I Am Princess X (Book Review)

I Am Princess X
by Cherie Priest

Summary from Amazon: 
Best friends, big fans, a mysterious webcomic, and a long-lost girl collide in this riveting novel, perfect for fans of both Cory Doctorow and Sara Dessen, & illustrated throughout with comics. 

Once upon a time, two best friends created a princess together. Libby drew the pictures, May wrote the tales, and their heroine, Princess X, slayed all the dragons and scaled all the mountains their imaginations could conjure. 

Once upon a few years later, Libby was in the car with her mom, driving across the Ballard Bridge on a rainy night. When the car went over the side, Libby passed away, and Princess X died with her. 

Once upon a now: May is sixteen and lonely, wandering the streets of Seattle, when she sees a sticker slapped in a corner window. Princess X? When May looks around, she sees the Princess everywhere: Stickers. Patches. Graffiti. There's an entire underground culture, focused around a webcomic at IAmPrincessX.com. The more May explores the webcomic, the more she sees disturbing similarities between Libby's story and Princess X online. And that means that only one person could have started this phenomenon - her best friend, Libby, who lives. 

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When I picked out this book to read from the library, it was with a purpose. I was reading this as part of a librarian/teacher book club on Twitter. It's the last book of the season and I was bound and determined to finish it before the chat so I could actually participate in one. (I tend to get behind, don't finish the book, and miss the chats.)

I read the summary of the book several times, and I kept putting it off. I kept thinking, "I'm not going to like this book." "This book isn't my usual read. I don't think I'm going to get into it." I'd look at it and wait a little longer before checking it out, look at it, and wait some more. I wasn't completely sold on trying this book out just yet.

I finally checked out the eBook from the library and got started on it. The first thing that pulled me into this book were the illustrations. This is a novel mixed with a little bit of comic/graphic novel. It really pulled me in and gave me a break from reading chapter after chapter. It was a little surprise you get to when you're reading and it refreshes your mind and your eyes. It allows you to connect some visuals with the text that you're reading.

As the story begins you meet the main character May and her best friend Libby. I quickly made a connection with the two because it reminded me of a friendship I had when I was growing up. You quickly were drawn into their lives and their imagination, before tragedy strikes.

The author gives you this warm opening and then you're devastated, quickly, by the death of a character. I was so drawn to the characters already that I felt the emotions May went through as she dealt with her best friend's death.

The story skips a few years and you're taken into May's life as she splits her time between her parents. That was another connection for me as well. My parents divorced when I was a little younger than May, but I understood what she was going through. She was going from one place to another and only seeing her parents at certain times. It's a different lifestyle and one that can through a young persons emotions through a loop.

The story follows May as she's visiting her dad back where her and Libby were best friends. She soon discovers a piece of her past, of her and Libby's past all around Seattle. These signs and discoveries take her on a journey to find out where they're coming from and who is placing them all over the town. It brings on a new friendship with someone and ultimately brings her a huge shock.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was quickly drawn into the story, felt what the characters were feeling, and followed May on her journey to discover the truth. I highly recommend the book to anyone. I'm anxious to add this book to the library at my school. I hope my students have as much fun reading it as I did.

Reflection on Level 1 Google Educator Certification

Certification's are a norm for teachers. Once you graduate college you earn your certification or your teaching certificate (after you pass a few tests.) Well, for teachers the learning continues on and on through their career. No one teacher can't keep the same set of skills or knowledge and expect to teach for many years. Learning and education evolve so much and so quickly that we need to keep up with the changes.

A lot of the changes in education have revolved around technology. What is the newest and latest that can be used in the classroom? How can teachers incorporate these tools into their lesson? What do teachers need to know to use these in their lesson?

As a librarian on my campus I work a lot with the technology that we use with our middle schoolers. I ask myself, how can I be a valuable resource to the teachers and students on my campus? I know in order to be that resource for them I need to stay on top of the changes in technology and how those changes impact our classrooms.

One of the things I came across a couple of years ago was the Google Educator Certification. I didn't know much about it and I wasn't using a lot of Google apps or anything in my classroom at the time. The more I looked into it though the more it became something I was interested in doing. Mainly I wanted to do it to learn more about what Google to do for me in the classroom.

