared some of the stories that have changed his life, he mentioned that so often we are trying to find the meaning of life.  We are asking the wrong question.  We should not be asking the meaning of life, but what is the meaning of you.  In my bag.. I had packed everything I needed but Kleenexes!

4- Connecting with librarians!  Being a librarian is one of the best but also hardest job that I have ever had.  I work on a great campus, but I am still the only librarian on the campus.. so sometimes it gets a little lonely.  During the conference I was able to connect with not only Irving librarians, but also librarians from across the state that are doing some amazing things.  In having conversations, it also helped me realize that I am doing pretty cool things too.

5- The authors and illustrators. I know that these authors and illustrators realize that they are going to be bombarded by crazy librarians wanting autographs, pictures, and conversations. But that just makes them even more awesome for being so patient and listening.

Dawn and I went to watch the bats and ran into AMAZING Illustrator Chris Hsu.  He is the illustrator for The Boo Boos that Changed the World

When I found out that there was going to be a Comic book day on Wednesday, I was super excited to become Vera from Be Prepared. Even better, the author Vera Brosgol was going to be signing books!

I have now had a chance to see this guy twice! Sean Easley is the author of the Hotel Between Series. 

 6- My bonus takeaway! I feel as if I do social media pretty well, but I really enjoyed going to Steven Vrooman over social media.  I look forward to telling my library story even better next year!

I am sure that you have noticed by now, one of my favorite things to do is take selfies! I LOVED that TXLA captured this one of me taking a selfie of the Comic Day Group.

On our way out of town, we also stopped at the new Austin Public Library Central Location. All I can say.. is wow!! There were so many more selfies, so many more people, and so much more learning that happened. I can't WAIT to go back and rethink some of things that I am doing, tweak other things, and evaluate those programs that I am doing.

Did you attend #TXLA19? What were your favorite sessions?

Rocking Around the Library Books

December brings a super busy month in most areas.. and the Lamar Middle School Library was super active this month! I LOVE working in middle school, but I am still learning the things that interest students. I am a member of several Librarian Facebook groups, and I love this idea that Jennifer Warren shared on Learning Librarians about Cardboard Gingerbread House competition!
I took her ideas and created a Canva document that I could then put into Library Aware and promote the picture through Twitter and Instagram. I only had 6 entries.. BUT.. I love each and every one of them! I already have students asking me when I am doing the next contest.

Rules that I adapted from Jennifer Warren

 Because there were only 6 entries, I am rewarding all entries with 1st place prizes.. and did a Peoples Choice Award for an extra gift certificate.

This month I also had a chance to pair up with our art teacher and read Silent Night. Students in her art class then created silhouettes that I used to decorate the library.

Some of the finished products

 I also had several activities available for teachers. With the 7 days of Holiday Programming that I was able to help organize, I had 2 crafts available in the library and festive photo booths.

Selfie station where participants stood behind the glass and became an Elf.

Painted wood blocks for snowmen and books for book trees

 I was able to have some great decorations!  Every week I have the 18+3C program come in and help me with various activities in the library. This includes finding books, deleting books, organizing books and creating bulletin boards. The 18+3C program is a work based program that helps train students that have various disabilities to get jobs after high school. I LOVE working with these guys!

 I also have some wonderful Library LINKS students.  These are 8th grade students that spend a class period with me daily doing all different items and they created this beautiful book tree this year!

Finished book tree

One of my goals this year was to have 2 Late Night in the Library events.  I was going for one in the fall and one in the spring.  With middle schoolers being a little different in their needs and expectations, I scheduled it for after school-6pm.  I was going to have ornament making, card making, a coding activity, the public library would be there and photo booth.  About a week before the event was to take place, I was volunteering at our feeder elementary school (of course it is also my FAVORITE elementary school.. because it is Elliott) Several middle schoolers were also volunteering and mentioned how they wanted to do a Breakfast with Santa too.  After chatting with them, I realized I needed to add a Santa.

