clic

Flipped Classroom – Where Were You When I Needed You?

By Debra Kirby

If the flipped classroom concept had existed when I was a student, I might have avoided one of my most vivid and unpleasant childhood experiences — a home visit by my 4th grade teacher after repeated but failed attempts to curb my chattiness in his classroom. Mr. Y was a very nice guy and good teacher and had tried his best by moving my desk to different locations around the classroom, including and lastly right next to his desk at the front of the room, all to no avail. I was happy to talk to him too! Watching Mr. Y get out of his car and head up our walkway was one of those frozen in time memories for me. I can still recall the panicky feeling when I realized he was coming to my house.

Read moreFlipped Classroom – Where Were You When I Needed You?

Gale Products Named Finalists for 2016 SIIA CODiE Awards

Posted April 25, 2016

by: Meghan C. Olivier

The 2016 CODiE Awards, presented by the Software & Information Industry Associations (SIIA), have recognized three products from Gale, a part of Cengage Learning:

Read moreGale Products Named Finalists for 2016 SIIA CODiE Awards

CLiC Helps Lighten the Load

Posted on March 1, 2016

By Megan McCarthy

When I was little I used to love reading the Encyclopedia Britannica. We had one full set, and I think it was published in 1968. I would write all my papers using those encyclopedias. It wasn’t until high school that it occurred to me the information might be out-of-date. It was the same with textbooks. There were names of students on my pre-owned textbooks that I knew had graduated college. What’s more, those books were heavy. I remember dragging my loaded book bag to and from school. I thought my arms would break. Now, with CLiC, those days are gone.

CLiC (Classroom in Context) is a digital curriculum that pulls its content from Gale’s award-winning In Context databases. In Context is dynamically updated, so the content is always current. Not only are the six CLiC curriculums designed to meet state, national and Common Core standards, they are also endlessly customizable. Teachers can add in videos, podcasts, articles, and even their own materials. And all of this flexibility is available for students on their tablets and laptops. So out-of-date textbooks and encyclopedias are a thing of the past.

Read moreCLiC Helps Lighten the Load

Tending the Academic Garden with CLiC

Posted on February 9, 2016

By Megan McCarthy

I love to garden, and over the years I’ve gotten pretty good at it. However, that wasn’t always the case. When I first started, every spring I’d run to Lowes, and pick out all the blooming plants I thought looked pretty. I’d bring them home, and plant them in my yard. Then, every year, I would watch in horror as they would wither and die. What was I doing wrong?  Well, as it turned out, almost everything. I finally consulted with a gardening expert, and found that plants had to be grown according to their needs. Some needed shade, some sun. Some needed dry soil, and others needed water. Most liked to be planted when they weren’t in bloom, probably the reason I was killing so many. I learned some important lessons, but the most valuable lesson I learned was, when you are in trouble, ask an expert.

Read moreTending the Academic Garden with CLiC

What’s your learning style?

Posted on February 4, 2016

Everyone has unique qualities, from hair and eye color to personal interests to ways of problem solving. I approach making cookies by searching for a perfect recipe, laying out all the ingredients before starting, and following the instructions step by step. Another baker might use the first recipe found online, locate each ingredient when needed, and regard a recipe merely as a guide. Still another baker might look up a segment from the Food Network online and follow along, while someone else may prefer to work in the kitchen with a more experienced baker who provides support through the process.

The method for making cookies doesn’t really matter, as long the result is yummy. Students learning in the classroom are no different. There are three generally recognized styles of learning. Visual learners process by reading and watching, while auditory learners prefer listening and reciting. Tactile, also known as kinesthetic, learners gain knowledge by doing or touching. Many learners thrive with one learning style, while some prefer using a combination of two or three styles. CLiC (Classroom in Context) can help teachers better address the learning styles of their students and ensure their success.

Read moreWhat’s your learning style?

How to Get and Hold Student’s Attention

Posted on December 18, 2015

By Megan McCarthy

We’ve all heard the saying, “information is power.” That being said, sometimes too much information makes you feel powerless. Take for example, my experience making lasagna. I needed a good recipe for lasagna one night. So, I googled “great lasagna recipes.” I got 247 great lasagna recipe posts. Completely overwhelmed by the amount of information, I quickly closed my computer and ordered pizza. The lasagna would have to wait for another night.

The same is true in the classroom. Students and teachers can be completely overwhelmed by the amount of information available today. Finding the right balance for success can be tricky. If teachers overload their students, they are likely to shut down. If they pick the wrong subject matter or use the wrong content, students can lose interest. That’s why CLiC (Classroom in Context) is such a valuable tool in the classroom.

Read moreHow to Get and Hold Student’s Attention

Driving Electronic Content Discovery and Usage: Communication – Part 2

Posted on September 9, 2015
Posted by Jan Snyder and Jennifer Maurer

Part II 

As we wrote in Part I of this series, we feel privileged to have a very rich collection of Gale databases and eBooks at our fingertips to use with students and staff, at zero cost to us, through the Oregon State Library’s Statewide Database Licensing Program. Statewide access provides consistency for students as they move from elementary to middle school and then high school.

But the real value and power of these resources are unleashed when librarians and educators collaborate and communicate.  In the second part of this blog series, we’ll discuss – from our own perspectives – communication.
(If you missed it, be sure to also read Part I — Driving Electronic Content Discovery and Usage: Collaboration.)

Jennifer

Electronic Mailing List:
While presenting about Gale databases to various audiences falls under the heading of training, it is also a form of communication. However, I also have a direct channel of communication about OSLIS and its resources, including the statewide databases. The State Library created an electronic mailing list called OSLIST. As I learn about new school library staff in Oregon, I automatically subscribe them. Through OSLIST, I share ideas for how to use the databases as well as communicate about new Gale products and features.

Read moreDriving Electronic Content Discovery and Usage: Communication – Part 2

Driving Electronic Content Discovery and Usage: Collaboration – Part 1

Posted on August 31, 2015
Posted by Jan Snyder and Jennifer Maurer

As librarians, we feel privileged to have a very rich collection of Gale databases and eBooks at our fingertips to use with students and staff, at zero cost to us, through the Oregon State Library’s Statewide Database Licensing Program. This allows for statewide access to a wide range of vetted information, on unlimited topics, for use by our patrons. These same databases are available at K-16 throughout Oregon, as well as at public libraries, for use by all state residents. In talking with librarian friends across the country, we know that we enjoy a benefit not available in many states.

Funding for the statewide databases comes from a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant.  Another grant project was initiated some 15 years ago, when members of the Oregon Association of School Libraries (OASL) and Oregon State Library staff shared concerns about access to information literacy resources for students and teachers, as the number of licensed school librarians employed across the state declined. OASL applied for a LSTA grant from the State Library to create OSLIS, or the Oregon School Library Information System, and that has become a continuing statewide project. In addition to offering information literacy resources and citation generators in MLA and APA formats, OSLIS serves as the K-12 access point for the statewide databases.

Having statewide central access to the databases provides consistency for students as they move from elementary to middle school and then high school. It also means that students and educators served by school library staff who are not familiar with how to link directly to databases still have access to statewide resources.

Read moreDriving Electronic Content Discovery and Usage: Collaboration – Part 1