Monthly Archives: March 2019

50 posts

Ken Burns: National Parks

A story of people: people from every conceivable background – rich and poor; famous and unknown; soldiers and scientists; natives and newcomers; idealists, artists and entrepreneurs; people who were willing to devote themselves to saving some precious portion of the land they loved, and in doing so reminded their fellow citizens of the full meaning of democracy.  Airs 3/13 at 9 p.m.

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Searching for Augusta: The Forgotten Angel of Bastogne

Tells the little-known story of Augusta Chiwy, a black nurse, and her heroic service at a U.S. military aid station during the opening days of the Battle of The Bulge. Her remarkable story of bravery went untold for over 60 years, until historian and author Martin King tracked her down and wrote a book celebrating her heroism. Augusta Chiwy passed away on August 23, 2015 in Belgium at the age of 94. Her life story was celebrated in the New York Times feature series “The Lives They Lived.” Using archival footage and photos, black and white sketches, and interviews with author Martin King, historian Michael Collins, and others, the documentary pieces together the remarkable true story of this previously unsung hero, whose compassion and unwavering courage helped save countless of American soldiers.

Airs 3/13 at 4 a.m.

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Weeding Worries

Embarking on a weeding project? Worried about how your community may perceive it?

American Libraries Magazine published an article in 2016, which is still relevant and helps you to ask yourself important questions when deciding whether a book is a candidate for weeding.

Click here to read the article.

It’s very important to weed your collection. Remember, if your students can’t find the books they want to read because your shelves are too full, they just won’t read.

Treehouse Learning for RRLC Members

Treehouse is an online learning platform focusing on developing technical skills with more than 200 courses on topics such as web design, game development, digital literacy, and more. As we are members of the Rochester Regional Library Council, we may request access to one of their 10 licenses for a two-week period at no charge. This includes school librarians in our Monroe One region districts. Accounts are available for individual persons and will be activated on a first-come first-served basis.

Click here to request your FREE two-week license.

At the end of your access time, your account privileges will be deactivated, although your account will remain open so that you may request access again by filling out the form below, as you need more training. Certificates of completion are available by request; after a course has been completed, contact cbroomfield@rrlc.org to request a certificate. Once your request has been processed and verified, RRLC will email your certificate.

Courageous Learning

– There are more than 93 million Americans in the workforce today without a degree. Their standard of living is falling and their earnings gap is increasing. These adults missed their chance to go to college – or never finished a degree program. Courageous Learning follows the lives of three adult students: Shawn, Joe, and Angeline -a veteran, a single dad, and a nurse – as they face obstacles in the pursuit of higher education. Experts, including leaders from academia, think tanks, government, and nonprofits, provide a guide to the landscape of post-secondary education in the 21st century – and reveal it as terrain that too few travel. Narrated by actor Dennis Haysbert.

Airs 3/11 at 1:30 a.m. (3/18 at 2:30 a.m.)

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Shots Fired

Shots Fired is a short documentary about courage, communications and resilience in the face of a school shooting. Just before school started on an April morning a student with a .357 Magnum walked into the Commons, an area teaming with North Thurston High School (NTHS) students, raised the gun and fired into the ceiling. Chaos erupted. The student fired a second shot. What happened next is the best-case scenario in the face of such terror. No one died. Rather than taking sides in the gun control/rights debate, Shots Fired offers a rare look at a school shooting. Even with no fatalities, the residual trauma is palpable. Students, teachers, school administrators and staff along with first responders reflect on what happened, what went well and what could have worked better. School shootings often end in unbearable tragedy. In Shots Fired, tragedy is upended by unforgettable courage and resilience.

Airs 3/11 at 1 a.m

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Makey Makey and Accessibility

While doing some research for the Makey Makey workshop, which was ultimately canceled due to the weather, I came across an interesting post from Perkins School for the Blind. It introduces the Makey Makey, and reports that it can be used as a tool for students with visual impairments. The article is brief and not very in depth, but if you’d like to read it you can read it here: Click here to read the Perkins article.

This article sent me down a path looking for more information on how this tool can be used specifically as an assistive device. This article from EdCan Network out of Canada, explains further: https://www.edcan.ca/articles/makey-makey-assistive-resource/

The video above is a quick clip of an assistive technology prototype built during one of the full-day workshops (like the one being offered here on the 14th of March). The opportunities are endless!

We are considering rescheduling the hour-long Makey Makey workshop, however as there is already a full-day workshop being offered on March 14th, it likely will not be held until April or May. If you are not registered or cannot make it to the workshop being held on March 14th, and would like some instruction on Makey Makey, please contact me. I will reschedule the shorter one if there is enough interest.