GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION January 2005 Volume 3, Number 6 Media Matters Inside this issue: Vineville News 2 Web Sites to Peruse 2 Grant Information 3 Legislative Info 4 GALILEO 5 MLK Jr. Web Sites 6 January calendar 8 School Libraries Work! The school library has long been regarded as the cornerstone of the school community--a learning hub integral to teaching and learning. By providing teachers and students with a full range of print and electronic resources to support learning, the school library impacts student achievement. A substantial body of research since 1990 clearly demonstrates the importance of school libraries to students' education. Whether student achievement is measured by standardized reading achievement tests or by global assessments of learning, research shows that a well-stocked library staffed by a certified library media specialist has a positive impact on student achievement, regardless of the socio-economic or educational levels of the community. Do you have a book, video, DVD in your library media center that you want others to know about? Write a brief review explaining how it benefits to your collection. Do you have a Tech Tip you want to share with other library media specialists? This research foundation paper brings together position statements from a variety of organizations and findings from nearly a decade of empirical studies that cite the measurable impact of school libraries and library media specialists on learning outcomes. As you will see, school libraries administered by certified library media specialists area powerful force in the lives of America's children. Email Judy Serritella at: jserrite@doe.k12.ga.us From: The preface of School Libraries Work! Download your own copy at: http://www.scholasticlibrary.com/download/slw_04.pdf Page 2 Media Matters January 2005 Vineville Academy Students Vote Vineville Academy ( Bibb County Public School System), Macon, Ga. 4th grade students cast votes on Election Day for their favorite Carmen Agra Deedy book. Pictured are Johnathan Ross (standing), Amanda Sneed, Maya Finney, Logan Brooks, Vonkeria Gasaway (1st row); Myles Scott, Arleigh Daniels, Emily Currens and Cameron Stephens (2nd row). Check Out These Web Sites: Awesome site sponsored by the U.S. DOE http://www.geminfo.org Resources for the middle school: http://www.ourbookmark.com/ Tomie dePaola Web site: http://www.tomie.com/ Place the State (an intermediate grades geography game) http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/states_experiment_drag-drop_Intermed_State15s_500.html Media Matters January 2005 Page 3 Media Matters January 2005 Grant Opportunities AASL/Highsmith Research Grant Sponsored by Highsmith Inc. Established in 1993, the grant of up to $5,000 is awarded to conduct innovative research aimed at measuring and evaluating the impact of school library media programs on learning and education. Applicants must be AASL personal members. Download the 2005 application (PDF File*). The 2005 application deadline is February 1, 2005. http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslawards/highsmithgrant/2005_highsmith_app.pdf AASL Collaborative School Library Media Award Sponsored by Sagebrush Corporation Established in 2000, the $2,500 AASL Collaborative School Library Media Award recognizes and encourages collaboration and partnerships between school library media specialists and teachers in meeting goals outlined in Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning through joint planning of a program, unit, or event in support of the curriculum and using media center resources. Download the 2005 application (PDF File*). The 2005 application deadline is February 1, 2005 http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslawards/collaborativeslm/CSLMA_application_2005.pdf AASL Frances Henne Award Sponsored by Greenwood Publishing Group Established in 1986, the $1,250 award recognizes a school library media specialist with five years or less experience who demonstrates leadership qualities with students, teachers, and administrators, to attend an AASL conference or ALA Annual Conference for the first time. Applicants must be AASL personal members. Download the 2005 application (PDF File*). The 2005 application deadline is February 1, 2005 http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslawards/franceshenneawd/2005_fhenne_app.pdf Media Matters January 2005 Page 4 Media Matters January 2005 Legislative Information The Georgia General Assembly convenes on January 10, 2005 To find your legislator go to: http://www.vote-smart.org http://www.sos.state.ga.us Tips for contacting legislators: When writing letters, keep it short and simple. Don't just complain, offer possible solutions. Be prepared to back up your statements with data. Not all legislators check their e-mail. Call their office (find their telephone number on the General Assembly Web site at http://www.legis.state.ga.us/icon/picbook.pdf) Invite the legislators that represent your school's district to observe the exciting programs going on in your Library Media Center. Many have no idea how much you do! Information taken from GLMA, Inc. Page 5 Media Matters January 2005 Changes in GALILEO's Internet Resources Philip McArdle, GALILEO Services Coordinator As announced on the GALILEO e-mail list in September 2004, the Internet Resources section of GALILEO will not be available in 2005. This does not mean a loss of resources to GALILEO users, however, thanks to two new Web directories from SIRS. Discoverer WebFind and