TRAILS assessment

Last year TRAILS (Tool for Real-time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills) was administered to over 300,000 students. National benchmarks based on that data are now available for the performance of students at grade level who took the 3^rd, 6^th, 9^th, and 12^th grade assessments. Registered users can view the benchmarks after logging into their TRAILS account. A free TRAILS account can be created at http://www.trails-9.org/.

 TRAILS provides:

·         Free access  (www.trails-9.org)

·         Standards-based items for 3^rd ,6^th, 9^th, and 12^th grades

·         Downloadable results at both class and student levels

·         A system that allows for self-administration by the librarian

·         A tool designed to help determine student information literacy skills

·         A system that collects no student information

TRAILS is a service of Kent State University Libraries and has been funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the U.S. Dept. of Education, LSTA, and the Martha Holden Jennings foundation.

Transitioning to College:

Preparing your students for college? In addition to TRAILS-12, take a look at our sister site—Transitioning to College (T2C) at http://www.transitioning2college.org. T2C provides resources for both students and librarians about the college experience and the role of libraries. Included are video learning modules, sample syllabi, a glossary of college terms, and tips for educators. This is a brand-neutral site and another freely availableservice of Kent State University Libraries.

Cheers, Barbara

————————————–
Barbara F. Schloman, Ph.D., AHIP
TRAILS Project Director

2011- 2012 Grants Available for School, Public, Academic and

The Colorado State Library has announced competitive grants for fiscal year 2011-2012 through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) program, designed to distribute federal funds to eligible school, public, academic or special libraries. Total amount awarded during this funding period will be approximately $300,000.

For the purpose of this grant, libraries must meet the following LSTA 5-year plan goal: “Colorado students and adult learners receive services from libraries and librarians that support educational achievement and lifelong learning”

Library-related projects should focus on activities in any of the following areas:

1) providing services that support educational achievement and lifelong learning;

2) providing educational resources in a variety of formats in all types of libraries for individuals of all ages;

3) expanding services for learning while providing access to information.

Extra consideration will be given to projects that develop partnerships with other agencies and/or community organizations.

For additional information: http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdelib/LSTA/

Or contact:

Jean Marie Heilig

Fiscal Officer, LSTA Grant Coordinator

Colorado State Library

Colorado Department of Education

201 East Colfax Avenue

Denver, CO 80203

heilig_j@cde.state.co.us

303-866-6731

303-866-6940 (fax)

Friday afternoon story time

In need of a little story time? Here’s a link to the Booklist Audiobook blog featuring two videos of Neil Gaiman reading aloud. In the first video, he reads a new story titled, “Blueberry Girl” and in the the second video, he reads for about 4 minutes from the beginning of “The Graveyard Book.”

Neil Gaiman’s books rarely need a push to get checked out, but if you have a tough customer, share the video with the student and I’ll bet he/she will be hooked.

Happy listening!

Jen Cotton

Show off your stuff

Show off your stuff and make your voice heard…submit a proposal (or two) for the CAL 2009 Conference: Avenues for the Future: Power On!

The call is open and awaiting entries from the many talented school librarians around our state (and beyond). Use this link to learn more about the conference or to submit a proposal. Deadline for proposals is Sunday, May 17th, 2009…don’t let is slip by without getting involved in changing the future of our libraries.

Contact Jen Cotton at jen.cotton@coloradoacademy.org with questions or comments.

Power Libraries Program Application Online 2/26/09

On behalf of Nance Nassar:

The Power Libraries Program (PLP) application for 2009 will be available online February 26, 2009. Please send this flyer to anyone you know who may be interested in applying

The Developing and High Performance rubrics as well as the criteria checklist are available now on the PLP Web site.

PLP Application Flyer (PDF)