The Georgia Department of Education: educational technology and media newsletter, Vol. 1, Issue 6 (Mar. 2003)

The Georgia Department of Education: Educational Technology & Media Newsletter
March 2003 Vol. 1 No. 6
Judy Serritella, Coordinator of Library Media Services, Georgia Department of Education
jserrite@doe.k12.ga.us
Brunswick High School, recipient of the 2002 Exemplary Media Program at the high school level, will be hosting their second Open House on Wednesday, March 5, 2003. Pam Williams and Paula Galland are the Library Media Specialists at this award winning school. Brunswick High School is located at 3920 Habersham Street, Brunswick. The telephone number for BHS is 912-267-4200. You can access the school's web page at: http://www.glynn.k12.ga.us/BHS/ The deadline for this year's Exemplary Media Program applications is Friday, March 14th.
Reading Rainbow Contest
PeachStar is conducting the Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest through March 21. The contest targets students in grades K-3. Information about the contest is located under "News" at: http://www.gpb.org/peachstar/ Georgia winners receive books from Barnes and Noble, come to GPB to tour the building, and read their stories over Georgia Public Radio.
Georgia Department of Education Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
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Georgia Dept. of Education

Educational Technology & Media Vol. 1 No. 6

Media Specialists....Check This Out!

The Eco-Connections Project of Walker County Schools has designed webbased teaching modules for elementary, middle, and high school students with a focus on character education, by linking social responsibility with environmental issues. Through the Project, a model for Internet-based curriculum development training has emerged. All materials created through the Eco-Connections Project are freely shared with teachers and administrators around the globe, with hope that the world will be a better place for children because of participant's collaborative efforts.
The Eco-Connections project is a collaborative effort between the Walker County, Georgia School District, and selected schools in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Al Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, the Emissia Laboratory, the Russian State Hydrometerological University, and Georgia State University. Funding for the project came through a Georgia Department of Education Innovation Program grant.
The eight instructional modules, containing 39 individual lessons, were developed during two Summer Institutes by Walker County and St. Petersburg teachers. All Eco-Connections materials are global in nature, but are easily customized to make local scientific investigations personal to each unique geographical location. "The Project," says Walker County Science and Technology Coordinator, Wayne Robinson, "has enhanced both teacher's and student's educational uses of the Internet and distance learning technologies."
The ComputerWorld Honors Program recently honored the Eco-Connections Project as the recipient of an international 21st Century Achievement Award in the area of "Environment, Energy, and Agriculture". Previous winners in this category include the Department of Primary Fisheries (Australia), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Weather Service. Information about the award and the ComputerWorld Honors Program can be found at http://www.cwheroes.org.
Individuals interested in knowing more about the Eco-Connections Project can access the Project website at http://www.eco-connections.org, or contact Dr. Robinson at waynerobinson@walkerschools.org, or 706-375-8005.

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Georgia Dept. of Education Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
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Georgia Dept. of Education

Educational Technology & Media Vol. 1 No. 6
Photo Gallery

The Open House at Manning Oaks Elementary had a wonderful turn out. Claudia Zurbrick
is addressing some of the many library media specialists who were able to attend the February 10th event.

Bibb County Media Specialists on their In-Service Day
Georgia Dept. of Education Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
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Georgia Dept. of Education

