Capstone Connect

Inspiration for Life in the Arts, from Neil Gaiman

On this Memorial Day, I was thinking about all the people in my life who have passed away, along with the recent deaths of artists like Whitney Houston and Maurice Sendak. Their art will live on, of course, and we can take solace in that. For a bit of inspiration this Memorial Day, Neil Gaiman's recent commencement speech at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia is perfect. His point? Make good art. If you can find some time, give it a watch. It's about 20 minutes and it will leave you feeling uplifted about a life in the arts.

A few choice quotes:

"A free-lance life, a life in the arts, is sometimes like putting messages in bottles on a desert island and hoping that someone will find one of your bottles."

"When things get tough, this is what you should do: Make good art. I'm serious. Husband runs off with a politician? Make good art. Leg crushed and then eaten by mutated boa constrictor? Make good art. IRS on your tail? Make good art. Cat exploded? Make good art."

"People keep working in a freelance world...because their work is good, they're easy to get along with, and because they deliver the work on time. And you don't even need all three. Two out of three is fine. People will tolerate how unpleasant you are if your work is good and you deliver it on time. People will forgive the lateness of your work if it's good and they like you. And you don't have to be as good as everyone else if you're on time and it's always a pleasure to hear from you."

And he even discusses the flux of the art world, including publishing:
“The distribution systems are in flux. That’s intimidating and immensely liberating. Rules are breaking down, gatekeepers are leaving their gates. Old rules are crumbling and nobody knows what the new rules are, so make up your own rules."

Gillia Olson, Managing Editor

 

Capstone Digital Continues To Make Headlines

While our singing voices are not spectacular apparently our presence at TCEA was worthy of Hollywood accolades! Ok we can't fool you - Capstone Digital was awarded the Texas Computer Education Association Idol Award. For more on that and a radio interview listen here.

Capstone Digital has just launched eNEWS!  This monthly newsletter will provide valuable information for teachers, librarians and administrators on the topics of integration of digital products, lesson planning, "tips & tricks" with the ultimate goal of helping to develop confident readers.

If you are not a current subscriber and would like to receive the inaugural issue, email Capstone Digital or you can subscribe to our newsletter by visiting Capstone Digital!

 

 

Tips for Authors

I know some of our blog readers are writers. As someone who hires writers for assignments, I wanted to put out a few tips for would-be authors.

First, take a look at a company's submission guidelines. Here are Capstone's submission guidelines. Next, know your publisher. Here's a little bit about how we decide what to publish. In nonfiction, we typically do work-for-hire projects where the publisher owns the copyright. Authors are typically hired to write a book to our specifications, curriculum and otherwise. We are serving a specific need in the market.

In your cover letter, include information about subjects of interest. What are your hobbies? Did you work in a field other than English or journalism? Have you served in the military? We are always looking to match up interests with assignments.

When submitting writing samples, don’t pick the ones that read like a dry essay for English class. Even though we are committed to the facts in nonfiction, we still want something to delight and surprise us, and so do the kids who read our books. We still want a voice. You need to stand out from the crowd.

I actually prefer to see samples that haven’t been edited by someone else. I want to see what kind of writing is actually going to come to me. Because we hire on spec, we have choose you based on what we think you’ll do, rather than a finished manuscript that we decide whether or not to publish.

Another tip: Don't call or email every three weeks looking for an assignment. We typically hire about every six months, so an email once every six months or so is perfectly fine. Calling every three weeks does not come across as “proactive.”

After you’re hired, there is something else to keep in mind. Be nice. Even if the images are not exactly what you would have chosen. Even if the editor needed to change wording or chop something to fit. Care about your work, but be constructive when discussing changes. Be nice and stay positive, and we'll do the same.

Here’s the honest truth: If an author is difficult to deal with, we will not keep hiring him or her. We have many other people who want to write. We are continually under pressure to be more efficient and do more with less. If an author makes our job more difficult, we will look for someone who doesn’t.

