Unite for Literacy - free ebooks

100 free ebooks for primary - with audio!

http://www.uniteforliteracy.com/

"What is this? Simple. A new collaborative offering where Douglas County Libraries, CLiC and Unite for Literacy have teamed up to provide improved access to free picture books (ebooks), with multilingual narration just a click away! Our books are carefully crafted to connect with young children and their families. The text, images and narrated audio support are designed to give families the immediate reassurance of seeing and hearing their home cultures reflected in a book."

Choose the language of narrator you want using the narration button in the upper left corner (The text is still in English, but the narration is in the language chosen.)

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ViewPure - Videos without clutter

Clutter-free video viewing.

http://viewpure.com/

Watch YouTube videos without comments, suggestions, or the 'other' things.

You can use the viewpure site, or simply drag the bookmarklet button into your bookmarks toolbar (or right click and favorite it in IE) to use it. Next time you see a video you want to purify, click the button when on the YouTube page. Viewpure provides you with a special URL to link to or share.

Example:

http://viewpure.com/y6Sxv-sUYtM

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Workshop: Authentic First Peoples Resources for Grades K-7, March 17

FYI,

also, the 2 resources mentioned below are downloadable:

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First Nations Education Steering Committee

Professional Development Workshop for Teachers 

Authentic First Peoples Resources for Grades K-7

March 17, 2014

Vancouver, Coast Plaza Hotel & Suites

Event News and Registration:  http://www.fnesc.ca/resourceswkshp

Learn how to build authentic First Peoples materials your instruction and assessment practices!

This workshop offers time to explore available resources and for professional conversations and networking around authentic First Peoples resources. All participants will receive a copy of the resources Authentic First Peoples Resources for use in K-7 Classrooms and In Our Own Words: Bringing Authentic First Peoples Content to the K-3 Classroom, which include lesson plans, curriculum connections, assessment resources and suggested texts. First Nations Education Steering Committee Literacy Coach, Ruth Darby, will be the lead workshop facilitator.

FNESC, the First Nations Schools Association and the provincial government continue to develop First Peoples curriculum and classroom resources with the goal of increasing Aboriginal student achievement and creating more inclusive schools that reflect First Nations issues and realities.

About the Event

• Eligibility to attend: First Nations school, public school and independent school teachers are invited to register.  Registration is free of charge.
• Breakfast:  8:30 am; workshop 9 am to 4:30 pm; breakfast and lunch provided.
  

Hotel

All participants are responsible for booking their own hotel accommodation.   When booking,

quote FNESC First Peoples Literacy Meeting to get the negotiated rate.  Please book early for the negotiated rate.

• Coast Plaza Hotel and Suites, 1763 Comox St., Vancouver Reservations: (604) 688-7711

Reimbursement

• See full details and registration online at  http://www.fnesc.ca/resourceswkshp
  

 

 

 

Hurray for Crittenden Middle School Library

Admins cheerleading their TL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTfsai4OgEk

Watch this short clip about the Crittenden Middle School Library. Listen to the administrators talk about the many programs supported by the teacher-librarian. This is a school that appreciates and values what the TL is bringing to students and staff!

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Fiction from The New Yorker

Short stories read by other authors

(You can subscribe via this link to iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/new-yorker-fiction/id256945396?mt=2 )

Listen to short stories that have been featured in the New Yorker Magazine over the years. The readings are done by other well-known authors. This collection of audio files would be interesting for high school students. (Note: not all stories are appropriate for the classroom - preview before using.)

Choose the "View in iTunes" link to hear in the iTunes app.

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TLs - Igniting the Passion (for learning) in your colleagues

Share your passion for education.

http://www.fhlearn.ca/amonk/2014/02/13/448/

Angela Monk talks about how to ignite your colleagues' passion for learning.

(For video, go to LINK and advance to 24min mark)

 

"We are educational leaders with a passion to transform teaching and learning in our schools. This can be enormously facilitated by quality relationships between teachers, teacher librarians and administrators. So, to ignite that passion in our colleagues, to get them on board, we have to know something about the Art of Seduction."

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The reader leader’s hat - making better readers

Creating independent readers

http://www.printfriendly.com/print/?source=site&url=http://500hats.edublogs.org/2014/01/09/the-reader-leaders-hat/

A longish but useful article that talks about the importance of developing a reading culture and suggestions for how to go about it.

