Did you know…that Jefferson County is comprised of 773 square miles (or  494,588 acres) and has approximately 580,000 residents across the county?  ​

With such a large county we have some amazing resources that are available to all of our residents and in our case, all of our students and staff.  Jefferson County Public Library and Jeffco Schools have historically had a supportive partnership, over the last few years this parternship has grown dynamically and continues today.  The collaboration supports a variety of experiences,  from the Summer Reading program to the Jeffco/JCPL newsletter that supports our DTLs and teachers to STEM Clubs (and upcoming MS EPIC STEM program) as well as Speed Dating with a Book and other literacy based ventures in schools.

Our Jeffco Squared team (comprised of Jeffco’s Library Services Coordinator & a mix of JCPL teams) meet monthly to collaborate and find more ways to bridge our work in order to support our community.  Beyond the summer reading challenge, one of the other topics we discuss on a regular basis is the  collection online tools and databases that are available for use.   Listed below is the 2019 Summer Reading Challenge update along with a small selection of tools available through JCPL.

​The JCPL Summer Reading Contest concluded in August and now the results are in!   Each of the following schools will be receiving a trophy and each of their libraries will be receiving a check for $800.  To read more about the contest and to see where other schools  ranked, visit the JCPL website.

The resources mentioned below are all available through JCPL, and can be accessed with a  JCPL library card.  These tools have been vetted by the district and approved for use.  However, they are not district supported - meaning that staff need to contact the vendor or JCPL to work through potential issues, as Jeffco IT does not manage the technical side of these tools.  Kanopy has been vetted by Jeffco, however the platform is best used by teachers, as it is not filtered and contains adult content.  

Mango Languages describes themselves as, “the only single solution that combines quality content, intelligent technology, and an adaptive algorithm that delivers practical phrases from real situations”. Just recently, Mango Languages increased the total number of languages they support to 71 different & unique languages!  
​They offer engaging interactive lessons in everything from the most common languages studied, such as Spanish, English,  French, and Chinese to unique languages such as Bengali, Dutch and even Pirate! Participants can easily access Mango by visiting the JCPL site and entering their library card number.  There is no need to create an account, as users can particpate by selecting guest user at the Mango login screen.   

CreativeBug is a new addition to JCPLs collection of resources this year.  It has been vetted by Jeffco and is an approved resource that like Mango Languages, is not district supported.  Creativebug does offer online video arts and crafts workshops and techniques. Particpants can learn how to paint, knit, crochet, sew, screen print, and more. Their topics range from Art and Design to Furniture Refinishing to Cake decorating and Canning.

​Some ideas for  curriculum connections with CreativeBug, include using the videos as

• Mentor text for Information
• Supports for Arts courses
• Creative exploration

An additional resource that is great for teachers is Kanopy.  Kanopy is a tool similar to that of YouTube, in that it offers a wide variety of videos.    In Kanopy Kids, they offer popular book titles as videos including documentaries, Global Studies, Education, Instructional Films and Lessons.  Kanopy also offers an elementary based collection for preschool and up. Kanopy Kids categories include Learning Languages, Animated Storybooks and Classic Films.  The Animated Storybooks  category in Kanopy Kids is a great resource for our elementary teachers, when connecting literacy to learning.  

These are just a few of the many tools JCPL offers their patrons.  If you have questions about the resources and databases available please connect with your schools' Digital Teacher Librarian to find out what resources might support your next unit. ​

The innovative idea began last spring, as the teachers recognized a need to replace the old and uncomfortable library furniture. The library is a shared learning space for everyone at Maple Grove, and Principal Chris Neville began to ponder how students could be involved in the improvements. He was inspired by Jeffco’s vision to transform the task for student learning. ​

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Students have been learning about design thinking (with resources from the Stanford d.school and ISTE Standard "Innovative Designer").    

Research began in the field as students  explored three sites in the community with flexible learning spaces.  Their inquisitive minds visited "The LINK" at the Jeffco Education Center, fellow Jeffco school, Three Creeks K-8, and mindSpark Learning. 
Ben and Jack were amazed by one site on their visit. "It was hard to believe that mindSpark was an old library and had no windows!" In their own design, the boys are interested in understanding how the wall colors might help learners in the library.

Empathizing with multiple stakeholders is important to the fifth graders, so the students have been collecting input from students, staff, and the community.
Surveys created in Google Forms allow students to collect and analyze data and share the results across groups. "We're working on a survey to the teachers right now. The teachers still use [the library], so they still have a voice in it," commented Austin and Ben H.​

The student's creative juices are flowing as they ideate multiple scenarios for their new space. Tristan shares a draft design with considerations for height of the learners. iPads in the library will have the AutoCAD app available for groups as well. 

