Liz Gray - Thurs. Oct. 22 to Sat. Oct. 24, 2009

Not all school media specialists and teacher librarians work in public schools. Back with this class again is Liz Gray, Library Director at Dana Hall School in Wellesley, MA.

Liz Gray's varied work experiences include serving as a School Library Director in Rome, Italy as well as stints in both a public library and an academic library. She is a former English teacher who has taught in Switzerland and England. You can find additional information about Liz at the following website:

http://eduscapes.com/sms/overview/lizgray.html

Liz consults on library space planning and has taught "Planning Libraries for the 21st Century" and "Good Ideas: Successful Library Programming and Instruction" at the Taft Education Center in Watertown, CT.

Robyn Young - Thurs. Oct. 15 to Sat. Oct. 17, 2009

Like several other of our guests, Robyn Young, director of school media at Avon High School, has interacted with students in previous years. But last year, she was busy serving as President of AIME - - I didn't even try to schedule her participation then. A visit to her bio site will confirm that she is busy . . . all-the-time http://eduscapes.com/sms/overview/young.html

She has a rich background in teaching and school library media including expertise and experience with the assessment of school library media programs, use of graphic books, learning standards, grants and funding, leadership, mentoring and more.

Hella Rumschlag - Sun. Oct. 11 to Tues. Oct. 13, 2009

Hella Rumschlag is the media specialist and technology coordinator at Mohawk Trails Elementary School in Carmel, IN. Start learning about Hella by reading a brief bio at http://eduscapes.com/- - rumschlag.html.

Mohawk Trails Library Media Center http://www1.ccs.k12.in.us/- -media-center/

Hella is an active member in ILF and AIME; she is a presenter at the upcoming conference. She has been able to effectively collaborate with teachers and students in her building. Helen uses Moodle for a YHBA (Young Hoosier Book Award) program and also supports several teachers with their use of Moodle in the classroom. She is about to launch another collaborative Moodle between two grade 2 and 3 transition classes at two different schools.

Hella's extensive background makes her an excellent resource for discussion on career change, combined responsibilties for technology and library media, and other topics directly related to schools and learning.

Robin Tanis - Thurs. Oct. 8 to Sat. Oct. 10, 2009

Robin Tanis is the Head Librarian at St. Pius X Catholic High School in Atlanta, GA. At St. Pius, Robin has worked to establish a collaborative partnership with teachers. She was an early pioneer in technology integration bringing computers, automation, and the Internet into the library and then the rest of the school. Robin was the original Webmaster for the school and is still responsible for keeping the Flannery O’Connor Library Website up to date.

Encouraging pleasure reading is a professional interest of Robin’s. Robin is also known for ASPIRE! - - a Summer Reading Enrichment program. She has presented her program at state and national conferences. ASPIRE! was featured in both Knowledge Quest (Sep/Oct 2003, Access to PDF document requires login) and School Library Journal (Jan. 2004). She has established a Teen Library Council to give interested students leadership opportunities. She also moderates the Anime Club.

Learn more about Robin at http://eduscapes.com/sms/overview/tanis.html.

Blog Interaction with Chris Somers - Mon. Oct. 5 to Wed. Oct. 7, 2009

Chris Somers is the media specialist at Indian Creek Middle School in Trafalgar, Indiana. Chris has been successful in securing grants for her school and collaborating with teachers. She is another Indiana teacher librarian who is integrally involved in classrooms and student learning and who is always looking for new and interesting opportunities.

Learn more about Chris and her professional interests and expertise at:
Chris Somers http://eduscapes.com/sms/overview/somers.html.

You can also visit her school's and media center websites:
Indian Creek Middle School http://www.nhj.k12.in.us/icms/
Media Center website http://www.nhj.k12.in.us/icms/library/index.htm