21.12.12

Water Steps - A. LaFaye (eBook)

Preview eBooks in your browser before you buy

[LINK to individual title]

[LINK to Children's category]

Some titles on eBooks have a link that allows you to read the first few pages of most books before you buy. (Using the Amigo digital viewer.) This is a great way to get a feel for the tone and language level of the book.

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Pictures and audio files in French

See the picture and hear the word

http://www.delplanche.be/atelier_lecture/imagier_1209/1.htm

Twenty-one connected web pages featuring a total of 12,000 French words and images. Each image has a quicktime audio file associated with it that allows students to hear authentic French pronunciation. ("Je vous propose une méthode complète d'apprentissage de la lecture où l'enfant peut vérifier sa lecture par une bande audio.")

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Science@NASA - Science Clips

Clips that answer fundamental questions about science

http://www.youtube.com/user/ScienceAtNASA/videos?flow=list&sort=dd&view=0

A collection of video clips produced by NASA. Learn about astronomical phenomena, the planets and NASA's projects by viewing this series.

"The Science Mission Directorate (SMD) engages the Nations science community, sponsors scientific research, and develops and deploys satellites and probes in collaboration with NASA's partners around the world to answer fundamental questions requiring the view from and into space. SMD seeks to understand the origins, evolution, and destiny of the universe and to understand the nature of the strange phenomena that shape it.

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20.12.12

iTunesU Course - Children's Literature

Genres in Children's Literature by David Beagley

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/itunes-u/genres-in-childrens-literature/id453402799

Description:

"In this course, students study current theories of literature, with a focus on genres relating to children's literature as a form of social practice. Topics covered include critical analysis, traditional story forms, modernist and postmodern picture books, emerging formats, fantasy and realistic fiction, non-fiction and poetry."

Note: The lessons have been posted in reverse order, so you will need to start with the "last" audio file.

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19.12.12

FolgerLibrary - Shakespeare resources

Folger Shakespeare Library

A growing online teaching resources provide Shakespeare lesson plans and other materials for teachers around the world, including audio and video podcasts, and an expanding list of web features.

1) Shakespeare for Kids

http://www.folger.edu/Content/Teach-and-Learn/Shakespeare-for-Kids/

2) Folger Digital Texts

http://www.folgerdigitaltexts.org/

Read online or Download full PDF versions of Shakespeare's plays.

3) Folger Teaching Video Clips

http://www.youtube.com/FolgerLibrary

4) Folger Podcasts (iTunes)

https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/folger-podcasts/id270548959?mt=2

Folger Podcasts explore Shakespeare, his works, and his world. Periodically we'll delve into topics around performances and programs at the Folger Shakespeare Library and hot trends in Shakespeare and early modern scholarship.

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17.12.12

Incompetech - Royalty Free Music

Beautiful Tracks for your project work

http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/

This site is a bonanza for folks looking for music to use in school projects!

Kevin MacLeod has taken pity on schools with no money, and film makers who want to have music - but can't afford to clear copyrights. He has made it possible, using Creative Commons Licensing, to share his work, still get credit for it and help budding artists and producers of all ages!

The FAQ on the site answers the question "It says the music is royalty-free. Is it okay if I use it?" with the answer "anyone can use any of my music in any project" as long as the work is attributed correctly.

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A Day on the Internet - Mind-blowing

"4.7 Billion Minutes a Day..."

http://www.jeffyasinchuk.ca/2012/09/a-day-on-internet-infographic-mind.html

A great infographic reposted by Jeff Yasinchuk that asks us to reflect on the sheer volume of information uploaded to the internet every day, as well as the number of blog posts, status updates and minutes spent browsing. As Jeff said, truly "mind-blowing".

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Sources of Music for Video Projects

Learning and Leading - Dec 2012/Jan 2013 - Page 30

http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201212/m2/Page.action?lm=1353485357000&pg=32

Read the December digital issue of L&L to find out more about the following 3 sources for royalty free music:

Purple Planet Royalty Free
Sound Jay
Royalty Free Music Room

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We Give Books - Christmas titles

Virtual "Big Books" for the holidays

http://www.wegivebooks.org/

Visit "We Give Books" and read the following titles on a big screen with a projector! To access these Christmas titles (see below), you will need to create an account on WGB. The Editor's picks are freely viewable without a login.

