November Spotlights

NEW NEWS SUBSCRIPTIONS

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The library has a digital subscription to the Times Colonist from November to the end of June -- as well as access to three daily copies -- one for the library, staff room and counselling area.

      Digital access covers 90 simultaneous users -- so feel free to use it for class reading and assignments.   Students and staff will use a single log in:; you may share this information with students.  Log in information is also posted in the Literacy menu of the Staff Hub,.

u    user name = vichighlibrary@gmail.com          password = Vichighreads25!

     The library also has a single user license to The New York Times as it is cost-prohibitive to subscribe to multi-user access.  Access is for staff only as follows below.  Log in information is also posted in the Literacy menu of the Staff Hub,.      

      User name = vichighlibrary@gmail.com          password = Vichighreads!

READING THEMES

 Themes of the Month

• November 1-14  (displayed across from the circulation desk):  Remembering Those Who Served and Suffered during the World Wars

- -           - people and animals; individuals and 

                 communities;racial and ethnic, queer 

                identities, male and female

• November 17-28  (displayed across from the circulation desk): Current and More Recent Conflicts -- Level Up Your Knowledge of World Affairs

- -           - Israel and Palestine:  Ukraine and Russia;    

                conflicts in the Balkans;  the Rwandan 

                massacre, and many other conflicts around the 

                world

Weekly Reading Themes

        ** Featured on t.v. announcements & library web site home page  

• November 3-7:      Stories of Holocaust Survivors
• November 10-14:  Historical Fiction Set During the World Wars
• November 17-21:  Risk Takers- True Stories of Individuals Who Fought Against                                     Oppression
• November 24-28:  Phoenix Rising:    True Stories of Individuals Who Triumphed                                     Over Adversity

A SPECIAL EVENT - DECEMBER

Author and Vic High Alumni  David Day has written extensively about J.R.R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings series, and our library has a collection of his books in the Alumni collection housed in the antique oak bookshelf.  

     He will be a guest speaker in the library sometime after December 4.  Stay tuned for details!

 

     RESEARCH AND CRITICAL THINKING COMPETENCIES AROUND INFORMATION SOURCES

tH  The library supports students in large or small research-oriented tasks -- the differences

between reliable and unreliable sources, academic and popular sources, database search skills (different from Google searching), using a book (yes, searching a book is a skill needing explicit teaching), and citing sources (including the special format for Indigenous sources) in-text and through a reference list.  Choosing information and note-taking skills are also supported.

     If a full-class research project seems unwieldy, consider sending a small group to the library for an "extending" type project, and Wendy can guide the students through it.  Grade 12 students who have gone on to post-secondary having completed a full research project have come back to the school to say that these skills really helped them navigate first year university.  

     Part of the teacher-librarian's role is to teach these skills, so please let me know how I can support your students.

    WHAT ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF AI USAGE ON RESEARCH & LEARNING?

     At present, the library teaches ethical use of sources and developing rudimentary research and critical thinking skills that are independent of AI usage.  However, as a school, we need to be thinking about how we want to approach AI literacy.  Major universities including UBC and UVic are helping students navigate when and how to use it -- and even how to cite from generative AI.

       https://guides.library.ubc.ca/GenAI/Evaluating

            https://www.uvic.ca/research-innovation/strategic-initiatives/gen-ai-in-research/index.php

      The library has acquired a new teacher reference book titled  AI and the Future of Education:  Teaching in an Age of Artificial Intelligence, by Priten Shah.  There will be an opportunity to explore this book as a professional book club through our school-based Pro-D Days in November and April. 

      Additionally, you may be interested in an upcoming Webinar from the Canadian Assessment Center in Vancouver.  It's titled AI Won't Pass This Test.  The content of the Webinar is  "practical strategies you can use immediately to design learning that sparks ownership, surfaces authentic thinking, and keeps students engaged, even in classrooms full of AI."  Unfortunately, it falls on a Saturday  (Nov. 15) from 9:00-noon.

I     If you are interested, let me know and I will forward the email invitation I received, as it's not posted on the organization's web site.