JMMS Library Updates

It is one of our goals to update the John Muir LMC to increase the flow of traffic, the access to technology, and efficient access to print materials. Below are some of the changes that have been made and some of the changes forthcoming.

Physical Changes

Computer Lab
The computer lab now has 30 available computers with two new networked countertops allowing for full classrooms of students to use the lab. In addition, most computers in the lab have accessibility to printing for with a new laser printer and iPad-ready printer combination. There is no need to notify the LMC staff to sign up for the new lab.

Improved Computer Lab

Laser Printer and iPad-Ready Printer

Reference Section

Right next to the computer lab is a reference section containing books for all discourses: math, science, social studies, and English. This makes for a much better research dynamic because students can use our online databases as well as books resources all within a small sphere. Furthermore, students are now able to checkout any reference books just the same as any other book. Lastly, we are in the process of labeling all of the non-fiction shelves to help students find the information for which they are looking. We still use the trusty Dewey Decimal System, but the labels should make searching for books even easier and more efficient for all learners.

Reference Center

Reference Center

Subject Labels Make Texts Easier to Find

Research Stations
We have also improved the general layout of the LMC by adding some new research stations made from repurposed reference bookshelves. Each station is LAN and WiFi ready and can function as a charging station. Thanks to generous donations from Muir staff, we have enough black chairs for each station. These research stations will house the shipment of Google Chromebooks we have arriving at John Muir. All Chromebooks are currently on backorder, but we expect to receive a shipment of between 8-17 Chromebooks very soon. Right now, students are using donated laptops at each station.

New Research Stations

Chromebooks Coming Soon!

Virtual Changes

Website
The LMC has a much more robust online presence since the beginning of the school year. We have launched what we hope to be a comprehensive library and technology resource with implications for all discourses in the school. You can access the website by going to the following shortened link: http://bit.ly/jmlibrary or by going through the John Muir Middle School website. Below are some of the features of the website

Online Databases
As many of you know, students have access to a variety of academic databases for a range of reading levels and research purposes including math, business, technology, science, and social studies. We have added the Teen CyberSmarts, Lincoln Library of Sports databases, and Easy Bib in the past few months. We are also piloting the Fact Cite database in which we have received a free subscription for one year. Please encourage your students to use these databases to find their information versus using Google for academic research! Not sure about what databases really are, visit the JMMS LMC Database page from the website for more information.

Social Media

The LMC is connected through Twitter, Pinterest, and Scoop.it with subjects ranging from Google Apps tools, iPad app resources, and instructional screencasts to book trailers and helpful posters. Like this blog, all of the social media resources are available through easy subscription processes. If you'd like to set up an account of your own on any of these services, they are a great way to keep in the loop about best practices in any discourse even if you're simply reading and not posting.

Online Reading
As you've seen in other posts, students are now able to use their mobile devices to download and listen to or read books purchased by the JMMS library. Both Catalist and Follett Digital Reader are in full swing, and you can sample audio books by scanning any of the Catalist QR Codes you see around the library. Below is an example.

QR Code Posters for Audiobook Sampling

A Day in the Life of Google Drive

Google Drive is getting better and better everyday, and it's functionality and reach is continually increasing. If you're feeling swamped with all the changes, it might help to subscribe to Google Drive Blog. It will give you all of the updates and explain how to use them as well. You need to click on the universal symbol for "Subscribe" on the right side of the Google Drive Blog. It looks like this: 

Also, feel free to bookmark the JMMS Library's Scoop.it page related to Google Apps for Education or subscribe to the JMMS Library Twitter feed to stay a little closer to the loop. We'll continue to add things as often as we can.

March 19 and 20 - William Kamkwamba coming to Wausau!

Please take a quick minute to read the information below from A Walk in Their Shoes. We have two copies of William's book for adults available for staff in the John Muir LMC, and we have one copy of his children's book as well. I hope you can take a moment and talk to your students or parents about this wonderful opportunity!

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Please join A Walk in Their Shoes for an evening we’ve been eagerly awaiting. On Tuesday, March 19, 2013, William Kamkwamba, author of the New York Times Bestseller The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, will be the featured speaker for 2013 A Walk in Their Shoes event, An Evening with William Kamkwamba. The event will be held in the Auditorium at Wausau East High School beginning at 7:00 PM. The event is free and open to the public.

As a teenager in Malawi, Africa, William, his family, and his country faced the ravages of a horrific drought. Little food and even less family funds meant William could not continue his education. So, inspired to bring electricity to his family home, he tackled his own learning, studying books from a lending library and learning how to construct a working wind turbine from scrap metal and other materials. William never gave up on completing his machine until his homemade windmill produced electricity for his home.

His windmill drew more than electricity as interest in his ingenuity and creativity developed not only from the Malawian government but TEDGlobal (Technology, Entertainment, and Design). In 2007, William Kamkwamba became a TED Fellow, traveling to Tanzania to participate in a TED Conference with scientists and inventors from across the globe. Conference participants were mesmerized by his story. His invention led to his selection as a finalist for the Tech Museum Award and a place at the African Leadership Academy.  In September, 2008, William started as one of 97 inaugural students at the new pan-African prep school based outside of Johannesburg, South Africa. Its mission is to educate the next generation with rigorous academics, ethical leadership training, entrepreneurship and design.

William’s spirit of invention and his search for knowledge led him to enroll as a student at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he is currently majoring in Environmental Studies. William minors in Engineering and is set to graduate from Dartmouth in 2014.

Students from across Marathon County will hear William Kamkwamba’s inspiring story at two presentations on Wednesday, March 20, 2013. William will also appear at the Sentry Theater in Stevens Point on Wednesday evening, March 20 at 7:00 PM, and at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Thursday morning, March 21.

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Don't forget to check out William's books and a few short videos about him below. If you'd like to read a digital copy of children's version of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, head over to WeGiveBooks.org and create an account.

Pictures provided by williamkamkwamba.typepad.com

Moving Windmills