Blog Interaction with Elizabeth Winningham – Thurs. Sept. 29 to Sat. Oct. 1, 2005

Elizabeth Winningham began her school library career opening the media center at Avon Intermediate School (Now designated as East). More recently, she was centrally involved in the planning, development, and opening of the media center for a new school, Avon Intermediate School West (Her new work location).

Learn more about Elizabeth Winningham at http://eduscapes.com/sms/winningham.html

You might start this virtual exchange asking Elizabeth of her unique insights into reading and approaches for helping reluctant readers, collaborative planning, information literacy, or her recent experiences in planning and opening a new school media center. But don't limit disccussion to these; Elizabeth has a wealth of information, ideas, and experience to share.

Blog Interaction with John McDonald - Mon. Sept. 26 to Wed. Sept 28, 2005

John McDonald, Connersville Middle School, is an active school library media specialist with seemingly endless energy and ideas. A few years ago as a beginning teacher librarian, he proactively initiated changes that truly impact students, his school and community. John has been successful in collaborating with administration, teachers and students.

Learn more about John McDonald at http://eduscapes.com/sms/mcdonald.html

You may want to start with discussion about his part in the adoption of an information inquiry model, or how he teams with students in the media center, or his insights on professional involvement. But feel free to bring up ideas and issues related to any part of his work.

Blog Interaction with Nancy McGriff - Thurs. Sept. 22 to Sat. Sept. 24, 2005

Nancy McGriff is a school library media specialist with lots of experience and a proven "track record." Her programs at two different school locations were given the Esther V. Burring award for the Exemplary Indiana Media Program (1992 and 1999). And she has reached outside her work location to lead in professional organizations, publish articles, and collaborate with and mentor colleagues.

To learn more, be sure to visit http://eduscapes.com/sms/mcgriff.html

It is appropriate to begin this semester's virtual visits with Nancy. You could start by focusing the discussion on program planning, grant writing, or the teacher librarian's role in reading, but feel free to jump in and ask a question in any area related to her work.

Bridging Theory and Practice

Welcome to our School Library Media Specialist blog for L553 at Indiana University at Indianapolis. Over the next few months we'll be exploring a wide range of topics that will help preservice teacher librarians bridge the gap between theory and practice. Each posting will focus on different key issues and topics. A guest professional will be commenting on the topic and answering questions.

Even if you're not registered for this class, feel free to comment if you have ideas you feel might be relevant to the discussion.