I put it out to Facebook that I needed a Santa and I had Lee and Lisa step up! I also had my awesome friend Rachel volunteer her time!

 The Idea:
1 Have stations set up that were fairly self sufficient
2 Have Rachel at the photo stations to help maneuver people through
3 Have another volunteer at the hot chocolate and cookie station
4 I would continue to walk around monitor all students

I did not ask for volunteers this time, as I had NO idea how many students would come (my hope is always at least 4) and I also had to see how it would run (I LOVE volunteers, but sometimes for the first time around.. it is a little more work because I have to train them!)

I created all my station signs in Canva and set up stations. Keep reading for the reality.

The Reality:

1- The stations were fairly self sufficient.  The one where paint was involved did require me to use my teacher voice and explain how to take care of items (as in.. we had to close down part of this station) Let me preface this with- I am totally fine with various craft/messy items in the library.. well except glitter! So, I had no problem with paint. Students were doing fine until several chose to make poor decisions.

2- GREAT idea to have another adult volunteer at the photo booth station.  It was an extra set of eyes.

3- SO glad I had a volunteer at the hot chocolate station!!! I filled up a 60 cup percolator 2 times, and we had 2 other pitchers of hot water available. We went through 120 cookies and that much hot chocolate.  

4-I did monitor students, but I am thankful that I had some teachers come up and help monitor as well.  

I of course always hope for at least 4 kids. I didn't know how this event would run. I had over 120 students show up!

What I would do different:

-Volunteers- although we have some great student council/NJHS students on campus- when I do this again, I am going to ask for high school volunteers.  They can get hours, and I can have extra eyes on stations to help keep things going and restock.

-Time- Since Late Night in the Library is a come and go event, I don't think I will have it until 6pm.  By 5:30pm, most everything had been gone through.

-Backpacks- Since kids were coming in right after school, we had a ton of backpacks that I didn't even think about planning for.

Late Night in the Library in elementary I really focused on parents working with their students.  I know there are a TON of great parents out there of middle schoolers.. but I have also found that middle schoolers don't always want to be seen with their parents.  So, this Late Night in the Library was really focused on the students.  I did have a few families show up.

Things coming in the new year:

Reaching parents- I am going to try a Toddler Time and also a crafting/creating time

Focusing on siblings- I am beginning to see the drop of books checked out.. so I am going to focus on students reading to their younger siblings

Another Late Night in the Library

A couple of more contests

Sleep?

What activities do you do in your library to bring in students?

SO thankful for this lady right here!!

For Ugly Sweater I was the resident Elf on the Bookshelf.  You can't really see, but the elf is playing a ukulele and there are books on the tshirt bookshelf.  Each book is labeled with a different club/organization I am involved in.

Have I mentioned that I wouldn't be able to do any of this without some amazing support from my team, my administrators.. and my awesome clerk?  Not only that.. but being a first year middle school librarian I am SUPER thankful for my middle school librarian team, librarian mentors both in district and out of district, and the previous librarian Cindi Rockett for already creating such a great program for me to walk into! I know I have lots of growing to do, and I know I surround myself with the best.

Welcome Back!

Yay for 3 day weekends! A time to relax...and after the first weeks of school reflect. At the beginning of the school year, I wrote about my Summer (you can find it here) and all of my moves.

Being the new man on campus, I am all about relationships (okay.. I lie.. I am actually ALWAYS working on relationships.. I like to be involved and I like to make sure others know that I appreciate them!)


The first thing I needed to do was orientation for students.  I am following in the footsteps of one amazing librarian! I searched for ways that I could introduce myself and the ideas I had for the library and came across Andy Plemmons blog.  It was EXACTLY what I was looking for.  I know that when I go to the library, I always go to the same spot. I loved his idea of setting up chairs all over the library to have students look at something different than where they might normally go.

