The November #KyLChat was held on November 27, 2018 with the theme of Being thankful.

A strong PLN is a blessing!  What school librarians or colleagues are you thankful for this year and why?

Heather Warrell is extremely thankful for Dr. Lynn Reynolds.  Heather says she is a strong LMS advocate, a cultural leader, and a visionary and that she is blessed to have her in her PLN and as a friend. Jen Gilbert is super thankful for James Allen who teaches her every day. She loves her #aaslleaders cohort–they’re always up to support and teach. She is also grateful for Kendra Waddell and Kerri Holder for making every day fantastic. Neil Arnett is thankful for Traci Tackett, Aileen Owens, and Edie Michelle Scott.  Kelli Reno always grateful to #KyLChat folks.  She also gives shout-outs to Jason Reed, S McGrath, Josh Rayburn, Alan Mayes, and Steve Greene for always seeing the ways the library is important in her school and to Amy Johns and Bob Moore for helping her vision her library program and for their support of FCPS libraries in general. Erin Pifer is thankful for this chat and The Future Ready Library Facebook page. Cindy Hundley is thankful for her sister, Amy Baker, as well as Stacey Alvey, Angela Manuel Perez, Janet Lanham, and Mrs. Johnson . Karrie Chajkowski is super thankful for Heidi Neltner pushing her this year. Rhonda Bell says that the LMSes in the Franklin County School District are THE best! She is extremely thankful for every one of them plus Tim Baker .  Amanda Hurley says her library clerk is amazing and helps keep her sane day in and day out and that adjusting to life in the library without Felica White has been rough! Heidi Neltner thanks James Allen for his “amazing support”  and for being “awesome and there”. She is also grateful to have Karrie Chajkowski on board at @FTWoodfillES this year the kids are getting into a maker mentality and sharing books like crazy. Kelli Ralston is thankful for all of the active librarians on Twitter. She is especially thankful for learning from Kathy Mansfield as she has shared her expertise through her UK coursework this year. Lori Coffey Hancock is very thankful for James Allen, Jen Gilbert, Renee Hale, Amanda Hurley, Sam Northern, and so many more for all that they do for @KASL_Librarians. Grace Cottam is thankful for all the supportive librarians that have helped her get settled and for all the teachers that are willing to collaborate and try new things. Leslee Frosta is thankful for  @KASL_Librarians board and members and for Felica White and her @CentralDistKASL peeps. She says they are wonderful supporters and advice givers. Kelly Wadyko gave thanks for @htxlib_ctory, @lispylibrarian, @RgvLibrarySquad, @yabooksandmore, @StarrReadnRun, @cuethelibrarian, @ViliaGarcia, @bizyreader, @Dobie9Library to name a few.

As a school librarian, how do you show your gratitude to volunteers (parents, students, speakers, etc.) throughout the year?

Jen Gilbert is going to try to add handwritten notes this season. Leslee Frosta has a “fabulous” small group of 8th graders that are in her library tech class.  She buys them food and drinks because they work so well together and so hard for her. She’s working on Christmas gifts now.  She also give notes, hugs, and high fives. If she has collaborated with a teacher and students come back and say good things to her, she always shares. Kelli Reno sends handwritten thank you notes, and then, depending on their social media presence, shares all sorts of Twitter love. Cindy Hundley tries to reward her student volunteers with treats and rewards often. Mrs. Johnson tries to give back to her volunteers and helps them whenever she can–volunteering for PTA events (her volunteers come through them) or just offering space for PTA meetings in the library. Rhonda Bell says that feeding people is always a good way to show your appreciation. She gives her student workers candy, stockings, Little Debbie snack cakes, soft drinks and hot beverages from their coffee bar. They work hard for her and keep things on track. Danielle Padgett has a “bucket filler” wall in the workroom. She says it has been so neat to give (and receive!) notes and small tokens of gratitude this year.  Heidi Neltner made book bags for volunteers that said “I like big books and I cannot lie” – it was pretty much the best thing ever – despite obviously leaving the iron on the fabric too long. Amanda Hurley tries to write little notes and lets them know how much she appreciates them. When parents volunteer, she introduces them to teachers when they come in and thanks them in front of others, not just when they’re alone.  Lori Coffey Hancock does a “library elf” breakfast in December for her student volunteers. For parent volunteers, one year, they made bookmarks with their children’s pictures and an Emilie Buchwald quote. They’ve also done a breakfast for parent volunteers.  Kelli Ralston  tries to always use “please” and “thank you” with her students for any little thing they do. Parties are sometimes involved to show thanks to them as well. She has kids write thank you notes to parents, volunteers, or grant providers. Karrie Chajkowski says a good old fashioned hand written thank you note sent to their house goes a long way. She also stocks a snack, coffee, and candy bar for them while they are in the library. Kelly Wadyko has students who participate in events with authors/speakers to make something for them. Katie A Newton makes lunch, breakfast, or homemade treats throughout the year for her student workers to make them feel special and to show her appreciation (she says her baked spaghetti wins them over every time). Amy Rogers Baker tries to personally thank anyone who supports the LMC. She sends texts and emails and writes a quick thank you note to the teachers, staff, and volunteers. She always volunteers to help the PTA anytime they need assistance.

What are some practical ways librarians can show their appreciation for collaborating partnerships in the building?

