Research Made Easy: Our A+ Partnership ROCKS!

Years ago, when I was on the ISTE Board of Directors,* I was honored to tour a few of the Nashville Metro schools & observe their amazing partnership with the Limitless Library system. It was the coolest! With one login kids could access all the public library databases, get one on one help,  AND request books online – and the library system trucks delivered those book right to their school! WOW!

But did you know that something similar is available in Howard County?! W00t! (Not the delivering books part, a girl can dream, right?)

Howard County students have FREE Access to millions of items, live homework & History Day help, and amazing database, primary source, and research resources!

“HCPSS students now have access Howard County Library eContent in the classroom, at home, or anywhere they need to do homework or research. The Howard County Library System (HCLS) and the Howard County Public School System have launched the A+ Student Card to deliver the library system’s extensive catalog of electronic resources directly to students.” (This great service was launched in 2017) 

From Ms. Jones:  All HCPSS students (Pre-K–12) will have online access to their A+ Student Card account number through Canvas and Clever. Students will use this to gain immediate access to all HCLS eContent by using the A+ Student Card account number to login via the HCPSS.me portal. If you can’t find your A+ student card through Canvas call the Savage Branch Library and they can sort it out for you lickety split. (410) 313-0760

“The A+ Student Card account also provides students with full customer privileges at all HCLS branches. While previously issued HCLS cards may still be used at library branches, the A+ Student Card account enables students to use just one number for all their homework and research needs.” Source: HCPSSHoward County Library System Launch A+ Student Card

But sorry, Parents & Teachers, this service is just for the kiddos

From the HCL website: “In addition to receiving guidance from HCLS staff, students (K-12) and college-age adults can connect with free tutors for assistance with math, reading, science, social studies, English/language arts, and writing. Both English and Spanish speaking tutors are available seven days a week from 2 pm until 11:55 pm. Special thanks to the Howard County Public School System for contributing toward the cost of this service.”

When you log into Clever, you have access to more Epic resources!

(Disclaimer: These resources change from year to year and day to day – depending on our contracts)

With MackinVia, our kiddos can access “3 Million Print Titles- 1 Million Digital Titles- and now features a growing catalog of nearly 3 million print titles from 18,000+ publishers and a burgeoning digital collection of more than 1 million eBooks, educational databases, audiobooks and videos.”

 

Check out these slideshows for more details! Though the resources are subject to change. Usual disclosure

Thanks Howard County Public School Library Media and Howard County Library! These great resources will be transformative!

———

MHMS Bitmoji Show

HCPSS Trooper Show

More info!

A+: Students & Teachers – Howard County Library System

A+ Partners in Education – Howard County Library System

*(shameless humble brag!)

Unlocking the Secret to 100+ FREE eBooks & Audiobooks

Hey Mountain Lions!

If you missed my presentation last week – here’s the info I shared about the secret way to unlock, filter, and find 100 FREE eBooks  – That’s right a variety of Fiction, Non-fiction, Graphic Novels, Horror, Mystery, Sports, Classics and MORE!  All through Clever and MackinVia.


Got a question? Email me in Canvas! Or drop by your Virtual Recess session!

  1. Log into HCPSS.me
  2. Go to GSuite
  3. Go to the waffle menu on the top right corner and select Google Meet
  4. Enter the nickname/code name /MHMS-gjones-recess-MonthDay

Every week it will be:

Tuesday 6th Graders

Wednesday 7th Graders and

Thursday 8th Graders

Extra, Extra! MHMS Metropolitan Newspaper: Issue 4

Extra Extra! Get your MHMS Metro News Here!

Our #MHMSMetro student run & #GTSeminar newspaper is available for download!

Featuring:  Sports |  Arts, Music and Sports | International News | Politics

Page 5: Boredom Busters – DOWNLOAD the PDF Version below.

