Destiny Home Page Customization

Attended a RRLC workshop this morning by Angela Boccuzzi-Reichert and Karen Mitchell on hacking the Destiny homepage with an iFrame. Destiny is very limited in the functionality of their home page, in fact, every Destiny home page that I have ever seen makes me think of 90's web design. Using the iFrame, allows librarians to take advantage of any new tech fad. (And that's important, school librarians need to be comfortable with the newest technologies...librarians should be the tech cornerstone of the library community.

Angela and Karen are currently using Blogger as the iFrame content. Of course, you could use any site, but they chose this service as it is stable and easy to use. When using Blogger, adding multiple tabs/pages gives greater design flexibility. See Example with tabs/pages:

Blogger iFrame Insertion Steps

1. While logged in as administrator, edit the Introductory text.
2. Enter the following code in body (Where URL = The URL of the site you want to insert.):
   <center><iframe width="100%" frameborder="0" src="http://yourblog.blogspot.com" height="900"></iframe>
3. Save

Another tip that Angela and Karen had was to make sure each link opens in a new window. This helps students have an 'anchor', somewhere they can always go back to and re-orient. To do this, enter the following code in the HTML head of your chosen webpage. "<base target='blank'/>"

Great presentation guys! Thanks.

RESOURCES:

Monroe BOCES 2 Follet Resources: http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/sls/library.cfm
Angela and Karen's iFrame Directions: http://m2bddh.blogspot.com/
5 Things Every School Library Website Should Have: http://www.librarygirl.net/2011/08/5-things-every-school-library-website.html

Common Core

I have been volunteering with a local school for about a year now. It's been a great experience. I've planned a book festival, designed and hosted a survival discussion group with at risk teens and most recently gave a presentation on Common Core and the Dignity Act. Below are some highlights from the most recent presentation. 

 Keep these 4 ideas in mind and infusing Common Core into your classroom  will come naturally.

• Allow Students to be Wrong. Prepare lessons where there is no ‘right’ answer or solution. Allow students to come to their own conclusions, and use misunderstandings as learning tools. Common Core focuses on the learning process and mistakes are a huge part of learning.
• Increase Students Access to Nonfiction. Nonfiction is a major focus in the Common Core standards. As students progress through school, they are expected to read more and more nonfiction. Use the library as a resource!
• Focus on Student Expression. Effectively communicating with society through writing and speaking is another focus of the Common Core standards. Create assignments that students are passionate about and let their natural interest guide their expression.
• Deemphasize Textbooks. While some textbooks may wander your school halls like zombies for the next couple of years, make no mistake... the textbook as we know it is dead. Common Core calls for shorter, well-crafted texts that kids can consider more deeply. The focus is on primary (or maybe secondary) sources, not the predigested tertiary writing found in many of today’s textbooks. (Adapted from  Rebecca Hill’s article All Aboard!: Implementing Common Core offers school librarians an opportunity to take the lead.)

Project Basics

1.  Get Inspired to do something (I provided teachers with a list of books with bullying themes.)
2. Brainstorm & identify local problems to fix (I provided teachers with a list of brainstorming ideas.)
3. Research the problem and solutions (I provided teachers with a listing of online
1. Newsstand: http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/nysl_ro_bml?db=STND
2. This I Believe Interviews: http://thisibelieve.org/theme/discrimination
3. Opposing Viewpoints: http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/nysl_ro_bml?db=OVRC
4. Civil Rights Primary Resources: http://www.gilderlehrman.org
5. Stop Bullying Government Site: http://www.stopbullying.gov/index.html
6. The Bully Project: http://thebullyproject.com/indexflash.html 
4. Create proposal to help solve the problem
5. Present proposal to teachers
6. Take it further?