French fried!

Bon soir! It is ten p.m. in Avignon, and 'je suis tres fatiguee!' During 3 whirlwind days in Paris, we visited the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Monmartre, Sacre Coeur, Eiffel Tower, and shopped a little--or should say 'window shopped'--on the tres cher Rue de Rivoli. Now the pace has eased some as we spend three days in the heart of Provence.

I had planned to post several pics but found out that overseas roaming fees are exhorbitant! How do you say 'bummer' in French? However, here is one that complements the Eiffel Tower pic that I posted in advance of my trip. See? It was not just a dream! Magnifique!

My KET BFFs are working the KySTE gig while I am on tour. Stop by the booth!

A bien tot!

Bon voyage!

So what is the significance of finally marking off number ONE on your bucket list? Surely, it bodes well. I will soon know...tomorrow I am off to France! Je suis heureux! I hope to post pics along the way as I explore using technology from the road! I will see if it is truly a flat world. Allons! A plus tard!

Spring Cleaning...

One can certainly tell that the end of the year is near when the listserv fills with questions about weeding and inventory. I still enjoy reading the varied ways each of you tackles these annual chores. And do these bookshelves exemplify your library these days? Mine too often resembled the rather disheveled pic--or should I say "dis-shelf-fulled? If weeding was a first for you, did you also find books similar to the 1950's examples below? Gee, the top one would have been an avant-garde feminist title in my salad days!

This week I spent some time having some great fun: I delivered KET Reading Rainbow backpacks of goodies--books, DVDs, post-its, journals, and more--to the winners in my region of the Reading Rainbow Writing Contest! Although most knew of the achievement, all were surprised by my visit to present the award. Pics were taken and hoopla was spread generously to the thrill of children, parents, and school personnel. The slideshow from my three schools--Russell Primary( Russell Independent), Hillsboro Elementary(Fleming Co.), and Louisa Elementary(Lawrence Co.) can be viewed above right. The top winners' stories can be viewed and read on our Reading Rainbow link.

I hope to see many of you at the Summer Refresher where I will show ways to use EncycloMedia in web 2.0 and in blogs and wikis. I hope the session is 'right up your alley'! Also, I know several from my region have signed up for our KET Summer Multimedia Event on July 14 or 15. We still have a very few spaces available!

And, of course, I have a couple of last minute requests:

• Please take a few minutes to fill out our Spring Survey.

• Take a look at the Advanced KET EncycloMedia KYVS E-Learning class sponsored by KET and KY E-Learning :

KET EncycloMedia 2.0: Interactive Use and Advanced Tools
12, 24, or EILA PD credit; $25.00.
Register and find more details here.

Have a great, relaxing summer! I am off to France in June--a trip that had been #1 on my 'bucket list' for forty years! Yes, I am a patient woman.
Au revoir!

Testing...testing...testing?

It's time for the spring sprint before the final stretch, isn't it? And that means 'testing' time. For us at KET, our spring meetings served as our "sprint" since we don't make our usual school visits during your testing windows. Of course, we still schedule trainings and make visits upon request but abide by the 'do not disturb' signs, otherwise.

Boy-oh! I certainly enjoyed my spring meetings. Having a chance to casually chat with my contacts is a rare treat that feeds this librarian's soul. I hope you who attended found it worth your time, too. And to continue the metaphor, our stomachs were filled with great food, too!

The pic here was taken at Ft. Thomas. Our hostess Janet Jackson stands on the left with NKY KSMA district president Lisa Marshall (Scott HS, Kenton Co.) seated and signing in the attendees. Also, I have included slideshow from my recent Ashland and Ft. Thomas meetings along with a few pics from a recent KET tour with students from Madison Co. and led by Larry Moore. A KET tour is such a great field trip for students involved in any video production. Studios have recently been remodeled and new HD cameras put in place which makes the tour even more interesting.

Also, I have linked to the Kentucky Author Forum--an archived source of interviews with KY authors. I mentioned this newly-discovered wonderful repository at spring meetings. Share with your language arts teachers.

Remember media specialists: There is a link just for you on the PBS Teachers Website, another site we highlighted at meetings.

Coming in the fall to PBS from Ken Burns: The National Parks: America's Best Idea. Catch a preview here!