TASLA 3rd Morning Session Google Docs, legislative Update

Google Docs
Debbie Schwarz, Mesquite ISD, talked about using Google docs. They collect their end-of-year stats on Google docs. She opened up the presentation portion which I really never have spent time with. I was glad to be reminded of it.

She showed how forms could be sent, filled out and then the spreadsheet would be populated automatically. She created one as an example. It is under New, Form. You can give help for the blanks so they would know how to answer properly. you have different types of questions...short answer, paragraph, multiple choice, check boxes, choose from a list (drop-down), scale. You can even add a theme to it to "decorate." and you can save it to different formats including MSExcel.

I see lots of uses for this new (to me) tool! It is good that others explore so I can take advantage of their ventures.

Legislative Update

Jennifer LaBoon

Key Issues for Schools that did not successfully get all the way

K12 Databases

Full time librarian on every campus using counselors standard (1 per campus of 500 or more) -- would have been unfunded mandate. The timing was just not right to push any herder this time on this.

One of the issues raised was tying it to accountability that each campus has librarian...would solve issue of exemplary campuses who have no librarian.

two opps to help --can you help? Contact Jennifer or Cindy Buchanan

PTA Summer Leadership conference in Austin, Jully 24-25

TASA/TASB Conference in Houston October2-3

Julie Todaro

the results of the public survey on libraries

http://www.txla.org/html/pr/survey.html

(FYI: If you want a source to lots of data go here)

SOME results of the survey:

strong, intense voter support

women, older and Hispanic voters, public library users most intensely support need for school libraries

essential because of opportunities to learn to read

under the funding part...concerns about cuts in hours and resources, do not want less available

the voters do see connection between student achievement and strong libraries

this the point she considers the point to use as the hook to all this info....

Question from audience: what was her perception of legislature receiving this data:

stunned looks that data exists

their curiosity was peeked..so other data was put up also

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It was a good conference. Yes, I learned some new things...I always do. But the most important aspect of this whole thing is the opportunity to get to spend time with people I admire, enjoy, and learn from each and every time I am around them.