Louisiana Resource Center for Educators (LRCE) Internship: Summer 2019

    Yesterday, I had the pleasure of having a conversation with Bianca D. Chandler, the Marketing & Development Director of the LRCE. Together, on the phone and with the help of the screen-share feature on Microsoft Teams, we went over the newsletter I've been working on using Canva.com. Also, I had the opportunity to ask many questions.     The biggest problems with my newsletter is that the information is presented in an odd order, with valuable information being saved for last and unimportant information presented right away. Another problem is that the text is too cluttered, and needs to be spread out. There was a minor problem with the colors - I used green and grey instead of the LRCE's red and white - but together we fixed that issue quickly. As for the font, it was incorrect according to the LRCE's graphic design standards, but, since Canva.com didn't have those fonts available, this mistake was permitted for the time being. Still, I tried my best to f...

    Wow! I can't believe that my time at the LRCE Library is coming to a close. Although it feels like I've been an intern for only a short while, I've actually learned about an incredible amount of different things and had plenty of opportunities to employ a wide variety of skills. Although I'm technically a circulation intern, I've also acted as a patron support representative, online promoter, and data manager. My only regret is that I couldn't have done more. However, I'm very pleased with what I've learned so far - my internship allowed me employ and refine my current skills, while gaining new ones. My most enlightening experience had to do with learning how to use the DESTINY interface: software that is used by a wide variety of libraries in the US. While I barely scratched the service of what DESTINY is able to do, I was able to use its most important functions by myself: running weekly reminders and utilization reports, adding new patrons, and re...

     When school lets out for the summer, students often go on long vacations, traveling abroad or visiting national parks. Others simply stay home and relax in the comfort of their own homes. But all these students, whether traveling or enjoying a 'stay-cation' all most likely have one thing in common: they are happy to be spending time outside the classroom. All students, no matter their grade level, deserve to have a break, but how does a teacher prevent the valuable lessons they've learned from being lost through summertime inactivity? Also, what's the best way for upcoming teachers to prepare their new students for the lessons to come? The answer is simple: summer reading. Unfortunately, without the physical presence of teachers, it is near impossible to actively enforce summer reading, and even if the student is allowed to read a book of their own choosing, their is no sure way of knowing that they will fully read their book from beginning to end. Also not helping...

    Librarians, and many other Information professionals such as curators and archivists for that matter, are often so busy helping others that they forget about helping one another. Although the internet has made near instantaneous communication a reality, it seems that librarians are more spread apart than ever before. It certainly doesn't help that there's is not much standardization: different libraries may specialize in different fields, such as medicine or law, and use different managing software, from Destiny to Mandarin. While many librarians may feel that their own patron-base is the most important, and decide to focus on their own immediate concerns rather than holding meaningful discussions with other librarians and supporting them through email, phone, or text, these isolationists are only making things more difficult for themselves. Many librarians develop new methods and learn new skills on their own, and would be happy to share them if they had an outlet to use,...

On the designated Fridays of every month, from 5:00PM to 7:30PM, patrons will be able to check out books from the LRCE Resource Library while enjoying beverages such as tea, coffee, and cocktails. Stay tuned for more updates, and most importantly, see you there!

On July 24th to July 27th, 10AM-4PM, the LRCE Resource Library will be having its annual summer sale!

    A common subject I've discussed on this blog is gamification - applying elements commonly found in recreational games to the classroom in order to promote better student engagement. However, gamification can be a rather vague area for many instructors, and there are many who don't know how to apply it not because they disagree with gamification, but because they don't how to apply it. Fortunately, there are many articles online, and helpful pieces of software that provide valuable guidance.     Liz Kolb, a teacher and proponent of gamification in the classroom, recommends the use of 3DGameLab and Gradecraft in order to implement game-based learning. Other recommendations are Classcraft and TheVirtualLocker. Two valuable things games employ, most often video games, are quests and experience points. The player completes quests - which can be any kind of task, both easy and challenging - and, in turn, receives experience points they can use to 'unlock' new privil...

    The Giver , first published in 1993, is an example of YA dystopian fiction and a long enduring young adult classic that is required reading in many schools. It tells the story of Jonas, a boy who lives in an isolated society where emotion is suppressed, who becomes apprenticed to an elder known as the 'Giver' who is able to transmit memories of the past to Jonas. Through these memories, Jonas learns about strong emotions such as love and hate, and the dysfunctional nature of the society in which he lives. The Giver and Jonas decide that the only way to fix matters is for him to run away, so that the memories will return to the people of the community. However, matters are never so simple...     The Giver provides all the hallmarks of YA dystopian fiction: a young person being selected for a special role, the dawning realization of the world around them that brings the protagonist in conflict with authority figures, and feelings of loneliness and isolation. Howe...

Dystopian fiction - a genre of literature exploring the nature and operation of dysfunction societies where the rights of the individual are often crushed by a powerful and malignant elite - has long since been present in the written language, and now in particular, in YA fiction. But how has this genre come about, and why has it become so entrenched in what young people are reading nowadays? The answer is complex, and it is difficult to provide a definite one. Throughout history, mankind has constantly been imagining future societies. As in Plato's Republic , some imaginative minds envisioned what the perfect society would be like, while others, such as Aldous Huxley and George Orwell, imagined the exact opposite. They wrote of societies that are specifically designed to crush the individual and civil liberties, where those who refuse to conform to the status quo and follow the stringent rules suffer for it. While Brave New World  and 1984  depict two very different kinds o...