Orientation.  I used a very basic Google Slides full of bitmojis (which I am slightly addicted to right now) and used Andy Plemmons idea of a first lines and introduced myself and the library.

Overall it went well.  After students came back from looking at books I asked them if they found any books that might interest them.  I of course had ones that said no.. and I promptly replied back.. That is great! Thank you for being honest, and that just means I want to chat with you about you might like.

The first day of school I also passed out handmade bookmarks.

 Things that I heard from middle schoolers in the first 2 weeks of school:

I look like the first Spiderman

I look like Ellen Degeneres 

Another student told this administrator she looked like me!

#collegcolorsday #irving2college #iisdlamra

I have been sharing all of my Middle School Librarian stories on my Beeinthebookends account (I even have a ghost in the library!!)

Things coming up:
-iPad rollout.. We are a VILS campus I can't WAIT to integrate even more into the library!
-Dot Day! Yes, I am still doing Dot Day- I am just modifying it a bit for middle school
-Banned Books week (the conversations that I get to have with middle schoolers is awesome!)
-Global Read Aloud
-the start of book clubs
-the start of the ukulele club! Yes! They came with me!

I have missed my elementary peeps, but oh my goodness.. the fun I have already had in Middle School has been wonderful! It has been great because I have already had so many people welcome me in.  The one thing that I need to catch up on.. BOOKS.  I know lots of picture book authors, so I am trying to quickly get caught up on YA books. SO much to learn!

If you love Bitmojis as much as I do, check out this blog by the Daring Librarian

There are SO many people that have helped me find my way in this new library.. but this woman right here answers at least 5000000 questions I have a day! Thanks Mrs. Gomez for being so supportive and still smiling when I ask you that one more question!







My word this year is perspective.  Change is hard, but I am SO glad that I changed my perspective and tried something new! I am only 2 weeks in.. and I can't WAIT to see what we do in the library this year!

I Do So Love LibraryLand a Librarian I am!

Did you like my little play on Dr. Seuss? I need to get better at blogging more than once a month! Of course this busy bee has been busy with everything! Destination ImagiNation season just ended. I had the 3rd grade team.. we stayed busy and I hope they had a good time (I know I did!)
This being my first year I haven't done the greatest at displays.. so I am trying to change that! I am very thankful for Teachers Pay Teachers right now. (I am not getting paid anything to promote these items, but I wanted to share what I used and where I found it)

Here was my Black History Month bulletin board for February.

Loved these posters that I found on Teachers Pay Teachers

For March, I found some great resources for posters on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Loved this set of printable posters from Teachers Pay Teachers

I found several great sets on Teachers Pay Teachers and put them into a book that is next to the display.  You can find them here and here.

During the month of February I wasn't able to schedule a Late Night in the Library, but I did have a modified Late Night in the Library during Open House.  Even better it was Read Across America Day. I purchased all of my library helpers a shirt that said Elliott Librarian Helper I Am.  They practice reading to students and each had a classroom to read to.  We had to reschedule our reading time to this week (they were really bummed.. but I think they will live)

During Open House I had a photo booth station set up with the theme Oh The Places You Will Go and of course I had a STEM challenge set up.  I loved this idea of Cat in the Hat Cup Stacking.  Easy peasy set up and clean up! Now, I have to admit I think the parents had more fun doing this than the kids (and I might admit.. there was some standing on tables and chairs.. and some parents put their kids on their back) I LOVED IT!! They measured and recorded how tall their tower was.  I love seeing the parents work with their kids.  It is my favorite part of Late Night in the Library

Easy set up 

A small tower

Photo Booth set up

Display outside my door

Newest bulletin board put up by our awesome parent liaison.  The pictures are photos of the new 2x2 and Bluebonnet books.

How did you celebrate Read Across America?  What do you do for displays and how often do you change them out?  I will blog again soon about the different lessons that have been going on in the library (4th and 5th grade Drama, LIFE text features, 2nd grade Nouns and so much more!)