Virtual Book Clubs

Connecting Adolescent Readers through Virtual Book Clubs

[article link]

Ryan Kinser tells how he discovered that virtual book clubs (VBCs) can be fun and easy complements not just to language arts class, but to any curriculum. He provides some tips on how to implement a VBC at your school.

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YouTube launches its own teacher’s channel

Educational Uses of Video Clips

http://www.youtube.com/teachers

(Scroll down to see content.)

"Educators who've been wanting to use YouTube videos in class can now find an easy way in. Today, YouTube launched its own teacher's channel: YouTube.com/Teachers, a guide to using videos in class. Teachers can follow tips that show everything from organizing videos to sparking lively discussions to help struggling students through videos."

See also: http://www.youtube.com/education

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CyberSafe with Steve Dotto

LNBC Cyber Safe Videos

http://learnnowbc.ca/cybersafe/default.aspx

Just a reminder about these great resources: videos (scroll down the pag), facilitator's guide, additional links and ideas.

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Lend and Borrow Kindle ebooks

Another Book sharing site

http://lendingebook.com/faq.php

One of the unfortunate "features" of ebooks is that generally, they can't be lent to friends. With Kindle Books, if the item is "lending enabled", you can share it with others for 2 weeks. There are a couple of online communities out there that are trying to facilitate the lending situation: "Lending eBook". Registering with this site puts you in touch with a huge number of lenders. Worth a look. (Note: only US Amazon account holders can lend books, but anyone can borrow. The FAQ explains how to get a US account.)

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"More teacher-librarians means higher reading scores" - study

More teacher-librarians, higher scores overall

http://www.bctf.ca/publications/BCTF-research.aspx

"A new, large-scale research project from the US says that there is a strong correlation on a state-wide basis between having a teacher-librarian in the school and reading results. More teacher-librarians, higher scores overall. Fewer teacher-librarians, lower scores overall.

[snip...]

Similarly, English language learners were affected negatively when a school did not have a librarian. The authors point out that without a teacher-librarian, ìkids will read less and be less comfortable evaluating information."

Read more here: [LINK]

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Building Blocks of Jazz - iTunes video series

HEC TV - Short Teaching Clips for Music Teachers

http://itunes.apple.com/itunes-u/building-blocks-of-jazz/id422591775

The "Higher Education Channel" offers a series of clips called "Building Blocks of Jazz". Students can download these to watch on their own, or teachers can project the clips right from inside the iTunes application.

Description: "Building Blocks of Jazz explores the fundamentals of jazz with Phil Dunlap, Director of Education for Jazz St. Louis. His lively lessons often feature special guests who bring their own expertise into play. Find interesting instruction on everything from Groove, to Rhythm to Latin Jazz."

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Wikis and Blogs - archived webcast

Find out about how you might use wikis and blogs, and what are the educational possibilities. Delivered via Elluminate. (Produced in BC, by the eBus Academy)

[LINK HERE]

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Great Visual on How University Students are using Technology

Students Love Tech

In a recent study of college students, some interesting trends and usage patterns involving technology have emerged. See the link below fro a great graphic representation of the finding. (Could lead to some discussion about what K-12 education is doing.)

http://www.onlineeducation.net/students-love-tech

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Paper "bookbased" sculptures in support of libraries

"...A gift in support of libraries, books, words, ideas....."

[LINK HERE]

Paper sculptures celebrating libraries that have been appearing all over Scotland. Books become art in support of reading!

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EduTopia - ProD video series online

Edutopia (Youtube Channel)- The George Lucas Educational Foundation  

"Through the Edutopia.org website, we spread the word about ideal, interactive learning environments and enable others to adapt these successes locally. To learn more, please check out our videos here on YouTube, and then visit our award-winning site: http://www.edutopia.org."

http://www.youtube.com/edutopia#g/p

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What does it mean to honour reading? - article

Donalyn Miller is a 6th grade language arts teacher in Texas who is said to have a "gift": She can turn even the most reluctant (or, in her words, "dormant") readers into students who can't put their books down. She writes about how to create a reading culture in her "Book Whisperer" blog.

http://www.readability.com/articles/hlqu6zsd?legacy_bookmarklet=1

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Catapult into the 21st Century and Beyond - Webinar

Extend your classroom to connect to the world

(Archived webinar) Important: Use Firefox

"Are you still teaching in isolation or at best parallel to your students' other teachers? How do you take your lesson plans, connect them to 21st century skills, infuse new literacies and get students motivated and engaged for their present and future? Join us for a conversation about upgrading lessons and units that extend your classroom to connect to and collaborate with other subject areas, grade levels, peers and experts from around the world."