These tips are meant to be helpful. We love our authors and know we couldn't do this without them. So, if you are an author, best of luck in your writing endeavors.

Gillia Olson, Managing Editor, Capstone

The Future in Reading - starts today!

As Lynn has mentioned in several blog posts, Capstone Digital has been extremely busy these last few months. I’m Gail Lewis, Senior Product Manager at Capstone Digital, and I’m excited to finally get to share news with everyone about what our team has been hard at work on for the past year. Capstone Digital is launching our latest product – myON reader!

 

 

Well, that’s all the time I have toda…. Oh. You’d like to hear more? Well, let me start by saying that when we asked our customers to find out what you needed in your libraries and schools, you answered. And, we listened. myON reader is a growing collection of over 1,000 enhanced digital books available 24x7 anytime, anywhere over the Internet. More than a virtual library, myON reader personalizes reading for students and recommends books based on each student’s interest and reading level. Each book includes recorded audio, highlighting, and online dictionary support. 

And, with scientifically-based research from our development partner, MetaMetrics®, myON reader highlights student reading ability today, and predicts future reading performance so educators can intervene and assist low performing students. Even if you don’t use Lexiles® in your school, you can still check the reading comprehension and skills of your students. 

As a librarian, I’m most excited about the opportunity to use myON reader as a bridge between the media center and the classroom. Sure, there are lesson plans and other resources to help schools use myON reader effectively, but we’ve learnt from the over 400 schools that have already implemented myON that the program can help librarians collaborate with their classroom teachers. For example, one of the optional features of the program is the safe social networking, where students are prompted to write a review of the book they just read. This links the librarian to the teacher while discussing 21^st Century Skills, and prepares students for sharing (safely) over the Internet in the future. 

There is a lot to see in the program, and I encourage you to visit www.TheFutureinReading.com to learn more. myON reader helps solve the problem of reluctant and remedial readers by motivating students to read more, and providing the scaffolds that they may need to grow their reading abilities. And, being able to measure reading improvement shows the difference you can make in your students’ education. Expand your library to reach digital natives, and provide the very best resources anytime, anywhere. 

If you’re attending FETC (Booth #423), or if you’ll be at TCEA (Booth #1242, please drop by our new Capstone Digital booth and introduce yourself. I’d love to connect. And, the first visitor who tells me about this blog post will win a very cool prize! For those who can’t attend in person, you can win a prize too – just leave a comment on today’s post and I’ll draw a winner.

AASL Membership Gets Even More Rewarding

Hey, have you heard about our cool, new partnership with the American Association of School Librarians (AASL)?

If you’re a new or renewing AASL member, you can earn 10,000 Capstone Rewards points! Just join or renew your membership in AASL, and you’ll receive special instructions and your points code from AASL within two–six weeks.

So in addition to being a part of a professional organization who advocates and lobbies for you, you also receive points toward free books for your library! Now that’s a win-win.

Sharing Blog Love: Early Word Kids Blog
Each Thursday we’ll feature a blog we love. Today’s blog love goes to Early Word Kids, a blog within a blog (Early Word Kids is part of the Early Word blog). Lisa Von Drasek uses her expertise as the Children’s Librarian at Bank Street College to blog with energy and enthusiasm about children’s and young adult’s books. She gives readers the latest news and reviews on books people are (or will be) buzzing about. Lisa’s fervor for matchmaking – matching the right books to the right readers – is unmistakable and why we think she’s a librarian extraordinaire.

The Resurgence of Reading Recovery

Capstone's Pebble Books and Pebble Plus Books have been welcomed by Reading Recovery teachers for many years. When they're published, they're leveled by Reading Recovery-trained teachers as an Early Intervention level, and the level number is printed on the book for the teacher and librarian to note. (This informal,unofficial leveling is now being supplanted by a formal, official Reading Recovery Book List to which we will be submitting titles.)

