Apps and Youth for OETC

Here is the link to the presentation that I gave to educators at the OETC conference on Tuesday, January 28, 2014.  It is an updated and refocused presentation of Early Learning Apps in the Library, focusing on apps for ages four through fourth grade in various educational settings:

http://www.slideshare.net/MissHayleyMac/apps-and-youth-for-oetc

Apps and Kids at Your Library Presentation

I can't get the embed feature to work, so here is the link to this presentation: http://www.slideshare.net/MissHayleyMac/apps-and-kids-at-your-library-for-slideshare?utm_source=slideshow02&utm_medium=ssemail&utm_campaign=iupload_share_slideshow

Yoga in the Library

Yoga Storytime: Integrating Technology, Literacy, and Movement from Fordeeto

New Book Look Ppt

KSU Book Look 2012 from Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County

Silent but Active

I've been quiet on this blog but active in professional activities:

I have worked on the Ohio Library Council Planning Committee for their Children's and Teens Services Conference:
http://www.olc.org/CTSCFeatures.asp
Please take part in the "Swap and Shop" even if you are elsewhere in the States!

-- Yes, I finally listened to Gantos' Dead End in Norvelt 2012 Newbery Winner: http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberymedal

I'm working on a co-presentation: http://www.neo-rls.org/ce/eventdetail.cfm?ID=3013

Communicating on the Librarians' Executive Board for our library's union.

Creating a list of (mostly free) Apple apps to use in Library Programming and am planning programs using the iPad (+ LCD projection potential) in programming.

Planning to bring back our music and movement age 0-6 programs this summer and hopefully in the fall.

I am also using iTunes University to take a "Programming Methodology" class by Standford University.

I'm still honing my communication skills as I work "on desk" throughout our 16 branch library system ... am looking at Patron Behavior in Libraries: A Handbook of Positive Approaches to Negative Situations by Beth McNeil and Denise K. Johnson and listening and taking to heart the information in Five Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential by John C. Maxwell.

Story Sharing Techniques and Resources for Preschoolers

Take a look at this updated document:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByZSJgcQD22tX1o2b05zVl96cm8

Also available to the right under "Youth Services Programs and Resources."

2011 Summer Reading School Visit

This year, I made my summer reading school visit presentation the same for kindergarteners through third graders.  (It was a thirty minute auditorium visit by grade.)  Here is the outline:

Click here for the "Kye Kye Kule" lyrics and song clip, or
listen/purchase the versions below:

Below are the embedded supporting posters.  (There are also in this blog's "Graphics" folder.)  Images are from Microsoft Clipart.  I used them as a models to draw images for the other motions (not pictured).




I chose "The Alligator's Whistle" which is a musical story from Anne Pellowski's Storytelling Handbook


 , and I included optional audience participation. 

At one point in the presentation, I threw an inflatable globe (our library's summer reading prize/incentive) into the audience.  Whoever caught the globe had to say what they liked.  Of course, whatever they liked, I supported by mentioning the materials that the library had on that topic.  The older kids caught on to this trend and had fun trying to stump me with "likes" such as "cheese" and "sleeping" !!

Overall, the three most important steps I drill into the kids are:

Sharing Stories with Preschoolers (.doc)

Here is the handout for the "Sharing Stories with Preschoolers" presentation that I gave today.

It covers sources for learning how to become a story sharer and for various story sharing techniques.  It explains the different kinds of stories to share with preschoolers and lists other pertinent story sharing resources.

Marketing: Visual Presentation

An aspect of leadership that I see peeking through my posts (and within my life) is the topic of marketing or presentation.

I'm not only referring to how one presents oneself professionally to answer questions and resolve conflicts or how one should or could present a library program, I am also very interested in the physical, visual pieces of marketing such as the activity sheets handed out at storytimes or the displays and signage within the library.

If you look in the top right corner of this blog under "Youth Services Resources," you will find pictures of some of my displays (bulletin board and storytime set ups).  You can also visually compare my earlier storytime program handouts to my newer ones.  I am definitely working toward finding a user friendly, visually appealing, and informative take home handout that will enforce the Early Literacy Skills.

Speaking of visual presentation to market programs, I came across the MyFonts website while following a conversation on the YALSA listserv.  Use the website to determine fonts and use Da Font.com to download and choose others.

