Signal Mountain Middle High School Library Media Center
SMMHS LMC
Empowering students to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers,
skillful researchers, and ethical users of information. February 1, 2015
Volume 2, Issue 6
SMMHS Library/Media Center Mission: The SMMHS library/media center is committed to equipping the school community with 21st Century skills in order that they may have a positive impact on their community, country, and world.
Follow us ONLINE! The perfect date for Valentines? A book!
The Blind Date with a Book is back! Last year students loved this program so much, we’ve decided to make it a regular event. Here’s how it works: look over the books on display; read the SHORT description and make a selection; check it out, and if you get a “keeper” (a book with a heart inside), it’s yours to keep for free! No heart or there’s just no connection? Well, we’ve all come across those—you didn’t want that one anyway! Just return it with no hard feelings or awkward silence. :) The program runs through Valentine’s Day, so hurry in!
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The SMMHS library is increasing our online presence to accommodate our patrons. Every afternoon at 2:30 we post a book trailer on Twitter and Facebook as well as advertising library events and programs, on Pinterest you’ll find resources for students, parents, AND teachers — everything from book recommendations and effective study tools to classroom organizing strategies and bulletin board ideas! Here’s how you can stay informed: *************************** Follow me on Twitter @GingerKirchmyer Find and Follow us on Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ginjatheninja/ Like and Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/smmhsmediacenter
Library Hours 7:15-2:30 daily Lunch—we’re open, but no food please! During class—just have a pass and sign in!
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Directed Studies: See Ms. K for a pass
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InstaGrok As we near the time of year with the heaviest load of research assigned, a valuable research tool is always handy! This app and website is amazing, and it can be used from elementary through college! It’s simple to operate: type in
This month our bulletin board (see below for a sneak peak) will focus on great books written before many of our students were born. These will also include favorites of some of our teachers and staff when they were in middle and high school—great titles which may get overlooked because they are a little dusty, but are, nevertheless, great stories! Do you have a favorite you might share with your children and/or students? Think back, and see what you remember!
your search term, then it will bring up a “web” of results, all related to your topic with images, videos, articles, and related topics, terms, and people - all at your fingertips. This is a definite
Bumper Reese
first stop on your research quest; it will work for every student, every grade, every class! It’s a must-have! Jennifer McGann
Ginger Kirchmyer
Jim Porter
Robbin Faulk
There’s no shame in playing a game! Students who play games are more likely to succeed in life…. G. Kirchmyer 27 January, 2015.
Check out this month’s SMMHS Library Website! Find a great book, learn about our programs, and access databases and MLA citation rules to complete research for your classes!! Need to know when your middle school child is scheduled to visit the library for book check-out? Click here!
Want to be sure you receive the newsletter directly to your email? Just notify us at smmhslibrarian@gmail.com. Write “Newsletter” in the subject line, and we’ll get you added to the list!
If you had to make a choice between letting your child play video games for 15 minutes before a big test or studying, which would you choose? If you said study, you might want to reconsider. Major research is being done in the area of gamification, and studies are finding it’s a lot more beneficial than we originally thought. “Gamification is the process of applying game-thinking and game dynamics, which make a game fun, to the non-game context in order to engage people and solve problems” (Kim). There are many misconceptions about gaming and its affect on our children. Firstly, according to Jane McGonigal, author of Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better, most of us assume that gamers are boys, and while the majority are male, 40% of gamers are female, and 94% of girls under the age of 18 are gamers, so this perception needs to change - gaming is for everyone (Smith). Another misconception is that gaming is a form of escapism. Actually, 10 years of research show that gamers are more productive than non-gamers, so we don’t just end up “with a pear shape and cheeto-stained fingers” (“Jane McGonigal”). Gaming is not about escaping reality; in fact, when we’re gaming we tap into the part of us that is the most creative, motivated, optimistic, collaborative, and resilient - all qualities that contribute toward success! According to McGonigal, gaming affects us by allowing us to carry over emotions from the game into our real lives. So, she says, having a powerful avatar for 90 seconds will improve one’s effectiveness at meetings, on tests, and even with flirting (she says you’ll be more bold and feel confident to approach people you might normally feel are out of your league). In the classroom games can be used as a means to author platforms, deliver content, test theories, trigger discussion, familiarize with technology, explore points of view, document learning, critique ideology, and research subject matter (Dunn). So, what do we do with this information? McGonigal says the first step is to help gamers understand that they can be just as powerful in real life as they are in the game. Then we have them play games that can simulate change in the real world; currently there are games in which they can cure cancer, end poverty, and stop climate change. She says she has already created a game called Invoke for people in sub-Saharan Africa which helps them to start their own enterprises and end poverty (“Jane McGonigal”). So, common sense says to start looking for (or creating) games that can change the world! (Check out links below for even more information!) “100 Of The Best Educational Games For iPad.” Teachthought. 26 February, 2014. Web. 27 January 2015. Dunn, Jeff. “The 100-Second Guide To Gamification In Education.” Edudemic. 2 September, 2012. Web. 27 January 2015. Fioriello, Dr. Patricia. “25 Things Teachers Should Know About Gamification.” Edudemic. 20 May 2013. Web. 27 January 2015. “Jane McGonigal.” The Colbert Report. Dist. by Comedy Central. February 3, 2011. Web. 27 January 2015. Kim, Bohyun. “Keeping Up With... Gamification.” Association of College and Research Libraries. June 2013. Web. 27 January 2015. Schwartz, Katrina. “Teaching Empathy Through Digital Game Play.” Mindshift. 6 November, 2013. Web. 27 January 2015.