The interest grew when we became a 1 to 1 school with Google Chromebooks. (These things are awesome by the way!) All of our core classes use Chromebooks, including the library (yay me!). As I began using the Chromebooks in a classroom setting and in the library setting I was learning more and more. I was able to see how the students used them, how they could impact a learning objective and how it was impacting the student's learning process. We were using many different things such as Google Classroom and Google Drive.

I kept going back and forth with the certification until this summer when I finally decided to go for it. They had revamped the certification a little bit since I first started looking, but it was still easy.

To get started you just go to the following website: https://edutrainingcenter.withgoogle.com/

The site tells you everything you need to know. You sign in with the google account you'd like to use and head over to the training tab at the top. (https://edutrainingcenter.withgoogle.com/training)

Once there you're going to see two levels, start with level 1. When you enter the level 1 training area you're going to see all the units and topics that will be covered. The training is built for you to move at your own pace. It is NOT timed or scheduled for you to complete at certain days. This part is completely structured to fit your schedule and the time you have to devote to the process. I spent a few days going through and reading the units, watching the videos and taking notes. (Yes, I took notes for reference purposes and for use later on if I needed them.)

Once you finish the training units it'll tell you that you're ready for the certification exam. The exam for Level 1 is only $10. I was lucky to get a voucher to take the test for free. Once you're ready, you go and purchase the test. The link to do that is available at the end of the training. After you purchase the test they usually say the test will be ready in 24-48 hours. Mine was ready in less than 24 hours. They will send an email with instructions and you're good to start.

The test does take time. They give you 3 hours to take the exam. I took the test in 2 hours. You'll want to take your time. After you're done you will know in a few minutes whether you passed or not.

The whole certification process is very simple. I liked how the units were organized and broken up and that it was strictly geared towards education. It wasn't a how-to tool on using the different apps. It was a guide at how to use them in an education setting. It was great to see how others use different tools and how I was able to think of ways to use the apps myself.

If anyone is looking to further their professional development in technology and with Google, I highly recommend going through this process.

If you have any questions about the process please feel free to let me know. Leave a comment below or send me an email.

Good Luck!

ISTE Ignite Session Inspiration

A lot of educators look forward to their summer breaks for the relaxation. Many of those educators look forward to the end of June when the ISTE conference takes place. For me, I look forward to a little bit of both. I haven't been able to attend ISTE in person yet, but have had the privilege to attend via #NOTATISTE16, a Google+ community, that was started a couple of years ago.

Today was the kick off for ISTE in Denver, Colorado. So many people were flooding Twitter with their arrivals, their pictures, videos and so much more. One of the events that started the ISTE conference was the first ISTE Ignite Session. Round 1 was held earlier today and thanks to several people at ISTE I was able to catch a few of these sessions via Periscope. 

One of the sessions that was really amazing was done by Brad Flickinger called "Reward Learning with Badges". 

Brad opened his quick Ignite session with some very key quotes based on the use of technology with young people, "Knowledge is no longer King," and "Engagement is low." He hits on key points, our students are wrapped up with just using the technology to use it. They're not looking to use it wisely or in a way that will help them discover or learn. They take their technology for granted with the use of all the apps and sites out there they have access too. 

Brad addresses the use of badges on his campus as a way of developing skills not knowledge. The students earn their badges as they use and develop a skill in their learning. The badges are used to keep score, for recognition, and for motivation. I see the students using this as a competition in a way, see who gets what badge and how. This develops that motivational tool to achieve as much as the next and a way for them to take ownership of their learning. 

On Brad's campus the teachers decide what skills are needed for their units and then break them into levels (level 1, 2, etc.). Level 1 is the basic skill level and once they meet all of those skills they move up to level 2. He also addresses that each level is a different time frame of completion. The projects may take a few days and some may take a few months. The levels are scaffolding their skills so they're building on them. This is a fantastic idea. Give them basic areas to begin with and move up from there, gradually building their skill sets. 