Reading Recovery is a one-on-one reading program for the lowest-performing first-grade students. Specially trained teachers give individualized pullout literacy instruction in 30-minute lessons. Research suggests that this program works, bringing 75 percent of these lowest-performing students to grade level standard by the end of 12 to 20 week programs. 

For the last ten years or so, Reading Recovery pedagogical strategies have been somewhat overshadowed by the heavy emphasis on phonics in literacy programs. Some recent news suggests that Reading Recovery is undergoing a resurgence. In September of 2010, Ohio State University's College of Education and Human Ecology received a federal grant of $46 million to train more Reading Recovery teachers. A $10 million matching fund component makes the grant worth about $56 million for struggling first-grade readers.

Ohio State is working with partner universities throughout the country. Closest to our home base of Minnesota, are the University of Northern Iowa and the University of South Dakota. 

These specially trained teachers are expected to reach 90,000 first-graders in individual tutoring and more than 400,000 in related small group or classroom reading instruction. We have a special team working to make Capstone books ever more inviting and useful to these nearly half million first-graders.

 

John Coughlan, Publisher

The Essentials for 21st-Century Learning: Highlights from the AASL Fall Forum

Last weekend, I had the good fortune to represent Capstone at the AASL Fall Forum on the shores of the Columbia River in Portland, Oregon. Titled In Focus: The Essentials for 21st-Century Learning, the conference brought together leaders from school libraries nationwide to create a framework for connecting the independent learning they see in their libraries, with the required learning students must achieve in their classrooms. It’s more than a restatement of the ongoing question, “How do I, as a librarian, measure the impact of my work?” It’s getting to the heart of how learning is measured, and how libraries – and the critical thinking skills they encourage – can help students learn beyond the test.

The old business adage, “what get’s measured, gets done” is clearly alive and well in our school systems. Assessment remains key, and it’s the Holy Grail for libraries. How can media specialists assess the learning that happens in the library? How can they assess their value to classroom teachers? Gail Dickenson, professor of library science at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, lead a discussion of how to ask the right questions – the essential questions – that get to the heart of the matter. 

The broad question, “How do libraries meet the needs of 21st-century learners?,” overlays more detailed, and more actionable questions such as:

• How can media specialists provide peer coaching to teachers at the “point of sale”, right when the student needs it?
• How do you assess the value of a kid’s eyes lighting up when they learn something that is real for them?  
• How do you publicize these private victories to help show their value?  
• How do you teach kids to really inquire – to connect the curriculum to their own lives – rather than seek facts?

Attempting to answer these questions can lead to a measurable process, and can ensure that the right things are measured in the first place.

Leslie Maniotes, PhD and Teacher Effectiveness Coach for the Denver Public Schools, focused on the inquiry process as a means to create enduring understanding.  She presented the concept of the “third space” – the learning-centered space where the student’s world and the curriculum intersect. It’s in this space that students are energized by learning, and they’re more able to transfer that learning to new situations.  

Paige Johnson, Global K-12 Education Manager for Intel Corporation, challenged the group to help develop a curriculum for this kind of understanding as a means to prepare students for the real world. Among the resources she offered is this assessment tool and this research group focused on defining 21st-century skills and developing ways to measure them using information technology.

In the meantime, Dr. Ross Todd, Associate Professor in the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies at Rutgers, provided many tools and actionable suggestions for media specialists to assess the impact of the library in their school. Right now. Today. 

One attendee challenged the group to just do it – take the steps to create awareness and visibility for the library and the essential role it fills. Write a white paper documenting contributions by libraries. Come up with a catchy slogan that will resonate with students and faculty about the importance of the library. Put some of Dr. Todd’s tools into practice now, and begin to build that highly credible case for the essential role of the school library as a center for 21st-century learning.

I’m really excited to see how this challenge is met, and hope to leverage Capstone’s strengths to support these grassroots efforts. Gail Dickenson encouraged the group to network – to capture their ideas and thoughts and share them within and beyond the group. It does take a village, and maybe a village formed last weekend in Oregon.

