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The issues of the teacher librarians and para-professionals in California School Libraries. Please share your concerns, feedback and questions.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

CSI & CSLF: Library Education via Vendors



by Lesley Farmer
 

How do you repair books? How do you import records into the library management system? How can I get statistics about the library online portal? What is a good way to check out magazines? What is a makerspace? These questions might not have been answered in your library training. So where do you turn to get those answers – and keep current in the field?
    One group who can help are vendors. While they do have to deal with their bottom line, profit, most vendors who deal with school libraries also want to educate their clientele – it is good business. Vendors know that an informed customer is more likely to use their products more successfully, and will remain a valued customer.
    Conferences serve as a convenient central place to talk with several vendors, and get tips. In some cases, the sales reps might not be able to answer a very specific question, but they will generally refer you to the right expert in a follow-up communication. They often provide printed materials that you can pick up; sometimes the vendor will let you have several copies if they know that you will be sharing them with your colleagues.
    Vendors will sometimes come to a school district site or professional association workshop if several library staff gather there. Here is one example of association-archived webinars that can be access for free: http://www.ala.org/alcts/confevents/past/webinar. Vendors can demonstrate a product, and answer relevant questions. Sometimes they will provide free or fee training with hands-on activities. Sometimes the training can be recorded for later access. Simultaneously, or separately, vendors may also offer trial periods, especially for accessing services or products such as cataloging tools or subscription databases.
    Increasingly, vendors provide online training through downloadable documents, videos, and real-time training. Nowadays, vendors frequently give interactive webinars, showcasing new developments and ways to optimize the use of their products.  In most cases, the explanations focus on their own products, naturally, but they often give good generic advice, such as ways to preserve materials or create publications.
    In those cases where Internet access is limited or unstable, library staff might consider gathering at a site where the Internet connectivity is good, and then watch the training together, and download documents onto flash drives for later individual use. In some cases, the viewers can dial in to hear the webinar, and that phone call could be connected to a speaker. In the group meeting, staff can discuss issues and share ideas before and after the online session. It should also be noted that vendors often record and archive their webinars, so you can access those trainings at your own convenience, even though you will not have the advantage of asking questions right then.
Another option is for one or two librarians to get vendor training, and then train their staff peers.  Using this train-the-trainer model, vendors sometimes will provide handouts for the follow-up training, and may offer to answer just-in-time questions via the telephone.
A good place to start is the Librarians Yellow Pages: http://www.lyponline.com/. The American Library Association’s American Libraries Buyers Guide (http://www.ala.org/tools/libfactsheets/alalibraryfactsheet09) is an online resource designed to help in locating companies and vendors that provide a wide array of library products and services. Another listing of vendors may be found at http://www.libraryspot.com/libshelf/. Professional library associations may also maintain vendor contacts, largely garnered from their conference exhibitor lists. Calendars of free webinars are also found online, such as https://www.webjunction.org/find-training.html
Remember that you do not have to buy from these vendors. They budget for such services, knowing that good training and documentation can lead to sales and loyal customers. However, it is polite to thank them for sharing their expertise. Such considerations may also lead to beneficial professional relationships.

CDE: Opportunities for Input

Welcome back! Opportunities abound to provide input on a variety of projects for the CDE. Read on for the latest updates from the CDE and opportunities to participate on committees. People notice when library folks express an interest to serve and participate.

          History-Social Science (HSS) Framework 

     On July 14, 2016 the SBE voted unanimously to approve the History-Social Science            Framework. This endeavor began back in 2009 and work was suspended by SB 1540         (Hancock) and resumed in 2014 after completion of the mathematics and ELA/ELD              frameworks. 
    
          New features of the History-Social Science Framework:
          • Highlighted Features
     o Diversity is an asset
     o Inquiry based approach
     o Access & Equity 
     o Professional learning
     o Updated course descriptions 
         • New appendices on civic education and service learning, with examples of student          activities throughout the course descriptions
         • Information on financial literacy and voter education
         • Environmental focus, including integration of the Education and the Environment          Initiative 
         • Updating to include references to Common Core for ELA/Literacy,                                    CA ELD Standards, C3Framework
         • Links between HSS and other subject areas, suggestions for teachers to work across         disciplines
         • More than twenty classroom examples, with alignment to HSS, CCSS, ELD

Next steps for History-Social Science Framework:
     • Development of prepublication draft
     • Professional editing by CDE Press
     • Roll out plan and statewide launch events
     • Implementation milestone: K–8 instructional materials adoption

Get Involved…Become a Reviewer of the 2017 California History-Social Science Instructional Materials Adoption (Kindergarten through Grade Eight):

Information about this review and the online application process is available on the CDE HSS Instructional Materials Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/imThe deadline for submission of applications is October 19, 2016. 

For more information, contact: 
Kenneth McDonald, Lead Consultant, at 916-319-0447 or kmcdonal@cde.ca.gov.

2019 Revision of the Health Education Framework

The CDE, Instructional Quality Commission, and SBE are commencing the revision process for the Health Education Framework. Information and updates concerning the revision of the Health Education Framework will be posted here http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/he/cf/
Apply for appointment to a Focus Group to provide input regarding what guidance and information should be included in the revised framework. 
Completed applications are due September 15, 2016. 
All meetings are scheduled from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. and are open to the public. 
• November 1, 2016 Tulare County Office of Education 
• November 7, 2016 Sacramento County Office of Education (via videoconference at the following county offices of education: Butte and Siskiyou)
• November 15, 2016 Alameda County Office of Education 
• November 29, 2016 Long Beach Unified School District

For more information, contact: 
Deborah Franklin, Lead Consultant, at 916-319-0442 or dfrankli@cde.ca.gov.   

Computer Science Standards

The CDE reviewed and submitted comments in the third review period for the K-12 Computer Science Framework Review that ended in June. The projected release date of the framework is September 2016. For more information go to https://k12cs.org/.

On a related note the first meeting regarding developing computer science standards for California met August 8. I am part of that standards development team and the first opportunity for you to participate will be with Focus Groups gathering to provide input regarding the essential knowledge and skills that should be included in the California Computer Science Standards for kindergarten and grades 1-12.

Apply for appointment to a Focus Group or register to attend a public comment session. Sessions are scheduled for mid to late November.

 *Completed applications are due October 14, 2016. Application forms are available at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/computerscicontentstds.asp .
*This link will go live on Tuesday, September 6, 2016.

California Science Framework

There will be a presentation to the State Board of Education (SBE) at its meeting on September 8-9, 2016. This presentation will give great insight on the process and content of the CA Science Framework.

The SBE is scheduled to take action on the CA Science Framework at its November 2-3 meeting. Framework implementation activities are being planned and will launch following approval of the framework.

For the past three years the California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS) Collaborative has hosted CA NGSS rollouts to help teachers and administrators see the standards in action and how they would look in their classrooms. The California NGSS Collaborative is currently planning for the next phase of the CA Science framework, scheduled to begin in spring 2017