Library Links

"Content that might be of interest to Teacher-Librarians..."

16.12.11

Youth Privacy Educational Tools for Elementary and Secondary Students

You are receiving this email because you asked to be updated about educational or related material. If you wish to be removed from this mailing list please click here or reply to coedcomm@bellnet.ca "Please Remove gpowell@sd38.bc.ca" in the subject header.
myprivacy, mychoice, mylife
(Also available in French)

"Young people today are sophisticated users of the Internet, using this medium with ease and enthusiasm. While the opportunities are tremendous, we want to ensure that they understand the impact that these technologies can have on their privacy, and provide them with tools and information they need to make smart decisions.

This is why we developed a video contest and teaching lessons to encourage young people to learn how to build a secure online identity so they don't put themselves at risk."

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22 Simple Ideas for Harnessing Creativity

Harnessing Creativity in the Elementary Classroom

"Creativity is vital for a classroom to be successful. There is a common misconception that the word "creative" has to do mostly with the arts. But being artistic is only a small part of creativity. While any classroom environment would benefit from a teacher blessed with the gift of artistic talent, creativity is many other things."

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15.12.11

Ten careers that Didn't Exist 10 Years Ago

Preparing our students for tomorrow?

Interesting clip, especially for those working with high school students. As technology advances and society changes, careers that weren't imagined or that may have been limited to a specialized few emerge as legitimate choices. Check out these ten fields of study that hardly existed a decade ago.

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14.12.11

Instructables - project ideas for your students

DIY projects of all kinds

Browse some of the many ideas on Instructables to get some fun and educational DIY projects for your students. You will have to be selective, and remember, not all ideas on this site are for all age groups. (You might want to try out an idea first yourself before trying it in the class.)

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What Makes Project Based Learning Effective?

Musings on PBL

"Working with their friends (COLLABORATION), taking charge of their learning (OWNERSHIP), solving real problems (CRITICAL THINKING) and allowing students to create (CREATIVITY) all lead to the students learning in a FUN environment."

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Get better Google search results - 5 tips

Pointers for Google Searching
(from Hongkiat )

A nice summary of some of the basic Google search techniques.

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Tri-Fold Brochure with Powerpoint

Instructions to make a PPT-based flyer

If you have Powerpoint installed on your lab or class computer, you can use it to make easy, attractive flyers. Your students can use it to design and print handouts to enrich a presentation. (ie Countries Expo, Science Fair, etc)
You could even create your own template (visit link, and choose "download original" to view a sample) and students can download it and begin creating right away.

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The nine elements of authentic learning

A useful model of authentic learning

Dr. Jan Herrington's (Murdoch University, Australia) work involves research and teaching in the School of Education. She presents nine elements of authentic learning that can be used to design learning environments in different educational settings. (All 9 of the clips can be viewed from this link.)

While the content is focussed on post-secondary environments, it has some application for 6-12 learning.

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"drawz it" - from Tammy's Tip of the Week

Simple Online Drawing Tool

This is a relatively straightfoward contender in the online drawing world. It looks like the site has been around since 2007. The creator says "my hope is to create a powerful and easy to use web drawing tool that you can use to create and edit images, and use them all over the internet." No login is required. Rudimentary layers, a selection of stamps and shapes, fonts and sizes, and the ability to upload images or point to a URL are all welcome features.

While still in "beta" (for almost 5 years), it is an easy tool to use, and artists can easily download, email or embed their creations.

(See Tammy Worcester's Tip of the Week for more details.)

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First Nations culture and music in Canada - Drums

Native Drums - Teachers Homepage

"Canadian Teachers of grades 9-12 classes can find free, downloadable, printable Teachers Resource Kits directly relating to provincial curricula. These materials are usable as is or customizable for use in the classroom, and include lesson plans, references to background materials, in-class exercises, quizzes, and grading rubrics. We hope you find these materials useful!"