"Being an "independent reader" is much more than the mastery of the mechanics – Being an independent reader means developing a lifelong habit that continues because we want to read and not because we are required to or have to .... Putting on the reader leader's hat is one of the most important aspects of the teacher librarian's role.  Not only does it need to be big enough to hold all the ideas and suggestions we have, it also needs to be big enough to encompass those who come under our influence."

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Traduire en SMS? Fun with texting

French Texting - Les textos français

Texting in French follows rules just like any other kind of written communication. Here are a couple of links to explore that explain a bit more about this interesting way of communicating in the "langue de Molière." Your students might be interested that young people use "text-speak" in every language!

Les règles "textos"

Some rules for French text messaging:

http://www.printfriendly.com/print/?url=http://french.about.com/library/writing/bl-texting.htm

Ralphlight Translator

http://raphlight.free.fr/trad

Paste in a block of "regular French" and get a text message version back.

Here is an example using Ralphlight - your results may need to be edited a bit to correspond to "real" texting, but the result is not too shabby.

French

Je veux t'inviter à une fête demain soir. Tout le monde sera là. J'ai acheté des pizzas, et quelques Cokes pour la gang, alors, tu n'es pas obligé d'apporter de quoi à manger. Si tu veux emmener des amis, aucun problème. Il y a plein de place. Dis-moi si tu peux venir, on va bien s'amuser!

Texto

jvE t1vité à 1 fêt 2m1 soar. tlmd sera là. G achté D pizzas, é kelqu cok pr la gang, alor, tu n pa obligé daporté 2 koi à manG. 6 tu vE emné Dzami, ok1 pb. ya pl1 2 place. di mwa 6 tu pE vnir, on va b1 samusé!

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PrintFriendly - my new friend!

Format web pages for the perfect print experience

http://www.printfriendly.com/

"PrintFriendly cleans and formats web pages for perfect print experience. It removes ads, navigation and web page junk, so you save paper and ink when you print. It's free and easy to use. You can print or save as nicely formatted PDF. You can add a PrintFriendly "button"  to your browser shortcut bar for 1-click print-friendly pages, or add a button icon to your website or blog."

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Library Advocacy Unshushed - YouTube Playlist

How can we strengthen libraries and librarians?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXAjqqrRMIU

View this playlist of videos on the topic of advocacy. (They accompany an online course offered by UofT.)

Library Advocacy Unshushed: Values, evidence, action:

"Learn how to be a powerful advocate for the values and future of libraries and librarianship. Be informed, strategic, courageous, passionate, and unshushed! ... This course is based on what works. We'll take an inspired, strategic, evidence-based approach to advocacy for the future of strong communities – cities, villages, universities and colleges, research and development centres, businesses, and not-for-profits."

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Monthly, quarterly, or yearly library reports? - some ideas

Hurray for flag waving!

Looking for ways to jazz up communications with your office? Your admin is better able to advocate for your role if they know how valuable you are to the staff and students. And while some of what happens in your library is visible (ie. book fair, DEAR week, or Love Your Library Day) some of the great every day work may slip under the radar.

Here are some ideas to get you going:

Piktochart [Link]

Create an Infographic instead of a traditional text - very visual with a good messaging. It could even make a great poster! (See the example at link below.)

http://informania.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/infographic-monthly-library-report/

(Easel.ly is another tool: http://www.easel.ly )

Slideshare (from Powerpoint)

Create a series of slides in Powerpoint and upload them to Slideshare - you can share the link with admin, PAC, staff, etc. Use a branded template, and add colourful graphics for lots of impact. It could even be embedded on a blog or webpage.

http://www.slideshare.net/kjcmetzger/kms-monthly-report-oct-2013

Issuu - from Word

Any multipaged Word document (complete with colour images and photos) can be saved as a PDF and then uploaded as a flippable e-mag using Issuu.

http://issuu.com/joycevalenza/docs/annualreport11.2?e=0

Some other tools you might look into.

Prezi, Animoto, Comic Life, Glogster.