Badges are a great tool to give students the motivation to learn, the motivation to be creative, the motivation to invent, the motivation to discover who they are. It allows them to learn at their own pace, differentiated learning, as well as give them ownership of this learning. 

I've been looking into badges here and there for about a year and this was one of the coolest things I've seen about them in a while. It was a quick presentation, but Brad gave such valuable information about how it works at his school. I'd like to just start off small in one of my classes to see how it works this next year and then possibly take it even further. I'd also really like to see how it could work with a staff of teachers. Would it offer the same motivations to teachers as it would students? Would it be just as beneficial? How could you get teacher buy in with the badges for their professional development? 

I look forward to learning so much more during the next few days of #ISTE2016. Were you able to see this Ignite session today? If so, what were your thoughts? 

Happy learning during #ISTE2016!

Genrefication...Beginning of Change

I've finished my third year as the librarian/media specialist at my school. Each year I have some of the same questions that come up. "Where can I find the mystery books?" "Where are the funny books?" Students come in to check out books and are looking for a specific genre of book to read. Well, I couldn't exactly tell them where they were because they were all spread out. Our books are organized by authors last name, not genre on the shelves.

So, I would help the student look for books in that genre and guide them to the shelf it would be on, but it was a task. As I kept getting these questions, ideas continued to flow through my head on how I could make it easier for our students. For the past two summers I've wanted to re-organize the library. There was always something going on and I wasn't able to get it done, unfortunately. This summer I'm going to make it happen!

I've done a lot of reading on how librarians went about reorganizing their libraries so their fiction books were organized by genre. There are some great ideas out there! I've taken notes, saved links, participated in Twitter chats, and so much more. The information is a bit cumbersome, but it is so helpful. It was helpful to know that I wasn't the only one looking to do this and that many librarians out there have already done this with their libraries.

I know the task of organizing the fiction books by genre is going to be a big one, but it's one I'm willing to take for our students on campus.

I'm still in the planning stages right now. I'm working on the genres that I want to organize the books in, how I'm going to label each book and then how I'm going to organize the shelves to best display the genres and the books.

To begin this task I've downloaded an EXCEL copy of our shelf listing from Destiny. This tells me every book I have in the library. As I work through the books I will make notes in the actual document so that I can keep track of books that go in each genre, and color code them as well.

Below are screen captures of the process and the steps I've gone through to get the shelf listing from Destiny.

I will also make note of catalog updates or changes I need to make in Destiny using this document. I'm hoping by going through this and keeping a digital copy it will make things easier for when I start to physically move the books in the library.

As this process moves forward I'm going to continue to document and keep track of what worked for me and what didn't work. I'm hoping there's a lot that does work.

Book Review: The Hired Girl

The Hired Girl
by Laura Amy Schlitz

Summary from Goodreads:
Fourteen-year-old Joan Skraggs, just like the heroines in her beloved novels, yearns for real life and true love. But what hope is there for adventure, beauty, or art on a hardscrabble farm in Pennsylvania where the work never ends? Over the summer of 1911, Joan pours her heart out into her diary as she seeks a new, better life for herself—because maybe, just maybe, a hired girl cleaning and cooking for six dollars a week can become what a farm girl could only dream of—a woman with a future. 

I came across this book as I was researching different young adult books to read to recommend to my middle school students when the new school year begins. As I was doing my research, I ran across this book as part of a Twitter chat. Two librarian's (both named Jennifer) had a list of books they were reading through the school year and this was one of them. My first thought, "Oh my gosh! This is perfect for me. I'm a school librarian and this gives me even more of a reason to read more young adult books." So, I took a look at the book that they were reading next and headed to the local library to check it out. 

I started reading The Hired Girl immediately. It did take me a little time to get into the book. For me, it started off slow and I had trouble getting into it. The book is written in diary format from Joan's perspective in the early 20th century. Joan uses her diary to share her thoughts and emotions connected to her life as a daughter, a learner, a dreamer, eventually a runaway, and as a hired girl. 

After I got passed the first few chapters of the book, I could not put it down. Schlitz portrays Joan in a young, but strong way. She is learning how to take hold of her life and get the most out of it. All she wants is an education, she wants to learn. In order to do that she needs to get away from her family. Schlitz created a strong, independent character with Joan. Reading about her struggles, her feelings and emotions, pulls you into the book more and more. You're on Joan's side through the whole story, you eventually connect with her and her feelings on some level. 