The budget is on the mind of Bren and Stephanie. "Our budget is really really tight. We may have to reuse some of our stuff. We could reuse the bookshelf and make it a reading space to look outside." A generous donation from the PTA is funding the redesign and community partnerships are at the heart of the project.  Parents with backgrounds in architecture, design, and furniture sales have become local experts from which to learn.  
Instructional Coach, Amy Ellerman, a collaborator in the PBL remarked, "This project has provided such an authentic opportunity for collaboration between students, Maple Grove staff members, and our community. It is expanding our understanding of where and how learning happens."

We will have to wait until the end of the trimester when students share their proposals with school leadership and the PTA to find out the final design. 
Ms. Stahura plans to reveal the renovation and invite all the partners who have supported the project.  The celebration will not only be of the new space, but of the contribution of the fifth grade students to this authentic need in their school.  

 Digital discussions have become regular practices in our everyday lives. From text messages and social media posts to blog and YouTube comment streams there are continued learning and sharing opportunities with global connections on a regular basis. Many of us are often hyper-active in daily digital discussions as we connect with friends, family, and world-wide audiences. 

As we continue to implement the Jeffco Generations skills and Transform Tasks, digital dialogue and discussion opportunities present engaging opportunities to authentically develop skills and concepts beyond the basic acquisition of facts. Through participation in digital discussions with global audiences we are exposed to the challenges of content application, concept justification, and social understandings in our ever changing world. 

The New York Times provides a number of incredible resources to educators and students for elevating digital discussion opportunities that engage learners in relevant and meaningful topics. Through The Learning Network, they began in 2014 with 200 Prompts for Argumentative Writing which grew to 650 Prompts for Argumentative Writing in 2016 and is now over 1000 Writing Prompts for Students in 2018.  The prompts are broken up by topic areas such as Social Media and Smartphones, Gender Issues, Dating and Sex, Music, Literature and Art, Being a Teenager, School, Health and Nutrition, Science and Animals, Government and Leadership, Personal Character and Morality, and more. Under each topic is a list of questions that are linked to a short articles followed by more specific questions for students to consider and answer. The list of 650 prompts are also available via a handy PDF for easy access and sharing. 

So how does this apply to our daily instruction as educators? Francis Bacon said, "Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man". Reading, writing and discussion are a critical components of our everyday learning and growth processes. As educators we know high quality instruction in any content area or discipline contains regular opportunities for learners to engage in reading, writing, and discussion to further develop critical and creative thinking skills.

Using the resources above, learners can be given a prompt and the associated article to read. Following the reading, learners can engage in a short writing activity to gather thoughts and develop ideas. Learners can then share their thoughts with others and ideas to seek feedback for further development and discussion. Some ideas might include:

• Writing on Google Docs and using the comment feature for sharing and feedback with peers or even community volunteers.
• Using Google Classroom for digital discussion threads. (See the Guide to New Google Classroom for more information on how to manage discussion threads in Classroom) 
• Using Schoology for digital discussion boards. (Schoology Instructor Guide & Schoology Student Guide) 
• Creating a blog posts or web pages to share with global audiences and seeking feedback through the comment features. ​
• Writing a student opinion section to be shared in the school announcements or community newsletter. 
• For learners over the age of 13, participating in the New York Times Student Opinion Section to share thoughts and opinions while interacting with other learners across the globe.   
• Don't have access to a number of technology devices? Learners can leverage writing on paper, engage in Socratic seminar discussions and send letters to city council members or legislators to share their opinions. 

Reading, writing and dialogue can and should take place in all disciplines, not just literacy. For example, math teachers can leverage prompts like #327 which centers around a distribution graph of how many A's schools hand out or #289 "Are You Afraid of Math?" and ​#290 "Do We Need A Better Way To Teach Math?". Science teachers can leverage the wide variety of prompts in Science & Health (1,066-1,146) involving Science and The Environment, Animals and Pets, or Exercise and Health. Art teachers have a vast array to choose from in Arts and Entertainment (75-248). Whichever discipline you teach, there can be resources for you to leverage to support students with engaging in reading, writing, and dialogue. 

How will you leverage digital discussions as a way to Transform the Task and support learners with developing the Jeffco Generations skills? The Jeffco Ed Tech team is available to support you in thinking through ways you can leverage reading, writing and discussion with students in your instruction. We would also love to hear from you around how you are already leveraging digital discussions or have done so in the past. We learn a great deal from examples and experience so we invite you to share with us as we continue to grow together. 

A total of 37,103,946 minutes were read by students and community members
12,424,426 minutes were logged by Jeffco students alone
9,111  students completed their summer reading log this past  year.
3,916 babies “read” 2,053,010 minutes
19,086 children read 10,896,665 minutes
 8,440 teens read 6,267,520 minutes
12,424 adults read 17,863,351 minutes