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MIT+K12 STEM videos

K12 science, technology, engineering, and math videos

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/itunes-u/mit+k12-videos/id592750711?mt=10

https://itunes.apple.com/itunes-u/mit+k12-videos/id592750711?mt=10

"MIT+K12 arose from a simple question: What can MIT do -- right now -- to improve K12 science, technology, engineering, and math education in the U.S.? Our students want to change the world, they're really good at math and science, they're funny, they can tell stories, and they have access to some of the most sophisticated laboratory and experimental facilities in the world. Through MIT+K12, our students bring their distinctive styles and personalities to life on video, creating content that inspires as much as it educates."

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English 8 - an iTunesU course on the Surrey Channel

Course outline for English 8 - resources and more

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/course/english-8/id733901584?ls=1

"The central aim of English 8 is to develop an enjoyment of reading and writing. Activities, both individual and collaborative, include reading and responding to a variety of texts, the development of oral language and reading skills and viewing associated digital media.  Each post on the course outline is connected to specific Prescribed Learning Outcomes (PLOs) from the BC Ministry of Education. A range of resources are included such as Apps, iBooks, YouTube video clips, blogs, podcasts as well as PowerPoints, assignments and activities.

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Introduction to Lit Circles - iBook

Igniting a passion for reading at Secondary

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/introduction-to-literature/id692396558?mt=11

Sarah Garr has created this downloadable resource for teachers.

"This book provides a comprehensive overview of a Literature Circles unit as a method of re-igniting a passion for reading and books in the secondary English classroom. Includes strategies, suggested novels, activities and rubrics."

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What happens in an internet minute?

Infographic - One Internet Minute

http://www.edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Internet-minute.jpg

So what happens in 1 minute online? This infographic is a great discussion starter.

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2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults | Young Adult Library Services Association

Best Fiction for Young Adults list

http://www.ala.org/yalsa/2014-best-fiction-young-adults

"Each year, YALSA presents the Best Fiction for Young Adults list after ALA's Midwinter Meeting. This year's list of 98 books was drawn from 175 official nominations. The books, recommended for ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teens. The list comprises a wide range of genres and styles, including contemporary realistic fiction, fantasy, horror, science fiction and novels in verse. In addition to the full list, the Best Fiction for Young Adults committee also created a Top Ten list of titles from the final list, denoted by an asterisk.

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Toolkit for for Teachers/Teacher-Librarians | ASLC

Resources, lessons,Web 2.0 tools

http://aslc.ca/for-teachers-teacher-librarians/toolkit/

"Teacher-Librarians have a huge impact on student achievement, increasing literacy rates and 21st century skills. Use the tools in the digital toolkit links to the left to help you find resources, develop lessons, use inquiry learning and explore Web 2.0 tools with staff and students."

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Time To Change How Students Cite Their Work?

Do we need to re-evaluate how bibliographies are presented?

http://www.edudemic.com/students-cite-work/

This blog post argues for "bibs" to be presented in a different way - a google doc? QR codes? embedded links? These new modes might make bibliographies more useful and relevant.

"In the modern classroom, student research and creation has taken on a new look. Before, when students created a poster, and then separately handed in a bibliography page to the teacher, justice was done and fair credit was given for the ideas used. However, as widespread sharing of these projects becomes more common, and the internet allows students to reach an audience far beyond the school or classroom, we need to re-evaluate this procedure and address our responsibility to share these sources – not just with the teacher or school, but with all who might consume the project."

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Instructional Tech Talk - Podcasts

Dedicated to providing info about instructional tech

http://instructionaltechtalk.com/category/podcasts/

"Instructional Tech Talk is a website dedicated to providing new and consistent information about instructional technology. Though geared towards educators, many others will find value from the information provided in both the articles and the podcasts. The content and podcast is produced by Jeff Herb, and educator and administrator in Illinois. (Instructional Tech Talk has been lucky enough to be featured on TeacherCast, ASCD, and linked to by many other great publications.)

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MIT Tech TV: Physics Demos

Short physics demonstration videos

http://techtv.mit.edu/collections/physicsdemos

"This online collection provides a wide range of short physics demonstration videos. The videos are designed to help students visualize the physical principles of common physical systems and experiments. Topics include motion, waves, electricity and magnetism, collisions, thermodynamics, and fluid dynamics.  The videos are 1-4 minutes in length with brief text information about the demonstration, equipment, and physical concepts illustrated. They may be viewed in a browser or downloaded.

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