Educational Technology & Media Vol. 1 No. 6

GaETC participants
2003 DOE Exemplary Media Program
The DOE Exemplary Media Program application originally stated that a Preliminary Application needed to be sent to the DOE by February 7,2003. This was done so the DOE could anticipate the number of applications and have readers in place so a decision could be made in a timely manner. We are rescinding the requirement of a preliminary application.
There is still time to enter your library media center in the 2003Exemplary Media Program. The information is available on the DOE web site at: http://techservices.doe.k12.ga.us/edtech/exemplary_2003.htm
The narrative portion of the application is only six pages in length. The criteria are based on standards, policy, and law.
Please consider submitting an application. If there ever was a time when Library Media Programs needed to document the media program's vital connection to student achievement, this is it.
DEKALB SCHOOLS MEDIA SPECIALIST A CALDECOTT BOOK JUROR
Diana M. Berry, Media Specialist at Clifton Elementary School, served on the award committee for the 2002 Caldecott Medal, a prestigious award for children's books. The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, and was established in 1938. The Association awards the Caldecott annually for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
Diana Berry has been a member of ALA for 18 years, and has served on several committees. She was elected by the ALSC membership to serve a one-year term on the
Georgia Dept. of Education Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
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Georgia Dept. of Education

Educational Technology & Media Vol. 1 No. 6

Caldecott Committee, which has 16 members and selects from the books published the

preceding year the most distinguished American picture book for children. Ms. Berry said,

"It was a great honor and responsibility to serve on the Caldecott Medal Committee. The

decision of the Committee is one that is discussed extensively in professional journals, and

everyone who serves realizes that the selected book must be one that will stand critical

scrutiny and the test of time. To serve on the Caldecott Committee means that you are part

of a decision that will be published for as long as the award is given. It is one of the

greatest professional opportunities a youth services librarian can have."

Publishers send books to Committee members for examination, and this past year Ms. Berry received 668 books to consider for the award. Most of them have been added to Clifton's Media Center collection - a great boost to the school's collection, according to Ms. Berry. Each committee member may nominate 6 books, and the committee meets at the midwinter meeting of ALA to select the winner from the short-listed titles.
Contact: Mary Stimmel, 678-676-0784 Mary_Stimmel@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us, DeKalb Schools Public Relations

(Diana is second from the left on the back row.)
Georgia Dept. of Education Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
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Georgia Dept. of Education

Educational Technology & Media Vol. 1 No. 6

The Caldecott Medal how does it feel to serve on the Committee

and how does the process really work

Written by: Diana M. Berry, Media Specialist, Clifton Elementary School, DeKalb County School System

In May, 2001 I was notified by the Acting Director of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a Division of the American Library Association, that I had been elected to serve on the 15-member, 2003 Caldecott Award Committee. Needless to say, I was thrilled. I have been a member of ALA for 18 consecutive years and have served on several committees, but I never thought that I knew enough people, or could write a strong enough paragraph about myself, to actually get elected to the committee I wanted more than any other to serve on before I retired.
Although I knew in general about the Caldecott Medal, I had never studied the criteria for submission and selection. This was my opportunity the informational packet soon followed, along with the advice to look at previous winners and decide why they had been selected. Like most other librarians, I have strong favorites, and a few "why did they ever select that book" titles among the winners. I had a lot to learn.
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, and was established in 1938. It is awarded annually by ALSC to the American illustrator of the most distinguished picture book for children published in the preceding year. Publishers, authors, illustrators, and other interested persons send books to be considered for the award. In 2002 I received approximately 668 books to first examine for eligibility, then to review for the award. I have a nine-inch stack of index cards to prove that I evaluated each book submitted. It started out slowly, but during peak publishing times I received UPS, Fed Ex and US Postal Services deliveries of books almost daily. I cleared the bookshelves in my study and basement to house the influx of books.
Every few months, the committee chair, Pat Scales, would ask us for titles that we thought the Committee should examine more closely, and then we had our first meeting as a Committee at ALA Annual Conference in Atlanta. We went with a multi-page list of titles to evaluate, and the realization that the Fall publishers' list was yet to come. It is amazing how well the committee system works to find errors and flaws that a single pair of eyes overlooks. It also brought new awareness of what each of us could add to the way we had been evaluating the books and more things to watch for when reviewing a title. The really hard part came next. Each committee member could nominate three books in October, and three in December. That's only six books out of over six hundred! I had many more favorites than that books that I thought were absolutely perfect. I decided to get some help. The fifth grade classes at Clifton Elementary, their teachers, and Ms. St. James, the Art Teacher, became my helpers. I took books that I really liked, or that others on the Committee really liked to the students and teachers for their reaction. More pairs of eyes spotted more weaknesses and even errors, and I could make my nominations.