Visual organization (from websites to posters) is just as important as physical organization, and I think it is safe to say that Libraries do and are starting to recognize this in more detail.  (I'm thinking of the Information Architecture and Knowledge Management program at Kent State University.) 

I would be interested in hearing others' thoughts (and seeing others' visuals!) on this topic.

Thank You, Google Alerts

With the help of Google Alerts, I saw that this article is now in cyberspace.

Sharing Stories with Preschoolers

This morning I co-presented "Sharing Stories with Preschoolers" to a local High School's senior class. Aside from the fact that all of the students were taller than me ;) and the idea that there's always room for self-improvement (How can I be more inspirational and informative?), the presentation went well. The bibliography for this presentation can be found on my professional wiki under "Workshop Handouts."

Screencast of Science Through Stories

I still have some experimenting to do, but here is a decent screencast of my PowerPoint "Science Through Stories."

(I'm not sure how it appears on "regular" computer screens. You may have to scroll up and down a bit to see the whole slide.)

www.jingproject.com only allows 5 minutes of free screencasting, so I couldn't do a full audio presentation with it. I have a few other resources I'll try that might help me incorporate that aspect.

Science Through Stories PowerPoint (Story Version)

I'm a little disappointed that only a slide "shot" (not the animation) is captured. You'll see that this creates some cluttered slides ... What I do like is that Slideshare publicizes the notes for each slide, which is especially important when comparing the story version with the report version.

Science Through Stories (Story Version)

View more presentations from Hayley McEwing.

OCTELA Conference Notes

7:30 Arrived at conference location. Checked-in and viewed vendors. Discovered the Ohio Resource Center for Mathematics, Science, and Reading whose goal is to correlate resources to the Ohio Academic Content Standards ... (hmmm) ... Set up for my presentation.

8:35 Morning announcements and presentation by author Cinda Chima.

Chima is putting out a fourth book in the Seven Realms series and two more books in her Heir series.

In her tips for writers, she referred to the ten rules of fiction.

10:00 Gave my presentation called "Science Through Stories" for PreK to second grade educators.

"Educators will be connected to literature that has been correlated to the Ohio Department of Education’s academic content standards, particularly the early learning/primary, science content standards. Sharing correlated literature using story reading and storytelling techniques (plus extension ideas) will be demonstrated. Science and storytelling resources (books and websites) also provided."

Overall, my presentation went well. While I had a small audience of three people, they were supportive and attentive. One was a young Kindergarten teacher, one was a seasoned second grade teacher, and the third was an individual who has worked in several areas including the Ohio Resource Center. The small audience allowed for conversation on "best practices."

As a whole, the OCTELA Conference seems to draw more middle school and high school teachers than those from an elementary or university setting, which contributed to the low attendance.

11:05 Attended "Community in the Classroom: The Ultimate 21st Century Skill" by outgoing OCTELA President Karla Hieatt Bisig from Wilmington High School.

After my own presentation and research on the importance of engaging emotional intelligence in education, it was awesome to see this idea of intrapersonal learning expanded and used successfully in an educational setting.

12:00-1:45 Keynote Luncheon with announcements, presentation of awards, and speech by author Sharon Flake.

I must read The Skin I'm In.

2:00 Attended "Beyond Google: Newest Tools for 21st Century Skills" which was presented by my former high school English teacher Colleen Ruggieri, now a teacher at Canfield High School.

Her passion and enthusiam were tangible and envigorating. However, this presentation brought to mind the stereotype that younger people naturally know more about technology. I thought, "I am at least ten years younger than this individual who just introduced me to thirty new and useful websites. Where have I been?" Apparently, the answer is that I've been at conferences to learn about them! :P

3:00 Attended "Multimedia Minilessons: 'But did the Authors Say It Was a Symbol?'" by Angie Beumer Johnson and Maria Workman from Wright State University.

The premise is that the use of media in educational settings helps individuals transfer knowledge and understanding to text and literary devices.

4:00-4:15 Finished gathering and loading my presentation materials.

Science Through Stories (Ready?)