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13.12.11

Magazine for YA librarians

Voice of Youth Advocates

"(VOYA) magazine is the leading library journal dedicated to the needs of young adult librarians, the advocacy of young adults, and the promotion of young adult literature and reading. Also viewable in digital format. Some 350 books are reviewed in each issue of VOYA, more than 2,200 per year. In addition, a growing number of online exclusive reviews appear on VOYA's website."


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Read to Me & ABC

An alphabet "curriculum" for pre-K and K

Here's a home-schooling mom's blog recounting her goal to read through the alphabet with her son. Lots of activities, book suggestions and fun along the way. Some of her ideas would work quite nicely in a K class.

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Youtube Collection for k-12

Clips "vetted" for K-12

Check out this collection of Youtube clips that have been flagged for K-12 classrooms. There are a number of useful resources here. (Always preview first!)

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Teaching Kids to read with Starfall

Starfall - Reading Support

Starfall.com opened in September of 2002 as a free public service to teach children to read with phonics. Our systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice, is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development (ELD, ELL, ESL). Starfall is an educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children.

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Five efforts to innovate the concept of “library”

The Library Rethought

Here are five brave efforts innovating the concept of "the library" in ways that make it as culturally relevant today as it ever was.

Design, NYPL, Internet Archive, Library of Congress.

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12.12.11

Locating London's Past

London's Past mapped on John Rocque's 1746 map.

"This website allows you to search a wide body of digital resources relating to early modern and eighteenth-century London, and to map the results on to a fully GIS compliant version of John Rocque's 1746 map."
Video tutorials walk your through a step by step "how to use" lesson. Great for historical study!

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Global Education Streaming clips


some good videos for global ed.

Lynne

Young People around the world

Videos (some in French) showing young people and how they live in various countries. Clips highlight often difficult living conditions. (Produced for World Vision - does promote World Vision projects.) Preview before using.

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Language learning drills

Memrise encourages the inclusion of different ways to think about a word and pronunciation guides. It also keeps track of what you've studied, how you've performed, and what you should do to keep that knowledge from slipping away. Memrise allows for the embedding of videos, audio, images, etc. (Log in needed - create a free account.)

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Flash Cards - virtually

Use your phone or ipod to study!
A mobile device that's already flash card sized can be a great solution for drilling.

gFlash:
Apps like gFlash do a great job of turning a Google docs spreadsheet into a study aid on the go.

Quizlet:
There's also a number of sites that crowdsource knowledge sets, like the popular Quizlet, which has both mobile and web-based applications and user-generated flash cards for a wide range of topics.

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eSchool News 2011 Year in Review







End-of-year publication from eSchool News!

Here's an early holiday gift from the publisher of eSchool News: A look at the top educational technology stories of 2011.

Inside this publication:                        
  • How "Bring Your Own Device" spells salvation to budget-punished schools 
  • Why iPads have turbocharged the digital textbook revolution     
  • Why new web-search formulas could have a profound effect on students and society                
  • How teachers are turning learning upside-down--with promising results   
  • Why new research could encourage the growth of 3D learning in classrooms                                                        
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K-12 Conference on iTunes U

The K-12 Online Conference Video Presentations

"The K-12 Online Conference is a free, online, annual professional development conference offering asynchronous and synchronous opportunities for educators around the globe to share innovative ways web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. The conference takes place in the Fall each year, and generally includes four different strands to represent multiple perspectives: getting started, classroom implementation, leadership and strategies for more advanced users. Student voices are included throughout the presentations."

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The Basic Elements of an Avalanche

How Do Avalanches Form? Grades 6-12
"Consider what factors combine to create this dramatic, destructive force of nature. Join an avalanche forecaster as he completes his daily field observations and evaluates the risk. - There are two basic elements to an avalanche: a steep, snow-covered slope and a trigger that causes a weak layer within the snow pack to collapse. This video segment adapted from NOVA reveals that the shape of the ice crystals of snowflakes within a snow pack is also a critical factor."

(You can sign in to create a free account, or use this as one of your 3 free views.)

