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iPads and QR codes in the library

What’s new in the library?  The 9th graders got a brief look at what is new in the library at their orientation last Friday.  Using one of the 5 library iPads and working in groups, the students roamed the library searching for clues  (in the form of QR codes) to answer their Scavenger Hunt questions.  They used the iPads to read the QR code and then explored our databases, online library catalog and ebooks.  They were also the first group of students to get a look at the new library configuration — we moved a few things around during the summer!

– Ann Ewel

This year’s Hoot, the Middle School literary magazine, is bigger and better than ever: 68 pages of stories, artwork, poetry, essays, and more by our talented Middle School students. This year’s staff of twelve students met every other week to assess and vote on the 284 submissions, which were mostly class assignments collected from teachers. Students with work accepted into the magazine were notified before printing, to obtain permission to publish their work. All Hoot staffers and contributors should be immensely proud of their efforts!

The Hoot is offered free to students and parents by pre-order only; we didn’t want to waste any copies as printing is expensive. All staffers and contributors automatically received a copy. Archival copies are available for reading in the Library.

Cover photograph by Christy Oh.

This may sounds like we are sending out for an interesting lunch, but Noodle Tools is a software tool to use when doing research. Students can use Noodle Tools to create their citations, take notes, and organize an outline.

The secret to success with creating a citation in Noodle Tools is to correctly identify the type of resource. Noodle Tools will then ask relevant questions and put all the information into the correct format. At a touch of a button the student can then generate their Works Cited, or Bibliography Page. Not only that, when using Noodle Tools there is no more fear of losing a stack of note cards.

So far Noodle Tools has been used extensively by the 7th grade Social Studies Classes and right now the Juniors who are writing their English Research Papers. But it has also been used by the 5th graders, the 12th grade English Lit, and the Psychology Class. Each student can create their own account and can use Noodle Tools for all of their projects to keep up with their research and citations, so as to avoid plagiarism.

You can find the Noodle Tools link on our Database pages.  –Ann Ewel

I review books and occasionally write articles for VOYA magazine, aimed at librarians who serve teens. This month they published my article, “Winning the Writing Olympics,” in which I interviewed five newly published writers about their experiences as new authors. From the link, go to page 28-29 (be sure pop-ups are enabled). If the link doesn’t work, just go to the main magazine site, and the digital issue is on the right. The article will only be available until the end of April.

–Rebecca

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What I’m reading now: The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman (again)