Our Mission: “At the Murray Hill Metropolitan we are dedicated to authentic, realistic and unbiased news for our students, their families and the public. Every month we cover a wide variety of stories from what’s happening at Washington to our new hall pass system. We hope to make sure our school is conscious and respectful of other people’s opinions, the news and politics.”- Murray Hill Metropolitan Staff

Download :  MHMS-Metro-Issue 4

Enter our Comic Competition!

Missed an Issue? – Want to get in touch? – Questions? Suggestions? 

Catch Up With Us On Our Website!

DOWNLOAD: MHMS Metro Crossword 1 -PDF

 

Extra! Extra! MHMS Metropolitan Newspaper

Extra Extra! Get your MHMS Metro News Here!

Our #MHMSMetro student run & #GTSeminar newspaper is available for download!

CONTENTS: Page 1: Politics | Page 2: Arts, Music and Sports | Page 3: Crossword – bottom of page |

Page 4: Comic – DOWNLOAD the PDF Version below.

Our Mission: “At the Murray Hill Metropolitan we are dedicated to authentic, realistic and unbiased news for our students, their families and the public. Every month we cover a wide variety of stories from what’s happening at Washington to our new hall pass system. We hope to make sure our school is conscious and respectful of other people’s opinions, the news and politics.”- Murray Hill Metropolitan Staff

Download : MHMS_Metro_Issue1-FINAL

Enter our Comic Competition!

Missed an Issue? – Want to get in touch? – Questions? Suggestions? 

Catch Up With Us On Our Website!

DOWNLOAD: MHMS Metro Crossword 1 -PDF

 

Welcome Back to School!

Welcome Back Kiddos, Parents, & Families!

Here’s our Media Orientation Cartoon!



This is my 22nd year at MHMS! Wait, what?? Whoda thunk it!?

I am SO honored to have been a part of this community since the beginning. I never thought I was one of those teachers who would stay in the same school for like, forever!

But here I am, still happy, loving our quirky middle school kiddos and the vibrant and rich diversity of our amazing neighborhood! I also like that I live near our community and only have to drive 7 minutes to get here!

This year is going to be fantastic and challenging! I’m so happy that Ms. Bell, our amazing Media Assistant is with us full time! Thanks to our new FULL TIME AWESOME Superintendent, Michael J. Martirano for bringing back our much needed (and loved!) Library paraeducators a couple years ago. We really appreciate having our Library & Literacy program fully staffed – because we serve about 800 people! 730+ kiddos & 80+ teachers and staff!

That’s a lot of people and we love it!

Please follow us on Instagram!

I will try and share all the amazing things that happen every day here at MHMS – the cool kiddos, the fun times, the Science, the ELA, the Social Studies, MHTV, ART, STEAM, Drama, well – as much as I can!

We LOVE to share the cool things that happen every day here at MHMS! In the Library, in the hallways, everywhere!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Mr. C enjoying our new sticker coloring book! #6thGradeMakerBoys19 #makerspace #steam @hocoschools #celebrateHCPSS

A post shared by @GwynethJones (@thedaringlibrarian) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Beautiful Friday #Shelfies on a 2 hour delay day!

A post shared by @GwynethJones (@thedaringlibrarian) on

But wait! There’s More!

The following are student, parent, and community resources I want to bring to your attention.

hcpss-connect-banner16This page will also feature our new HCPSS Parent Portal – HCPSS Connect

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Sa

If there’s something you need or that I can help you with…please don’t hesitate to let me know! I’d love to help!!

Makerspace For Little or Nothing

Makerspace for Little or Nothing
You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars to start a Makerspace area.
You don’t have to have a designated room or rip out bookcases.

You don’t have to make a Lego wall or buy a 3-D printer!

You can even have a Makerspace on a cart!

When we have testing in our Library, I put all our Makerspace stuff on an AV cart and roll it into our server
room.  This post evolved from a previous post called
Makerspace Starter Kit Updated  on my professional blog where I had some of these idea, but I felt that it deserved it’s own expanded post.


You can take baby steps into the Maker Movement.  I’ve been saying that for 7 years or so….long before I blogged about it, I tried it out.