Llama Llama Holiday Drama - For Ages: 4-7 (A great story!!)
A Most Mizerable Christmas - For Ages: 4-7
Angelina's Christmas - For Ages: 4-7
Snowmen All Year - For Ages: 4-7
Frosty the Snowman - For Ages: 0-3

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iPad apps to capture "whiteboard" creations

blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/12/smartboard-make-way-for-educreations?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+scottmcleoddelicious+%28Scott+McLeod%27s+Delicious+Bookmarks%29

Download the official Twitter app here

Sent from my iPhone

Make Way for "Educreations"

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/12/smartboard-make-way-for-educreations

There are a number of iPad apps that let you screen-capture your work for students to view later. This article mentions a number of them, and then focusses on "Educreations" with the bonus that it can also be used on desktop machines.

"One of the biggest, fastest shifts in ed tech the last couple years has been the evolution from the use of large interactive whiteboards to the use of mobile, agile multi-purpose apps. Currently, there are at least six products, all competing to become teachers' favorite. Replay Note, ScreenChomp, ShowMe, DoodleCast Pro, Knowmia, Explain Everything and Educreations all offer teachers the ability to record the visual and audio components of a "whiteboard" lesson on their iPads, and share it online.

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100 Notable Books of 2012 - NYTimes.com

Notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/books/review/100-notable-books-of-2012.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=review

The year's notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction for adult readers, selected by the editors of The New York Times Book Review. If you are looking to round out your reading list, check out some of these titles. Good suggestions for your book club!

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10x10 · 100 Words and Pictures that Define our Time

Top 100 words and images, hour by hour

http://www.tenbyten.org/10x10.html

Looking for a current event topic or breaking news story? 10x10 gives you and your students a novel way to do this. Hour by hour, 10x10 scans the headlines for keywords and images and presents them on a grid for a quick overview. You can even view the top 100 words for each day, month and year.

"Move your mouse around the images and you'll see words that match which images. Click any word or image to zoom in and see the news headlines and read the original news stories. Browse through past hours, days, months, and years by clicking the "History" button, and select the year/month/day/hour you'd like to see. (You can also select "Full Day", "Full Month", or "Full Year" from the date list.)

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Turn your pic into a Christmas Ornament

Add some holiday cheer to your webpage

http://www.dumpr.net/christmas-ornament.php

http://www.makesweet.com/mixer/my-christmas-ornament

Use either of these generators to turn your picture into a Christmas ornament. With the first option, select any pic from your desktop, upload, and voilà: instant decoration. With the second, click on the "plus" to add pictures and or text. You can even control the size and rotation of your image on the ornament.

(Here's another: http://www.makesweet.com/mixer/my-christmas-tree)

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Creative Idea Generator - Random Word Generator

Train your brain to be more creative

http://ideagenerator.creativitygames.net/

Generate random words and/or images then use them to help your juices flow. Your newly-created list of words or images can be a great kick-start to a poetry exercise, the next chapter in your story, or inspiration for a work of art. Move the items around, resize them by scrolling over them, double-click on a choice to swap for another, or refresh them all at once and let it guide your mind as it wonders.

"This idea generator is a funky little doodad that will train your brain to be more creative through the use of random words.

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"Expect More" - BC Libraries Summit - on Vimeo

David Lankes' presentation at the BC Libraries Summit

http://vimeo.com/55177106

"R. David Lankes is a professor and Dean's Scholar for the New Librarianship at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies and director of the Information Institute of Syracuse. His book, The Atlas of New Librarianship won the 2012 ABC-CLIO/Greenwood Award for the Best Book in Library Literature. Lankes is a passionate advocate for librarians and their essential role in today's society."