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10.12.11

Weather on other planets

Extreme Weather in Our Solar System

How does the weather on other planets compare to weather on Earth?

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9.12.11

Learn about the attack on Pearl Harbor

Interactive Pearl Harbor Attack Map

National Geographic has a good resource students can explore to learn about the attack on Pearl Harbor. TheInteractive Pearl Harbor Attack Map is a map and timeline accompanied by voice narration. Each stop along the timeline of the attack is accompanied by a short narrated passage. At each stop students can click on the map to read more information about that place and moment in the chronology of the attack.

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8.12.11

Aboriginal Perspectives - NFB

Films giving perspective on Canada's native peoples

The Aboriginal Perspectives module contains 33 documentaries, a short fiction film, and 5 film clips. These productions do not represent the entirety of the films on Canada's native peoples in the NFB collection, which comprises more than 700 such works. We did want it, however, to be a representative sample of the whole.

The Aboriginal Perspectives material is organized by theme: The Arts, Cinema and Representation, Colonialism and Racism, Indigenous Knowledge, History and Origins, Sovereignty and Resistance, and Youth. These topics are very relevant to social studies curricula across the country.

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Keep oceans clean.org

Uncover facts about the ocean

Rollover the trash items to uncover facts about the ocean, Learn about how everyday actions, and waste, can be a problem for fish. Thanks for helping keep oceans clean!

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Tumblebook titles - use them as "Big Books"

What titles are in Tumblebooks?

Here's a list of titles that are carried by Tumblebooks. Consider using a favourite as a "Big Book" by projecting it for your class.

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Cells Alive. (4/5-12)

Interactive Cell web site. (4/5-12)

This site is an excellent interactive web site for educators dealing with all aspects of cells. Galleries, models, animations, etc.

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Earth Cams for Kids

Web Cams from Around the World

This site allows student to search for and view various web cams all over the earth. Some are live, some are still pics (that are refreshed every so often.)

Example (live feed - with audio)

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Learn about the laws of physics in action

Fear of Physics (K-12)

Billed as an interactive, highly visual, and non-technical way for students of all ages to learn about the laws of physics in action. Many animations, clips, and simulations.

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Celestia - travel through space

A Real-time 3D space simulation  

"Celestia is  a real-time 3D space simulation featuring a database of over 100000 stars, nearly a hundred solar system, objects, and a complete catalog   You can travel throughout the solar system, to any of the over 100,000 stars, or even beyond the galaxy.  Celestia comes with a large catalog of stars, galaxies, planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and spacecraft."

(Requires a download - version for Windows, Mac and Linux - the Mac version will run from the desktop with no installation required.)

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Virtual Solar System.  (4/5-12)

An interactive Solar system site  (4/5-12)

This site was created by National Geographic and is an interactive solar system map. Mouse over to view images, click to read more detail. An excellent tool for your students to use as they study our solar system. 

Get Body Smart (8-12)

Human Anatomy and Physiology

An Online Examination of Human Anatomy and Physiology.  Visually Learn About the Human Body Using Interactive "Flash" Animations.

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7.12.11

Periodic Table of Comic Books

Chemical Comics!

"Welcome to the Periodic Table of Comic Books. Click on an element to see a list of comic book pages involving that element. Click on a thumbnail on the list to see a full comic bookpage. For technical information about an element, follow the link to Mark Winter's Web Elements. There's something for everyone here!"

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The Future of Print - Webinar

What lessons can publishers learn from the music industry's response to the digital revolution?
[LINK] from Tuesday, May 3, 2011


Speakers:
  • James Crawford, Engineering Director, Google Books
  • Steve Ennen, President and Chief Intelligence Officer, Social Strategy1
  • Bethlam Forsa, Executive Vice President, Global Product and Content Development, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  • Jane Friedman, Co-Founder and CEO, Open Road Integrated Media; former President and CEO, HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide
Moderator:
Richard Sandler, Executive Vice President, Milken Family Foundation.