A Makerspace is what you make of it!
Big or small, lavish or little, it’s all about the maker mindset.  Constructivism. Be creative! Be crafty! Ask your kids what they want and brainstorm how to bring it to the school! Ask for donations. Ask for help. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect at first or if you fail. Just give it a shot.

TP & Paper Towel Building Blocks

Collect toilet and paper towel rolls, heck – have the whole school collect them! Say you’re trying for 50 or 100 – put a decorated cardboard box outside your Library or Classroom for donations!

Make sure to Tweet, IG out, or add the request to your staff & community newsletter! But be careful, you could get an AVALANCHE of materials!

Then cut them into different lengths, have the kiddos paint them with water based paints and notch them with scissors — then let kids build with them! Store them in milk crates or bins. Voila!

I’ve heard lately, that some people don’t like this idea because they’re concerned about germs. I guess TP rolls & airborne germs? I’m kind of a germophobe, and I didn’t even think about that! Sheesh. How about lightly spraying all the cardboard rolls with Lysol? OR..how about using paper towel rolls cut into different lengths?  More! Cardboard Tube STEM Activities and more!  This is a Mommy blog that has lots of great STEM ideas! W00t! 
 

Origami Makerspace Pinterest Board.

Origami is the perfect addition to a Maker program. Gather some origami books (I have like at least 10) paper of all kinds, safety scissors, rulers, and a recycling bin or the scraps and Voila! Kids love folding paper and even though I’m not patient enough to do this myself, many of my kiddos are amazing at Origami!

Great Introductory Origami Projects:

+
+
+

from:

Paper Folding/Origami – MIT Edgerton Center – K12 Makerspaces

LEGOS for Nothing.

Here’s Sam, who generously donated these LEGO pieces!

Here’s the super cool Cassius, who does smile, I swear! Giving us like two big tubs of great LEGO pieces! Such a great kids!

My lovely wonderful Library Media assistant Kathi, took them home over the weekend and put them all in a bucket with a bleach solution & dried them in the sunshine. Voila! Just like new!

Ask your PTA, ask your kids, have a LEGO donation bucket by the door of your Library Media Center or classroom and check out yard sales and thrift shops. Bleach is amazing and cheap. Go for it!

Now… I’ve totally snagged (with permission!) some amazing ideas from MY Makerspace Guru, Diana Rendina!

Graphic by @DianaLRendina

Cardboard Creature Challenge
Now, shamelessly stolen  from my Makerspace Gur, Diana Rendina – Teasing Excerpts from the amazing article she wrote for Demco titled  3 Design Challenges for the Low-tech Makerspace  (Link below – I promise! Just don’t want to lose you quite yet, you may never come back!;-)  

“The Cardboard Challenge has long been one of my favorite makerspace activities. Inspired by the amazing short film Caine’s Arcade and the Imagination Foundation’s Global Cardboard Challenge (October 6th – Join in!), I create a new variation on this challenge every year. We’ve created cardboard arcades, robots, buildings, etc.” — Read the article for more!

Graphic by @DianaLRendina

Tech Take-Apart Robot Challenge
Tech take-apart is a classic makerspace activity. This design challenge
takes it a step further by recycling the technology into a robot made by
students. This project doesn’t have to be super complex — picture a
shoebox painted with black paint that has keyboard keys and circuit
boards glued to it.
(link below – I promise!)

Graphic by @DianaLRendina

Recycled Book Art Gallery  
Our Art Teacher does this and we always love to provide gallery and brainstorming space! Maybe she gets some of our weeded books OR maybe she uses donated books from the kids and

MHMS Upcycled Book Art Gallery Walk from my IG

the community. I can’t speak to that here… my supervisor might see this! 

Here’s what Diana has to say about this! 