This was a great read. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to read about a strong female character that goes through ups and downs to succeed and make something of her life. This book is also a great read for the historical aspects presented from the 20th Century. 

Makerspace Beginnings

What is a Makerspace? 

A makerspace is a physical location where people can invent, create, explore, and build. These areas come equipped with materials in order for them to do such things. 

Why am I talking about a Makerspace? 

Our campus is now in the beginning stages of creating one in the library!

My principal approached me several weeks ago and we had a discussion on Makerspaces and some really awesome things she had seen and heard of that were taking place in school libraries. I was all in. I had been looking into Makerspaces here and there, learning what I could about them, seeing how they worked, what they included and so much more. 

After having that conversation it was something I wanted to keep looking into, but to also formulate a plan on bringing it to life on our school campus. 

Not long after starting that plan I was able to attend our annual state library association conference in town. One of the sessions I was able to attend was one on Makerspaces. I was hoping that I would be able to gain more knowledge from listening to an experienced Makerspace librarian than I was doing all of the reading that I was doing.

It was very helpful! (If you're looking into Makerspaces, start asking around, looking at different ones, gain knowledge from those that are already doing it.) Going to that session was the best thing for me to do because it did help me clear up some misconceptions that I had going into the planning stages.

After attending the conference I took some time to process and do some more research. Then, I jumped in with both feet!

I wrote my first Donors Choose project (as talked about in my previous post).

It was funded in less than 24 hours! WOW!

Thanks to some great people in the school district, a few other donors and J. Crew, my project was funded and in a couple weeks, my stuff was here.

This is just the beginning of our Makerspace! I can't wait to see where it goes next. I have some more ideas and hope to get some more funding. The students are excited and so am I!

I've attached a picture of the cool items we now have to start our Makerspace.

Taking Chances

So much has happened this school year. I feel like a tornado has run through and just thrown everything off so that things are not as normal as they may seem. Our campus has gone through a lot this year, but we've made it. Only a couple months left to go. Wow! Where has all the time gone?

As I sit here and right this today I'm thinking about the summer and how my time will be spent as I prepare for the next school year. This is usually the time where I start brainstorming and planning for next school year, even though this was isn't over. I need to have my path, my ideas, my vision in place so that I can work and get things going.

One of the things I did was take a huge chance! I wrote my very first Donors Choose project yesterday. WHEW! I've never taken the risk or chance to branch out to something like that. It was a totally new experience for me as I sat down to write it.

I have plans to start a Makerspace in our school library for next year. So, I started making a plan. I knew we need the resources for this Makerspace and money is tight, very tight. I did some research, I watched some videos, I discussed with people in and out of my school district. Every time I turned around Donors Choose was something everyone suggested and/or had used for the Makerspace. I figured it was my chance to give it a shot.

So, yesterday I sat down and wrote it. Then re-wrote it. Then re-wrote it again. Then again. I think I went through several drafts before finally hitting that submit button for approval. Man, my nerves were shot and I was scared that it wouldn't fit their criteria or be approved. I kept thinking, did I do it write? What if I missed a piece? What if I didn't order the right thing? So many questions ran through my mind as I sat there letting myself catch a breath.

I went through the rest of my day, trying not to think about it and headed home that evening. Before calling it a night I checked my email one last time and to my shock it was already approved!!! It only took a few hours! I couldn't believe it. Once I saw that it was approved I started to share it. I wanted to share with everyone my vision, my plan, and my idea. I want my students to get the chance to have those hands-on learning experiences to further their thinking skills and to have FUN!

I hope taking this chance pays off. I'm really looking forward to the benefits.

If you'd like to check out my project the link is provided below. :)

Turn Makerspace Dreams Into Reality

More Coming Soon...

Sorry for the long hiatus. I'm hoping to find the time to get back to this blog. It is still in its early stages, but a lot has been going on. I still want to share so much and I may finally have time to do that.

Stay tuned for more!