Katie A Newton gives shoutouts at faculty meetings and shoutouts when telling her “story” online.  She puts thank you and praise on doors. Kelly Wadyko does “Teacher Spotlights” in her @SmorePages newsletters showcasing teachers that utilize the librarians and/or library resources. Rhonda Bell brags on those teachers who collaborate with her and lets her work with their kids. She posts pictures and comments on FB, Twitter, monthly newsletters, etc. She sometimes invites administrators to watch them collaborate. Cindy Hundley thanks collaborators by sharing pics of the work students complete via social networking or throughout the school, attempting to work with them again, and providing resources they may need for work related or not, to what’s happening in the library. Amanda Hurley brags on her collaborating teachers to administrators and invites them to come and watch them co-teach. It builds trust and confidence. Everyone loves getting complimented!  Erin Pifer nominates them for teacher of the month and  invites administrators and instructional coaches in on their collaborative unit/lesson so they get props from them too. Karrie Chajkowski will pick up books for teachers and drop them off for their classroom libraries as a little present. She also brings them coffee the day after a big project culmination. Kelli Reno says she is more intentional about checking in with the folks whom she has partnered with in the past. She also makes sure her collaborations get a shout out in the staff newsletter. Jen Gilbert says talking up the teacher you collab with and letting them know you think they’re doing a great job is a natural way to help them feel good about the collab and want to work with you again.

Conferences are a great way to keep learning and stay inspired. What conference sessions would you be most thankful for at the next conference?

Kelly Wadyko suggests sessions that pertain teen/YA/HS libraries.  Lori Coffey Hancock would love to hear about successful collaborations and have some great take aways that she could implement as well as new technologies and online resources out there to use (or share with her teachers). Amanda Hurley would love for someone to facilitate a session on the #AASLStandards where HS LMS’ can sit around and brainstorm ways to implement the standards.  Kelli Reno is looking for the magic solution to growing high quality student library aides and more about school-wide reads. Rhonda Bell is rocking the box Breakouts with the platform access, but wants @Stella_Pollard to do a session on Digital Breakouts. LTMS Library wants to know the best video production and podcasting for chromebooks and how to run a “hands off” makerspace. Erin Pifer would like to see what LMS are doing to entice students and teachers into the library and how they are promoting a reading culture at their schools.
Danielle Padgett loves sessions on the KBAs, esp K-2. Katie A Newton would like to see community partnerships: tech based/reading based, efficiency, ALA standards, SAMR Model, and evolving makerspace.  Kelli Ralston would like see effective collaboration on a fixed schedule, advocacy, material acquisitions (such as process/timeline for ordering books, which reviews you read, etc. Kelli Reno would love sessions with actual collaboration and work time that focus on library programming for 1:1 schools and anything that tells you how to run a distributed media center format with a staff of one!

Everyone needs a little more time and a lot less frustration this time of year. What tech tools are you most thankful for?

Shannon Bosley says she could not exist without Google Drive, Calendar and Classroom. Amanda Hurley uses @Tweetdeck to keep organized during #KyLChat, Google Hangout to connect with other librarians when they need to talk face to face, but can’t be in the same place at the same time, and @Newsela for high interest non-fiction Lexiled articles. CTE Library loves their @Sphero, @BloxelsBuilder and the Lightbot Hour App. They are great tools for promoting coding.  Kelli Reno’s go-to tech tools for library promotions and productivity are the @GoogleForEdu apps, @AdobeSpark and @Flipgrid. The question Gif images used in the #KyLChat were created with with @techsmith, and @Camtasia (@Snagit is awesome too!). Stella Pollard suggests @screencastify. Cindy Hundley loves @Flipgrid, @EpicKidsBooks, @duckduckmoose’s Draw and Tell, @PicCollage, @Stickbot, and #StickNodes. Mrs. Johnson is thankful for the LibGuide provided by @JCPS_LMS as a great way to share information and interact with students and families, and tools that engage students in learning like @Flipgrid, @GetKahoot, etc. Amy Rogers Baker uses @TouchCastEdu,  @Flipgrid, and @DoInkTweets. Amanda Hurley is trying Google’s @madewithcode this year. Students can create so many things in a short amount of time.

Hour of code is next week. What coding resources are you most grateful for being able to use and share?

Cindy Hundley plans to use @scratch, Jr. for her K-2nd students and Tynker with her 3rd-5th. She attended a @PlayCraftLearn (Minecraft for Education) PD which could also play a part in next week’s Hour of Code activities. Mrs. Johnson is using resources on http://code.org. Kelli Reno enjoyed the @Ozobot resources last year, as well as @scratch on the IFP for students to play with even if they only had 5 minutes. Best Coding Tools for Elementary from Common Sense Education has great coding tools tuned to the needs of younger students. Amy Rogers Baker will definitely be using @PlayOsmo and Dashanddot.nl (@DashanddotNL). Heather Warrell shared her district’s Hour of Code strategy created by Danielle Washburn.  The video is available at https://youtu.be/JB2ERisVPHU. Heidi Neltner has created a resource list for #hourofcode at https://www.smore.com/w6gfz. Karrie Chajkowski’s kindergarteners will be retelling stories for hour of code using BeeBots. Stella Pollard is using @Raspberry_Pi  and @GetPiTop and coding Ozobots to dance to Christmas songs.

Thank you to all who participated in the #KyLChat this month and to James Allen, Heidi Neltner, and Amanda Hurley for leading us.