“We all have damaged or out-of-date books that we’ve weeded from our library. Instead of tossing them out, why not transform them into recycled art? Browse Pinterest or check out some of the recommended resources below to gather inspiration for students. Provide students with a variety of arts and crafts supplies, including glue, tape, paint, scissors, glitter, etc. Teach the students about what an artist’s statement is, and have them write one up once their project is done. Then create a gallery of all the students’ projects in the library and invite classes to visit for a gallery walk. This is a great way to introduce students to the world of professional art and a fantastic way to recognize their work.  Design prompt: Working alone or in pairs, transform a used book into a work of art. You can use any arts and crafts materials, including paint, scissors, glue, tape, etc. Write an artist’s statement explaining how you came up with your idea and how you created your art. You will have one week to complete the project. All of the book art will be displayed with artists’ statements in a gallery in the library. ” 

The Amazing Maker World of Renovated Learning
by Diana Rendina


She makes my Makerspace look like small potatoes or tater tots!  I admire all she does and in a perfect world, I would totally adapt more of her ideas and projects.  BEHOLD and admire! 

5 Questions to ask when planning a Makerspace

By Diana Rendina
Are you the type of person who likes to fill in worksheets?  Click here to download a FREE printable 5 Questions worksheet!

More from my Makerspace Guru, Diana Rendina:
How to Start a Makerspace When You’re Broke
Starting a Makerspace: Baby steps
3 Design Challenges for the Low-tech Makerspac

Or just search her blog for all her posts on the Maker Movement, buy her books, and be sure to follow her on Twitter! Diana Rendina (@DianaLRendina) she’s kind of amazing.

Don’t forget that video production, animation, green screen, blue screen, TV studio, coding, programming, any collaborating with a Science class can make your school Makerspace program shine! Make sure to bring in other subject areas. Don’t just have a Maker program in the Library, have the Maker mindset all over the school. Work with your Tech Ed teacher, FACS (what was once called Home Economics) and Art teacher. Make your Library a great space to display artwork. I’m a big advocate of STEAM rather than STEM. Think about gallery openings and gallery walks. This gets more people into your space. 

Consider creating short videos on Instagram or YouTube having kids talk about their artwork & create a QR code to that post that you print out and put next to the artwork. That way, when people see the display, they can scan and see the video. 


Do NOT let the expense, mess, trouble, or obstacles stop you from doing this!  Be the innovator and the spark in your school or district.  You got this! I know you can be AWESOME! 

Honestly,
this last part was in a previous blog called Makersapce Starter Kit Updated but in case you missed it, I think this part is an important part of the conversation for any Maker project. 

What do you think are the essential conversations? 

 


MHMS Library Art Installation -

——————-TESTING: A (Sad) Fact of Life – Packing My Making Away——————-

 

 

Resources & Links:

Past Related Posts:
Makerspace Starter Kit
Questions About Coloring & Makerspace
The Way of the Lego
The Zen of Coloring
Spot it! Gamification For The Win

 

10 Coloring Pages for Women’s History Month

More Maker Posts! 
Create an Amazing Low-tech Library Makerspace With These Easy Ideas
A Librarian’s Guide to Makerspaces: 16 Resources
Academic Ways to Use the MaKey-MaKey in the Classroom
Make Makey Official Website Lots of great stuff here!
Makey Makey – Makerspace for Education
Top 5 Lessons for Integrating Makey Makey Into Your Curriculum
Sphero Mini – the awesome App-Enabled Robotic Ball review
Classroom Doodles: FREE kid friendly coloring pages!
The Zen of Coloring: 7 Lessons on Living a Happy, Mindful Life
Flexible Classrooms: Research Is Scarce, But Promising
The Seven Myths Keeping Teachers from Designing Makerspaces by @spencerideas
Recycled Media – Julia Sanderl
Create an Amazing Low-tech Library Makerspace With These Easy Ideas 

Makerspace Curation

Makerspace Managed Scoopit Page (inspired by Harry Potter & Mischief Managed, naturally!)

Makerspace Managed Pinterest Board 

Embedded below:
Intro to Makerspaces in the School Library – a Haiku Deck by @heidinelt



Makerspaces – Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;

Your turn!