Archived Webinar Link: https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2011-05-16.1659.M.30D53F92346350591F6F701822F483.vcr&sid=2008350

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Iain McCaig - Illustrator

The Art of Iain McCaig -

(For Secondary Art teachers, Animation classes, Film studies)

Iain McCaig - background

http://www.readability.com/articles/uvdmwgrt

The Art of...

http://iainmccaig.blogspot.com/

Iain McCaig talks about his beginnings as an illustrator/animator

http://quietube.com/v.php/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNu4xzHTP60

Shadowline Promo

http://quietube.com/v.php/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBHfm3AEY-I&feature=related

Roman History Site

Ancient Rome

Basic facts about ancient Rome.

http://www.knowtheromans.co.uk/

Many topics are covered:

The Empire, Emperors, Fall Of Rome, The Army, Religion & Gods, Settlements, The Senate, Engineering, Roads & Trade, Society, Entertainment, Education, Health, Houses, Slavery, Food & Clothing, Roman Britain, Places To Visit. (Some punctuation anomalies!)

It also includes some Quizzes and Games, as well as a number of Video clips from How Stuff Works. (The "Roman Store" has a few items for sale via UK Amazon)

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YourNextRead

What to Read next...

http://www.yournextread.com/ca/

http://www.yournextread.com/us/

Search for the title or author of the book you have heard about or already read. (The collection of books is large so hopefully you should be able to find it.) Click on the book cover and you will see recommended titles from other YourNextRead readers. A further click takes you to Amazon for reviews and summaries.

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Integrating Technology Into K-12 Literacy Programs

Integrating technology into your lessons?

http://info.library.okstate.edu/content.php?pid=214459&sid=1784398

"Looking for ways to integrate technology into your lessons? Here are some great ideas for utilizing iPhones, SMART Boards, iPods, LiveScribes, and even video games into your lessons, as well as examples of K-12 schools that are doing it."

Click on the orange tabs to view topics such as: Smartphones, Digital Cameras, Digital Voice Recorders, iPods and Podcasts, Wikis and Blogs, Geocaching, Google Earth Lit Trips

and SmartBoards.

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Graphic Organizer Websites

Here are some graphic organizer websites (Thanks Phyllis):

Create your own graphic organizer:

You choose the titles and field names and "teach-nology" will create it

http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/graphic_org/

Interactive graphic organizers (Holt):

(You can download and enter text on them. Great for personalizing.)

http://my.hrw.com/nsmedia/intgos/html/igo.htm

Premade graphic organizers:

http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/graphic/

http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/

Strategies for using organizers

http://www.readingquest.org/strat/graphic.html

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T. Rex brought to life

Animations of a T. Rex Skeleton

(Scoll down the page to access the individual movies.)

"Tyrannosaurus rex roamed the Earth some 65 million years ago. In the century since the first skeleton was unearthed in Montana, our understanding of how the giant predator lived, moved and behaved has evolved."

Animations use the T. rex skeleton and show various aspects of this predator.

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Edit Your Youtube Uploads

A New Video Editing Feature

http://mashable.com/2011/09/14/edit-videos-on-youtube/

Mashable gives a run-down of a new feature that Youtube is providing:

"Some YouTube users may be noticing that they can now edit their videos onsite thanks to a new feature that's rolling out globally Wednesday. Using the feature will enable you to edit uploaded YouTube videos while also maintaining the same video IDs, making it possible to hold onto view counts and comments. Existing links to the video will also continue to work. All you have to do is click "Edit Video" on your video's page or on the My Videos page."

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