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LM_NET Archive

Search the LM-Net archives

http://lmnet-archive.iis.syr.edu/

Many teacher-librarians subscribe to LM-Net, a great listserv that covers all things "library". Even if you aren't a regular subscriber, you can still search the archives in one of two batches, either Oct 2010 to present-day, or Mar 1994 to Sept 2010. Find out what solutions other TLs have suggested to issues you may currently be experiencing!

"LM_NET is the original discussion group open to school library media specialists worldwide, and to people involved with the school library media field. LM_NET provides an excellent way to network with other school library professionals, connect to new ideas in school library practice, seek advice, and ask library related questions."

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13.12.12

World Book reference - feature review

A collection of powerful research tools

http://www.worldbookonline.com/training/classroom/html/classroom_4.htm

"World Book reference databases are a collection of powerful research tools that include encyclopedic, multimedia, e-book, and primary source content. They are designed for diverse ages, reading levels, and styles, and offer teacher resources, standards, correlations, and useful classroom research tools.

Review the features of each level of World Book using the links below:

(The menu bar along the top of each page introduces all of the features, with a labelled screenshot.)

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Nancie Atwell - The Reading Zone

Nancie Atwell - Scholastic Author TalkAbout video interviews

In this "TalkAbout" video clip series Nancie Atwell, answers questions about reading comprehension, and shares advice on creating successful reading and writing workshops as well how to create passionate readers.

The Reading Zone (4:26). What core conditions are necessary for students to enter, and stay inside, the reading zone?

Comprehension (5:27). How do you know whether your students are understanding what they're reading?

Student Choice (4:19). Why is allowing students to choose their own books and topics fundamental to their success as readers and writers?

Reading & Writing Workshops (4:48). What is the best preparation for teachers who wish to teach reading and writing workshop-style?

ª Advice and Encouragement for New Teachers (3:30). Nancie shares advice based on her 30 years of teaching experience.

Creating Passionate Readers (4:27). Nancie tells about the childhood experience that helped her become a fluent, avid reader.

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Jeff Wilhelm & Inquiry Based Learning

Jeff Wilhelm & Inquiry Based Learning

Inquiry-Based Instruction: (video clip) (4:19) Are teachers using inquiry in classrooms now, or do they even know about it?

Using Inquiry in Language Arts.(video clip) (3:13). How does inquiry and the use of questions promote reading and understanding in language arts?

"Engaging readers & writers with inquiry" [LINK to record at DRC]

PDF sample.

http://www.scholasticdealer.com/prodimages/sample/957413.pdf

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The role of children's literature in the classroom

Video interviews with Carol Fuhler and Maria Walther

http://www.scholastic.com/browse/media.jsp?id=793

These two authors discuss the importance of using quality literature in the classroom. Video clips address the following:

The role of children's literature
Quality literature in curriculum
How children's books help writers
Recognizing a good book
Managing a busy teaching day
Advice to new teachers

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Get the Most out of your Smartboard

Whiteboards for Dummies | Scholastic.com

http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3757695

This article addresses some of the challenges in implementing Smartboards in the classroom. There are also some links to a useful blog and a Notebook repository.

"At their best, interactive whiteboards can get students out of their seats to lead their own learning. But, like all technology, the boards are only as good as the people using them. And the people using them are only as good as their training. There are ways to ensure that you're giving your staff the tools they need to make the most out of your district's investment."

12 Days of Christmas [LINK] (courtesy Mr Smart Trainer)

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12.12.12

Joahua Foer "How I learned a language in 22 hours"

A web app that can help anyone memorise anything

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/nov/09/learn-language-in-three-months#start-of-comments

Joshua Foer learns basic Lingala in a few weeks, using the Memrise application. (In fact the website challenges you to learn to read a Chinese menu!)

"Memrise encourages you to create a mnemonic, which it calls a "mem", for every word you want to learn. A mem could be a rhyme, an image, a video or just a note about the word's etymology, or something striking about its pronunciation. In the case of languages such as French and Chinese, where there are thousands of people learning it at any one time, you can browse through a catalogue of mems created by other members of the Memrise community. This is especially fun for Chinese, where users have uploaded videos of various logographic characters morphing into cartoons of the words they represent.