What do you think? What did I forget? Please leave a comment with your thoughts and I may add it to the post! Thank you & Cheers dears!

Twitter: @GwynethJones – IG: The Daring Librarian. Future Ready Teacher Librarian & Tech Leader. Mover, Shaker, Blogger, International Ed Tech Keynote Speaker, Blogger, & Google Certified. ISTE Board of Directors PK-12 Representative 2010-2014 – Creator of Content. Meme & Trope Archivist Geek. Ridiculously Humble. My beach blog: The Coastal Cottage DE


Colorful Women: Coloring Pages for Women’s History Month

Re-posting this!  I just want to share a few coloring pages I curated online & made into PDF’s & JPEGS for our kiddos! I love adding new coloring pages to our Makerspace, especially during special months and with themes. There are a LOT of FREE coloring pages out there for a school Makerspace, you just know how to find them, adapt them, & follow the copyright licensing!

 

Coloring Pages for Women’s History Month

I uploaded the curated coloring sheets as Jpegs on Flickr embedded below and to download as Printable PDF’s on Slideshare.

Enchantress of Numbers!
Augusta Ada King-Noel, Countess of Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage’s proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine

(Download Flickr in ALL Sizes)

ALL the Coloring!


Coloring Pages

 

Ninja Unicorn: Coloring Sheets for Makerspaces

Short Story: A wonderful 6th grade student & I teamed up and made this bookmark sheet and I want to share it with you.


I made copies and gave several to the creative young kid. Then, a few days later, one of my marvelous teachers Mrs. Granger, had her kids, including the boy who helped create the Ninja Unicorn, color it and we’re going to laminate it. I took a picture and was just amazed. My not so adroit drawings and rather amateurish lettering were brought to life  and made to look better by the amazing coloring of the kiddos.

Why not ask some of your kids to come up with their own coloring bookmarks?  If you do, please share them with me and I will share them with my kids. Maybe we could trade them!?


JG – the creator of the NINJA Unicorn, is the cute kid in the middle! The other two gents are some of my 6h grade regular LEGO & UNO players during recess!


You are invited to download the PDF for FREE  from my Slideshare.  
Enjoy!

Here’s also my Google Doc blank bookmark template – Please go to File> Make a copy — or download the PDF on my Slideshare.

Longer Story: This coloring sheet came about by mistake. It came about because I’m kind of a doofus.

We were madly getting
ready for MAP testing deadlines (going through each and every laptop) and
also worrying over so many snow related school delays, that I forgot to sign up for a pot-luck breakfast for our district
Library Media Professional Development day.

So, I made this bookmark. The ninja unicorn came from my cool 6grade Mr. J G.
Whilst GJ (me) tried my best to trace and ink the coloring bookmark.
These drawings feature 2 ninjas holding books not weapons. Dewey call
number. (I still dig Dewey!) a Ninja Kitty….and yes, a Ninja Unicorn!

I also created a bookmark template that you can go to GSuite and make a copy. I hope this will inspire kiddos to be creative & create their own bookmarks.

 

JG  – the creator of the NINJA Unicorn, is the cute kid in the middle!

The other two gents are some of my 6h grade regular LEGO & UNO players during recess!

 

Your Turn. 

What do you think about creating with kids coloring bookmarks? Have you added a coloring station?

Please let me know in the comments or contact me! (contact link at the top of my main blog page) Cheers dears!

Related Blog Posts

 

The Zen of Coloring

Questions About Coloring & Makerspace

Makerspace Starter Kit Updated

The Daring Librarian: Makerspace Starter Kit

10 Coloring Pages for Women’s History Month

Coloring Pages

 

Thanks for Visiting!

 

Cheers dears!

Twitter: @GwynethJones – IG: The Daring Librarian.
Future Ready Teacher Librarian & Tech Leader. Mover, Shaker,
Blogger, International Ed Tech Keynote Speaker, Blogger, &
Google Certified. Author of the award winning Daring Librarian
blog. ISTE Board of Directors PK-12 Representative 2010-2014 –
Creator of Content. Meme & Trope Archivist. Coastal Cottage
owner. Geek. Ridiculously Humble.