"Tablet computers as well as the Kindle and other e-readers have created a new platform for books, magazines and newspapers. The California start-up Vook may demonstrate the path forward: It packages cookbooks, workout manuals and even novels with illustrative video clips, then sells these video-text hybrids through Apple's iTunes Store. But what will readers pay for these products, and can this model sustain the big traditional publishers? Some say there will always be a place for print. In the news industry, print is too slow for breaking news, but does printed analysis have a place? In publishing, text-heavy books may be perfect for an e-reader, but will beautifully illustrated, tactile tomes become even more valuable? What lessons can publishers learn from the music industry's response to the digital revolution?"

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Full Text Magazines in EBSCO

PDF Magazines by cover

Simply click on the icons to see "clickable covers" of magazines organized by category. (Kids, Teens, General and Pro-D) From there, you can visit the "landing page" for each of the titles. On each landing page, you will see (on the right of the screen) a list of all the issues by year. Pick an issue and then click on the article title to read. Have fun exploring! (EBSCO is a subscription database: School ID and password required for home access.)

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6.12.11

Bio-Cube - ReadWriteThink

Identify and Summarize Key Ideas

"All writing assignments require the writer to make decisions about what to include and what to leave out. The task seems especially daunting with biographies and autobiographies, when the author is trying to summarize an entire life. The Bio-Cube activity asks children to take on that challenge and limits their information to what will fit on six sides of a small cube. The activity helps children learn how to identify and summarize key ideas."

Students can use the online tool, or work on a blank printed cube.
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Classroom Ideas - Kindergarten

Ideas for the Primary Classroom

Pinterest is an online pinboard that uses the slogan "Organize and share things you love." Check out this page of Primary/Kindergarten ideas - crafts, reading activities, resources.

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Powerpoint in Science - project idea

Grade 8 Science PowerPoint Presentations

"Eighth grade students at Raul Yzaguirre School For Success [RYSS] used PowerPoint 2007 to create presentations based on TEKS/TAKS Grade 8 Science concepts. The PowerPoint presentations online are a selection from the 8th grade class. The students were challenged to take control of the teaching process to make Science more exciting and interesting to study. They researched the concepts online, then used visuals, text and animation to bring them "to life".
(Powerpoint presentations were exported as "movies".)

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Supporting Critical Thinking - Ancient Egypt

Decipher the drawing

"How was life different in ancient Egypt? In this challenge from Legacies of Ancient Egypt students use the 5W questions to analyze a detailed drawing of an ancient scene and gather evidence to support or refute a hypothesis about the depicted event. (Social Studies, Language Arts, Fine Arts)"

(From the Thinking Teacher - December 2011)

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Elementary library routines - wiki

Elementary TLs Sharing What Works

"Where Elementary Librarians share their knowledge! This wiki was born from a short Twitter conversation and the admiration of the work of Harry Wong. Please join & add your expertise to our wiki. No need to reinvent the wheel when you have a strong library PLN."

Topics include:
AV Equipment Management, Beginning of the Year, Book Management & Inventory, Budget/Funding, Daily/Weekly Library Records, End of the Year, Flexible Scheduling, Floor Plans, Library Organization, Library Spaces, Parent Contact, Special Library Events & Programs, Substitute Plans, Procedure Manual/Handbook, and much more.

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5.12.11

"Exit slip" for library lab work

Accountable online research

Students doing research in computer lab settings may not use their time wisely, especially if they think that no-one is holding them accountable. Here are some ideas for an "exit slip". If students know they are responsible for providing this at the end of each session, they may be more productive.

An Exit Slip could include the following questions:
(Tech Tip: a Google form could also be set up with these questions. Students could "submit" an exit slip that the teacher could collate as part of the Work Habit.)

