EdCamp918

Yesterday was the BIG unconference, known as EdCamp.  This year was a little difference, because I actually helped plan it.  We've been working on it for the past 4 months!  Every Friday morning, our planning committee would meet.  I thought we would be officially finished with our 7:30 AM meetings, but it looks like we're meeting again this Friday to discuss how it all went... and maybe start planning for next year's.

I did feel like this year's had more energy than last year.  We didn't have as many people, even though our registration numbers were great.  People just didn't show up.  Apparently most of the no-shows were Tulsa people, so that's a drag.  It was a beautiful Saturday, and for the last weekend in January, maybe this was the culprit?

T-shirts were awesome, and Kailyn took the design and freehand a drawing for us.  I will laminate for future use!  So many people were impressed with her artistic talent - including our state and district superintendents.  We started with KIPP drum guard and dancers to pump everyone up, then we quickly made the schedule, and the conference started.  I helped with two of the sessions - one on Search Ninja and the other on MakerSpaces.

I was happy to meet a librarian from Texas.  Her husband is relocating to Tulsa and so she'll be looking for a job next year.  I hope something will work out.  She seemed like a great school librarian, with plenty of ideas and a team player.

I'm getting worried about the budget crisis looming.  Apparently it's 14 million for TPS, with more cuts promised by our legislatures.  I wish others would take this issue seriously.  I'm troubled that more librarians were not at EdCamp, but I was pleased with Carver's showing.

Will I help with another EdCamp in the future - absolutely!  We were a motley group, with instructional coaches, academic coordinators, administrators, IT director, and me - a librarian!  Fun times!

January Book Club

This book club was hosted by my neighbor, Julie.  She sis a fantastic job!  The book chosen was:

So I loved how there were multiple stories going on throughout this novel.  It's modern day, but reverts back to historical fiction.  The history part is all about the Holocaust, which the main character's grandmother endured.  She is faced with difficult decisions, and I'm not going to give too much away because I would definitely give this book a high recommendation to read yourself.  It might seem a little puzzling at first, but just hang in there because all the pieces tie together.  There's even a surprising twist at the end, and I kept asking myself - why?  You'll know what I mean after you read this great book about asking yourself and others for forgiveness.

Lunch & Learns

A fellow LMS shared a cool idea at our last secondary librarians meeting we had last month.  I had already been toying with the idea of having casual, no-stress mini workshops/share sessions after we got back from winter break.  I was considering Wednesdays after school, since I already stay after on Tuesdays and Thursdays for MakerSpace Club.  I was thinking I would open it up to everyone - teachers and students - because we could learn from all perspectives.  Then this high school librarian told us about her Lunch & Learns, and I thought this would be perfect for Carver.  Not too many teachers stay after school, and if they do, it's because they have something they're already doing.  I won't get the students involved, but I could go for staff.  I seriously want people to start feeling comfortable using Google.  The truth of the matter - the students have no problem jumping in, so maybe it's a good thing to just concentrate on the adults.

I got it approved by my administration and sent out the invitation as soon as we got back for second semester.  I immediately got positive responses.  People were definitely interested.  I sold the Lunch & Learn by promising a light-hearted approach and that all levels of experience are welcome.  They simply needed to bring their lunch to the library, and I would have a treat for them to enjoy.

I created a calendar for possible topics, and the first one would be about personalizing their chromebook and shortcuts.  At a Maker Space conference I attended this past summer, the instructors stressed how important it is to personal your devices.  I have to agree - you are more comfortable on your "own" device - even it's really owned by the school.  You can still make some changes, especially in Google!, making it more personal and unique.  So I went with this idea and added the shortcuts, because who doesn't love to save time!

For the treat I made these -
Oat Fudge Bars
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, divided
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla, divided
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups oatmeal
1 can of sweetened evaporated milk
1 bag of semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350*.  Lightly grease a 9 x 13 dish.  Using the stand mixer, whip 1 cup of butter.  Add both sugars and thoroughly combine.  Add 1 tsp of vanilla and the eggs.  In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and oatmeal.  Gradually add this to the butter and sugar mixer.  Spread a little more than half of the dough into the bottom of baking dish.  With a saucepan on low heat, mix 1/2 cup of butter, milk, chocolate chips, and remaining vanilla.  Pour this over the dough in dish.  Then drop the rest of the dough on top on the chocolate layer.  Bake for about 25 min.

One of our teachers had her daughter's birthday party the day before and offered to bring the leftover food - stuff to make sandwiches, some chips, and popcorn.  It was a great bonus!  Hopefully people won't expect such a spread for the next one!

I had about 30 people participate.  The last 2 groups wanted help with Google Classroom, so I highlighted the other and switched gears to answer their classroom questions.  One of the teachers had a super idea for me to setup a Google Classroom for Lunch & Learn.  I already have 8 people enrolled!

All in all, I would say Lunch & Learns is a hit.  A great way to help people with technology!  I plan on having these every other week on Mondays.

November Book Club

Karen was our gracious host for November's Book Club.  We read The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

If you want a thrilling read, with a twist at the end, this might be the book for you.  Personally I was not a huge fan.  The main character drank - alot!  Now, I will say there's a good reason why she drinks, and it's definitely part of the story.  I just wanted to shake her and snap her out of the funk.  I know, I know... this book is a huge hit with many people.  I did like the author's style, and I was anxious to see how it ended - so points for that!  

Karen feed us well, and she had adorable goodie bags - complete with a small bottle of wine and cork screw (important to the story line!).  She also served us adorable little cans of champagne.  

Julie is hosted our next meeting, and we'll be reading The Storyteller.

Book Club has Started!

Awhile back I wrote about my genius idea for starting a book club.  Well, I'm happy to report that our 3rd event is happening this Saturday.  Our group is great!  We currently have 6 members, but we're open for others to join  - we just don't want to get too big.

I hosted our first meeting back in September with the book Paris in Love by Eloisa James.

Loved reading this book while home with a hurt back last year.  I found it using my Nook, which is connected to the Tulsa City County Library's ebook collection - great way to read books when you're stranded at home, not feeling well.  Anyway, I decided it would be perfect for our first get-together.  Of course I went with a Paris theme.  I had music playing in the background and served French treats.  A platter displayed all kinds of cheeses, with fruit, spreads, and crackers.  I had croissants and baguettes, along with fun hors d'oeuvres.  I made a fall inspired sangria and served French (thick & rich!) hot chocolate.  Karen brought some yummy chocolate eclairs.  We talked about the book and made bookmarks using Paris/travel stamps.  We also talked about having book club every other month.  Karen said she would host the next one, and we decided on The Girl on the Train.