 

iPhone Trick

This One iPhone Trick Has Transformed My Life

OK, that’s a kind of a big statement. You may have heard of this, but I found this out right before Christmas and started this blog then…but, you know. Holidays. So….just in case you haven’t heard about this, here it is.

 

The Space Bar Cursor Trick on the iPhone / iPad in iOS 12 is a great time saver for every iPhone or Apple user. 

You can press and hold (long press) the space bar on an iPhone / iPad to control the cursor as mouse pointer. You can easily move over to the exact spot where you want to edit the text.

How did I go years and years without knowing this iPhone keyboard trick? (I’m so tired the overused word of hack) Apparently, it’s not exactly new but little known.  If you’ve ever felt the frustration of trying to move the cursor exactly where you want it when correcting (my increasingly less accurate -what’s with that, too?) voice to text results tapping here and tapping there, when texting or writing an email on your iPhone, this little tip will make your day.

 I am an Apple Geek. 
How could they keep this from me?!

I love my Apple products. I’ve been an Apple fanatic since I created an Apple-Talk network of Apple IIe’s & Apple G3’s the first year I started teaching in 1992! Also, my first Ed Tech conference presentation was about integrating my new CD Rom & this thing called the Internet to a group research product centered around Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego! Sheesh.

(March 1996) Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego: A Fun Multimedia
Research Unit for Grades 4-8. Featuring the Apple IIgs, GeoSafari, USA
Atlas CD-ROM & the Internet.
MICCA – Maryland Instructional Computer Coordinators Association,
Baltimore, MD

Anyway, just had to share that with you friends. Hope it will help you out as much as it has for me! Did you already know about it? Do you have another great iOS tech tip to share? Hit me up in the comments, follow me on Twitter, & reach out! Thank you!

May the force be with you!

Book display for Speed Dating with Books activity.

Thanks for Visiting!

Cheers dears!

 

Twitter: @GwynethJones – IG: The Daring Librarian. Future Ready Teacher Librarian & Tech Leader. Mover, Shaker, Blogger, International Ed Tech Keynote Speaker, Blogger, & Google Certified. Author of the award winning Daring Librarian blog. ISTE Board of Directors PK-12 Representative 2010-2014 – Creator of Content. Meme & Trope Archivist. Coastal Cottage owner. Geek. Ridiculously Humble.

Got Charge?

 

Spend $130 Bucks and Literally Give Kids the Power!

 

We’ve discovered that the mix of the digital divide, possible turbulent home lives, and general teenage forgetfulness can result in a loss of power. So, for vaious reasons it seems that some of my students who DO have devices (yes, there are still a lot who do NOT) show up to school with a low or no charge.  Yes, they sometimes admit that they fall asleep with their phone next to them and not plugged in. Shocker.

A device that they LOVE to use for social connections and fun in the hallways and during free time. Oh yeah, and sometimes in class for learning, too! Without that device they feel a serious gap in their daily lives.

We Fill That Gap!

We want the kids to feel like the Library Media Center – Learning Commons and Makerspace Station – is a safe place to land and the place to go when they need things. Like finishing and priting out homework, relaxing and making something at our Makerspace Station, practicing mindfulness with our Coloring Zen area, or borrowing a charger to power up their devices. This is our third try with this concept, the first two were failures – if you interested you can read about this journey going back four years on my professional blog. So far, this is going GREAT! 

Backstory: A few years ago, I was inspired by the charging lockers I saw during a visit to the Hillwood High School Library in Nashville with the ISTE Board of Directors and I wanted to support our BYOD pilot program and our kiddos by giving them a place to recharge their devices in school.

 
And of course that place was going to be our school Library Media Center — shameless how we will do just about ANYthing to get kiddos to visit our Library!
 
