Recordable speech bubbles

I bought a pack of these bubbles and they arrived yesterday. I was very jealous today as my colleague used them with an English teacher for the students to record brief adverts/reviews for their reading books. My idea is to display them with the book cover or an advert made by the student for the book.
I saw the teacher later on in the day and she said one group went well while the second, Year 9 were not so good as many of them we silly and recorded inappropriate comment. Many of the group are talented students. Why did they not respond and do the sort of work they are capable of?
I always think that when things don't work it must be becaise of one of three things
lack of prior knowledge, poor resources, lack of motivation.
Which would it be in this case? Maybe the motivation was lacking?

I would like to try using them with a teacher to see what happens for myself.
Next job is to find a way of securing the bubbles to a display board so that the students cannot remove them!

This not being around for things is one of the problems of two libraries. Often I never feel in control of what is happening or am unhappy about what does happen. It is difficult to delegate but then still feel that things are happening how you would like them to.

This afternoon I did another Y9 careers intro lesson and then did not work too well either.
I tried showing a careeersbox video at the start but sound was too quiet (I think) and also they were not motivated by the video (therefore not right resources) So it is back to the drawing board for another group next week.

All good things come to those who wait

Surprised today when a teacher came and asked if there was an easy way to show students how to research as some are starting their extended project tomorrow. Surprised because I thought they had started ages ago and pleased to be asked for help. If only researching were that simple. Anyway upshot is I am going to talk to students in their lesson and suggest they make use of social bookmarking and google notebook and referencing tools.

Image shows some of the minibooks and newpaper bag that I have been making and showing to staff as fun ways of presenting information.I love the accordian one at front and the concertina ones are great fun as very easy to do.

Library Day in the Life

Or maybe it should be librarian day in the life.
6.15am Started as normal until I walked into the plank of wood 8ft long or more balanced on crates through the hall and kitchen, while husband is painting with goodness knows how many coats of paint before it can be cut and used to replace rotten timber on outside of our timber framed house. Anyway now got bruise on shin, but arnica did help

7.45am Now at school and have just been reminded that I have to go to a meeting at the end of the school day on support staff views on social cohesion!

Hope to sort out new display shelf trolley (photo) quickly before day really starts. Want to put "books you should read" or something like that on side that is currently empty. Think we should have only bought three shelves for each side not four, hindsight is such a wonderful and infuriating thing.

Off I go then, not sure when I will remember of get chance to blog again during day
8.30am Grrr Internet just crashed so have to type this again. The replacement shelf for the new trolley (original wrong size and bent) had arrived and have just unpacked to find that it too has bent hooks. So it looks like is might be one of those doomed days when everything goes wrong.

9.20am Just finished checking the ppt for Y9 careers intro lesson for this afternoon. Tidied up our new Frog VLE page with links to key sites. Hard to make this sort of lesson exciting.

10.20am just been given the exam papers for textiles, Y12 and 13. Need to see what stock we have to support their research. No time today, will leave till tomorrow and read the papers at home this afternoon
Wish they had been courses like these when I was at school, maybe I would not have been a librarian!
Not sure whether to research websites for them, otherwise they end up with wikipedia and not much else, might wait and see till after their lessons and see how they go on researching

1050am Break time but not much happening. Freezing in here today and I am now working in Sims so not library at all. Sometimes or even quite often I think that the non lib work is valued by senior management far more than lib stuff. Working out students progress to target for KS3 subjects

Break ended and now millions of 6th formers use lib as a corridor to go from 6th form centre to rest fo building.

13.15pm Just gobbled some peanut butter crackers, rest of morning went doing a bit of data stuff and then discussing data with two different members of staff.
Now going to see what is going on in library - lunchbreak and then setup for the Y9 careers lesson

16.45pm Got home at 4pm and starving but don't want to eat as going out later.
Lesson was Ok but felt that it was too boring from students POV. I am going to try something different next time. Was doing it in upper sch lib using portable projector and no speakers. Tomorrow I am hoping to find some speakers and start with a film clip from Careersbox and then work back from that to look at the theory of making choices and finding out about careers.

Think it is really hard to make an exciting lesson to tell students about how to find out about careers.

Finally went to a meeting on school community cohesion! Filled in questionnaire.

Now going to take brief look at Textiles research stuff before getting change to go out.

CILIP School Libraries Group

I have now taken over being web person, master would sound too professional, for this special interest group. So am searching around to see how others publicise the work of library groups. The actual CILIP website is not that exciting so maybe Facebook, Twitter or other Web2.0 wonders are the answer.

Library Day in the Life 25th January

Worried I am going to forget to blog on Monday, perhaps with writing this I will remember.

So far Monday will include

First career's lesson for Year 9 this year in Period 5. This lesson is part of their options process to choose their subjects for KS4.

Followed by a meeting to give feedback on social cohesion from support staff point of view
Followed by a meal out with my lib manager and 2 ex lib managers!
Must remember to take photos too.
This photo is of a student's memorial for Holocaust

SLYA 2010

Just got back from the first meeting of the award panel. I am pleased and honoured to be on the panel again this year. It has been a long day, leaving Guildford station at 7.04 and returning twelve hours later.
The journey was an ideal opportunity to read a chunk of Gone with a wind, which is our latest parent's book group book and it is so long 1000 pages. Anyway I will be able to hold my head up at the meeting next week and say I have read it!

Back to the award. We met at Cheltenham College, which is a very different world from a standard comprehensive world. In the morning we reviewed and reflected on the process and then after our canteen lunch in the splendid former chapel canteen, complete with stained glass windows we looked through all the entries and made our initial long listing. It was an enjoyable process and we were so pleased to read fantastic nominations. It will be a tough call a think later on in the process.

Careers fairs

Just read Seth Godin's blog about the uselessness of careers fairs.
What I would like to know are his ideas on how we should help students learn about the world of work.
I was intrigued by
"There are average jobs, certainly, average in that they require people to fit in, do what they're told and follow the manual. I'll grant you that those jobs need to get done, but I'm not sure they have to get done by you."

Would not most jobs fall into the above. Most of us do what we are told and follow the manual to some extent and still have chances to be creative, proactive and innovative. What is wrong with doing such a job? Certain tasks need doing everything, every week, every term or whatever. Even the most creative of people will often have to follow the brief or ideas of their client.

When I plan lessons etc with teachers I enjoy it and find it stimulating, but then I might have to deliver the same thing 10 times over to each teaching group.

I wonder what jobs Seth thinks do not fall in this average job category?