My Powerpoint and five bibliographies/webliographies for Saturday's OCTELA presentation are complete and are posted to my professional wiki: http://hayleymcewing.pbworks.com/

Now comes the biggest challenge ... After another trial run last night and receiving some honest feedback from another individual, I acknowledged what I knew subconsciously.

I have to "practice what I preach" and present the information in an entertaining way ... through stories! Isn't that what I learned in November? Now, I need to practice what I've learned ... and learned again ...

Visit My Professional Wiki

I already have a private wiki that I use to back up my professional documents as I work on them. As mentioned in an earlier post, I have now decided to take this resource a step further.

After researching and playing around with some wikis other than the familiar pbworks, I've decided to stay with this provider. I have created another account under my first and last name that will be used to upload and present the final copies of my storytime handouts as well as any PowerPoint slide shows and accompanying handouts that I may use during various presentations. Among the first uploads are some of those for my "Science Through Stories" presentation for OCTELA at the end of this month.

Take a look: http://hayleymcewing.pbworks.com/

Along these same lines, in a few months I hope to explore the Ohio Ready to Read Wiki and perhaps contribute some storytime handouts there, too.

Science Through Stories

Great news! My presentation proposal called "Science Through Stories" for the Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (OCTELA ) was accepted.

This fifty minute presentation was inspired by the workshop I participated in for the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County's Headstart teachers last February.

Here is a summary:

"Educators will be connected to literature that has been correlated to the Ohio Department of Education’s academic content standards, particularly the early learning/primary, science content standards. Sharing correlated literature using story reading and storytelling techniques (plus extension ideas) will be demonstrated. Science and storytelling resources (books and websites) also provided."

These correlations will also be posted to the Institute for Library and Information Literacy Education (ILILE) website with the support of one of my former Kent State University mentors, Michelle Baldini.

I am also thinking of creating a professional wiki that will make such presentation handouts electronically accessible (save paper) and eventually, share and showcase my library program handouts.

November Is New

This is a busy first week for a new month ...

This week's activities:

1. I have started my part-time position.

2. I have filled out paperwork to see if I am eligible for partial unemployment.

3. I have programs every day, up to 4 in one day!

4. I have started outreach programs from the Austintown branch.

5. The individuals selected to attend the Bill Morris Seminar will be contacted.

6. I will give a presentation on storytelling techniques and focus on kinds of stories for the preschool audience.

7. I need to think about the trips I want to take in 2010 and request the appropriate days off.


Thoughts on these activities:

1. Part-time for a short term may be a gift, but it is intimidating for the long term.

2. Check. (double entendre?)

3. Now that the week has started, I feel fine with this load. I am prepared. A fellow children's librarian's wisdom echoes in my head and reminds me that the librarian herself needs to have fun ...

4. Outreach went well today. I am becoming a better communicator but still have room to grow.

5. *fingers crossed*

6. Preparing for Friday's presentation is also preparing me for my potential presentation in March concerning learning (science) through storytelling. Not only have I found other resources that are passionate about this same idea, it has also given me the opportunity to re-discover the art of storytelling and set higher goals for myself.

[Hooray for an early birthday gift from mother ... membership in the National Storytelling Network!]

7. Now that I am on an ALSC Committee, I will need to attend Mid-Winter and Annual. I won't know if I will be able to do the OCTELA presentation until January ... On a personal note, I need to visit my relatives in Finland with my mother while she can still connect me to them.

Poster Session Publicity

Our group met Diane Chen, a current member of the ALA Executive Board, during the Emerging Leader poster session on Friday, July 10.

I just got word via the EL listserv that she has uploaded pictures of the posters on Flickr.

She also wrote a post on her blog at libraryjournal.com where pictures from our team are highlighted!

Finishing Individual Assignments

The entire team was able to meet yesterday, April 28. I have made the meeting notes available on our wiki.

Overall, most of our individual tasks are completed or in the final stages of editing. Now we are preparing for our final presentations -- the Emerging Leader Poster Session on July 10 and a final proposal document for the Coretta Scott King Book Awards committee due June 1.

Individually, I will be working on modifying the (front) design of the postcards. A team member found a CSK design (image/font) that the committee has already used: http://ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/cskbookawards/docs/cskba-slj-ad.pdf

It is good to be consistent and to work with what is already available.