SKS WebSelect are comprehensive, up-to-date directories tailored to two different age groups: WebFind provides an interface and directory aimed at elementary and middle-school students, while WebSelect provides resources aimed at high-school students and adult users. Students, teachers, and media specialists who already use SIRS Discoverer to find magazine articles will find Discoverer WebFind's interface familiar. Web sites are grouped into the same subject categories as the articles in Discoverer, and users can either browse these categories or search for sites by keyword or subject heading. WebFind provides links to over 5,000 Web sites, and each one is selected by SIRS editors for its credibility and its appropriateness for younger users. SKS WebSelect indexes over 13,000 sites, which are grouped into the same categories as SIRS Researcher's articles and carefully selected to meet the needs of Researcher's older users. With both WebFind and WebSelect, the chances of encountering an inappropriate Web site are slim. Not only do SIRS' editors review sites thoroughly before adding them, but SIRS uses specially-designed software to detect when a change is made to any of the chosen sites--and the site is removed from SIRS' index until the editors have reviewed and approved the modified site. The editors also provide a helpful summary for every site, making it easier for users to select the sites that best meet their needs. These editorial practices ensure that teachers and media specialists who refer their students to WebFind and WebSelect are directing those students to suitable, high-quality Web sites. Other GALILEO databases currently available to K-12 schools and other consortia also include links to Internet resources: for example, Encyclopedia Britannica Online and Britannica School Edition both offer Web site suggestions to accompany their articles. Because the producers of these Web directories are able to review and update their selections regularly following active collection development practices, they are able to provide directories that are more useful and consistent than the selection of Internet resources that was formerly available through GALILEO. We at GALILEO encourage you to give these new resources a try--we expect that they will make your search for new and useful Internet resources more convenient and more fruitful. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, please use GALILEO's Contact Us form to let us know. Page 6 Media Matters January 2005 Martin Luther King, Jr. Web Sites The Seattle times Martin Luther King Jr. page: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/index.html Stanford University Martin Luther King Papers Project: http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/ The King Center in Atlanta: http://thekingcenter.com/ GLC lesson plan: http://www.glc.k12.ga.us/BuilderV03/LPTools/lpshared/lpdisplay.asp?LPID=4598 Library of Congress Resource Guide: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/intro.html Education World Black History Treasure Hunt (four different grade levels) http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson052.shtml Page 7 Georgia Department of Education 1952 Twin Towers East 205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive Atlanta, Georgia 30334 Phone: 404-657-9800 Fax: 404-657-6822 Email: jserrite@doe.k12.ga.us We will lead the nation in improving student achievement. 7 Great Resolutions 1. Eat right 90 percent of the time; eat whatever you want 10 percent of time. 2. Get as much sleep as you need to be happy, healthy, and fun to be around. 3. Make up creative excuses to get more exercise. 4. Do something every day that makes you laugh out loud. 5. Take a walk or get some other exercise whenever you feel stressed. 6. Go outside and play at least once a week. 7. Limit TV to one hour a day or less. Source: The Hope Heart Institute, Seattle. Page 8 Media Matters January 2005 January 2005 GaDOE Library Media Services Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 Birthday ofEM Forster: 18791970 J.D. Salinger born: 1919- 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Birthday ofIssac J.R.R. Tolkein Jacob Grimmborn: George Washing- Carl Sandburg's Zora Neale Hurst- Stephen Manes Asimov: 1920- born: 1892-1973 1785-1863 ton Carver Day birthday: 1878- on born: 1891- born: 1949- 1992 1967 1960 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Birthday ofRicha- Thomas Paine rd Nixon: 1913- published 1994 Common Sense: 1776 Alan Paton born: 1903-1988 Birthday ofJack London: 18761916 Birthday ofDavid Hugh Lofting Birthday of Wiseman: 1916- born: 1886-1947 Martin Luther King, Jr.: 19291968 16 Robert Lipsyte born: 1938- 17 18 19 20 21 22 Robert Cormier Birthday ofA.A. Edgar Allan Poe Joy Adamson Huck Scarry's Lord Byron born: born: 1925-2000 Milne: 1882-1956 born: 1809-1849 born: 1920-1980 birthday: 1953- 1788-1824 23 24 25 26 Graduation of1st Birthday ofEdith woman physi- Wharton: 182cian, Elizabeth 1937 Blackwell: 1849 Robert Burns born: 1759-196 W. Somerset Maughamborn: 1874-1965 Birthday ofMary Mapes Dodge: 1831-1905 27 28 Birthday of Birthday ofVera Mozart: 1756- B. Williams: 1791 1927- Lewis Carroll born: 1832-1898 29 Birthday ofBill Peet: 1915- Rosemary Wells born: 1943- 30 31 Lloyd Alexander's Gerald McDermott birthday: 1924- born: 1941- December 04 S M TW T F S 1234 5 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 31 February 05 S M TW 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 What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours. J.D. Salinger