Valorie Klemz
Vice President of Marketing

 

Sharing Blog Love: The AASL Blog  

Each Thursday we’ll feature a blog we love. Today’s blog love goes to the official blog of the American Association of School Librarians. If you’re a school librarian, this is the blog for you. Featuring posts from AASL members and staff, the blog informs readers on the latest issues concerning managing libraries, professional development opportunities, and new initiatives from AASL.

The Future of Reading: Highlights from the SLJ Leadership Summit

Last Friday and Saturday School Library Journal hosted their annual Leadership Summit in Chicago. It’s a small event limited to about 250 people which gives attendees the opportunity to really network and converse. Each year the summit tackles a pressing issue facing school librarians. This year’s issue? The Future of Reading. According to SLJ, they wanted this year’s Summit to “explore the latest trends and developments in literacy and technology, and identify ways in which librarians can make a genuine difference in their communities.”

Capstone was a Platinum Sponsor of the event and many of our executives attended the Summit. I had a chance to sit down with Matt Keller (Capstone Nonfiction President), Lori Benton (Capstone Fiction Publisher), and Todd Brekhus (Capstone Digital President) and talk about the high points from the Summit.

Tell me about your highlights from the Summit.

Matt: Connecting with the thought leaders in libraries and publishing.

Lori: Being together with an august group of thought leaders in the library world. Reconnecting with old friends and new talents. I especially enjoyed meeting SLJ’s New Leaders. The two days of presentations were fantastic! There were so many new ideas and innovative ways to embrace new technology; it will be fascinating to see how these will marry with print in the library setting.

Todd: Meeting with the best and brightest leaders, the champion district librarians. Technology was obviously a big part of the discussion this year at the Summit. Capstone had a VIP briefing of our new products and the overarching enthusiastic response from the 25 VIPs was definitely a highlight. I also had the opportunity to lead a Q&A session with the closing Keynote speaker Karen Cator, Director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education, which was exciting.

What's something you learned, or surprised you?

Matt: I learned that state assessments need to now assess the skills students have in finding and verifying information on the internet and that no state test does that at this time.

Lori: My favorite line from the Summit came from Keynote Speaker Stephen Abram, President for Strategic Partnerships and Markets for Gale Cengage:  “Shift Happens.” I’ve officially adopted it as my mantra. This is such an exciting time and we’re lucky to be part of the process!

What's your favorite part about the Summit?

Matt:  I like the small size of the Summit compared to big national shows. You can really have in-depth conversations.

Lori: It’s so energizing to be together in a fast paced, thought-fueled environment. There were so many idea exchanges and interchanges between sessions and afterhours; the discussions will keep going long after the Summit. Very rejuvenating and invigorating.

Todd: It’s my second time attending the Summit and I would have to say my favorite part is the relationship building and connections I make with leaders. I can tell the influence they have on our overall business strategies. Just as valuable are the afterhours, one-on-one discussions where I have the opportunity to learn what’s really working and what’s not.

Anything else you'd like to share?

Matt: I am glad we are the main sponsor of this important conference and I feel that librarians are starting to understand how they can remain the hub of information and literacy skills in schools and communities.

Lori: I applaud SLJ for having the vision to put the Summit together, to keep growing it, and make it better year after year.

Todd: Being a Platinum sponsor of the event is special. We’re able to help be a core part of the agenda and discussions. It’s a smart, small group and we have the privilege of being a sponsor.

 

Sharing Blog Love: Diane Chen’s Practically Paradise Blog  

Each Thursday we’ll feature a blog we love. Today’s blog love goes to Diane Chen who blogs on a variety of topics ranging from book reviews to censorship to the need for bathrooms in all school libraries! No matter what she’s talking about, we always tune in to read her posts brimming with her fun (and funny) personality. In addition to blogging, Diane is a school librarian in Nashville and serves on the ALA executive board.