Midwinter ALA was held in January 2003. The Caldecott Committee met Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, for an approximate total of 22 hours to examine all nominated books once
Georgia Dept. of Education Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
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Georgia Dept. of Education

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again, to defend our nominees, and to vote to determine our winners. Monday morning we

gathered to call the winning illustrators. They are:

Medal Winner: Eric Rohman, My Friend Rabbit.

Honor Winners: Peter McCarty, Hondo & Fabian; Jerry Pinkney, Noah's Ark; and

Tony DiTerlizzi, Spider and the Fly.

Most of the books were added to Clifton's picture book collection while others were shared with other DCSS Media Centers. Some less appealing titles were given to charity and the really horrible ones I have kept in case I ever need to talk on how not to write a children's book.

By having experienced the process, and grown to understand all that must be considered for a picture book to be deemed "distinguished," I now respect the work of all previous committees, and have a better understanding of why they selected "their book ". It is a great responsibility to serve on a Medal Committee. You realize that the decision of the Committee will be discussed extensively in listservs and journals, and the selected books must be strong enough to survive close, critical scrutiny and the test of time. To serve on the Committee means that you are a part of a decision that will be published for as long as the award is given. It is truly one of the greatest professional opportunities a youth services librarian can have. It was also a thrill to have Eric Rohman call and thank me for liking his book! I look forward to meeting him and the Honor winners at ALA in Toronto this June when the Medal will be awarded. My time in the sun has ended, but I'll certainly try again.

I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.
Groucho Marx

Georgia Dept. of Education Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
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Georgia Dept. of Education

Educational Technology & Media Vol. 1 No. 6

March 2003 Library Media Calendar

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday
1
1st census: 1790 Salem Witch
Trials begin: 1692

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Star Spangled
Banner declar-
ed National
Happy Birthday Anthem: 1931 Dr. Seuss! Born 1904

9

10

Jane Goodall's birthday: 1934
11

Birthday of Will- Elizabeth Barret

iam Steinway: Browning,

1797

Michelangelo,

and Ring Lard-

ner born.

12 13

The telephone patented: 1876

Birthday of Kenneth Grahame: 1859

14 15

Amerigo Vespucci born: 1454

Death of Harriet Tubman: 1913
James Herriott born: 1916

1st Hindu

Juliette Low

woman receiv- founded Girl

es medical

Scouts: 1912

degree: Anandi-

bai Joshee:

1886

Uranus discovered: 1781

Albert Einstein's birthday: 1879
Marguerite de Angeli born: 1889

Julius Caesar assassinated: 44 B.C.

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

1st Black newspaper published: 1827

St. Patrick's Day

Grover Cleveland born: 1837

1st atomic energy museum opened: 1919

Lois Lowry

Birthday of

born: 1937

Johann Bach:

Uncle Tom's

1685

Cabin publishe-

d: 1852

Randolph Caldecott born: 1846

23
Patrick Henry gives famous speech: 1775

24
26th Amendment ratified: 1971

30 31

Birthay of Anna Sewell: 1820
Vincent van Gogh born: 1853

Octavio Paz born: 1914

25
Birthday of Flannery O'Connor: 1925

26 27

Birthday of Robert Frost: 1874
Birthday of Tennessee Williams: 1911

Alaskan earthquake: 1964

28 29

Washing machine patented: 1797

John Tyler born: 1790

February S MTW T F S
1 2345678 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

April S MTW T F S
12345 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

What a school thinks about its library is a measure of what it thinks about education. Harold Howe, former U.S. Commissioner of Education

Georgia Dept. of Education Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
May 12, 2003 Page 8 of 8