  • 1) Name or Initials
  • 2) What is your topic?
  • 3) What is your essential question(s)?
  • 4) Name one thing you discovered/learned today.
  • 5) What do you still not understand? What do you still need to find out? What do you want to know more about?
  • 6) What search engine(s) did you use today? Google, Bing, Yahoo? Infotopia.info, quinturakids.com, www.ixquick.com, www.kidrex.org? etc.
  • 7) What websites and/or databases did you visit/use today? How did you assess the value of the web sites? RADCAB (PDF)
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"Literary Cavalcade" - High School Teachers' Resources

Teaching literature and writing

Browse the archive of "Literary Cavalcade" (2003-2005)  to find a number of articles and lessons for teaching literature and writing. You can browse issues by publication date, genre, author, or skill.

Current Ideas for students from "Write It" online site

Ideas and Lessons for teachers from "Write It" online site

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100s Day - clip

From PBS - Kids talk about 100s Day

Some ideas for celebrating 100s day. Hear from students.

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#pencilchat - Great Metaphor for surfacing Tech Integration issues

Some articles that reference #pencilchat

Learning in Hand

GOOD Education

The Contemporary Educator

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"School Libraries Work" - report

Summaries of studies from 20 states and Canada
Google viewer link: HERE

Shares data on the impact of school libraries on student achievement.

"This research foundation paper, updated from the 2006 edition of School Libraries Work!, brings together position statements from a variety of organizations and findings from nearly two decades of empirical studies that cite the measurable impact school libraries and library media specialists have on student achievement. It includes excerpts from a Congressional presentation made by the National Committee on Libraries and Information Science in June 2007; the results of new studies from Delaware, Indiana, Wisconsin, and the Canadian province of Ontario; as well as new data, statistics, resources, and strategies to help principals, school board members, teachers, and library media specialists support and improve their library media centers."

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Discovery Channel - videos and extras

Science Clips and Extras


"Covering topics in science, nature, adventure, and technology, discoverychannel.ca is a perfect place to look for material on all kinds of subjects from animals to space [...] Take a look through our A-Z section or use our search tool to find the information you need."

Using material from the website
Please note that content on discoverychannel.ca (images, text, video, or interactive content) cannot be copied or re-used in any way. If you wish to share it with others, just point them to the site.

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4.12.11

World Heritage Site Panoramas

360 Degree Panoramas of 275 World Heritage Sites

"Patrimonium-mundi.org is undertaking an ambitious project to capture and share 360 degree panoramas of all of the UNESCO World Heritage sites. Currently, Patrimonium-mundi.org has up to 275 panoramic images. Visitors can rotate all of the images and some allow you to zoom in and zoom out to look at the details."

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Link a series of informative videos together

Create Choose Your Own Adventure Videos

Use the Sptolight Annotation feature of Youtube to create a series of informative videos and linking them together in a "choose-your-own-adventure" format . This could be a great collaborative multimedia project for your students.

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Fetal Pig Dissection Resource - High School Science

Virtual fetal Pig Dissection (VPD)
Welcome to the Whitman College Biology Department's Virtual Pig Dissection (VPD)!

While not an interactive dissection site, the images could be used to supplement, introduce or even replace the actual dissection.

"This site is designed as a supplement to laboratory dissections exploring introductory mammalian anatomy and physiology — it is basic and many details have been omitted for clarity.  We hope that it is suitable for AP Biology students or for students of introductory anatomy and physiology at the college level."

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2.12.11

Using Google Search More Effectively

Becoming a Google Master

This infographic offers a helpful primer for how to best structure searches using advanced operators to more quickly and accurately drill down to the information you want. This is by no means an exhaustive list of search operators and advanced techniques, but it's a good start that will help set you on the path to becoming a Google master. [GIF]

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"See through your text" - Voyeur

Another way to look at text

GIve students a different way to see their text.