Because I think we’ve now hit on a really easy, relatively low cost, & popular way to give my kids the power they crave and need. 
 
 Approximate cost for 8 chargers & 10 cords = $130 bucks
Piece of mind not worrying that kiddos will have their devices stolen or locked out on your watch? 
Priceless!
Procedure:
Kids (and staff) can request a charging device, first come, first serve anytime before 2pm. I also bought 2 flat chargers for staff to borrow. Kids come first. Always. 
We keep the chargers tucked away on a shelf behind the Circulation Desk.
Kids must first show that their phone has less than 30% charge to get one. (We found at first some kids just wanted it for the cool factor – which was cool, but not cool for the kids who really NEEDED them!)  
We don’t lend them out for the charging of fancy headphones – these are for devices that could possibly be used in the classroom.
Kids can borrow the charger alone or with a multi-device cord. They must initial to agree to pay for the loss or damage of the device & cord (Yeah, we know this isn’t really enforceable) 
We ask that kids agree not to let the device out of their sight – if they’re asked to share it – we trust them to keep track of it.
We also ask that kids bring back the device at the end of the day. Do they always remember? Nope! That’s why we collect their last period class teacher (I, or my amazing Media assistant Kathi Bell, calls classrooms at the end of the day to get them back – or we track them down the first period of the next day.
Yeah, We’re Popular! 
Some days we’re cleaned out of chargers within the first 5 minutes of school. I’m making a sign for our front door that says “Yes, We Have Awesome Chargers to Borrow!”  or “Sorry, All Chargers Have Been Borrowed” with Bitmoji cartoons. 
This is a complimentary service. We also reserve the right to not lend out a charger on an early dismissal day, after 1:30pm,  or to a kiddo who has proven to be unreliable with the charger in the past. But that hasn’t happened yet. Frankly, I doubt it ever will.  Don’t tell my students, for all my fierceness [snaps Z formation] I’m kind of a soft touch. But I gotta keep that leverage because we want to keep these chargers nice for everyone. So far though, the kids have been super fantastic and very enthusiastic about this new FREE perk we’re providing to them! 

GOAL #1 MHMS provides  a safe and nurturing school environment that respects our diversity and commonality.

Why do we do this?

You never know what kinds of things kids are struggling with at home. What if a kid doesn’t have a computer at home and just a mobile device and needs to do homework? This is important! We can help fill the gaps that the world & circumstance gives to these kiddos.

My kids tell me you can get these chargers at Five Below. I haven’t tried them yet. If we lose a lot over the year, I might give them a whirl. The multi device cords are CHEAP! Meaning, inexpensive to pick up (via Amazon) but they can sometimes stop working and can break. So far, so good, though and this has been a LOT less of a headache than those fancy expensive charging lockers.  
 
This great idea was inspired by the amazing Teacher Librarian at Wilde Lake Middle School – Sarah Russo!
I should have started with that! [smacks forehead] but I wanted to give how we run this first.
 
Are you a Teacher Librarian, or educator and want to hear what problems we encountered with our previous attempts at charging stations and charging lockers?
If so,
So, if you’re a school – here’s my suggestion: Save 90% of your money and try the cheapo errr inexpensive portable chargers first.  
Because, NO ONE wants to be responsible for a kids only device but it’s AWESOME to be responsible to give POWER to a kid and their beloved device!
Your turn! 
What am I missing here? Any other suggestions? Successes? Do you like that we help out the kiddos? What other things could we add to our School Library to make it a more appealing place (Other than a Keurig -that would be boss!)  Please hit me up in the comments and share your thoughts! Thank you for reading!

Our ever evolving BYOD Policy.

Buying information. If you want to get one of these for yourself or for your kiddo, check Amazon! So far, they’ve been great & I did have 2 die on my (after being used by kids…a LOT) but the company is sending me 2 replacements! I couldn’t ask for better customer service than that!
 Again, if you’re in education and would like more information:
Check out my professional blog.  Thank you for reading!