Emerging Tech Class

Today I visited Emily Letras’ Emerging Technology classes to discuss evaluating information and effective Internet searching. It’s one of my favorite classes to work with because her students are always up to something fun and interesting. When I got there, the girls were just about to sample some delicious Vegemite for the first time. It was sent to them by their Australian "tech pals” with whom they have been communicating through Edmodo this semester. Emily’s classes are just beginning work on a project which entails researching the history and future of a technology, and creating a web presence to convey what they’ve learned. They rely heavily on websites, blogs, wikis, videos and other information in “newer” research formats for this project, so it’s a great time to have a refresher lesson on searching for and using reliable information. Planning for Emerging Tech classes gives me the opportunity to reassess my knowledge, as well as the girls’, and to see what’s new that will help them with their research. In recent years, many new search engines and directories have emerged that are maintained by teachers, librarians and information specialists who are committed to helping students find reliable, quality information on the web. Here are a few that the students used today to practice searching. Sweetsearch is great for finding information in all academic disciplines, but it has proven to be particularly helpful for Emerging Tech as well as for the Seventh Grade SWI Project. InstaGrok has a visual interface that is useful for identifying keywords. It provides a concept map and links to key facts, websites, videos and images. Visual learners might find InstaGrok easier to work with than other search engines. Internet Public Library (IPL2) is a tried and true consortium of libraries and information professionals who have been gathering and indexing reliable, academic information on the web since 1995. IPL2 is great for locating information from the "deep" web which isn't always retrieved with a Google search. The next time you get into a search engine rut, try one of these resources. For those times when nothing but Google will do, find one of Emily’s students and ask her for some search tips! Patti Rickert-Wilbur

Get More Out of Google

From School Library Journal’s 2012 School Technology Survey

What Technologies Are We Using? "The Digital Shift", School Library Journal

What to read over the Thanksgiving break

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving will be here in just a few days. Whether you plan to travel or celebrate at home, I hope you find a little time to relax with a good book. Here is our list of new additions to the Edith Hamilton Library . Many of the fiction titles are on the Nooks as well as in hard copy. Stop by before you take off for the holiday. Come early for the best selection of books and DVDs. Happy Thanksgiving!

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

From the Library's New Book List for November

There's an app for that!

Access My Library is a new app that enables you to search all of the library's Gale e-reference books and databases from your iPhone. These include Global Issues in Context, Poetry Criticism Online, Twayne's Authors Series, Scribner's Writers Series and a host of e-reference books that are invaluable for World History research. I have tried accessing other databases with my phone in the past and found the process to be frustrating because I was directed back to the database vendor's website for authentication. This is not the case with Access My Library. You simply download the app (be sure to choose the school edition), and select Maryland. You will then see a list with Bryn Mawr as an option. Click on Bryn Mawr, and when it prompts you for a password use the same one that you have used in the past to access the Gale databases. If you can't remember check Database passwords for home use (community password protected)

Bryn Mawr students speak at AIMS Conference

Four Bryn Mawr students joined archivist Elizabeth Di Cataldo, Tech Integrator and teacher Emily Letras and Librarian Patti Rickert-Wilbur in a presentation on "Night at the Library" at the annual Association of Independent Maryland Schools Conference last week. Carlie H., Korby S., Alexa P., and Feddi R., were selected to participate in the all night library adventure, which was held in October, 2011. At the conference Alexa discussed what it was like to participate in the quest as a member of the press. You can see her work in this special edition of the Mawrtian Transmission. Mawrtian Transmission: LibraryQuest 2011 Carlie and Korby demonstrated how they used i-Pads to scan QR codes and unlock their quests. They also shared and discussed the ballad which they created that evening. Their work was inspired by a real ballad book completed by Bryn Mawr students in the 1930's. Feddi talked about the trepidation she felt during the "haunted" tour of the Gordon building which was lead by Bryn Mawr's Head of Security, Terry Detorie, during the adventure. The girls were wonderful ambassadors for Bryn Mawr--well prepared, poised and articulate. We are very proud of them! Stop by the library to see all of the participants' amazing work, including Korby's cover design, compiled in the "Night at the Library" book.

We want to hear from you!

Would you like to help your classmates choose their next book or DVD? You can now add your own reviews to the Library's online catalog. Just e-mail Mrs. Rickert-Wilbur or stop by the library to get a barcode number and create an account. Faculty, we'd love to hear from you, too! --

David "Sonny" Lacks and Victoria Baptiste visit Bryn Mawr

Students from Julie Clark's Baltimore: Down to the Wire Class prepared questions and participated in a panel discussion with David "Sonny" Lacks and Victoria Baptiste. Sonny and Victoria are descendents of Henrietta Lacks, the story of whose incredible cellular "immortality" is told by Rebecca Skloot in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.