"Voyeur is an easy tool to use. You simply upload or paste a text and click "Reveal". You're then provided with a workbench-like screen that starts with a word cloud and copy of the text you submitted. You can also upload multiple documents in many common file formats such as Microsoft Word or PDF. Doing so allows Voyeur to create a corpus of texts that it can then compare for word frequencies. ...The initial word cloud includes every word in the document, which is often not very useful because of common words like "the," but the tool provides a pre-programmed list of "stop words" that will cause Voyeur to redraw the word cloud with those words omitted. Clicking on any word in the cloud will provide a graph of the relative frequency of that word. The tool also provides information about vocabulary density, distinctive words, length of documents, and a number of other statistical details worth investigating. (source)"

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Interactive Learning - helping underperforming kids

How to Engage Underperforming Students

By focusing tightly on instructional strategies and PD, in just three years, educators at Cochrane Collegiate Academy have doubled student performance, and they and continue to reach higher.

Read the article: Ten Tips [Interactive Video Player: Look for downloadable PDF worksheets and other resource links near the player as you watch the video.]

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1.12.11

Intro Video Clips - High School

Preview the intro to FFH films

Looking for an intro clip to a challenging topic? Films Media Group has a wide range of subjects represented in their on-line library. Each of the titles has a 2 - 5 min preview clip that introduces the viewer to the film. In some cases, the preview clip is the perfect jumpstart to a unit or lesson. The summary of the "Segments" for the video can give some ideas for further discussion, (or suggest titles for purchase).

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"Keeping Teens Reading" - TIp List

Getting and Keeping Kids Hooked on Reading
(Thanks to Kimber T for collating this list from LM-NET)

Nothing earth-shattering here, but some great suggestions to consider if you are looking to reinvigorate your circ stats and encourage a love of reading.

  • 1.  Buy series books:  Get students hooked is essential and they will want to keep reading.  Paranormal series are particularly popular. (Lists, Lists, Lists)(Also: keep an alphabetized list of series handy so students can find the next book just by stopping at the desk.)
  • 2.  Talk About it:  Give students chances to discuss what they read and recommend that to others. (They like to read what their peers are reading and peer endorsements are valued.)
  • 3.  New Formats: Encourage e-books, graphic novels, verse novels, etc.  These can draw students in because of their "novelty."
  • 4.  Suggestion Box: At the circ desk, place a box where student requests are dropped so that students can request books easily. (Or better yet, use a Google form linked to your library page: example)
  • 5.  "Amanda's Picks": Put student recommendations on shelves near books (similar to those seen in bookstores). (Stickers)
  • 6.  Multiple Copies: Have several copies of those really popular books.  That can start a "fad" that may sweep through a grade level!
  • 7.  Book Clips: Show book trailers when students are in the library.
  • 8.  Promote New Stuff: Have new books visible in the library and the latest titles available.
  • 9.  Share Your Choices: Place your latest "literary crush" on your desk. (perhaps on a little stand.) Students will often ask to borrow that title.  (Inspired by Layne's Igniting a Passion for Reading.)  Also: post staff members' pictures with "What Mr/Mrs is reading: __________ " written with dry erase markers to keep an updated running list.
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Portable North Pole 2011

Create a Video from Santa Claus

"In just a few easy steps, you can create a personalized video from Santa Claus for your children, friends, family members or colleagues a you choose, by providing a few little details about the person."

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30.11.11

When Learning Becomes An Event

Make learning sticky: When Learning Becomes An Event

Presenter: Andy McKiel
recordedin: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Twitter: @amckiel

"Presentation Description: As an educator, how do you make learning sticky for your students? This session will explore the concept of making ordinary lessons and projects extraordinary by celebrating even the little things that occur within our classrooms and schools on a daily basis.

Find out how you can make learning become an event by considering common elements woven through a variety of success stories and reflecting upon your own personal successes as an educator."

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Computer Based Math - web presentation

A vehicle for exploration of mathematical ideas
Presenter: David Wees

recorded: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Twitter: @davidwees

Presentation Description:
Computers in math education are typically seen as a tool for delivering content, assessing student understanding, or in some few cases, as a vehicle for exploration of mathematical ideas. Conrad Wolfram has suggested that computers could be used to replace the computation step of solving mathematical problems, so that students' time could be freed up to learn the other aspects of mathematical problem solving.

This presentation is an attempt to explore the consequences of this idea, and to frame my opinion of the use of computers in mathematics education.

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