I am an elementary Teacher Librarian in Northern New York. I love learning, reading, exploring new places, creating and viewing art, hiking (especially in the ADK!), and life in general.
When I graduated in May 2014, I adjusted my tagline to “Reports from the intersection of library & information science, education, and lifelong learning.” I thought that change would help me focus my writing. What it actually did was trip me up and stop me from writing about things […]
I have a rare, quiet moment this afternoon–not long enough to dive into anything deep and philosophical, but long enough to share a little bit about how we celebrated the freedom to read in our school in September. Inspired by Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, we caught the attention of […]
I’m taking a quick breath after my first few weeks as a High School Media Specialist to reflect, and I know one thing for sure–I need more comfortable shoes. We hit the ground running before school started, and we aren’t slowing down any time soon. I begin my commute home each day feeling like a wrung-out sponge, […]
My MoMA MOOC, Take 2 I loved the Art & Inquiry course offered by MoMA on Coursera so much that I signed up for another MoMA MOOC. I recently finished Art & Activity, and found it just as inspiring and engaging. This time around, I focused on working […]
After a volunteer organization meeting on Tuesday, I was the happy recipient of graduation congratulations and good wishes for my hopeful-but-yet–to-be-fully-solidified job prospect. I was also confronted with a question that I was ridiculously unprepared for: “So, what do librarians do now?” This is Library Boot Camp stuff, right? […]
I originally posted the heart of these observations in a Facebook conversation in 2013–I’ve reworked and edited them to share here because they are based on what I have seen and experienced as Best Practices. Earning an MSLIS requires a considerable investment of time, effort, and expense. It only […]
I’m excited to share this celebration video I’m creating for one of the classes I worked with during my practicum. I am going through their project packets to provide a final round of feedback—and am excited that their planning and creativity resulted in some amazing projects! Sharing a few snippets […]
I had an NPR Parking Lot Moment this morning. I was listening to a talk show guest describe the way he coached his clients to connect with audiences by communicating authentically, briefly, and with passion. He spoke about preparing people he worked with to become more effective speakers […]
The Art & Inquiry MOOC I was taking through Coursera from MoMA wrapped up this week. I’ll receive my grade next week, and wanted to share some of my learning with you here. In addition to the slides included in this post (that will take you through an inquiry […]
I’d like to start this post by making it clear that I am not describing myself in the title, but the newly rolled out Library Specialist edTPA requirement that school media specialist candidates seeking New York State certification pass an unexpected, poorly prepared, and unproven assessment to receive […]
Kate Gukeisen 